A's/N: It's midnight as I submit this, so I'll make the note's quick! XD I know I usually answer the reviews from the previous chapter but this time I was unable to because of Thanksgiving... So I'll answer them later tomorrow (which is technically today but still!).
Enjoy the chapter!
"So let me get this straight." Derek and Dreyfus were now in a different building, the one where Dreyfus often held town meetings in. At the mayor's insistence, it was just the two of them. "You went to the ape village and searched it, without a warrant, and obtained illegal evidence?"
Dreyfus scoffed at his question. "Derek, they're apes. Who cares if the evidence against them is legal or not?"
"I do.' Derek now regretted letting him leave by himself. He should have told Dreyfus to go to Kempt and Foster and interrogate the soldier they captured. "Dreyfus, you can't build a case against a person based on the evidence you got from a search without a warrant. It's against the law."
"The law doesn't apply to apes! They don't have rights! And what do you know about laws, you're an FBI profiler!"
"I chose to be an FBI profiler for personal reasons." These were the words Derek always said when talking about his past. Never adding any details, and keeping the rest to himself. He had decided long ago that he'll only reveal the truth about his career choice to people he trusted the most. So far, he hasn't found such people yet. "I may not have been a lawyer, but I did go to law school. I could have been a lawyer if I wanted to, but I didn't." He got closer to Dreyfus, so close that he could almost smell his breath. "And as long as I'm here, apes will be treated as equals."
With that, the slightly older man began to make his way out of the building, but then turned around and looked at Dreyfus one last time. "I know you don't trust the apes, Dreyfus. I can't force you to and I won't. But please understand, they may be all we have." Then he left, leaving Dreyfus with his thoughts.
Dreyfus, defeated, slammed his fist on his desk. He should have known Derek would say something like that. But he knew, deep down, the other human was right...In his eagerness to prove how untrustworthy the apes truly were, he had forgotten to pay attention to the evidence. Despite his belief, he didn't find any proof that Terry and McVeigh were killed by an ape. Or that their deaths were related to Carver's. In fact, it was entirely possible that they were killed by the soldiers during the night of the kidnapping.
Meanwhile, Carver had attacked and threatened to hurt Blue Eyes and his baby brother. Opening the possibility that Carver himself may have been the cause of his own death.
Accidental death from self-defense…Shit!... Even if Dreyfus had successfully proven an ape had killed him, at this point, the ape could be charged with manslaughter rather than first-degree murder.
Now that he realized it, be probably won't even be able to use the gun he found at the ape village as evidence either. Not only did he search the village without a warrant, but he didn't even have probable cause to get a warrant anyway. Not even Terry and McVeigh's murders were enough to justify the search.
What do I have then? Dreyfus pulled out a notebook that was laying on the floor-it was old, the notes on it long forgotten and no longer important, but it'll do. He flipped through the yellowing pages until he found a blank page and picked up a pen. He then began to write on it:
Carver's death
Ape hair in Carver's hand
Terry & McVeigh's deaths
Gun at ape village
He crossed out the gun, leaving the deaths and the hair. What if? He put the notebook down and reached into his pocket, pulling out the ape hair. He then looked at them under a lamp and magnifying glass.
Black…Which apes have black fur?
Dreyfus knew for sure that it wasn't an orangutan that killed Carver, otherwise, the hair would have been orange. Chimps where mostly brown, but some looked darker. Almost all of the gorillas had black fur...
"..Damn.," Dreyfus muttered in surprised realization. He's looking for an adult ape with black fur…He had just described nearly half of the ape colony...This may be harder than I thought.
Grey was surprised by how peaceful the city looked at night. It was as if the dark purples and blue hues in the sky had pulled a sort of blanket of its own over the ruined and near-empty city. It didn't look creepy, or gloomy. Just asleep, almost comforting.
He was now sitting by himself on the roof of the building where the file room was. His eyes gazing down at everything, but his mind deep in his thoughts. Why didn't Cedar tell me she was pregnant earlier? He wondered. Cedar's abdomen had a small bump, but not too big so she couldn't be that far in the pregnancy. He wasn't angry with her though, it's not her fault things just kept happening and getting in the way. He truly was happy that he'd be a father.
