Somewhere within the depth of a vast cave called 'home', an infantile chimp clung to the fur of an older female. Things weren't as they should be; he pined for the warmth and gentle drumming of his mother's heart against his ear, singing her love for him with every beat - a state of comfort that would never return to him. But this would have to do. When familiar sounding footsteps finally broke the silence, he poked his head above Lake's arm.

'Apes. Kill. Humans. Caesar want talk.'

Cornelius watched as Ray climbed down into the safe room and began signing to his older brother. He was sure Ray had signed more words but he was limited in his understanding of sign language, though advanced among the others his age. His brother, who had been standing guard of the women and children, barked in a satisfied manner. Whilst Cornelius fixated, not on Ray's words, but on the tiny specks of ash blackening the orange fur of his shoulders. It reminded him of something he'd seen in Maurice's book - the one with all the pictures of colourful humans. He remembered pointing madly at the cartoon man with a black cape. It was an exciting character, though he liked the mad scientist much more. He was pulled from his imagination when he caught sight of Blue Eyes leaving. The young chimp wriggled frantically out of Lake's soft arms and clambered onto his brother's back. Blue Eyes stopped and pulled his little brother around to face him.

'Not safe' he signed with one hand as big as Cornelius's face.

'Safest with Blue Eyes' the little chimp signed back. He had been frightened, he still was but the bad humans were gone weren't they? So he could let the curious side, however small and fettered it may be now, take over...he also wanted to see that his father was safe. Besides he did always feel safest of all with his big brother. It was clear Blue Eyes agreed from the defeated look in his eyes.

'Stay on my back smart-ass'

Cornelius gibbered in fake annoyance - if he was using his nickname for him then it meant he'd won. So the young chimp latched onto his older brother's shoulders and let him carry him through the cave. He found it surprisingly quiet; he usually saw everyone celebrating after victory, albeit not for long on account of his father sending him to bed - he never saw Caesar celebrating. He never saw much of his father at all these days. But this time he saw nobody celebrating. The only noise coming into hearing range was the quiet chattering of who he recognized to be Hazel and Maurice. As they climbed up to the main entrance of the cave, Cornelius buried his face in his brother's fur. The iron-y, all-too-familiar smell of blood warning him of horror he wished he could be brave about. He could tell from his brother's movements that he was communicating with the two apes before them. He wanted to know what they were saying - what was going on but he was too frightened of what else he might see. Cornelius gritted his little teeth in frustration; he was the son of Caesar...he wasn't supposed to be scared. Blue Eyes had reassured him in the past that he was scared because he was so smart, that other baby chimps would get themselves into trouble for not being scared enough. But they both knew the real reason he feared the world so much. Deciding to try and be brave, Cornelius slowly peeked through one eye. The sight wasn't as bad as he thought. Three apes were being tended to by Maurice and Hazel - their injuries relatively minor. But what he saw from Maurice made him quickly lock his eyes shut once more.

'Down there. Dead. Moved. Waterfall. Ray tell families.' - the orang was pointing to where Cornelius assumed the bodies of the dead were being handled - a sight he'd seen is his sleep for months and did not wish to see awake.

'Father' he gibbered apishly into his brother's ear.

'We'll find him now. Close your eyes and keep them shut until I say so OK.'

Blue Eyes bared his teeth when he spotted the bodies being dragged to the right of the cave entrance. His keen eyes counted approximately fourteen...if he added together all the parts. He hadn't thought it to be this bad; he hadn't heard the explosion or the firefight. They hadn't had an attack in their new home yet - he knew the stench of death would seep into the earth and ruin any hope he had of settling in there. When the last body came into view, number fifteen, his heart unwillingly wrenched. It was Lake's cousin, Bolt. He knew she would cry for him...an image that didn't sit well with Blue eyes at all.

He remembered worriedly that Cornelius was on his back and checked over his shoulder to make sure the young ape still had his eyes shut. Good. Finally, as they entered the clearing, Blue Eyes spotted their father. He was stood rigidly over an uncommonly large bonfire. Blue Eyes knew instantly who that was for. He was glad he wouldn't have to look at their bodies. Cornelius climbed over his shoulder and ran towards their father. He was gathered up quickly into the ape's arms and hid his face in Caesar's chest. An unwelcome pang of jealousy coursed through Blue Eyes; sometimes he wished he could be the little chimp hiding away from the world in the safety of his father's arms. But he also felt sorry for Cornelius; sorry for the disappointment he'd feel when he realized that his father could not protect him. Caesar glared down at his oldest son.

"Why did you bring him here?" he demanded sternly causing Cornelius to tremble and break free from his father's hold.

'Didn't know how bad it was. Thought it was just girl prisoner attacking with gun. Cornelius is safe wherever I am.'

Caesar frowned and continued to bare down on his son, flattening any rebellion that might be stirring in Blue Eyes. Eventually Blue Eyes' natural instincts forced him to submit to his father's glare and he gave in.

'I'll take him back to Lake.'

But as he went to reach for his brother he found Cornelius had moved. When his panic stricken eyes found him, he was crouched a few feet from Blue Eyes and seemed to be staring cautiously at something. Blue Eyes followed his brother's curious eyes until he found the object of interest. There, beneath the boulders, led the human girl he'd been mentally accusing. She looked different than he'd remembered from their first meeting; the pale hair that sprouted from only one part of her body cascading around her back, sleeker, thinner and dark saucers around her eyeballs. How long had she been there? If it wasn't her that had attacked then why was she even there? Unless she'd somehow lured the soldiers here. She had to be to blame somehow.

Without a word, Blue Eyes jumped down onto the dirt and grabbed the girl's arm. She didn't seem to protest as he dragged her upright and began tugging her back towards his father. He noticed idly how thin her upper arm was in his grasp...why did humans insist on waging war when they were so breakable?

