Before The Storm (To be re-written expect future changes)

by MackDreamer

Story is to be re-written at a later time. Until then, feel free to read the original!

11. Unity

A's/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :D I'm super happy because I managed to make this chapter have a Christmas-themed ending, (And I submitted it on Christmas Day! X3) but it's much longer than my other chapters...I think it's safe to say that this chapter will be the last of the longest ones for a while. Anyways, prepare yourselves, guys! This chapter is going to be even more of an emotional rollercoaster ride than the last one!

And of course, there's the warnings!

This chapter contains character (OC) death, some miner grossness, cursing, mention/flashbacks of violent death/torture, mention of drugs and alcoholism and...Not sure if this applies, but...Nope! I'm gonna let you guys discover it! (it's not bad, it just depends on how you feel about the subject).

Enjoy the chapter!

---

Caesar knew he should be sleeping, but his mind wouldn't allow it. Every time he tried to doze off, the Ape King would be awakened by the tightness in his chest and the nausea in his stomach. He'd think his sickness was returning, but the symptoms would go away as quickly as they had come. Then, he'd feel as if rocks were stuck in his throat.

Something was wrong. He realized it as he sat up. The city was safe, he knew that. No one was in any immediate danger, but he could feel it with every breath he took.

He glanced at Cornelia, who was snuggling next to him. The warmth of her body felt like the only normal thing left. He saw Tinker with Ash. At some point, while he was sleeping, Rocket had joined his wife and son and was sitting next to the two sleeping chimps. Across from him, Caesar saw Maurice sleeping at the foot of Dolly's bed.

Where's Koba? Caesar vaguely remembered seeing the scarred bonobo sitting with his sister not too long ago, but then…He couldn't remember.

Footsteps echoed softly in the infirmary, getting Caesar's attention. He was surprised to see Blue Eyes standing there. He looked tired like he hadn't slept at all. But what surprised him was the frown on his son's face.

"What happened?" He asked in sign language, not wanting to wake up the others.

Blue Eyes wished it were just him and his father in the room, he felt like screaming. "Oh, nothing." He answered sarcastically. "Other than the fact that you broke Koba!"

Broke Koba? Caesar could feel his face twisting into a frown. "And that's more serious than him trying to kill me?" He shot back. Even though he had almost no memory of the interaction, Caesar distinctly remembered hearing himself confront Koba on his attempt to shoot him.

Something snapped in Blue Eyes and he marched over to his father. Stomping so loudly, that he woke Maurice, Rocket, Tinker, and Cornelia. "You! Hurt! Him!"

"He! Betrayed! Me!" His voice came out before he could stop it. It was as if he and Blue Eyes both remember other people were still sleeping. In the white fog and early morning light, it was easy to think it was just the two of them but it wasn't.

"Doesn't matter! You went too far!" Blue Eyes argued in sign language. "Koba tried to kill himself because of what you said!"

For a moment, Caesar wasn't sure if he read his son's signs right. "What?"

Annoyed, Blue Eyes repeated his signs. "He tried to hang himself in his cell." He added, in case his father were to ask.

A horrible realization washed over Caesar. He had confronted Koba. He said something to him…And now, that bonobo had attempted suicide? "..What did I say?" He asked shakily. His voice now a lower tone.

Blue Eyes narrowed his eyes at his father. Why would he ask that?

"Koba tried to kill himself?!" This time, it was Cornelia. She and Tinker had gotten closer to them, concern and shock written all over their faces.

"After Dreyfus arrested Koba, he put him in the jail where a solider-one of the humans who took Caesar, Dolly and Ash, was being held in. What Caesar had said to him, and maybe things that the solider and Dreyfus had said, pushed Koba over the edge." Explained Maurice.

Cornelia and Tinker glanced at each other. As much as they didn't like the fact that Koba had tried to kill their Ape King, and wanted to start a war against the humans, neither of them would have wished death upon the bonobo. Let alone, thought he'd want to take his own life.

"Is he alright?" Asked Tinker.

"We were able to stop him, but he's on suicide watch." Rocket told Tinker. "One of the humans, Tori, is with him. Blue Eyes, Malcolm, Luca, and Dreyfus had to watch them all night just to make sure they were ok."

So that's why he's so tired. Caesar bit his lips, his mind racing to try and remember just what he had said. He knew he had said that Koba had tried to kill him, but everything beyond that seemed to slip through his fingers. "What did I say to him?" He asked.

"Don't you remember?" Cornelia looked concerned.

Caesar could only look into her worried eyes and wish he had a better answer for her. "No.."

While they talked, Dolly began twitching in her bed. The first movement she made since being tranquilized.

Dolly's Dream/Flashback:

Dolly is on her own as she explores this new, strange world. She had been outside before, but now it's as if the long, tall trees were holding up the sky and the endless green ground could stretch on for miles. Covering the whole world. It made her feel small, like a tiny child taking her first steps all over again.

The others were scattered about. Most were resting, while others were moving the dead. Following Caesar's orders. Koba was one of them, which was why they were separated for now. After so long of not being with her brother, she hoped he'd be safe with the one who freed them. Both of them were lucky, they had managed to escape the city with the others without getting injured. This meant she could explore if she wished to.

She jumped back when she saw a flash of golden and black flutter past her. Dolly stared at the insect with pretty wings as it landed on a flower. Curious, she got closer to it and sniffed one of the flowers. It had a nice smell, and its yellow pollen sprinkled her nose while it's light purple petals tickled her.

Looking back up, she noticed that the colorful bug was still there. She reached out to try to touch it, but the silly thing flew away when her finger was just inches from it.

Dolly turned her head when a soft hoot from behind reached her ears. There stood a male bonobo, one of the few who stuck around rather than help Caesar. "Butterfly." He signed.

"Butterfly?" She asked, not recognizing the sign or the word.

The male pointed at the insect that was now flying in another direction. "Have you ever seen one before?"

"No. My brother and I came from human labs. Never seen much of the outside." Dolly remembered her cage back at Gen-Sys, and every cage she ever lived in. Compared to being out here, cages seemed so small now.

"I was born in a zoo. Learned sign language from a mute human." Signed the male. "What's your name?"

"Dolly. My brother's name is Koba." Excitement filled her at the thought of making a new friend. "And your name?"

"Ishmael."

End of Flashback/Dream:

The groan that left Dolly's throat was like a tired yawn. She placed her hand over her aching head as she slowly sat up. She wondered how long she had been asleep, she certainly felt like she had slept longer than she normally would.

"Dolly."

She opened her eyes. Maurice, Cornelia, Tinker, Rocket, and Blue Eyes were gathered at Caesar's bed and were looking at her. Maurice made his way over to her. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"Tired," Dolly answered with a half-hearted sign. Her body felt like it was still sleeping. The very thought of closing her eyes and letting herself return to her slumber felt nauseating. "What happened?"

"Do you remember anything?"

Dolly had to think about Maurice's question before answering. "I remember the pain. Ash, Caesar, Pope and I being in a cell together…The humans did something to us, but I don't remember much after that.."

Blue Eyes and Rocket exchanged glances. How could Dolly not remember what she had been put through? And Caesar…Did he really forget the confrontation between him and Koba? Neither of them knew anything about the serum that was used on the two apes, but is it possible that stuff messed up their memory?

"What happened?" Dolly asked, this time more insistent.

"The bad humans- Alpha-Omega as they call themselves, brainwashed you and Ash and Caesar to attack us. Specifically, Rocket, Tinker and Koba." Maurice finally gave in.

"What?!" The fear filled Dolly faster than she could breathe. It felt like her heart was going to rip out of her chest. "Did I hurt him?! Is he ok?!"

"Koba is fine." Maurice tried to calm her down. "You just bit him and gave him a few bruises. He was mostly freaked out."

Relief settled in, releasing the fear with an exhale. Dolly dried away the tears that threatened to stain her face. She wondered if she'd ever forgive herself for attacking, and possibly, almost killing, her twin brother. "Where is he now?"

"Dolly." Caesar wasn't sure what he would have said if Dolly hadn't interrupted him.

"I want to see him!" She pleaded.

"You will." He still wondered if Dolly had any involvement in Koba's attempt to kill him, but Caesar was beginning to doubt it. The Ape King considered telling her about her brother's suicide attempt but decided against it. She was already worried as is, what good would it do to make it worse? "Koba is busy right now, but he'll come see you later." He said instead.

On a better day, Dolly would have gone looking for her brother herself. But her body was so worn, she wondered if she could even stand at all. Sighing, she nodded. Deciding it was best to trust her king's words.

Just then, Kempt and Ellie appeared. They paused when they saw that Caesar and Dolly were up. "Are you two alright?" Asked Ellie, receiving a nod from both apes. There was something in Ellie's voice and the way she and Kempt looked that gave Blue Eyes the chills.

"Something. Wrong?" Asked the prince.

"Yeah, another dead body was found." Said Kempt before quickly adding. "It's not as bad as the first one, but it's pretty bad."

Dead bodies? Caesar and Dolly both looked at the other apes for explanation. "The bad humans left a dead body not too long ago. There are good humans within the base who want to help us. Their leader, Will, sends clues to us through dead bodies." Signed Rocket.

Will?! Caesar never thought he'd hear the name of his adoptive father again but his heart skipped a beat when he did.

"How Bad?" Asked Blue Eyes.

"It's a human, but...I don't know, man. It looks beat up." Kempt wasn't sure how to word it. All he knew was it wasn't like before, but horrible all the same.

"Derek wants us to meet Foster and Stone at where the body was found." Ellie just wanted to get it over with. Between last night, and the drama of Dreyfus, she barely had time to rest and relax. "We also need to get Tori and Koba."

Rocket, Blue Eyes and Maurice looked at her with stunned eyes. They agreed that Koba doesn't belong in that jail, but how could they get him out? Knowing Dreyfus, he wouldn't release that poor bonobo so easily.

"I come too." Said Caesar, as he started to get out of his bed and noticed the IV in his arm for the first time.

"Caesar-"

"No." Caesar knew what Ellie was going to say, but he didn't care. "Want to help you. Need to see Koba. Not taking no for answer." He said stubbornly.

Ellie sighed. She knew this was wrong, but she honestly didn't feel like arguing with the Ape King. She walked over to him and carefully removed the IV. "Just be careful, ok?" She asked, getting a nod from him as a reply.

"I'm sorry. I have to leave again." Rocket wished with all his heart that he could spend the day with his wife and son. He had seen so much hurt and anguish that he had just about had it.

Tinker shook her head. "It's ok." She nuzzled her snout to his."Cornelia and I will stay here with Ash and Dolly. We'll help watch over them and the children. Just be safe."

Reluctantly, Rocket nodded.

"Watch your father." Said Cornelia. "If he starts to feel sick, bring him right back here."

"I will, I promise." Though Blue Eyes doubted he could physically drag his father back to the infirmary.

Maurice took one final look at Dolly. "Will you be alright by yourself?" He asked her.

