A's/N: Hey guys! Sorry for this very, very late update. I was actually sick a lot between January and April (I have no idea how that happened, I'm usually don't get sick like that!) and between that and my classes, I just didn't have much time to work on this story. DX
Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
That did it, silence gave way to near panic. Koba and Dolly didn't kill anyone, but someone deliberately tried to make it look as if they had.
It wasn't just the fact that someone had framed one of their own for murder that horrified the group. It was that someone within the city had done it...And this person could be lurking right in their united colony.
"How could this have happened?!" Malcolm suddenly blurted out over the shocked hoots and growls. "I mean-! How could someone sneak body parts into the infirmary without anyone noticing?!"
"I-!...I guess we need more people on guard-?" Kemp suggested.
"The guards we already have out should have prevented this!" Dreyfus barked at the younger man.
Kemp put his hands up defensively. "Hay, at least the guy didn't kill them!"
But he could have. Thought Caesar with a shiver. If the framer had wanted to kill Koba or Dolly, or even Carlos, he could have done it.
It felt like the bonobos had dodged a bullet.
Caesar wasn't the only one to make this connection, as the other apes kept glancing at the bonobo twins who were also looking at each other with fearful looks of their own. Only now realizing how much danger they had been in.
"Human work." The familiar phrase didn't come from Koba, but Rocket instead.
"Oh sure!" Aaron suddenly snapped at the balding chimp. "Blame it on the humans! Everything is always our fault with you animals!" That earned him a loud growl from Rocket, and many more from the other apes.
"Why would an ape do this, Aaron?!" Ellie backfired, turning at the man. Her pale face now reddened with anger.
"Why would an ape try to kill another ape?" Aaron actually glared at Caesar and Koba when he asked this, as if he believed they knew the answer.
Caesar glared right back, though his scowling face didn't fully display how angry he actually was. Koba's gums pulled themselves back, revealing his teeth.
Tori hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder, which seemed to keep him from making any move towards the angry human...Though she doubted it would last for long.
Wordlessly, Stone, Luca and Rocket formed a wall between Aaron and Caesar, Blue Eyes, Maurice, the still unconscious Pope and Carlos, and the bonobo twins in case he were to attack them. Making themselves as tall as possible to intimidate him.
"Aaron!" It was Dreyfus that cut in this time. He knew where this was going and honestly wanted it to stop before it went any further. "It doesn't matter if this was done by a human or an ape! If this was a set up, then we could be in serious trouble here!"
Trouble was an understatement. Who ever did this had to have known the impact it would have on the team...And the fact that they chose Koba and Dolly to frame...Could that mean that the person knew of Koba's past attempts at murder and starting war?...
Dreyfus said they could be in trouble...But what he should have said, was they could be in danger...Serious danger.
Unbeknownst to the others, Blue Eyes had inched his way closer to Pope. Watching the unconscious chimp as his blood-covered chest rose and fell with every breath.
Pope hated humans. He was feared by many in the Ape Army for his ruthless training tactics and he certainly wasn't afraid to spill blood if need be. But the young prince had never seen the fishnet scarred chimp randomly go running around with a weapon and come back unconscious and with blood all over him. He wasn't that reckless.
Why would he be unconscious at all? Blue Eyes wondered. Pope was, like the others said, one of the strongest apes in the colony. He could have easily overpowered his attacker without much effort at all.
Something caught his eye, interrupting his train of thought. Carefully, he moved Pope's head so that the back of it faced him. Right on the back of Pope's head was a badly bruising bump.
That explains why he's unconscious. Thought Blue Eyes. But why would he...?
That was when he remembered that female chimpanzee. The one with silvery eyes. What was her name again?!-Dawn?-No, wait!...Dot? Yes, that was it!
"Where Dot?" Blue Eyes didn't mean to ask the question out loud but the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. "Why she not with him?"
There was a brief silence, probably from momentary confusion. Dot had avoided nearly all the apes except for Pope and she wouldn't even look at the humans, so no one knew her as well as the fishnet scarred ape did. But they all knew that wherever Pope was, Dot was likely to be with him.
"Maybe she's the one he killed." Aaron's voice minus well be ice water from how cold it was.
Malcolm, his patience lost on him, turned his head at Aaron. "For crying out loud, Aaron, will you shut up already?!" Surprising everyone, even making the apes jump.
Caesar thought he heard Ellie gasp Malcolm's name but he was too shocked to react. In the short time he'd known Malcolm, he had never seen him actually yell or get really that mad at anyone before. Not even at Dreyfus.
"Ever since you walked through that door, you've been nothing but an obnoxious, condescending A-hole to everyone! Unless you're going to be helpful, shut the hell up and get out!" Malcolm could actually feel a headache forming at his temples from how mad he was. He stared Aaron down, daring him to push him further.
Aaron, wide-eyed by Malcolm's outburst, pressed his lips together tightly and glared right back at him. Not another word spoken between the two.
"...Ok..." Dreyfus spoke up, awkwardly breaking the tension. "How about this, uhh…Aaron can take me and Tori, Rocket and Luca to where he found Pope and we tell the patrol to look for Dot." He hoped Malcolm and Caesar understood what he was thinking. Dreyfus knew the younger man was just angry and scared, but Aaron had proven himself to be too disruptive and nasty to be of any real help. All he seemed to do was insult the apes and make them mad.
It was best to just separate Aaron from the group for now.
Malcolm, now calming down, glanced at Caesar who nodded his head in agreement. "Alright." He answered in a sigh as his gaze fell on the still unconscious Pope and then on Koba and Dolly.
What if Pope was framed too? He wondered. If it happened to Koba and Dolly, who's to say it didn't happen to Pope? Out loud, he added: "We should keep an eye on Koba, Pope and Dolly for now. Just to be safe."
On a better day Koba would have resented the idea of needing 'babysitting', but he didn't have the energy or the heart to argue.
Besides, even if he didn't like needing protection, he knew whoever framed him and his sister was likely still around...Making it not safe for them to be alone.
Tori sighed, unsure if she was unhappy about leaving Koba or at being in the same group as Aaron. Still, she knew there was no getting out of it. She gave Koba's hand a soft squeeze before signing: "I'll be back."
Koba acknowledged her signs with a nod. Oddly feeling sad at her leaving him.