Throughout their marriage, Grey and Cedar had talked about having children and starting a family of their own but when they tried, nothing happened and when they didn't try, they kept getting busy with other things. And now, they'll finally have a child, but Grey wondered if the world was even safe enough for new life. But that doesn't matter, he'd protect his wife and child with his own life. He won't let anyone, human or ape, hurt them.
But what about Caesar?...And all the others?
Grey's stomach sank, he felt sick as he realized the full extent over the choices his wife had given him. Abandon the council, stop participating in the search for the kidnapped apes, and stay with her and be a part of their first child's life. Maybe even have more someday. Or stay and try to save the lives of his fellow apes and of the humans while risking his own.
In that moment, he could suddenly picture all of the apes that had been kidnapped. Not just their faces, but memories of them as well. Winter and all his fearfulness, Red and his strength, Pope's fish net scars, Dolly's gentle eyes, Lake's childlike energy, Pinto's smile, Pepper's curiousness, Ash's playfulness, Lucky's calls, Andy's laughs and Caesar's voice. Do they really deserve to die? Sure Grey was helping Koba try to kill Caesar, but all he was going to do was shoot him-not destroy and mangle his body.
Grey still disliked Caesar. Even now, even though the Ape King is gone, he still felt as much distrust toward him as he did the day he was kidnapped. But Grey didn't want the others to die, and even if he didn't like Caesar, he'd gladly save him if it meant the other apes could be saved too.
But was Caesar's life really worth his own? Does Caesar returning home alive matter more than Grey meeting his child?
A soft, throaty purr reached his ears and he turned around to see Maurice standing there. The orangutan looked like himself, despite the bandaged bullet wound on his head. He smiled at the chimp. "How's your ear, Grey?"
To this, Grey smiled. Out of all the apes in the council, Maurice had to be Grey's favorite to talk to. "Better, thanks. How's your wound?"
"Also better." Maurice could sense the worry in Grey's eyes. "What's wrong?"
Grey hesitated but decided to tell him anyway. Maurice was like everyone's secret keeper: any of the apes could tell him all their troubles, and he'll never speak a word of them to anyone else. "It's Cedar, she's pregnant."
Maurice hooted happily. "That is wonderful news, my friend!"
"It is." Grey felt a wave of happiness right then. It was one thing for Cedar to tell him, but something else for him to tell someone else. "But Cedar is worried about me. She doesn't want me to get hurt or..You know...Killed...She want's me to leave the council."
He didn't know what to expect from the orangutan but when Maurice began signing again, he read them carefully. "You were wounded today and we're dealing with dangerous humans. She's right to be concern for you."
"But what do I do?" Grey asked. "I don't want to leave you all to deal with the bad humans alone, but I don't want to let Cedar down either."
"Just chose what's the most important to you." Said, Maurice.
Grey blinked. Surprised by the simple answer to his hard problem. He looked down at the ground, thinking about Cedar and the child she carried. They mattered, they were his everything. Just knowing that he'll be a father filled him with a happiness that Grey had only seen on those who already had children. He didn't care if he'd have a son or a daughter, he loved his unborn child all the same.
Finally, he looked back up at the orangutan. "My family." He decided. The second thoughts raced through his mind almost the second he made the choice. "But what about you? And Stone? And Koba? And all the others?"
"We'll be fine." Maurice smiled at him. "We have humans to help us."
"Can we even trust them though? What if they turn against us?" Grey still felt some distrust towards the humans. He doubted any of them would hurt an ape and leave them like the ape from the dead body they found earlier, but still.
Maurice motioned to the buildings ahead of them. "We have our differences with the humans and we may not like each other that much. But today, when the bad humans attacked with their machines, we put all that aside and worked together to stop them. Even Koba and Tori stopped fighting to help."
"How could that mean anything?"
"Grey, Koba saved Tori from that metal ceiling tile and Foster saved them, Blue Eyes and I from the solider. An ape saving a human, and a human saving apes. That has to amount to something."
Grey let those words sink in as he looked at the buildings. Even from this distance, he could almost see the buildings that were destroyed. The colony could have been killed today if it wasn't for them teaming up with the humans. His Cedar would have died without ever telling him about her pregnancy. Blue Eyes could have lost his mother and brother, which would have ruined the poor prince. Rocket's own wife, Tinker, could have been killed. And then there was the rest of the apes and all the other humans...
..All of their deaths were prevented by the apes and the humans working together...
