A/N: Hey everyone. I hope you guys are enjoying where this story is going, because we're getting closer to the end. In the last update, Caesar has been healed and restored to health, and reveals to Blue Eyes that Koba was the one who shot him and betrayed the apes. Sherman and Mr. Peabody lead a rescue mission to free Maurice, Rocket, Luca and the other apes, and it was a success, even managing to free the humans too. Now, the time has come to face Koba once and for all. Enjoy!
Back at the house, Caesar was the only one awake, and was wandering around the halls. He then saw a rope dangling from the ceiling and looked up to see the entrance to the old attic. He grabbed onto the string and tugged hard, allowing the stairs to come down. Caesar then climbed up the stairs and went inside the attic, not noticing Sherman who had just run ahead of Mr. Peabody and the others so he could tell Caesar that the plan worked and they now had an army to face Koba with as Maurice had told him to do so.
"Caesar?" Sherman called out. He then looked up onto the upper level of the house and saw the ape king going up into the attic. Confused as to what he was doing up there, Sherman ran up the stairs and stopped when he got to the bottom of them. He then quietly climbed the stairs and peeked his head upwards to see an entire bedroom.
"Wow" Sherman whispered to himself as he got off the stairs and walked all around. The room was covered in puzzles and Lego sets, a telescope by the window, and a bed with cob-webs clinging to the bed frame from.
"This must be Caesar's old bedroom" Sherman said to himself as he took a small Lego statue of liberty of the windowsill and rubbed his thumb across it, taking the dust off revealing the teal-green color of the bricks that made the entire statuette up. Sherman then saw there was a table with a chess set on it, as well as a tire swing hanging from the ceiling on a chain. He then saw Caesar lying against a piano, watching something on an old Sony video camera.
"Caesar?" Sherman asked. Caesar looked up and saw the boy, but then looked back down at the camera's miniature screen. Sherman approached him and looked at what it was Caesar was watching. It was a video of a young chimpanzee who looked to be three-years-old in human years, sitting on a booster seat in a kitchen in front of the man from the photo in the living room.
"Caesar, look. Apple. Apple" the man said, holding an apple in one hand and using the sign for apple with his other. The younger chimpanzee mimicked the man perfectly.
"Good" he said before he started teaching the chimp another sign.
"Home. Home. Home" he repeated as he signed. The young Caesar copying perfectly as the man showed him. Caesar smiled at the video, it was a happy memory for him.
"This is your home" the man told Caesar. Sherman looked at his face and saw some tears starting to fall down from his emerald green eyes. Sherman then saw as Mr. Peabody and Malcolm came into the attic and walked up to the two of them to watch the same video. The recording then showed Caesar hugging the man before the entire screen went blue.
"Who was that?" Sherman asked. Caesar sighed and put the camera down on the floor.
"He... was my... father. He raised... me. Taught me... everything... I know. Most of all... he loved me... like I was... his son" explained Caesar. The story sounded similar to how Mr. Peabody adopted Sherman in the young boy's mind, and how the relationship was somewhat similar.
"Kinda like with me and Mr. Peabody" Sherman said, smiling at the beagle.
"Exactly. Like you... and Mr. Peabody" Caesar told him. He then looked over to Malcolm.
"He was... good... man. Like you" he told him. Screeching could be heard outside the window, and the four of them walked over to it and looked down to see Penny along with the other apes they freed right outside.
"Looks like the cavalry has arrived" Malcolm said with a smile on his face. Caesar then looked down to Sherman.
"Sherman, you have... shown me... that you are... more ape than... you know. I know... that you will have to leave... soon... after this. But, I must... ask you... something" Caesar said before extending his hand out to the boy.
"Will you... follow me... to battle?" he asked. Sherman then looked over to Mr. Peabody and to Malcolm who nodded for him with firm faces. He then looked back up to the ape king and took his hand.
