"Tarzan is depending on us."

"We can't let him down."

Tantor and Terk nodded and hid behind the bushes. It wasn't a surprise for them when Tarzan asked them to host his and Brook's date. It has been a while since they had a date and they agreed. 

Well, Tantor agreed. Terk just tagged along. 

"Remember, timing is everything," Terk looked up at Tantor. 

"Check," Tantor nodded. "I'm good to go."

"We move in three..."

"Bringing up–"

"Two..."

"–the main course!" Tantor pumped, carrying the food as Terk counted down. "Now!" 

They ran out of the bushes to meet Brook and Tarzan. The couple, on the other hand, was having a nice picnic the sun's blush beamed on the jungle giving an orange glow. 

"What a glorious sunset," Brook sighed as she leaned into her husband. 

They were abruptly interrupted as Terk popped up, checking on them with a grin on her face. "How is everything, folks? Do you like the table? Best seats in the joint," Terk grinned as she flattened the blanket under the couple.

"Everything's perfect, Terk," Tarzan smiled. 

"So?" Tantor came from behind. "How were the appetizers?"

Brook chuckled, "Mine ran off the plate too fast, but they looked absolutely scrumptious, thank you."

"Well. Get ready for the entree," Tantor lowered their food and removed the silver plate cover.

Brook was amused at what she saw. It was different from fruits. It was a raw fish with wooden ships around it. She grabbed a chip, hitting it against the plate. 

"Fish and chips?" Brook glanced at Tarzan. 

Tarzan grinned, "Surprise!"

"And! Some of our finest coconut milk. Compliments on the house," Tantor pushed out the rubber stoppers from his nose, releasing a foam of coconut milk. 

Terk raised their coconut cups while Tantor poured the milk on them. Brook felt awkward as she held the drink while Tarzan drank from it. Seeing as Terk and Tantor were leaving and Tarzan was focused on the drink, Brook spilled it on the side of her and turned to her husband. 

"This is all so wonderful," she smiled. "Us here together."

Tarzan smiled as he pulled her in a hug. "There's no place I'd rather be."

Brook smiled, pecking his cheek as she leaned her head on his shoulder and just admired their moment together. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Not far from the couple, a disaster happened. The gorillas screeched and cried out as they ran away. 

"Tarzan!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Where's Tarzan?!"

It wasn't only the gorillas. The monkeys, the birds, and every animal around the area fled from the scene from what was to come. The horrifying feeling they felt as the beast came closer to them. 

But one ape stood his ground and growled at it, punching his chest in dominance. He made sure the family went first as he followed. Kala, on the other hand, was confused about what was going on and peeked out of a tree. 

She can only see the chaos of the gorillas running away in fear. 

"Snake!" Flint screamed as he run past her. 

Kala deadpanned. "All this for a snake?"

"Giant snake!" Mungo followed after Flint. 

Kala paled at the small description. There was no other giant snake than the one she thought about. "It can't be." she glanced at the culprit of the chaos. She gasped as a giant red python broke the trees to get to them. 

"Hista!" Kala gasped and ran after her family, not realizing Hista bit the bark where she once stood. 

Kala ran towards Moyo as he made sure everyone ran away. But a mother worriedly looked around. "My baby! Where's my baby?!" she cried. 

Kala and Moyo looked around and spotted Baby not far from Hista. Baby whimpered and scurried inside a log as Hista followed. Hista hissed at him which made him cry harder and louder. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The loud cry reached Tarzan and Brook and they both stiffened. They listened closely and recognized who it was coming from. 

"The family." Tarzan reacted first, running ahead of what was going on.

Brook, Terk, and Tantor followed at their own pace in worry. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Baby peeked out of the log and screamed, ducking inside as Hista attempted to get him. Baby was about to get out from another entrance but Hista was quick to wait for him so he ducked inside. 

Hista was getting impatient and wrapped itself around the log and tightened around it. 

"Baby! Oh Baby!" the mother gorilla reached for her infant but Moyo gently pushed her back toward Kala. 

"Get her to safety," he states as he runs off to help Baby. The mother opposed it as she kept reaching out to grab her infant but Kala grabbed her arm and pulled her to the family. 

Hista tightened more around the log, managing to snap it into pieces. Baby screamed as he fell to the ground. He turned around and whimpered more as Hista slid towards him. 

