Sorry everyone! Been a bit busy. Hope you all enjoy this latest chapter. Also apologies! This chapter is a bit sporadic and kind of all over the place. But, please enjoy it nonetheless!
Now was the moment at hand as Red and Grey stared at the other. One was full of intense hatred, rage and disappointment, while the other was filled with fear and pain, but was full of a fierce determination as well.
"We. Would have. Been safe," Red hissed out. "If you. Had followed. My plan."
Grey grunted as he twitched in on himself in pain but slowly raised his head up to meet Red's acid colored eyes again with his own dark green ones, earning a scowl from the bigger gorilla.
"No. We would not," Grey wheezed back as he wrapped one arm over his bleeding abdomen. "Not. With you. Not. With. Me," he finished with a content smile.
Even now, with the advantage within his grasp, Grey still mocked him and this angered Red even more. All that he's worked so hard for, to get them as far away from the humans to lead the apes away from Caesar's control; now ruined by an ape that Red himself thought he could use. It angered him greatly as he thought of this while his shoulders rose and fell with each heavy breath he took. This, all of this, was Grey's fault and he will pay for it, with his life.
The moment he pulled the trigger to his gun, Red was surprised when something struck his arm. The notion caused him to jerk his arm as he fired, striking Grey in the left ear, causing the chimpanzee to yelp in pain. Red had then let out a roar of pain as he lifted up his arm and slammed them onto the ground, knocking the offending creature off of him. He drew back his hand and stared down at it, seeing teeth marks made within his flesh before he turned back with wild eyes to see who had attacked him.
To everyone's surprise, they all saw Maple slowly standing up, huffing to herself as she cradled her arms close to her body, her mouth red with blood. Red glared down at his forearm and then glanced back again at Maple who was now frowning at him.
"You. Hurt. Me," Red growled lowly as he took a step towards Maple.
Seeing Red approaching his daughter, Grey tried to get back up but faltered as pain lanced through his midsection, causing him to grunt and sit back down. But before Red could take a second step, he heard a furious cry as someone jumped onto his back and was striking at the back of his head. He grunted and tossed the offending ape off of him, surprised to see Cedar rolling onto the ground. Before he could comprehend what was going on around him, he was suddenly surrounded by many of the females. He felt two sets of hands wrenching his gun away from him, then he was being pummeled down by the many fists that was railing on him. He was so shocked by this turn of events that Red merely shielded his face from the blows as he crouched for cover as the assault continued by the angry screaming females.
After what seemed like a long amount of time, Red managed to scramble free, backing away quickly from the mob of females, but they followed him. They threw clods of dirt, sticks, rocks, and anything else they could get their hands on at him.
Red felt all of his anger quickly dashed away, all of his bravado, suddenly replaced by shame and fear for his life as he was chased. It felt as if the very earth beneath him seemed to be falling out from under his feet and sky above his head as he ran.
He didn't get too far as he was suddenly struck by the side and was now rolling in the dirt. Getting back up quickly, Red blinked as he saw Andy baring his fang and lunged out with an enclosed fist, striking him in the side of the head. This had caused Red to bared his teeth and roared back at the chimp, striking the other ape with the back of his left arm and sending Andy rolling into the forest floor. He was going to go after the other male but halted when he noticed that many of their prisoners were free now. He had quickly turned to dash away but paused when he heard the familiar cries of several apes in the distance.
The ape warriors from the human city. They survived.
Now Red's heart really pounded within his chest and he quickly turned back around, making a run for the only other opening that was available to him. From behind Red could hear the continued cries, calls and screams of apes. As he ran though, something welled up from within him that caused his hairs to stand on end.
"From here on out. There is no turning back for us," Grey's hand gestures came back into Red's mind over and over again as he ran for his life.
And that was what Red had done, he ran. He ran and ran, into the forest and did not stop, knowing well that he was now branded as a traitor among apes.
…
The birth was a difficult one, but Oaka and her child survived during the whole fight that had occured not too far from them. Oaka had given birth to a very strong looking boy and both she and her mother had never looked happier when they heard the infants cries that pierced the air around them. Cornelia herself, couldn't help but smile along with both Oaka and Lala, watching as the young female cradled her son into her bosom, cooing softly to hush his frantic cries.
"A very strong boy," Cornelia spoke up, causing both the new mother and Lala to glance up her way.
"Yes. Very. Strong boy," Lala wept happily.
