Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait but I was able to finish this section of the next chapter! Again, thank you all for taking the time to read and especially a special Thank You to all who had left a comment and or review of any sort during my fic. The next chapter will be an epilogue of sort for the end of my Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Revelations run. Then it'll be a few chapters of what happens in between that before we finally get to War of the Planet of the Apes. Happy readings everyone!

Making his way through the foliage of the dark forest, Malcolm finally emerged out into the open by the roadside. Wiping away at his brow, he could see the small campfires that littered the beach down below and while turning to look behind him, was the dark forest that had kept him and the apes safe for the past few days. He knew that what he was doing was a stupid idea. Suicidal even, coming all the way out here alone. But, if there was a chance to stop all this and prevent any further loss from both sides. Then he was more than happy to risk it, no matter the cost.

He was going to reason with the person in charge of the human army.

"I'm sorry Alex. Ellie. Please forgive me," Malcolm said quietly before moving on down to where the humans were.

"Hey! Stop right where you are!" One of the soldiers on the sandy beach yelled.

"Don't shoot! I'm human!" Malcolm announced, raising his hands to show that he was friendly.

Upon seeing Malcolm slowly approaching with his hands raised in wearing a white shirt, they lowered their weapons slightly

"You one of the San Frans?" Another soldier asked.

"A what? Oh! Yes! Yes I am! Please don't shoot," Malcolm responded.

The soldiers lowered their guns and finally approached him, looking him over once before glancing behind him.

"Where'd you come from."

"I need to speak to whoever is in charge," Malcolm answered the soldier.

The few soldiers glanced at each other curiously before they eyed Malcolm once more.

"What for, San Fran?"

"I…" Malcolm spoke up but cleared his throat. "I have information about the apes," he finished.

Before long, Malcolm found himself standing on the outskirts of the sandy beach, their light source being that of a few set up light posts, bonfires and the blue white moon itself. The soldiers had made him stand there for who knows how long and he was just starting to get relaxed when a few approaching figures were approaching him. Licking his dry lips and straightening himself up, Malcolm took a deep breath and awaited for whoever it was to meet him.

When the other person finally arrived, Malcolm couldn't help himself as he stood in front of someone who held authority over everyone else. The other man, was decked out in camo gear and was wearing a simple brown vest to his person. What was striking to Malcolm though, was the man's piercing icy colored eyes that met his own clear sky colored ones as he removed his sunglasses.

"My soldiers says that you know these… Animals."

"Caesar and his people. They're not animals," Malcolm corrected.

The man quirked a brow.

"Caesar? So that is his name. These things are naming themselves now. And after historical figures too, no less," the man continued as he looked around at his soldiers whom all had an array of emotion upon their faces, mainly the look of disgust and stoic frowns.

Hearing this, Malcolm couldn't help himself but set his mouth into a thin line as he met the other man's eyes.

"I am Colonel McCullough."

"Malcolm."

"And what can you tell us about these… Apes?"

"That they want nothing more than peace."

There was a silence and the colonel's eyes seemed to have narrowed slightly but did nothing else. After a brief quiet, Malcolm took that as a sign to continue.

"The apes. They're more than just animals like you and other people think. Caesar. He's their leader. A great one at that. He's just... Remarkable. If we work together from now on. We could establish peace and-"

"Peace."

Malcolm stopped when he was suddenly interrupted by the colonel himself.

"Peace," McCullough started as he looked away, letting his head turn upwards towards the dark night sky. "Peace was what you and your people tried to establish correct?"

At this question, Malcolm tilted his head curiously.

"How did that work out?" The man asked, turning back to look at Malcolm.

"What do you mean?"

"You say that they want peace. Okay. Peace was made. However, after they found out that there were still people left within San Francisco. What happened then? From what I heard. This peace, was suppose to allow both humans and apes to live in harmony, correct? Yet here we stand, war torn and strewn apart. Cast out into the world with nothing but blood, fire and fury to rake over the lands from whence we came. All because of peace," the colonel continued.

"W-wait you can't just assume." Malcolm stuttered. "Something happened. A-"

"A misunderstanding? Something went wrong? Someone got hurt?... Or someone didn't want this peace in the first place." The colonel cut Malcolm off.

Upon hearing this, Malcolm held his tongue, keeping his eyes upon the man that stood before him.

"You see, peace will never last between our two species. When one species rise above the other, both will eventually come into dispute. With that, conflict and strife will always occur, no matter what peace was established. And eventually, war as well."