Moyo quickly grabbed a large boulder, huffing at the weight and dropping it on Hista's tail. Hista hissed in pain and turned around to see Moyo, completely forgetting Baby. 

Baby ran off to his mother while Moyo deals with Hista. Moyo roared at Hista while he punched his chest. Hista wasn't intimidated as it squirmed its tail out of the boulder and slammed Moyo to the ground. 

Moyo exclaimed in shock as he rolled on the ground. His eyes widened in worry as Hista hissed at him and attacked him. Tarzan swung down and wrapped the vine around Hista's mouth, shutting it before it got close to Moyo.

Tarzan and Moyo used that chance to run away while Hista squirmed with the vine. It managed to pull away and fled from the scene, leaving everyone to sigh in relief. 

Terk, Tantor, and Brook ran in to see them. They were confused about what happened but they were all relieved to see that no one was hurt. Brook glanced at everyone and saw how the mother held her infant in fear. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"The snake is called Hista," Kala informed. 

The troop decided to have a meeting about what had happened. Brook felt it wasn't the right time for her to stay as Tantor guided her back to the treehouse while Tarzan attended the meeting. 

"Many years ago when I was very young. Hista came and–"

"Oh, I remember," an old ape nodded. "That snake terrorized us for weeks. There was no escaping him."

"We thought he had gone," Kala spoke up. "Until now."

"Well, we're just lucky Moyo was around to save us!" the mother smiled as Baby climbed to Moyo's shoulder. 

"Yeah! And speaking of who was around and who wasn't, where was our fearless leader while we were becoming snake food?!" Flint looked at Tarzan pointedly. 

Tarzan guiltily looked at the ground as he stood up. "I...I was with Brook."

This caused the gorillas to react as they murmured to themselves in disbelief that Tarzan was being distracted instead of being there for them. Moyo had enough as he walked in front of Tarzan. 

"And how do we know you won't be with her the next time?" Moyo demanded. "Or the time after that?"

The gorillas murmured to themselves, agreeing to Moyo's words. 

"I may be old-fashioned," the elder spoke up as everyone quietened. "But back in my day, gorillas weren't led by humans. They were led by other gorillas."

Tarzan started to get annoyed as the gorillas nodded and hummed in agreement but Kala spoke up to defend her son. "Kerchak chose Tarzan to lead this family."

Terk nodded, "Yeah! Everything about this guy screams authority figure! And talk about strong, look at these muscles!" She lifted Tarzan's arm as she elbowed him lightly. "Work with me here, will you?"

"He's a human with a human wife," Moyo looked at the family. "He has two families. His loyalty will always be divided."

"Tarzan has already proven how much he cares for this family!" Kala snapped. 

"Yes," Moyo agreed. "But if he had to choose between Brook or the family...which would it be?" He glanced at Tarzan and saw his expression hardening. "A gorilla leader would always put the family first without hesitation."

He roared as he punched his fists. "I challenge Tarzan for leadership!"

The gorillas gasped and murmured to themselves, looking at each other in disbelief. Kala and Terk immediately opposed. 

"Don't do this Moyo," Kala shook her head. 

"He can if he wants," Flints butted in. "Anyone can challenge the leader any time."

"Yeah, he's right," Mungo nodded. "Those are the rules," the mother from before nodded too as everyone agreed. 

"Absolutely," the elder nodded. 

Tarzan saw everyone's reaction but he knew better. He turned to Moyo, "You're very capable, Moyo. But you're not ready to lead yet."

"We'll see about that," Moyo narrowed his eyes at Tarzan.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Tarzan stayed as the troop slept to keep watch of Hista. He wasn't able to go back to Brook and explain everything but Terk volunteered and left to talk to her. Tarzan can only look at his family with guilt. 

"Every leader has to face challenges, Tarzan."

Tarzan didn't glance back to see Kala sitting next to him. He turned away, "I know."

"Then what's troubling you?"

"I should have been here to protect the family," Tarzan turned back to her. "To protect you."

"You can't be everywhere," Kala tried. 

"The truth is...Moyo is right. I'm not sure what I would do if–if I had to choose between Brook and the family."

"There's no choice to make, Tarzan," Kala softly smiled. "Brook is part of the family."