"Strong. Like his father. Bryn," Pauleen spoke up as well as she knelt down besides Oaka and Lala, smiling at the two females.
Before long Cornelia and the other females heard the arrival of the rest of warriors as well. Soon enough they were suddenly joined by Khan and his sons. From among them stood Bryn, eyes wide as he looked down at his new child that was cradled within his mate's arms.
"Bryn. Come say hello. To your son," Oaka spoke softly as she met her mate's big curious eyes.
Bryn huffed as he tentatively took a step towards the nest and slowly knelt down next to his family. Bryn then curiously reached out and felt the small chimpanzee wrap his little hand around his much larger finger.
"M-my son," Bryn breathed as his face slowly melted into that of happiness. "Our son," he said happily as he slowly pressed his forehead onto Oaka's.
"Kanj."
Bryn pulled back when he heard Oaka say the word, a look of confusion on his face.
"Our son's. Name. Kanj," Oaka said lovingly as she nuzzled the top of her child's head.
"Kanj. Our Kanj," Bryn repeated the name proudly as he too lowered his head and pressed it upon Oaka's.
Pulling back, Bryn proudly turned to look at the apes around them.
"Come. Come and see. Come see my new son Kanj," Bryn gestured happily to his family members.
Khan came next to his second oldest son and looked down at the newest member as well, smiling proudly at Bryn. Juno on the other hand couldn't stop himself from grinning widely as he tentatively reached out and stroke the small ape's back. Tola however, stood to the side and was looking down at the baby ape but he had a curious glint within his cerulean eyes.
Watching the family together, Cornelia respectfully backed away from them so that they could have their moment of peace and warmth. This was their time and she needn't be there to disrupt such a serene scene. Turning around she then noticed that many of their warriors were returning to the rest of their families and or loved ones. Some she knew would never return and it pained her but this was how it is now and they must moved on. Taking in a deep breath, Cornelia walked through the rest of the apes, hoping that she would be able to find Caesar from among them.
...
Many of the ape traitors had scattered when they took notice of the returning warriors from the city, fleeing for their lives. Many others were quickly subdued and the turncoats immediately offered themselves in submission. Caesar and the rest of the warriors that were betrayed, were beyond angry at this point. Knowing that these apes, these turncoats had abandoned them and left them to die, in their time of need.
"Please forgive us Caesar," Rex grovelled with his head lowered, along with a few of the other apes. "Show mercy?"
"Mercy? For what you and the other apes have done?" Caesar growled back, causing Rex and the other turncoats to flinch at his harsh words.
Caesar merely kept his angry gaze directed upon Rex as gorilla offered his palm up in supplication. Caesar however grunted and moved on, he didn't have time for the traitors right now, he had to check in on the rest of the apes and see if they were all safe.
"Keep your eyes on them," Caesar spoke to Luca, never letting his own gaze stray from the traitors as the silverback and a few of the other apes grunted in response.
As Caesar turned around he frozed as his eyes landed upon a familiar looking female who stood just feet away from him. Cornelia held her breath as she kept her eyes upon Caesar and tentatively took a step towards him.
"Caesar?" Cornelia gestured.
"Cornelia," Caesar breathed back with a tired smile.
The female chimpanzee quickly closed the gap between the both of them and reached out towards the bigger male. Cornelia touched the shooting star birthmark upon Caesar's chest, looking at it before she turned her gaze up to meet his golden-green eyes. Huffing with a smile, Cornelia placed her head upon Caesar's chest and wrapped her arms around him, also feeling him hugging her back strongly.
Before long, the both of them pulled back from each other to place their foreheads together, standing there, drinking in each other's presence. Cornelia then did something unexpected that surprised Caesar. She had reached up and gave Caesar a light kiss upon the lips. Caesar blinked curiously at his mate before he smiled back and returned the kiss, more strongly this time.
"I thought. I lost. You," Cornelia spoke quietly, reaching up to wipe away at her teary eyes.
"Sorry. Took so long," Caesar responded in kind. "Where is Cornelius?" he had asked next.
"He is. Safe. With Tinker," Cornelia answered.
Caesar felt his heart at ease when he learned of this from Cornelia and looked about when he took notice of a group of apes surrounding a few others. Curiously both Caesar and Cornelia approached the group and saw that it was Maurice with Andy and the others, looking upon Grey and his family.
"Grey!" Caesar snarled, making to move forward but was stopped by a firm grip upon his wrist.