Ellie, who had held Malcolm's arm in an attempt to keep him from charging at Aaron, let her hands drop to her sides as she let go of him. Alrighty. She thought. Dreyfus takes Aaron away and maybe he and Tori, Rocket and Luca can make sense of this. Glancing at the others, she could see Blue Eyes, resuming his staring at Pope, Koba staring at the floor, Dolly occasionally glancing at Carlos and Maurice and Stone looking standing with the two bonobos.
They all looked worried. Worried for their friends, and their safety.
Today's not a good day. Everything that happened today listed themselves in her mind: Koba and Dolly were framed for murder, Carlos was drugged and was delirious, Pope was attacked and, possibly, framed himself, Dot was missing…
She and Malcolm and the others brought the ape colony to the city under the belief that it was safer than the forest, where the amount of hiding places needed for another ambush or kidnaping would be unlimited. But now, it felt like not even the city was safe.
Were they ever really safe?
Her eyes wandered until they fell on Koba. She didn't mean to stare, but she found herself unable to take her gaze off of his scars…Scars that only hinted of the pain he had to endure in laboratories.
If any good thing can come from all of this. She told herself, suddenly remembering the talk she had with Mike the previous day and her meeting with Ralph earlier. It's that we have a chance to help Koba.
She sighed. It wasn't perfect, but she supposed now was about as good as any for Koba to see Ralph.
"Malcolm." She whispered, getting her husband's attention. "Mike found a psychiatrist for Koba."
"Ok, good." Malcolm whispered back, glad for the change of subject…Despite it not being any better than the other. "When can he see him?"
As Rocket, Luca, and Tori followed Dreyfus and Aaron to leave with them and the others stayed behind, Caesar swallowed to close his throat, feeling like something may spill out of it. Caesar had never been one to quite before, not even when playing a game with Will or Charles, but right now he…He felt like he wanted to.
Outwardly, Caesar tried to look and act as normal as possible without giving any hint of what he felt, knowing full-well the impact it would have on his apes. But inwardly, he felt like he was being suffocated.
Being leader was never easy. Caesar remembered the earlier days of freedom being hard on him and all the apes, and all the apes they lost due to hunger, cold, sickness and to wolves or bears. He remembered the humans who hunted them, and how they tried to kill them all in that firestorm. Even when the Ape Village was just starting to be built, it wasn't easy.
Nothing about being leader and king was easy.
But what helped was knowing that the forest, the place the apes chose to live, was safe and trusting in it's tree's and bushes that no harm would come to him or to his apes. That, and knowing who and where the enemy was and how to protect each other from it.
That knowledge gave him and the apes the power to survive…Something to guide them when danger came…Knowledge is Power…
But Caesar doesn't have that now…No one does…
They didn't know the enemy…Not knowing that meant not knowing how to protect. And this enemy lurked somewhere in the city, so they couldn't trust the ghostly buildings like they could with trees.
Hiding.
Just like the soldiers were that night…The night he and the others were kidnapped. He and Ash, Dolly, and Pope were back, but Winter, Lake, Red, Andy and Lucky were still trapped in that base.
The ambush, the kidnapping…The soldiers were hiding in the trees all-around the village…The very trees Caesar and the apes entrusted their lives to.
It all felt like a failure…He failed to protect, not just himself, but the other apes and his colony from these humans…And he's still failing them by not saving the others and not being able to protect the colony from whoever is hiding in the city…
Caesar suddenly became aware of whispering somewhere. He would have ignored it, but he heard one word:
"Koba."
That made him listen. What of Koba? He realized he recognized the voice was Ellie's.
"Now? Are you sure?" Whispered Malcolm, surprised.
Ellie sighed. "I know it's sudden but I don't see a better time to do it." Oh how Ellie wished there were a better day to have Koba see the shrink. Something like this needs to be done with care and can't be rushed. But at the same time she felt like the longer Koba didn't see Ralph, the worse his problems could become.
Malcolm quickly side-glanced the others. It looked like no one noticed that they were whispering to each other, let alone hearing them.
"Ok, ok. But does anyone else know about the blackout?" He asked, turning back to her.
"Koba may have told his father and sister. I don't know about the others."
Much of the conversation was muffled so Caesar didn't hear most of it. He did understand though that it was about Koba, which made him suspicious. What did he do now?
Just as his suspicions could slowly grow to anger, he overheard two more words. The first being 'blackout'. The second was 'psychiatrist'.
Caesar froze, not sure if he heard it right.
…Koba…Blackout…Psychiatrist…
Those two words. Caesar knew what they meant, Will taught them to him once. The more he thought about it, the more he didn't like the picture they painted. Koba had a blackout…And now he needs a psychiatrist…
Worry sunk it's way into him. Why did Koba have a blackout? Caesar hadn't noticed anything wrong and Koba never hinted otherwise…But, come to think of it, he and the bonobo hadn't really…talked in a while…Not since…
Koba weak! The voice…His voice…Shouted in his mind. Koba is nothing! Has nothing! Means nothing!
Did…Did I say those things?
Koba coward! Koba thinks only for Koba!
Caesar shut his eyes. He pressed his hands to his ears in hopes of blocking the voice but to no avail. The voice that was his but also wasn't his kept going.
Koba belong in cage!
What…? Koba. That was Koba that time.
Never…Should have…Freed you…
Caesar's eyes snapped open. The last five words the voice said lingering for a moment as he came to the crushing realization.
Was that…What I said to him?…Koba…Tried to kill himself because of-?!
"Caesar?"
Caesar jumped and glanced around. Only to find the remaining group looking at him.
"Caesar?" The voice repeated, only slightly louder this time. Caesar turned his head, startled to find Malcolm looking at him. Did he catch him overhearing his and Ellie's conversation about Koba?
"Are you ok?" The human asked in concern.
Caesar stared at him for a second before glancing at the others. His gaze met Koba's, who looked at him with the same confused and concern expression as the others.
Koba...
He couldn't take it, he had to get out of here!
Without saying a word or looking back, Caesar bolted. Running out of the room on all fours.
"Caesar!" Malcolm called after him. He was tempted to go after him but hesitated.
"That was weird." Said Kemp, raising an eyebrow. "What was that about?" Asked Foster, who was now looking at Malcolm.
Malcolm shook his head, his concern growing. "I don't know." Was all he could say.