Blue Eyes kept his tight hold but thrust her forward when they reached his father, almost presenting her to him. Cornelius squeaked and tugged on his leg, looking oddly discontented by Blue Eyes actions. He wished he could be like Cornelius. He wished he could be naive.

"Human girl bring soldiers?" he managed, eyes snapping at the doll-like female in his wake. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes looked blank, uncommon for a human - there was just nothing in them. Wasn't she even going to try to fight back?

Caesar's eyes flashed with something that was unreadable and annoying to Blue Eyes, and then they narrowed and landed on the girl.

"Aria is not. To. Blame. For this." he stated. Blue Eyes wasn't expecting this response from such an angry glare, apparently she wasn't either because her head shot up and she stared at his father.

'But humans never came here until she came. She had to be involved.'

"She had been with us. Had no contact with others."

'Then why human out here?'

Caesar pursed his lips, regarding her carefully. "To stop me killing others."

This annoyed Blue Eyes. 'So she is with them'. She should be treated the same.

"No. She defended and trusted them to do the right thing because they are human. And she hopes for goodness in all humans. I've made the same mistake."

Blue Eyes was so angry at his father for so many reasons that every time he spoke it seemed to spark off some bitterness and resentment. He was angry that his father had trusted the killer, Koba. The killer that had thrown his best friend, Ash, over the human building and to his death. The killer that had lead the apes to war in Caesar's absence that ultimately resulted in the death of his mother. He was angry that when his father killed Koba and then eventually the human soldiers who'd shot Cornelia, he didn't feel better. He knew who was really to blame. And even though deep down there was still some innate love for his father, he hated having to look at him every day. So when Caesar pointed out that 'Aria' had only made the same mistake he had made, it didn't settle any of his unease. He knew the storm that came with every one of Caesar's mistakes.

At that moment, Maurice interjected and offered his hairy arm as a ramp for Cornelius.

'You need to talk to your son yes? I'll take Cornelius.'

"Thank you, Maurice." Caesar nodded.

Why? Was his father going to school him too now? It wasn't as if he felt the human to be a threat - she was one smaller than average human with no weapons in a village ruled by apes. Her presence bothered him though, he didn't want to make a judgment on a species based on individuals, not after Koba, but want was rarely reality.

'I'll take girl too. Put her back in cave. Some apes won't like the sight of her.'

With that Maurice waggled one finger in front of the human's disconcerted face, drawing out some focus from her.

"Aria. Follow." he ordered. Blue Eyes let go of the human's arm and shook his head as the girl rose to her feet behind Maurice, sparing one last glance at Caesar before following. Why was she so interested in his father? She looked a him like Lake looked at those blobby insects, the ones that somehow end their life as a colourful, fluttering creatures with wings. He instantly regretted the comparison, but he'd been doing that a lot with Lake these days. What he liked even less was how his father looked at the girl in exactly the same manner.

'Human is not a threat son.' Caesar signed 'but her being here is. Others may look for her and the bodies of these soldiers. I'm going to send her South tomorrow'

'How do you know she won't bring soldiers in the South here?'

Caesar flicked his finger in a way that meant 'eyes covered'. Blue Eyes chuffed.

'She won't make it.'

'I know. So you're going with her.' Blue eyes' stomach dropped and he instantly raised up in protest. WHAT. 'You, Rocket and Ray.'

He couldn't seriously be sending him away at a time like this to play body-guard to some human he didn't even know. She hadn't directly hurt anyone but he didn't care whether she lived or died. He signed 'what' repeatedly at his father, face heating up with anger.

'Malcolm told us about the South, don't you remember? Only one human colony we know of. Mostly empty land. You said yourself that we need to branch out and find somewhere further from the soldiers North. I must know what is down there and we must find safety. Now more than ever. It won't be long before humans find us again. How long can we keep fighting them?'

The young heir knew all of this. He had actually warmed to Malcolm after he'd learned how he'd defended the apes during the battle on the tower and respected everything the man had to say. He accepted that humans like Malcolm were incredibly rare. What angered him was that his father was insistent on sending him. He wasn't a baby anymore, he wanted to stay and fight for the little family he had left.

'You think I am not strong enough to fight here' Blue Eyes accused.

'No. You are too smart.' Blue Eyes knew his father meant this to empower him but he knew really that the only reason he and Cornelius were so 'smart' was because they were his sons. It wasn't really an achievement, though he liked Cornelius to feel it was. 'Rocket is strong and Ray has keen eyes, but you are smart. And I need smart to go and find us a new home. One that will be sufficient and long-lasting. So you will go, first to the edge of the human home - see Aria safe. Then you will know where it is and you can move on from there and find our future.'

The young chimp knew that he didn't have a choice on the matter, once Caesar had made up his mind there was no shifting it. He felt a hand on his shoulder, the one littered with scars he'd been given a lifetime ago. He turned to see his father's old friend.

'When you were a little thing you made my brain explode trying to find you, always running off to new places. Never content with where you were.' Rocket signed laughing 'This is right Blue Eyes. You were made for this.'

The young heir was defeated by the few seconds of fathering Rocket gave him that Caesar was completely incapable of. He was a good father once, Blue Eyes knew that much. Now he was only a good military commander. And even then he had his weaknesses.

'Come on. Let's talk to Ray.' Rocket signed before gently pushing his friend's son towards the cave.

Caesar watched after the pair; his best friend and his oldest son. The pain in his eyes not visible to either of them.

Oh God this chapter was awful sorry guys. Hope ya'll got some enjoyment from it though! Should have the next chapter up within the next few days :) As usual: please review, like and follow for update notifications.