Okay, this is officially the longest chapter of the story so far! Sorry for the longer-than-usual wait; this one was just being stubborn, lol. I had it planned out in my head, but just couldn't seem to get it written down. Big thanks to BeetZel who helped me get it started; I'm still not really happy with how it turned out, but oh well. I just wanted to get it done xD Also, there's a minor reference to Revelations that I had to add. Can you find it? x)
xxxx
My body felt as if it was soaking wet when my mind woke. I was hardly able to lift an arm, it felt so heavy. Groaning slightly, I realized that it must be the sleepy gun's effects. I blinked wearily until the blurriness cleared, not surprised to find that I was back inside of a cage; I couldn't help but wonder if there would ever be a time when apes would be free from these horrid bars.
The new room I found myself in was dim with hardly any light, though I could just make out the shapes of other cages nearby. I thought I could see a dark blur inside one next to me, but couldn't be sure. Only when I noticed the shape begin to move did it confirm that the cage's prisoner was alive, and it was somewhat comforting to know that I wasn't alone in this strange place, though I didn't know whoever—or whatever—was trapped with me.
It wasn't until the shape moved, shifting in its (what I assumed through the dark) sleeping position and groaning did I tilt my head to the side warily. So it was alive...
"...Hello?" I let out slowly. My throat still hurt from the pole collars, but I could talk now through the pain. Even if it was another animal that couldn't understand human speech, it was better than signing through the dim light. I had to make sure it was alright, at least...we were both prisoners held by the same enemy. Until Will recovered from his accident, every human we would come across couldn't be trusted.
The unknown shape whimpered, hooting softly in response to my voice. So it must be another ape based on the sounds that he or she made, and I was more than happy to share our cramped space with a fellow chimp or orangutan, even a bonobo if it wasn't Koba of all apes. Though the ape most likely didn't share the same intelligence that I had regained thanks to Will, it was nice to have some company.
I had to wonder for a brief moment how...why I was still alive. The humans had shot me with the sleepy gun, and I hadn't expected to wake again. But here I was...
"Hello?" I tried asking again to see if the unknown ape would respond once more. I eyed the cage, squinting in order to see better. The creature's...arms, from what I could tell, moved. They seemed to be making certain shapes, but it was difficult to tell what kind of shapes in the dim light. Squinting harder, my eyes finally began to adjust. My head cleared just a little from the dizzy sensation that the sleepy gun had left me with, and the shape revealed itself from the shadows at last.
My heart nearly stopped. No...it couldn't be. Did I dare raise my hopes? The humans had said that he and the others were gone...but he was...
"...Rocket?" I breathed, relief overtaking my shock that he was alive—sitting right next to me in another cage. Looking further around the strange room, other cages lined the walls that also held an assortment of shapes, and my heart restarted and sped up quicker in complete and utter joy, so much that I thought it was going to burst. After all the talk between the two scientists, I'd assumed that when they had said the apes were 'gone,' they had meant dead.
But they were here. They were alive! My heart fluttered and sped up quicker in joy, but my body was still not able to comply with any commands I tried to give. The heavy feeling was still present, and I knew it must be because of the sleepy gun's effects.
Maurice? Rocket signed. You're awake!
"Yes," I said in response, turning my head left to right to try and get a better look at our surroundings. We seemed to be in some kind of holding room based on all the cages. "Where are we?"
I don't know, Rocket admitted through sign. A hidden room. One of the humans brought us here to keep us safe.
I instantly put two and two together. One of the two human scientists that I had heard talking about the apes being gone—they had never been gone in the first place. The scientist had lied to the other, hiding the fact that he had saved us from being killed. Just when I'd thought that all humans were equally as bad as Koba after Malcolm had left me behind in the lab, leaving only my determination to keep Will's promise that he'd made to Caesar, they proved me wrong again. How was it that so many were so different from each other?
I shook my thoughts away from the humans, coming back to my fellow apes. As long as we were in human hands, we were still in danger.
"Cornelia...is she alright?" I needed to know that Caesar's wife was okay. I couldn't see her from where I was, but Rocket nodded, albeit hesitant.
"What's wrong?" I asked, unable to bear the idea that she might be hurt.
I think she's in shock, Rocket answered. "She's close to me, but hasn't tried to sign. She sees me, but her eyes are far away like I'm not here."
