Blue Eyes

"Caesar. Has no. Place here." Came the piercing voice of Koba, cutting through the air like a knife. "Apes follow. Koba now."

A lump formed in Blue Eyes' throat as he watched his father approached the scarred bonobo, the young chimp's entire body almost shaking with pent-up rage and anxiety. Koba was still holding that wretched gun in his hand as he seemed to strut towards Caesar on the metalwork spanning over the abyss below. It almost made Blue Eyes sick to watch.

His father was without a weapon, trusting Koba face him in a fair fight for supremacy – seeing as they were surrounded by all the colony's males. If Koba chose to use the gun against Caesar now, he would surely lose the favour of the onlookers – even that of the most loyal ones among his troops.

He would show that he could only win by the means of human tools and not by his ability as an ape male.

He had no other choice than to lay down the gun and fight like an ape.

And yet, Blue Eyes still feared that he wouldn't. That Caesar would be shot once again and plummet to his death for a second time. That Koba would merely tighten his grip on the colony, won over, not by loyalty or trust in his leadership – but by the fear they all had for the weapon he held in his hand.

Caesar was calm nonetheless, which helped ease Blue Eyes' racing heart.

"Apes follow Koba. To War." His father replied, loud enough for all to hear, but nowhere near as cuttingly as Koba.

"APES. WIN. WAR!" The bonobo yelled angrily as he marched forward onto the beam, still with the gun slung over his shoulder. "APES. TOGETHER. STRONG!"

The hoots and screeches from the apes on the surrounding beams were getting louder as the two contestants got closer to each other, the chill night air thick with anticipation.

Koba surely had the confidence of a leader, Blue Eyes thought clinically as he observed the bonobo's body language. Tall and confident, even with his hunched posture and horribly disfigured face. The Ape Prince himself would definitely have thought twice about facing such an opponent.

But not Caesar.

He still stood where he had first positioned himself on the beam, seeming for all the world like a great, solid mountain with the wind howling at him – even when Koba lowered his voice again and threw insults straight at the Ape King's face.

"Caesar. Weak."

The silence following this statement was so intense it was almost palpable.

Blue Eyes felt the muscles around his own mouth and eyes tighten at the jab and briefly looked over at Lydia to gauge her reaction.

She remained just as calm as Caesar, though her eyes were cold and hard as they fixed on the scarred ape. She was looking at Koba like she would a predator in the forest, Blue Eyes realised. To her, Koba was no longer an ape – but an enemy threatening the colony.

Blue Eyes couldn't help but silently agree, even if she hadn't uttered a word, and turned back to watch the confrontation.

"Koba. Weaker." Came the short, but no less stinging reply from Caesar as he meaningfully eyed the gun in Koba's hand.

That seemed to get the bonobo thinking for a moment. He pulled the weapon out to examine it briefly, almost as if contemplating whether or not he could get away with using it, before he tossed it aside angrily and charged at Caesar with a vicious cry of rage.

A fair fight it is, then, Blue Eyes thought.

The sudden reaction from the treacherous bonobo sent a jolt through everybody present, and from then on, it was pure chaos. Anxious hoots from all around the fight escalated into wild screeches and howls as the two dominant apes engaged in an all-out fistfight after Koba had pushed Caesar down onto the connecting beams below. Everywhere, apes were moving to new positions to watch the fight for leadership from a better angle, all the while slamming their fists in agitation against any surface they could reach.

It created a barrage of terrible noises and Blue Eyes almost winced at the ferocity of it all. Maurice, Luca, Rocket and Orion all seemed to be of the same mind, if the grimaces occasionally flashing across their worried faces were anything to go by.

The only one who seemed wholly unbothered by the commotion was, strangely enough, Lydia. Whenever Blue Eyes managed to pull his gaze away from the fight in order to properly reposition himself safely, he would look to Lydia's face, gauging her state of mind.

Her eyes were glued to the Ape King and his traitorous opponent whenever she wasn't moving about the unfinished structure beneath her. The apes charged with protecting her were never far behind, though in Blue Eyes' humble opinion, Lydia seemed perfectly capable of handling herself at the moment, running and jumping as if she wasn't hundreds of feet above the ground, but back down on the forest floor she knew so well.

