Paths of Ascension Chapter 1: Past and Present, a planet of the apes fanfic

I got soul but I'm not a soldier.

All These Things That I've Done – The Killers

Dawn came slowly to the forest north of San Francisco. Sat against a cold outcrop of rock, two figures watched a large swath of trees, passing a single pair of binoculars back and forth between them. One had messy blonde hair, and a bow propped against her leg. The other had a hard face and short dark brown hair with the ragged look of having been cut recently. Her eyes swept the forest, her right hand rubbing her left, which was missing most of the smallest finger. She had been sat there for most of the night, her companion only joining her within the last hour or so, after waking alone. The curving path ahead of them remained stubbornly empty, no matter how much they strained their eyes, and as the day brightened around them, the taller of the pair stood up. The other followed willingly as she turned in silence, tracing one of the many paths back to the complex of caves the pair called home. She wasn't giving up though. It wasn't in her blood to give up.

Lily's footsteps followed mine, and they echoed with guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Guilt for the dead, guilt for the living. Guilt for taking so much and giving so little. Guilt that she would still follow me, despite everything. Guilt, guilt, guilt. It had dogged my heels relentlessly for the past year and a half, intensifying once Blue Eyes had left, but the feeling was a familiar one to me. It had been my constant companion for the past 12 years.

Reaching blindly backwards, I slowed my steps as I reached a wider section of path. Lily's shoulder fit neatly under mine as her free arm came around my waist, her other hand holding her bow.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, finally breaking the silence that had shrouded our vigil.

Somehow our feet kept pace with each other, despite the difference in our heights. I shrugged in answer.

"Jac…" The warning in her voice was light, but it was still there.

With a sigh, I glanced across at her feet, unable to meet her eyes. "People from the colony. Blue." Blue Eyes was in all my nightmares now. His extended absence had opened the door for him to wander into my dreams. "And Koba."

Lily knew about Koba now. She knew everything, but still, she had stayed.

Approaching the first of the arches along the river, I signed a quick greeting to the ape on watch, who nodded in return.

"Not the soldiers?" Lily asked.

I raised a hand to touch my cheek, a faint scar marking my stint of time among the enemy. Deep muscle bruise, a dislocated shoulder, and split skin over a swollen cheek. It wouldn't even have scarred if I hadn't picked at the scab so much, even with Lily batting my hand away. It was irrelevant anyway. That time had left much deeper scars that were much harder to see.

"No," I answered Lily. "They gave me a break." I snorted at the irony of the idea. It was unusual for the soldiers to be absent from my dreams, and unheard of for them not to haunt my waking hours. Not a day went by anymore without the distant crackle of gunfire, the returning reports of more deaths.

I'd taken a step back from the fighting, as I'd known I must ever since the last encounter with John. The soldiers were still my enemies, still our enemies, but they were more than that. I'd slept with them, ate with them, trained with them. Caesar was too good, too smart, to ask me to be in a position to kill them. So I'd retreated, remaining in the caves most of the time. I talked strategy with Caesar, had advised Blue on which direction to go to seek a possible new home, played with the young ones, taught alongside Maurice and Lily. We're not totally removed – we helped plan ambushes on the soldier's supplies, snuck around them into the city, worked with the apes to create better weapons. Our attempts were crude and often failed to begin with, but we developed relentlessly, and the smoke bombs the apes were now armed with were highly effective. It's impossible to ignore the war, to forget about it, but away from the direct action, I did my best.

For the most part, I'm happy with what I've been doing. There's only been one instance where I've baulked.

Caesar had been even graver than normal as he'd waved me over to where he was sat with his inner council. Leaving the group of youngsters to torment Lily, I'd bounded over to them. The slick rocks, slippery from the constant spray of water, had made me cautious at first but held little fear for me now. In quick, unquestionable terms, Caesar had explained his plan. The apes were losing. Slowly, they were being pushed back. The soldiers were determined, well-armed, and experienced. Caesar was looking ahead, to a different way out. He wanted to send out a small group to explore other possible places for the apes to live. A strategical retreat, moving far enough that the soldiers either couldn't or wouldn't follow. I'd private doubted there was anywhere the apes could run that the Colonel wouldn't pursue them, but I'd held my tongue, my thoughts filled with a harsh anger, growing with every second. I hated it. I hated the very idea. The apes may not have development completely naturally, but they deserved the chance to live. They deserved to be able to build a home, to raise their families, and not fight for it. But they shouldn't have to leave, to run, in order to do so.

The second blow, that it was Blue Eyes who would be the one to go, had been too much. With a swift nod, and a brief sign to indicate my return, I'd turned and left. Deep within the network of caves, hidden in the darkness, I'd sunk down onto the floor, pressed my hands over my mouth, and screamed.

Later that evening, once I'd had myself under control, I'd sat with the apes, discussing the possible places they could find to live, drawing a rough outline of a map in the gravel which I'd later copied onto a sheet of stolen paper. Within four days, Blue Eyes had gone, Rocket along with him. We hadn't seen them since.

"Hey, you okay?"

Lily's voice drew me out of my thoughts, and I blinked, looking around with a wry smile.

"Yeah, just… a little lost," I said vaguely.

Her hand tightened on mine. "I've got you."

I looked at her in wonderment. Despite everything, despite admitting my whole story to her, my part in the ending of the world, she'd stayed. "How are you still here?" I asked.

She grinned. "Where else would I be?"

A wild hooting and fast hooves drew our attention up. With a quick glance at Lily, I jogged over to the end of the cliff, looking down in time to see an ape pulling their horse to a halt, eyes scanning around.

"Caesar?" they signed.

"Not here," one of the other apes replied, as I scrambled closer.

"What's happened?" I called out.

The newly arrived ape looked up. "Attack. Survivors."

Feeling suddenly cold, I made the final jump down to the path. The soldiers had been brutal with me. They would surely be even worse to a captured ape. "They were taken?"

The horse snorted, stamping its feet as the ape shook its head. "Human survivors."

The world swayed, and I sat down on the rock I'd just jumped off of. It felt like I fell a lot further.

Human survivors.

John?

I dismissed the idea as soon as it formed. It couldn't be John. But it could be.

"Jac?" Lily had joined me, touching my shoulder, her face worried.

"Where?" I croaked, looking past her.

The ape seemed unsure, looking around as if asking permission to tell me.

I was back on my feet in an instant, though my vision went black around the edges. "Where?!" I demanded.

"First east trench," the ape signed reluctantly.

"Jac," Lily said again, louder.

"I have to go."

"No," she objected, catching hold of my elbow, pulling me around. "You don't."

I looked at her blue eyes, and saw a different pair. "Yes, I do." Shrugging off her grip, I turned away, jogging towards the corral. For the first time, I was grateful that Lily had insisted I learn to ride. I needed to move fast. I might already be too late.

A/N: Hi guys, we're back with the sequel! I've got a much clearer idea of where this is heading than the previous instalments (hence the much better summary than normal! XD ) and it will include major canon divergence part way through "War". Hope you enjoy and be sure to leave a review!