I blinked, allowing his words to sink in. Either Cornelia was physically hurt, or she had somehow remembered future events—most likely the death of Blue Eyes as well as her own death at the hands of the Colonel; such a horrid memory would be enough to send even the strongest ape into a state of shock. If I wasn't stuck in the cage, I wouldn't hesitate to wrap my arms around her in a pitiful attempt at comfort.
"Can you remember everything?" I asked, wondering what Rocket knew about the future.
Not at first, but now I do. I remember the shelter and Caesar setting us free. I remember the war that Koba started and how he killed my son...I remember finding a new home for us to live where the humans wouldn't find us, and Caesar dying...
He let out a sniff. I remember waking up in the shelter again, and now I can suddenly think more clearly. Maurice, how did we come back to the past?
"I don't know," I answered honestly. There seemed to be a lot of 'I don't knows' in this peculiar situation, but none of the questions that plagued our minds mattered at the moment, especially not how we had come back to the past. We were here, we were alive and that was all that mattered. But then another question surged forward that was too important to be ignored, a question that dealt with the humans' fate, and a sinking feeling pitted itself in the center of my stomach.
"Rocket, how did you and Cornelia regain your memories?" I questioned, hoping against all hope that I was wrong, that it hadn't somehow been released. Of course, it wasn't hard to figure out how it could have been released—it had been Koba's plan all along to cooperate with the humans until the time was right to take his plan into action.
Rocket shrugged. Another 'I don't know' answer, but I already had a faint idea of how he could possibly remember the future.
My cage suddenly began to rumble, trembling as loud noises crashed and banged from outside. Human screams could be heard in response to an enemy we couldn't see from inside the room, and I couldn't help but wonder if they were destroying each other again.
The shaking gradually lessened until it stopped completely, much to our relief.
But the relief didn't last long.
Do you smell that? Rocket signed, his nose twitching at a familiar smell that we knew well—the smell that had overtaken our home when Koba had declared Caesar dead, that Malcolm and his family were to blame—that all-out war had begun after our beloved leader had been shot.
I nodded as the scorching scent of burning flames wafted into the room. My joy that the others were alive was just as quickly dashed as the horrible realization set itself in stone that maybe we weren't going to be alive much longer.
The lab had caught on fire, and we were trapped.
xxxx
He was still laying on the ground from when the world had shaken—Koba. By some miracle, he hadn't yet come to his 'senses,' whatever those were. The other two scientists lay next to him face down and unmoving, Donnie on the floor as well and holding his arms stiffly that Koba had so badly twisted; I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually broken.
"We're trapped, aren't we?" Donnie asked frantically, his eyes darting left to right in search of an escape. But there was no escape; the lab was completely locked down, and even if security had heard the alert, they wouldn't be able to open the doors.
We had been exposed to the virus—there was no way out.
"We're exposed...we can't even try to get out!" Jacobs nearly shouted, groaning as he shifted in the awkward position that he had fallen. I myself was on the floor with everyone else, including Caroline. Only Malcolm still stood, bending to help her up first. She smiled her thanks, coughing amongst all the debris that surrounded us on either side of the trial area from the world shaking.
Jacobs attempted to lift himself onto two feet, only to fall back down. He grunted, trying to move his left foot, but to no avail; it looked like it had gotten sprained during the chaos, twisted at an odd angle like Donnie's arms. But surprisingly, he didn't seem to care about his hurt foot. He turned his head towards me, giving a death glare that didn't exactly faze me; I did what needed to be done—I had to stop him from going through with the experiment and it looked like the world agreed, helping to change the past for the better.
Donnie pointed a finger sharply in Koba's direction, only to cringe in pain soon after. "What the hell was that? I mean, I knew he talked, but how?"
We had more important things to worry about than a talking animal, and Jacobs knew it. He never broke his evil eye with me.
"Will...what's going on? Why was the 113 blue?" Jacobs demanded. He'd noticed that the 113 had come out a different color than it was supposed to, and only I knew exactly why.
Donnie blinked, shocked at his boss's words and looking in my direction with wide eyes. Caroline and Malcolm both held the same expression of shock, but it was a better kind...a more hopeful kind of shock that maybe, just maybe things weren't as bad as they currently seemed.
I shifted my position from where I had fallen face first. My arms had thankfully broken the fall and I had come out of the trembling mostly unscathed. I winced lightly as I sat up straighter.
