Sleeping soundlessly, both Ash and Ray woke when their cage door was opened. They had both been awake most of the night, alerted by the gunfire that happened outside of the town. Ash and Ray figured that it was Blue Eyes, Rocket and Alexander trying to create a distraction in hopes that they might be rescued, so they both needed to be ready in the meantime. They had seen the human Jack and about twenty more humans armed themselves before rushing out of the town. Breathing heavily in anticipation, Ash and Ray waited eagerly to be saved, wondering where Malcolm was throughout all of this. But then maybe he was suppose to save them as he did come into the town.

But as they waited through the night, and it dragged on their rescue never came.

Eventually Ray was the first to doze off after waiting so long and soon enough, Ash followed suit, unable to keep his heavy eyelids open any longer. But as soon as they both had awoken from their slumber, both Ash and Ray noticed that they were no longer along within the cage. Someone else had been shoved in there with them. Even in the dim light of the early mornings, Ash and Ray could see that whoever this someone was, was not Rocket, Blue Eyes nor Alexander.

It was Fox.

Ray couldn't help but narrow his eyes and slightly bare his fangs at the unconscious chimpanzee though. Fox is a few winters older that he himself, a bit older than both Ash and Blue Eyes, being born only a few weeks after the great liberation that Caesar led the older apes in. Fox was strong, smart and somewhat of a bully. Not to the point of Aghoo and his cronies but enough to make Ray not want to do anything with the older chimp. No one knew of Fox's father but Ray had seen Fox claiming that his father was Koba. Curious about it, Ray had once mentioned that to his own father to which the older orangutan merely grumbled in laughter.

"Koba is not Fox's father," Ray's father chuckled while he signed. "Imani and Koba had not met each other; before she became swollen with Fox in her belly. Even then, Fox's mother and Koba had been in different cages from different places," the older orangutan finished with a hoot of laughter.

Nevertheless, Ray had seen Fox looking up to the scarred bonobo as if he were his father, even though Koba never reciprocated the feeling. Instead, Koba had treated Blue Eyes more like a son, or something akin to what would be like a sister's or brother's son. And by that, Ray knew that Fox harbored a great hatred towards Blue Eyes for it. But the older chimpanzee was smart enough to not let that hatred show though. At least, not often. But enough for Ray to see those dark glare of Fox's that were directed at Blue Eyes when their prince was not looking.

As the memory faded from his mind, while he glared down at Fox, Ray wasn't surprised that the older chimp was one of the apes that was following them, trying to kill them. Ray watched Ash as the older chimpanzee moved on over to where Fox laid, tentatively inspecting him. Whatever empathy Ray had towards the unconscious chimpanzee though, paled in comparison to the anger and hatred he now felt for him. For trying to hunt them down and kill them.

With a angry huff, Ray stomped on over and roughly jabbed his fingers into Fox's body, surprising Ash in the process.

"Ray?!" Ash breathed out hesitantly, confused as to why the younger orangutan was being so rough on Fox, who stirred and groaned in his sleep but did not wake.

"We! Should kill! Him!" Ray hissed out.

Upon hearing this, the fur on Ash's body bristled and he quickly turned to face Ray with an incredulous look to his eyes. Not sure if he had heard the younger orangutan correctly or not. But seeing the unwavering anger within Ray's eyes, Ash knew that the orangutan had meant what he had said.

"Ray? What has gotten into you?" Ash asked curiously, not seeing this side of the younger orangutan before, or ever.

"Do not act like you don't know!" Ray gestured back angrily at Ash, who took a step back from him, now frowning. "Why do you think Fox is here. With us? He is trying to kill us Ash! Your father was right. If we don't stop him here now, he will kill both me and you. He is stronger than than the both of us. A better fighter too. So we should strangle him while he is still not awake," Ray finished with his teeth bared.

As Ray fumed on the spot, he was quite surprised by how much his anger and hatred ran deep within him. His bitterness for Pope, Koba and their followers had caused him, his father and the rest of the apes in the colony. How much he just wanted to choke the life out of the other ape. Wanting to make Fox and whoever else came with him to pay for what they were doing, what they had done to him and what more they could do to cause more harm to the colony.

Ash frowned at the angry Ray, apprehensively turning his attention back and forth from the fuming orangutan to the older chimpanzee. Ash however silently stood between Ray and Fox, confusing the younger orangutan.

"Ape not kill ape." Ash said slowly, meeting Ray in the eyes.

Upon hearing this from Ash, Ray blinked dumbfoundedly for several seconds, still seeing the soft greens of Ash's eyes, looking back down at him, a sadness to them. Huffing quietly, Ray quickly glanced back down at Fox's form before meeting Ash's gaze once more. As he stood there staring up at the older chimpanzee, something broke within Ray, causing his shoulders to slump and his breathing to hitch. Turning away from Ash, Ray walked to the other end of their cage and sat down, wrapping his hands around himself. As he quietly sat there, Ray could see from the corner of his eyes, Ash approaching him, sitting down next to him. The older ape then reached out and wrapped one arm around Ray's back in a comforting gesture.

