A's/N: YAY I FINISHED THE CHAPTER! :D This literally took me ALL WEEK LONG to write!...So yes, it's officially the longest chapter I've ever written (well by far!). This would be due to me combining another chapter into this one. The chapter was originally going to end with Pope...But I just wasn't satisfied with it, so I added more in it so now it ends with a cliffhanger...And even though there aren't any cookies in this chapter, the phrase was the perfect name for it. XD
Warning! This chapter mentions electric shock therapy. You don't see it, but it is mentioned. Just wanted to let you guys know in case any of you are sensitive to that stuff and/or are like me and just see it as a form of torture branded as a medical treatment...
Ok, enough of me rambling! Enjoy the chapter!
It was the sound of the footsteps that woke Red up. He hated waking up in the horse stables, the hard, wooden walls and cement floor was uncomfortable, and all the straws making at him and getting stuck in his fur made it impossible to get a good sleep. In his blurred, tired vision, he saw two soldiers walking around in the long aisle. One of them carried a long chain, with many collars on it, and the other held a taser. They went through the stalls, collecting only the young apes. Most of which, obeyed their orders and let them chain them without question. Even the scared ones.
Red, now fully awake, shook Winter up. The albino gorilla blinked and winced as he sat up, his burns still hurt. He took one look at the soldiers, and his eyes widened in fear. "What's happening?"
"I don't know." Red watched as the armed men kept getting more gorilla children. He hid the still sleeping Pinto behind him. If they planned to take that child, they'd have to go through him first.
But how do I stop them? Red glanced around, but couldn't find any weapons. Suppose he could just attack them, and tell Pinto to flee…But that would result in him being tased. Or worse, killed. And Pinto could end up killed by one of the soldiers outside…And if Red died, who would protect Winter?
"Don't fear them." The whispery voice was Tanoddah. Red and Winter looked at her, surprised at her calmness as the humans took Cooper, Choy and Bella. "They're our friends. They mean no harm."
No harm? How could she say that?! Just days ago, soldiers like these two tried to have Pinto fight a large, deranged gorilla and branded Winter just because he shot him. How could these soldiers be any different from them?!
"It's ok." This voice was new, small but calming. It was one of the soldiers. To the gorilla's surprise, he put the taser down and removed his helmet. Revealing his face.
The human had paling skin, brown and slightly greying hair, and his dark eyes were warm. Despite the army fatigues, he appeared scrawny and small in appearance. Like his clothes belonged to someone much bigger and stronger than he was.
"My name is Will. I'm not going to hurt you, I on your side."
Red's eyes narrowed at him. Winter shuddered, shifting his body to hide behind Red. Accidentally waking up Pinto in the process.
Sensing the distrust, the other soldier took off his helmet as well. He looked bigger than Will, as his clothes were more fitting and his face had a little more color. The grey sprouts of hair on his head and face gave him a slightly scruffy appearance.
"I'm Preacher, you can trust us. We're not like the other soldiers." His voice was deeper, but not by much.
Red glared at the two. Not sure if he wanted to trust them or not. "Why..Should we..Trust you?" He had seen too much death in the short time he'd been in the base to know what these soldiers were capable of. Even if they claimed to be on their side, it would take a lot more than words to convince Red to trust them.
"Because they're trying to help us." Tanoddah was talking now. Red realized at the moment that she knew these humans.
"..Help..Us?" Asked Winter, his eyes mixed with hope and fear.
"Yes." Tanoddah began signing. "Their colonel is a brutal leader. Most humans here follow him, but not all of them agree with him. Will and Preacher are two of them. They want to stop him."
Winter's eyes met Red's. It was as if the two were asking each other if the other believed this. Even here, even in a place like this, could there really be good humans among bad ones? The ones in the city certainly seemed that way. Despite not trusting any of them, even Red noticed that Malcolm, Ellie, and their group were more caring towards the apes than the others in the city seemed.
"Not everyone from San Fransisco were kidnapped," Will spoke, getting their attention. "The apes and the humans that were left behind. I've been sending them clues as to who these people are and what they're planning to do. Just hours ago, they sent Caesar and two other apes back to try and kill everyone there." At the mention of Caesar and the human's plans, the two gorillas tensed up. Caesar? Killing his own people? As much as Red disliked Caesar, he knew the Ape King would never kill an ape. Let alone the ones in his own colony. The very thought of him killing his family and friends horrified Red. He didn't have to look at Winter to know he felt the same.
"What did they do to him?!"
"They kept him in the Breaking Room. That's where they break the apes down, distort their memories and literately brainwash them in order to turn them against their loved ones." Preacher gulped, as if just talking about it creeped him out. "Once they realize what they've done, the ape is broken. So broken, that it becomes easy for the colonel to control them."
Is that what happened to their friends? Did these soldiers actually take Caesar, Pope, Dolly, Lake, Andy, Lucky, Ash, and Pepper and turn them into murderers?!
"We sent someone out with them. A boy that was taken from the city, Alex. He's bringing one of the serum capsules with him. Hopefully, they'll know what to do." There was genuine hope in Preacher's voice. He really wanted this to work.
The boy's face appeared in Red's mind. He wondered what sort of horrors Alex had to go through.
Winter was eyeing the chain that Preacher still held. The one that the young gorillas were still attached to. Slowly piecing together what the two humans were doing. "You...Bring...Children, back?" He asked. "To city?"
"That's the plan." Will took one step closer to the stall. "We're trying to pull off a mass escape from the base. Both humans and apes. We can't do everyone in one night, but we can at least get the children out first."
Mass escape? At the corner of his eye, Red saw some soldiers outside the stables. Each one had a row of children attached to chains. Some were human, and some were apes. He counted nine rows, but there were too many children to properly count. The only familiar face he saw was Pepper.
Could he really trust them? Red still doubted these two, who's to say Will and Preacher aren't just gathering up all the children just so they could kill them all? They certainly had the chance to if they wanted to. But if Pinto doesn't go...They'll force me to kill him..The paranoia had built itself in Red's chest. None of the soldiers had said, to his face, that they were going to make him kill Pinto, but Red knew from eavesdropping on them that they were trying to figure out the method of how Pinto will die at his hands.
Throughout the past few days, Red had come to see both Winter and Pinto as more than just the crybabies he had to babysit. But more as brothers that he had to protect. Normally Red cared for nothing but his own safety, but somehow that has changed. The two other gorillas were all he had in this horrible place, and he didn't want to lose them.
"I go home." Squeaked Pinto. Red and Winter looked at him, surprised that the youngster had been listening. "But I don't want to go without Red and Winter."
At that moment, Red made up his mind. If it meant Pinto and Pepper, and all the other children kept here, could live than maybe trusting Will and Preacher wouldn't be such a waste at all.
"We'll be alright, Pinto. Winter and I can take care of ourselves." Red didn't need to tell him anything. Just looking at the tiny gorilla told him that he knew what was happening. "You'd be safer at home than you are here."