Before I could come up with an explanation, however, the building trembled for a second time. All of us still awake looked up at the lights and they flickered in tune with the shaking until they gave out, turning the entire room into an endless black hole—giving us one more thing to worry about besides the fire that was sure to reach us, and especially Koba now that we couldn't see if he had woken up or where he was.
"Is everyone okay?" I asked through the darkness.
No response.
"Caroline?" I tried. She didn't answer, and it seemed that no one was able to reply. Shapes began to form in the darkness, morphing into something strangely familiar, yet frighteningly unfamiliar.
The darkness turned to light, allowing me to see that I was no longer in Gen-Sys, but in...my home? I found myself laying on the couch, my entire body so sore I could hardly move.
The virus had gotten Caroline first out of the two of us. She'd sneezed blood unexpectedly one night in the kitchen, and had gotten progressively worse as time wore on no matter how many doctors we went to see, until it seemed that even the doctors themselves were getting sick and could no longer help their patients. She passed away in the same bed where dad had refused the 113 treatment, leaving me alone to face what I had created—a virus that was meant to cure Alzheimer's, but in the end had caused more pain and death than I could have ever imagined...and it was all my fault. The entire human race was paying for the mistake I'd made, and with everyone sick, there was no way I could be punished as I rightfully should be.
So I allowed the virus to take its hold on my body, hardly bothering to even try and get up from the couch that I had decided to make my deathbed; I didn't deserve anything more comfortable to pass on in.
I ran a hand weakly over a framed picture of Caesar and I during happier times before the virus had broken out, before he had attacked our neighbor and had to be sent away.
"I'm-I'm sorry," I apologized in a pitiful wheeze. Sorry for Caesar and everything he'd been through that had made him want to escape the shelter and fight his way across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir Woods, where the apes would live peacefully as the humans around them died off one by one until there wasn't any of us left. Sorry for the virus I had created that was going to destroy us.
If I was going to die alone in my own home without my family, then so be it.
It was what I deserved for destroying the entire world.
I gasped as the sharp, putrid smell of nothing other than smoke clogged my nose, forcing me to cough. The lights in the lab were still off, but the fire must be getting closer based on how strong the smell was now.
"Will?" I sighed in relief when Malcolm spoke my name, happy to know that at least one of us was okay.
The lights flickered, thankfully switching themselves on once again. Caroline was still standing with Malcolm after he'd helped her up off the floor, and Jacobs...
Jacobs was face-to-face with a certain, insane and growling bonobo that had finally woken from his unconscious state. He leaned over Jacobs and just from seeing his wide-eyed, terrified expression, my former boss had regained some—or all—of his memories thanks to the virus that had broken out because of said bonobo.
There was barely any time to react, so I pulled myself up quickly as possible.
"Koba, no!" I shrieked, pushing Jacobs out of the way just in time as he leapt in the air directly at his target, fully intending to rip his face apart. Jacobs landed harshly to the side, hissing in pain and holding his sprained foot. The bonobo missed his target, falling to the floor with a sharp thud. He turned once he was stable, his good eye flaring that I had dared to interfere.
Enraged, Koba leapt for my throat. He wrapped his hands around my neck, squeezing so tight that I could barely breathe.
"G-go. Go!" I managed to shout at Malcolm and Caroline. They raced to Jacobs, helping him to his feet. Even with a sprained foot, he was still able to move quickly with the help of the adrenaline and fear that he had to get away from Koba.
My vision was slowly becoming blurry, fading away bit by bit as Koba stole my ability to breathe. He loosened his hands every once in awhile, allowing air to come back in for a short time before squeezing again. My mind reeled—he was torturing me and enjoying it. I could only hope that the others had gotten away safely, but with the lab contained, there was no way for them to get out. The only thing they could do was find a tranquilizer or something that they could use to protect themselves.
Koba's grip continued to tighten, and he refused to let go of my throat this time. My vision began to give into the black. Despite knowing there was no escape from this monster's insanity, I was at an odd sort of peace.
I deserved it. I deserved to die for trying to play God, for condemning humanity to a fate I was responsible for creating.
Just when I could see no more, the dark suddenly receded and the grip on my neck let go altogether. Gasping unevenly in and out, I held my neck as I looked to see my savior—
A hand grabbed my shoulder, and my head shot around.