Caesar snapped his head around quickly to see who had stopped him but was surprised to see Cornelia looking up at him with her light green hues. There was a fierce determination set within her eyes as she met Caesar's own golden-greens. Confused as to why she was holding onto him like this, Caesar slightly turned his body back around to face his mate.
"Cornelia?" Caesar asked.
"No Caesar, I know what you are thinking, but do not jump to conclusions so quick," Cornelia gestured back. "You think that Grey has betrayed you. Left you. Like the others. However, Grey did the opposite. Grey. He protected us. All of us. Saved our lives," Cornelia explained after a few heartbeats.
"What?" Caesar asked, not understanding what Cornelia was telling him.
"He. Saved me. Saved us," Cornelia spoke this time. "All of us. Here," she continued, gesturing around them, gaining nods from every face they saw. "He fought. To protect us. From true traitors."
Caesar blinked and turned his head back to where Grey was, before turning back to look at Cornelia once more.
"Are you sure?" Caesar asked.
"Cornelia. Speaks truth," Andy grunted, walking on over to where Caesar was. "I do not understand it myself but Grey protect us all," Andy explained, turning to look at the wounded chimpanzee.
Caesar looked from Andy to Cornelia and to the others around them before finally turned his gaze to where Grey was. The brown haired chimpanzee was breathing hard and was bleeding but he still looked strong as he kept one arm wrapped tightly around his midsection. Grey met his gaze and the both of them simply stared at the other.
"Caesar," Grey grunted out, shoulders rising and falling with each labored breath he took.
Caesar blinked and stood there for a moment as his thoughts raced through is head. Had Grey really protected the apes throughout all of this? Why? Why would he do such a thing? Hadn't the traitor left him and the rest of the warriors to fend for themselves in the human city? It didn't make any sense to him. Yet, Cornelia, Andy and many of the other apes, they are all advocating for Grey.
He had protected them.
Breathing deeply through his nose, Caesar took a step towards Grey and knelt down next to the wounded chimp, looking him over and meeting his dark green eyes. Caesar noticed that Grey's mate and daughter, hold onto each other as they met his stern gaze. However, he slowly turned his sights back towards Grey and met the brown haired chimpanzee's dark green eyes.
"P-please. Spare them," Grey painfully huffed out. "M-my fault-"
Grey was silenced as Caesar held up his hand.
"Don't speak, save your strength," Caesar spoke to the wounded chimp.
And with that said Caesar and the others noticed the sound of an approaching vehicle. There were hoots and cries that echoed through the forest but they were quickly silenced as every warrior, guard and abled ape stood at the edge of the grove, preparing themselves for a fight if necessary. Then they all saw it, the approaching vehicle that hid the inhabitants within. The apes all hooted and grunted in anticipation of what's to come and Caesar made to stand at the forefront of his apes, staring down angrily at the truck.
…
When the other apes had returned to them, Winter was ecstatic to see Caesar and most of all - Luca again. It was as if seeing the rest of the their warriors back had brought a renewal of hope for the apes and just like that, it did. Caesar, Luca and the rest of the warriors were able to immediately subdue the turncoats, the rest feeling for their lives and everyone rejoiced as they found each other again. All crying and hooting in joy as they embraced one another. He could especially make out the joyful expression of his new friend Juno from afar as he celebrated with his family at the new life that was brought into the world.
Aside from all of this however, Winter knew that many others had downcast looks upon their faces as well. Knowing well that many of their loved ones will never come back to them too and this pained his soul. On that thought, Winter huffed worriedly as he looked around himself to hopefully see a particular ape that was not among the many he had seen. As he desperately looked around himself he couldn't find the individual, no matter how hard he searched.
Winter's breathing and heart beats began to quicken as he became more and more desperate in his search. Eventually he came to a stop as he didn't see the ape that he was searching for. As he stood there among the cries and hoots, Winter lowered his head as his nose twitched several times. Was this meant to be? Was he supposed to be all alone? With a sniff, Winter rubbed at his eyes with the back of his arm as he could feel the oncoming feeling of loneliness taking him once more. This wasn't fair. This was not fair. He's already lost so much before, losing his parents, his brother figure and although he had initially thought he had lost Luca, the older gorilla returned to him but now he… he was all alone again. And it hurt him deeply, a pain that he couldn't quite explain.
Two soft hoots echoed from behind.