Lydia, as well as everyone else, gasped as Caesar and Koba both fell further down the structure after a particularly harsh push from the bonobo, which had caused Caesar to grab his opponents foot to drag him down as well. The fall was not from a great height, however, as they both landed on a platform lower down the tower's interior – it still looked painful, however, and the Ape Prince winced at the image of his father's harsh landing.

Blue Eyes and the others moved to a new spot along the beam, Lydia keeping up with them without even breaking a sweat but sticking close to Rocket and Luca nonetheless - she was stubborn, not reckless, after all.

The Ape Prince called for his father with worried hoots, looking down at his hunched form from his vantage point atop the platform his group had reached. Caesar seemed fine, if a little roughened up from the fall.

He had fared far better than Koba had, in any case, seeing as the bonobo had been cut deeply in his left side by what Blue Eyes guessed had been a sharp piece of metal on his way down. He had landed further up on a metal scaffold and was in no way pleased with his current standing in the fight, judging by his enraged yell once he looked down at his opponent again.

And so, a mad chase across the tower began once Koba picked up a metal pipe and charged at Caesar.

This time, Lydia couldn't keep up as the apes all leapt and swung in between the metal beams that made up the skeleton of the massive building. Blue Eyes was just about to reach out to give her a hand, also feeling responsible for the human woman's safety, when he saw Luca grab her around the waist and lift her with a single, huge arm.

The move pulled a less than dignified yelp from Lydia, who Blue Eyes knew did not like to be carried around, though she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Luca's massive neck and accepted his help without further protests.

So, Lydia is safe with Luca, Blue Eyes thought in relief, reverting his attention to the fight as he swerved about the metal construction, his heart racing a mile a minute.

If anything happens to father…

Blue Eyes really didn't want to finish that thought.


Lydia

She gripped onto Luca like he was a lifeline (which it could be argued that he was) as she did her best to keep her legs lifted off the surface he was running on, making sure they wouldn't get bruised. It was not like the gorilla had time to consider being careful with her – he had to follow the fight in case Caesar needed help.

Not that Lydia had any idea what Luca, or anyone else could do, should the Ape King come up short-handed. It was a fight between leaders and so, it couldn't be interfered with, that much she knew.

The grip around her waist was painfully tight, and Lydia was certain that she would, at the very least, end up with a few pressed ribs.

Oh well, it's not like I haven't tried that before, she thought as the memory of a particularly disastrous jiu-jitsu lesson from the past came to mind. At least she knew she could handle it.

Even so, she ended up digging her fingers deeply into Luca's fur and skin to, at the very least, relieve some of the pain that coursed through her whenever the large gorilla jumped down onto another beam with a heavy thud, jolting her entire body with the action. Really, did they have to run like this?

Honestly, she was quite amazed Luca was able to carry her so effortlessly, even if he wasn't being particularly gentle with her.

Through all of this, the pain, the confusion and the rapid movements of the seemingly hundreds of apes darting around the tower, Lydia only ever kept her eyes trained on one ape: Caesar.

Perhaps it was strange, but deep down, Lydia feared that if she lost sight of the Ape King for even a second, she would lose him as well. Just like she had lost Roy only an hour prior to this confrontation. She wasn't too worried about Orion at the moment, seeing as her son kept close to her and Luca and, crucially, wasn't the one facing a power-hungry, homicidal, evolved ape.

So no, in all honesty, as of right now, she wasn't too worried about Orion – but Caesar, now that was an entirely different matter. Koba and his ideals had already robbed Lydia of someone she loved once, and she understood the same could happen to Caesar at any moment now. There was just so many ways for this to go wrong.

Luca set her down once they had reached another vantage point and Lydia had half a mind to be thankful that she was no longer being manhandled. She really did feel safer having control of where she was going.

Down below, the confrontation only escalated further.

"Trusted Koba. Like brother!" Caesar spoke accusingly at the enraged bonobo. They had stopped running and now faced each other, Koba with his iron pipe and Caesar with a metal floorplate.

"Caesar. Brother. TO HUMAN!" Koba spat back, swinging the pipe with all his strength. It dented Caesar's improvised shield a fraction but didn't manage to hurt the Ape King. Luckily.

"Caesar. Take in. Human! Let her stay. FOR YEARS!" The scarred bonobo screamed angrily, clearly referencing to Lydia. "Take her council. Pretend she is ape! BUT SHE IS NOT! CAESAR DOES NOT SEE!" Caesar's gaze remained cold, yet wary as he kept fending off Koba's hits.

"But Koba… Koba fight. FOR APES! FREE APE!"