"Franklin!" The chimp handler held a tranquilizer aimed right at Koba to get him off of me, and the bonobo slid back slowly to the floor. Franklin had opened the lab—now we weren't the only ones at risk of being exposed...
"Doc, you're back," Franklin said in surprise that I had returned so soon from my accident. "I couldn't leave them in here," he said frantically, nodding towards the area where Koba had been held. Other apes that were used in experiments were still trapped in their cages, crying loudly to get out. "I had a crazy dream and tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. There's a chance the virus could dissipate in the air when it's released with the smoke," Franklin said more to himself than me. "I couldn't leave you guys trapped in here, either."
"It's okay," I said calmly as possible in return. The virus had been released and a raging fire was getting closer by the minute. How could things get any worse? "We have to hurry. There's something I need to do first."
Franklin and I, including Jacobs even with his hurt foot, helped to release each of the apes trapped in their cages, while Malcolm and Caroline stayed in the trial room to help Donnie and the other two unconscious scientists.
"Do you remember...?" I had to ask as Jacobs limped forward to assess the damage done by the shaking. He simply nodded, staring blindly into space as he watched me move a trapped chimpanzee from its destroyed cage, the debris making it difficult for the ape to get out by itself.
"...He killed me," Jacobs answered. I blinked in shock at his words, remembering how Koba said exactly the same thing when he mentioned Caesar killing him.
Jacobs shut his eyes as he recalled his part in the future. "I was stuck in a helicopter on the Golden Gate after the fight was over. The ape leader...your son...allowed 'Koba' to let me fall off the edge."
Koba's first taste of vengeance against the humans who had caused him so much pain, especially Jacobs.
"That's what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it? That the 113 was dangerous and Koba knew it. It was his plan to release it on us."
It was more than astounding hearing Jacobs talk in such a way—admitting that he had been wrong—and using Koba's name like he was another person instead of the single word 'it.' Another chimp still stuck in its cage whimpered, and Jacobs moved a bit of glass away with his bare hands. The chimp instantly leapt up not towards me, but...Jacobs? The head of Gen-Sys labs braced himself, only to be...hugged?
Shocked, it was all Jacobs could do to wrap his own arms around the frightened animal.
"I'm sorry," he murmured so quietly I could hardly hear.
One of the other apes made a signal in my direction when freedom was wide open, and it took a second for me to realize that the ape had signed.
Thank you, she motioned before leaping out of her cage to escape. Checking her nameplate on the cage, it read 'Tinker.' When all three apes were free at last, we made our way towards the lab's exit that had been opened by Franklin when he'd entered.
Franklin himself stopped before we could go any further.
"I can't leave yet," he said, coughing through the smoke that was becoming worse by the minute. The fire was going to reach us any moment, and we didn't want to hang around any longer than we had to. "They're still alive."
It immediately clicked who he was talking about.
"...Maurice?" My eyes widened in disbelief as he nodded, and Jacobs even more so. They narrowed, hardly believing that one of his own employees had gone behind his back. Well, it hadn't been the first time. Since Franklin had to put down an entire group of apes after the Bright Eyes incident, it was easy to understand why he wouldn't want to have to do it again.
"If we get out of this," Jacobs grumbled with the chimp still hanging from his chest. I had to admit despite the situation that the sight was downright weird and adorable at the same time. "You're fired, too," he finished.
Franklin just smiled, more than happy to see Jacobs actually getting along with an ape. He had done what he needed to do, and that was save the apes from being put down. If we got out of this as Jacobs said, and that was a pretty big if with the flames getting closer and the smoke becoming heavier, there wouldn't be a company to come back to and get fired from.
Two of the apes who had been freed from their prisons went to the scientists still unconscious but coming around, wrapping their arms around their shoulders to help Malcolm and Caroline lift them up onto flat carts usually meant for apes. The scientists groaned, confused by the kind of help they were receiving, but grateful all the same.
The flames were beginning to lick the newly opened doors, and we could almost feel the heat enveloping the lab.
xxxx
I stopped behind the others when we reached the exit. Caroline and Malcolm turned to see why my feet had stopped moving, their gazes questioning.
"You go with them. Save Maurice and the others, help Donnie and Jacobs. I have to stay," I said quietly.
"What?!" Caroline cried. "Why?"
"You need to get out. There's no time!" I pushed. "Please, just go."
"I can't leave you here," Caroline argued with a pleading voice, her eyes shining. "Tell me why."