With a gasp, Winter slowly rounded himself and was met with familiar looking bonobo, with lime colored eyes and whose dark fur on his back side parted like the trail in a grassy field. The smaller ape was leaning heavily on a spear and Winter noticed that the bonobo's left thigh was wrapped in a makeshift cloth, like the humans had showed them.
"Glade?" Winter said slowly, his eyes wide and puffy.
"Winter," Glade responded, offering a tired looking smile.
Winter fully turned around fully to face the bonobo and cautiously made his way to the smaller ape, stopping right in front of the other. The albino gorilla reached out but stopped, seeing the wound on the smaller ape's leg, hesitating. The bonobo seemed to have picked up on this and he couldn't help but let a amused huff escape him. Letting go of the spear that he was leaning on, the smaller ape reached up and cupped the gorilla's cheeks, bringing Winter's head down so that their foreheads touched each others. Both closing their eyes as they soaked in each other's presence.
"Glade?" Winter huffed out breathlessly.
"Winter," Glade responded with a smile.
And with that, Glade felt Winter fall down onto his knees as he threw his arms around him. Glade couldn't help but smile warmly as he heard the bigger gorilla whimper and cry, while big arms were wrapped tightly around his body. Chuckling softly, Glade returned the hug and gently patted the weeping gorilla on the head, cooing softly in reassurance.
"So scared. Was so scared," Winter whimpered out as he closed his eyes tightly, and hugged Glade closer to him, not caring if and or the other apes around were staring at the both of them.
"Glade knows," Glade spoke softly while he gently rubbed Winter's back, "Glade knows. Winter. Safe now."
As Glade himself was reassuring Winter the sounds of the apes letting out a warning cr, caused him to look up and see an approaching vehicle.
...
The apes stood strong as the vehicle came to a slow stop, with the engines to the truck dying. The doors then opened and out stepped two figures that caused many of the apes to break out in hushed whispers, grunts, hoots and cries. The two figures were that of a familiar human woman, who had came to the colony once before, curing the queen of her strange illness. The other however… The apes were all equally confused, not believing of who and what they were seeing.
"Koba?" Andy spoke aloud, his eyes wide.
The bonobo turned to look at the chimp when the name was spoken aloud. This only signified to the apes that the bonobo standing before them all was exactly who they thought it was. He looked thinner than usual, with a bit more scars covering his body but that singular scar that ran down his left eye was all that was needed for the apes to recognize who it genuinely was. The only difference that perplexed them was that singular golden-green eye that Koba sported now, looking quite a lot like Caesar's.
Caesar was quite confused by Koba's new eye color as well but he took a step towards the bonobo and looked him over. Aside from his loss in weight, Koba seemed to be doing rather well. Looking a lot better actually, as when Caesar had last remembered him, he was in a terrible state. A condition that he himself could have prevented, yet he was unable to.
"Caesar?" Koba breathed quietly, meeting Caesar's intense gaze.
"Koba," Caesar answered back.
While the two stood there, the apes around them began to chatter among themselves, speaking to one another. They were all noting how these two apes, two formidable leaders in their own right, whom they all thought were dead before, was now standing before them. Having survived their very own supposed deaths.
A few heartbeats more, Caesar blinked and his gaze looked past Koba to see Ellie standing by the truck. At first he was confused to only see both Koba and Ellie but He then remembered that Grey was still very much still injured from his fight before.
"We need your. Help," Caesar spoke.
Nothing more needed to be said and the human nurse simply nodded.
"Let me get my things," Ellie responded as she quickly ran to the back end of the truck, before opening it and rummaging through.
"Who?" Koba asked, meeting Caesar's gaze.
"Grey," Caesar answered after a brief silence, noticing the hairs on Koba's body rising up at the mention of the wounded chimp's name.
...
As he sat there, Grey hissed as his abdomen seared with pain. It was something he's never quite felt before but if this is what it took, to keep his family and the rest of the apes safe, then he would bear it all. Even if it will kill him. Which is very high he would assume. Huffing, Grey leaned his head back onto the tree behind him and was met with teary eyes from both Cedar and Maple, both who were placing their hands upon his arms and trying their best to comfort him. He could feel the love and care that Cedar was giving him as she picked out at the leaves and twigs that were entwined with his fur, while he felt his little Maple Tree leaning her head upon his shoulder, weeping into it. If he could, he would have pulled both of his mate and daughter close to him, embracing them and would tell them how sorry he was that he had to keep such a deep secret from them.