"I-" Ray started but hiccuped, before burying his face into his arms, ashamed at himself.

Ash however merely smiled sadly at Ray and rubbed the younger orangutan's back. He knew exactly where Ray's anger was stemming from. He had seen it in the eyes of many of his peers as well as other apes too, after the battle with the humans. The hatred and anger set within their eyes. The need to want and blame someone for what had happened. To make them pay. But deep down he knew that they were all scared, hurt and saddened greatly by what has happened to all of them. And Ray was one of these apes that was hurting as well. So instead dwelling on that deep seated hatred and anger within them, the both of them waited in silence. Eventually the human lights slowly disappeared with the rise of the sun.

While neither one had talked for a long while, and after Ray had calmed down a bit. Both of the young apes perked up their heads when they saw someone making their way towards them, seeing that it was none other than Feliz.

"Three of you guys now, hrm?" she said, looking at all of the apes in the cage that they shared. "Can't be coincidence that there's another one of ya out there. Do you know him?" Feliz asked, turning to look at Ash, who perked up at her. "He looks like you. Is he your brother or something?" she then cocked her head at Ray. "Probably not your brother though. Cause you look different from the both of them. Different monkeys… I mean apes and all that," Feliz said aloud face scrunching up in thought.

Both Ray and Ash looked at each other before they turned their attention back to the human teen. They had thought that maybe they should sign to her, but figured that it was best not to. It was most likely safer to let the humans keep believing that they were the unintelligent creatures that they were. That way Ash and Ray would keep themselves safe. For now. Lest they want a repeat of what happened back in their old home, to happen here as well. They tensed when the girl gave off a long sigh before leaning onto the wooden post next to their cage, looking off at the sunrise.

"You know… I don't know if you guys saw or even care. But there was a man yesterday who came into town. I didn't get his name but he seemed nice. The way he talks and stuff. Looks a little worn out for sure but-" Feliz paused, eyeing both Ash and Ray. "But I noticed that he kept on eyeing the both of you from afar. Before Jack and the others took him in for questioning. Do you two know him?" Feliz asked, meeting their stares. "I don't know what the man was doing out there or where he came from but from what I've heard, he's from somewhere far up north. Said that he was looking for a couple of friends."

At this Ash frowned and idley looked away, trying to not look concern while Ray did his best to look as neutral as possible in front of Feliz. After a quiet moment the teenage girl merely groaned as she stretched herself, her arms reaching high into the sky.

"Ah oh well. It doesn't matter now anyways. After all that shooting last night, Jack and the other's has put that guy on lockdown and are questioning him as we speak. But I wonder though, is he part of a raiding group? Or is there something else?" her voice now soft. "I heard from Carla that she had overheard the others saying they thought they saw several other apes out there, being chased by people on horses. Were they here for you guys? Were those other monk-, I mean apes coming here to rescue the both of you? With him?" She asked softly looking down at the unconscious chimpanzee a moment before meeting the other two apes' gaze once more. "Is that man that came in yesterday one of the hunters chasing you all?" Feliz asked earnestly.

At this new information, Ray and Ash glanced at each other before they turned their attention onto the sleeping Fox, puzzled by this new information. They both had known from Rocket that the apes were chasing them but humans, too? They knew for sure that Malcolm wasn't hunting them but Feliz did not know this. She only knew from what she had heard the other humans saying. That they saw humans riding on horses and chasing other apes in the dark. What was happening? And how long of a tail were they all dragging behind them to incur this?

Both Ash and Ray stared directly at each other before they slowly turned their attention back to the human teen, meeting her sincere gaze. Had they both made the wrong choice in not communicating with her? Should they try to talk to her? They hadn't only because it was for their own safety and Feliz hadn't given the best impression. But now Ash and Ray were unsure. Maybe Feliz could be trusted like Alex and Malcolm. Then maybe the could extend that invitation to Carla as well, if they saw the woman again.

"I'm sorry about all of this," Feliz whispered, turning her eyes away from them. "If I had know that this was going to happen I-"

"Feliz!"

Ash and Ray watched as the human teen jumped at the sound of her name before she turned around to face Jack as he was briskly walking up towards them.

"Yeah?" Feliz had answered the man.

"What are you doing out here with these guys? We need you in the east tower," Jack said gruffly. "Everybody worth a damn is out there chasing whoever came with that guy we locked up."

"Wait, where's Carla then?" Feliz asked.

"No need for you to worry. She said she wanted to talk to that Malcolm guy. For whatever it's worth. I still don't trust the guy… Anyways, we need you at the tower pronto," Jack answered.