Tarzan felt those words and he believed them and he convinced himself of those words the moment Brook stayed with him and left everything behind to be with him. Brook had proven herself to care for this family as much as he does. 

But now...with Hista as Moyo's words, he didn't know what to think. 

He glanced at the treehouse, seeing as the lamps were lit. He can vaguely see Brook's shadow doing who-knows-what. What does Brook think of this situation?

"I wish that were true."

He ushered his mother to rest as he'll keep watch for the rest of the night and think of what was to come. As they all slept, he headed back to the treehouse and found Brook sleeping on the couch with the lantern on. 

He frowned as he didn't know what to do with the situation going on. Walking over to her, Tarzan brushed away a strand from her face and he picked her up, making sure to not wake her. 

Entering their bedroom, he placed her in their bed and covered her with the blankets. He walked out of the room, glancing at her one last time before returning to the family. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The family, Brook, Mr. Porter, and Tantor gathered around a large tree the next day. Moyo picked up a boulder, slamming it on the ground as he gathered everyone's attention. 

Flint and Mungo walked between Tarzan and Moyo, turning to everyone. "Now, you all know how this works. The leader and the challenger will both climb into the tree," Flint started. 

"Yeah, and the first one to touch the ground loses," Mungo continued.

"And the one remaining in the tree is our leader. Tarzan, Moyo, take your positions," Flint finished. 

Tarzan stood up as Kala placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her, placing his hand on hers in assurance. Turning back to the challenge, he and Moyo climbed on the tree. 

"May the best gorilla win!" Terk grinned. "That's Tarzan by the way."

They both climbed midway to the top as they prepared. Moyo roared as he punched his chest while Tarzan glared at him. 

"I know you're only thinking of the good of the family. I don't have any hard feelings," Tarzan's glare softened. 

Tantor covered his eyes with a large leaf as he trumpeted, giving the two a signal to start. 

Moyo instantly attacked, stomping where Tarzan once stood. Tarzan fell down causing Brook and the others to gasp in worry. But Tarzan caught the vine, sliding down and ignoring the burn in his hand and foot. 

He managed to stop before hitting the ground which caused the gorillas to gasp. Tarzan gripped the vine and climbed up the tree. He climbed to one of the branches when Moyo dropped down to the same branch. 

Tarzan grabbed Moyo's wrists as they slammed their chests against each other. Tarzan's grip tightened as Moyo kept growling at him. Tarzan kicked him away causing Moyo to stumble back. 

Tarzan used that chance to kick his leg under him causing Moyo to fall off the tree. Moyo stumbled down before grabbing a branch close to the ground and swinging up. Everyone gasped at how close he was but Moyo focused on the challenge, roaring at Tarzan. 

Tarzan grabbed a branch, holding it on his feet as Moyo climbed up. He smirked as Moyo met him and let go of the branch which slapped Moyo in the face and fall back. 

Moyo growled as he caught a branch and climbed up but Tarzan climbed down to meet him. Moyo had other plans as he punched through the branch Tarzan was standing on causing him to fall down. 

Brook gasped as Tarzan was close to meeting the ground. Tarzan grabbed the branch Moyo broke and stabbed it on the ground while standing on it. 

Tarzan jumped on Tantor and on some of the family members, with few complaints from them, and grabbed a vine, swinging to the tree. He climbed to the top while Moyo followed and break any branch he would stand on. 

What Moyo doesn't realize, every branch he broke would stab the ground with a sharp ending at the top, waiting for one to fall to its demise. 

Moyo panted as he was getting exhausted following Tarzan around. Tarzan didn't seem at all affected as he sat behind him. "Had enough?"

Moyo's eye twitched in irritation and turned back to attack him once again. He threw a fist but Tarzan dodged, punching the wood he was standing on causing the branch to snap and Moyo to fall to the ground. 

Moyo screamed as he neared the ground. Tarzan's eyes widened in horror as Moyo was nearing the sharp branches. Everyone below gasped in horror for what was to come. Tarzan grabbed a vine and dived down just in time to grab Moyo's pelt and swing him to safety.

As Tarzan placed Moyo in one of the branches of the tree, the vine was cut off by the sharp branches causing him to fall to the ground. 

It was quiet for a moment as everyone processed what happened. Flint was the first to react as he grinned. "Moyo wins! Yeah! Tarzan touched the ground first!"