Curiously though, an approaching ape had caught his eyes, an ape that looked ever so familiar. Huffing, Grey turned his gaze upwards and his eyes widened when his vision finally focused to see who the ape was. There standing in front of him and his family stood Koba, looking down at him with worry lacing across his features.
"Ko-ba?" Grey wheezed. "That you?"
"Grey?" Koba answered back, immediately kneeling down besides the wounded chimp and looking him over.
Grey himself couldn't believe it. Kneeling next to him now was the ape he had thought for sure was dead. He himself saw Koba fall into the bottomless pit of the human tower. Yet, here the bonobo was, looking better than usual, sans a few changes.
"Stay away! From father!" Maple hissed as she moved to stand between her sire and the bonobo who had caused all of this.
Maple however was suddenly stopped as she turned around quickly to see her father taking a hold of her arm with one bloody hand.
"No," Grey wheezed out tiredly as he held onto Maple's arm. "No.."
Maple looked back and forth from Koba to her father before she sniffed loudly and turned back to face the older male.
"Grey?" Koba spoke up, causing the wounded male to look his way. "I'm sorry."
Upon hearing this from Koba, Grey's eyes lit up lighty and a small smirk formed upon his lips. Soon enough, another figure joined the small group and they all turned to look up at Ellie, whom stood there hesitantly. Cedar hissed at the woman while Maple hiccuped loudly before wiping away at her falling tears, meeting the human woman's olive colored eyes. Koba quickly faced Cedar and Maple, gesturing to them that the human did not mean any harm before slowly turning back towards Ellie and offered his hand. Grey and his family watched curiously as the human gently took Koba's outstretched hand and sat herself right next to Grey and Maple.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'm here to help," Ellie spoke softly to the two females as she put down her large bag.
Sniffing, Maple wiped away at her tears as she looked back and forth from the human woman to her father.
"Please. Help," Maple begged the human nurse, reaching out and taking a hold of her shirt sleeve.
"I promise, I will do what I can," Ellie answered back, placing her own hand over the young female's and patting it lightly before turning her sights back to the wounded chimpanzee and Koba.
They all heard footsteps behind them and turned to see that Caesar and the others had approached, looking on curiously.
"I need to work on him, now. Caesar, Koba, can you and the others help me?" Ellie asked the two apes as she prepared herself, already taking out the necessary tools to operate on the wounded chimp.
"What do you need us to do?" Caesar asked.
…
They worked as fast as they could, following the human nurse's orders and doing what they were told. Ellie had directed them all to find a more suitable place and they laid out some sort of fabric on the flat ground before gently placing Grey upon it. Ellie had then asked Caesar to take both Cedar and Maple away as what she was going to do to Grey could cause… protective instincts to take over and could potentially jeopardize her work. So, reluctantly, Caesar ordered a couple of the gorillas to more or less take both the females away, even as they cried out and reached for the wounded male. After that, some of the stronger males were asked to pin down Grey's limbs as Ellie began to work on the wounded chimp. She had warned them that his cries might scare them but told them to hold him down still, and so, they did.
Caesar did not know how long it was since Ellie began to operate on Grey. All he could hear was the wounded male's painful cries and grunts as he was being operated on. This caused the other apes around them to be distressed as well but Caesar and the other apes did their best to calm them down. Caesar had caught a glimpse of Koba who was never too far from Ellie as he watched his friend being operated on but Caesar decided to leave him be for now.
There was another fanfare of cries, alerting all of them and causing everyone to turned their head up over to an edge of the forest. There, everyone saw seven individuals. Two humans and the rest, apes, all huffing and puffing as they looked down at the group before them.
It took Caesar a moment but then he recognize the group before him and his eyes widened as he slowly approached, lifting a hand up to quell the apes around him. The seven individuals descended the slope and one of the young apes approached, looking ever so familiar with several streaks of scars marring his chest area and sky colored eyes looking right back at him.
"Father," Blue Eyes gestured towards the older chimp before his eyes looked to the side. "Mother."
It was then that both Caesar and Cornelia rushed in and quickly embraced their oldest child, overjoyed to see him again. There was a small chuckle between the two older chimps and Blue Eyes hugged his mother and father back.
"Blue Eyes. My son," Caesar said quietly as he hugged his son along with Cornelia.
"So happy that you are home," Cornelia gestured emotionally.