Several more swings further dented the floorplate in Caesar's hands.

"Kill ape." He retorted dryly, his voice never reaching the same volume as Koba's, though his words were heard by every spectator all the same. The pipe had become momentarily stuck in the dent it had made in the floorplate, and the two leaned closer to catch their breath as a result.

"Koba fight. For Koba."

Ripping his weapon loose from the dent, the bonobo swung the pipe yet again.

"Koba… Belong… in cage."

Caesar's opponent rained down hits with the pipe between each word and soon managed to knock the floorplate out of his hands, leaving the Ape King with no protection once again.

It seemed to satisfy the bonobo, who smirked triumphantly through his ragged breaths, obviously thinking he had already won. He made to swing one last time in what was quite clearly meant to be the blow that would send Caesar to the ground for good and Lydia inhaled sharply in fear as the scene played out down below.

Only neither she, nor Koba had anticipated Caesar's next move, which involved crouching down and elbowing the attacking bonobo in the deep cut along his ribcage once he had the pipe raised to strike down.

It made Koba drop the metal pipe with a loud clang, bend over in pain and, for a brief moment, Lydia found herself enjoying the look of pain on his scarred face. Relished in how he hunched over and released a raspy yelp at the sensation. She couldn't find it in herself to be ashamed about it, however. Whatever pain Caesar would inflict on the bonobo, it could never compete with the pain of losing a loved one – Lydia and Rocket both knew that.

Seeing as both apes were now without a weapon and forced to rely on their fists once again, a vicious brawl broke out between them just as it had before.

It might have lasted for only a brief moment, but to Lydia, it lasted for an eternity as each ape rained down punch after punch on the other. Each time Koba managed to get a good hit at Caesar, she would quietly curse at the bonobo under her breath. No one around her seemed to notice, though. Not even Orion, who stood right beside her, now grasping her hand tightly – as if he was afraid she would run away if he didn't.

Not that she would do that, even if she had wanted to. She was currently standing within a tight circle of apes, once again being flanked by Rocket, Luca and Orion, while Blue Eyes and Maurice stood a few feet further away from her, observing the fight with bated breath.

The two apes finally pushed apart, Koba going to lean on a piece of scaffolding while he held a soothing hand to his wound. Even with the sporadic lighting of the construction site, Lydia could see blood steadily trickling down the bonobo's flank.

Caesar, thankfully, sported no such wounds and stood proudly at the other side of the platform where their fight had taken place for the last couple of minutes, his face hard as stone as he regarded his opponent.

It was so intense that Lydia imagined the air around the two could be cut with a knife, the way they stared at each other with eyes full of hatred, hurt and betrayal.

The spell was broken once again by Koba, who had finally caught his breath to release yet another terrifying battle cry as he charged at Caesar unexpectedly, making both of them fall backwards into a scaffolding which collapsed into the seemingly bottomless pit in the centre of the tower.

Lydia's heart stilled for a moment at the sight, horror finding its way across her features.

"CAESAR!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as all the spectating apes cried out in alarm. Even Maurice had called out in horror as he saw his old friend fall – a deep, guttural roar which resonated through Lydia's ribcage. She didn't pay it any mind.

It was pure luck, Lydia guessed, that there had been a sturdy chain for Caesar to grab right as he fell, saving him from plummeting down yet again and making Lydia breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, Koba too, had managed to grab hold of a chain and now, both were swinging back and forth above the abyss, throwing punches at each other each time they met above the dark pit.

No sooner had the thought that one of them would have to let go crossed her mind before a great tremor shook the entire tower, followed by a resounding explosion that shot flames up through the middle of the construction further down.

The violent trembling shook sections of the tower loose and suddenly, pieces of the building was raining down on the apes. Frightened screams and the whirring sound of heavy metal segments giving out filled the air as Lydia struggled to maintain her balance and failed miserably as the platform beneath her feet collapsed.

This time, it was Orion who reached around her waist and lifted her off her feet – and just in time for Lydia to see how the metal floor, once sturdy enough to carry two chimps, a gorilla, an orangutan and a human, now being engulfed by the sea of yellow and orange flames hundreds of feet below.

While firm, Orion's grip on her wasn't as unforgiving as Luca's had been, though she still felt her ribs protest at the way all her weight was put on them. Each impact as Orion lurched off onto another beam with her thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes sent another jolt of pain through Lydia's body, but she didn't dare try and correct her position in fear of distracting Orion from his task.