The gorillas cheered for the victor. Moyo frowned but jumped down roaring and punching his chest in victory. 

"Tarzan!" Brook and Kala ran to where Tarzan was and helped him up. "Darling, are you all right?" Brook asked as she checked on him. 

"Oh no, no, no. That's gotta be a do-over," Tantor interrupted the gorillas' cheering. 

"Yeah! Tarzan only fell in the process of saving Moyo's behind," Terk nodded. 

"No." Tarzan interrupted them. He stood in front of everyone as he couldn't look at them. "The rules are clear. You...have a new leader now."

Kala and Terk glanced at each other in disbelief while the gorillas cheered for Moyo. Brook can only hug Tarzan to comfort. He hugged back but he only frowned, looking at the ground in disappointment. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The troop walked back to their nest leaving Terk and Kala with Brook and Tarzan. Brook tried to comfort Tarzan but she knew he was upset. He wouldn't say it but Brook could tell by his silence.

Terk and Tantor tried to change his mind to do the do-over but Tarzan's word was final and they weren't sure what to do. 

The next day, Tarzan and Brook accompanied to check on the family. "You were robbed, Tarzan!" Terk scoffed next to Brook. "I'm telling you! You should ask for a rematch!"

"Moyo won, Terk. Accept it," Tarzan narrowed his eyes at her. 

They all stopped when they saw the family walking away from their nests. Kala frowned. "Where is everyone going?"

They all followed and stood next to Moyo who was behind, checking in on the family. "Let's hurry, people. We have a lot of ground to cover today," Moyo spoke. 

"What's going on, Moyo?" Tarzan asked. 

"I'm taking the family around the jungle's outer loop. We'll be back in a few weeks. Hista should be gone by then."

Tarzan frowned. "Leaving is more dangerous than staying. We know this terrain."

"You don't lead this family anymore, Tarzan," Moyo interrupted. "You're welcome to come with us but I make the decisions now."

Tarzan held back his tongue as Moyo was right. He knew if he went, Brook could handle the traveling but he knew better. They already had a home. If they didn't respect Brook as a family member because she was human, then it felt the same way with him. 

He wasn't leaving. 

"I'm staying with Brook," Tarzan stood. "And our home is here."

Kala and Terk looked at each other with uncertainty. Brook was hesitant as she didn't realize they all would leave. She knew how Tarzan doesn't want to leave the family. She wasn't sure what to do.

"I understand," Moyo nodded as he followed the family. 

Tarzan closed his eyes for a moment before turning to Kala and Terk. "You should go. Follow Moyo."

Kala and Terk gasped. "No way!–"

"If you ever respected me as a leader you'll do what I say," Tarzan sternly stated. He sighed, "You're gorillas...you belong with the family."

"You belong with the family," Kala cupped his cheek before glancing at Brook. "Both of you."

Kala started walking away but not before glancing at them one last time. "Take care. We'll see you in a few weeks."

"Hey, you'll always be leader to me," Terk frowned as she followed. 

As they left, Brook hugged Tarzan as he hugged her back, silently thanking her for her comfort. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

As they arrived back home, they were both quiet. Brook immediately got started with dinner while Tarzan sat on one of the chairs, deep in thought. Brook would occasionally glance at him and frown. 

Placing their plates on the table, Tarzan wouldn't eat a bite as she kept eating. 

"Are you not hungry?" Brook asked getting Tarzan's attention. Seeing as she was talking to him he shook his head. 

"I'm not hungry," he frowned as he started eating but Brook grabbed his hand, stopping him. 

"You don't have to eat if you're not hungry. I understand if you're tired. It has been an eventful day. You can rest."

Tarzan nodded as he stood up with his plate, leaving the fruits on the basket before walking back to Brook and kissing her head. "I'll be outside if you need me."

Brook nodded as Tarzan walked outside. She sighed, pushing away her plate too. Glancing out the window, she just hoped the family would be safe and come back safely too. 

Picking up her plate, she placed the fruits in the basket before walking to their room. Glancing outside where Tarzan went, she hoped he would be all right. He knew how to comfort her and make her feel better when she was down but this is a big thing for him. 

The only thing she can do is just be there for him. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Brook woke up with the light shining through the window. She yawned as she turned around but saw the other side of the bed was empty. She stood up and walked out of the room with another yawn. 