"I should be out there too then," Feliz said to the older man.

"Well, that's not really my decision. Or yours," Jack answered the teen. "Not yours yet, anyways."

"Yeah," Feliz deflated, turning her eyes down to the side. "Fine," she finally grounded out and left, not without taking a backwards glance at the two apes watching her leave.

"If. She comes back," Ash suddenly spoke up when the two humans were a fair distance away, causing Ray to look at him. "We should. Tell her," he finished.

"Yes," Ray answered simply, turning to watch the humans as well.

If Blue Eyes, Rocket and Alexander were in trouble and were indeed being chased by unknown humans, as well as other apes too. Maybe they could convince Feliz and Carla to help them.

…

"I'm telling you. Whatever you guys saw out there. Those people. They're not with me," Malcolm tried again as he held onto the bars to his cell. "You have to believe me."

"Sorry man. I really want to believe ya. But we just can't take chances here. I mean a few of us find ourselves some of those monkeys. Then you show up the next day? Along with that, there's also gunfire that erupted in the night too. It'd be sort of hard press for us to just believe your story now," the man wearing the lime green plaid shirt answered back. "You're not in trouble with the folks from Diablo are you?"

"No. I don't even know that there's more people out here, but please, let me go." Malcolm tried again.

"No can do. Not until we figure out what's going on. You're behind bars for the time being," the man sighed. "We can't just take the chance man."

Heaving in defeat, Malcolm lowered his head, annoyed and saddened by the predicament that he was now in. Everything had gone so well yesterday too. They had brought him, cared for him even and he began to explain his situation to the people of Esperanza, telling them his story. Well… Most of it. He didn't want to mention the apes nor Alex, unless he can fully trust them. Then it all went to hell as, like the man in front of him had said, guns erupted in the night. With that they immediately locked him up and now here he was.

Hearing a door open, Malcolm lifted up his head to see a woman making her way into the room. She glanced around once before letting her dark brown eyes land upon the man in the plaid shirt.

"I can take it from here Remy," the woman said.

"I don't know Carla. This guy's hard to break. Either he's telling the truth or he's a fantastic liar. I don't know what's which is what with'em. Maybe he's crazy," Remy answered.

"That's why I'll talk to him," Carla responded calmly. "Now, thank you Remy. The others will be needing your help," she finished.

Remy pursed his lips to the side as he eyed Malcolm in the jail cell for a long moment before he exhaled loudly.

"Alright Carla. He's all yours. The guys will be out here if you need'em. Just give'em a holler," Remy said aloud before walking out of the room.

As the door shut behind Remy, Carla slowly turned around to meet Malcolm in the eyes. They both stared at each other for a long while before Carla slowly made her way towards the table that stood in the middle of the room.

"Malcolm, was it?" Carla asked simply.

"Yes," Malcolm answered with a sigh, leaning his back into the wall. "And you are Carla? Please. You've gotta believe me. I mean no harm to your people. I-"

Malcolm stopped as Carla held up a finger as she pulled out a familiar looking satchel from the side and placed it onto the table. She then opened it pulling out a map and unfolded it onto the table's surface, looking down at it all the while.

"Does this belong to you Mr. Malcolm?" Carla asked simply, tracing a finger upon the red line that marked the map.

"Yes. That map and satchel was on one of our horses," Malcolm answered back hesitantly.

"Our horses?" Carla replied, turning to look at Malcolm who froze. "I see you haven't been quite honest with us Mr. Malcolm," Carla continued. "We the people of Esperanza build our foundations upon trust. It's how things are here. How it has been and how it will always be."

Carla paused for a moment before making eye contact with Malcolm one more.

"Mr. Malcolm. If you do have good intentions and it does seem like you are a honestly good man from what I can tell. I'm going to need the full story if you want my help," Carla said slowly.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Malcolm breathed out.

Carla made a humming noise as she glanced down at the map and then met Malcolm's bright blue eyes with her dark brown ones once more. Taking in a deep breath, Malcolm closed his eyes for a long while thinking hard if this Carla could be trusted or not. But then what choice did he have? Maybe, with Carla's help, if she even believed him. He could get out of this and maybe free Ash and Ray.

"Alright. I'll tell you. But please, believe me that whatever I'm about to say is in no way any sort of lie," Malcolm said to the woman.

"Well then, I am all ears," Carla replied simply.

…

After Feliz and Jack had left them alone, Ash and Ray turned their heads when they noticed Fox stirring from his sleep. As the older chimpanzee opened his eyelids he glanced around himself. Fox's eyes widened when he saw both Ash and Ray, wincing before he touched a hand to the bloody spot on his head.

"Where are we?" Fox signed to the other two apes as he brought his hand close to his face to look at it, seeing the light red stain on his fingers.