Grey glanced back at Maurice. "..It's funny but now...I think I'm finally beginning to understand what Caesar see's in humans.."
By the time Winter and Pinto finally stopped crying and fell asleep, Red's fur was drenched in their tears and he felt exhausted himself. The wounds on Winter's back were ugly, the skin scorched in first and second-degree burns and the fur missing. Red kept his hand as far away from the angry wounds as he could, knowing that one touch could hurt the other gorilla.
Pinto's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. The little ape was holding on to him so tightly, that Red didn't let go of him even after he fell asleep.
As the two of them snuggled on him, Red tried to comprehend what had happened just hours ago. That gorilla that Winter killed was deranged, but why? What did the humans do to make him like that? And as punishment for killing him, the humans branded Winter. Why didn't they do it to me? I'm the one that left the gun to protect Pinto. Red had expected to be branded like Winter, but the humans did nothing to him.
All the other gorillas in the stables were asleep, some snored softly and others appeared to be muttering in their sleep. Some were tossing and turning in their sleep, possibly from dreams. Red knew Tanoddah was probably asleep as well. He wished she wasn't, maybe she'd know why he was spared.
A sudden realization washed over Red. The humans didn't hurt him...They hurt Winter, but not him..Why?...
The memory of what Tanoddah told him about what Cooper had been put through suddenly seemed hauntingly real. An ape forced to kill the very people he was closest to…The very people who could...
Red glanced at Pinto. His eyes wide with horror.
I need to get Pinto out of here. He thought. Before they kill him...By their own guns, or by..My own hands..!
Over the next few days, Koba noticed an odd pattern with Tori. Each morning, she'd get up and leave and would only return sometime later, during the afternoon. Every time, the salty smell would be stronger on her skin. They didn't speak to each other, with Tori barely around it was easy to avoid her and when she was at the building, Koba made a point to not be around her.
Koba had liked being on the couch the first day but after a while, his body ached from falling asleep and the blanket became to hot for him to hide in. It was sometime the second day that he finally pulled himself out of the couch and walked around-Ellie, of course, didn't like it but decided that as long as Koba didn't do anything crazy and stayed in the building, he would be fine.
Most of the time, Koba wandered aimlessly in the building. He had explored the entire first floor, and was halfway through the second in just a day or so. Koba was surprised to see that not all the rooms were completely empty. There was one that looked like a complete bedroom, another that was filled to the ceiling with shelves of books on every wall, and a couple others that were just filled with stuff.
A good three days had passed by the time Koba was finally allowed to leave the building, and he was relieved he could be outside again. However, as he was about to leave, he saw Tori running off again. Carrying the duffel bag she always had with her as she went. She didn't see the scarred bonobo watching her from the window.
Koba narrowed his eyes at her. Where does she go?
Up until now, Koba kept away from Tori so he wouldn't be reminded of how he got injured in the first place. That metal tile that fell on him could have hurt Tori, but he took it for her. Why? Why did he save the daughter of the man that made him suffer so much?
He also didn't want to deal with the fact that he saw something in her that he had known for most of his life.
Koba looked over his shoulder before he left the building. Rocket was still recovering from his broken leg, he was fast asleep on the couch that he'd been on since day one. Luca, still on guard at the doorway, may have fallen asleep himself. Most of the humans were either tending to the wounded or were in the file room. Derek and Dreyfus had recruited some of the other humans in the city to read through the files-Koba was apparently the only ape in the colony to not give the humans permission to read his file or his sister's. How could they do that? Let the humans know how weak they use to be?
Still, with most of the humans busy, they probably won't notice another death until much later. Koba chose not to approach Stone or Grey. Stone's hand was still bandaged up and Grey seemed to be...Somewhere else mostly. He didn't need them anyway, what he was about to do was something very personal.
He left without anyone knowing. Once he was outside, he followed Tori, making sure to keep a good distance behind her. It wasn't hard, even with a duffel bag, Tori ran faster than Koba could keep up with her. Occasionally, she'd stop and take a few breaths. Then continue to run.
It took several minutes, but they eventually arrived at an empty parking lot. There were trees and ferns everywhere, just like in the city. There was a cement wall in the far end, with stairs to the right of it. Tori continued to run until she got to the wall and then walked down the stairs.
Koba hid in the green blur of bushes, ferns, and overgrown grass, eyes still watching. But when he realized where they were, he couldn't help but look around.