Pinto glanced at Will and Preacher, then back at the two older gorillas. "Promise me you two would stay alive." He signed. "Red, don't let the soldiers hurt Winter anymore. And Winter, try to be brave."
The young boy's words surprised them. Pinto wasn't even old enough to be in Maurice's class, let alone the Gorilla Guard. Yet, he was beginning to sound like one of the mighty guardians."We promise." They both signed.
But even as Pinto went over to the stall door, and allowed Preacher to chain him, Red hoped he was making the right choice and that he could keep his promise, not just to protect Winter but to keep them both alive. He wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he failed either way.
BANG!
The sound was sudden and loud. It's echo made it seem to come from everywhere.
BANG!
Now the noise was fully recognized. The sound of a gun. Everyone's stopped what they were doing and in seconds were all scattering about. Derek, Dreyfus, Luca, Stone, Ellie, and Malcolm ran out of the building. Despite needing Tinker for support, Rocket joined them. Blue Eyes and Maurice ran to them, then Kempt and Foster appeared.
"Where did that come from?!" Dreyfus demanded, head dashing from the humans to the apes as if he didn't know who to ask.
"It wasn't from the quarantine area, it would have been louder." Said, Malcolm.
They suddenly heard footsteps running towards them. It was Tori and Koba, but they looked different than usual. Tori with her pink hair wet and sticking to her face and shoulders and wearing her old bathing suit and swim shorts and Koba with his fur looking slightly damp. Both of them had sand up to their knees. "We heard the gunshots from the beach, what the heck is going on here?"
"That what we're trying to figure out!" Dreyfus snapped.
"You two were at the beach? Together?" Asked Kempt.
Foster frowned at the shorter human. "Seriously? Do you really think now is a good time to ask that?"
Tori rolled her eyes. "As a matter of fact, Kempt, yes. I was swimming, and Koba was playing in the sand."
Stone looked at Koba with a questioning gaze. "You? Playing in sand?" Had that metal tile hit the scarred bonobo harder than they thought?
"Yes." Koba tried to hide the relief from his features. Tori wasn't going to tell them what they talked about earlier. "What? Didn't you know I could be playful too?"
BANG!
Everyone ducked and jumped back. That gunshot was even closer than before. When they looked, a soldier stood there. The only difference between him and the last two soldiers from before was that his helmet had a skull drawn on its front. "You're all gonna die today, Suckers!" He then ran, shooting his fun as he went.
"Oh no, you don't! Get back here!" Foster yelled as he chased after the man. Luca followed, howling to get the other gorillas to help out.
The others waited for something to happen. Another machine attack? More soldiers? But nothing happened. "That's it?" Dreyfus couldn't believe it. "Just a stray soldier shooting at people?"
"Somethings not right here." Said Derek, looking around. "Where did he come from?"
"Didn't see." Said Blue Eyes. He and the other apes were just as surprised as the humans.
"Guys, we should really do something about our security. Like, put people on guard." Said Kempt.
Just then, they heard a voice. The voice of the last person they'd expect to see. Especially since the last time they saw him, he was kidnapped. "D-Dad!"
It couldn't be. Could it?
"Dad! E-Ellie!"
Alex stood just feet away from the group. His clothes were disheveled, his hair was messy, his face pale and his eyes huge. Although he didn't seem hurt, he was shaking so badly that it was impossible to tell if he was limping or not.
"Alex!" Malcolm ran to him and, despite his broken arm, hugged him tightly. He pulled away and inspected him. "Are you ok? Are you hurt? How did you get out?" He asked as Ellie ran to his side.
Alex ignored his father's questions and instead looked at him with terror in his eyes. "D-Dad! Ellie! Th-They did something to them! They did something to them!" He kept repeating those five words, the fear intensifying each time.
Derek, Dreyfus, Kempt, and Tori watched, not knowing what to do. Maurice, Stone, Koba, Blue Eyes, Rocket and Tinker looked at each other. What was he talking about?!
"What? What did they do?" Malcolm asked as a feeling of dread washed over him.
Suddenly, Ellie saw something. Was that?…Were they really all coming back? But when the two figures got closer, her eyes widened. "Malcolm!"
Malcolm looked, his eyes following Ellie's gaze as Alex his head on his father's shoulder for protection. The others looked too. To their shock, there stood Ash and Dolly. Tinker's eyes filled with relieved tears. She was about to run to her son, but Rocket held her back. Despite wanting to do the same himself, Rocket noticed Ash's Eyes. Koba himself almost took a step towards his twin sister, but he too saw what Rocket saw. Everyone saw it in fact.
Something was wrong. Ash and Dolly had burn marks on the sides of their heads, and they looked sleep deprived but that wasn't the worst part. Their eyes had this crazed, wild look to them. The look was dangerously similar to that of a dog with rabies.
"Ash..!" Rocket's voice came in a concerned whisper.
"..Dolly.." Koba's was more out of shock.
Then, before anyone saw it coming, the two apes suddenly charged at them. Ash lunging at his parents while Dolly at her brother. They moved too fast, it was as if they were being possessed. Ash slashed and beat Tinker until her nose and lips were bleeding. Rocket tried to protect his wife from their son's blows, but Ash turned on him just as quickly and in seconds, the teenager was bashing his father's head into the ground and making him bleed. Koba tried to wrestle Dolly off of him, but she easily overpowered her younger twin. Her fingers dug into his skin as she scratched him. He kicked her but she suddenly sunk her teeth into his shoulder, causing Koba to yell from the sudden pain.
Maurice, Blue Eyes, Stone, and the humans could do nothing but watch in mute horror at the scene. They wanted to help but Ash and Dolly were fighting so viciously, it honestly looked like the two of them could kill all of them in one blow.
Then, the yelling and snarls were silenced by the distinct sounds of a gun. And suddenly, Ash and Dolly were on the ground, with something stuck in their necks. What the..? The three bloodied apes and the others turned their heads and saw Kempt with a tranquilizer gun pointed at the two unconscious apes. His eyes huge.
"Sorry! I know 'no guns' but I didn't know what else to do!" He stammered, trying to recover from the shock of what had just happened. Blue Eyes looked at the apes. The last time a human pointed a gun at one of them was back at the damn, and Carver had a real gun back then. However, this was different. They'll let this one slide.
Tori walked closer, Derek and Dreyfus following her. "Are you guys ok?" She asked. Tinker and Rocket gave slight nods, while Koba muttered a yes.
"What happened? Why did they attack like that?!" It was hard to tell who Dreyfus was concerned about, but it was likely either himself or the human's safety.
Ellie examined the female bonobo and young chimp. She looked at their burns and frowned. "I have a bad feeling about this. See these burns? They typically come from Electric Shock Therapy."
Derek frowned at the mentions of EST. "They were tortured."
Koba barely listened to the human's talk. He just stared at the unconscious body of his sister. The very person who had been protecting him ever since the moment their mother died. Why, Dolly? The way she attacked him was a strength that the female had never displayed before. In fact, the only form of fighting Dolly knew was play fighting. She couldn't even take down an elk, let alone another ape. What did they do to my sister?