"We're in a cage," Ash hooted lightly and signing, looking around them before meeting Fox's eyes once more. "Why-"

"Why Fox! Why did you try to kill us?" Ray cut Ash off and taking a step forward, towards the older chimpanzee.

Fox didn't answer, but sat up instead, rubbing at the wound on his head.

"I fell off my horse. Hit my head," Fox signed, more or less to himself, ignoring Ray who seemed to fumed more where he stood.

"I can see that," Ray signed back impatiently, irked that Fox was blatantly avoiding his question. "You've been following us. Shooting at us. Why?" Ray continued.

Upon seeing this line of questioning, Fox's nostrils flared and and quickly stood up.

"Because we won!" Fox barked, noticing Ash tense up who quickly look around himself. "We beat the humans. You were there with us when we did, Ray. You and your father-"

Ray immediately cut Fox off with a harsh clicking noise from his throat, followed by a low grumble.

"Don't you dare talk about my father!" Ray signed back angrily with his teeth bared. "He is dead because of Pope! Because Koba let his hatred of humans run rampant! Allowing Pope to use that to control him with his lies! And because Koba wanted apes to fight humans for his own revenge!"

Ash was now breathing quickly, concerned, as he looked around their cage. Both Ray and Fox's growls and constant yelling at each other were not heard by the humans as of yet but if someone were to come out and see them talking, all would be ruin for them. Or worse… Desperately turning back to the other he hooted lowly to get their attention while fanning his hands to keep their voices down.

"Caesar is weak!" Fox hissed back at Ray. "Stupid! He put. His precious humans. Above us apes. He let. Them go! Even. After they tried. To kill us! Now. They come back. To kill us. Again! Caesar. Should not rule. Apes! Does not. Deserve. To lead apes! He will not-"

Fox then stopped himself, as if realizing he was saying too much in front of the other two younger apes. He then closed his mouth into a thin line and glared away from both Ash and Ray. This however prompted the two younger apes to look at each other before they slowly turned their attention back towards Fox.

"Pope. And Koba. Dead… Who Is. Your leader. Now?" Ash asked, his mouth slowly forming into a frown as his eyes hardened at the older chimp.

Fox didn't answer, instead he kept his gaze low and down to the side, avoiding both Ash and Ray's searching eyes.

"He does. Not know," Ray said aloud with a scoff to his voice, prompting the older chimpanzee to shoot him a glare. "Useless."

"I do know!" Fox answered back with his teeth bared. "It does not matter. Blue Eyes die. You both die. Real apes live." Fox finished.

"You won't either!" Ray snarled back.

Before Ash could stop the younger orangutan, Ray had launched himself at Fox, swinging his right closed fist, colliding it with the older chimpanzee's face. Stunned for a moment by the sudden attack from Ray, Fox then screeched loudly and jumped at the younger red haired ape, tackling the younger orangutan onto the ground of their cage, knocking Ash aside in the process.

The two apes quickly swung at each other, arms gripping, hands flailing and smashing into flesh. Ash tried to intervened but was immediately kicked in the abdomen by the flailing limbs and fell a little bit away from the two fighting apes. As Ray and Fox continued to beat at each other the two slammed themselves into the side of the wooden cage, so hard that it's corners lifted from the ground before landing with a thud again.

Huffing, Ash slowly got back up while rubbing spot on his torso where he was kicked and then froze when he heard Ray howling in pain. Quickly looking on over to where the other two were, Ash's eyes widened when he saw Fox standing over the small red haired ape, burying his long canines into Ray's arm, drawing bright crimson blood. The younger orangutan, desperately trying to push off the bigger chimpanzee but Fox would not budge, his green eyes blazing with deep seated anger. Upon seeing this, Ash immediately jumped in, balling up his fist and smashing his knuckles right into Fox's snout, causing the older chimpanzee to let go of Ray with a sneeze. In that brief moment, Ash took a hold of Fox's waist and swung with all his might, slamming the bigger chimpanzee into the opposite side of their cage, finally causing it to tople, along with them.

As Ash fell along with the cage, he was just about to get up when he saw Fox reeling back his right foot and then thrusting it forward, connecting it with the side of his head with a loud crack. The blow was so strong that it caused Ash to see sunspots for a moment. Unfortunately due to him not having recovering from his incident with the bison, Fox's kick to his head, nearly caused him to black out as well. All of a sudden, Ash was turned around and gasped as he felt powerful blows upon his chest and stomach, then the rest of his body as well.

The next thing Ash knew was that he was suddenly dragged away by something tightly wrapping around his neck, causing him to unable to breathe. As he gasped for air, his vision started to fade, unable to understand what was going on. Then all of a suddenly he felt his body hitting the ground again and then sweet fresh air filled his lungs once more.