"I follow." Blue Eyes volunteered, running after his father before anyone could stop him.
Ellie stared after Caesar, watching as his form quickly disappeared. As strong as the Ape King was, even he wasn't immune to stress...Or to breaking...With all that's happened to him, Ellie was surprised he went this far without showing it.
He must have been holding it in...Hiding his trauma from everyone...But now, it looked like Caesar finally broke...
Today really has been a bad day for everyone.
Cornelia caught herself staring at the children again. It distracted her from whatever her task was, but it was hard not to watch the large mix of human children and ape children. Some interacted with each other, others kept to themselves. The ones who had come from the base were the ones that stayed closest to the walls, hiding behind blankets or keeping their backs to the others.
The ones that did interact however, kept catching Cornelia's eyes. They weren't fighting, or hurting each other. They just stared at each other and playfully mimicked each other's movements.
The little human child called Harper was among them. She was reaching her hand out and petting a young chimp's head as if he were a puppy. The young ape only returned the same touch, petting her golden hair.
Neither of them, nor the other interacting children, feared each other. If anything, it looked more like they were curious why one had fur and the other didn't.
Funny. Thought Cornelia with a smile. Children get along with each other better than we adults do.
Her gaze eventually found Hopely, who was sleeping in the-what the humans called-crib a couple of feet away from her. His little hands balled up into tiny fists as he slept.
Hopely, the child who wasn't entirely an ape but wasn't exactly human either.
Cornelia stared at him. Despite being used to him now, she found herself still bewildered over his existence.
Humans hurt or hated apes, and apes feared them. None of the apes in their colony had ever heard of the two species co-existing peacefully until now. But actually marrying each other and having children together?…If that idea was brought up before Malcolm and the other humans came along, it would have been seen as preposterous and would have enraged most of the apes. Particularly, the ones who came from labs or spent a lifetime in cages.
If the apes would not have liked it, one could imagine how the humans would have reacted-especially the ones who equally feared and resented the apes.
But even then, even with humans and apes both hating and objecting the idea of marriage and children between their species, it could have stayed just an idea. A stupid, war-provoking idea that could fall from memory with time.
They can't have that.
No…That's not why she was so confused about Hopely's existence…
How did they-?
A sudden crash made the Ape Queen gasp. She heard a couple humans shouting somewhere down the hall outside the nursery area. Next thing she knew, a blur of dark fur ran on all fours past the window.
Wait a minute…Caesar?
Yes! It was Caesar!
Without thinking, Cornelia ran to the door and opened it. Letting it slam behind her as she went after her husband. "Caesar!"
He didn't hear her. Between his heart pounding in his ears and his panic clouding his mind, Caesar didn't realize Cornelia was chasing him and yelling his name until he made a sharp turn to enter the next hallway and he spotted her from the corner of his eye, causing him to nearly crash into the wall instead.
Huffing to catch their breath, the two chimps stared at each other with wide eyes.
Caesar felt as if his whole body vibrated with every beat his heart made. The panic slowly leaving him as he looked at Cornelia...At his wife...
The longer he looked at her, the harder it became to hold it back...The brewing storm that was his emotions.
Her concern grew as she stared at him, every muscle in her face arching in reflection of the feeling. "Caesar?"
Caesar didn't answer her at first. A tear took the opportunity to escape from one of his eyes in his silence, prompting the Ape King to turn away from his wife. Only to feel her hand on his cheek, forcing him to return his gaze to her.
Cornelia's concern only grew seeing her husband shed tears. "What's wrong?" She signed with her free hand.
The dam broke. Caesar could no longer hold back the tears. He felt as if he was being smothered by the sob building in his throat. "...It's...hard, Cornelia..." He whispered in an equally shaky voice. "...I know...I have to be strong...But it's so hard."
His vision became blurred by his tears, but he could feel her wrap her arms around him and hug him. A feeling that Caesar desperately needed and welcomed gratefully.
Cornelia knew her husband wasn't always as strong as others thought he was. To his credit, Caesar was good at showing strength. At staring in the face of danger or any threat with no hesitance and being the one who others looked to for strength.
He was the strength of the colony.
But even the strongest apes need someone to catch them when they fall and hold them as they cry.
Meanwhile, Blue Eyes had finally caught up to them. He froze when he saw his parents hugging each other...Was his father crying?!
...That...That never happens...!
He made a move to approach them, but stopped himself. To say his mother knew his father better than anyone was an understatement. Whatever flaws, cracks or secrets the Ape King had in his stoic armor was common knowledge to his mother, like all mates do.
She really was the only one who his father could turn to and know that she wouldn't think less of him for showing weakness. She wouldn't even call it that...She'd just be his strength.
Making up his mind, Blue Eyes quietly turned around and went back the way he came. Deciding it was best to let his mother help his father.
But even as he left, Blue Eyes still felt worried.
Dot's heart pounded so hard, she could hear it in her ears. The adrenaline that kept her running had died out, leaving her breathless and her body aching from the exertion.
She had taken shelter under a bush. Listening intently for any sign of danger. So far, the only sounds she heard was the occasional crow cawing and lizards scurrying for cover in the grass. Each sound intensified to the point of making her ears ache.
The dreadful feeling of waiting for something to jump out at her lingering…When suddenly, a figure walked passed her line of vision and she shrieked, moving to get out of the bush and away from whatever it was.
"Hey, wait!" Called a human's voice. She didn't dare look back. If anything, the voice made her run faster.
In her haste to escape, she banged into another figure. She jolted her head up, expecting a smiling skull to glare down at her but, to her surprise, found an ape's face instead.
"Dot?" The male chimpanzee asked. "I'm Grey, we were looking for you."
Grey? Dot then noticed Bon, one of Pope's friends, further away. So that's how he knows her name.
Slowly, her heartbeat calmed down and she began to breathe normally again. Dot hesitantly took Grey's hand as he helped her up. "P-Pope." She sputtered.
"At infirmary." Grey signed in response. "He's hurt but he's alive."
It took Dot a moment to register Grey's signs. Grey himself didn't know if she understood him until she seemed to relax.
"Take me to him." She finally signed.
Grey nodded and started to lead her back to the city. As they began to leave, Grey caught sight of Bon glaring at him. Even without words, he knew exactly what the other ape was thinking. He could feel them through Bon's almost smirking gaze.