The air held a sweet, salty smell and the sounds of seagulls and water splashing seemed to be everywhere. The land was a blur of sand and water. Koba had never seen a place like this before, the closest he's ever been to salt water was whenever he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. But this place...This place was different. It was calmer, peaceful…Kinda pretty...
He saw Tori on the sandy floor. To his surprise, she took off her sleeveless sweater. Revealing another, faded blue colored, top. She then removed her shoes and socks, and then her pants. The top apparently extended down her body, covering up everyone except her legs. She placed her clothes into the duffel bag, and then pulled out a pair of black shorts and slipped them on.
There was something on Tori that caught Koba's eye. From this distance, it was hard to tell, but it looked like she had a scar on her right shoulder.
Tori, now wearing nothing but her bathing suit, proceeded to rub sunscreen on her skin. She's done this several times before, almost every day, and as far as she knew, she was the only one to go to the beach. It was as if the other survivors had been so afraid of the virus, of the apes, and of dying in general, that they forgot they had lives.
Now even Tori was no stranger to worrying about when death came upon her, but she refused to let her fear prevent her from living her life. If she was destined to die, and regardless of how she died, she accepted it. But she wasn't about to wait around for it to happen like so many others have confined themselves to do so.
When she was ready, she ran towards the doc. Anticipating the beautiful coldness with each, excited, step. Then, she leaped into the thick blueness. The water was cold to the touch and gave her chills with each movement but she loved the feeling. She took a breath of air and began to swim.
Koba watched, astonished by her actions. First of all, why in the world would she go in the water? The only thing that's in there is a drowning, wet death. Secondly, how is she still alive? And why is she enjoying it?
The scarred bonobo himself had never been in the water and whenever he was, it would only be his feet and ankles that would get wet. No one Koba knew could swim, he himself didn't know how. It was just a thing apes didn't do and even if they did, the ones in the colony certainly didn't. Though he never knew if humans swam, Koba could never imagine any of them doing it either.
Strange human.
Koba waited a little while before he realized that, aside from him, Tori was all alone. Not a single human in sight. He assumed others would join her eventually, but no one else came.
He knew right then, that he could kill her here…And he knew just where to get the gun to do it..!
He turned around and ran back to the city. He was so focused on his plan, that Koba hardly noticed when he returned to the warehouse and picked up another M4A1 rifle. He didn't even think of anything else as he made his way back to the parking lot. Tori was still there, still all alone.
He waited until she came out of the water. Then, he made his move. He jumped from the ceiling wall to the sandy ground, making Tori turn around. Her eyes went wide when she saw Koba. He then charged at Tori and pointed the gun at her.
Tori recoiled, she almost fell back into the water. The only thing she could think to do was to put her hands up.
He was going to do it, he was ready to kill her. He already killed Jacobs, but for extra revenge, he'll kill his daughter. Now Tori will know just how much he hated her…Just how much he had suffered because of her father...
"What? You want to kill me now? Go ahead! I dare you!" Even now, with a gun pointed at her, Tori was still as snarky as ever.
Koba wanted her to see the hatred in his eyes, and he wanted to see the fear in hers. But ironically, he found himself unable to meet her gaze. Her eyes had that look in them again, the same as before...The one he..He...
He pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
His hands began to shake, so much so that he could barely hold the gun properly. His mind began to race. Was the gun even loaded? It had to be! Was it jammed? In his panic, Koba didn't realize that his finger wasn't even on the trigger. In fact, his finger had become so sweaty, that he kept losing his grip on the stupid thing.
Tori, taking the chance spoke. "Koba, listen to me! You're not alone! I know the pain you suffered! You don't have to do this!"
"Shut up!" Koba, frustrated with himself, kept the gun pointed at her. Though he was now shaking so much, that the gun threatened to fall from his grasp. "You! Know! Nothing! You! Don't! Know! Life! In! Cage!" Koba wished she were dead already. His eyes were threatening to shed tears. "Your! Father! Deserved! To die!"
What Tori said next, would change everything.
"Yes, he did! He deserved what you did to him-no! He deserved much more! He should have suffered the way he made us suffer!"
Koba froze. He stared at her, confused. "Wha…What?"
