A/N: In this story, Safari Joe is neither a hero nor a villain. He's simply an impetuous, bold game hunter on a hunting safari in Africa.

Disclaimer: I do not own ThunderCats or Cabela's African Safari, only this story that has fun with them.

Part 1: South Africa 1

"Ha! Safari Joe does it again! Another perfect landing!"

The starship of Safari Joe, intergalactic big game hunter, had just touched down in the wilderness of South Africa, in a hunting camp. Today, Safari Joe had come home to Earth to hunt old-fashioned style on his home world, and the first place he was going to hunt was the wild plains and forests of Africa. And at the beginning of his safari, he was going to hunt in South Africa.

Safari Joe and his assistant, the robot Mule, got off of their ship and met with a native African man who was going to serve as their guide there.

"Welcome to South Africa, Safari Joe!" the guide greeted them. "Oh, I hear the hunting is good today."

"I hope so," said Safari Joe, "Because I intend to get as much excitement and thrills out of this as possible. That's what motivates a good hunter."

"Oh, don't worry, Joe," said the guide, "There are several animals on the schedule today. First of all, we have detected a flock of Turtle Doves in the trees in a forested area off to the west. They should be a good warm-up for you, my man."

"Good," Safari Joe replied, "It almost sounds too easy, but even an experienced hunter like me deserves a good warm-up every now and then."

Before leaving the camp, Mule gave Safari Joe a quick low-down on the challenges of shooting Turtle Doves. He said, "The Turtle Dove is not that fast of a flyer, but it has a certain agility and quickness. Try to come back with five, sir."

"Very good," said Safari Joe, "I love a challenge."

It was as the guide had said. A little ways to the west, Safari Joe found an area surrounded by scattered trees and bushes, and Turtle Doves were sitting in the trees. Safari Joe set his famous Gatling gun to the smallest, but fastest, ammo, aimed, and fired.

One down. Two. Three. By this time, the birds were panicking and trying to fly away. Safari Joe quickened his aim and soon put a fourth one out of its misery, and finally, a fifth one.

Safari Joe laughed and said, "Safari Joe does it again!" as he always did when he bagged a kill.

Back at camp, he soon collected his first trophy, for killing five small, agile Turtle Doves. Then he said to the guide, "Shooting small birds is a good test of precise marksmanship, but it's no test of a true hunter's mettle. I need a target that I can search for or track!"

"Well, Mr. Joe," said the guide, "Here is our hunting schedule for the rest of the day." He showed Safari Joe that the options were to hunt three Impala near the Karoo Plateau, or to track and hunt one Kudu.

Safari Joe thought about it for a moment, and then he said, "I choose to hunt the Impala first."

"Okay, Joe," said the guide, "I will tell the others that is what you intend to hunt today."

Safari Joe returned to Mule, who had set up his boss' holojector that they always used to study animal prey and look for weaknesses. Mule activated an image of an Impala on the holoscreen.

"Hmm," said Safari Joe, "That is one beautiful animal. Describe it, Mule."

Mule said, "The Impala is a medium-sized Antelope known for its graceful, slender body and its ability to jump and bound in a zigzag pattern when in danger. Although the Impala can mainly be found in herds on the dry savannah, they must drink water throughout the day to survive. Recommended ammo for hunting Impala is .270, sir."

"Excellent," said Safari Joe. "Now, guide, is there anything further you need to tell me about this hunt?"

"Just this, Joe," said the guide, "You do not have all day to hunt these animals. Time is of the essence, so try not to deviate from your mission. When I scouted ahead earlier, I found animals located to the southeast."

"Thanks, friend," said Safari Joe, "And I assure you, it will not take more than a couple hours for me to find my prey."

"I hope not," said the guide, "Because a little more than a couple hours is all the time you have. You may find the Impala's track on the open plateau."

Safari Joe walked out into the wilds of Africa, searching for his prey. With the help of his compass, he soon figured out which direction was the general southeast, and he headed in that direction.