Rocket and Tinker were looking at their son with worried eyes. At their precious, beautiful child. They've seen several humans hurt apes in their lifetimes, but this? What have these humans done to their son to make him like this?
"Will." The frail voice was Alex's. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It was a capsule, the kind that contained vaccine medicine. "W-Will...Told me to give this to you."
Will? As in, Will Rodman?! Alex had met him?!
Ellie took the medicine capsule and looked it over. Surprised to see a capsule like this in excellent condition. But when she saw the label on it, she felt a lump form in her throat and sick to her stomach. She knew what this is. She hadn't seen one in years, but she recognized the letter and the numbers imprinted on it like it was yesterday.
Then, in the short silence, the group suddenly became aware of a groaning noise. It was low and hoarse like it came from the throat of a person in pain. There was no way to tell if it came from a human or from an ape. Then, a figure stumbled out from behind one of the buildings. The figure slowly made his way over to them. Kempt aimed the tranquilizer gun, ready to shoot if necessary. Maurice, Stone, Blue Eyes, Derek and Dreyfus surrounded the group, keeping Tori, Koba, Rocket, Tinker, Ellie, Malcolm, Alex and the unconscious Ash and Dolly concealed. But when the figure got close enough, they all immediately recognized him..And they were horrified by the state he was in.
Caesar looked and sounded like a zombie. His face was pale with a green tint to it, his eyes were bloodshot, his fur was dampened from his own sweat and the still open wounds on his chest and shoulder were showed alarming signs of infection. He opened his mouth, possibly trying to say something, but only letting out groans instead.
"C-Caesar!" Malcolm gasped.
It was as if Blue Eyes was seeing a ghost. One straight out of his worst nightmares. "Father..!" He rushed over to the Ape King, just in time to catch him as he collapsed.
Caesar could barely hear the voices around him. All he was aware of was the pain in his chest, the burning sensation in his eyes, and how badly his body ached. He felt as if every movement he ever made in his life, from a single finger lift to a jump, had caught up with him and now his body was paying for it. He swore he heard someone saying his name, but he was so tired...So desperate to go to sleep, that Caesar didn't make any attempt to resist as his eyelids closed. Shutting out the voices and the blurred shadows as they did.
The cell seemed empty without Caesar, Dolly, and Ash inside. Sure the elderly female orangutan was still there, and her eyes still glared at him from time to time, but Pope hardly saw her as company. Besides her being a stranger, Pope noticed her eyes were as brown as dirt. Indicating that she was a primitive ape. An animal. Despite this, he still found her glare uncomfortable. It was as if she knew something..As if she were reading his own thoughts... It made him squirm and shiver under her gaze.
Dot had stayed with Pope for as long as she could without the guards yelling at her. Eventually, she had to leave but not before giving the scarred chimpanzee a glance of pure worry before disappearing into the crowd of slaves. Occasionally, he would look in the direction she ran to, and wonder where she was now. But at the moment, Pope found himself reflecting back on his original scheme. Only now looking at the slaves with a new point of view.
Can I really do it? He asked himself. Could he really try and manipulate Dot, a female who's been broken beyond belief, to follow him, rebel against the humans, and convince her that Caesar was bad and wage war against him and all those who follow him and to the entire human race?...Pope knew the answer to that, and it wasn't in his favor. Dot doesn't need a leader. He realized. She needs someone to protect her. Pope hated to think about his past, but the one thing he remembered the most about it was how helpless he felt. How badly he wished someone, anyone for that matter, would just swoop in and save him from all the pain and all the bad humans. He had eventually stopped wishing for people who'd never come and didn't exist, but the memory of the feeling never left him. Many apes who were from labs felt the same way, but most of them healed from it by marriage or from their relatives. Someone to lean on, to turn to for comfort and to tell them that everything would be alright. The only two lab apes that Pope knew of who never married were Koba and himself-but Koba never really needed to fall in love for that sort of company, he always had Dolly for that. But Pope had no one.
It was long too late for anyone to protect him. He had no longer wanted it, only vengeance. But...What if...What if he could do that for Dot? She had suffered too much hurt to be oblivious to bad humans, and Pope had no idea how to get her, or himself, out of the base, but maybe...Just maybe...He could give her the hope and the protection that no one gave him...
His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and the humans came in. Pope tried to hide the dread that washed over him as they came for him. What are they going to do? Torture him as they did with the others? Turn him into one of the slaves? They chained him and the orangutan and took them out of the room. They walked through the hallway, out the door, passed the slaves gate, into another door of a different building and before long, Pope found himself in a small, dark room lit only by the lined lights on the ceiling. There was a desk against the left wall, covered with bottles and containers and other miscellaneous objects that Pope could not identify. A faded, fire extinguisher hung on the wall straight ahead, in between another door and a window. The only other furniture was a table with what looked like maps strewn over it and a single chair next to it.
What grabbed Pope's attention were the bonobo, the gorilla and the chimpanzee in the far corner with their heads down and the one human who stood at the table. Back toward him and the other soldiers, until he turned around and looked at them. He walked over to them, eyes on the orangutan. He smirked.
"Haven't seen this one around here for days. Did she try to escape again?" Escape? That primitive animal had tried to escape? How could she be capable of that?
"Yes, Sir. What shall we do with her?"
The human looked at the female orangutan. His piercing blue eyes seemed as sharp as a scalpel. He nodded at the soldier. "Since all attempts to break her have failed, I suggest she be my servant so I can watch her closely. If she rebels and escapes again? She'll be executed."
"Sir, yes Sir!" Said the soldier. Pope felt the chain tug as the other soldier began to take him away.
"Hold it!" Said the human. He then looked at the fishnet scarred chimp, taking in his looks. Pope suddenly felt self-conscious about every mark and scar on his body. He wondered what the human thought of them if he found it disgusting or not. "State your name."
The exact words were said to Caesar that first day. Pope bit his lip, not wanting to give this human that information.
"Answer the colonel!" The solider holding his chain shouted at him. Colonel? Pope looked at the human with shocked eyes. The human didn't look at all intimidating. He had fair, pink skin that went all the way up to his bald head. His nose was straight and thick, like an arrow piece. His lips were thin and pale, almost highlighted by the light beard on his face. Was this human really responsible for all the torture and death that took place at the base?
"Pope." His voice fell as he answered. "Who are-" He was cut off by a sudden whack from a baton.
"You will only speak when spoken to, monkey!"
The colonel put his hand up, silencing the solider. "Leave him here, he will be another servant for me."
Servant? Pope would rather be tased than serve this human.
"What about the lights in his eyes?" Asked a solider.
The colonel took Pope's face and held it tightly, turning his head so the soldier could see his eyes. "Do you see this? Most of the apes who have the lights in their eyes have something to lose. A reason to have hope. But this one? His eyes don't have lights. What he has is a will to live, but nothing more. He has nothing to lose, that makes him even more dangerous than those who have lights in their eyes. An ape with nothing to lose will stop at nothing to rebel." He motioned with his head towards the orangutan. "Like her."