Tori tried to calm down but found it hard to. This is something she has never told anyone before. Up until now, her childhood was a forbidden subject. Something she hardly allowed herself to think about, as she had banished the memories from her mind. Yet, they came rushing back to her. As vividly and clear as ever.
"..While you were an experiment at Gen-Sys, my father use to beat me." The word 'beat' seemed small in comparison, her father did so much more to her than just 'beat' her. "..Every time he got mad, he would take it out on me. And if not me, then my mother."
Numb. That was all Koba felt. He searched Tori's eyes with his own, trying to tell if she was lying. But the pain and sadness he saw were as real as ever.
"What..Did..He..?"
Tori pulled the right strap of her bathing suit down, revealing the full scar. Now that he could clearly see it, Koba realized it ran from her shoulder blade to halfway down her chest. It was long and jagged and wrapped around her skin like a snake.
"When I was twelve...My father got so mad at me for getting a bad grade at school, that he.." Tori took a breath to ease her nerves. "..He threw me down the stairs and broke my collarbone."
Tori then moved her bangs out of the way, revealing another ugly scar that peaked out on the left side of her forehead and seemed to trail back on her head, hidden by her pink hair. "And...When I was seven, my father slammed my head in the door...Cut my head open.."
Koba could only look at her, horrified by how she got those scars. How could anyone, human or ape, do that to their child?!
It suddenly dawned on Koba that he always saw Jacobs as nothing more than his tormentor. Even after he killed him, he never considered the possibility that Jacobs had a family. Let alone one he abused. In fact, now that he knew, Jacobs suddenly became much more dislikable. Koba had never heard of parents abusing their children, but the act itself felt worse than murder. Like the ultimate taboo of all evils…And Koba, despite all he had been through at the hands of humans, never thought even they'd be capable of such evil.
He let the gun fall in the sand, its purpose forgotten. Koba was shivering so badly that he had to sit down. The memories of the labs flooded his mind, but he let them. Every horrible thing that ever happened to him, from his mother's death to the last experiment performed on him. All those years, he thought humans were cold and cruel, incapable of feeling pain or guilt. But Tori's story about her childhood suggested otherwise. Was it possible that Koba, after so many years of fearing and hating them to the point of seeking vengeance, found a human who understood him in a way that...That no ape...Not even his own sister, could?
Tori didn't say anything for a while. Letting Koba absorb what she had just told him. In the meantime, she let herself reflect back on her childhood. Remembering the few things that offered her comfort and a place to escape to, both real and imagined, and the many other things that weren't at all nice. Both good and bad memories. Tori had always known her father worked at Gen-Sys. She knew he was experimenting on apes, and even though she disliked the idea of hurting innocent creatures for research, she hoped a cure for Alzheimer's would make up for all the wrongs done to animals in labs. She never imagined she'd actually meet one of them, let alone one who her father tortured.
"..Were you always at Gen-Sys?" She asked after a good hour of silence passed.
"No.." Koba doubted he could tell her. His throat felt like it was closing in on itself, and his teeth kept biting at his lips and the insides of his cheeks.
Sensing what he was feeling, Tori resorted to a different form of communication. "Would signing be easier?" Despite not using sign language for years, Tori was surprised to find that she hadn't forgotten how.
Koba raised his eyebrows. "You know sign language?"
"Yeah." At least they had this in common. Sign language was small, but it meant something for both of them and Tori was grateful for that.
"How did you learn?"
"My mother was deaf. My father beat her so badly that she lost all her hearing. She and I learned sign language to communicant, but my father never cared enough to learn himself."
Koba was slowly beginning to realize that when he killed Jacobs, he didn't just kill the human who tortured him and his twin. But he had also killed a man who held no love or compassion in his heart. Not even for his wife, or his own daughter.
"That's horrible." He hesitated before asking. "What..Happened to your mother? After Jacobs died?"
Tori had never spoken of this before. If her childhood wasn't bad enough, this had to be the worst. Throughout her childhood, no matter what her father did, her mother was always there. When she no longer was, her childhood truly ended. "She died of the Simian Flu-the virus, just a couple months after my father died."
Koba sighed. Another, sad, commonality they shared. "My mother died too." It was still hard to talk about it, but it felt better knowing that Tori been through it too. "She was trying to protect me and my sister from Roger, our caretaker. He…Beat her to death with a sack of oranges."