"I would follow you to the end of time, Caesar. I owe my life and soul to you. Even if it costs me my life, I'd gladly die knowing that I believed in everything you taught me. And I am willing to follow you now to stop Koba's oppression of the humans" Sherman told him. Caesar smiled at Sherman's speech, he had never known such a braver soul than him. Caesar then looked over to Malcolm and Peabody.
"Let's... go... to war" Caesar declared before walking out of the attic with Sherman, Peabody, and Malcolm following behind him. They all went to the back yard where the apes were. All of them in shock to see their king still alive and ran up to hug him individually. Malcolm then looked behind him to see Ellie and Alexander were awake and watching as the apes reunited with Caesar.
"They have to get to the tower without being seen. I'm gonna take them through the subway" Malcolm told Ellie before he kissed her, which she had returned and pulled Malcolm close for a hug.
"I love you" she whispered to him. Sherman, Caesar, Mr. Peabody, and Penny watched as Blue Eyes signed to his father to let him know what was going on.
"Koba sent for the females and young. They're on their way. Mother too" Caesar was now worried, now his own wife and newborn son's lives were at stake.
"Must go. Now!" Caesar told Malcolm. Malcolm then gave Alexander a hug and he began to walk ahead of the apes and they all followed him into the city where the colony was.
Malcolm had taken the apes down the same subway tunnel he used before to get the surgical kit, using a flashlight to light their way as they walked. They eventually came across their stopping point, but before anyone could keep going, they were halted by gunfire. All of them stopped in their tracks and hid in the shadows, Sherman hid with his back pressed against a metal support beam, breathing rapidly.
"Who's there?" a voice called. Malcolm recognized it as Finney, one of Dreyfus' men.
"If you're human, you better say so!" Finney called out. Malcolm then had an idea and shouted out towards Finney.
"It's me! It's Malcolm! Don't shoot!" he shouted before turning to Caesar.
"Take the stairs. They'll bring you around and up into the street, okay?" Malcolm instructed. Caesar nodded and then turned back to his human friend.
"Thank you" he said.
"Trust" Malcolm said before Caesar started running up the stairs and all the apes following behind him, Sherman, Penny, and Mr. Peabody included. Before they made their way all the way up, they heard Malcolm announce to Finney he was coming out to see him before he continued to walk again. All the apes then jumped over the toll booths and went inside the city. Peabody then looked to his left and saw a familiar sight, it was the human colony tower.
"Look, there it is" he said, pointing up to the building. Caesar then looked all the way up to see the lights were on at the top of the tower where the crane was, and then looked to Maurice and Luca.
"Carry... Penny... and Peabody. I... got Sherman" Caesar ordered. He then got on one knee and signaled for Sherman to hop onto his back. Sherman got on without hesitation, and watched as Maurice helped Peabody onto his back, and Penny got onto Luca's back. Caesar then began moving forward and the other apes started to follow again.
Malcolm had approached Finney, who was with Dreyfus, who looked more than relieved to see him.
"I didn't know if you'd made it out" Dreyfus told him. Malcolm then ran up to him and hugged him.
"Good to see you" he said. Dreyfus then hopped up onto the subway's terminal that was right below the colony.
"Don't worry. We're gonna turn all this around" Dreyfus said as he climbed. Malcolm didn't like the sound of that, he knew it could only mean some sort of action to take against the apes.
"What do you mean? What's going on?" asked Malcolm.
"The apes. They're all over the tower" Finney said. They then saw that one of Dreyfus' other men, Werner just came out and approached them.
"I lost the signal. It dropped out" Werner told him.
"Keep trying" Dreyfus ordered before looking at Malcolm.
"Malcolm, look at this" he said before showing him several blocks of grey putty attached to the walls and support beams that were holding the tower together.
"C-4. Five-pound blocks. We just started setting them. They're gonna take down the whole tower. Blast them all at once. We could use your help" Dreyfus explained. Malcolm's theory was right, it was a plan that didn't sound good to the apes, especially not to Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and Penny. He looked all the way up to the very top of the tower. Dreyfus then handed Malcolm a block of C-4 and asked him to help set everything up.