Suddenly the colonel reach down at his side arm and pulled it out, pointing the end of the barrel right at Malcolm's head, causing him to take a step backward with his hands slightly raised.

"You say you want to establish peace. But I think you're crazy Mr. Malcolm. Peace could never be attained between our two species. This is a holy war between man and beasts. It is the law of nature that allows the strongest species to thrive within it," McCullough stated. "Your compassion to these animals…"

"What are you going to do?" Malcolm asked as a single tear fell from his eyes.

"I am saving the human race," the colonel responded.

"By killing me? What does that say about your humanity then?"

"There are times when we must abandon our humanity to save humanity. In this case, I will abandoned mine to end yours. Yours, that which you have forsaken. Yours, that which will cause the end of humankind. To which, I will save-"

"You're wrong!" Malcolm said aloud suddenly, cutting the other man off. "What you said. What you believe in. Your way of thinking. All of it. It's Wrong. We can coexist in peace. This view.. This God complex of yours. Saying that humans and apes can't coexist in peace. Is a bunch of bull! You're right, it is the law of nature that allows the strongest species to survive. However, that need not be one species, but can be both! Humans… Humans needs to open their eyes and see that we are not the only ones that need to stay at the top. We are not the only animal species on this planet! Not separate and definitely not superior, nor will we ever be. We hold the responsibility of the natural order of this world. To show compassion, to all things that call this planet our home. The apes… They don't want war at all. They want nothing but peace. To stop this senseless fighting. If we don't start changing now, then we humans should be doomed as a species."

Upon hearing Malcolm's outburst the other soldiers and Colonel McCullough were silent for a long time, quietly regarding the man who practically just defended the apes.

"There was this scientist woman, up in Portland Oregon that we visited a few days ago. She was a lot like you, you know? Optimistic about these creatures," the colonel suddenly started up. "However, instead of using her time to find a way to eradicate the enemy, she and her colleagues kept those beasts alive. Running their little tests to find some sort of cure for humanity while humanity itself was slipping closer and closer towards extinction."

"What did you do to her?" Malcolm asked.

"I told her that we were the beginning and the end. Then I killed her and burned down that wretched place."

After the quiet silence the colonel raised his weapon once more and aimed it at Malcolm's head and the silent of the night was disturbed by the sound of a single report that rang through the air.

...

For the first few days, Caesar and the other apes were quite surprised that the human soldiers had not come after them into the forest. The scouts had all came back and noted that the humans were keeping themselves by the shoreline, most likely taking the toll of their loss as something heavy as well, and were recuperating for the time being. Taking that as a sign of good luck, Caesar led the apes deeper into the forest, while keeping the scouts on the lookout for any signs of danger.

Eventually the apes had all traversed back to their old home, walking through the burnt wood and shattered things of what they all had built upon. Apparently, Grey knew of a place that could keep the apes safe for a long while. It was very much further into the woods than they were all used to. However, if they wanted to keep their lives for the time being then this new area was their best bet. There were no objections from Caesar and many of the other members of the ape council. Keeping families and the colony safe for now was their single priority and if this was going to help them any way, they were going to take it wherever it came from.

So here they were, back upon the ruins of their old home, after a few days, to gather what they can of any useful things. To finally say goodbye to the single place of freedom, the place they call home, for the past ten winters. It is also here now, that Koba stood atop of what was left of his very own abode. Looking back down, Koba could see nothing but piles of burnt wood and other things that was lost in the fire. Bending down to scrounge with what he could salvage, a soft footstep made themselves known behind him, causing Koba to turn around immediately and brace himself.

To Koba's surprise, his golden-green eye met the leafy greens of Cornelia's who took in a small gasp and stood still, with little Cornelius in her arms. As his body slowly relaxed, Koba quickly turned away from his friend and queen, ashamed that she was seeing him looking like this.

"Koba?"

"You should not be here. Dangerous," Koba grunt gestured.

The queen however, was not one to listen and Koba could practically feel Cornelia edging on closer, right until she was standing right before him. He then felt Cornelia's gentle hand lifting his head up by the chin, so that their eyes met.

"Dangerous of what, Koba?" Cornelia asked curiously.

Koba huffed and his gaze looked past the queen for a moment, seeing the other apes glaring at him before meeting Cornelia's eyes once more.

"Of me," he growled out lowly and indicated by tapping his own chest.

Cornelia glanced behind her, seeing several of the other apes disperse before turning back to Koba, silently looking at him.