I told you it wasn't safe here.
The room was small, but not terribly. Despite the building it belonged to being effected by the outbreak, almost everything from it's light painted walls, to it's blue and grey couch were untouched. All the other laboratory rooms Koba had ever been in had white walls, tiled floors and weird lighting, but not this one.
No, this wasn't a lab room…This was something else. A homey, cozy something else.
It's comforting environment did nothing to quell his growing anxiety. The room wasn't a lab, but it was about as big as those pain living rooms were…And he was alone with this human, were more going to come in? What if they held him down and do some kind of experiment on him?
"Koba?" Asked the man, prompting Koba to reluctantly look at him.
The human was named Ralph. He was the psychiatrist that agreed to see him. He was a short man, a little on the heavy side, and had grayish brown hair that matched his light mustache. He was older, but not exactly as old as Dreyfus.
As hesitant as Koba was, he couldn't picture this human having anything to do with Gen-Sys or any other lab. Even his clothes weren't lab-related, which Koba used as more proof for himself that he wasn't in a lab nor was Ralph any threat to him.
"You look tense, are you nervous?" Signing. Ralph also signed.
If Ellie thought that signing wold make him more comfortable then…Well, she got that part right. Ralph didn't have a bad voice, but it was easier to sign than to speak. Besides, it reminded him of Mary and Amol…And of Tori.
Koba wasn't just nervous, he felt like he was waiting for an attack. He wasn't even comfortable enough to sit on the couch, opting to stand in front of the bookcase next to it while Ralph sat in the chair across from the larger furniture.
Still feeling uneasy, Koba focused on signing. "Humans hurt me in labs…Always assume the worst of them."
"That must make it hard for you to trust them." Ralph replied back, giving no hint of judgment or resentment. Koba could not tell for sure if Ralph took offense to his words, but he gave no indication.
"It does." He answered honestly. He felt it even now.
He was willing to talk to Ralph, but that didn't mean he trusted him.
"What about apes-or your ape friends?" Asked Ralph. "You trust them, right?"
Koba didn't know how to answer that at first. He almost didn't want to. Yes, he trusted the apes. He trusted them with both his, and his sister's, lives and he had never once felt unsafe around any of them...But trust could only go so far...They...Couldn't know what it's like...They'd never understand...
"Don't talk about past...To anyone." He finally signed, feeling more alone than ever before.
Ralph seemed to sense it. "Why?"
Weird. Koba had never felt such a weird mixture of anxiety and resentment-not directed at Ralph, but at the question itself. He didn't want to have to answer it...Or maybe he just didn't want to admit to himself that he felt this way.
Reluctantly, he signed. "...I don't want to show weakness..."
That puzzled Ralph. He studied the scarred bonobo for a minute, trying to figure out what that meant. "You mean...Cry?"
No, not just cry. Scream, shake, throw things, rip things apart, throw his arms down at the ground, want vengeance, runaway, be away from everyone, hide in a hole and die…That was what he meant…But Koba could only answer with a nod as that was too much to express.
Thankfully, the human gave him time to calm down. Time he desperately needed to keep his eyes from getting wet and to swallow the scream in his throat.
Ralph smiled reassuringly, though his eyes appeared sympathetic. "It's ok to cry. I know this is hard for you."
Koba took in a shaky breath, before letting it out in a low sigh. "Let's just keep going." He signed.
"Alrighty…Have you ever talked to anyone about what happened to you?"
Koba only shook his head. There was Tori but, aside from her, no one knew.
"What about your sister?"
Great. Koba didn't want to talk about Dolly right now. He didn't want to think about how worried she must be. She was waiting outside with Ellie and Malcolm, having agreed to come with them when Maurice volunteered to watch Carlos while they were gone. "We don't like talking about it…Too many bad memories."
Ralph nodded. "I see, and…You don't talk to anyone about your past?"
"No."
"Because you don't want to show weakness."
"Yes."
Ralph went silent for a bit again, thinking. "Ok…What do you think would happen if you showed weakness?" He asked, trying to understand.
Now this was something that Koba had thought he'd never tell. Not even Dolly knew this. It had to be his closest guarded secret, never uttered or acknowledged even to himself as if just saying it would release it from it's cage. "…Was weak…In labs…In cages…If I show it, humans will…See it as a chance to hurt me again…And apes…Apes will abandon me. Reject me. Leave me to die…"
That confused Ralph just as much as it concerned him. "Where did that come from? Did someone tell you that was going to happen?"
Koba sighed again. "No…I just think that will happen."
"Why?"
"…I don't know…"
Ralph wrote something down in his notebook, the sound reminding Koba of all the humans in the labs writing results in their own notes. When he was done, he resumed signing."Ok, so it sounds like you have an issue with trusting other people-considering your past, I'm not surprised. When a person is abused for a number of years, it could lead to an inability to trust in others. However, I think that's only half of the problem."
As Ralph signed, he kept his gaze on Koba. Making sure he was listening. "It seems to me you've kept your emotions bottled up. I understand why you did, but it's preventing you from grieving and that leads to you being unable to find closure."
Grief? What was there to grieve for? His mother died years ago and whatever ape Koba could have been, or had been when he was younger, was long dead.
When Koba didn't say anything, Ralph signed. "Was your first victim one of your abusers?" He asked.
He was talking about Jacobs, he probably learned about him from Ellie or something. "Yes."
"And when you killed him, did you feel like you got justice for what he did to you?"
Honestly, Koba felt more than just justice from killing Jacobs…And he felt it again when he killed Terry, McVeigh and Carver. "I guess so."
"What about the others that hurt you?"
With a sign, Koba reluctantly answered. "Tommy killed himself…Roger left after he killed mother…Don't know what happened to the others."
"So they were never punished for abusing you?"
"…No…"
"Do you think that may be why you wanted vengeance?"
Humans put Koba in cages. Cut me. Torture me. My body wasn't mine. Koba didn't dare sign those words. Just thinking them threatened to make him snap. They must pay. Swallowing, he instead answered with: "Maybe."
"And when Caesar refused to fight the humans, was that why you wanted to kill him?"
"Don't. Bring. Caesar. Into this." Koba growled. It took every fiber of his being to not raise his voice any higher than that.
Ralph raised his eyebrows in alarm, having not expected the scarred bonobo to actually speak.