Heaving heavily, Ash's eyes darted around, trying to figure out what had just happened to him. As he slowly regained consciousness, he grunted to himself painfully before he pushed himself back up onto his feet. Reaching out, Ash leaned onto the side and noticed that he was was still in their wooden cage. Coughing to himself, Ash reached up and rubbed at his sore neck, slowly looking around to see what had happened to them. As he surveyed his surroundings Ash found that Ray was still in the wooden cage with him, while Fox bound in arms and legs to a post nearby. Reaching up to rub at his sore neck, Ash glanced around to see Carla, sitting next to their cage, along with a few other humans as they tended to Ray's wounds by cleaning his cuts with a foul smelling liquid that caused the young orangutan to screech and hiss in pain. Coughing to clear his throat, Ash turned his head as he heard someone approaching him, seeing that it was none other than Feliz.

"I… Guess he's not your brother after all," the teen girl said aloud as she looked from the two apes that seemed similar to each other. "Or at least, not a very good one," she finished turning to look at the ape in the cage who met her eyes as he rubbed at his throat.

…

Crouching low in the frigid river, Blue Eyes couldn't help but shudder and breathed haggardly, each breath feeling like he was being stung with sharp spears. He, Rocket and Alexander had managed to lose their chasers in the dark, taking refuge the shallow of a stream, knowing well that the other apes would not dare lead their horses at night. He, Rocket and Alexander were no longer running from Aghoo, Bon and Stripe, but from the humans, who carried the lights with them. A few of them were mounted on horses but most of the humans that gave chase in the night, did so by foot. The humans traveled a lot better on their legs than apes did, but apes were much better at concealing themselves, using the darkness and the trees to their advantage.

Eventually the three of them had moved on from the frigid waters of the river and taken refuge within the trees when the smallest bits of blue started to color the sky. Of course they had to provide extra cover for Alexander and help the teen into the tree they got in, but that was merely a minor problem for both Blue Eyes and Rocket as they hauled the human like he weighed nothing to them. Once, by dawn the three of them were in unknown territory.

"You guys think the humans gave up chasing us?" Alexander breathed quietly into the air as he leaned his back into the tree to balance himself.

"Maybe," Blue Eyes answered as he quickly looked around.

Blue Eyes then saw Rocket starting to sign something but then paused and dropped his arms, instead picking at the small twigs and leaves from his fur.

"Uncle Rocket?" Blue Eyes questioned, gaining Rocket's half stare before he continued to groom his fur.

The older chimp however was still silent but for some reason Blue Eyes had a feeling of what Rocket was going to say.

"You think we should return to my father. Don't you? Tell him what we have learned on this journey," Blue Eyes gestured.

It was silent between the three of them, Alexander not quite understanding all of the signs, but enough to get the minor gist of it. Eventually Rocket heaved out a tired breath.

"Yes," Rocket answered back finally. "Your father should know about these humans with the lights. He should know about the apes that are chasing us. The ones that still follow Pope and Koba. The ones that are plotting against him," Rocket growled with every hand sign.

Blue Eyes met Rocket's gaze and the two simply stared at each other for a long while, while Alexander looked from one ape to the other.

"Guys what's going on-"

"I agree," Blue Eyes cut off Alexander, causing him to frown in the process. "That is why. You will go. Return to my father. Tell him," Blue Eyes said while pointing at the older chimp while Alexander's mouth hung open slightly.

"No Blue Eyes. The two… Three of us should return," Rocket gestured with a huff.

"I'm not going to leave Ray and Ash here," Blue Eyes gestured back.

At this, Rocket's frown deepened at the young prince, actually causing Blue Eyes to submit a little.

"How do you think I feel?" Rocket growled while signing. "You don't think I care for Ash nor Ray?" he continued with his teeth slightly bared.

"That's not what I meant," Blue Eyes defended himself but was quickly silenced by a bark from the older chimp, loud enough to even cause Alexander to stiffen up.

After a few tense moments, Rocket closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, calming himself, before opening them again, meeting Blue Eyes' gaze. The older chimpanzee then straightened his back and reached out to tap Blue Eyes once on the arm and then tap him on the cheek, before reaching back to his own chest and made a circular motion with a closed fist.

"Sorry Blue Eyes," Rocket gestured. "Have to think hard. Anger easily. Can't control sometimes. I understand that you did not mean to say that."

Blue Eyes heaved out a relieved breath but lowered his gaze as well, mimicking Rocket's gesture too.

"I'm also sorry uncle. Did not mean that," Blue Eyes signed back with Rocket nodding slowly.

The two chimps was silent for a little while before they both began to sign at each other again.

"Even if I go… If I do go. You both. Will not. Be able. To free them," Rocket started, turning his sights from both Blue Eyes and Alexander. "Humans. Will be on. Watch."