Dolly gave a small smile at the orangutan. She always admired his gentle heart and caring nature. "I'll be fine, Maurice. I know I'm in good hands here." A thought came to her and she quickly asked. "When you see Koba, can you tell him that I love him?"

Little did Dolly know just how much love Koba needed. "Of course I will." Maurice promised.

---

Tori hadn't left his side. When Koba woke up, he was still wrapped in her embrace and his head was still resting on her shoulder. The pink haired human had fallen asleep with her head on the bed cushion. Her eyes fluttered open when she felt the scarred bonobo move his head. He didn't expect her to smile at him when their eyes met.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Yeah.." Koba wondered if the ache in his neck was from his suicide attempt, or if it was simply from sleeping on Tori's shoulder. He rubbed it, letting the blanket fall from his shoulder as he did. His nose felt stuffy and his eyes and face hurt, possibly from all that crying he did. He suddenly felt very self-conscious about it.

"Are you sure?" Tori could sense his feelings.

Oh, what's the point?!

".. Koba...Hate...Koba.." He admitted. He couldn't bear to look her in the eye as he said it.

Tori's eyes widened. "Why? What's the matter?" She feared the ape may still have suicidal thoughts.

Koba didn't have the courage to speak it. "Because I cried…Crying is weakness..! I hate being weak, bad things happen when I'm weak..!" He let himself rant.

Confused, and a little alarmed, Tori took Koba's hands in her own. Trying to ignore the fact that his hands made her's seem small enough to belong to a mouse. "Now hang on, why do you think that? Did someone tell you that?"

He looked up. Tori was met with a bonobo who was on the brink of shedding more tears and was trying very hard not to.

"Oh, Koba." Tori pulled him into a hug. Letting him bury his face in her shoulder again. "It's ok, everyone cries. Even the strongest of us cry sometimes."

"N-Not! Me!"

"Look at me, Koba." Tori pulled away and cupped his face in her hands, gently drying away the tears with her thumbs. A touch that Koba found warmth in. "Tears aren't a sign of weakness. They're a sign that you care and that you have feelings."

Have feelings? Yeah, I have feelings alright. Though what Koba was feeling wasn't good at all. He sniffled as he calmed down, Tori's word's driving the self-loathing thoughts out of his head. Koba had never felt this way around a human before. He had felt safe around Mary, the first caretaker he and Dolly ever had, but this was different. He felt like he could tell Tori anything and she would not judge him. As if she could look past all his flaws and see him for what he really was. Something about that made Koba feel safer than he had felt in the last twenty-four hours.

"..Do you...Think...Koba can...Change?" He finally asked, pulling away from her hands. The desire to kill her was long gone. So was the hatred and the anger towards all humans. All that was left in Koba was this confusing emptiness. Was he good? Was he bad? Did he want war? Or peace? Can he change? Or would he stay the same?

"Do you want to?" Tori believed Koba could redeem himself, but she also knew that it depends on the scarred bonobo himself.

The question was new to him and it momentarily stunned him. Do you want to change? Those five words asked much more than a question. It was as if they took all the confusion Koba felt, organized them and then made them into one big thing, something that forced him to really think about his actions and his feelings. Koba felt his mind wander to the days when it was just Malcolm and his group in the dam. He was so angry back then. Angry at Caesar, at the humans..At his life. Though it wasn't pushing down on him, Koba had felt as if the wright of the world were on his shoulders. As if he was being smothered by something he couldn't see and the only way out was to fight.

But now, having come to know the humans and see what he and the apes could do when united with them, he could feel the grip of his hatred loosening. It suddenly dawned on him that it wasn't just the apes that stopped him from taking his own life. Maurice may have pulled him free of his noose, but it was Tori who broke the cell door so he could get inside and it was Ellie who had examined him afterwards…Apes...And humans had saved him...From himself...They both cared about him...The weight that Koba had been carrying few like it was being lifted from his shoulders. It was like he was finally able to breathe again.

Koba knew right then what he wanted.

"Yes." He said it without hesitation. "..But don't know how.."

"Maybe you could start with letting go of the past?" Suggested Tori. "Like forgiving what happened to you?"

Koba thought of all the humans who ever hurt him. Roger, Tommy, Jacobs...And all the others in-between. There were so many of them he didn't know where to start.

Tori, once again, could see what he was feeling. "Here, I'll help." She said.

Koba's gaze was on her. What was she going to do?

"As his daughter, I'm sorry for everything my father, Steven Jacobs, has done to you and your sister and all the other apes who ever met him."

It wasn't her apology to make. Yet, Tori was apologizing for her father and all he stood for. It confused Koba at first, but then he felt something happen. His head suddenly began to hurt and he could almost smell that lab smell he thought he'd never smell again. He shut his eyes and put his hand on his head. Letting the memories flood and run freely in his mind.

Koba was suddenly there again. In Gen-Sys, inside his old cage. He looked up and saw Jacobs staring back at him. His mind flashed forward, and he was now back in the room where pain lived. He could feel the pain and hear himself screaming as clearly as if it were yesterday. Koba was suddenly reliving every encounter he ever had with Jacobs. From the leas painful to the most agonizing. It lasted until he was back on the bridge, looking down at Jacobs as he fell to his watery grave.

Koba finally opened his eyes when the memories faded. He shivered, feeling his heart pounding. He swallowed. "..I…F-Forgive…Him.." The words were hard to say but when he spoke them, Koba felt different. He felt as if he had been haunted by the ghost of Jacobs, and his ghost had finally crossed over. Taking with him all the resentment that Koba had clung on to.

Koba felt free. Freer than he had ever felt.

Tori hugged him again, though this time they held each other tighter than before. "You're going to be ok, Koba," Tori whispered to him. "I know you will, and I know you can change. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Koba could feel the warmth of happiness as it filled his chest. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the scarred bonobo smiled.

The moment was interrupted by the sounds of someone coming. Tori and Koba looked up, expecting it to be Dreyfus, coming to berate them or try and interrogate Koba-and it was, but Dreyfus was with Malcolm and Derek. Ellie and Maurice stood in the doorway with Luca.

"I don't care what your reason is, you are NOT taking that bastard out of this jail!" What's happening here?

Derek turned around and looked at the other human. "I don't think you understand, Dreyfus." He said in a calm voice. "Koba and Tori are coming with us with, or without your permission."

"Oh! So you respect an ape's permission, but not a human's?!"

"What's going on?" Tori interrupted them. She was getting sick of Dreyfus and his constant whining.

"You stay out of it Victoria!" Dreyfus shouted.

Ignoring him, Malcolm answered her question. "There was another dead body, and we need you guys to look at it." Malcolm looked from Tori to Koba. "Koba, you might know something about the body."

Koba blinked at him. How could he know anything about a dead body?

"They're coming with us, Dreyfus." It was clear from the tone in his voice that nothing the mayor would say could change Derek's mind.

Dreyfus huffed. "Fine." He opened the cell door. "But, Tori needs to lead Koba around with this." As if Dreyfus wasn't already despicable enough. What he held up, was a rope.

Luca and Maurice were growling at him as the rope dangled from his grasp

"Are you serious right now?!" Malcolm couldn't hold it back. "After he just tried to hang himself?! You expect us to put a rope around his neck?!"

"Yes, I do!"

"This is a new low, Dreyfus, even for you!" Derek was enraged by this. Ellie was silent, trying not to let her own anger take over.

Koba stared at the rope in the human's hands. The noose he had made for himself last night had left a red mark on his throat. The one thing Koba remembered the most from his suicide attempt was the feeling of that circle squeezing around his airways. He didn't like the idea of anything being wrapped so tightly around his neck again.

Tori stood up, her hand wrapped in Koba's. "Hell, no! I'm not putting that thing on his neck!"

"Yes, you are!" Dreyfus shoved the thing in her hands. "Now, put it on him Victoria!"

Koba glanced from the rope to Tori. He hoped she wouldn't do it, though he wouldn't be angry if she did.

All eyes were on Tori. It was as if everyone were holding their breath, waiting to see what she would do. To their surprise, she began to tie a knot.

"Tori-"

Tori looked up at Malcolm. The look in her black eyes silenced him. She continued to tie the knot.

Dreyfus took this as a good sign. "Good." Maybe this impulsive, out of control girl has finally grown up. "Now put it on his neck."

Koba prepared himself for the hating circle. But it never came. Before anyone knew what was happening, Tori lunged at Dreyfus and threw the rope over his neck and shoved him to the ground.

"Hay-" Dreyfus didn't have time to react, he had no idea she was that fast.

Tori walked over to him, she glared down at Dreyfus with enough disdain to make thunder strike. "Treat Koba, or any other ape, like that again and it'll be me you'll have to worry about Doofus." She had the right mind to kick him, but chose not to and instead walked back over to Koba and took his hand in hers. She looked at Derek and Malcolm, who were both stunned by her actions. "Now, let's go look at this dead guy."

"She-She just put a rope around my neck and shoved me!" Dreyfus looked kind funny on the ground with his hair a mess and the rope wrapped around his neck. The best part was his face was pink with anger.

"You had it coming and you know it, Dreyfus." Said, Malcolm.

---

It had taken a while to get Dreyfus to stop complaining, but he eventually gave in and followed after the group as Derek and Malcolm lead the way to where the body was. Ellie was deathly quiet, Maurice walked next to her but couldn't think of anything to say. Luca was right in front of Koba and Tori. He knew neither would try to run.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Signed Koba to Tori after so long of silence.

"Yeah I did." Tori replied."I'm sick of Dreyfus and all his bullshit. You're not the enemy, these Alpha-Omega jerks are. But that numbskull just won't accept it."

"Why do you two fight so much?" Koba had noticed this between the two. Tori and Dreyfus never saw eye to eye.

"I ran away from home a lot as a kid." Tori Explained. "Every time, it was him that took me home and he never once asked me why I ran away or bothered to talk to my parents." Her eyes were still black. "I'd try to escape my father, but all Dreyfus would do is send me back and did nothing to help me."

That explains a lot. It was hard to pictured Tori as a young child, but Koba could imagine how she felt. If he and Dolly weren't savable, Tori was. She was a human, she was a child. If any adult human believed she was in danger, they could have done something. But no one did. Maybe Jacobs had enough control over Tori and her mother that they kept the abuse a secret, but surely Dreyfus would have found it suspicious if he kept sending the same runaway back home every time.

"Did you forgive?" Koba asked, remembering what Tori had done for him in the cell.

"I forgave my father years ago. Dreyfus too." Tori bit her lip. "But it's hard to forget when he's still on my back."

Koba said nothing more, but he reached over and held Tori's hand in his. Tori was silent but returned the gentle hold.

They had arrived at what use to be a park and now looked like a miniature forest. Foster, Stone, Kempt, Rocket, and Blue Eyes were already there-and to their surprise, Caesar was there too! The Ape King was mostly leaning on Rocket and Blue Eyes for support and he looked weary, but he had the same cold and stern face as always. When he and Koba saw each other they both froze.

