A/N: Unedited but let me know any spelling mistakes to fix them 👌🏽

Another regular day in the jungle. The trees are ever so green and blue with specks of red and yellow. Wonderful and warm. On this nice, warm day, Terk and Tantor are currently playing hide and seek while a little farther from them, Tarzan is presently reading to Brook.

"75, 63, 29...32, 98, 100!" Terk grinned as she counted, well, attempted to count. She looked around, grinning to find her best friend. "Ready or not! Here I come!"

She walked everywhere in the area, stopping to see Tantor hiding poorly behind the bushes. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "When's he going to learn how to hide so I can do some seeking?" she muttered to herself before rolling her eyes again and walking elsewhere to "find" Tantor.

"Oh, Tantor! Wherever you are, I'm going to find you," she stoically announced as she picked up a small rock, and looked under.

Under the bushes, Tantor silently laughed, liking his hiding spot. It must be great if Terk is having a hard time finding him. "No, you're not," he silently laughed.

Terk pretended to look somewhere else, jumping over a log and looking inside. "You can run but you can't–" she gasped as she looked through the log's hole. She stiffened as three human males carrying rifles were nearing them. "Hunters!" she gasped.

Terk jumped down and rushed to Tantor, jumping in front of him and making him grin. "Hey! You found me! Does that mean that it's your turn to hide?"

"We both better hide!" she hissed as she pulled Tantor's trunk as they both ran away.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"He was soon born away by the waves, lost in darkness and distance," Tarzan read as he closed the book.

Brook had her eyes closed as she lay on top of the branches of a tree while Tarzan read below. His voice is clear and loud, it almost lulled her to sleep. This morning, Brook was going to use her break to read Frankenstein and Tarzan wanted to tag along.

Brook had an idea of making him read to see how much he has improved in reading. And so far, he did great.

Brook sighed as she smiled at him. "Well done. I do enjoy good storytelling." She stayed amused as Tarzan placed the book on the ground and climbed up to her. She giggled as Tarzan picked her up by the hips and placed her on his lap as she leaned on his chest, playing with his calloused hand.

"Where is Frankenstein now?" Tarzan asked.

"Oh, no, these aren't real people, darling. They're just fictional characters," she looked up at him.

He frowned, not understanding what she meant. "Fictional?"

"Yes, not real. People have great imaginations and want to spread through written words for people who like to read. Creating characters who can be powerful, strong, different, and their adventures to reach their goal excites the readers," she explained.

"But why not write about real people?" Tarzan looked down at her.

"There are some books that contain that and those are documentaries or bibliographies," she chuckled as he kept frowning. She cupped his chin, "But not everybody lead lives as interesting as yours."

He hummed as he rubbed his nose to her cheek, making her smile. She laughed as he bit her cheek softly but only stayed comfortable in his arms.

They stopped as they heard panting below, seeing Tantor and Terk rushing towards them, fear striking their faces.

"Hunters!" Terk shouted. "In the jungle! A lot of them!"

"Yeah!" Tantor nodded. "Carrying big, scary weapons!"

Tarzan leaned forward, holding on to Brook so she won't fall. He narrowed his eyes at them, stiffening up at the news. "Show me."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The three hunters continued to wander around the jungle, looking at their surroundings warily and clutching their weapons tightly as the warm air hit them by the minute.

An elder, looked around as he lifted his helmet slightly to wipe the sweat off his forehead, turning to the man beside him. "Nobody told me it was going to be this humid."

"Or that there would be mosquitoes the size of donkeys," the man frowned, slapping his wrist.

They didn't see it coming. A brown blur suddenly slapped the guns from the elder and the young man, making them exclaim in shock. Their eyes widened as a half-naked man landed on the ground with a crouch with a loincloth tied around his waist.

The third man, gasped as the wild man glared at him.

"Not hunting in my jungle," the wild man snarled as he grabbed the gun from the man's hands. But the man refused to let go but continue to whimper as the wild man only glared at him.

The man tried to remove the rifle from the wild man's hands to no avail. "That's mine! What are you–" He yelped, falling back as the wild man let go of the rifle. As he fell, he dropped the rifle to the wild man's hand. His companions rushed to him, helping him up, and looked around for the beast.