"Maybe," Blue Eyes answered back but then had a thoughtful look. "Maybe not. But we must try," Blue Eyes said back to the older chimp.

Rocket sat back and scratched at his neck, considering their options for a moment.

"How about you both go back to your father and I will free Ash, Ray and Malcolm," Rocket suggested.

"No uncle. My father said that I was to lead. This is my decision. You will go. Alexander and I will free the others," Blue Eyes gestured back.

At this Rocket frowned, his body tensing.

"Your father will not be happy with just me returning without you," Rocket signed back. "And I am not happy leaving you youngsters, especially Ash."

"I know," Blue Eyes cooed quietly, casting his gaze downwards before meeting Rocket's eyes once more. "But it cannot be helped. We must do this in order to have a better future. To save everyone," Blue Eyes signed quickly before he lifted the strap to his gun and handed it to Rocket.

Rocket took the weapon and then slowly met Alexander's eyes who was still looking back and forth between him and Blue Eyes.

"You guys want to fill me in here? I didn't quite catch all of what you guys signed," the human teen asked hesitantly.

"What about Bon, Stripe and Aghoo? How would you two hide from them?" Rocket signed to Blue Eyes instead.

"We'll find a way. We were careless," Blue Eyes started then frowned in on himself. "I was careless… They must have heard our guns when we were shooting at wolves. Bringing them to that place. Found our trail and followed it. I'll be more careful this time. With Alexander," Blue Eyes huffed.

Glancing back up at his uncle, Blue Eyes could see the struggle within the older ape's eyes. He knew that the older chimpanzee did not want to leave them, especially leaving Ash behind. But they really had no choice. His father must know what is going on. What is happening down here in the south.

Finally Rocket had let out a deep heave, turning to face the younger chimpanzee. Rocket stared instensely at Blue Eyes. His features softening, Rocket then cupped the back of Blue Eyes' head and brought their foreheads together.

"Stay hidden. Both. Of you," Rocket said quietly, before he pulled back and met both Alexander's and Blue Eyes' gaze.

"Wait what?" Alexander perked up when he heard Rocket saying this.

Before the human teen could ask more though, Rocket had strapped Blue Eyes' rifle onto his back, leaped out of the tree they were hiding in and quickly bounded off downstream, without a second glance back at them. Upon seeing Rocket taking his leave, Blue Eyes suddenly felt so alone now. Ever since they had been on this journey Blue Eyes had always relied on Rocket. Sure, he was made leader by his father but Rocket was the true ape who had been leading the group. The one to go to for guidance and ask on what to do. While Blue Eyes and the others merely sat back and observed, trying to learn from the older chimp's ways. Now that he's gone… Blue Eyes really had no one else to help guide him.

"Blue Eyes? Is Rocket really leaving us?" Alexander asked hesitantly.

Blue Eyes kept his gaze upon the bounding grey colored chimpanzee until he could no longer see him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Blue Eyes slowly turned to face Alexander before he offered the human teen a small smile.

"Come. We must go," Blue Eyes said slowly before he made his way slowly down the tree and waited for Alexander to follow.

As soon as Alexander landed next to Blue Eyes, the two of them looked around their surroundings briefly before they silently set off in the direction towards the human town. While they made their way back, Blue Eyes had explained to Alexander of what he and Rocket hand planned. Making their way back to hopefully rescue Ash, Ray and Malcolm the two were careful to cover their tracks and Alexander had given his weapon to Blue Eyes, knowing for sure that the ape had much more experience with it than he ever did.

...

It was about mid-morning the next day when both Alexander and Blue Eyes made it back to the human town finally. The two of them reaching the lip of a hillside and peering over it. There they could make out the cage that held Ash and Ray, but something didn't seem right to the both of them. Upon closer observation both Blue Eyes and Alexander's heart dropped.

The cage was empty.

So shocked by what they had just learned, Blue Eyes perked up when he heard the slightest of sounds behind him. He turned quickly only to freeze when the end of a barrel was pointed right at his face, a human standing right behind the weapon.

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't if I were you," the human warned, looking down at Blue Eyes before they eyed Alexander who had also turned around, frozen at what he's seen as well.

Breathing heavily, Blue Eyes looked at the end of the barrel next to his face before he turned his sights up at the human once more. At this he could swear he's seen this human before. He wasn't entirely sure but he believed that this was the loud mouthed human female he saw the other day, defending and feeding Ash and Ray.

"Well, well well. I guess I had it right," the female human said aloud with a big grin to her face.

The girl's eyes darted and she quickly pointed her gun at Alexander and just as Blue Eyes was about to make a move the human stuck the end of her rifle right back into his face once more, underestimating how fast her movements were.

"I sure hope you can understand me," the human female said as she cocked her gun. "Because if you don't put down your gun down right now. I'm going to have to shoot you," the girl warned as she made eye contact with Blue Eyes. "I don't want to, but I will."