"Good. To be. Home," Blue Eyes answered back as he pulled away from his parent's embrace.
At this, Cornelia smiled warmly as she reached up and placed a hand upon her eldest child's cheek, seeing Blue Eyes close his eyes and leaning into her hand. She then wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him once more, glad that he was safe and sound.
Still in the moment of their reunion, Caesar lifted his head away from Cornelia and Blue Eyes to see the others standing just a little bit away from them.
"It is good to see you all again," Caesar gestured to the others as he walked on over and threw a hand over Rocket's shoulder, giving him a few pats. "You kept them safe. Thank you."
"It was tough," Rocket replied with a slight smirk to his face as he too threw an arm over Caesar's shoulder.
Caesar nodded, understanding before he turned his gaze to the others.
"Ash, how are you?" Caesar asked as he reached on over to take a hold of the younger chimp's shoulders.
"I am well, uncle," Ash gestured back with a beaming smile.
Caesar then welcomed back Ray as well, informing the young orangutan of how proud he was of him. It was when Caesar took note of Fox standing just a little bit away and was confused by it. When Caesar inquired the young chimp, Fox had shamefully averted his gaze and instead offered up his palm in supplication.
"Forgive me," Fox said quietly.
At this, Caesar turned to Blue Eyes and the others with a questioning look before turning back to the young chimpanzee.
"For what?" Caesar asked.
"I-I…" Fox spoke up but was at a lost of words, too ashamed of himself to continue on what he was going to say.
Ray then stepped up and reached out, taking a hold of Fox's shoulder, meeting the other ape's eyes before turning to face their king.
"He has been through a lot. Forgive him. Please," Ray gestured instead.
Still unsure of what was going on, Caesar however huffed out tiredly and slowly reached out, stroking his finger's upon the younger ape's outstretched palm. Fox slowly brought his hand close to his body and he turned to meet Caesar's gaze for a moment before he lowered his head again and walked away, leaving them.
"Caesar?"
Caesar turned around and saw both Malcolm and Alex, seeing that while the two humans looked a bit gaunt, they seemed to be relatively fine.
"Malcolm?" Caesar answered curiously, confused.
"Where is Ellie?" Malcolm asked.
Caesar quirked a brow, confused as to why the human was asking him. Shouldn't he know about Ellie and Koba's whereabouts? Did the human not go back to stay with them all this time? Then again, everything had been quite hectic and they must have split up as to not draw attention. But it was curious to see Malcolm and Alexander arriving exactly at the same time as Blue Eyes and the others.
"Ellie is helping. One of our wounded" Caesar finally said.
…
"Ellie?!"
"Mom!"
Upon hearing her name, Ellie's heart skipped a beat as she was pulling a bullet out of the groaning chimpanzee's abdomen.
"Malcolm?! Alex?!"
Ellie saw her two boys as she turned her head slightly, seeing them both soaking wet and looking rather terrible, but both were alive nonetheless. Her eyes immediately blurred when she saw the both of them again.
"Ellie? What's going on?" Malcolm immediately asked as he approached his wife and the group of apes surrounding her.
Malcolm was quickly filled in on what had happened and she was assisting with helping with one of Caesar's ape who had be struck three times in the abdomen. Ellie informed that two of the three wounds looked like they still had bullets lodged within the chimp. The third, had luckily only grazed the chimpanzee's left side.
"I managed to take one of the bullets out and I've used the last of the opioids I had left to relieve as much of the pain I could on him. If we don't hurry and continue he may bleed out and we could lose him," Ellie warned.
"Alex! That bag you found!" Malcolm said quickly as he turned to look at the teen.
Alexander quickly slung the red bag from his back and tossed it on over to where his father was. Malcolm quickly opened the bag and revealed an array of emergency medical supplies containing pain medications, antibiotics, surgical utensils and other aid within it.
"How did you? Where did you all find all of these!?" Ellie gasped.
"A gift, from a friend... who couldn't make it," Malcolm answered.
As Malcolm spoke to her, she noticed a tinge of sorrow within the man's voice. Ellie met Malcolm's gaze and could see nothing by sadness and loss within the man's clear blue eyes. She nodded slowly in understanding before taking a deep breath and turning back towards her patient.