Koba breathed slowly to calm the feeling in his chest. It wasn't really anger, but…He just couldn't…"I don't want to talk about that." He signed half-heartedly.
Ralph nodded. That was his fault, he overstepped his boundaries and he mentally scolded himself for that. Koba was in a very delicate situation here, and if Ralph wanted to help him, he had to earn his trust. "Ok. We don't have to talk about that."
He gave Koba time to relax before continuing. After a couple of moments, he slowly reached into a box that sat next to his chair.
Koba realized there was something in the box and tensed up. Whatever he expected Ralph to be hiding inside was anything other than what he actually pulled out. A book, with something attached to it.
"I want you to try something for a while." Ralph signed as he placed the book down on the floor and pushed it across the carpet towards him.
Surprised, Koba picked it up and flipped through the blank pages. He realized the book was similar to the one Alex had and the thing attached to it was actually a small box of color pencils. Confused, he looked back at Ralph.
"Whenever you're having a bad day, I want you to draw it out and then we'll talk about those drawings in our sessions." Ralph explained.
Draw? Koba…Hadn't drawn anything for years.
"Sometimes it's easier to draw what you're feeling than to put it into words." Ralph quickly added. "Most of your drawings are going to be emotion-based but, for your first drawing, I want you to make a list of all the people who you know care about you-"
"What do they have to do with this?!" Koba wasn't sure why he suddenly felt so defensive, but just the mention of the others made him feel insecure.
Ralph chose his words carefully before signing. "You just told me you think humans would hurt you again and the apes would abandon you if you showed weakness to them." Ralph hated using that phrase. Being vulnerable wasn't weakness, but he needed to Koba to understand and he didn't know any other way to word it. "The whole point of the drawing is to let you know that there are people you can turn to and none of them, human or ape, would do any of the things you're afraid they'll do."
Afraid. Koba wasn't expecting that. Part of him wanted to argue and say that nothing scared him…But deep down inside, he was afraid. Afraid of so many things. His gaze found the book Ralph gave him. How can he possibly it all out?
For that brief moment, Ralph saw that fear. While he knew Koba tried to kill Caesar and start a war with the humans, he didn't believe that was all there was of the scarred bonobo…Maybe somewhere in him, part of that frightened and abused ape that Koba used to be was still there.
"Koba." He spoke to get him to look at him again. "Nothing we talk about will ever leave this room." He wanted to be very clear on that. "I want you to know that when we're here, you can talk about anything and I'll listen. Do you understand?"
Koba stared at him, unsure if really believed him or not. The very thought of a human promising him this kind of haven threatened to bring him to tears. "You…Won't tell anyone?" He asked, not bothering to sign the question.
Ralph took that as a sign he understood. "Not without your permission." He promised.
Just after Blue Eyes told the others where his father was, they heard the door open and shut. Grey and Bon appeared, with them was Dot-who spotted Pope and immediately bolted to his side. Hissing at Foster, Kemp and the remaining apes and just barely showing her teeth at them in a near-threatening manner.
Maurice, Blue Eyes, and Stone understood and kept their distance and, though they were startled by the behavior, Kemp and Foster quickly got the hint to leave her be.
"Where was she?" Asked Kemp, looking at Bon and Grey.
"Hiding in bushes." It was Grey that answered. "She not tell why."
"She not hurt." Added Bon.
Foster stared at Dot a little longer before saying anything. "There's something wrong here." He turned to the others. "I know she doesn't trust humans, but I've never seen her do that before."
Maurice, who was sitting at Carlos's bedside, didn't join the conversation. He just couldn't take his eyes off of Dot…So afraid…Threatened…She's protecting Pope…From them? Does she think they're the danger, or…Or is it Kemp and Foster and the other humans? His eyes wandered to Pope, still unconscious and oblivious to what was happening around him. Dot isn't hurt, but Pope is?
Without saying anything, the orangutan slowly inched his way towards the female chimpanzee.
Blue Eyes noticed too late. "Maurice-!" He gasped. What is he doing?!
Dot stiffened when she realized Maurice was approaching her. Her mouth twitched as her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth more, though she was hesitant to fully show them. Despite him being larger than her, she didn't exactly feel threatened by him. His movements were slow, non-confrontational, and his green eyes were gentle. Soft, like clouds.
He now stood at arms length from her, giving her space but close enough to talk to her. "I'm Maurice, a friend."
Friend?
"You're afraid." Maurice acknowledged. "Of us?" He asked, motioning to himself and to the others.
Dot's mouth closed a little more, which Maurice took as a hint that she understood what he was doing. "Not you." She pointed at Foster and Kemp. "Humans."
Maurice narrowed his eyes. Did she meant other humans? Or just those two? He nodded at Pope. "Humans hurt Pope?" He asked.
"SkullFaces."
Her sudden signs confused Maurice. She used the sign for 'skull' and then the sign for 'face' and combined them to make the sign."SkullFaces?" He repeated.
"They had skulls for faces." Dot described with shaking hands. "They take me. Pope found us. He told me to run. Don't know what happened after that."
Meanwhile, Stone and Blue Eyes had been translating what they were saying to Kemp and Foster while Bon and Grey watched intently. "What's a SkullsFace?" Asked Kemp, visibly as confused by the word as the apes were at the sign.
"Humans…Skull…" Foster thought out loud, trying to figure it out before a thought came to him. "Sounds like they were wearing masks."
"Mask?" Asked Stone. "Like ape midwives?"
"I guess so, only these guys must have had their entire faces covered." Replied Foster.
Kemp frowned at the ground. "So they kidnap Dot, but they frame Pope?"
A sudden thought struck Blue Eyes. "She was bait." He started signing and speaking at the same time as if he couldn't figure out which one worked better. "They use her. Lure Pope." It was the very tactic that he and his father and the Ape Army used for hunting. Only, they used it with the intent to kill their prey…These 'SkullFaces' didn't do that…Why?
Catching on to what the young prince was saying, Stone added. "Frame Pope. For killing Dot-or, frame Dot. For killing Pope."
"Holy shit, that's nuts!" Breathed Kemp.
Glancing at Dot and Maurice one more time, Foster thought about something. "You know, guys, if these SkullFaces were trying to frame Pope or Dot, what if they were the same people who framed Koba and Dolly?"
Blue Eyes didn't like the sound of that at all.