When has he become this strong? Her mind questioned as chaos descended all around them. To lift a fully grown human woman like that and throw her over his shoulder with such speed and ease. Was it not just yesterday he had been sitting atop her backpack, grooming her hair and staring in wonder at the world as it passed by on their journey?

Still, it seemed considerably more difficult for him to get around like that, so Lydia did her best to just hang on tight and trust her son to find them a safe spot to settle until the tremor from the explosion down below had stopped.

Down below… Malcolm…

Lydia hadn't had the sense to spare him a thought since they left the subway, but now, she worried that he had fallen victim to the blast – she really hoped that wasn't the case. She was just beginning to like him.

Finally, mercifully, Orion found a place for them to be as the tremors stopped and Lydia took in her surroundings once her son had let her down from his shoulder.

On a platform just beside them, Blue Eyes, Rocket and Maurice had found a place to be as well and Lydia figured that Orion had been smart enough to just follow the group as best as he could – it was always best to stay together.

Luca had gone in another direction, though Lydia's eyes quickly found his hulking form further down the structure. He didn't seem hurt.

However, as Lydia cast her gaze out across the rest of the tower, she discovered that many other apes were hurt. Many lie whimpering and struggling underneath scaffolds and loose metal beams, while others were clearly dead – either killed by the fall or the debris landing on them.

It was then, as Lydia scanned the area with mounting disbelief and sorrow, that she spotted Caesar – already at work trying to help those who could be helped. Amidst all the chaos, it sent a wave of relief through her to know that he, at least, had not been killed.

"Stay here. Mother." A raspy voice spoke beside her, startling Lydia into turning towards the sound. Sure, she had heard Orion speak plenty of times before, but he had never sounded so… commanding before. Especially not with her.

When she had fully turned to him, he was already halfway down one of the beams on his way to assist Caesar and the other apes in helping those who had been hurt.

"Stay safe. Help apes. Up here." He clarified, still having the sense to look apologetic for bossing her around. "I help. Down there."

She nodded seriously and turned to assist a young ape who had become stuck beneath two sets of scaffolding not far from where she stood. Another ape soon went to join her and together, they managed to lift the heavy metal pipes and splintery wooden boards off the poor soul. He could barely stand once it was all gone, yet he looked thankfully up at Lydia all the same.

And to think, a moment ago, he might not have hesitated to knock me down, Lydia thought, a strange mixture of sadness, anger and pure incomprehension swirling inside her chest.

No sooner had she moved on to the next ape in need of help before a barrage of rapid gunshots sounded and bullet whirred past not far from where she stood, prompting her to crouch down as fast as she could and immediately look for the source of the danger.

Koba.

Of course it was Koba.

Of course he had survived too.

And now, he was standing there, in the middle of it all, gun blazing left and right at anyone unfortunate enough to still be out in the open – though his focus seemed to be primarily centred on the apes loyal to Caesar

And Lydia herself.


Caesar

The bullets didn't hit himself or Blue Eyes, thank goodness for that, as they made their way behind cover when Koba started shooting. Instead, they bounced off the metal segments all around the place and landed on the metal floors and beams with high-pitched clangs. In between that and the even sound of the gun firing bullet after bullet, the bonobo's crazed, raspy shouts could be heard as he aimed the weapon in Caesar and his apes' general direction.

Would Koba stop at nothing to get his war?

Suddenly, as the bullets flew all around, Caesar heard an unmistakable, deep cry of pain coming from Maurice's direction, and he shifted his position behind the beam he used as a hiding place to see what had happened to his friend.

What he was met with made Caesar's fur bristle. His old friend had been hit by one of Koba's bullets and was now nursing a wound in his cheek flap. Even though it looked to only have been a grazing bullet, it still made Caesar's blood boil to know that his friend might very well have been killed just now – had the gun been angled just a bit further to the right, Maurice would have been hit right in his face. He would have been dead on the spot.

Rocket and Blue Eyes were near enough to help the older ape, though they still had to be careful about not getting hit, seeing as Koba still wasn't done shooting.

Caesar realised then that he could not spot Lydia or Orion near the three apes, and a flash of panic went through his chest – what if Lydia had been hurt? Was she still with Luca? Had she been separated from her son?