Pope glanced at the female orangutan. In the dim light, her fur seemed so lightly orange, that it almost seemed whit and it hung loosely, making her seem ghostly in appearance. She didn't seem that much different from a regular orangutan, but her hard, brown eyes seemed strong enough to break down any wall with her glare. Why were these humans so desperate to keep her in their control when she looked nothing more than someone's grumpy grandmother?
The soldiers understood and left. The colonel looked at Pope and the orangutan, frowning at them. "My name is Colonel McCullough. You will refer to me only as 'Sir'." His voice was hard, like a rock. It vaguely reminded Pope of his own training methods with the Ape Army. "You will do what I say when I say it. Defy me, rebel against me or try to escape and you will die. Understand?"
Both apes nodded. Unable to speak even if they wanted to. The colonel snapped his fingers, getting the three others apes attention. "Hazell, Carlos! You know what to do. Cortez, get my clothes ready."
The gorilla-Cortez? disappeared into another room, the remaining apes walked closer. The chimpanzee was a female, Hazell?. She had a heart-shaped face that was covered in old and healing bruises. She had soft, spring colored eyes and very brown fur. Her large and very round abdomen indicated pregnancy, which made a pit form in Pope's throat. He hoped these horrible humans won't force her to kill her child as they did to Dot.
The bonobo, who must be Carlos, was in an even worse state. He was so skinny, that he was practically skin and bone and Pope swore he could see every bone and joint click and contort with every movement he made. His eyes were red with dark circles under them which looked ghastly against his already pale skin. The skin around his mouth, especially his lips, were raw. It looked as if he literally had been pealing and picking the skin off from his face. The fur on the sides of his head was braided and ran all the way down to his chest. The worst part was his body, especially his arms, were covered in open sores. Some had blue and red lines under them, some looked infected. Some looked old, and some were as recent as yesterday. There were a few sores on his face, near his eyes, on his head, and on his nose. But unlike the ones on his body, they looked dry and crusty with no other marks.
The only thing about Carlos that wasn't alarming were his green eyes, which Pope couldn't stop looking were cold and indifferent as if the older male had trained himself to be detached from reality. It was disturbing.
"We do chores." Signed Hazell. "We clean and cook. All day, until he falls asleep. Then we get to rest."
Cortez put a military top on the colonel, carefully sliding the sleeves over the human's muscular arms. Something Pope knew the human could do easily on his own. The gorilla then gave him and hat, and a pair of sunglasses. The look gave the human a much more dangerous appearance. Before, he looked like a raw and uncooked turkey. Completely naked of its feathers, leaving a bright pink carcass. But now the human looked strong, powerful and very intimidating.
"I expect this place to be cleaned by the time I get back tonight." He said as he walked out the front door. A single 'sir' from outside told Pope that the place was guarded.
Hazell and Cortez watched on in silence. Carlos didn't seem to notice his master's departure. The orangutan kept her glare on the colonel until the door closed and locked behind him. Once they knew he was gone, Cortez looked at the group.
"We should get to work. The more we do now, the less we'll have to do later." Now that he could see him better, Pope realized Cortez was the burn-scarred gorilla from that first day. At the time, he didn't give the silverback much thought but now he saw that the burn scars wrapped around his entire head, just barely touching his face. The burns continued down his back and shoulders, all the way down to halfway down his legs. The only way to tell he was a silverback was by the black fur on the few places on his body that weren't burned.
To his shock, the female orangutan signed in reply. "Has anything changed since our last escape attempt?" The very ape who said nothing for days had finally said something.
"Only that security has doubled, and the humans have sent three apes back to the city. Will and Preacher have already done the rest." Cortez replied.
"You. All. Know each other?" Pope asked in a whisper.
The two apes looked at him as if suddenly remembering that he was one of the newer apes in the base. It was Hazell who answered him. "Yes." Her voice was small but sweet. Like a cookie. "We're part of a group of rebels in the base." Rebels? Within this prison? "Cortez and Rowena attempted to escape to get an idea of how a mass escape would work."
Rowena. So that's the orangutan's name. The female's glare was on Pope again, and the gaze made him shiver. "Don't be fooled by him, Hazell." She signed. "I was in the same cell as him for days. He's been scheming, I don't know what, but he is wicked on the inside."
Pope would have been insulted if it wasn't true, but he knew it was. He was just surprised that Rowena, despite being primitive, was able to pick up on that.
"Can't be any worse than the colonel, and what's happening here." There was something about Hazell that made her different from the other three apes. Carlos seemed almost as hopeless as Dot, while Cortez and Rowena appeared anxious to leave as soon as they could. But Hazell seemed careful but considerate.
"Are you all rebels?" They were an odd group, not exactly what Pope would think of when imagining a band of rebels.
This time, it was Cortez who answered. "All of us except for Carlos." He motioned to the bonobo with his head. "Poor soul has been here the longest. McCullough has turned him into his most 'behaved' servant. Gives him the bottle and needles. Makes him submissive."
Pope glanced at Carlos, the male wasn't looking at him. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. What had McCullough done to him?
As if sensing his thoughts, Rowena suddenly began signing. "Don't get any funny ideas, rogue." A rogue? Was that really what she thought of him as? Well, she's not completely wrong. Pope was alone in this base, if Bon and Rex were here, they'd have his back. But right now, the scarred chimpanzee was a lone, would-be traitor.
My plan could work. He thought. He knew it was unlikely he'd end up being the leader, but the rebels were already in the base. Just waiting for a chance to start a rebellion inside. Overthrowing Caesar would have to wait.
"I want to join you. I want to get a slave named Dot out of here." He quickly added, noticing Rowena's narrowed eyes.
Cortez and Hazell looked at each other. Cortez gave a slight nod, and Hazell stepped closer to the other chimp. "How broken is she?"
"They forced her to kill her son. I don't know how long she's been here, but she has lost all hope." If that wasn't broken, Pope didn't know what was.
Horror graced Hazell's face and she put a hand on her belly. She needs to get out of here too. Pope Realized. Judging by how far along Hazell looked, her child may be born soon.
"Will and Preacher have already sent the children out of the base. I don't when the next mass escape will happen, but we plan to have Carlos be one of the escapees. We could add Dot as well." Cortez signed.
Relief filled Pope. Maybe this is he could protect Dot. If he could get her out of here, then maybe she'd have hope again..Then she won't end up like me.
"You. Are all. Wasting time." The voice was like thunder deep in a storm cloud. It was so rasped, it was almost painful to hear it. Pope looked to his right and realized Carlos was now looking at him.
"The colonel will kill all of us. It doesn't matter if we're here, or at the human city, or anywhere else in the world. We'll all die by his hands. It's just a matter of when." He moved his hands slowly as if he had forgotten most of his sign language.
Pope raised his eyebrows at him. Did Carlos really believe that? "Where is your family anyway?" He asked without thinking.