Tori covered her mouth with her hands, the sympathy mirroring itself on her face. Koba looked away, unable to meet her gaze. They let the silence grow for a few minutes before Tori talked again.
"Is...Is that why you hate humans so much?"
"No." Koba didn't even bother verbally speak. "At least, that's not the only reason.." Koba bit his lip, and he realized he had been chewing on the tender skin. He was close to drawing blood. "After Mother died, Dolly and I were adopted by a human named Tommy…He abused us…He did..This.." Koba half-heartedly touched his blind eye and the scar over the left side of his face.
Milo's face flashed into his mind. Koba had almost forgotten about his old friend and playmate. He never saw him again after they escaped Tommy's house, but he hoped no harm came to the chimp.
"After that, Dolly and I were put in the labs...I don't know how we got to stick together, but I'm glad we did.."
Koba's past pulled at Tori's heartstrings. When she first met Koba, she knew he hated humans but she honestly thought it was for a similar reason that Dreyfus had for hating apes. Now she knew that, unlike Dreyfus, the scarred bonobo hated the humans for a much more personal reason.
"I'm sorry all that happened to you…No one, ape or human, deserves to go through that." She looked at Koba with sad eyes, trying to picture him if his life had been happier but it was hard to with all the scars that seemed to reflect the pain and sadness he had to live through. "Do...Do you have any other relatives?" It felt like a dumb thing to ask, but her concern was beginning to grow for the ape. Just how alone was he?
Koba blinked several times, trying to think. He had honorary brothers, nephews, and sisters, but the only people who were related to him, by blood, were Dolly and their mother. Anything beyond that was just…Blank. "I don't know." He answered. "I never knew my father. Dolly and I never asked about him, and Mother and our other caretaker, Mary, never mentioned him." Koba realized right then that he never gave the subject much thought at all. Until now, his father seemed more like an imaginary person. An ape with no name, and no face. An ape who simply didn't exist. Wanting the focus to be off of him, he turned the question back on Tori. "What about you? Do you have any family left?"
"I don't think so." Tired of verbal talk, Tori began signing instead. "I was an only child, so was my mother. My father had relatives back in Britain, but I didn't know them that well. I haven't heard from them since the Simian Flu, they're probably dead. I've been on my own ever since my mother died."
That, for some reason, made Koba feel sick. Throughout all the trauma he endured in his life, he at least had Dolly. Even if they didn't see each other, knowing she was in the same building as him offered some comfort and now, after years of being in the woods, she was still his rock and shoulder to cry on. He couldn't imagine life without his older twin and being all alone and he didn't want to either. "How old were you when she died?"
"Fifteen, when I was a teenager...Probably about the same age as Blue Eyes." Tori began to wonder just how old the apes actually were. She knew apes lived shorter lives than humans, so that would mean their age wouldn't reflect how many years they'd been alive-at least, not in the same way humans did.
"I lost mine when I was a young child…I think I was two at the time.." Koba realized his mistake too late. His mother's face was as clear as day in his mind. He suddenly remembered her smell, were warm hugs, her soft fur, the way her fingers tickled him..And her eyes, her beautiful and calming, hazel brown eyes. She never spoke a word, but that didn't matter. She made the world seem like a warm and safe place, with nothing but hugs, kisses, tickles, and playtime to fill in the blanks. The full weight of missing her came down on him in one, devastating wave.
Despite his efforts, the sob fell out of Koba's throat before he could stop it. He immediately covered his face, desperately trying to hide how weak he was, but it was too late. Tori had seen his tears.
Thankfully, the female human said nothing. She didn't even make any movement. She just sat there, eyes on the sand. When she looked at him, it was nothing more than mere glances but the concern in her eyes still shown.
You're so weak. All his life, Koba never cried in front of a human. Mostly, he didn't have time to cry and only times he ever did, was when the pain happened too fast for him to cover it up. To Koba, tears represented weakness. Especially if shed in a humans presence. You just gave her a glimpse of how vulnerable you really are. The self-loathing grew as Koba tried to banish his mother from his mind. How could he cry like this? And out of all humans, why did have to be in front of Tori?!
Koba was relieved when he was able to calm down. He wiped his face, trying to get rid of the warm droplets that stained his face. He expected her to say something, but Tori remained silent.
Instead, when Koba finally let his hands fall from his face, Tori reached over and held one of them in her own. Koba looked at her, and their eyes met. Koba now realized what was so different About Tori's eyes than Jacobs.