As Blue Eyes observed the human female, he could see that she held the rifle with quite the authority behind it. If she had wanted to, she could have killed both him and Alexander before they even knew that she had snuck up on them. If she had wanted to, but for some reason she didn't.

After a few tense moments, Blue Eyes reluctantly put the gun down to his side.

"Holy crap!," the human female exclaimed. "You really do understand me, don't you?"

Blue Eyes heaved silently at himself. He felt a little stupid. The first humans he'd met had shown a great deal of surprise that apes understood language. Why should these be any different? Blue Eyes had thought that maybe Ash and Ray had had a conversation with this human female but now just realized that they were playing dumb to the girl, for whatever reason.

He could still try the same thing as Ash and Ray but-

"P-please don't shoot him," Alexander suddenly spoke up, causing all heads to turn towards him. "H-he's really not that dangerous. S-so don't shoot him," Alexander stuttered. "Please?"

Blue Eyes watched as the human female cocked a brow ridge at Alexander.

"Not if he doesn't do anything funny. Anyways, what is he to you? Are you chasing him? Is he your pet monkey or something?" the female asked, causing Blue Eyes to furrow his brows and bare his fangs at her. "Hey!" the girl raised her gun again.

"I understand you," Blue Eyes signed at the girl angrily.

The human female's eyes narrowed at Blue Eyes. "What's with the hands? Is that suppose to mean something?" she asked.

"He says-"

"I. Understand. You," Blue Eyes grounded out, uncaring if he interrupted Alexander.

Immediately the human female jumped back as if something had struck or stung her, her mouth open wide in a big "O," almost as big as her eyes. The reaction from the human female was quite comical to see. No doubt if Ash were here, the white flecked chimpanzee would have doubled over in sheer laughter, Blue Eyes realized.

"Holy crap!" the human female exclaimed aloud. "I-I mean holy cow. I'm not supposed to swear…" The girl deflated momentarily as she looked away.

At this, Blue Eyes turned to Alexander who looked just as confused as he was, shrugging his shoulders all the while, before turning back towards the human female.

"I thought something was kinda fishy with the other monkeys!" the girl said aloud. "I swear. I thought I was going crazy. Hearing voices that weren't there. But now it all makes sense," the human female continued as she paced back and forth in front of the two, but still kept her weapon at the ready.

"Uh, what?" Alexander asked hesitantly.

"The other two! The ones we found all knocked out with the bison, by the river, back over yonder. You're both looking for them right? Like that man said?" the human girl continued.

"Man?" Alexander said softly.

"Yeah the bloke that came in yesterday," the girl answered.

"That's my dad!" Alexander exclaimed.

"Your dad?" the girl questioned.

"We looking," Blue Eyes answered quickly. " For friends."

"Wait friends? The third monkey too right? The one that fell down the hill?" the teen female asked.

It was at this moment, Blue Eyes realized that the human female must be talking about Fox, who had fell down the hill.

"My dad. Did he tell you about the apes? Where is he?" Alexander asked the girl.

Well… He didn't talk to me exactly. But he did talk to Carla… Wait a minute! Why am I even telling you this?" the girl said aloud.

While the two humans were busy chatting with each other, Blue Eyes placed his hand upon the soil and brushed it back, clearing it, turning it to a blank canvas. He then drew six line figures in the dirt before turning up to meet the human female's eyes as she had paused to see what he was doing.

"Blue Eyes," Blue Eyes said aloud, pointing to the first mark before pointing to himself, "Blue Eyes."

The girl looked down at the line and back at Blue Eyes several times before she nodded slowly, understanding that he was referring to himself at the first marker.

"Alex," Blue Eyes pointed to the next line and then pointed to Alexander by his side who waved at the human female before he continued. "Rocket. Malcolm. Ash and Ray." As he mentioned the last two names, Blue Eyes then pointed from the two dots into the direction of the cage in the center of the square.

"Lost Ash and Ray… With bison," Blue Eyes explained quietly, his eyes upon the cage in the distance before slowly turning to meet the girl again. " Malcolm. Alex father. Go and help. But not return," he finished.

The human female narrowed her eyes and then eyed the both of them for a long time, thinking hard on what she had just learned from Blue Eyes.

"So… Ash and Ray are the two fellows we found?" The girl asked. "The chimpanzee and orangutan? If I remember correctly."

"Yes," Alexander perked up this time. " Those two are the ones we've been looking for. Like Blue Eyes here had said. Ash is the chimpanzee, Ray's the orangutan. My dad. He came into your town to hopefully get them back. But we haven't seen him. Do you know where they all are?" Alexander asked, worry lacing his voice.