Carlos blinked at him. As if the question confused him. In his cold, indifferent eyes, there was a hint of sadness. Which the bonobo was trying to suppress. Then, with shaking hands, he answered. "Don't have any."
"Caesar has a fever, likely from his infected wounds."
"Will he be alright?"
"I don't know." Ellie's face was flushed, she looked worn out. "I cleaned them and removed the bullet from one of them, and gave him medicine, but only time will tell if it was enough."
There was a heaviness in the air. One that no one could understand but knew where it came from. Koba, Rocket, and Tinker all had bandages on them from the attacks. Rocket had it worst of all, his still healing leg had been hurt in the confusion, and his head had a large, bruising bump on it. It was a miracle he didn't suffer a concussion.
Blue Eyes was the only ape that was pacing around the room. The news of his father's condition didn't give him much comfort. His distress mirrored everyone's.
"What about Ash and Dolly? Why did they attack their family members like that?"
"Some sibling Dolly is. The second she see's her brother, she tries to kill him." Koba growled deep in his throat as he frowned at Dreyfus. He wished he could rip that human's head off. "And there's Ash. Obviously, his parents didn't raise him right."
Derek had enough. "Dreyfus, go!" He pointed out the door. "Go patrol or something!"
"Hey, I'm just saying I don't think it's wise to trust animals who can't even trust each other!" Dreyfus shot back as he stomped off.
Tori sighed in annoyance. "One of these days, I swear I'm gonna knock that dumbo's teeth out." Upon noticing how tense he was, Tori reached over and held Koba's hand. The scarred bonobo didn't move, but he wrapped his fingers around her smaller ones.
"I don't think Ash and Dolly were attacking Tinker, Rocket, and Koba out of malice." Ellie took the capsule out of her pocket, the one Alex gave her. "This is E17. It was am injectable drug meant to treat Epilepsy, but it was recalled after it was proven to cause extreme violent behavior."
"You think they injected that into them?" Asked Foster, relieved to get back on the subject.
"Yes. Only, there's something else in the capsule other than the drug itself." Ellie put the capsule under the light, making its contents shine through. The capsule itself was clear with no color, but the liquid inside it was an ugly shade of orange. "The E17 is suppose to be clear like it's capsule. But this one isn't."
The humans and apes all looked at each other in stunned shock as the horror sunk in. If the E17 drug is suppose to be colorless, then…Then…
"It's been tampered with."
"Not just tampered, something else has been mixed in the drug. E17 doesn't make people attack their loved ones on its own."
"Will they recover?"
"I think so. I gave them both IV's to help their bodies flush out the serum."
The heaviness seemed to clear just enough for the apes and humans to breathe a little easier. They weren't out of the woods yet, but at least Caesar, Ash, and Dolly were back, and the group knew what was wrong with them. But there was still so much that they didn't know. If this is what they did to apes, what did they do to the humans? Were the others still alive? And why did these people take them in the first place?
"What happened to that soldier, anyway?" Asked Kempt after a while.
Foster and Luca, despite having chased that soldier, had come back empty-handed. "That son of a bitch didn't know how to shoot properly." Foster rolled his eyes at the memory. "He shot himself in the face when he got to the gates."
"Suicide?"
"Nope, pure stupidity."
How ironic. The bad guys send a soldier to cause mayhem, and he ends up shooting himself instead.
"What about the soldier we still have locked up? Who the heck is that guy anyway?"
"Dreyfus and I questioned him about the machine attack. He wouldn't say much." Said Derek.
"Maybe he'd know about what happened to the others. We should interrogate him about that." There were two people that Malcolm and the others knew that may help them figure this out. Alex and the soldier. But Alex was so traumatized from whatever he was put through, that no one dared to bring it up to him. And the soldier, being an actual member of the bad guys, would know everything. But how much would he reveal?
Suddenly, Dreyfus reappeared. His eyes seemed large behind his glasses. "Um, guys?"
Tori glared at him. "What do you want now, Doofus?" Koba said nothing but gave the human a hateful stare of his own.
Dreyfus ignored them both. "I found something…You guys may want to come see this." He turned around but had a thought and turned his head back. "And uh...Bring the apes too."
Children. Both human and ape. They filled the abandoned and decaying street as if it were a playground. Only none of these children were playing. The human children were all huddled together in a far corner. All had pale skin and dark hair and wore hospital gowns. Their eyes were locked on Malcolm, Derek, Dreyfus, Kempt, Ellie and Tori in a fearful gaze. The ape children acted much differently. The small chimps, orangutans, and bonobos were all looking at the ground. They reminded Maurice of the animals in the circus: doing nothing but waiting for an order, a demand, and do it without risking punishment. To complete the look, they all had old and recent wounds on their backs. Wounds that could only have come from a whip. The worst were the gorilla children. They looked at the human and Ape Council with eyes that held nothing but this cold, emptiness. It was like looking into the eyes of a corpse.
The children looked to be at various different ages. The youngest ones being toddlers and the oldest ones were teenagers. There were so many of them it was almost impossible to tell just how many there were. Malcolm counted twenty, but it looked like there could be well over a hundred of them. Among them, the group only recognized three of the children. Harper, the two-year-old who was one of the kidnapped humans. Her short, dirty blond hair and pink knitted sweater and light purple dress made her easy to spot. She was the only human child who didn't look scared. She walked freely, picking up rocks and looking them over before dropping them. She recognized the older humans and walked over to them. The other two were Pinto and Pepper, who immediately ran to the Ape Council the second they saw them. Just like Harper, the young orangutan and small gorilla were the only ape children who weren't looking at the ground or had that creepy gaze.
The only adult humans and apes looked at each other in mute shock. They had a pretty good idea where all these children came from. The real question was how did they all get here.
"My God." Ellie finally uttered after recovering from her shock. "How many did they..?" Her voice trailed off. She shook her head, tears building in her eyes. "..How could they do this?.."
"That's what I'd like to know." Said Foster.
Taking a chance, Malcolm took one step towards the children. An action which immediately got all of them to look at him. Even the orangutan, chimp and bonobo children looked at him. Most of them backed away, but some stayed where they stood. "Hey, it's alright. We're the good guys, you're safe now." He said in a gentle voice. He doubted his words could get them to trust him and the others, but maybe he could at least get them to feel safe.
The children stared at him. Then at the other adults. It felt like they were all taking them in. The human children eyeing Ellie, Dreyfus, Foster, Tori, Derek, and Kempt, while the ape children did the same with Maurice, Koba, Blue Eyes, Stone and Luca. Then, slowly, the human children came a little closer to them. Then the ape children. They still looked scared, but not that much. That seemed like a good sign.
Malcolm and Maurice glanced at each other. They knew what to do. Turning back to the crowd of children, Malcolm asked. "Where are your parents?" With Maurice signing the same question, in case the human was still intimidating to them.
To their surprise, the children had odd, mixed reactions to the question. Some looked at each other with questioning looks. A few of them were even asking each other what a parent was. Others, however, only recoiled and stared back at the ground. Silently weeping tears.