Caesar's eyes traveled to the red mark on Koba's throat and knew it was from the suicide attempt. Guilt stabbed him the gut, knowing he was the cause of that.

Koba couldn't meet his king's eyes. What's the point? He doesn't see him as an ape anyway. He probably wouldn't forgive him even if he apologized.

I didn't mean it. Caesar wanted to say. He wished there was a way he could let Koba know how sorry he was for not realizing how much pain he was in.

I'm sorry. Those two words were small, but why were they so hard to say? Even if Caesar didn't forgive him, Koba wished the chimp knew he regretted his attempt to kill him.

"Holy shit! Is that it?!" Dreyfus gasped, interrupting them.

The body belonged to a male human who was covered only by a hospital gown, similar to the ones the human children were wearing only older and with old and recent blood stains. His pale skin was covered with old and new scars.

"That's it alright." Said Derek. His expression was unreadable, though the anger was real in his eyes.

"He died yesterday, I think. His body is still fresh." Ellie sounded almost cold. What's happened to her?

No one had to tell her for her to know what to do. Tori walked over to the body and Koba followed. At first, he was going to watch her look for a clue or something from Will, but the scarred bonobo found himself staring at the scars. Why did these scars look so familiar? Koba's eyes then caught one on the human's right arm. Frowning, he turned the human's head and found a scar on his neck.

It can't be. The human's scars mirrored his own. In fact, some of the scars looked like Dolly's, and others looked like Pope's. But how can that be? They got those scars from..!

"Labs..!"

"Koba?" Asked Malcolm.

"Labs," Koba repeated, pointing at one of the scars then at one of his own. "Labs. Human work."

"Human experiments." Malcolm realized what he was saying.

"What?!" The look on Dreyfus' face would have been priceless if the others weren't also horrified.

The Ape Council looked at each other in mute shock. Humans experimenting on other humans?! How could it be possible that humans could torture and torment each other just as they had to apes? Caesar stared at the dead body with concern in his eyes. If Will was among these humans, would they do this to him if they ever found out what he was doing?

"That explains what they're doing to the humans." Said Derek.

Foster looked from the corpse to the others. "Still though, why the heck would they do that?"

Tori noticed something under the dead human's hospital gown and carefully pulled it down, what she saw underneath confirmed her suspicions. "You guys may want to look away, this is going to get gross." She said as she pulled the gown down, revealing a long, ugly stitch up work. It looked like someone had gutted the human in the stomach and then sown back up.

Koba jumped back, startled by how big the wound was. He looked away, not wanting to see it re-opened. He wasn't the only one, most of the others did the same. Except for Derek, who wanted to see what was inside.

"So, these Alpha-Omega people take both humans and apes, but experiment on the humans and make the apes kill each other and turn them into their slaves?" For the first time, there was some genuine concern in his voice as Dreyfus spoke.

"Apparently." Said, Malcolm.

Dreyfus glanced at the corps, then back at Malcolm. "They're out of their fucking minds!"

"There's something messed up about these people, you guys. I don't know what they're thinking, but I think their leader has a loose screw somewhere." Kempt agreed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Alpha-Omegas are beginning to look worse than the apes."

The flustered words surprised everyone. They all looked at Dreyfus, amazed that he had actually said that. Dreyfus looked around and realized all the apes and humans were now giving him funny looks. "What?"

"..Ok.." Foster walked closer to Dreyfus. "That was literally the best thing you've said in the last two days, man."

Malcolm and Ellie looked at each other. Maybe this means Dreyfus will finally stop picking on Koba and the other apes. Caesar suddenly began to wonder just what has been going on while he was gone.

"Uh, you guys?" Tori sounded strange, almost creeped out.

When they all turned to look, they saw Tori holding up a large, bloody ziplock bag that was filled with DVDs and flash drives. For a moment, they all stared at it. Unsure of what to make of this finding. Even Derek was silent.

It was Kempt that broke the silence. "..I guess we have a lot more work to do now.."

Something in the distance caught Rocket's eye. He took a cautious step forward, his eyes squinting as he tries to identify what he was looking at.

"That's gonna take a while though..Like, hours...Maybe days.." Said Dreyfus, crossing his arms.

"I think we should be more concerned with what's on these things than how much time it'll take to look at them." Said, Derek,

Blue Eyes, Caesar, Maurice, Stone, Luca and Koba just stared at the bag. In their minds, they tried to picture just what sort of horrors could be on them. Torture? Humans being experimented on? Apes killing their families and friends because the humans had driven them mad? Innocent people being murdered for no reason? They all suddenly began to hope that they wouldn't have to see them.

Rocket, now realizing what he was looking at, hooted loudly. When everyone looked at him he quickly signed: "There's another dead body here!"

"Two in one day?!" Kempt looked horrified.

Tori put the bag inside a larger, cleaner market bag and then got up from her spot and removed her latex gloves. "As if one wasn't enough." She muttered.

"It's not human this time." Rocket's signs surprised them. "It's ape, a chimp."

Fear jolted in the other apes. Was it one of their own? Pope? Lake? Andy? Lucky?

Rocket lead the group to a small clearing, just a few feet away from where the human body was. The second dead body wasn't, to the Ape Council's relief, an ape they recognized. It was a female chimpanzee with bright brown fur. She was laying face down, so only her backside was visible in the long, green grass. She almost looked like she was sleeping.

Ellie walked over to the female chimp and touched the side of her neck. She shook her head sadly. "She's gone." She said gloomily. She frowned when she noticed something and she gently moved the limp body over. The dead ape's face was now up. The still bleeding wound on her head indicated her fate. Other than that, and the old on top of recent bruises on her face, the dead female didn't have any other wounds on her body. Something that confused all of them.

"That's it? Just a bullet wound?" Asked Foster in disbelief.

"Maybe Will left something in the wound." Offered Kempt.

"I doubt it." Said Derek.

The apes couldn't believe the bruises on the dead female's face. There was at least three of them that may have been only a few days old, but the ones that were yellow with age seemed to take up her entire face. What happened to her?

Ellie's face darkened when she noticed something about the ape's body. Unsure, she carefully touched the female's deflated belly. She knew what this meant, she had seen it too many times to deny it.

"She was pregnant recently." She breathed.

Just then, Caesar saw a flash of something in the grass. Blue Eyes noticed it too, so did Tori and Koba. It was hard to tell because it was so deep within the tall grass, but they could almost see something light brown.

The air seemed to run out suddenly. It was as if the others had stopped breathing. "Well...Where's the baby then?" The fear in his voice was unnerving. Dreyfus was literally shaking as he asked.

"Guys..!" In her mind, Tori hoped that what she and Koba, Blue Eyes and Caesar were looking at wasn't what she thought it could be.

Ellie looked down, her expression twisted into one of deep concern. She reached down into the grass and pulled out a brown blanket all bundled up…It had blood on its front.

No..! No one spoke it, but they all felt it. The air left their lungs, it was as if no air could get it anymore. No..! By now, all of them knew these humans were evil. These were people who weren't afraid to torture and experiment on their own kind. People who'd force innocent apes to do the unthinkable. They killed, kidnapped and caused enough pain and suffering to make the world scream. But even they couldn't…wouldn't!…Do this, can they?

With shaking hands, Ellie pulled the top of the blanket back-she and the other's immediately gasped and jumped back. They were mortified at what was wrapped inside.

Wrapped in the bundle was a newborn baby…But they couldn't tell if it was ape or human. The baby, a girl, had the body of an ape but the face of a human baby. Her ears were like apes, but were small like a human. Her nose was shaped like a human's but was clearly a snout. Her hands and feet were similar to an ape but were more human-like. But the worst part, the part that threatened to shatter everyone's insides, was the blood running down her tiny nose, and carved down her abdomen were the words: ABOMINATION

It was like a nightmare. All of them wanted to look away, anywhere but at that baby. But it was as if someone was keeping them from doing so. As if they were all frozen in place. Only to be broken free when Ellie let out a noise that Malcolm never heard her make before. A sort of noise that one would hope to never hear. It was as if the sound had broken some sort of spell on them. It was one after another, when one human fell, another ape fell. They clung to each other as if for dear life. None of them even realized they were all screaming at the same time until their throats died out. Until the roar of their emotions were only an echo in the early morning fog. By then, all that was left of their howls were whimpers.

The Alpha-Omega people had done it. They did the unthinkable. They killed a newborn baby. They crossed a line. A kind of line that no other enemy to the apes had ever crossed. An act that no human would dare comprehend. It didn't matter if the baby was a hybrid or not. If these people can take the life of an innocent newborn…There's no telling what else they're capable of.

Malcolm was the first one to look up. He and Ellie were huddled together. His arms wrapped tightly around her. Caesar and Blue Eyes were doing the same, so were Koba and Tori. Stone was hugging himself. Rocket was hugging Maurice, clutching handfuls of his fur in his hands. Luca's hands were balled up into fists as they pressed against the ground. Derek's face was in his hands. Kempt and Foster were holding each other's hands. Even Dreyfus was on the ground, punching at the green floor.

If they weren't already, they were all close to breaking. Malcolm glanced back at the dead baby girl. At the child whose life was taken from her before she could start it. It's not fair. Even if she was a human-ape hybrid, she didn't deserve to die like this. No child, human, or ape, deserved to die like this.

He kept his gaze on the dead infant until the other's finally recovered from their emotional shrieks. It was only then that Malcolm said the words he knew they were all thinking.

"..We need to stop them.."

"How the hell are we going to do that?!" Dreyfus wheezed. His glasses were clouded with his tears. "Th-These people are monsters! They're crazy! All we got are these stink'en apes! One of which tried to kill the leader!"

"Don't you dare drag Koba into this!" Yelled Tori.

"Shut up, Victoria! That bastard belongs in the jail-!"

"NO!" The bellow came from not Caesar, or Blue Eyes...But Ellie. The woman stood up, her hair messy and in her tear-stained face. "You are NOT putting Koba, or any other ape, back in that jail!" She yelled at Dreyfus.

"I'm the mayor and I'll do as I see fit!"

"NO!" Ellie got right into his face. She was so angry she was trembling. "Listen up, Dreyfus! I've had it up to here with all this bullshit!" Ellie waved her hand at her head. "Ever since the apes first came to the city, all you ever talked about is getting rid of them! This whole time we've been working together, you've been nothing but a total asshole to them!"

"Koba tried to kill Caesar-!"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT KOBA DID!" Ellie roared. "This isn't about Koba at all! You don't really care if he tried to kill someone or not! You're just looking for any excuse to throw the apes out of the city!"

"I had good reason to! They could have killed us!" Dreyfus was now shouting too.

"You said it yourself that the Alpha-Omega's are worse than the apes!" Ellie pointed at the dead bodies. "They killed a newborn baby, Dreyfus! An innocent child! She probably didn't even live longer than an hour before they murdered her!"

Dreyfus fell silent. His own words from earlier had come back to haunt him. His nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were full of anger but he couldn't think of a good comeback or anything to contradict Ellie.