They spotted him on top of the tree and slamming the riffle on his thigh. Except, it didn't snap in half like it was supposed to. Instead, it wobbled but stayed intact like rubber. He continued to bend the rifle but it was unbreakable.

Did they improve weaponry?

"Why are you attacking my actors?!"

Tarzan stopped, looking down to see a rounded man with a red cap glaring up at him. He frowned, jumping down to meet him. "Actors? You're not hunters?"

He saw another man step forward with a large machine with a glass in the middle, frowning at it.

"Do you think we'd be carrying around these toys if we were hunters?" The man from before snapped, snatching his rubber riffle from Tarzan. "We're actors, my scantily clad friend."

Tarzan frowned, not understanding what he meant.

"Actors? Thespians?" The man looked at him but grew frustrated that Tarzan didn't understand what he is saying. "Dramatis Personae?!"

"Give it up, Derk. This guy's obviously a half-wit," A blond, young man leaned to his companion before walking toward Tarzan. "Out of our way, We're losing daylight."

As the young man tried to remove Tarzan away, the man with the red cap finally realized who the wild man was and rushed over, pulling the blonde away. "Relax, Stanley! Don't you realize who this is?!" He turned Stanley around to look at Tarzan as he continued grinning. "This is the real ape man!"

Stanley laughed, scoffing at his words. "Tom, that's just a legend."

They both turned to Tarzan, sweatdropping how he started to sniff their camera and look at the lenses closely.

"Maybe not," Tom grinned, walking over to Tarzan. "What did you say your name was?"

"Tarzan," Tarzan stood up as Tom aggressively shook his hand.

"Tarzan, I'm Tom Orman. The director of a movie called Savage Man! It's based on the legends of a man raised by gorillas in the wild African jungle like, uh..." Tom frowned, thinking of something.

"Like me?" Tarzan grinned, pointing to his chest.

"Uh, no...more like me," Stanley smirked, walking over to them. "I know I don't look like much of a savage but I'm the star of the picture, Stanley O'Browski," he introduced himself. "You might have seen my last movie Rhinestone Rhapsody?"

"No."

"Nobody saw Rhinestone Rhapsody," Derk deadpanned.

"What's a...movie?" Tarzan asked, making everyone turn to him in disbelief. Tom took it by heart as he incredulously turned to him. "You've never seen a movie?!"

Tarzan frowned, shaking his head.

"My stars! You are uncivilized!" Tom grinned, wrapping an arm around Tarzan's shoulders. "Not to worry, my boy! You're in for a real treat."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

It was a surprise for Brook when Tarzan came to her, explaining once again what happened. She was definitely surprised to see movie actors filming in the jungle. Tom Orman is mostly famous for bringing legends through a screen.

Brook was not impressed, of course.

She knew who this man was and obviously didn't like him. But she's couldn't bring the invitation down when Tom invited both her and Tarzan to see a film in Dumont's Trading Post.

It was already nighttime by the time they have set up the film to watch. She put up a smile as she sat next to Tarzan.

"Thanks for letting us turn your home into a screening room, Mr. Dumont," Tom grinned at the man.

Dumont chuckled, nodding to him. "Please, call me Renard. I and my trading post are at your complete disposal."

"Great!" Tom smirked, walking over to the screening room but gasped loudly as Hugo and Hooft bumped into him with a lamp, showing the tape.

"Is this the right movie, Mr. Orman?" Hugo asked.

"Oh goodness sake, man! Put that lamp away! One spark and the film will go up like a powder cake!" Tom shouted, making Hugo and Hooft pale.

They tried to shove each other the tape but Tom snatched it from their hands. "Just take it back to the projectionist."

Hooft took it along with Hugo and left to give the tape to the projectionist. Tom sighed and walked to his seat beside Brook. Brook put up a smile, turning to the man.

"Thank you so much for the invitation, Mr. Orman. I haven't seen a film since we left England."

"Oh, well. You are going to love this one, this is my last picture: The Great Train Caper." He sat as the lights turned off and the movie started.

Brook wasn't lying about watching a movie in a while. She wonders when it will be a time when the screen can be in color or when people can hear their voices. The movie started with the train riding through the tracks. Only the sound of a piano playing as it rolled.

She felt Tarzan fidget beside her, seeing how he turned around to see the man rolling the movie. She tapped his shoulder, making him focus back on the movie. Tarzan immediately stiffened as a moving train headed straight for them. His eyes widened, "Watch out!"