The two looked at the others with surprised eyes. This isn't good. What child doesn't understand what parents are? And if they do know…The group realized then and there that the question at hand wasn't where the parents were, but rather what happened to the parents.
"They don't. Have any." The voice belonged to a teenage gorilla, who was no older than Blue Eyes. "None. Of us. Do."
Now they were all looking at the young silverback who spoke. He was short, for a gorilla. Smaller than Luca, but still taller than a chimp or bonobo. His fur was a dull, grayish black and his eyes were as golden as acorns. He had old, fading scars on his wrists.
Before any of them could say anything, he began signing. "Some of them were born in the base. Then taken away to be raised as slaves-or as donkeys. That's what they call the gorillas. Some are forced to watch them kill their families. Or are forced to do it themselves."
What?! The apes and humans exchanged glances again, horrified by the young gorilla's statement. No one could be more shocked than Blue Eyes. His father's face flashed in his mind. He and his father barely saw eye to eye, but actually, kill him? The prince could never dream of such a thing.
"Do they do this to all the children?" Maurice asked as soon as he could get his hands working again.
"Just the apes. I don't know what they do to the humans."
"What is your name?"
The silverback hesitated before answering. "Cooper."
The children were brought back to the quarantine area. They were all still frightened, but they calmed down when they saw apes roaming around freely and no soldiers in sight. Pinto and Pepper were returned to their families. When asked about Red and Winter, Pinto had quickly told them that they were both alive. Harper's parents had been killed during the kidnappings, so she stuck around with the group. The only child from the base that agreed to talk with them was Cooper. The group had split up into different groups: Luca and Foster went to the quarantine area to get the Gorilla Guard and some of the humans to form a guard system around the city, Ellie and Malcolm joined the healers to assist them to examine the children, Tori went back to the beach to get her tote and change out of her bathing suit into her regular clothes, Koba went to visit Dolly, Blue Eyes joined Cornelia to go see Caesar, and Maurice, Derek, and Kempt went to the building to talk with Cooper. Dreyfus went with them, but ultimately got left with Harper.
They didn't know where to start, so they started with the easiest ones. "How did you and the other children get out?"
"Will and Preacher took us out of the base and brought us here. The colonel's plan was to send the three apes here and let them kill all the people they love but Will freed the boy and sent him here with them. Then he and Preacher freed the children." Cooper didn't know where Alex was kept at, but he knew the humans had to have been held somewhere in the base.
"Who's Preacher?" Asked Maurice.
"One of the rebels." When he noticed the surprised looks on their faces, he explained: "Will is the leader of a band of rebels. They mostly consist with slaves or the colonel's personal servants, but some of the soldiers are part of it too. Preacher is one of them."
"There's a band of rebels in the base?" Rocket, who had insisted on joining them, felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe these rebels could help.
"Yes. They don't agree with the colonel. They're planning mass escapes. Taking large numbers of slaves, servants, donkeys, humans, apes, and freeing them out here, in the city." He still doubted that the plan would work, but it worked when they freed the children, so maybe it could work again.
"Their colonel?"
"He's the leader. A human they call Colonel McCullough."
Kempt wrote the name down on a piece of paper.
"Who are these people?"
"They call themselves Alpha-Omega."
Derek's blood ran cold. He glanced at Dreyfus, who looked up from his notebook. He didn't see the signs, but he could tell by the look on Derek's face that they had got something. He nodded, indicating that they'd talk later and turned back to whatever he was doing.
Dreyfus was in the same room but was preoccupied with looking over his own notes. The fur from Carver's hand was in a ziplock bag in his notebook. He glared at the hairs as he tried to think of a way to collect and compare it with the hairs of other apes without anyone getting suspicious.
Suddenly, he felt something hit his foot. He looked down at the ground and saw a small ball. Derek had filled this building with old and forgotten objects, most of them were for the sake of making it feel more like a home or a sanctuary of sorts, but there were a few children's toys here and there.
He looked up and saw Harper standing there. She shyly eyed him, then the ball. Dreyfus chuckled and gently pushed the ball in her direction. The ball was one of those plastic, air balls that use to be stored in elastic cages in markets. It was hard to tell if it's faded green color was due to age or if it was colored that way.
Harper bent down and caught the ball with her hands. She smiled up at the older human and sat down on the floor, pushing the ball back towards him. Wanting to play.
Dreyfus smiled at her. Putting his notebook down, he sat down on the floor and returned the ball to her. As they played, Dreyfus couldn't help but remember the old days. Back when his boys were her age. Back when he had a family, and they played like this.
"Could they help us?"
"Yes, and they want to."
Kempt picked up a pencil and a scrap of paper. "Do you know any of them?" Derek was relieved to see that his sign language wasn't as rusty as he thought it was.
"A few of them. Tanoddah, Cortez, Rowena, Hazell, and Milo. Tanoddah and Cortez are gorillas, Rowena is an orangutan and Hazell and Milo are chimps. Will and Preacher are the only human rebels I know of." Cooper cursed himself for not asking Tanoddah for more information but at the time, he had believed the plan wouldn't work so he refused to pay any attention.
"Do you know anyone else? They don't even have to be rebels, just people you know that are in the base." Maurice asked curiously.
Only one name came to Cooper's mind. "Carlos. He's the servant the colonel has had the longest."
Derek paused when he heard the familiar name. Carlos? As in, the Carlos that was the last ape to go missing ten years ago? Damn, he would be forty-two by now. Can bonobos even live that long? Just to make sure, he asked. "Is Carlos a bonobo?"
Cooper blinked, surprised by the question. "Yes, actually." He tilted his head. "How did you know?"
Just then, one of the humans who was hired to read through the files appeared. "Excuse me, Derek?"
Derek got up from his seat. "Continue without me." He signed to Maurice and Rocket, not wanting this to interrupt anything. To the human, a short woman named Liana, he asked. "What is it?"
"I think I found something," Liana replied. "Remember when you said to list all apes who have any interaction or relation to the apes in the files?"
"Yes." Derek had instructed all the survivors who were reading the files to list any and all apes, humans, and locations named or listed in the ape's files.
Liana flipped open the file she had brought with her. "I was reading through Carlos's file and I found this." She looked through the papers until she found the document and showed it to him. "I think I found the name of someone in your team in there."
Derek held the file with one hand, reading through the document. His eyes immediately winded when he read the name. He thanked Liana and turned to Dreyfus. "Dreyfus, go get Koba."
Dreyfus glanced at Derek, a little annoyed that he'd have to abandon his little game with Harper. "Why?"
"Just go get him." Derek tried not to raise his voice, but what he was looking at was just something he didn't expect.
Dreyfus sighed and got up. He bent down to Harper's level and said. "I'll be back in a minute. Stay here with Derek, ok?"
"Ok." The little girl squeaked. With that, Dreyfus went out the door.
Derek kept his eyes on the document. According to the paper, Carlos had been a breading ape since the moment he was of age but he had only bread with female bonobos when his owner needed the money. The paper listed all the names of females he had ever mated with, who they belonged to, how many children he had fathered with them, and the names of each child. There were several names on that last, two of which that Derek knew belonged to two other bonobos who had been kidnapped. But it was the other two names that stuck out the most.