Those, as well as a thousand other thoughts raced through his mind in less than a second, until he finally spotted the human woman on another platform, further away from Rocket and the others than Caesar would have liked. Orion was nowhere to be seen.

The Ape King was surprised, however, to see one of the apes originally following Koba now helping the human by wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her down for cover – a necessity, since Koba had now begun aiming directly at her instead, his battle cries echoing louder than ever against the surrounding metal structures.

The sight of this – the mere thought that she might end up as yet another one of Koba's victims had Caesar seeing red.

It all happened so quickly that Caesar barely knew what he was doing before he was mid-leap in Koba's direction, startling the unsuspecting ape. His enemy didn't even have time to turn and shoot before Caesar was over him and they tumbled down yet again onto the debris, heavy thuds sounding whenever each ape hit a particularly hard surface.

Every single impact sent a new wave of pain through Caesar but he could especially feel it in his chest, seeing as his newly-stitched wound was not meant to withstand such abuse. He was amazed it had even held together up till now and sent a silent thought of thanks to Ellie for her great work on his wound as his body lost its momentum on his way down.

Despite aching all over, he was quick to get up, and was momentarily confused as to where his opponent had gone before his attention was drawn to the sound of anguished, frustrated groans coming from the edge of the platform he had landed on. He would be able to recognise that raspy, guttural sound anywhere by now. It grinded against his nerves like a rusty blade against a craggy stone and made Caesar's nostrils flare in irritation as he got up to stand straight.

He calmly approached the edge and saw how Koba was now dangling from a twisted, broken beam, seemingly unable to use his left arm to pull himself up due to the cut he had received at his flank. Not that he didn't try, though, as he desperately attempted to lift his arm up to help support his weight.

And though he did make it further up towards safety, it was no use if he couldn't manage to pull himself all the way up – they both knew this.

Koba stopped his struggling and stared up at Caesar, panting heavily from the effort. The bonobo's expression was still smug, despite his current predicament, as the surrounding apes had moved further down to observe the two.

The silence that now surrounded them stood in stark contrast to the roar of the explosion only moments ago and served to heighten every single one of the Ape King's senses as he stared down at his would-be assassin.

"Ape. Not. Kill… Ape." Koba managed in-between his laboured pants, his one good eye fixing Caesar with a triumphant stare.

Inhaling the cool air deep into his lungs, Caesar bent down slowly, sliding his large hand around Koba's arm to hold it in a firm grip, and pulled him up slightly towards himself.

He stopped short once he had partially lifted his opponent out of harm's way, however, lifting his verdant gaze to stare around at the spectating apes.

His eyes found Maurice with little difficulty, and he watched as his oldest, most loyal friend and advisor held a soothing hand to his own head, covering the wound he now sported on his face. Around him stood Blue Eyes, Rocket and Luca, staying by the older ape to support him as he whimpered softly in pain.

It was then, as he saw what this traitor had done to his old friend, that Caesar fully understood the words Lydia had spoken to him the other night as they resonated through his mind.

"Koba stopped being an ape long ago, Caesar."

And so, he returned his gaze to the creature dangling in his grasp, the certainty that Caesar wouldn't let go still so blatantly evident in his one good eye.

He had another thing coming.

"You are… Not. Ape." Caesar spoke lowly, vehemently, fixing his former advisor and friend with a hard look before he let go of the bonobo's arm.

The last look he ever got to witness on Koba's face was one of shock and fright as he began his violent descent, screaming savagely at the top of his lungs the moment Caesar's hand opened up to let him fall.

The Ape King didn't even flinch at the sight. Not even as the ape's body caught on a wire which flung him onto a rickety metal beam, the impact knocking it loose and making it plummet down together with the bonobo.

Once the echo of Koba's final scream had faded into silence, Caesar lifted his eyes to once again regard his apes – yes, they were his apes now.

At that exact moment, just as that thought had struck him, he locked eyes with Lydia, who was standing together with Orion and a group of other apes on a platform further up than the one Caesar himself stood on.

She looked roughened up, her face smudged with spots of grime and her clothes ripped and torn in different places. Several strands of her dark hair had found their way out of her simple braid and the knees of her pants were still covered in the dark, dried stains of Roy's blood.

Even so, she seemed relieved – happy, even, as their eyes connected across the pit at the tower's centre.

She nodded approvingly at the Ape King as she draped an arm firmly around her son's broad shoulders.

Yes.

They were all his apes to lead once again.

Even if one of them was also a human.