Brook's eyes widened, turning to him. "Tarzan, wait!"

Tarzan kicked Stanley off his chair and out of the way. He turned to Brook, wrapping an arm around her torso, and jumped to the ceiling. Tom winced as Stanley hit the floor but stayed amazed at Tarzan's reflexes and agility.

"Incredible!" Tom grinned.

Tarzan's heart sped up as they barely missed the train by the minute, but frowned as it continued to stay in a square. It was until a cold hand touched his chest that made him look down at his mate. She was currently in his arms as they looked down at the movie.

"Darling?" she called, tipping her feet down as the light from the projection caused a shadow on the movie. "It's not a real train, see? I'm all right," she smiled. "It's like Mr. Porter's slide projector, only these pictures move," she explained.

Tarzan's eyes widened, "Oh..." He turned to Tom, holding onto Brook. "I'm sorry I interrupted."

But Tom was having none of it. "Boulder dash! The director wants the audience to think the movie's real! In fact," he smirked, looking up at them.

Tarzan hung by the ceiling, gently placing Brook on the floor before turning to Tom.

"Why don't you come to the set tomorrow and see a real movie being filmed! Plus!" Tom smirked, leaning to him, whispering in his ear. "Tomorrow is the first scene with Naomi Madison, our leading lady."

"Can I bring Brook too?" Tarzan obliviously asked.

Tom laughed, "My! You really were raised by apes."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Tarzan and Brook walked back to the treehouse, only to see Terk and Tantor waiting for what happened. Tarzan left to get them food as Brook explained. Terk stared at the girl closely, leaning towards the table.

"And Mr. Orman showed us a movie, but we weren't able to get past a few minutes because Tarzan thought the train was a real thing. Now, we're going on set tomorrow to see his movie being filmed."

"And you don't like that man, because?" Terk raised a brow.

Brook's eyes widened, turning to her. "Whatever do you mean?"

Terk laughed, "You can fool your husband, Red. But not me. What did he do? Do you know him?"

Brook sighed, sitting on the table. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Nah," Terk smirked. "I'm just observant, now talk."

Brook sighed again, fidgeting with her fingers. "It's not serious, really. I'm not dull with movies and the stories in them. In fact, I've seen many that I like and I've seen worse. But Tom Orman tends to make movies  about legends and one of those legends are about the Red Witch."

"In other words, you," Terk laughed.

Brook pouted as Terk laughed. "Believe me! I used to hate them because they're not portrayed exactly how it happened that night. Instead! They make me the beast! They made one about the red witch being Medusa!" Brook flung her hands in disbelief. "There was one with the Red Witch being a horrendous witch and more! I hated them!"

Terk's eyes softened. "But on the bright side! You're famous."

"Oh, no," Brook shook her head, crossing her arms. "But Tom's movies, he made four movies! Four! And the filming, the emotion, the lighting, the actors! They were terrible!"

Terk blinked. What? "Wait, what do you mean?"

Brook scoffed, "I've seen movies about the Red Witch and some of them were good. And I analyze them by the budget and the key items for a movie. The story has to be strong and not wilting. I liked the first and second movies when the Red Witch fell in the pits of lava, but the third and fourth? Now, he was dragging it too long! He made her into a zombie! A zombie!"

Terk flinched back as Brook continued to explain.

"Not only that, the actors were terrible, the lighting was off, the script didn't make sense and you can instantly tell the props were bogus and fake. The worse movies ever."

"I'm confused," Terk sweatdropped. "So, you're not mad that people made movies about you in a terrible way? You're mad about how they made their movies?"

"Of course!" Brook flung her hair back. "If they're going to make a movie about me, they better make it good."

"Oh, boy," Terk sighed. "They can't be that bad," she tried.

Brook shook her head and stood up. "You don't believe me? I'll show you tomorrow, you're going with me."

"Great..."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The next day came around, they were currently near the rocks as the actress is currently being tied to a post. Brook felt it was appropriate to bring formal clothes, bringing a simple blue dress. She brought an umbrella along as the sun was beaming brightly.

Mr. Porter tagged along to watch with them and they're now sitting down to watch it all happen.

"Now, Naomi! This is the scene where the evil poacher Count Camacho has tied you up and you are saved by a savage jungle man!" he shouted through a megaphone.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naomi scowled. "Savage jungle man. I got it! Keep it on my good side, will ya?"