Name: Dolly and Koba (Twins)
Gender: F (Dolly). M (Koba)
DOB: August 15th, 2000
Name of mother: Tina
At the time, Derek didn't think anything of sending Dreyfus out to get Koba. But had he known what would happen next, he would have done it himself.
Caesar felt as if he were floating. The soft surface he was laying on cradled every muscle of his aching body and the warm thing over him warmed him. For a moment, Caesar thought he was back home. In the Rodman house. And Caesar almost wished that he truly were back there. Sure it would mean that he never freed the apes, never met Cornelia, and Blue Eyes and Cornelius didn't exist, but even Caesar had his moments where he missed being ignorant of the humans darker side. All he had to do back then was play, eat cookies, and be safely tucked into his bed with the warmth of his blanket covering him…And being with Will and Charles. It was wrong to wish that none of what he created had happened, but it was so much more easier to pretend the past never died than face a painful present or an unknown future.
He reached over and was about to start itching his wounds when a gentle hand took hold of it instead. Preventing him from scratching at the irritated skin. He opened his eyes and saw Cornelia sitting by his side, Blue Eyes too.
Caesar blinked at them, trying to figure out if they were real or just another figment of his imagination.
Real. Caesar got his answer when Cornelia leaned in and nuzzled her face to his. Her scent, the feeling of her fur against his skin. She was real. And if she's real, then Blue Eyes must be real too.
"C..Cornelia..B-Blue Eyes.." His voice reflected just how tired he felt. But the relief and happiness he also felt at being reunited with his family were unmistakable.
Tears filled up the prince's eyes as he joined his mother in nuzzling Caesar. With his father finally back, the city suddenly felt safer and everything seemed ok again. Blue Eyes knew the danger was still there, and the bad humans could attack again, but he felt better about it knowing his father could help protect them.
"Caesar.." Cornelia was choked with tears herself. "We were so scared. We thought we'd never see you again."
"I missed you. Both of you." Caesar allowed the tears to roll freely from his eyes. His fevered wish to be back in the past was now forgotten. All he wanted now was to be with his family. They snuggled like that for a while, crying happy tears, hugging and just enjoying each other's company as Caesar's strength slowly returned to him. "Where's Cornelius?" He asked after a while.
"With Tinker. I'll bring him to you later." Said Cornelia. Safe. All the members of his family were safe.
"How has the colony been since I was gone?" Caesar had kept the colony the furthest from his mind. His focus was primarily on his family. Only now did he allow himself to think of the other apes.
"Everyone's been fine." Blue Eyes answered. "The council has joined the humans to help find you and the others. We may even stop the bad humans together." Blue Eyes thought back to the machine attack and how they worked together to stop those soldiers. What would his father think of that? Humans and apes uniting to defeat an even greater enemy?
Caesar smiled at his son's words. It seems that since he had been gone, the two colonies had a temporal truce between them. Maybe now there will be peace. Thinking about the colony made him think of Ash and Dolly. Where were those two? Were they alright?
"What about Ash? Or Dolly?" He asked.
Cornelia indicated with a nod to the bed next to Caesar's. "Ash is right there." Caesar looked to his left and realized they were in a human infirmary. Ellie and Malcolm were at the far end of the room, too deep in a conversation to notice that the Ape King was awake. Just as Cornelia had said, Ash laid in a deep sleep in a bed. A long, metal pole stood next to him with a bag filled with clear liquid and a long, small tube running down and ending right into the teenager's arm, in his vain. Tinker stood next to the unconscious boy. One hand holding her son's hand while the other held Cornelius. She had bandages all over her bruised face which got damp from her tears.
"Was Caesar injected with the serum too?" Malcolm asked. He and Ellie had been busy examining each and every wound and scar on the children from the escape. They had finally found enough time to actually talk to each other.
"I think so, but for some reason, it didn't affect him like it did with Ash and Dolly. My guess is, his body was so busy fighting the infection, that the serum didn't absorb properly."
"So..He's fine?"
Ellie thought it over before answering. "I think so...But we should watch him anyway, just to be on the safe side." She then glanced back at the room they just came from, where all the children were now.
Malcolm knew what she was thinking about. "Ellie?"
She sighed and looked back at her husband. "Malcolm, most of those children have known no other life other than slavery and abuse. Even if they start new lives, I don't think they'll ever fully recover from this."
Malcolm couldn't imagine what the children had to go through and frankly, part of him didn't want to. Despite all that has happened, Malcolm found that there was some part of him that still believed there was goodness in everyone. Even in those who have done wrong. But the children, whatever they went through, proved otherwise. As much as he didn't want to, he had to accept that some people were capable of unspeakable things. Forcing children to kill their own families was definitely one of them.
"I know." He took Ellie's hand in his only good one. "But they're all safe. They're surrounded by humans and apes who do care. It may seem bleak now, but someday they'll heal. All wounds heal eventually."
Ellie nodded, hoping he was right. The fear still in her eyes. How far are they willing to go to hurt the apes and other humans?
Caesar's eyes suddenly landed on where Dolly was. The female bonobo was in the bed across from him. Just like Ash, her arm had a small tube attached to a bag that hung from a pole next to the bed…And sitting next to her was the very ape that could have killed him..The one who had haunted his dreams for days..Koba. His nostrils flared as he looked at them. The anger and the betrayal building itself in Caesar's chest. Koba, his honorary brother and one of his closest friends...Had tried to kill him! He thought he heard Cornelia say something, but he didn't hear her. Caesar didn't even feel himself get out of the bed.
Koba, unaware of the storm brewing inside of Caesar, was very still as he sat next to his still unconscious sister. His gaze followed every mark on her face. The scar down her lips, the one across her forehead, and the one that was next to her eye. Dolly got these scars from Tommy, from all the times she tried to protect him from the abusive human. The one on her forehead was the scariest. She got that one when Tommy burned Koba's eye with the cigarette. Dolly had somehow summoned enough strength to break out of her cage and attacked Tommy, who cut her head with the same knife he used to cute Koba's face. It ended with Dolly being handcuffed and put in the closet.
With a trembling hand, Koba picked up his twin's hand and held it up to his cheek. Remembering all the times Dolly had protected him. Other apes were almost never there for him, not even Caesar, but Dolly always was. In a way, Dolly had become more than just his twin sister, she had also become Koba's protector.
…She had was always the one who kept him safe...The one who'd never let anything happen to him if she had a say in it...And that night, the night of the kidnappings, she was the one who needed protection. She was the one in danger…And Koba did nothing to help her...
I'm sorry..! His mind screamed as he inhaled slowly. Hoping he won't start crying again. Not in front of the others. I'm so sorry, Dolly...If he had known what was going to happen, he never would have stolen that gun. He would have stayed by Dolly's side and try to keep her with him. He could have saved her.
"..Come back...To me...Dolly.." He whispered in a barely audible whisper as he barely suppressed a single tear from falling from his eye.