There was no time to explain with the fire creeping ever closer, but I owed them that much.
"The 113 has to be destroyed!" I shouted.
"But didn't it already get out?!" Franklin shouted back.
I shook my head wildly. "No."
"What do you mean 'no?'" Malcolm questioned, just as frantic. They had to go!
"The 113 wasn't released. I have to destroy it," I explained calmly as possible.
"It could be destroyed in the heat," Franklin tried to reason, to which I only shook my head.
"Not the 113. I created it to be stronger and faster than the 112. If it gets out with the fire, there's a higher chance it could be spread around the world."
"So you're saying...the virus that was released just now wasn't the 113?" Malcolm asked. I nodded.
"...I may have switched the 113 plans with the 112," I revealed slowly, shooting Jacobs a smirk despite the situation.
Caroline's eyes widened as she processed what this meant. There was still a chance we could get out without exposing anyone...but more than that, there was still a chance that humanity could be saved, that we could start over and have a second chance to do things better.
"But Will...how? When?" She questioned.
"When I helped Maurice regain his memories," I explained. I had secured the 113 in the lab in such a way that no one would be able to reach it without my help. I hadn't had enough time to create more than one capsule for the 112 virus, only just enough so the orangutan could remember future events and we could get a better understanding of what we were dealing with.
I continued my explanation. "One of the protocols of Gen-Sys, or any lab really, is to always throw away what you use after experiments, especially with animals. I didn't let you finish the first test with the 113, no, but you still had to throw away what you 'used.' Knowing this, I secured what was left of the 113 that was still able to be used, and switched it with the 112 plans so you would have to create the virus again before using it. Just in case we couldn't convince you not to use it."
It was hard to tell, but Jacobs lightly squeezed the chimp in frustration yet understanding, and the animal squeezed back for comfort.
"Now go. I have to do this," I said firmly enough for Caroline to nod and wrap her arms around me in a hug.
"Please come back," she whispered, releasing her grip. I remained silent, unwilling to make any promises I couldn't keep, and she understood.
"Malcolm...thank you. For everything," I told the man we had crossed paths with so unexpectedly. He'd saved my life after finding me on the road and calling for help, after all. "Take care of Caesar."
Malcolm nodded. "You do what you have to," he said, taking quick steps backwards with the others. "We won't let anything happen to them."
I waited until they were completely out of sight to make sure they were gone, that no one had tried to stop and come back to convince me otherwise. Then I turned to go back into the lab where I had secured the 113—
Only to be tackled to the floor by a now-awake Koba that just couldn't seem to be stopped in his rage, not even with a tranquilizer. I could almost feel his fury along with the flames, realizing that he must have overheard me talking about the 113 and how I'd switched it with the 112.
He was far beyond angry and more than insane, pinning me to the floor. I struggled, making a pitiful attempt to throw him off, but he was rooted to my chest, pounding it with his hands and knocking the breath out of me. He was going to make sure I didn't get up this time, and there was no one here to save me. I couldn't allow myself to give in yet—humanity was resting on my shoulders, and I was not going to die with the burden of its destruction once again. Still I struggled, unable to rid myself of the bonobo that refused to let go.
I was going to die, and Koba was going to make sure of it. Only one more blow—
A dark blur suddenly shot over me, shoving Koba off of my chest.
xxxx
Running into a flaming building wasn't one of my wiser choices, but that was just it; I had no choice. Will, Malcolm and Caroline were still in there, and even if human help was on the way, I couldn't leave them to face their fate. Humans around me screamed as they ran towards the entrance I had come through, hardly paying attention to an ape like me on the loose.
I could clearly remember the lab we had broken into in the future in order to release our fellow apes. Flames spurted and I dodged, the heat strong against my fur. The fire was small for now, but it was going to get bigger as it spread. I remained low to the floor where it was easier to breathe, avoiding the different kinds of chemicals that must be mixed in with the smoke.
I didn't think twice when I finally spotted Will, my heart first leaping in joy that I'd found my father, then terror when the horrible realization thrust itself upon me that he was being attacked. Without hesitation I sent the ape sprawling to the floor to get him off of my human father, panting uncontrollably. If we didn't leave soon, we would perish. When Will remained laying face up, red spotting his body, I feared the worst. Then much to my relief, he twitched, moving slightly. His movements became quicker as if he'd realized something important, going in the opposite direction from the exit. Neither of us needed words to tell the other that something was wrong, that the human race was still in danger and he had to stop it, struggling to his feet.