Her eyes widened seeing Tarzan sitting next to the window with a pile of books in front of him. Smelling the distinct scent of smoke, she presumed the lantern was on for a while. 

"Tarzan, you've been up reading all night?" she walked over to him. 

"Did you know that pythons, like Hista, have extremely poor eyesight?" Tarzan glanced at her. 

Brook yawned, shaking her head. "No, I didn't actually." She picked up one of the books and sat next to him. 

"They find their prey by sensing their body heat," he informed. 

"Fascinating," Brook glanced at him. 

Tarzan sighed, glancing out the window. "There was a strong wind from the east last night. I just hope that Moyo remembers to–"

"Don't worry, darling," Brook grabbed his hand in assurance. "I'm sure that they'll be safe."

"You're right," Tarzan frowned, tightening his hold on her hand. "They're probably getting along just fine...without me."

Brook looked at him worried as he stood up and put up a smile. "I'm a–I'm going to get some fruit." With that, he jumped out the window and swung away in a vine. 

Tarzan swung on multiple vines and follow the tracks from the family. He jumped down to the ground and smelled the ground, getting the familiar scent. He grabbed a vine and swung to a tree and slid down the branches. 

He kept following the tracks as they got stronger. Stopping behind the bushes, he spotted the family crossing a bridge from a very old log. Moyo crossed first as everyone passed after him. 

"Don't be afraid, come on across. It's perfectly safe." Moyo spoke as everyone cautiously crossed. 

"That's it, nice and slow."

The last three gorillas were midway through the bridge when the log became unstable, shaking as it was sliding down the cliff. The three whimpered in fear as they clung to the log. 

Tarzan's eyes widened and grabbed a vine, ready to help when the log stopped shaking and falling. Moyo grabbed the end of the log as he huffed. 

"What's the hold up?!" The elder gorilla exclaimed as Mungo and Flint in front of him won't move. "Move!"

Mungo and Flint stood up and ran to the other side with the elder following. Seeing as the three passed, Moyo dropped the log as it fell off the cliff. Tarzan frowned as Moyo walked in front of the troop. 

"Let's keep moving."

The others followed as they left. Tarzan frowned as he realized that they don't need him anymore. Gripping on the vine, he swung away to Brook. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Brook was attempting to draw again as she had her notebook in her lap. She heard a thump in front of her, seeing her husband coming back. "Hey, how goes the fruit gathering?"

Tarzan glanced at her, dropping a pear in her fruit basket. Brook frowned in worry, placing her notebook on the couch and standing up to cup his cheek. 

"I know how much you miss them, darling," Brook spoke. 

Tarzan flinched back, hugging his knees and shielding himself to not worry her. "Oh. How can you know?"

Brook sadly smiled at him, grabbing her notebook. "Because I miss them too."

Brook handed him her notebook, showing a drawing of the whole troop with Tarzan and her in the front. Tarzan's eyes softened as Brook hugged him and smiled at him. 

He smiled too, hugging her back. He nuzzled his nose on her cheek in thanks. Brook chuckled, looking down at the picture. "I'm not good like Miss Jane but I think it is better than any drawing I have."

"It's perfect," he smiled before nuzzling his nose on her cheek. "I'm sorry for not eating with you yesterday."

Brook shook her head as she cupped his cheek. "Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. You were hurting and I wasn't any help in the situation."

Tarzan smiled at her, pecking her cheek and grabbing her hands. "Let's go."

Brook blinked. "Go? Go where?"

"Outside. We weren't able to finish our date the other day," he smiled, guiding her outside. 

She smiled and nodded, placing her notebook on the couch as they walked outside. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Moyo guided the family deeper into the jungle. The atmosphere looked almost dark considering how bright the day was just a few minutes ago but he kept going. Kala and Terk on the other hand didn't like this feeling from going this deep in the jungle. 

"I don't think we should go this way," Kala stepped next to Moyo with Terk following. 

"Excuse me, but Tarzan always steered clear of this area," Terk also spoke up. 

"Well, I'm not Tarzan," Moyo turned to them. "We go through." He stepped down on the dark river and walked forward. Everyone glanced at each other before following, feeling the water sort of warm but ignoring it. 

As they all continued on the river, the mother gorilla from before looked around but couldn't find her infant anywhere. She glanced back and spotted him still on the grass, refusing to move further. 