Her eyes were caring and held a warmth to them that he never knew humans were capable of. Most of all, her soft gaze made Koba feel safe (which he almost never felt unless Dolly was with him). Why? He didn't know, but he now knew what else he and Tori had in common.
Vulnerability. And her's reminded Koba of his own.
Caesar could no longer tell what was real and what wasn't. When he slept, he dreamt he was back in the ape village and saw Koba point the gun at him. He'd wake up and fall back to sleep, then dream the same nightmare only with Dolly aiming the gun. He'd wake up again and fall asleep, and the dream would have a terrifying twist and it would be both Koba and Dolly pointing guns at him…And then shooting, and suddenly his entire body explodes.
When he was awake, Caesar saw nothing but monsters. The shadows became ghosts, the other apes around, both in the cell and outside as slaves, looked like distorted, walking corpses. Sometimes, they literally looked like monsters. He swore he saw Pope with three heads at one point and Dolly once had teeth that were so sharp, it pained him to look at her. Meanwhile, Ash would turn from an ape, to a spider, to a bat, and then to a bear. Half of the time, Caesar wasn't even sure if the boy was real or just a phantom.
The Ape King didn't notice a few days had passed. If he wasn't awake, he was asleep. If he wasn't in the cell, he was in the room with the lightning and the needles. If he wasn't in pain, he felt sick or hungry, sometimes both. If his pus-oozing wounds didn't hurt, they itched and he couldn't help but scratch them until they bleed. Caesar wondered if he was dying, and he almost wished he'd just die so all the confusion would just end.
Pope, meanwhile, was in the far left side of the cell. He spent most of the time staring at the three apes, growing more alarmed by their behavior as they days moved on. Ash and Dolly were the most disturbing. Ash, who previously screamed and cried every time the humans brought him back to the cell, was now snarling and growling like a rabid dog. Dolly was the same. The few times she uttered Koba's name, she'd also say 'die' in a voice that was equally disturbing. Caesar, surprisingly, frightened Pope the most out of the three. The Ape King was extremely paranoid, his red eyes often wide open, his head frantically turning at every sound (even if the imagined ones) and even being scared of...Of the others, even of Pope himself.
It got to the point that Pope began to miss the old Caesar. It was much easier to resent and plan to scheme against him when the Ape King was his usual, non-paranoid self.
Pope had tried to protect the three of them from the humans-even Caesar. He tried once and got tased as a result. He tried again and was beaten so brutally with a baton, that his already mutilated body was now covered with black and blue bruises.
Today, the humans hadn't come yet. Maybe they finally grew bored of Dolly, Caesar, and Ash and decided to leave them alone. Pope hoped that won't mean he'll be next.
He glanced outside, just so he could look at something other than the three apes in front of him. What he found instead was Dot just a couple of feet away. She was preoccupied with collecting rocks and putting them in a cart that was attached to her by a chain. She looked just as miserable as she did the last time he saw her.
"Dot!" He called in a whispery voice, grabbing her attention.
"Pope." She still remembered his name, which relieved him.
Pope still wanted to try an gain Dot's trust for his plan, but his schemes would just have to wait for now. If Dot had been here longer than he had than maybe she could shed some light on the situation.
"Dot, were you in this cell before?"
Dot looked at the cell with a haunted gaze. She did nothing to hold her tears back. "Yes."
The scarred chimp had never felt such a mixture of relief and..Sympathy? For the female. Did she know what they were doing to apes that were in this cell? Is her time in this cell the cause of her deep sadness?
"I'm in here with three other apes. Caesar, Ash and Dolly are their names." Pope was careful not to tell Dot just who Caesar was. "The humans have been taking them away and bringing them back. They act differently now, Dolly and Ash are like mad dogs, and Caesar is all paranoid. " He stopped explaining when he saw the look in her eyes.
For the first time, Dot's face had a different emotion other than depression. Fear. She quickly brought her hands up. "Do they have burn marks on the sides of their heads?"
"Yes!"
Dot glanced around, scanning her surroundings before continuing to sign. "The humans only do this to the apes that have 'lights in their eyes'. It means they still have hope or a reason to fight and stay alive. Sometimes they do it to apes who rebel." Pope remembered the first day when that soldier said Dolly and Caesar had that. He wondered why Lake and the other's weren't chosen as well. Are they even still alive?
