"Get the net! It can't go far in that tree! One that young will fetch quite a few dinars!" an overweight man said. He looked into the tree with eyes filled with greed. A small black hairy body peered down at him with eyes filled with fear.

"I want that ape now! And if you injure one hair on his head, I will personally kill you myself!" The man threatened, running his short chubby fingers through his thinning gray hair.

Three dark-skinned men climbed the tree after the young gorilla, waving their arms to try to herd it to a single branch on the far side of the tree. The gorilla looked at the men chasing him and leaped to a branch farther up and away from the waving arms. He had just seen these same men kill his mother and siblings and now they were after him. He had been running most of the day and was now near exhaustion. He knew he was going to be caught soon and most likely killed. He jumped again to a higher branch and slipped. Throwing out his arm in desperation, he managed to grab a smaller branch and hang on. He felt a strong hand grab his leg and he tried frantically to free himself, screaming in fear.

"I got him!" The man shouted triumphantly and yanked the gorilla loose and threw him to the ground. The gorilla screamed again as he plunged towards the ground and felt himself land hard in a net. Hands came from everywhere, holding him hard against the ground.

"Get the crate!" The first man threatened. "And for gods sake be careful! He's worth thousands of dinars!"

"Yes, Palmoneus!" A man answered as he ran to grab a bamboo crate and brought it to the men holding the gorilla. He helped shove the creature into it and shoved the lid down and tied it in place.

The fat man chuckled as he jabbed a stick into the young gorilla. He stopped laughing when he received no response. He jabbed harder... still nothing. The poacher ripped the lid off and stuck his hand into the cage to grab the animal and felt strong teeth bite deep into his thumb. He pulled his hand away, howling in pain and anger. He looked at his hand and saw a bloody mess where his thumb used to be. He glared furiously at the gorilla and watched as the young animal spat out the remains of his thumb.

"Why you vicious..." Palmoneus started and was cut off as the gorilla leaped for him and sunk sharp teeth into the man1s cheek. The man screamed in fury and threw the animal back into the cage. The gorilla screamed his defiance and the man kicked the cage viciously. "You'd better learn to behave yourself! Or I will have to teach you some manners!" Straightening, the man yelled at the workers, "Get that monster loaded onto the cart, now!"

The workmen hurried to obey their boss. He had promised to pay them well for this and they all were in desperate need of money for food. None of them were proud of what they had done, but they all had hungry mouths to feed and given the choice between an animal and their own children, they had no qualms about their decision.

Once the cage was loaded, Palmoneus climbed onto the seat and give a vicious slash at the horses with his whip and they returned to the small village at the base of the mountain.

From the forest, unseen eyes watched the cart disappear.

Joxer had watched the men slaughter several gorillas and his eyes glinted with anger as they cut the heads, hands and feet off. When the men had finished taking their trophies and were about to leave, they noticed a female gorilla trying to hide amongst some small plants. Her large body was scrunched as flat against the ground as was possible. Joxer saw that she was holding a small black mass tightly against her body. A large man directed the others to go after her. Joxer started to get up and saw them wielding large machetes and swords and crouched back down again. Xena had taught him to look before he leaped and he knew there was no way he could save the mother and her baby. He turned his head as he heard the men kill the mother. Her screams rang in his ears and he cried silently, wishing that he could help her, that he could be the hero that he always bragged about being just this once.

When he could no longer hear her screams, he turned back and watched sadly as the men chased the young gorilla up a tree. He waited until they had captured it and put the crate on the cart, smirking as the youngster bit the fat man's thumb off. As the cart started towards the small village below, Joxer slowly got up and walked towards the bodies of the dead gorillas. He dug several large holes and gently lowered the bodies into them. It was evening before he finished burying the dead gorillas. He had the feeling of being watched and turned to see several large gorillas watching him silently.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Joxer watched nervously as a large gorilla with a silver back approached him. The large mammal stood up on his hind legs and towered over Joxer. Joxer stood his ground and looked up into the intelligent eyes that were almost a foot above his head. Joxer could feel the eyes burrow deep into his soul and then the gorilla turned and returned to the others. Joxer watched as the gorilla glanced back at him as though to make sure he would remember this particular human. Then he disappeared into the brush and Joxer breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what the huge animal wanted but he was glad that it didn't include killing him, although he wouldn't have blamed it after what he had witnessed earlier. He had no doubt that they had seen the same thing he did.

It was almost dark when he decided to walk to the small village. He wasn't sure what he could do, but he did know that he had to save that little gorilla and bring him back to his family. He arrived in the village and looked around for an inn to spend the night. He found one that had a vacancy and went to the small room that he had rented for the night. He tossed his small pack into a corner and decided to go to the small tavern for a drink before he settled down.

He could hear the screams and laughter coming from the tavern and ran to see what was going on. He stopped in the doorway as he saw the same poachers that slaughtered the gorillas on the mountain, teasing and tormenting the young gorilla that they had stolen that morning. One man held out a piece of fruit just out of reach of the small black paw and laughed as the poor creature tried to grab it. Another man poked at the animal with a stick and roared with laughter as the young creature screamed in pain and frustration. Neither man saw Joxer approach the table until he handed the young ape a piece of fruit.

"Hey! What do ya think yer doin'?" A rough looking man snarled.

"Get away from it!" A second man snapped.

Joxer's face was like stone as he stared at the two drunken men sitting at the table.

"I want him." He said quietly.

The men looked at him and laughed. "Get away from here! Ya want a monkey, go find yer own! This one's sold!"

Joxer didn't say a word but turned and walked out. He returned to his room and wondered what he should do. He couldn1t fight the poachers. But he thought he might be able to steal the gorilla and quietly return him to his remaining family. He knew he had to act tonight.