"Whoever they were… They might might just have the necessary things to help this ape here…" Ellie said slowly as she took whatever she needed out of the bag. "Malcolm, I know you just came back but can you-"
"Already doing it," Malcolm interrupted Ellie as he quickly took the half empty bottle of rubbing alcohol and doused his hands and arms in it. "Just tell me what to do."
...
A little while after, once they had reunited with each other, Caesar and the others had decided to go on back and check in on the humans and how everything else was going. While they were all making their trek back, Maurice and Luca slowly approached and greeted them.
"Maurice. Luca!" Ash hooted excitedly.
"Ash, everyone else! Welcome home," Maurice greeted in kind.
Luca meanwhile grunted in acknowledgment with a nod, glad to see that everyone was okay too.
"How is Grey?" Caesar asked.
"The humans said that he is doing well from my understanding. For now, he needs rest to conserve his energy," Maurice explained.
"Father, what happened?" Blue Eyes inquired curiously.
"Many things, son," Caesar answered back with a tired voice.
There was a alarming hoot as Ash suddenly fell backwards and quickly scrambled back up, hiding behind Rocket, confusing the older chimp.
"Ash what's-"
"Koba!" Ash whimpered aloud.
Blue Eyes followed his honorary brother's gaze and froze. There, standing true was the honorary uncle he had thought he had lost, staring back with that familiar scar over his face. Blue Eyes huffed to himself, noticing that Koba looked very different, yet looked the same as well, giving him a sense of surreal reality.
"Koba?" Blue Eyes spoke up as he took a step forward towards the scarred bonobo.
With a blink, Koba turned to looked at Blue Eyes and for a moment simply stared. The older ape then offered the young chimp a smile.
"Blue Eyes," Koba gestured back.
There were several whimpering noises that were emitted from Ash as he looked back and forth from Koba to the others around them.
"Koba alive? How? Why?" Ash gestured to the others, before turning to look at the older ape again. "Why is he alive?"
Upon seeing the distress upon Ash, Koba frowned at himself. Knowing well, that the mere sight of him would case the younger ape to be in distressed. He however needed to make amends with Ash and hoped that maybe the younger ape would forgive him. For what he did.
"Ash I-"
"Don't!" Rocket barked, cutting Koba off mid sentence. "You do not get to speak to my son," Rocket finished.
With this sudden outburst, Koba met Rocket's angry green eyes before he slowly took in a deep breath and backed away, nodding slowly.
"I'm… I am. Sorry," Koba apologized genuinely, meeting Ash's fearful gaze before looking away.
"Come now, everyone. Let us all rest for the moment. There will be many things to do and we must conserve our strengths until then," Maurice interjected.
"Maurice is right," Caesar spoke up. "There is too much that needs to be done right now. We need to rest and secure the area. There will be human soldiers that have followed us through the forest. We need to keep them distracted and away from the apes," he explained. "Rocket, are you well my friend?" he asked.
"What do you need me to do Caesar?" Rocket gestured back.
"I need you, Luca to secure the area. Let Andy and a few others know to scout around us for any dangers. The rest of us will stay back here and tend to the wounded and traitors," Caesar gestured.
With a single chest pound from both Rocket and Luca, the two apes bolted off to do as what Caesar had asked of them. Caesar had then ordered Ash and Blue Eyes to go with both Cornelia and Maurice to tend to the apes while he himself will deal with the turncoat apes. To his surprise, instead of arguing like he had expected, Caesar was quite surprise to Blue Eyes nodding and doing what he was told. He watched as the for took their leave and he couldn't help but smile proudly. He was quite surprised by how much Blue Eyes had changed in the nearly three months since they had left but welcomed it so.
"Caesar?"
Turning around slowly, Caesar met Koba's hesitant gaze.
"What about me Caesar?" Koba asked.
"Are you well?" Caesar simply asked.
Koba blinked at this question, not sure on how to answer his leader. He had to think on it for a moment before meeting Caesar's gaze again.
"Yes. I am well. I… I won't do anything to-"
"Then you stay by Grey's side. He will need your strength," Caesar spoke up before turning back around and walked away.
Koba was at a lost of words of what to say as he stood there all alone. He huffed quietly to himself as he looked down to the side. Caesar however had given him an order and did not reject him, like he thought the ape leader would. Maybe… maybe this was Caesar's way of trusting him again. If that is the case then he would do as what Caesar had told him. He will earn the ape leader, his friend's trust again. No matter what it took.
With that thought in mind, Koba too turned around and walked off in the direction of where Grey and the humans were.