"What do they do to them?"
"They bring them to a room, and restrain them…Then lightning happens, and then the needles, then.." She hesitated, blinded by her own tears. "..It makes the apes see things…Things that aren't real.."
That would explain why Ash thought his father tried to kill him, and who knows just what Dolly and Caesar had been seeing for the last few days.
"What are they trying to do?"
"The..Things the humans make them see…It's to make them...Kill all who they love.."
Pope's eyes widened. Did he read her signs right? How could these humans influence apes to kill their own families?! "Did...Did you..?" He wasn't sure if he should or wanted, to ask.
Dot bit her lips, her eyes filling with more tears. Her face mirrored a level of despair that Pope didn't think was possible.
"They locked me in there after they captured my colony." She started, her hands were shaking. "..They took me to that room.." The familiar look of trauma was painful to look at. "..I saw nightmares for days...When they finally let me out, I saw my child…My only son…!" She was shaking, and desperately trying to quiet her whimpers.
"Dot?" Pope normally feigned concern for others, but this...This was different. He genuinely felt worried all of the sudden.
Dot took a deep breath. The look in her eyes was the most heartbreaking look that Pope had ever seen in his entire life. Even all the apes who came from labs were nothing compared to this. And nothing could prepare him for what she said next.
"I..K-Killed..M-M..My..S-Son..!"
Pope's stomach sunk, his mouth fell open. He didn't want to believe her, but the immense grief and overwhelming guilt that radiated from her proved she was telling the truth. A mother? Killing her own child? Is that really how far these humans would go? Just for control over apes? For the first time since being kidnapped, Pope began to feel afraid. He wanted power and control himself but even though Pope wanted to kill off the entire human race, he didn't want to kill their children at least, not while they were children. He'd wait until the human children were adults, then he'd kill them off. But actually making their parents kill them?…That was something that not even Pope would consider..Not even to Caesar's followers...Not even to a human...
Good grief! These humans make the labs seem merciful!
Suddenly, the door swung open. Pope spun around just in time to see the humans grab the three apes and drag them out of the cell. Dolly and Ash struggled but were easily overpowered by the soldiers. Caesar only moaned as the humans roughly forced him to his feet.
The door slammed closed as quickly as it opened.
Chills ran all over his body like spiders. Pope didn't need to ask, he already knew what the humans were planning to do. He looked back at Dot, who went back to work for cover.
"Dot, Caesar has a wife and two sons back where we came from. And Ash's parents and Dolly's twin brother are back there too." The faces of Rocket, Tinker, Cornelia, Blue Eyes, little Cornelius and Koba flashed in his mind. Are they really going to be killed by the very people who love them the most?
Dot huffed, her face completely wet with tears. Shaking her head sadly, she signed: "They're doomed."
A's/N: And play the dramatic music! XD
So we finally get to know more about Tori and Dot in this chapter! XD So why did I give Tori a survivor of child abuse? Because I wonder if Koba were to meet a human who was also abused by Jacobs (even if he didn't seem that violent in Rise) then maybe he'd see them differently (or at least that one in particular!). The same can be said for Dot, only with her it's more of a 'what if Pope decided to fix someone and ended up being fixed by that person himself' sort of thing. Also, Tori's love of swimming and running is loosely based off of my mom who recently ran an Ironman! 3
Sorry for that very brief scene with Red, Winter, and Pinto! I know I should really give those guys a proper scene, but I had a little writer's block so I made it THAT short! XD And yes, Grey is OFFICIALLY going to have a little 'maternity/paternity/father-to-be' vacation!
Also, sorry if anyone got confused about the time gap in the chapter. After the scene with Red, the timeline jumps three days. (I just wanted to add as much detail in my chapters as possible, ok?! X3) I hope that clears things up if not then let me know and I'll tell you. ;)
To end this note, allow me to quote Caesar!: "From humans, Koba learned hate...But nothing else." ~Caesar. Believe it or not, that quote alone made me fall in love with Koba and inspired most of the story. As you guys probably guessed from that scene with him an Tori, Koba's relationship with her is about to change dramatically and I'm happy to say that our favorite bonobo is about is learn more from humans than just hate! :D
Now, I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight/Good morning! :D
Thanks for reading and please review!