I had to buy him time from the enemy that had attacked him, unwilling to let the attacker out of my sights until he had paid for hurting my father. When his face came into view, I almost shied away at the very image that had haunted my dreams for so long. He was the last ape that I expected to return to the past, somehow believing that Time would not affect him and he would stay gone forever—how wrong I was.
"Koba..." I began, unable to finish whatever had come to mind.
"...Caesar...?" His gravelly voice was just as shocked, if not more so than I was to see that his leader had returned. "How...Maurice said you died by arrow..."
Maurice. I wondered where he and the others were, especially Cornelia. I hadn't had the slightest idea where to look on the way here, only knowing that Will was in trouble, that I had to save him from the fire. He was the only one I could see, realizing that Malcolm must have left with Caroline and anyone else that had still been inside. I could only hope they were far away from the smoke and flame-filled building, out of harm's way.
"Apes all dead," Koba sneered. I stopped in my tracks, shaking my head to rid myself of his venomous words. "Maurice...Cornelia...Rocket...Will killed them all."
Will would never commit an act so horrible, and Koba knew I was unfazed by his truthless words. He needed to be calmed, to be brought out of his psychotic state before the fire grew worse. Flames singed our fur, our breathing labored due to the smoke...
"We can start over," I said, deciding to fight the lies with truth. I refused to fight him again. If I even laid a finger on him, my nightmares would only return stronger than before. "This is the past."
"We can never go back. We are already here," Koba growled, his stance tense and watching my every move should I attack first. He was still set in his ways from the future. Why couldn't he listen? He hadn't committed any of the horrible acts that he had in the future yet. If I could find it in myself to forgive him, the others could too and we would be able to start a new life among humans...
"Caesar pathetic...humans will never change. Why should I?" Koba hissed. "Caesar gave them so many chances for peace. They threw chances all away, leading to your own death. How can Caesar still take their side?"
"I know both sides of the humans. The good outnumber the bad," I insisted, recalling Maurice's words of only knowing their bad side. "They do not deserve this. We have a second chance to start over. Both of us."
He only stared at me harder, his tense stance never faltering. In a split second, he decided to rush towards Will. I had no choice but to grab him from behind by his legs, yanking him back to the floor.
"Why protect human that treats you like pet?" Koba demanded, refusing to show weakness as he lifted himself back up. "The human that started virus?"
"Humans learn from their mistakes...fix them." I said in Will's defense. "My father learned...knowledge is power," I recited one of the three most important ape laws. By warning him about the future, Will was able to try and fix the damage that was going to be done.
Koba growled, hardly having a second chance to rush for Will before I tackled him.
"Koba," I said gently, but he was far past the point of being calmed in any way, shape or form.
"Tommy," he seethed, enraged. Koba had never been one to share much of his past, but this 'Tommy' that he spoke of had to be part of it—most likely a human who had caused him much pain and torture.
He didn't see me—Caesar—anymore; he saw Tommy.
"Apes and humans together...strong," I repeated Will's words.
It was the final straw, but before he could make the first leap to fight...
The world rumbled once more and his entire body began fading in and out in time to the shakes, just like mine had done when I'd first arrived in the past. I could remember the feeling of being torn in two, like my arms were being stretched to their limits. The feeling was almost unbearable until Will had taken my hand, reassuring me that it was okay—that I was here and here to stay.
The feeling of fading from existence wasn't something that I would wish on even my worst enemy. Hesitantly, I reached a hand out for Koba to take, assuming my touch would stabilize him like Will's had done for me. But Koba refused to take it, backing away in terror at the odd phenomenon that was happening.
Then, to my surprise, he began to...shrink? His body continued to flicker, shortening after each interval. His growls turned into cries, his cries into whimpers that could hardly be heard over the roar of the flames.
I could feel Will's presence by my side as he stared down with just as much confusion at the new and vulnerable bundle that I picked up into my arms, that I had rushed into the building when I was supposed to stay with Ellie.
"It's gone...the 113 isn't a threat anymore," he confirmed in a wheeze.
"We need to go," I said as the heat became almost unbearable. We could still make it out of this...we had to...especially now that I held such a tiny life in my arms.