The woman was beautiful. Her long, thick, blond hair framed her rounded face. Her blue eyes contrasted beautifully with her peach skin and hot red lips. Her beauty mark made her more beautiful along with her blue dress. But her attitude could make changes.

"Thank heavens movies don't have sounds," Tom muttered to himself, not liking her hoarse, squeaky voice.

He sat on his seat, raising a hand. "And Action!"

The movie rolled and Naomi played her part, closing her eyes. "Help! Would someone help me!" she shrieked.

"Kill the boulders!" Tom shouted. Derk raised a hand and walked over to the dynamite plunger and pushed it down, exploding the boulders. As it exploded, the boulders came rushing down towards Naomi.

Naomi shrieked louder, seeing them. "Help me! Somebody, please! Save me! Ahh!"

Tarzan watched it all happen. The shrieking woman squirmed in her binds. He frowned as no one was unaffected by the rushing, crushing boulders heading for her. Glancing at his mate, he saw as Brook was watching the scene too.

He gritted his teeth while no one was doing anything. Naomi screamed more as the boulders were coming closer to her and bolted. Brook's eyes widened and stood up to stop him but he was gone.

"What's he doing?!" Tom screamed.

Brook chuckled, "Saving her."

Tom turned back to the scene, walking over to the camera, angling himself to see it better. His eyes widened and grinned to see how Tarzan dodged the boulders and included tricks that no man can do.

"Incredible," he beamed.

Tarzan ran faster ahead, managing to rip Naomi out of her binds and carrying her away to safety. Naomi stopped her screaming, glaring at him. "What are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Saving you," he huffed, making her eyes widen.

"Oh..." she slowly smiled as she took a closer look at him. She didn't deny he was attractive or how firm his muscles are or how warm it is to feel her body pressed up against him.

And him saving her?! She grinned, "Oh my!"

His running slowed to a walk as he carried Naomi away from the boulders and gently placed her on the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I am now?" she mused as she leaned to him, staring up at him.

Tarzan frowned at how quickly she changed her attitude from earlier and looked up when Stanley called out to him.

"What do you think you're doing?! I was supposed to save Naomi, you ruined the take!" Stanley jumped over the boulders, stomping over to him.

The man wore a brown wig with a brown cloth over his body reaching his mid-thigh. The cloth had one strap over his shoulder, showing his muscles.

Tarzan frowned, "But she would have been crushed by the rocks"

Stanley's eye twitched, "They're not real, you imbecile!" He grabbed one of the boulders, effortlessly carrying it over his head and throwing it at Tarzan.

Tarzan caught it, surprised at the light weight. "Not real?"

"As in fake, pretend!" Stanley rolled his eyes at Tarzan and walked away to help Naomi up.

Tarzan stood up too as Brook walked over to him. "Remember the events of the movie, they're all fictional," she explained.

"So, she wasn't in any danger?" Tarzan threw the boulder back at Stanley.

"No, she wasn't in danger! Do us all a favor and leave the acting to the professionals," he turned away.

"Stanley!" Stanley flinched, turning to Tom. "What are you doing?!" Tom shouted.

"What am I doing?" Stanley incredulously asked. "What's Jungle Jack over there doing? He ruined the take! Time is money, Tom."

Tom laughed, walking close to him. "I know, I know. But don't you worry about that. You just go and get ready for the next scene."

Stanley nodded, standing up straight. "Right. I can't let a little distraction get me out of character."

"Exactly! Go on now! Do your breathing exercises, vocalize, find your motivation, and be the Savage Man!" Tom encouraged him while Stanley walked away.

Tom grinned, turning to the cinematographer. "Tell me you got that."

The man nodded as they rushed back to the Dumont's Trading Post to see the scene.

Brook, meanwhile, kissed Tarzan goodbye and rushed to find Terk. Terk was hanging out with Tantor when Brook grabbed her wrist and started dragging her to the trading post.

"I bet those movies aren't great," Terk huffed, annoyed.

"I will show you. You can think of this as...cousin bonding. We haven't exactly bonded in a while," Brook smiled, entering the post.

Renard smiled, "Ahh, what can I do for you, Miss Brook?"