"Come here, Baby!" she exclaimed. 

Baby shook his head, taking a step back. 

"Don't make me come back there," she sterned but Baby shook his head again. "That does it, young man!" she attempted to go back but stiffened as she was suddenly stuck in the river. 

"Hey! I'm stuck!" she screamed. This alerted everyone to move but they all screamed as they couldn't move either. 

Kala raised a hand, seeing the black substance sticking from the ground. "This is a tar pit!"

They all panicked more but Moyo huffed, trying to get the tar out of his hand. They all stiffened as they heard hissing from behind and glanced back to see Hista. Baby's eyes widened and jumped to hide. 

"Do something, Moyo!" Flint shouted. 

Moyo continued to squirm but it was no use as Hista already had his eyes on them. His eyes widened in horror while Hista neared closer to them, trapping them. 

"What have I done?" Moyo gasped. 

Hista stayed on the grass as it stared at its prey. Baby can only tremble in fear as his family is going to be devoured by the monster. The mother gasped, looking back at him. 

"Run, Baby! Run!" she screamed. 

Baby ran away. Hista didn't pay him mind as he focused solely on the ones stuck in the tar pit. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

After their small date, Brook decided to read outside while Tarzan sat next to her. It was short-lived as a few monkeys gathered around them and Tarzan decided to play with them. 

Brook glanced at him amusedly as Tarzan jumped on a branch and faced the monkeys punching his chest lightly. The monkeys followed which made Brook chuckle. 

"Once a leader, always a leader," she smiled. 

They stopped as they heard shrieking coming towards them and turned to find the infant rushing to them. He shrieked as he had a horror expression. 

"It's Baby!" Brook gasped, standing up in alarm. 

The infant continued to scream and wave them to follow him. "The gorillas," Tarzan's eyes widened. "Something's wrong."

Tarzan followed Baby as Brook dropped everything and grabbed her bow and arrows, following right after them. They all ran quickly as the atmosphere of the jungle darkened. 

"Is this?" Brook glanced at Tarzan.

His eyes darkened as he knew what this place is and ran faster, leaving Baby and Brook behind as he investigated what was going on. They arrived in time for Tarzan to pull down a vine and tangle Hista. 

He jumped down and under Hista but the tail slammed against him, making him fall to the grass. The troop gasped but looked down as they sunk more in the pit. Tarzan shook his head out of his daze and looked at the situation more clearly. 

He looked up and saw the vines. He stayed alert as Hista manage to untangle itself from the vine. He heard a hiss behind him and saw Hista up in the trees. It was too late as Hista attacked him, knocking him out. 

Hista landed on top of him and hissed at him before looking back to the troop seeing as there were a majority of them. He slid off of him to attack the family. 

As it neared closer to the family, it felt a scorching pain in its eye. It snarled loudly as he looked around for the culprit. Brook stood on the other side of the pit with her bow and arrow. 

She pointed her arrow at him, hitting her mark on its body. "Get away from my family!" she growled as she threw more arrows at its wounded eye. 

Moyo's eyes widened in disbelief as the girl taunted Hista, knowing full well the girl can't handle on her own but was brave enough to draw Hista's attention away from them.

Hista seethingly glared at her as it slid towards her. Tarzan slowly woke up, seeing Hista following after Brook and Baby. "Brook!"

"Tarzan! The gorillas!" Brook cried out as she and Baby ran away. 

Tarzan was conflicted as Hista grew near Brook but the family kept sinking. Thinking fast, he grabbed a vine and threw the end towards Moyo and wrapping the end around a tree and pulling it. 

Moyo grabbed the vine as Tarzan pulled. 

Meanwhile, Brook ushered Baby to climb up a tree while Brook ran further away. She looked back to see Hista seethingly glaring at her from one eye. She didn't look where she was going as she tripped over a log, landing on her back. 

Hista rose up to attack her but Brook used that chance to get inside the log. Hista slammed its tail on the log, causing Brook to shriek in fear. Hista hissed as he slammed harder.

Her screaming was heard from the pit as Tarzan's eyes widened in worry to hear Brook scream in fear. 

"Brook, no," he murmured as his family were getting close to sink. 

"Tarzan! Help!" his family cried out but Tarzan felt more conflicted on who to save.

But if he had to choose between Brook or the family...which would it be?