But then I noticed that Will could hardly move. Koba had taken a toll on him, red still seeping down his face. It couldn't be the virus that had affected him...he'd managed to stop it.
He gripped his chest like it was difficult for him to breathe and his footing faltered, forcing him to fall to the lab floor in a heap.
I inched to his side on all fours with one arm raised to carry the new, small weight.
"We have to go," I said again, gripping his shirt sleeve and tugging it gently. He winced even from the light touch, and I knew then that he must be in even worse pain than I thought.
"You need to go...both of you," he gasped, nearly choking on his words.
"I can't leave you," I said in almost a whine, shaking my head in disagreement. He was my father. I would not leave him here to die alone...
I moved underneath his shoulder to lift his arm up, only to cause him to groan sharply in extra pain.
"Go...get out," Will moaned more sternly this time.
"You saved me...now I have to save you," I grunted, pushing his backside with my head to try and lift him upwards, only to have him slide back down as soon as my assistance left him.
I searched the lab for anything that could be of use, but Will shook his head. "All gone."
As much as my aching heart told me otherwise, that there had to be a way to save my father, the logical side of me knew it was no use. He couldn't move, and I couldn't drag him without doing more damage. There was nothing here I could use to help me move him, and both of us knew it.
"That's the anchor," Will gasped. "I have to stay. I was the one that caused all of this...the world needs me gone so there's no chance of the virus spreading again."
It didn't make any sense. If Will was gone, that didn't mean his absence would be an anchor and stabilize the world! What if I disappeared because my anchor was gone?
"You're...wrong." I panted, lowering myself further from the smoke that suffocated my lungs.
"You live a good life," Will said, ignoring my words and staring up at me with eyes that I noticed had changed from brown to green. "Promise."
I blinked to ward off tears, but they did not cooperate. Like Koba, they did not listen and slid downwards, cooling my burning fur just a little. "I...I promise," I said, taking more than hesitant steps backwards.
I couldn't do it, but looking down at the bundle held in my arms, I had to. For the both of us.
I turned my back on the one who had raised me and ran before the fire could catch up.
xxxx
I stood with Caroline, Ellie, and Franklin outside of the lab that was about to give into the vicious flames that overtook the inside like the roar of a monster at the dusk setting in. Firetrucks had arrived, desperate to put the heated enemy out before it could get any worse. The two scientists that had fallen during the shaking were already in an ambulance, and Donnie's twisted arms were being treated as well as Jacobs' sprained foot with the chimp—surprisingly—still holding onto his shoulders.
We did it. We'd made it out, but there were still two other people inside that had to make it out, too. The fire had transformed into something too strong for even the firefighters to handle due to the numerous chemicals inside of Gen-Sys, making it too dangerous to even attempt going in to rescue any victims stuck inside. They would have to wait until the building collapsed to search for survivors.
Still no sign of Will, nor Caesar.
"Malcolm...what if..." Maurice grumbled sorrowfully in a whisper so no one else would hear, his once-bright orange fur now dark and covered in ash.
"They just need a little more time," I whispered in return. I'd been more than overjoyed to find that Franklin hadn't been lying, that the apes really were still alive, and Maurice even more so when we saw each other and he realized that I hadn't abandoned him after all. Though with the joy came shock that Caesar was nowhere to be found outside, and we all knew where he had gone without Ellie having to explain.
It took some convincing, but the police allowed Maurice and the other apes to remain free while Ellie helped those wounded or in shock, including Cornelia.
"They'll make it," I said more firmly to concrete my belief. It was hard to believe, exactly, when the ground beneath our feet trembled once again and Gen-Sys unexpectedly faded in and out just as Caesar had done upon arriving in the past. The fading continued until finally it stopped, and the ground stabilized once again.
...Was it over?
"Look!" Caroline suddenly shouted, pointing towards the entrance. Both apes and humans followed her gaze, eyes widening when a shape appeared through the smoke.
His eyes laid on Maurice for a split second, but they did not see. The worn, soot-covered chimpanzee collapsed and we rushed to his side before the police could hold us back.
Ellie already set to work as other paramedics set in, unprepared to help a chimpanzee of all animals but listening and following her instructions.
What I noticed most aside from Caesar's labored breathing and the ash that covered his fur was an odd, tiny shape. Maurice looked up at me like I had an answer, his bright green eyes just as wide and confused.
Gripped tightly in Caesar's arms was a tiny, whimpering baby bonobo.