"I was wondering if I can go to the rooms and watch a few movies? I haven't seen a film in a long time," she smiled back in greeting.

"Well, it must be lonely to watch it by yourself. Why not I accompany you?" he leaned forward.

"No, thank you. Terk here wants to see the film," Brook pushed Terk forward, making her stiffen.

Renard blinked and deadpanned at them. "I'll make sure to see the room up," he walked away.

"Thank you so much," Brook turned to Terk. "Be prepared for the moving pictures."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Brook made Terk watch a few short films, just to not make her panic. There were some moments, Terk would jump out of her seat and run around but she would always focus on them.

They currently just finished an hour movie of The Red Witch by Tom Orman. Terk couldn't help but give some opinions on the movie as they walked out to get a break.

"So, she escaped? But cursed everyone?" Terk asked, turning to Brook.

Brook nodded, "Yeah, the second movie is when she returns and transforms into a horrendous beast!" she waved her hands.

"Talk about spoilers," Terk deadpanned.

They both walked out of the room and found Tarzan eating with the cast. Brook grinned, walking over to Tarzan, and placing a hand on his shoulder. He grinned up at her.

"How was your first stunt, Mr. Tarzan?" Brook teased.

Tarzan, today, has accompanied the crew to film one of his stunts. It was easy for him as he slid down the branches in a spiral and dived down in a backflip. As he dived, he gave a cry as he landed on the ground. It was usual for him to do that but everyone was impressed, giving him praises for it and wanting to know how he did it.

"It was all right," he smiled back as he urged her to sit next to him. Brook greeted Stanley and sat down.

"How are you, Mr. O'Browski?" Brook turned to him. His eye twitched, smiling at her. He stared while Tom offered to pay for her meal and she politely accepted, eating it with a spoon.

He knew the girl was of high class as she knew her manners. Her husband, on the other hand, his eye twitched as Tarzan had his feet on the chair while he slurped loudly on the soup while he carried the plate to his lips.

Stanley turned to Brook, seeing she wasn't at all affected by his manners, and turned to him, clearing his throat. "Uh, Tarzan. Do you mind?"

Tarzan stopped, glancing at him. "Mind what?"

"No offense, but your table manners. Well, they leave something to be desired," he suggested a spoon.

Tarzan looked down and grabbed the spoon. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't you listen to him, Tarzan," Tom stepped between Brook and Tarzan. "Instead of criticizing you, he should be studying you," he turned to Stanley.

Stanley choked on his soup, turning to Tom in disbelief. "What?!"

"Sure! I want you to follow Tarzan around. Learn how to walk, talk, and act like a real jungle man," Tom nodded to Tarzan.

Tarzan smiled at Stanley. "I would be glad to teach you how to act, Stanley."

Brook laughed nervously as she can feel Stanley fuming. "He means, helping you learn from him when living in the jungle."

"I'll bet," Stanley gritted his teeth.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"The third movie stinks!" Terk shouted.

"Yup," Brook nodded.

"It doesn't make sense! The girl was outright dumb! She always wanders towards the Red Witch! And a zombie?! What even is that?!" Terk huffed as she kept complaining on her way home.

Brook laughed, shaking her head as she walked to the tree house. She pulled on the boat as she slowly ascended to the house. She smiled as she saw Tarzan already inside, reading at the script he was handed.

"It's nice to see someone having fun," she smiled. "How was today with Stanley?"

"He was fine. He's just not used to crouching, eating bugs, and fighting panthers," he smiled at her.

Brook chuckled, "I can't do those things either. I hope you're going easy on him."

"I am," Tarzan placed the script down and pulled her to him. "Where have you been?"

"I've been showing Terk the films. So far, I like her reaction," she giggled.

"How come I wasn't invited?" he frowned.

Brook laughed, shaking her head. "You're busy with acting, darling. Which, by the way. They should be paying you for doing stunts."

Tarzan blinked. "Really?"

"Of course. Acting is a job. A job that gives money to the workers. A stunt double is a job. I'll make sure to talk to Mr. Orman about that."

Tarzan chuckled, hugging her to him.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The next day, Brook accompanied Tarzan to the next scene. They are now in the waterfalls. Tantor had to politely tell the other elephants to leave the area. Tantor was now acting as he stood still on the water while Tarzan was on a tree with a vine in hand.