"This is so freaking weird…" the girl groaned as she scratched the back of her head and dragging a hand down her face, before turning to look straight at Alexander, causing him to flinch. "You! Explain in full detail of what is going on." She ordered with a pointing finger.

"M-me?" Alexander asked.

"Yes you, who else? Ape boy here just gave me the bare minimum, I need all of this in full. So start talking," the girl said aloud.

Blue Eyes this time watched from between the two humans as Alexander went into a flurry of details in his explanation to the human girl. Blue Eyes honestly was quite lost upon the string of language that flowed out of Alexander's mouth. But the human girl seemed to be keeping up just fine, nodding her head every now and then at what she heard.

"Wait hold on!" the human girl suddenly said aloud, cutting Alexander off for the upteenth time. "You're telling me. That the guys Jack and the others have been chasing - the ones on the horses- are apes too?"

Blue Eyes and Alexander looked at each other momentarily before they turned their heads back to the human female and nodded at the same time.

"Well how 'bout that? Don't that beat it all to hell! Oh! I mean heck," the human female laughed out loudly confusing the two. "Oh gosh! I can't wait to see their faces when they find out that they've been chasing apes instead of people!" she continued.

"People," Blue Eyes grumbled, tapping his chest, a stern frown upon his lips.

"Oh, right. Don't mean any offense by that," the human female quickly apologized before turning to look at Alex. "He knows what I mean right?" she asked to which Alexander shrugged his shoulders at her. "Ugh, whatever. What I mean is. I've never dealt with talking monkeys before."

"Apes," Blue Eyes corrected with a frown, annoyed by the human girl constantly calling him the wrong species.

"Yeah that, you get what I mean. So you all came to get this Ash and Ray, but not the other one?" the human girl asked.

"Yes," Blue Eyes breathed back, looking away with a slight growl as Fox came to his mind.

"Like I said. They're not on the best terms with us right now," Alexander explained again.

Upon hearing this, the girl took in a deep breath and had let out a long exhale, confusing both Blue Eyes and Alexander.

"Ugh, this is so complicated. Problem is," the human female started. "They're gone. All of them. The apes I mean. The people from Diablo came by and got'em. Paid us good with supplies too," she frowned, noticing the two boys in front of her turning to look at each other with worriedly.

"And my dad?" Alex asked.

"Probably still locked up I guess. I don't see any reason the folks from Diablo would want him," the girl pondered on the spot.

"Where?" Blue Eyes asked, turning to look back up at the human female.

"I don't know where. Carla and I were against it, from the very beginning. Even if they offered all of those supplies. But you can't piss them off. The folks from Diablo I mean. We just can't risk it. They'll most likely cut off the power supply to our lights and stuff. And if they cut off the power-"

"People will start to get angry," Alexander finished for her, meeting her eyes.

From the sound and tone of the human female's voice, Blue Eyes understood most of it. Why they did it, but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing about it.

"Where they take them?" Blue Eyes suddenly asked.

"I told you. To Diablo," the human girl answered before he eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait. You're both not going there are you? It's suicide-"

"Ash!" Blue Eyes barked suddenly, cutting off the human female, looking her sternly in the eyes. "Ray. My friends... Please."

It was silent between the three of them and the human girl's opened mouth slowly pinched shut, with her brows lowering as she stared down at the blue eyed chimpanzee, looking rather desperate. The silence between the three of them stretched long and thin with nothing but the slight breeze to blow between the individuals.

"I out to turn the both of you in too," she said suddenly with a frown. "We can always use more supplies. And that way, at least you'd be with your buddies," she indicated at Blue Eyes. "And you with your father," she turned next to Alexander.

The girl then reached down and took their last gun between the two of them, swinging it over her shoulder.

"Come on you two," the girl said aloud as she lead the way.

Both Blue Eyes and Alexander looked at each other for a moment before they both slowly stood up and followed the other human teen.

"We didn't even get your name!" Alexander grumbled as he followed.

The girl paused and turned around, facing the two of them, her face indifferent and blank.

"Feliz," she said simply.

"Alexander. But you already knew that didn't you," Alex huffed with a frown.

"Blue Eyes," Blue Eyes introduced himself again with a low tone.

"Well, nice to meet you two. However short that was," Feliz answered back before turning herself around once more and lead them away.

Alex and Blue Eyes glanced at each other, both holding onto their heavy hearts. All had not go as they had planed and now they were in all sorts of trouble.

"Sorry," Alexander signed.

Blue Eyes offered Alex a small smile and shook his head at the human teen, knowing that their predicament was not his fault, nor anyone else's. But even then he couldn't hold his smile for long and with a sigh, he lowered his head and followed their captor, wherever she was leading them to.

Alrighty! Characters introduced in this chapter.

Apes

Imani- Fox's mother. (She doesn't really have a name, so I'm giving her one.)

Humans

Remy - An OC. Not very important.