Seeing that she was winning, Ellie kept on going. "These people are a threat to all of us! They'll kill us all if we don't stop fighting each other!" Huffing and out of breath, Ellie's enraged, tear-filled face was now fixed on the others just as much as it was on Dreyfus. In a voice, shaking with anger, she spoke. "..This needs to stop."

Now it was out. It was words that came from emotions that had been hidden deep within all of them. Slowly building themselves up to the surface with every second of every minute of every hour of every day since the night of the kidnappings. A harsh, face slapping reality that could no longer be ignored. A truth that was so strong, it was undeniable. The air felt clear, but with a new sort of feeling. It was as if a part of the humans and apes had been asleep all this time, and had finally woken up. They all glanced at each other, now with new eyes. In the time they had been fighting each other, how many lives had been lost? How many innocent people had been hurt or broken because of the Alpha-Omega? The apes weren't the human's enemies, neither were the humans to the apes. Koba wasn't the enemy to Caesar, or to the others. The only enemy they had, the real enemy, was McCullough.

They knew what they had to do.

With a sigh, defeated and accepting his new reality, Dreyfus finally said what was needed to be said from him. "As mayor of the city, I pardon Koba from any and all wrongdoing." As much as he hated saying it, Dreyfus knew the others would never let him hear the last of it if he didn't. "He's free to go."

Derek smiled. Finally, after so many days of this stress, Dreyfus had finally seen his error.

No one told him to do it, but Koba knew he had to. Taking a breath and letting it out in a sigh, he said it. "Forgive...You too.."

Dreyfus immediately turned around and looked at him. Their eyes met. Surprise wasn't enough to describe what Dreyfus felt at hearing those words from the scarred bonobo. He hurt him, he emotionally broke this ape down to a point where he almost took his own life…And he forgives him?

For Caesar, this told him that something had changed within Koba. The vengeful, angry ape that he now knew the scarred bonobo had been was gone. In fact, the aura about him felt different. Koba didn't seem angry anymore.

"Koba."

Hesitantly, Koba looked in his direction. The look in his green and milky eyes told Caesar all he needed to know. The one thing Caesar remembered the most when he was suffering the worst of his torture was the look in Koba's eyes when he pointed the gun at him. The hatred, the rage. The desire for war and see innocent humans pay for the crimes of others before them.

And now, as Caesar looked at him. That look was gone. Replaced by guilt, and newly found compassion. It was as if new life was brought back in Koba.

Using all his strength, Caesar began to walk over to the bonobo. Blue Eyes wanted to help him, but he refused it. The Ape King wobbled as he took the steps. He got just a two feet away from Koba before he lost his balance and almost fell but, to his surprise and relief, the scarred bonobo caught him just in time.

Caesar smiled when he looked up at the still unsure ape. "C-Caesar?.."

The Ape King stood back up and, much to Koba's shock touched his forehead to his. The gesture then became a hug when Caesar wrapped his arms around the scarred ape. Giving him a warm and tight embrace.

"You...Are Ape.."

Koba was frozen, unsure if he heard those three words right. Then, the meaning of those powerful words hit him hard as he realized what was happening. Shaking, he returned the embrace. Sniffling as some tears ran from his eyes.

Blue Eyes, beginning to tear up himself, went over to them wrapped his arms around both his father and honorary uncle. Stone joined them. Then Rocket, then Maurice and then Luca. Malcolm and Ellie smiled at what they were seeing. The apes were forgiving Koba...And Koba was forgiving Caesar...Maybe now he finally see's how much the apes care about him.

"Oh what the hell!" Kempt walked over and joined the hugging, none of the apes objected. In fact, they seemed happy to have a human join in.

Foster, inspired by Kempt, moved in as well. Then Derek, Malcolm, and Ellie. Tori was about to but noticed Dreyfus watching with an unsure look. Giggling, she reached over and grabbed the older human's wrist. "Come on, ya Doofus!" She teased as she pulled him in. In seconds, they were all hugging. It was as if the hug meant more than just forgiveness. It felt as if it meant accepting each other, putting everything else aside and finally uniting. No more superior talk, no more blaming each other, no more fighting. Only peace.

No one said a word until they broke the large embrace. "What about the other survivors? And all the other apes?" Asked Foster.

"Tell them the truth." Said Caesar. "They need to know."

Dreyfus understood what he was saying. "We'll gather up the apes and all the humans. We'll tell them together."

Ellie was still looking at the dead bodies of the female ape and her baby. "We can't just leave them out here like this." She said.

"We won't." Said Derek. "We'll bury them." He frowned at the grass that the corpses laid in. "Somewhere more peaceful and happier than here."

Just then, a loud cracking sound broke through the breeze. They all looked around, startled. The park should have been completely empty, not a single soul had dared to cross these grounds since the virus and the riots. Even after that died out, the park had been long empty…Until now.

"What was that?"

"Did someone follow us here?"

"I don't think so-"

Another crack, this time much closer to them. The group got closer together, Luca eyeing their surroundings. Ready to attack if necessary.

"What if it's a soldier?!" Kempt gasped.

"Shit, and we don't have any weapons!" Dreyfus realized in horror.

Suddenly, a figure ran out from the bushes. Causing them to all jump back. None of them knew what it was at first, but when it got closer, they realized it was a chimp…With a wire sticking out of his head?

The ape, a male was running around on his two legs. His face was blank, his eyes weren't blinking. He didn't seem to notice the group of apes and humans standing there-and he didn't notice the tree...Even as he ran into it. Then again. And again.

The group could only stare at him. Dumbfounded.

"What the heck?" Asked Foster.

"Apes, do you guys recognize him?" Dreyfus no longer sounded like his usual self. He sounded disturbed.

"Not one of us." Said Caesar. "Would have recognized him.

Cautiously, Blue Eyes walked over to the still tree-hitting ape. From what they could tell, the ape was an adult but had to be at least two years older than the prince himself. Blue Eyes curiously touched the older male's shoulder with one finger. Suddenly, the ape froze. Sparks popped out of the wire sticking out of his head and he twitched.

"What's new pussycat? Whoa! What's new pussycat? Whoa, oh!" The chimp suddenly sang, causing a startled Blue Eyes to fall backwards.

More sparks shot from the wire and the chimp twitched again. He began singing what sounded like Jingle Bells, only slower and he kept skipping a few words.

It had to be the most bizarre thing the group had seen...Well, so far.

"..Is he ok?" Malcolm was afraid to ask.

"That wire.." Ellie narrowed her eyes. "It must be connected to his brain somehow...It could be picking up radio signals or something."

Another crack, however when the group looked, it was a bonobo standing there. They all gasped when they saw him. The much older male stood as still as the trees. His appearance horrified them: He literally looked like a walking skeleton with his pale skin completing the look. The ugly sores and wounds on his face, arms and body, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look all the more hard to look at. He was looking straight at the group, but his glassy, green eyes were not focused on them. It was as if he was looking right through them. As if he really didn't see them at all.

It took a moment for Derek to recognize him since he had aged and changed so much since his picture was taken, but when he looked closer at those eyes, he knew exactly who this was.

"Guys, that's Carlos." He breathed.

"Holy shit, that's Koba's dad!" Kempt blurted out without thinking.

Koba turned around and looked at them, confused. "My..What?"

Caesar looked at the others too, not understanding what they were talking about.

Before anyone could say anything, one last figure appeared-two in fact. This time, one of them was chimp the Ape Council recognized. Pope. The scarred chimpanzee was dragging an unconscious ape by the foot in one hand and had his arm completely wrapped in another female chimp's own arm. She clung to him so tightly, that her fingers appeared to be turning white.

"Pope!" Caesar never thought he'd ever feel so relieved to see him again, but he was.

"Caesar!" It felt good to finally see the Ape King back to his normal self. Pope could tell he was still sick, but it was a relief to see that he was no longer paranoid or delusional like before.

"How did you get out?" Asked Rocket as he approached him.

"Good humans." Pope put the other ape's foot down to sign. "Will and Preacher, the rebels, helped us."

The humans looked at each other, astonished. Another mass escape? The very day after the last one? How did they do it without McCullough getting suspicious?

"Hazell."

"What?" Caesar wasn't sure what Pope was saying.

"Hazell." Pope nodded at the dead female chimp. "Her name." There was something in his voice the Ape King didn't expect. Genuine sadness. Since when did Pope care enough to feel sad about another ape dying?

"Her child is dead too." Said Ellie, unable to even look up.

Pope looked at the dead infant, then he looked at the female chimp next to him. She looked concern-no, she looked frightened of the humans, as she was practically hiding behind him. Pope whispered something to her and she, reluctantly, came out of hiding. She wasn't nearly as skinny as Carlos, but her thin body was close to it. She was holding something in her arm, another bundle. She hesitated before handing it over to Rocket. She then shrank back to Pope's side, keeping her eyes on the ground.

Everyone watched as Rocket took off the cover of the bundle. They all gasped in surprised shock. Wrapped inside the cameo blanket, was another human-ape hybrid baby...Only this one, was alive!

"Oh my god!" Ellie rushed over to Rocket, who handed the baby to her. She examined the tiny child but found no wounds on his little body.

"She had twins." Said, Pope. "Didn't know until too late."

The feelings were mixed with the news. One child is dead and will never get to grow up and live her life, but her brother is alive and has a chance to have a normal, happy life.

"Milo."

Koba's voice startled all of them. They thought the scarred bonobo's silence was due to him comprehending the fact that his father, who he never even met, was alive and standing before them. But he was staring at the unconscious chimp on the floor.

"You know him?" Pope asked him.

He was older and had gained more scars since the last time he and Dolly saw him, but Koba recognized the male chimpanzee anywhere.

"Milo." He repeated. "Old friend to Koba and Dolly." He replied.

Laying in the grass, bleeding from a head wound, was indeed Milo.

---

"THIS IS AN ABOMINATION! A FREAK OF NATURE! THIS IS THE MONSTROSITY THAT HAPPENS WHEN APES AND HUMANS MIX!"

"NO! NO! PLEASE!"

"I saw it.." The desperate and horrified screams of Preacher and Hazell, the pleading cries of the newborn, and McCullough's evil words were still repeating themselves in Pope's mind. It was a scene he knew he'd never be able to forget."..The colonel killed them.."

"How?" Asked Derek.

They were now back in the infirmary. Milo, Carlos, the mysterious chimp with the wire, and the baby boy were being looked at by the healers. Even though the healers, both ape, and human, were shocked to see a human-ape hybrid child, they didn't hesitate to take him in. Dot, the female chimp, refused to be looked at unless Pope was with her-which the scarred chimp didn't seem to mind. Caesar decided to go back to his bed, having lost most of his energy. Something Blue Eyes and Cornelia were relieved about.

While Blue Eyes was with his parents, and Maurice and Koba were in the hallway, Derek and Rocket were talking with Pope as Tinker examined Dot. Whether it was due to her being so skinny, or a result of all the scars and lack of fur on her back was hard to tell, but when Dot bent over, the distinctive bumps of her spine could clearly be seen. Ellie, meanwhile, was assisting the other healers as they looked at Milo, Carlos, the baby and the wire-headed chimp.