Just then, before Koba knew what was happening, something grabbed him and threw him into the empty bed next to them. Dropping Dolly's hand in the process. He whirled around to see his attacker but found himself on the ground instead. The assailant held him down, angry hands pinning him to the hard floor.
Caesar's enraged eyes glared back down at him.
"Caesar!" The voice was Malcolm's, he and Ellie had rushed over to them. Caesar had snuck up from behind Koba and attacked him. Despite his fever, the Ape King was just as strong as ever. Tinker, Cornelia, Blue Eyes and the two humans only stared at the two, horrified by Caesar's sudden actions.
But it was what Caesar said that really shocked them.
"Y-You! Tried to! Kill me! You tried to kill me!" Caesar kept repeating those words, his voice becoming strained from how much energy he was using.
Of course, why didn't he see this coming? Koba knew he should have known that if Caesar survived, he'd immediately turn on him for the attempt to murder him. The scarred bonobo laid still, not daring himself to speak and letting the Ape King rant on.
"Caesar." Ellie tried to reason with him. "It was just a fever dream. Koba didn't do anything to you-"
"Yes, he did!" Caesar yelled, so loudly it woke Cornelius up. "He! Stole gun! Try to! Kill me!"
No one noticed that Dreyfus had appeared. He had came right at that moment. He didn't know what was happening, but when Caesar mentioned the stolen gun, he immediately knew what he was talking about.
"Caesar, please just let him go. He's not going to do anything, just let him go." Pleaded Malcolm.
Caesar, reluctantly, loosened his grip on the scarred bonobo. His body tired from the exertion of attacking him and holding him to the ground. He kept his eyes on Koba, though. "Trusted Koba, like brother!" He growled at the now standing bonobo.
Koba snorted at him. "Caesar brother to humans." He muttered, turning his back on the other ape. Not wanting to fight him when the Ape King was so sick.
"Koba weak!" Caesar yelled. "Koba is nothing! Has nothing! Means nothing!" The anger was inescapable. The Ape King felt hot all over, due to fever or his own anger he could not say.
Every bitting word hit Koba like a punch. He wanted to leave, go somewhere so far from this room, that Caesar's voice couldn't reach him.
"Koba coward! Koba thinks only for Koba!" The insults were getting worse. The two humans and three apes tried to stop Caesar before he went too far, but the Ape King was too deep in his rage to hear them.
Koba felt like he was crumbling on the inside. Is that really me? He was about to do just that, he was ready to turn away and walk out the room and out of the building. Find sanctuary somewhere else.
But then...
"Koba belong in cage!"
It was as if the words were a curse. The room went silent and time seemed to have stopped. Koba was frozen, blinking in disbelief. He looked at Caesar with a shocked, speechless look.
"What..?"
Caesar got closer to Koba, so close that their noses were just inches from each other. "Never...Should have..Freed you.."
Koba recoiled, the shock melting to hurt.
"Caesar…!" Cornelia couldn't believe her husband had just said something so horrible to another ape. Let alone to Koba. Tinker joined her queen and best friend's side, unsure of what to do.
Blue Eyes got in between the two adults, trying to keep his father from Koba. The teen looked just as shocked as his mother. When he looked at Caesar, the look on his face was more of confusion than anger.
Malcolm and Ellie looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to do to defuse the situation and felt helpless.
Dreyfus hardly dared himself to breathe, out of fear that if did he'd miss something. He continued to hide in the doorway. Waiting for something to happen.
Koba silently thought back on his past plans and schemes. From the moment he chose not to tell Caesar about the guns, to the second he pointed one at him. Did they really reflect who he was deep inside? Was he really a monster meant to be locked away in a cage forever? He had tried to kill Caesar, take a father and husband from his family, and start a war with the humans. If it wasn't for the bad humans interrupting his plans, he would have imprisoned the humans in the city by now. Or worse, kill them all. He never would have met Tori, and never had known how much alike she and he were. A pit formed in his throat and his stomach tied itself into knots. He was a monster…A selfish, evil monster…
"..It's true.."
Blue Eyes turned his head, unsure if he heard his uncle right. "What?" Caesar just kept his gaze locked on the scarred bonobo, not impressed with his confession at all. Cornelia, Tinker, Malcolm, and Ellie just looked at Koba in mute shock.
Dreyfus' eyes grew wide. This is even better than collecting ape hair!
Koba looked up at the group, too ashamed to look them in the eyes. "Koba...Stole gun...Try to kill Caesar…Blame it on humans…Start war…Get revenge…"
Cornelia gasped, hugging Tinker for support. Tinker looked just as horrified as the queen. Blue Eyes, now facing Koba, backed away from him. Too overwhelmed to speak. Malcolm and Ellie stared at him in disbelief.
"Koba.." Malcolm was about to say something when Dreyfus suddenly appeared and practically through a wire attached to a pole over the bonobo's head and on his neck. It was the same sort of animal catcher pole that dog catchers use to use to catch dogs, only with a larger wire. Dreyfus would have used something different, but this was just what he could find in in the infirmary building.
"You're coming with me, you stinken' ape!"
"Dreyfus, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Placing this bastard under arrest for gun theft and attempted murder, that's what!"
Koba, despite not expecting a wire to suddenly get wrapped around his neck, didn't resist or make any attempt to get the hard thing off. Whatever the human planned to do with him, he'll allow it, he didn't have the heart to fight it.
Blue Eyes glanced at his parents and honorary aunt. His gaze pleading with them to do something. But Cornelia and Tinker were still in too much shock to try and step in and when Blue Eyes looked at his father, Caesar only shook his head at him. Despite his fever catching up to him, Caesar had just enough strength in him to say four last words.
"He...Is…Not ape."
A's/N: (exploding on the inside)...Guys, get ready for some MAYJOR Kobaness!
Oh gosh, where do I start?! Uggghhhh! XD So...Yes, Preacher IS a good guy in the story! He and Will are, yes, part of a band of rebels in the base who want to stop the colonel (Did anyone guess it was Colonel McCullough and Alpha-Omega who were behind this?!) which has Milo as a member (I guess that answers your question as to where that chimp is, huh BeetZel?). Not sure how I'm going to make him appear yet, but he is yet to make an appearance.
And we meet new OC's!
Cortez, Hazell, Rowena, and Carlos! (do I dare repeat what you guys just learned about him?!...Now about this 'Tina'...) And just so ya know, Hazell's name is pronounced huh-Zelle (the name is Gale's mother's name from The Hunger Games) and secondly, Hazell herself has a minor role, but...Ya may want to pay some attention to her..Particularly, her child...Oh, and also Harper! (let's just say that Dreyfus is going to change his mind soon!) Meanwhile, Cooper is now part of the team! And based on MeZaki93's advise, Tanoddah's role may be extended!
Again, sorry for the extra long chapter! I hope you guys didn't get bored yet, cause the adorableness is about to start! (though we may have to experience something emotional first...)
Thanks for reading and please review!