"Now, Tarzan. This is the scene where you're supposed to swing out of the trees, do a triple somersault, and land square on the elephant's back!" Tom shouted through a megaphone.

"Okay," Tarzan nodded.

"I like your attitude, son. And action!"

Tarzan stood up, ready to jump when Stanley ran past and swung on the vine as he screamed. His scream became too real as he couldn't control the vine as he swung higher.

"What's that lunatic doing now?!" Tom cursed.

Stanley's hand slipped as he fell splat on the water. The wig flew off, landing where he fell. It was too quiet as the hair sunk into the water. Tom, looked at the water but no sign of the man swimming up.

"Stanley?" he called out while Tarzan jumped down next to him.

Coughing was heard as Stanley swam up, coughing up the water. His cloth was heavy on him, making him drag himself out of the water while he coughed. As he rose, the wig was slowly falling off his head.

"Not bad, eh?" he coughed.

"What were you trying to do?! Get yourself killed?!" Tom screamed.

Tarzan rushed over and sat in front of Stanley, giving him a hand. "Here, take my hand."

Stanley snatched his hand away from Tarzan, glaring at him. "I don't need your help. I can do my own stunts!" he stood up and walked over to an annoyed Tom.

"We've been through this, Stanley. We can't let you get hurt!"

"Let me worry about that!" Stanley snapped.

"But if Stanley wants to do his own stunts–" Tarzan tried but Tom interrupted him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tarzan boy. You are cinematic gold!" he grinned before turning to Stanley. "Stanley! You get these delusions out of your thick head and go practice your grunting!"

"No."

Tom's eyes widened before narrowing at him. "What did you say?"

"I said no," Stanley smirked, crossing his arms. He had enough of this. "Either I get to do my own stunts or I don't do the picture?"

He has been acting for years! He has been great at it and everyone knew he was great at it. Ever since this jungle man came into the picture, he's been pushed aside while Tarzan gets more attention. He's not even a real actor!

"All right, all right. Have it your way," Tom smirked. "You're fired!"

Stanley's eyes widened in disbelief and turned to him. "What?! You can't do that! you still have to finish the movie!"

"I am well aware of that, Stanley," Tom shoved past him and stood next to Tarzan. "Tarzan will be the new star of the picture."

"Well, fine then! Go ahead and ruin your movie with that glorified monkey. See if I care!" Stanley removed his wig and stormed away.

Tarzan frowned as Stanley left. He knew that man wanted to stay in the movie. He felt bad for what happened.

"Say, Tarzan. Do you know anything about acting?" Tom turned to him.

"No."

"Good!" Tom handed him the original script.

Tarzan frowned and stood up as Tom began to walk away. "But what do I do?"

"Well, you're playing a jungle man and you are a jungle man, so just act natural."

"I don't understand," Tarzan frowned as he opened through the pages, reading them. "Is this fiction or not?"

"Oh, of course it's fiction except you're going to play yourself," Tom explained.

Tarzan went back to the pages and read the words out loud. " 'Joan hungry, Savage Man bring food'. But I don't talk this way."

"Sure you do!" Tom slapped a hand on Tarzan's back.

"I can't wait to do the kissing scene," Naomi mused as she grabbed Tarzan's arm, leaning toward him.

Tarzan stiffened, turning to her in disbelief. "Huh? Kissing scene?!"

"Oh yeah, yeah." Tom nodded. "You see, in this movie, you're in love with Naomi."

"But I'm in love with Brook," Tarzan removed Naomi's hands from his arms.

Brook saw Tarzan more confused than ever as everything has been brought to him all at once.

She walked over to him, pulling him away from Naomi, and smiling at him. "It's all right, darling. It isn't real," she gave Naomi a pointed look. "It's just for the movie. Of course, if it weren't for the movie and you kissed, well..." she smiled brightly as her eyes darkened.

Naomi and Tarzan stiffened at the look in her eyes. Brook smiled, patting the dirt off his arm which Naomi once had her hands on.

"Let's just say, one of us will not have an arrow in lodged in our eyes and fed to the leopards," she beamed.

"This is very confusing," Tarzan sighed.

"And downright disturbing," Naomi walked away from them.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Currently, in Dumont's Trading Post, Stanley smirked as he entered the filming room. He sneaked inside, closed the door behind him, and looked around, glad he was the only one in the room. 