"He took the baby by her feet.." Pope tried not to picture that moment. "..And slammed her head..Repeatedly...On the ground.."

CRACK!

That was a horrible noise. The sickening sound of that child's skull-crushing against the concrete was a sound Pope never wanted to hear again.

"He forced Preacher to kill Hazell...He didn't want to do it, but the colonel forced him to…"

"How did you and the others get out? How did the other baby survive?" Rocket asked.

That was the easier part of the story. There was hope, in the beginning, no one was in any immediate danger and there was a chance they could all be saved.

"No one knew Hazell was having twins. They all thought it was just the one." Pope started. "I don't know why they didn't send her out of the base before, but the plan was to send the baby out before anyone knew he had been born. One of the rebels had just placed him in the flying machine when Hazell had the other baby..By then, the colonel had come.." Pope stopped there. The memory becoming too much for him and he didn't want to shed any tears in front of a human of all people.

Pope's story only confirmed something in Derek's mind. That these Alpha-Omega people, that McCullough, had truly lost their humanity. Maybe not the type that they valued, but a type that matters so much more than simply being seen as a person.

With a sigh, Pope looked up at Derek. For the first time, meeting his eyes. "Pope seen lots of bad humans in life. Been hurt by them too. But that McCullough human…He's the worst Pope ever saw."

"I agree with you." Said Derek. "That's why we're going to stop them."

---

"Dolly is awake you know." Maurice signed to Koba. "She wants to see you."

Koba's teeth were bitting at his lower lip. In the cell, he longed for his sister's company. For the comfort he knew his twin would provide. But after all that had happened, his attempt to kill Caesar, and his attempt to kill himself, he wondered if he even deserved a sister like her.

"Does she know about…What I tried to do?" He asked hesitantly.

"Not yet, but she'll find out sooner or later."

Koba only nodded, knowing he was right. It was usually easy to keep small things from his sister. But if a secret was big enough, it wouldn't take much for Dolly to figure it out.

Sensing his worry, the orangutan place a hand on the slightly shorter ape's shoulder. "Your sister loves you, Koba. You and I both know that's not going to change so easily."

"She's also faithful to Caesar." Koba had been too-and technically, was again, but back when he was plotting to kill Caesar, Dolly was certainly much more faithful to their Ape King than her brother was. Koba had deliberately kept her out of his plans for that very reason. He knew that if she had known what he was up to, she would have tried to reason with him and if that failed, she would have warned Caesar herself. "What if she disowns me as her brother?"

"She wouldn't do that." Maurice had a feeling Dolly would still love her brother. Even if he had done the unthinkable. "Go and talk to her and you'll see."

He still wasn't sure, but also knew he couldn't just avoid the subject all together. Reluctantly, Koba agreed.

---

"How are they?" Malcolm asked when Ellie came out of the room where the newest apes had been brought in.

"Oh gosh, where do I start? Umm.." Ellie cleared her throat, thinking. She decided to go from least, to worst injury-wise. Because Dot was so afraid of the humans, Ellie didn't get to examine her, so Tinker had agreed to do it and tell Ellie about it as soon as she was finished. "The baby is fine, aside from mild hunger and slight coldness. As far as we could tell, he was born healthy." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tag. "He had this wrapped around his wrist."

Malcolm looked at the tag as she handed it to him. It appeared to be a strap of paper, held together by a single strip of tape. In desperate handwriting, it read: Hopely

"Hopely?" He asked.

"I think it's his name." Said Ellie.

The name sounded like a male version of the name 'Hope'. Considering he was a human-ape hybrid, and the only child of Hazell and Preacher to have left the base alive, and what they were all fighting for, the name felt appropriate.

"Where's his father?"

"Pope last saw him alive. I don't think we should assume otherwise for now." Ellie hoped Preacher would get out of that base. If he truly is alive, than he wouldn't be for long.

"And the others?"

Relieved for a change of subject, Ellie went on to the next ape. "The chimp with the wire-I really don't know how he got that in there, but it's probably from being an experiment in labs." If that's the case, Ellie hoped they weren't dealing with another ape like Koba. If they were, then Ellie wanted to make sure they could help him. "Aside from the wire, he doesn't appear to have anything else wrong with him."

"What about that chimp Koba called Milo?"

"He suffered a bad head wound, possibly from being hit by a blunt instrument. Most likely a crowbar." Ellie could only assume he got that during the escape. "He has other old wounds on his body, mostly whip marks on his back. The worst of them is his mouth."

"His mouth?"

"Some of his teeth are missing. If not, then broken."

"Could that have been from torture?" Malcolm suddenly remembered going to the dentist in the old days. Long before apes weren't smart. When he was a child himself. Back then, the dentist was always a scary thing and it was always easy to picture them as a creepy guy with sharp tools, meant to cause pain rather than help people. What if that's what happened to Milo?

Ellie shrugged. "Hard to say. But I did find a piece of metal stuck in his gums."

"Metal? From braces?"

"I don't know, but it was in there a long time and was causing an infection." Ellie frowned at her own words. "Something tells me he's seen the 'dark side' of humans too."

"Sounds like it." Agreed Malcolm. "Speaking of apes that are connected to Koba, how's Carlos?"

That one was the worst out of the group. Ellie never thought she'd ever see an ape, or any other person, as in bad shape as Carlos was. In fact, she hadn't seen anyone in such horrible condition as Carlos since the virus. "He's a mess." She started. "The sores and wounds on his body are commonly found on people who abuse drugs."

"Drugs?"

"I think McCullough has been giving Carlos Meth or Cocaine or both. He may have also been giving him alcohol, I noticed he was showing some signs of Alcoholism."

"Why? would he do that?" And how the heck did McCullough get a hold of such drugs when resources for something as little as food was so rare?

"My best guess is, he was trying to make him submissive." Ellie crossed her arms. "Carlos had been in McCullough's captivity for ten years and, from the sound of it, didn't have much of a life before that anyways. He must have allowed himself to be brainwashed by McCullough. He was under his thumb." She sighed. "I don't think he even knew he had children."

No wonder. Malcolm thought. If Carlos didn't know about Koba and Dolly's existence's, and he didn't have a happy life to begin with, than he really must have had no motivation to try and leave McCullough's control. He basically was allowing himself to waste away, waiting for his life to end without realizing what he was leaving behind.

"So..What do you think he's going to do when he finds out about Koba and Dolly being his son and daughter?" He asked.

Ellie wished she had an answer for that. In her mind, she imagined a worse case scenario and an ideal case scenario: The worst case being Carlos denies his children's existence and doesn't even recognize the twins as his. The ideal one being him immediately changing and abandoning his addictions so he could live and be the father Koba and Dolly needed. Ellie wanted the ideal case scenario, but even if that were to happen, she knew Carlos couldn't just give up his addictions that easily.

"I don't know." Was truly all she could tell Malcolm.

---

It's him. Dolly knew it the second she saw the unconscious male that it was Milo. He was placed in the bed next to hers, presumably because they knew she knew him. She just sat there, watching as he slept. The only movement Dolly made as she looked at him was her chest when she inhaled and exhaled air.

Her mind began to wander to the darkest corners of her memories. To the places she thought she'd never visit again. Back to a place she never wanted to return to.

Flashback:

Tommy forgot to feed them again today. It wasn't the first time. Sometimes, Tommy would go out and be gone for hours and then return when it was dark. This was one of those days.

Dolly shifted on her two feet uncomfortably. She felt as if her feet were becoming attached to the bottom of the cage. As if the hard metal would eventually bend the skin, tear apart the muscle, and breath through the bone.

When she glanced at the cage next to her, she saw Koba. Head leaning against the wall of his cage as he tries to sleep. His plush kitten held tightly in his hand. The only thing left of Mother he could cling to. Dolly use to have a stuffed kitten of her own, but she lost it and she couldn't remember when she last saw it.

In the cage next to Koba's was Milo. Though Dolly couldn't see what he was doing, she knew he was there.

Tommy appears then, but instead of letting them out of their cages, he sits down in front of them. He's holding a plate in his hands, and there's something on it that Dolly can't identify but it smells good. So good, that the sweet aroma wakes up Koba.

Tommy laughs at them. "Ya like that smell, apes? It's sausage. Too bad you guys can't have any." He teased.

Dolly's stomach came alive with hunger. When she looked at Koba, she saw his eyes were huge as he gazed at the sausages. She could feel his hunger as clearly as she felt her own. She wished she could get that food.

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound. Tommy cursed and placed his plate down as he got up. The second he was gone, there was a soft click from next to Koba. Both twins looked at realized Milo had somehow unlocked his cage.

The chimp glanced at the two of them, then walked over to the plate and took the two remaining sausages. He handed one to Koba and another to Dolly. "Eat quickly." He signed.

Neither said a word as they wolfed down the delicious meat. In their starvation, it tasted like the best thing ever.

Milo crept back to his cage as quickly as he left it and closed the door behind himself.

When Tommy reappeared, he looked at his plate and frowned. He glanced at the three apes then back down and picked up the white china. "How did..?" He asked himself as he walked away. Seemingly unsure as to how his plate was empty when the apes were locked up.

Koba and Dolly looked at Milo again. Who was looking back at them. "Good?" He asked.

"Good." They both answered.

End of Flashback:

Dolly realized at that moment that she and Koba never properly thanked Milo for his kindness or for his courage to do share it. Milo could have seriously gotten hurt. If Tommy had come back before he gotten in his cage, Milo would have been punished. And since his last punishment was to have his mouth wired shut, Dolly knew his second punishment would have been worse.

He was older than them, but not by much. He wasn't related to them, but Milo was like a second brother to Dolly. But most of all, his company made her feel like she was protected. They worked as a trio when they lived with Tommy, each one of them leaning on each other's shoulders. Dolly felt like she had to protect Koba, but Milo protected them both.

"Dolly." The second she heard his voice, she immediately turned around and hugged him. Her heart skipped a beat with happiness as she was finally reunited with her brother. "Koba." She replied.

Dolly's hug settled something in Koba. A loneliness that he had forgotten about in the last hours but had felt that night in the cell, and all the days he had spent without her. He held on to her as he breathed in her scent. Letting the relief wash over him live the ocean at the beach washed over the sand.

"..Missed you.." He whispered, and he meant it.

"Missed you too." Said Dolly.

When they pulled away, Dolly quickly asked: "What. Happened. To Milo?"

"Don't know." Koba wished he knew, but he also was glad he didn't. The last thing he needed right now was a new reason to hate humans again, and he had just started to forgive them as is. "Not. Important. Right now." He knew it was time to tell her.

Dolly blinked in surprise at him. Before she could ask why, Koba started signing to her. "I'm sorry." He couldn't bare to say the words out loud. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you that night, Dolly. And I'm sorry I tried to kill Caesar."