Tarzan gritted his teeth as he was running out of time. Moyo understood what he was thinking and placed a hand on Tarzan's shoulder. "I'm going after Brook."

Moyo didn't let him answer as he ran ahead while Tarzan helps the family. "Pass this vine to everyone! Hurry!"

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Hista wrapped its tail around the log where Brook was in. Brook covered her mouth to hold back screams as the log tightened. Moyo spotted them as Hista hissed at her. 

Moyo ran down and roared at it, punching his chest to grab its attention. Hista turned to him and hissed. Hista tightened around the log and Brook jumped out in time for the log to be crushed. 

Brook landed on the ground and covered her head from the wooden pieces to fall around her. As Hista crushed the log, it slammed its tail on Moyo but he jumped away before he got hurt. 

Moyo rolled on the ground, landing beside a tree. The tree shook as Baby fell on top of him. Moyo's eyes widened in fear as Hista looked around for the girl. 

Hista's eyes caught Brook and followed her. Brook tried to crawl away and make an escape but Hista was hovering over her. Brook closed her eyes, waiting for her demise when she heard a growl above her. 

She opened her eyes and gasped as Tarzan tackled Hista. "Tarzan!" she cried out in worry. 

"Come on!" Moyo ran over to her with Baby in his arm and carried her under his other arm as he fled to the other side of a few boulders.

They waited a minute as Tarzan jumped to the other side, on top of the boulder and looking down. "Brook!"

 Brook felt huge relief and tackled him in a hug as soon as he jumped down to meet them. "Thank goodness!" Tarzan hugged her back and focused on what to do next. 

"What do we do now?" Moyo asked. 

They all stopped as Hista hovered over the boulders to look for them. Tarzan looked at his surroundings, finding mud everywhere. "Mud? Cover yourselves with it!"

Tarzan grabbed a chunk of mud and placed on himself. 

Moyo frowned, "But how–"

"Do it," Tarzan spoke as he helped Brook, rubbing mud on her back as Hista grew near where they stood. The three hurried, rubbing the mud all over themselves and sitting against the wall. 

Hista slid around the boulders, looking around. It stood in front of them but couldn't find them anywhere. 

"He doesn't see us?" Brook whispered. 

"No. The mud hides our body heat," Tarzan whispered back. 

Hista grew impatient and kept looking around while Tarzan helped Brook up and moved away along with Moyo and Baby. They climbed to the other side as Tarzan explained their plan. 

Brook and Moyo ran toward the tar pit while Tarzan baits Hista to follow him. Brook spotted Tarzan and Hista coming towards them and hid. Tarzan met them and nodded to them as he grabbed a vine and tied it around himself. 

Brook and Moyo held on the other end while Tarzan walked down the tar pit. Hista followed, entering the tar pit too. Hista noticed it couldn't move and looked back to see his mistake. 

He snarled in fear as he continued squirming. Moyo pulled on the vine, pulling Tarzan out of the pit and observe as Hista was quickly sinking, disappearing forever. Baby jumped out of Brook's arms and onto Moyo as Tarzan pulled Brook in a hug. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Everyone walked back to the nearest safe place as they were free from Hista's attacks. 

"Oh! This tar is just not coming out!" Terk complained as she irritatingly removed the dried tar from her fur. 

"You know what'll clear that up? A little Hippo sweat," Tantor nodded. 

Terk stopped and looked down at herself. "Then again, black can be very slimming," she chuckled to herself. 

Tarzan and Brook removed some of the dirt on them but they were both relieved to see no one was hurt. Brook had Baby in her arms while they conversed. 

"I owe you both an apology," Moyo walked over to them. 

Brook's eyes widened, giving Baby to his mother and giving her full attention to him. "Oh, I don't think you–"

"I should've realized all along...Brook is your family, Tarzan," Moyo turned to Tarzan. "And that makes her our family as well."

The family turned to the girl, smiling at her as Brook smiled back. 

"I'm stepping down as the leader of this family," Moyo announced. "I'm...not ready yet," he turned to Tarzan but the man only smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"You will be, soon."

"Maybe," Moyo shrugged. "But for now, I'll watch and learn from a real leader, Tarzan!"

The family cheered while Tarzan grinned, turning to Brook who smiled at him too. 

Published: December 15, 2022

Word Count: 5787