He walked over to the tapes, opening the boxes. "ThAt WaS AmAzInG, TaRzAn! HoW dO yOu Do ThAt YeLl, TaRzAn! YoU'Re GoInG tO bE a BiG sTaR, TaRzAn!" he scolded, riping out the tapes out of the boxes and dropping them on the ground.

He smirked as he lit a lighter, "Get lost, Tarzan. Bye-bye, Savage man." With that, he dropped it on the tapes, seeing the fire spread through the tapes. "Burn, baby, burn."

Stanley gasped as the fire spread widely through the ground and ceiling. He felt the strong heat near his skin, making him take a step back. But it was too late to do anything as the tapes exploded, causing the ceiling to fall on him, trapping him.  

He groaned as he felt the heavy weight of the wood on his back. He squirmed and squirmed to no avail. "Help!"

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"This is the big romantic scene!" Tom shouted through his megaphone as Tarzan and Naomi were high on the tree. "You've just met the woman of your dreams...and action!"

Naomi got into character, grinning at Tarzan and tackling him in a hug. Tarzan was still confused about what he was doing, making sure not to touch her. The woman of his dreams is currently with Tom down below, looking up at him with a smile.

"I never thought I could love a savage man!" Naomi grinned, leaning for a kiss.

"Fire," Tarzan frowned.

"Yes! Flames of passion!" Naomi improvised. "I feel it too."

Tarzan frowned, pulling away from her. "No, fire!" he turned around, seeing the smoke in the air. He narrowed his eyes as the smoke was near the trading post. With that, he jumped off the tree and swung on the vines.

"Hey!" Naomi snapped. "You can't just leave me stuck up here in this tree!"

Tom frowned, looking through the script. "Hey, this isn't in the script. But keep rolling!" he grinned. "Don't just sit there, go after them. Imagine the footage!" They both followed after him with Naomi screaming behind them.

Naomi huffed, looking for a way down. She flinched back as she saw Brook climbing up to meet her. "You're not going to gouge my eyes out, are you?"

Brook shook her head, chuckling at her. "Let's get you down, just hold on tight."

Naomi groaned, awkwardly holding onto her while Brook jumped down. Naomi shrieked, holding onto her tighter while Brook grabbed a vine and swung them down.

"I'm never doing that again! I better get a raise!" Naomi cursed as she stomped off to follow the others.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Dumont rushed to the ocean, filling the two buckets with water before running to the main source of the fire. He ushered everyone there to keep grabbing buckets and to put them out quickly.

"Hurry!" he shouted as he poured the water on the water.

He heard a thump behind him and didn't bother turning around, knowing full well who it is.

"What happened?" Tarzan asked.

"Quickly! Help me collect water," Dumont handed one of the buckets to him before once again heading to the ocean.

"Fire! Fire!" Hugo screamed.

"Help us!" Hooft shouted as they both were standing on the burning building.

Dumont's eyes widened, rushing to Tarzan. "This building is full of explosives!"

Tarzan understood immediately, running to the nearest tree and grabbing one of the vines, tying it around his waist. He hears Hugo and Hooft continue to scream, he dived down and grabbed them before bouncing back to the tree in time for the explosion to miss them.

Hugo and Hooft grunt as they landed harshly on the tree but sighed in relief to be alive.

"We owe you one, buddy," Hooft grinned, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah, just add it to our tab, would ya?" Hugo grinned

"Shh," Tarzan quieted them, turning back to the buildings. He could have heard he heard something. "Do you hear that?"

Hugo and Hooft glanced at each other before listening closely but they weren't sure what he meant.

"No," Hugo shook his head.

Tarzan narrowed his eyes as he finally focused on the cry for help. It was in the next building. He jumped down, rushing to the door. He kicked it open, allowing the smoke to rush out, spreading the fire more.

His eyes widened as Stanley was under the rubble, crying for help. "Tarzan?" Stanley frowned.

Tarzan rushed over to him and grabbed his arms, pulling him. He grunts as it was difficult to do so with the rubble on top of him, waking to the side to pull the wood off but it was too heavy for him. He went under the wood to push it off but nothing.

Stanley took notice of this and turned away in shame. "Tarzan, go! Leave me here! This is my fault. I burned the film."

"Why?!" Tarzan turned to him.