Dolly's eyes widened. Koba was about to sign something again, but she stopped him. "Why?" She asked. "Why did you do it?"

"I wanted revenge and start a war, and he wouldn't agree with me."

Dolly huffed, from the shock of her brother's revelation and from her own growing emotions. "Ok, why did you want that in the first place?"

"…Because I was angry.." Koba could barely look at her as he signed. "..I was still mad at them for what happened to us and I wanted them to suffer the way we suffered…I tried to tell Caesar that, but he wouldn't listen-"

"Why didn't you just tell ME?" That didn't make sense. Why would Koba tell Caesar his worries, and not his own sister?

Koba gulped. He could already feel her frowning at him. "..I was afraid you wouldn't listen either…I know that's stupid, but that's how I felt.."

At first, Dolly was annoyed with him. She went through the exact same hell as him, suffered the same pain and met the same bad side of the humans as he had. Why wasn't that enough to let him know that she DID understand?! That she WOULD listen?! That if he needed someone to hold his hand, he didn't have to look any further than right where she stood?!…But then, she realized something…Compared to her, Koba never showed the feelings she felt. While Dolly didn't harbor any ill-will to the humans, she would often have nightmares about the past. She never felt anger, only sadness and wishful thinking. But no matter how much pain she felt, she didn't express it either, and it wasn't that Dolly felt distrust towards Koba or anyone else if she had to share them, it was just that it hurt to think about it and she'd rather not bring it up to anyone.

The realization suddenly hit Dolly harder than she ever thought it could.

…Koba didn't talk to her about his feelings…Because SHE hadn't talked about her own with him…And it was more than that!..It was as if they both knew that he was angry and she was sad, but neither of them thought, or considered, talking to each other about it!..

"…Do you..Hate me?.." Koba asked in a shaky, unsteady voice.

"..Koba..!" Dolly pulled her younger twin into another hug. "No..!" She wheezed as tears began to roll down her face. "L-Love you..! Koba, Dolly's brother..!..N-nothing..Will ever..Change that..!"

Koba couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring at all that he was shedding tears again. Having been crying a lot lately, Koba found that the vulnerable action made him feel calmer afterwards.

They stayed like that for only a moment before Koba pulled away again, needing to tell her more. "I..I tried to kill myself last night!" He was shaking so much that his signs were almost hard to read."I was overwhelmed with guilt and-! And Caesar, Dreyfus and the solider in the jail broke me down and-! I just-!" Koba only stopped rambling when he saw the look on Dolly's face.

"D-Dolly?" He sniffled. Koba had seen his sister cry before, but the sad look on her face was more painful than it had ever been.

What the female bonobo was a scary mix of panic, of extreme guilt, of terrible despair and..Something much more. She grabbed Koba and almost squeezed the life out of him. Her sobs becoming so hard her body shook. Something that frightened the scarred bonobo just a little bit.

"K-Koba!" She cried. She practically buried her face in his shoulder, just as he had done so many times before. "Don't! You! Ever! Do that! Again!" She gasped for air, making awful hiccuping noises as she did. "N-Need! You, Koba! P-Please! Don't! Leave! Me!"

No one would miss you if you were gone. Dolly would be better off without me. Koba now realized just how wrong he was. The horrible mistake he had almost made. How untrue the lies were. It was only now, with Dolly sobbing on him, that the scarred bonobo realized how much he meant to his sister…She needed him, just as much as he needed her. Maybe even more than he dared to imagine.

…If he had killed himself last night…He truly…would have…Abandoned his own sister..

"Dolly." He hugged her again, calming himself down just enough to comfort her. All that love she ever gave him throughout the years, he could finally return it to her. "Koba…Won't leave..You.." He promised.

It felt as if their roles had been switched. Now Dolly was the one needing comfort and protection, and Koba had to be strong for her. It was strange, but it felt right.

Koba didn't dare let go of Dolly as she cried on him. He just kept his arms wrapped around her in the same protective and loving embrace she had always sheltered him in. She soaked his fur with her tears but he didn't care. If anything, each tear she shed told Koba that he was loved. That someone does care if he were gone or not. That he was needed.

He didn't let go until she pulled away. Dolly sniffed as she dried her tears. Koba hadn't seen her cry so hard since Ishmael left, though it felt like she was crying even harder now than she did back then.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" She asked through sign.

"Just one more." Signed Koba, before quickly adding. "But it's not about me-I mean it is, but not like the other things and it involves you too."

At this, Dolly blinked. Drying off the last of her tears. Listening.

"It's our father..He's alive."

"What?" Dolly gasped. "Where. Was. He?"

"Prisoner. At base." It felt even crazier saying it out loud than it did having the new information roaming around in his head. "Bad humans, take him. Long ago. Ten winters ago."

Dolly could hardly believe what she was hearing. Their father, the one parent who was complete stranger to them. An ape who didn't exist in their lives, was suddenly not anymore? "Who. Is. He?"

"Carlos." Koba nodded in the direction of said ape. "He's here."

Dolly turned her head. In the hallway, leading to another room, was Carlos. Her eyes boggled as she looked at him. Taking in his features. How did this happen to him? The older bonobo had been standing there ever since Ellie had finished examining him. He was listening to no one, ignoring the world around him. Until…Until he heard his name in the distance and looked up. Even in his glassy, detached gaze, he saw the younger twin bonobos far off in the distance. Suddenly, he saw nothing else.

"He's hurt." Dolly said, now looking back at her twin.

"I know. Bad human's leader. Did something. To him."

"Koba. Dolly." The voice startled them. When they looked up, they saw that Carlos was now standing closer to them. The three bonobos stared at each other for seemingly a very long time, before Carlos reached over and place one hand on Koba's cheek and the other on Dolly's.

The boney hands felt cold but smooth to the twins. It felt different, but neither pulled away from the new touch.

Carlos kept his eyes on them both. In his mind, he erased the scars and replaced Koba's blind eye with a regular one. They both had his green eyes, he knew that. But their noses, their mouths, their ears and just the way their faces were shaped…That was all hers..

"You. Look. Like. Your mother." He finally said. "Both. Of you."

Tina. Carlos had tried so hard to forget about her, but she remained a ghost in his mind nonetheless. Carlos had been forced to mate with many females in his life, most of which he forgotten the names of and what they looked like. But Tina was the only one who he truly loved and was heartbroken when he was taken away from her.

These two bonobos in front of him..Resembled Tina.

It took a minute for the twins to register what Carlos had just said to them. Koba blinked and fresh, new tears ran down his face. Same with Dolly. But these tears weren't of heartache. They were a mix of remembering their mother, and feeling happiness at finally knowing and being with their father.

Carlos pulled them both into a hug, which the twins carefully returned. Wrapping their arms around his delicate, fragile body with a gentle touch. They stayed like that, holding each other in a warm, bonding embrace.

The few others that were in the room, Caesar, Blue Eyes, Malcolm and Ellie (who had entered the room upon realizing Carlos had wandered inside), looked on. They had only started paying attention to the bonobos when Carlos approached the twins, and watching them hug was a beautiful thing.

Maybe Carlos would be alright after all. He still had a long way to go before he fully recovers from all the years of drugs and alcohol and the control McCullough had over him, but maybe having his son and daughter with him will give him the strength to heal and the reason to fight his additions.

---

Once again, Derek decided to question the solider-also known as John McCullough. But this time, Dreyfus wanted to join. Earlier that morning, Derek had found information about Colonel McCullough, but very little. From what the file said, Colonel McCullough was a US Military colonel who's wife had died from the virus and both he and his son fell off the grid ever since. Suspiciously, many of the files document were missing and Derek had no way of knowing if they were simply misplaced, or were stolen.

"So tell us, John." Derek started as he and Dreyfus sat down across from him. "Does your father kill all newborn babies, or just the ones that are hybrids?"

John laughed. "Ha! Hybrids?" He asked. "What kind of a question is that?"

"An honest one." Dreyfus answered, completely ignoring the sarcasm in John's voice. "We just found a dead, human-ape hybrid baby. Killed by your father."

"See right there? Now I know you two are playing tricks on me." Said John defiantly. "My father would never kill a baby. Sure he'd take them from their mothers at birth, but he'd never actually harm them..At least, not until they're older."

Dreyfus looked at Derek, who nodded. Time for the big guns. Dreyfus pulled out a picture and slid it over to the solider.

John's expression changed as he gazed at the picture of Hazell's dead body. "Hazell, what a shame." He said. "She was pregnant too, her child was to be the first child servant in the base."

"She gave birth before she died." Said Derek, sliding the next picture to him. "That's the child your father murdered."

At the picture of the dead infant, John's eyes widened. "Holy shit!" He gasped. He looked up at them. "Hybrids can happen?! Are there any more?!"

Derek and Dreyfus deliberately kept Hopely out of the conversation. They didn't want to risk John tracking him down and finishing him off.

"Does your father kill babies?" Derek asked instead.

John slumped back. He stared at the two pictures in stunned silence. He shook his head. "I don't..I don't understand." He looked back up at them. "I know my father does a lot of..Questionable things, but killing babies was never one of them..Not before anyway."

"Did your father know hybrids were possible?" Asked Dreyfus.

"No." John shifted in his chair. "..All humans who don't follow him are weak, and all apes are threats..M-Maybe he saw that child as a threat to the human race, but..But killing it? Who does that?!" As his son, John had seen his father order the kidnappings of thousands of people and torture even more. Both humans and apes. He had seen him mutilate and destroy the bodies of humans in the name of science and brainwash ales to a point where they couldn't think for themselves or have any basic control of their own left. But killing a newborn baby?..That was a new low..Something John never thought his father would ever do.

He's not denying. Derek and Dreyfus had the same realization. He just didn't think his father would go that far. That told them that, as far as John knew, McCullough had not killed newborns before.

"What's..What's going to happen now?" John asked as the two men got up.

"We're going to get justice for Hazell and her baby." Said Derek. "And you're going to tell us everything we need to know about your father."

The two walked out of the interrogation room. As much as Dreyfus and Derek wanted to talk to John, it would just have to wait for now. They had other, more important matters, to attend to.

---

The crowd was chaotic before the group could get up on the balcony. The ground was crowded with humans, whole the rooftops and buildings had apes everywhere. It was the only way they could think of that would keep the two colonies from possibly lashing out at each other. It worked, but some were still giving each other dirty looks.

Luca, Blue Eyes, Rocket, Maurice, Koba and Stone were being led by Caesar, who was still not feeling well but was strong enough to participate anyways. As leader, it was his duty to do this no matter how bad he felt.

Malcolm, Ellie, Derek, Tori, Foster, Kempt and Dreyfus were already there. They all looked anxious, the same way the apes themselves felt.

"What if this doesn't work?" Asked Kempt.

"It. Has to." Said Blue Eyes.

But they all knew it could go very wrong. These were people who for the last ten years, feared and hated each other. Humans fearing the apes would one day wipe them out, either by their own natural strength or by the virus (which was mostly believed by the idiots) and the apes hated the humans for all the years of living in their dark side they had endured. Whose to say that they wouldn't take the opportunity to get revenge?