Grey and Bon glanced at each other in mute shock. Neither of them had been told much detail of what had happened earlier, but now they were beginning to recognize the severity of the situation. It was more than just drama, there a potential threat in the city. These 'SkullFaces' or masked humans could be anywhere and they were framing apes for murder.
Blue Eyes suddenly looked at them. "Bon, Grey, search where you find Dot. Maybe something there." He signed and spoke at the same time, still too overwhelmed to figure out which one to use.
"Where. Caesar?" Grey asked, just noticing at that moment that the Ape King wasn't there.
"Taking break." Blue Eyes replied without thinking. "Now go."
Grey turned and left but Bon lingered a moment longer, giving Blue Eyes a weird look which he barely noticed.
"You know…" Kemp started. "It's great Dot and Pope are fine, but where in world did that blood come from?"
Before anyone could answer, a moan interrupted them. Blue Eyes, Stone, Kemp and Foster looked at Maurice and Dot who were now looking at Pope. Was he waking up?!
Pope's Dream/Flashback
The cage is empty, except for Pope who hides in the corner. The only companion he has is the dark form, which was usually behind him. He'd move his arms, and the figure would do the same. He'd roll over and the figure copies him. It gets boring after awhile and, no matter what he does, he could never touch the figure. But it's all he has.
The only visitors he gets are the humans who'd come and take him away to hurt him. Sometimes, they put him to sleep. But other times, they'd keep him awake. They'd cut him open and then put him back together again. Leaving new, fresh wounds on his little body.
"This is the ape you'll be working with."
Today started with footsteps waking him up. Footsteps usually meant the humans were coming for him. They stopped right at his cage but didn't open it. They just talked to each other and kept glancing his way.
This only made him shrink closer to the wall until his back was touching the hard surface.
"Pope?" The second man, the one Pope never seen before, asked. "He's only two years old."
"I realize your work normally requires infants, but he's the youngest ape available as of right now." The other man, an older human who was usually around when the humans hurt him, replied.
The new human was silent for a moment before nodding. "Ok…He'll do."
They opened the cage and brought the moving one closer. Pope reluctantly dragged himself into it. He learned the hard way once that resisting resulted in pain. As they closed the door behind him and began moving the cage, he wonders where they'd hurt him this time...And how bad pain will be.
But they don't take him to the hurting room. They bring him to a door with a glass square on it. They then opened both the door and the cage, allowing Pope to see the room.
Unlike his cage, the room had things inside. Something hanging from the ceiling, a round object in the corner, and a couple of other weird-looking things that Pope never seen before. The strange, unfamiliar room scared him and he shrunk back into the moving cage. The man strikes him with the lightning stick, causing him to scream and run into the room to get away from him.
"Hay!" The new human gasped. "Careful! He's only a baby!"
The other man made a funny noise at him. "You're too soft, just focus on your work." With that, he left.
The second human made a windy sound and walked into the room, closing the door behind him as he did.
Pope whimpered, scared of what the human will do to him.
The man walked over to him and sat down some feet away from him. "Hi Pope." Immediately, Pope was drawn to his hands. "I'm Amol, I'm going to teach you Sign Language. Does that sound fun?"
He moved his hands as he spoke. Each movement was graceful, deliberate. Like there was meaning to them.
Pope stared at them, his fear melting into curiosity.
The man-Amol-noticed. "Do you like it when I sign?" He asked.
Pope glanced at his face, then back at his hands.
"I'm a human." Amol's hands indicated to himself before towards Pope. "You're a chimpanzee."
Slowly, he moved closer. Pope payed less attention to Amol's voice and more to his moving hands. No other human did this before. Once he was close enough, Pope hesitantly reached his hand out, took Amol's hand mid-movement and stared at it. Pushing on each finger with his own to make them move.
Amol made a funny sound that startled Pope. "You're a funny little guy, are you?" He asked as he placed his free hand on the young ape's head.
Pope shrunk away from the touch, but stopped when he felt Amol's palm on his head. Skin. Human skin. Not fake touch from gloved hands, but real touch...It had to be the first time anyone had ever touched him like that.
He liked it...And he wanted it to last.
Pope reached up to the hand on his head and held it there. Savoring the new feeling.
Comfort.
End of Dream/Flashback
Ironically, Pope woke up with a splitting headache. As if the memory itself caused him physical pain from dreaming it.
The second the scared chimpanzee started to sit up, he felt himself get pulled into an almost too tight embrace. Prompting his eyes open and finding Dot practically squeezing him. As relieved as he was to see that she was safe, Pope wondered how she could be strong enough to hug him this tightly.
"Pope."
Pope looked up and realized Maurice was standing there. Hearing his name made his head hurt.
"Are you ok?" He read the orangutan's signs, but Pope heard that phrase again.
Hello again, Pope. That voice, why was it so familiar?
"…My name." Pope mumbled, completely ignoring Maurice's question.
"What?" Asked Maurice.
Pope looked at him, meeting his eyes. "He know…My name. The SkullFace. Knew. My name."
Red didn't know if he was still in that room where the pain was, or in a different one all together but he didn't care. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to open them and be back in this nightmare. But then he suddenly felt a human hand touch the side of his head, where the raw branding was. His eyes snapped open as he recoiled from the touch.
The human jumped back himself, his own eyes widened at the sudden movement from the gorilla. "No, no-It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." The room was dark, but light enough to see the human.
He wasn't the Colonel, Red realized and he didn't look like a soldier either. This man was older than McCullough, and his eyes were light brown, not hidden behind cruel sunglasses. His white hair was messy, and his clothes dirty with dried blood on the fabric. Like he had been in a fight or something.
Red's whole body hurt. Every muscle aching into painful knots, a headache pounding in the back of his skull, eyes burning every time he blinked, his ears ringing from his own screams and his throat scorched from using it for so long.
Even if this man was a threat, he was too weak to fight him.
The man stayed where he was, as he if he could sense that he had frightened him. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you." He repeated, signing and speaking the words at the same time, much to Red's surprise. "I just want to help you."
Red could only think of one time he ever knew a human who knew and spoke Sign Language. Back in the zoo, before all of this…Before the forest… Before Caesar freed them all. Back when his world was only sweet smells, toys and medicine.