"To stop you from taking my place and becoming a big star," he reasoned while Tarzan dragged a stone toward Stanley. "Is being a star so important?" Tarzan asked.

"All I have is fame," Stanley dejectedly looked at the ground. "Without that, I have nothing. So leave me here. I don't want to live in anonymity."

Tarzan frowned, looking everywhere to get Stanley out of the fire. He grabbed one of the strongest woods, placing an end under the rubble and over the stone.

"Come on, Stanley!" Tarzan shouted.

Stanley's eyes widened. "But I–"

"Help me," Tarzan pulled on the wood down to lift the rubble as Stanley pushed up from below, managing to slip off the rubble. He still felt bruised by the weight on his back. Tarzan immediately rushed to him and helped him out of the building.

As they exited the building, they inhaled too much smoke causing them to cough on their way out and be relieved to smell the fresh air.

Stanley crouched, holding his knees as he continued coughing. He flinched as Tarzan fell on top of him, immediately helping him stay stable. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

Tom and his crew found them and ran toward them. Brook and Naomi ran with them as Brook rushed to her husband, looking for injuries. She frowned as she didn't see any of them and looked up at him.

"We thought you were goners for sure!" the elder exclaimed in worry.

"What happened?!" Tom pushed his crew aside.

Tarzan coughed, "Stanley...saved me."

"What?" Stanley blinked. He stopped as Tarzan winked at him briefly before coughing again.

"Stanley, big, hero! Save, Tarzan!" Tarzan grunts. Stanley grinned, taking pride in being a "hero".

Tom turned to Stanley, impressed. "Maybe you're a better stuntman than I thought, Stanley. I didn't know you had it in you!"

"You are a hero! It's going to be in all the papers back home!" Dirk grinned.

"Oh, no," Stanley chuckled, flattered by their words. "It was nothing, really! For me. Please, stand back and give Tarzan some air."

Brook sighed, grabbing Tarzan's hand. "You always tend to get in trouble, don't you?"

Tarzan winked at her, hugging her to him.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Tom and his crew prepared to go back home as they left their luggage on the boat. Before he walked near the boat, Dumont stopped him, smirking.

"Ah, Monsieur Orman. Leaving so soon?"

Tom's eyes widened. "Ah, yes. Since all of my films burned up in your trading post, I need to go home and sweet talk the studio heads."

"Ah, yes. As a matter of fact," Dumont reached into his pocket, taking out the bill. "We have determined that the fire was caused by your film, will you be paying for the damage by check?"

"Now, hold on a second there, Frenchie! Your death trap is what caused this fire! Haven't you people ever heard of fire codes?!" Tom fumed.

Dumont laughed in amusement. "Let us refrain from insults, please."

"You will not get a penny out of me!" Tom shouted as Dumont nodded to his guards. "Have it your way. Lars, Snake."

Tom turned to his men, gulping as the two men were large and terrifying. They cracked their knuckles as they glared at him.

"Um...How do you spell Renard?" Tom asked, pulling out his checkbook.

Not far from them, Stanley stood next to Tarzan watching the scene. "Listen, Tarzan. Thank you for what you did. You really are a great actor." He got on the boat and turned to the man. "You should come to Hollywood! We could use more people like you."

Tarzan shook his head as Brook stood next to him. "Uh, no thanks. I like my real life here."

Stanley nodded, bidding Brook goodbye before walking off. Brook smiled at Tarzan, amused about what happened. "Well, there goes your big chance to be a big movie star. You have had a legion of adoring fans. Not to mention gorgeous leading ladies."

Tarzan smirked, grabbing her hands. "I already have a gorgeous leading lady." He pulled her in a hug, her back meeting his chest. "And she's not fictional."

Brook giggled, leaning to his chest. "Now you understand about fiction?" she asked.

"Maybe a little," Tarzan smirked at her.

Brook hummed in amusement. "I'd say more than a little. 'Stanley. Big hero. Save Tarzan', hmm? Likely story."

"I don't know what you mean," he kissed the tip of her nose.

"You must think your wife to be very dim indeed," Brook chuckled, grabbing his wrists and pulling him towards the treehouse.

"Come on, Brook hungry. Tarzan bring food."

On the other side of the jungle, Terk is currently complaining about the movies to a tiring Tantor who just wanted to eat.

Published: January 19, 2023

Word Count: 6546