"We may want to lock up the guns." Foster suggested. "Or at least, give them to those who stand on guard."

"They don't need guns to kill." Said Tori, remembering the knife she used to kill one of the soldiers. "They could use other weapons too."

Dreyfus sighed, preparing himself. He had given many speeches before but none quite like this. He turned and looked at Caesar. "You ready?" He asked.

"Yes." Said Caesar. If he felt sick, he had Blue Eyes to continue for him. Caesar originally didn't want him to, but Blue Eyes and Cornelia insisted on it and he had found he was wasting more energy arguing with them than he was just standing up.

He and Dreyfus walked over to the balcony gate, now being seen by the entire crowd. Dreyfus gripped the announcement speaker tightly in his hand. He had offered one to Caesar, but the Ape King knew he could be heard by all even without the thing.

"Everyone!" Dreyfus shouted into the announcement speaker. "Everyone! The apes aren't here to hurt you!-"

"Then what the hell are they here for?!" Someone yelled out, followed by a Yeah! by the others.

"For! Our safety!" Bellowed Caesar, silencing the crowd.

Now, with everyone listening, Dreyfus cleared his throat and tried again. "For the past several days, my colleagues and I have been working with the Ape Council to figure out who these people are!..Based on what we've learned, we..!" He couldn't get the words out.

Screw it!

"..Listen everyone! These people are the Alpha-Omega..! We all remember them as a terrorist group that started most of the fighting between us!..They've changed since then, they are now led by Colonel McCullough, a former Senior US Military Colonel! We still don't know why they kidnapped some of us, but they are a danger to both humans and apes!"

"Enslave apes!" Said Caesar. "Torture humans! Alpha-Omega! Don't care! Who they kill! Kill anyone!"

"How can they be any worse than you?!" One human yelled at the Ape King. "You and all your monkeys infected half of the planet with the Simian Flu! Because of you, most of us are dead!"

"Apes! Do not wish death! On humans!" Caesar tried not to show how mad he was at that human.

Dreyfus took over, saving Caesar from the anger. "If you all think Caesar and the apes are the enemy, you're wrong! Just this morning, we found a dead infant's body in the park! This was a newborn child! She only lived a few moments before McCullough crushed her skull on concrete! No child deserves that!" Dreyfus kept the part of the child being a hybrid because he feared if he mentioned it, it would cause something other than the point he was trying to make. "If these people can do that, what else do you think they can do?! How far do you think they can go?!"

That did it. The survivors were all glancing at each other. Those with children of their own, held them tightly. The apes all around them, big and small, gorillas, chimps, bonobos, and orangutans, were silent. But then, they began hooting. Making sad, long noises.

"What are they doing?" Asked Ellie.

"Mourning." Blue Eyes answered.

The humans in the crowd were all looking up at the apes, watching them. The apes were mourning the death of a child who wasn't even born in their colony. A child that could have been ape or human. Grieving the loss of a small life that they didn't even know. It was moving, some of the humans were beginning to shed tears of their own.

Dreyfus and Caesar gave them time to mourn as their audience took in the news.

"Is it working?" Malcolm hoped the shared grief was a good sign.

"Don't know." Said Dreyfus.

"They agree the child's death was wrong, that's a good start." Signed Maurice.

"And how she died was wrong." Added Rocket.

Koba was scratching at one of his old scars, an old habit that only showed it's ugly head when his mind was elsewhere. Tori was tempted to reach over and stop him but paused. She looked at his scars, remebering that it were humans who gave him those scars. She glanced over at the other apes on the rooftops. They had scars too. But so did the humans, only theirs came from the virus.

Taking a breath, Tori walked over to where Dreyfus and Caesar stood and took the ancouncement speaker from the mayor. Dreyfus was about to scold her, but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. The look was something he had never seen in her before.

She was taking a big risk, by doing what she was going to do, Tori knew she was setting herself up to be a target for anymore vengeful apes and as the daughter of one of their tormentors, she knew many of them would love to see her suffer the way her father made them. But it was a risk she had to take. If she didn't do it, she doubted anyone would.

"You don't have to fear each other!" She chose her words carefully. "I know you all feel resentment towards one another, but you don't need too!"

Wait, that was Tori's voice. Koba looked up, surprised to see her standing with Caesar and Dreyfus. What was she doing?

Maurice, Rocket, Luca, Stone and Blue Eyes were watching too, so were the others. They could only hope she knew what she was doing, whatever to was.

"My name is Tori, and my father was Steven Jacobs! He was killed by an ape, but he was a cruel man!" Tori kept Koba's identity a secret. "He tortured apes in his lab and he treated my mother and I no differently! It's humans like him that gave apes reason to fear and hate us!" Her voice was beginning to get shaky and her heart felt as if it were in her throat. She needed to get to the point.

"Ever since the virus started, ever since the day my mother died, people have told me that the apes were to blame! That they were monsters! And then I met the Ape Council, and even though they never said it, I could tell they thought we, the humans, were the monsters! But I look around, and all I see are a bunch of people, humans and apes, who are too scared of each other to see that there is no difference between their two colonies! Look around you!"

The humans glanced around. First at each other, but their are met the apes who were looking down at them. They all had the same look to them.. A look that held no fear, no anger and no hate. It was a thoughtful look.

"They are us! And we are them! There are no monsters among us!" Tori hoped they were understanding her. "The only monster we have to fear, is McCullough and the Alpha-Omegas and if anyone thinks otherwise, then you're not looking hard enough!" With that, Tori gave the announcement speaker back to Dreyfus and disappeared back into the shadows.

The two leaders looked at each other. Then, Caesar picked up where Tori left off. "Apes! And Humans! Can destroy them! Together!" He bellowed. "We! Have! A chance! At peace! If! We unite!"

At that, many of the humans looked around at the apes. They all looked confused and unsure.

Dreyfus joined in. "We know it sounds crazy! But there coms a time when an evil is too great to fight alone, that we must team up with our enemies to fight it!" The crowd was now looking up at them, the looks on their faces was unreadable but they were listening. "One of the laws in the ape colony is, Apes Together Strong! We survivors have our own law: No one Gets Left Behind! The-These laws sound different, but they mean the same thing! They mean we protect each other, that we stand by one another!"

"Now! Is the time! To follow! These laws!"

The silence made them both nervous. It made Dreyfus wonder if what they said made any sense at all and Caesar worry they didn't say enough. It was deafening. Even the apes, who had mourned the hardest for the baby's lost life, were now silent.

Until…

"I'll fight alongside the apes!" Said one of the humans, who Dreyfus recognized as Josh-one of the volunteers who read through the files.

"So will I!" Said Liana.

"Me too!" Said another voice.

Some of the apes began hooting again, and Caesar knew right then that they had convinced them.

In seconds, the entire crowd of humans and apes were cheering. Malcolm smiled, chuckling in disbelief. Ellie hugged him tightly, relived that the two colonies were agreeing with them.

"Yes!" Whispered Kempt.

Foster just smiled, laughing along.

Tori felt Koba's hand wrap around her own hand and she gave his larger fingers a gentle squeeze, grateful for the warmth and reassurance she felt from him.

Dreyfus and Caesar glanced at each other, smiling. They did it. Somehow, they did it! Turning back to the crowd, Dreyfus put the announcement speaker to his mouth one last time.

"Then! As mayor of this city-!"

"And as king of the apes!" Caesar joined.

"We hereby declare our two colonies as one colony! Humans and apes!"

"United we stand!" The two of them said those last three words together as the crowd exploded in more cheering and hooting.

---

The tree was right in front of the gates. It took a while to get it in there, as they had to break the street floor in order to dig a hole big enough to contain it, and the humans and apes had to work together to chop it down and carry it all the way to the city, but they managed to get it and hold it up with rope from the other buildings. Dreyfus thought decorating to would be the second hardest part, but it turned out to be fun: Everyone helped out, and even though most of the apes had never heard of a Christmas tree, they eagerly took part in decorating it.

"I stand corrected." Said Dreyfus, as he watched the decorating from afar. "Using Christmas as a way to celebrate us uniting with the apes was a brilliant idea."

"Everyone seems to love it." Agreed Malcolm.

It felt like the Christmas celebration meant something for everyone, humans and apes. It meant unity, but it also meant hope, peace and happiness. Ever since the virus first started, no one celebrated Christmas because they lost so many family members and friends and when that happened, the holiday became a time for grieving and loss rather than joy. What good is a holiday when one has no one to spend it with? But now, after ten years of it being a distant and sad memory, Christmas was finally back and it felt like there was hope again.

"I'm still worried we might be celebrating too soon though." Dreyfus said after a minute. "What if we get carried away? What are we celebrating anyway? After all that's happened so far, what is there to celebrate?"

"Well, lets see." Malcolm replied. "We've restored power, Caesar, Ash, Dolly, Pope, Pinto, Pepper, Harper and all the children from the base are all here, Dot, Carlos and Cooper have joined us, Koba is finally forgiving the humans for what happened to him, we stopped the machine attack, we have one AO Solider in our custody, Hopely survived and is now with us, the apes and the humans united," Malcolm's smile grew with each thing he listed. "And for the first time, we finally have a chance at defeating the Alpha-Omega group and we could, potentially, have peace between us and Caesar's colony. That sounds like enough reason to celebrate to me."

"Ok, maybe but still. What if something happens tonight?"

"Nothing will, we have the Gorilla Guard and other humans on guard, and a patrol in the area." Ever since they united, the now joined colonies had improved the security. Next to the Gorilla Guard, some of the humans had volunteered to assist the gorilla's in guarding the city while some of the apes and other humans had organized a group to patrol outside of the city and in the Muir Woods to search for any incoming danger or anymore dead bodies. So many people from both colonies wanted to help that Malcolm wondered if they had more of them outside rather than inside the city. If the Alpha-Omega people wanted to attack them, they had a head start before those soldiers could show themselves.

Dreyfus allowed a smiled to grace his face. "I guess you're right..Though all these lights we're going to use are going to use up all the power for the night."

"It'll be worth it." Said Malcolm. Knowing that even when the lights go out, they won't be surrounded by darkness.

---

By nightfall, the tree was covered from head to toe with decorations. Some were old and long forgotten ornaments, and some were made by the apes or by the humans. They were all different from each other, but they were beautiful, and they covered the tree in harmony.

When all the apes and all the humans were gathered, Dreyfus, Malcolm and Caesar knew it was time. "Werner! Now!" Dreyfus called out.

Werner connected the last of the cable cords, and then flipped on the light.

The crowd of humans and apes gasped in awe. The tree came alive with a bright glow as the lights came on. Of course, the large tree was covered with different kinds of lights, some were just yellow, and some were of various different colors, but they glowed brightly like a rainbow of fireflies. It was magic.

"Nice." Said Finney. He grabbed Dreyfus and dragged him over to the stairs, presumably to join the party.