They both froze when footsteps echoed outside. The man quickly glanced at the door, his body tensing up. Red would have followed his gaze if not for the fresh wounds on his neck. He could only wonder if the Colonel had soldiers outside that door. Listening.
The door never opened, and the footsteps disappeared. Whoever it was didn't even stop at the door. The man finally returned his gaze on Red.
"I have questions for you." Signed the human, incase someone really was listening. "You don't have to speak, just blink once for yes and twice for no. Ok?"
Yes. Red blinked, his eyes felt like the only part of his body that he could move without too much pain.
"Are you from Caesar's colony?"
Caesar? The human knew Caesar?! Red wondered if the human was one of the humans that first encountered the apes, but he would have remembered a human who spoke Sign Language. He blinked once.
The human looked at his fur, noticing the coloring. "Is your name Red?"
Yes! Red blinked and felt something hot burning them. His tears. He wasn't safe here, but he felt like he was found and that was the next best thing to being rescued.
"Do you know where Winter, Lake, Andy and Lucky are?"
Yes. Red was sure he knew where the others were. Andy and Lucky had to be in that slave pen, still being tormented by the soldiers there, and Lake was now a servant to the Colonel. Red didn't know what that meant, but he hoped that she wasn't being given the same treatment as he was.
And Winter. The last time he saw the white furred gorilla, he was still guarding Rose's cell. Left alone in that hallway. What's become of him now?
"Were they alive the last time you saw them?" The man must have figured out that it had been awhile since the last time Red had seen the others. Yes.
The man nodded, now knowing all he needed to know. "My name is Derek." He finger spelled his name. "After you were all kidnapped, Malcolm and the others took the Ape Colony back to the city and then them and the Ape Council, and Dreyfus-the leader of the humans, and I teamed up to find all of you."
Red's heart skipped a beat when he heard that. The remaining apes had been searching for them? And they teamed up with the city humans too?! This whole time he and the others had been imprisoned here, they all had been trying to find them?!...But Red's amazement and rush of hope suddenly faltered as he remembered what he and the others had been through since being kidnapped...Andy, Lucky and Lake being enslaved, Pinto almost getting killed, soldiers burning Winter, Lake getting whipped...What they did to Caesar...and what was happening to Red himself right now...
It all could have been prevented if they were rescued sooner...It wasn't a betrayal but it felt like, despite the 'Apes Together Strong' law, the colony had failed them...
Despite his arm muscles hurting and his hands shaking, Red forced them to sign one question: "Why...you not...Come sooner?"
Good question. Thought Derek, feeling the anger and the disappointment in the gorilla's signs. He didn't need to know that between the time Malcolm brought the apes to the city and the moment the soldiers put Red in this room, things had happened to the kidnapped apes. Bad things. Things that will stay with them for the rest of their days.
Derek learned years ago that no criminal case is ever solved quickly. Some of the cases he worked on had taken months or years to solve. Only a few were ever solved within days, but not without a considerable amount of time between the crime happening and the perpetrator being arrested. Time that, in kidnapping cases, could result in trauma or death for the victim.
In Derek's experience, it was always best to never think about the 'What if we found them sooner' question in those scenarios but even if the question wasn't asked, the guilt of not saving a life when there was still a chance would never go away. It certainly never left him.
"We didn't know where you were taken to." He finally answered Red. "Or why these people took you...And sometimes, the Whys lead us to the Who which then leads us to the Where and then to you."
Red, still angry, snorted at him. The human sounded like Maurice, all lecture-talk and nothing else. Though he supposed Derek was right as Red also didn't know where this base was located or, more importantly, how to get out.
That was when Red noticed Derek staring at his wounds. He was tempted to glare at him, but was surprised to see concern etched into the old human's face. It didn't stop Red from flinched when he saw the human make a move closer to him though.
Despite the darkened room, Derek could clearly see the fresh abrasions on the gorilla's skin. The marks weren't just rashes, they were first degree burns. So bad, they could be seen even under the dark fur and skin. The veins in his wrists and ankles were clearly visible because of them. Derek knew not to touch them, knowing the nerves there may have been damaged. Red's stomach and neck were worse, the burns there were nearly second degree with blisters already forming.
His eyes fell on the AO branding on the gorilla's head. Third degree, and this one will scar after it heals.
Derek fought tears as he stared at it. Hurt to see such cruelty was done to an innocent soul. He's seen all sorts of horrible things from his work and that was all just humans hurting other humans, but there was only one time that he ever saw unnecessary brutality towards an ape.
Only once.
"Did the Colonel do this?" He asked as he met Red's gaze.
Now there was no denying the human's concern was real. Red blinked his eyes in reply. Yes.
Derek tried to think back to when Caesar, Dolly and Ash were returned to the city but none of them had the kind of wounds that Red had. Come to think of it, the Colonel had soldiers torture and brainwash those apes. The Colonel himself didn't...And weren't Caesar, Dolly, Pope, and Ash in a half underground cell that was outside in the slave pen?
None of that applied to Red's current situation.
If the Colonel had the same plans with Red as he had with Caesar, Ash and Dolly, why would have him isolated in this room and personally do the torture and, possible brainwashing, himself?
What is he planning?
Derek ripped a piece of his shirt off and dipped it into the small bowl of water that the soldiers from earlier had grudgingly given them. Glancing at Red, he signed: "I'm just going to put water on your wounds. Ok?"
Suspicion crossed Red's mind briefly. Why was this human so insistent on helping him? In fact, how did he know if Derek even came from the city at all? But despite that, he couldn't think of a good reason not to trust him. After all, Derek was trapped in here like he was and Red honestly couldn't, for the life of him, imagine the elderly human holding a gun or having any affiliation with the Colonel.
But something was amiss. Even if Derek and the others were trying to rescue him and Lake, Winter, Andy and Lucky, this looked far from any rescue attempt. Besides, what kind of rescue plan involves intentionally getting caught and ending up in this room?
If this wasn't a rescue, then that meant Derek must have been kidnapped by the AO soldiers. But why would they bring him here?...Where did they keep the human prisoners anyway?
Reluctantly, Red blinked once for yes and let Derek come closer to him with the wet sleeve piece.
As Derek dabbed at the mark on Red's head with the wet cloth, his mind went back. Back to those hot days in March, the countless hours of mindlessly drawing in his notebooks and ignoring his teacher's ramblings. All the while, thinking only about where he'd go once his school finally freed him and how much fun he'd have.