"Here. Come on" Dreyfus urged. Malcolm only stood there and said nothing. He then put the block down on the floor and approached Finney slowly before he grabbed his gun and walked back toward the edge of the platform and pointed it at Finney.
"Dreyfus" Malcolm said, getting the older man's attention off the C-4 and towards him.
"Werner" said Malcolm, getting his attention as well. Werner looked behind him and just stared at the armed Malcolm.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this" Malcolm said, pointing the gun at Dreyfus.
"We need to give him a chance. We need to give him some time" he continued as he got closer towards Dreyfus. The gun's barrel still pointed at his face with Malcolm's finger right on the trigger, ready to pull it if needed.
"He's up there right now" Malcolm concluded.
"Who's up there?" asked Dreyfus, still sitting in silent outrage and confusion as to why his friend was holding a loaded weapon up to him.
Caesar and the other apes had climbed up to the top of the tower using the scaffolding as a ladder. Once they got to the very top, Sherman, Penny, and Mr. Peabody got off the backs of their ape friends and got onto the unfinished floor. The entire top of the tower was completely unfinished, and there was a large hole in the middle of the floor. The only thing connecting the two ends of the floor together was the crane itself, acting as a bridge to connect the two ends.
"Are you sure about this, Sherman?" Mr. Peabody asked his son, unsure if Sherman really wanted to go through with this. Sherman picked a piece of PVC pipe off the floor and held it up like it was a spear.
"I'm sure. If we don't stop Koba, this is how we're going to be spending our future, as slaves to him and his army" Sherman told him. He knew the boy was right, the longer Koba was in command, the more likely the year 2026 could become the year the humans were enslaved by the apes, and forced to be compliant to them for all time.
"Then we'll do it for the future" Peabody said. Sherman then looked to Penny, who had just taken a box cutter sitting on the floor and held it like a dagger.
"For the future" she said. Sherman then slammed one end of the pipe down on the floor so hard, parts of the pipe broke off and scattered everywhere. Now, Sherman had a sharp-tipped PVC spear that was perfect to use for battle.
"For the future" Sherman copied. They now watched as Caesar got on top of the crane and walked over towards Koba, who was standing on the other end holding a loaded assault rifle. Several apes gasped in shock and surprise to see Caesar alive, those who were loyal to Caesar, and those who agreed with Koba about humans.
"Stand your ground, guys" Sherman told his father and friend. Their eyes still focused on Caesar and Koba.
"Caesar... has... no... place... here. Apes... follow... Koba now" the bonobo said, speaking first and breaking the silence between them.
"Follow... Koba... to war" Caesar responded.
"Apes... win... war! Apes... together... strong! Caesar... weak" Koba said as he walked closer until he was only a foot away from Caesar.
"Koba... weaker" Caesar said. Koba then looked to his rifle and tossed it away, letting it fall down the bottomless pit before charging at Caesar with an angry roar and kicking him down with his feet. The two apes engaged in a vicious brawl, everyone else was only watching. They fought until they fell down and landed on another construction area, with Koba attacking Caesar with a metal rod, and Caesar using a metal floor panel as a shield. Sherman noticed that Koba had sustained a cut on the left side of his chest right below his ribs, and it was starting to bleed.
"Come on guys. It's time to join in on the action" Sherman said before jumping onto a metal pole of the scaffolding and riding it down like it was a fireman's pole, with Penny and Mr. Peabody following behind him. All three of them charged towards Koba to aid Caesar in the battle to reclaim his crown, and to save the humans.
A/N: Cliffhanger! Sorry about that, but I think this battle is better off as a two-parter. But yeah, Sherman, Mr. Peabody, and Penny now fight to save the apes and take down Koba for good, with Malcolm holding Dreyfus and his men at gunpoint just as they're about to blow up the tower with C-4. Part two is where the action will continue. Winner takes all! Who will win? Caesar, or Koba? Find out in the next update. Please review, thanks!