Caesar only smiled as he watched the celebration. Some of his apes were dancing, others were laughing, but all of them were enjoying themselves.

"Have you ever celebrated Christmas before?" Malcolm asked him.

"Yes, many times." Caesar remembered all the Christmases he had ever celebrated with Will, Caroline and Charles. Back then, he loved it because he always got new toys and new books, and lots of cookies. Now, he just loved the harmony and the peace the holiday meant. He suddenly wished Will was here to celebrate this Christmas with him and his family.

Seeing the missing in the Ape King's eye's, Malcolm reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You miss Will, don't you?"

Caesar sighed and nodded.

"..What was he like? As a father, I mean."

Caesar was silent for a moment. Will was so much more than just his adoptive father. He was the first person to have ever believed in him. The one who gave him so much confidence and love. While other humans saw an ape, Will saw a special person in him. In a way, Will's love made Caesar who he was now. "A good man...Like you." He replied.

---

Koba was watching from a distance, one of his bear skins was wrapped around his body to keep him warm from the cold air. Dolly was still in the infirmary, having decided to spend the holiday with their father. Koba was going to do that too, but got restless after a while and decided to go outside and see the tree everyone was so excited about. He was one of the apes who helped chop it down and bring it to the city, but he hadn't seen what the others had done with it since then. The tree had to be the most amazing and bright thing the scarred bonobo had ever seen humans and apes create together and he couldn't help but smile at it.

"Nice bear skin." Said a familiar voice. Koba turned his head and saw Tori walking over to him. Despite how cold it was, she wasn't wearing anything warm.

"Cold?" He asked.

"A little." But Koba could see her shivering. She wasn't fooling him that easily.

He took off the bear skin and placed it on her shoulders. "For you." He said.

Tori was surprised. "But this is yours, aren't you going get cold?"

He shook his head, smiling at her. "Have others. You. Can have. it." Koba didn't want to think about just how many bear skins he accommodated throughout the years. He just knew that he had enough to keep cozy in the winter. He had discovered his bear killing talent when a bear attacked him in the first year after he was freed. He wasn't as good back then as he was now, and had almost lost his only good eye at the time, but he came home with a dead bear anyways and he and Dolly slept warmly that night.

"Well, alright. Thank you." Tori pulled the dead bear's head over hers as if it were a hoodie. She wrapped the skin around one shoulder but pulled Koba in next to her so he'd still be warm.

Their shoulders touched and they froze. Both of them feeling awkward all of a sudden but trying not to show it. His black fur tickled her while her skin felt soft against his own.

The glow from the Christmas tree lights illuminated their faces. In the distance, Bon and Rex were laughing about something. Stone's silhouette was further away, but Koba could see the chimp dancing with some of the others. Maurice was hesitant about joining in, but Stone pulled him in anyways. Koba hadn't seen his fellow apes so happy since the celebration for Cornelius' birth, though they all seemed even happier now than they did on that day. Tori couldn't remember the last time she saw the other survivors this happy. Happiness was a rare but cherished thing in the human colony, any speck of it would be held on tightly by all those who had it and shared until it was gone.

That's when she remembered why she came over to Koba. "I got something for you." She said, taking the ape out of his thoughts.

Koba looked at her, eyebrow raised. She handed him something small and soft. Wait, was that?..It can't be!

But it was! In Koba's hands was his old stuffed kitten. The one he use to have as a young child. The one Mary gave him.

"..How..Did you..?" He asked, shocked that Tori had found it. Koba had lost this toy years ago. He last saw it in his cage, and never got the chance to retrieve it. The stuffed animal was cleaned recently, he could smell the soupy smell on it. Although Tommy had ripped it's head off, it was now sown back on it's body. The stitches so small, Koba could hardly tell they were there. On the kitten's foot, in Mary's stitch work, read Koba.

"Tommy's address was in your file." Tori explained. "The house hadn't been touched since he died, it was still in one of the cages." She smiled at him. "I thought you'd like it back."

Koba held the stuffed kitten to his neck. He was much bigger now, and the stuffed toy was much smaller than he remembered, but he hugged it all the same. "..Thank you.." He suddenly realized something. "Wait..Why..Are you..So nice..To Koba?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Tori tilted her head.

"Ever since the beach, you've been..There for me..And now you give me back my old kitten, why?" Koba asked through sign.

Tori shrugged. "I don't know..I guess since my father, and so many others before him, showed you the worst of humans and taught you how to hate..I wanted to show you the good side of the humans and..Be your friend."

Koba had known only a few good humans in his life, Mary and Amol. But neither were like Tori. He remembered how when he met her, he wanted to kill her because she was the daughter of Jacobs and she reminded him of her father. But now, when he looked in her eyes, he didn't see Jacobs. All he saw was Tori.

The corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He extended his hand to her. "Trust..You."

Tori took his hand in hers without hesitation. "Trust you too." She said.

Suddenly, the Christmas tree lights went out. Casting everyone into darkness. The apes and the humans all gasped, hooting and looking around with mild startlation and confusion. Then, a loud voice erupted through the crowd.

"Are you ready for the real party to start?!" Came Foster's voice.

Tori and Koba looked at each other. What was happening here?

They got their answer when they suddenly heard a loud but familiar sound.

Bang!

Koba jumped. Was that a gun?! He looked around, eyes scanning his surroundings. He felt Tori nudge him and say his name. Was it just him or was there green light suddenly?

"It's alright, look!" Tori said as she pointed at the sky as another bang was heard.

Koba looked up and gasped. It wasn't gunfire at all! The sky was lit up with lights of it's own! It was as if the stars were exploding, becoming colorful, dandelion bursts of light. There were several of them, of all different shapes and colors. It was amazing!

"I didn't know we had fireworks!" Exclaimed Dreyfus when he looked up.

"Wow!" Derek couldn't believe what he was looking at.

"Gives it a nice touch, doesn't it?" Called Kempt as he and Foster high five each other. They were the ones that planned it. As soon as the power for the Christmas lights went out, they'd put the sky ablaze. It was actually Malcolm's idea, but they made it possible.

Caesar was with Blue Eyes as they watched the fireworks. The prince's eyes were huge as he watched every colorful light beam in the night sky. He hoped his mother and everyone in the infirmary were seeing this, because this was too beautiful to miss. Caesar allowed a smile to grow on his face. Knowing this unity party was one of the best parties his apes had ever celebrated.

The apes were all entranced by the beautiful, bright lights. Some hooted excitedly but most just stayed silent. In awe of the fireworks beauty. The humans cheered happily, possibly at forgetting that such a thing existed and being amazed at rediscovering the sky lights.

Koba glanced at Tori and their eyes met. They were frozen again, looking deep into each others eyes. Tori's pink hair was brightened by the different fireworks colors. None of them seemed as bright as her brown eyes, which were shining. Her eyes were dark, but the color around her pupils was almost autumn colored.

His own green and milky eyes seemed different to Tori. Koba's only green eye, when she looked deep enough, seemed to have all different shades of green and even though his blind eye was empty, something about it reminded Tori of the frosty bubbles that the ocean gave when it made waves. It was like looking a tiny forest and a tiny, but closed up image of the ocean that only lived in his eyes.

Neither of them said a word. No one was looking at them, and no one would glance their way. They knew they could do it without anyone knowing it.

They slowly leaned in closer to each other. Tori wasn't expecting to see Koba's tongue slowly slide out from behind his lips, but she did the same.

Their tongues touched. In her childhood, Tori had thought tongue kissing was gross but his tongue felt warm against her own and when they pressed gently against each other, they felt squishy and soft. Like a sponge that had been drenched in warm water.

Then, their lips connected. Her's were tender and soft against his own rough lips. It was forbidden, but there were no laws against it. It was wrong, but only to those who still felt humans and apes should fight each other.

Koba knew that if Pope or any of the other apes from Gen-Sys found out that he had kissed the daughter of Steven Jacobs, they'd never let him hear the end of it. And Tori knew that her father would never have approved of her kissing one of his experiments like this, but how can a dead man possibly stop her from following her heart?

It felt so right. That was all they could think. They were friends, but friends don't kiss each other like this…Do they?..

When they pulled away, they both blushed and shied away from each other's gaze. Koba held his stuffed kitten to his neck again, smiling sheepishly at the ground while Tori hid half of her face in the bear skin, the same smile on her own red face.

No words were spoken, but they both knew their kiss would be their secret.

Suddenly, a much louder bang was heard. Grabbing their attention. In the sky, to the amazement of all who witnessed it, was the ape colony's home symbol. The large circle and the half circles inside of it were shaped by white fireworks that exploded together..Deliberately made to make that shape.

The apes all looked at the humans, shock and amazement written on their faces. Most of the humans were just as surprised as they were, but smiled at them anyways.

Then, one by one, the apes put their hands up. Each of their hands were balled up into fists and were pressed together. Similar to how one would ride a bike, but with the hands touching each other.

Soon enough, the entire ape colony was doing it. Even Blue Eyes and Caesar were. None of the humans needed to ask to know what this meant and the human colony followed the gesture.

Dreyfus, Derek, Malcolm, Blue Eyes and Caesar looked at all of them. Then glanced at all the members of their group. Maurice and Stone smiled up at them from the crowd. Rocket was there too, having finally recovered enough to get out of his casts. Luca was on top of one of the buildings where Kempt and Foster were but they were all gazing down at them. Ellie was watching from behind one of the windows in the infirmary building. Blue Eyes spotted Koba and Tori from further away, both of them looking up at him and his father.

They knew without saying it out loud. The human colony and ape colony were finally at peace with each other. There would be no more fighting, no more humans hurting apes or apes hurting humans. They will fight this evil together, and they will win.

They were together. They were united. They were one.

---

A's/N:...Holy...Mother...Of freaking nutcrackers! I don't even want to know how many hours I spent on that chapter, all I know right now is if this story were a TV series, this would be the end of season one, and the beginning of season two! XD

Now that Dolly is finally awake and out of the AO base, I can finally develop her character! (Yeah, most of my OC's are still a work-in progress-I wanted their character personalities to change in the story the same way as Caesar, Koba, Dreyfus and other canon characters do cause then there's more to the story!) If anyone has seen the TV series Once Upon A Time, you probably know how the show jumps from present to the past a lot, and that's kind of the feel I want for Dolly.

So yay! New OC! Hopely-Son of Preacher and Hazell (I was planning on making the humans and apes able to mate and have children together early on in the story but wasn't sure how to introduce that possibility until now and megascopstrichopsis gave me the motivation to make it work ;D) The other new OC (the chimp with the wire in his head) is meant to be a parody of Batty from Ferngully (and a parody of Koba and Pope!) and was created for the sole purpose of having some comic relief in the story-seriously, this story needs it! (more about him will be revealed later, but you can expect some funny moments with him!)

And Milo is back! I think I'm gonna have fun with him around! XD

Now about that scene with Koba and Tori...Four words...Beauty and The Beast...! XD

Thanks for reading and please review! And Happy Holidays to all who are reading this! :D