Early in his mission, he found a herd of African Buffalo running past him as he trekked through the savannah. It was tempting to gun down some of them, too, but he had been told that to hunt any other animal besides the ones he was assigned to hunt would be a penalty that would mean less reward for his hunting that day. He heard that it was going to be that way on every safari he went on during this great hunt, and he didn't want to cheat on himself when it came to his valuable trophies.

Eventually, the Buffalo had all passed him by, but suddenly, Joe sensed that a Rhinoceros was nearby, and it didn't like the fact that he was trespassing on its territory. It charged him, and Safari Joe realized, to his dismay, that he would have to kill it in self-defense. He did so, shooting the Rhino in the neck, wounding it, and then mercifully finishing it off with another shot to the head.

"Blast!" he said, "I had to kill an animal I wasn't supposed to hunt. Safari Joe can't get penalized for an outrage like this! Unfortunately, I'm not certain that my superiors will see it that way, so I'll just have to take care not to do it again."

After making sure that the Rhino had passed away in peace, Safari Joe resumed the hunt. He had to do a bit of walking about in order to find southeast again, but like before, his compass made it relatively easy. Then he continued on his way.

The hours wore on as Safari Joe continued to run or walk softly through the tall grass, sometimes walking through bushes or around trees. The day was getting hot. He took a quick drink from his water canteen and looked at his pocket watch. He had been out there for about an hour and a half. He'd better find those Impala soon, or he would lose the hunt, and then he could get in even more trouble for shooting that Rhino, self-defense or no. Remembering that his guide had said that the Impala's track was on the open plateau, he studied the landscape around him, looking for just such a plateau.

Then, finally, he found one such plateau off in the distance, by a body of water. He quietly moved in on it, and there, indeed, were several Impala, either grazing or drinking water. From a good, concealed distance, Safari Joe lined up a shot and killed one of the Impala.

The loud shot Safari Joe fired made the other Impala nervous, and they were spring-loaded to run away. Moving to another hidden spot, Safari Joe aimed again, and managed to kill another Impala. The others panicked, and most of them ran away. But at least one Impala lingered behind, out in the open. Safari Joe didn't think that was very smart on the animal's part, but then again, the only animals that had intelligence on the level of humans (and the many aliens Safari Joe had encountered) were apes, monkeys, and possibly cetaceans, which reminded him, he wasn't allowed to hunt any apes or monkeys on this safari, either. Safari Joe wasn't the most compassionate hunter in the galaxy, but even he knew when to respect the endangered status of an animal, especially an intelligent one, so he left Simians and monkeys alone.

Anyway, seeing that he would have to get closer to this animal in order to get a clear shot, for it was a bit farther away than the others had been, Safari Joe stealthily crept through the grass and the underbrush, being careful not to scare the poor animal. Then, he raised his Gatling rifle again, and fired one bullet into the Impala's neck.

The unsuspecting Impala fell down dead.

Satisfied with the success of his hunt, Safari Joe stood up, tall and proud, and again shouted his catchphrase, "Ha! Safari Joe does it again!"

Back at camp, Safari Joe was indeed rebuked for killing the Rhino. "You know that the Rhino was not to be killed, Safari Joe," said the guide, "It's an endangered species, after all. The only reason we are removing your penalty this time is because you killed it in self-defense instead of as part of your hunt, and because you killed it instead of letting it suffer needlessly."

"All right, I'm sorry I did that," said Safari Joe, "It was the Rhino that attacked me first, though. But what about the good job I did today hunting the Impala? Surely there's a reward for that?"

The guide said, "Of course there is a reward, Joe. You will be provided with the head of one of your kills as a most excellent trophy for today's hunt."

"Very good!" said Safari Joe, "That's more like it! I think I deserve it."

"Now, you get yourself something cold to drink and get some rest," said the guide, "And swap stories of your kills with the other hunters if you wish to. I think hunters enjoy each other's company, am I right?"

"Yes, we do," admitted Safari Joe, and with that, after thanking the guide and meeting with Mule quickly, Safari Joe went into the bungalow to talk with the other hunters.