He knew it probably wouldn't take too long for the poachers to pass out, they already looked pretty drunk. He decided that he would watch them and take the gorilla when he could. He wasn't sure how he would carry the gorilla, it was almost four feet tall. But he thought he might be able to steal their horse and cart as well. He prayed that he succeeded.

He left the room and returned to the tavern, glancing inside quickly to make sure they were still there. They were. He hid behind a nearby building and waited for the men to leave. It was almost dawn by the time they staggered out of the tavern, almost too drunk to stand. Joxer followed them to the stables and watched as they loaded the crate onto a cart and left.

This is almost too easy! thought Joxer as he watched them stagger into each other on their way to the inn. He waited until he saw them disappear and then walked to the cart and led the horse out of the barn and walked quickly away. He thought he had gotten away with it until he felt a sword at his throat.

"Stop right there. Where do you think you're going?" a man's voice asked.

"Well... I, uh... I was just taking my horse out andS" Joxer stuttered.

The sword dug into his neck as the man walked around to face him. It was the same fat man that he saw yesterday, Palmoneus. The man glared at him. "You mean my horse, don't you?"

"Oh, this is, uh, your horse? I have a horse that looks a lot like this one myself. You know horses all seem to look alike anyway. And uh..." Joxer babbled.

The fat man dug his sword deeper into Joxer's neck. "Give me my animals! Before I decide to take your head as a trophy." He growled quietly.

Joxer remembered the slaughter of the gorillas yesterday and looked at the cruel man in front of him. He couldn't let this poacher take the gorilla, if he did, he would be as bad as him. Joxer stood up straight and tall and glared back at the evil man. "I will never let you take this animal! Now get out of my way, before I take that sword and chop off your hands and feet and head and leave your body lying in the street!" Joxer growled menacingly and pushed the sword away from his neck.

"Ah! So you were there! Who cares? It's just an animal, it doesn't feel anything." Palmoneus sneered.

Joxer unsheathed his sword and held it to the poacher's chest. "Let's see if you feel anything! After all, you are nothing but a pig!" With that he plunged the sword toward the heart of the obese man. Palmoneus dodged and swung his own blade to Joxer's arm. Joxer felt the blade nick his skin as he stepped aside and brought his sword up as he kicked his opponent deep in his midsection causing the fat man to double over as he tried to catch his breath. Joxer took advantage of this and hit the man solidly on the back of his head. The poacher fell like a sack of potatoes. Joxer glanced around to see if anyone saw and sighed with relief as he only saw an empty street.

He climbed back onto the cart and urged the horse into a quick walk heading out of the village. Well, so much for meeting up with Xena and Gabrielle! he thought. As he left the village, he looked back to see how the young animal was. The gorilla looked back at him with distrust and worry written on his small face.

"Don't worry little fellow, I'm going to take you home, back to your family." Joxer said soothingly. The young gorilla seemed to calm down as he listened to Joxer's voice. "I'll bet you're hungry, huh? Well, I haven't got much, but maybe it'll help a little." He reached into his pack and found an apple. He pulled it out and held it out to the young ape. The animal looked at it and then at Joxer, not reaching for the fruit. "Go on, take it. It's okay. I won't hurt you." Joxer coaxed.

Joxer stopped the cart and reached back to open the crate. He put the apple down beside the crate and then moved back so as not to scare the gorilla. The gorilla climbed out of the cage slowly, watching Joxer warily. He eyed the apple hungrily and glanced again at Joxer. He slowly reached his hand out to take the apple, pausing as he watched Joxer nervously. He grabbed the apple quickly, as though afraid that it would be snatched away. He brought it to his lips and took a large bite, crunching it loudly. Joxer rummaged around in his pack again and found a pear. He held it out to the gorilla and watched as the youngster gingerly held out his hand and hesitantly took it. Joxer smiled as he watched the young animal eat the fruit and look at him for more.

"I'm sorry, but there is no more. I'll get some more for you later, ok?"

Joxer turned around again and urged the horse into a walk again. A few minutes later he felt the young gorilla sit next to him. Hardly daring to move for fear of scaring the youngster away, Joxer sat still and soon felt the gorilla move closer. After a few minutes, he felt a gentle touch of fingers in his hair. He glanced and saw that the gorilla was intent on playing with his hair. He allowed the animal to continue and soon heard soft grunts. He felt the fingers leave his head and then felt them on his hands. He pulled the horse to a stop and let the youngster take his hands. Joxer watched as the gorilla put his hands on his fur and then let go.

Joxer left his hands where the young animal had put them and waited. The gorilla looked up at the human in something akin to exasperation and mimicked his own actions of looking for bugs in the fur. "Ah... you want me to do that to you? Ok." Joxer moved his hands through the rough fur and felt the young gorilla relax.

Suddenly, the gorilla stood up and looked back the way they came anxiously. Joxer turned, but could see and hear nothing. The young gorilla grabbed the reins and shook them, trying to make the horse move. Joxer took the reins from the frantic animal and slapped them on the back of the horse, causing it to move. He encouraged the animal into a fast trot. The gorilla looked behind them again and this time when Joxer turned around, he could see several riders following them quickly. He gave the horse another slap, but soon realized that he could never outrun the horsemen. He stopped the horse and took the hand of the gorilla, helping him off the cart. He took a stick lying at the side of the ride and swatted the horse's rump hard. The animal started and ran swiftly away leaving a trail of dust. Joxer led the ape into the underbrush and crouched. A few minutes later they heard the sound of thundering hooves and watched as several riders passed them and continued on at high speed. The man and the ape emerged from the bushes and watched the riders disappear.

"Looks like I'll have to take you with me..." Joxer paused and looked at the gorilla. "You'll need a name. Um... how about Joe? Yeah, that sounds good. From now on your name is Joe."

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