Most importantly, he remembered the promise he made all those years ago. The driving force behind him becoming an FBI profiler. But even after all these years, he never forgotten the true spirit of that promise.
He never had to act on it before...Now he knew he had to.
Winter was getting agitated. Without Red around, he found he had to keep watch and stay awake without breaks. Even with Rose's reassurance that soldiers don't come down here that often, he was just too scared to stay awake.
The silence and the echo that came with every sound made Winter feel as if something could jump out at him. The dim lighting did nothing to help the dreadful feeling, other than make Winter crave for sunlight. To feel the heat and air of outside. In fact, he would have chosen any whether over this place.
No one has come here yet. He reminded himself. Not since…The Colonel.
Winter was especially paranoid because hours after Red was taken, the Colonel came with some soldiers and made him wait with them while he went inside Rose's room. Winter didn't ask what was happening, and he was too scared to. He did overhear the Colonel and Rose talking though. Once the dreadful humans had left, he asked Rose what if she was alright which she said she was.
Still, it scared him. Just the image of McCullough standing over the malnourished child made the white furred gorilla feel sick, knowing the human could easily hurt her with less that kick of his leg.
What do you think, Luca? He wondered. If you were down here with a captive, possibly endangered, child, what would you do?
She is an asset to my success. That was the Colonel's words. What he meant by them was still unknown to Winter, but he knew someone had to protect Rose from him and his madness.
Protect. That's what Luca would do.
...But that would mean facing the Colonel and the soldiers...Why can't I be like Luca?
Winter turned around and hid his face in the wall, shaking with fear. Wishing someone could protect him...Wishing his father was here and wanting to go home.
Why are you such a coward?! He thought angrily. You weakling! Red never cried when he had to protect you!
That was true, Winter had never seen Red cry-in fact, Red never really protected anyone aside from himself before. He guessed Red just protected him so he'd have a trusted companion in this base, which Winter wouldn't blame him for. He doubted the rusted furred gorilla really cared about him though.
But then, why would Red protect Pinto?
The gorilla guard is the walls of the colony. That was what his father told him once. Red was your walls, now you have to be Rose's.
That forced Winter to take a deep breath and tried to calm down.
Colonel McCullough said Rose was important to him, part of his success...But what if she failed him? What if she stared to ask why she was in that room or where her parents were? Sure she's a little child right now but all children grow up and someday, the Colonel won't be able to control her anymore...
...And if she fights back or if he gets angry at her, what will he do to her?
He had to protect her. As far as Winter knew, he and Red were the only ones that knew of her existence and now Red is gone-taken away by the soldiers for-who knows why. Even if the Colonel isn't abusing Rose, keeping her locked up like this is hurting her and he's endangering her by involving her in his twisted plans.
If Winter doesn't protect her, nobody will.
Sniffing and drying his eyes, Winter turned back around to the same emptiness that scared him.
Let's play a little game. He told himself to make it easier. We're exploring an old human place, like the one near the village-only no pranks from Dex and Stripe, Shell and Fox this time!
Finally, Winter left the spot he had been standing in for hours and walked over to the left corner. The very corner the soldiers brought him and Red from and later, took Red to. Peering into that hallway, he could see it led to another corner. A zigzag.
Curious, he checked the other side of the wall. Same, only this was a longer hallway that led to another on each side. He could only guess there were rooms with each hallway.
Hearing footsteps, Winter quickly returned to his spot. More hallways. He thought as he stood. Tunnels. No windows.
His fur stood up as he realized something.
Are we underground?!
A's/N: Ok, let's chat about some stuff!
First of all, Caesar's breakdown scene was partly inspired by an ask I got several months ago on Tumblr:
"Hello. Would Caesar allow himself to be open and vulnerable to a friend ever (outside of his wife and fellow apes) or would he keep his guard up all the time in others presence? He seems to be stoic and stiff most times but also emotional when the time warrants it. I feel he needs to be strong for others and be their strength." ~ Anonymous
There is actually going to be a scene in a few chapters where we do see this vulnerable side to Caesar (minor spoiler, sorry!) however, this ask made me take another look at Caesar and Cornelia's relationship (which I previously (admittedly) didn't pay much attention too) and therefore, properly give them some spotlight. It also inspired a Feels PoTA One-Shot I'm thinking about writing someday that's also based on their relationship.
Anonymous, if you're reading this, thank you for the inspiration! :D
Remember back in Chapter 10 when Koba attempted suicide? This would be a followup to that! I admit I squeezed that scene in this chapter but I did that because it is important to the story and it is part of Koba's transformation from vengeful ape, to redemption (also, Ralph is actually that old man that Koba told Ash to kill. He was never named in the movie or in the book so I just gave him a name. He's not really a major character but his role is important as he's Koba's shrink (and it's also parallel to their interaction in Dawn). So yes, Ralph is a good guy!). You can expect to see him a couple of times in the story now.
Speaking of parallels, does anyone recognize Amol? (anyone who doesn't, think Koba in Firestorm)…Not gonna say much on that, but it will be explained later…And I wonder who that SkullFace who recognized him actually was. ;D
And now I'm talking about the SkullFaces. Meh, let's just say they're the 'city thugs' that our Human-Ape Team now has to deal with. I don't really have much to say on them, but I think you guys will have fun finding out who they actually are. XD
Yelp, now we know where Derek had been! I never said this before, but Derek is actually relevant in McCullough's past in this story…
And finally, Winter. Does anyone remember how Winter went from being Luca's potential successor, to a traitor due to his cowardice? Welp, that's not gonna happen here! Lets just say Winter isn't going to make the same mistake here that he did in War. (LOL, I just realized Winter and Red's relationship is also parallel to their relationship in Revelations and in War…I guess we can start calling this entire fanfic a parallel universe now. XD)
One more thing: I probably should have said this in Chapter 10, but I'll say it here: If anyone here has anxiety or depression, talk to someone (literally anyone-your friends, your teachers/professors, your parents, anyone you trust) and if you think about suicide or harm yourself, then I strongly encourage you to get help even more so. Seriously you guys, you don't have to hide it and you especially don't have live life pretending everything is ok when it's not.
I hope that by having Koba see a psychiatrist in my fic, it will let others know that they can get help too.
Thanks for reading and please review! :D