"You. Going to. Hurt me. Koba?" Cornelia asked curiously.

At this line of question the scarred bonobo faltered momentarily before Koba lowered his head and shook it. He then felt Cornelia's finger lifting his head up by the chin once more and she looked him over once, her face laced in concern. There she could see that the older male had many bruises that formed on his face. Along with that, it looked like he had wiped away at his nose, leaving a smear of dried blood across his cheek. These were fresh wounds for sure and something that could not be easily hidden from her.

"Koba, did the other apes do this to you?" Cornelia asked as she touched the bigger male's cheek, causing Koba to flinch away from her.

"Is there something you need?" Koba asked instead with an annoyed huff.

Cornelia slowly brought her hand back close to her and held her still sleeping child within her arms. She couldn't help but felt for Koba, seeing how badly he is injured right now. She knew that it was going to be difficult for the apes to accept Koba when he had come back but she had not expected them to outright attack him. There had been several bouts earlier before and both Caesar and Rocket had to step in many a times. But with everyone being so busy and Caesar and the others elsewhere, there was no one to stop the fights or if there were, did the other apes want to? After what Koba had did to them?

"Why. Koba?" Cornelia breathed quietly. "Why do. This?"

Hearing this, Koba couldn't help himself as his hackles rose and his face scrunched up.

"Because the humans deserved it!" Koba gestured angrily with a huff. "It is because of humans that apes are always in danger! Always hurt! If humans were gone then we would all be safe!"

"Would we?" Cornelia signed back slowly, causing Koba to freeze. "Apes not good too. I remember when I was small that the older apes would fight each other. Kill each other even. It was a dangerous time back then, as it is now as well," Cornelia explained as she cradled Cornelius and her features softened.

"That… Is different," Koba replied slowly.

"Even if it was Pope? And the apes that had left Caesar and the others behind? Is that different?" Cornelia asked, stunning Koba in place.

The beaten up bonobo then turned away from the chimpanzee queen, flustered at what she had just told him. Koba then felt Cornelia's gentle hand upon his cheek and she turned his head back to her. She met his gaze and simply offered him a soft smile.

"You saved human. Too," Cornelia said softly, noticing Koba's eyes grow a little bigger.

"N-no," Koba grunted, stepping away from the smaller female.

"Yes," Cornelia whispered back. "You saved the human who had disappeared yesterday, did you not? The one that came to us. Helped me. Helped Caesar. The one who wanted peace. The one who found you and helped you?"

Koba frowned at the queen but Cornelia continued, ignoring his his angry stare.

"You may say that you hate humans. Say that they deserve to be hurt. But deep down. You still care. Do you not?"

Seeing Cornelia's hand signs, Koba angrily turned his gaze elsewhere and shut his eyes tightly as yesterday's events came flooding back into him.

It was the evening when Tinker had came back with the small prince in her arms, reunited with her family and later the apes were slowly settling back down. The apes had gathered as Blue Eyes, Ash, Ray and Rocket told the apes of their journey down south, about what had happened to them. Off to the side, Koba sat alone by some of the fallen logs, watching from afar as the young prince explained to all of the apes about their discovery of more humans. This did not bode well with Koba himself and he couldn't help but growl disgustingly at the mention of more humans. But he watched on, still curious about what had happened to them.

Soon enough it was time for the apes to start nesting again and they all went to their separate sleeping areas. While the other apes avoided him, Koba was just about to turn out as well, but something had caught his peripheral. Even if blinded in one eye, Koba could still make out the faint white object moving away from the apes, disappearing between the trees. Knowing that this could be some kind of threat, Koba turned around to warn the others. He however stopped himself when he realized that neither of the apes would trust him anymore. Given by the fact that most resented him or basically avoided him when he had returned. Maybe Caesar and the others could go with him but then again, they had been avoiding him too and he just wasn't sure on what to do.

Frustrated in his predicament, Koba glanced about and noticed that there were some of the Gorilla Guards and Warriors still awake and keeping a lookout among the troops. Scouring the area, Koba soon laid eyes upon one of the chimpanzee lookouts who was silently dozing off. Silently making his way on over to where the other ape was resting, Koba looked around himself before he gently pried the warrior chimp's weapon out out of his arms. There was a few times, Koba thought that the sleeping ape was going to wake, but luckily the chimp merely readjusted himself and went back to simply resting. Once Koba had attained the gun, he looked it once over before silently sneaking off into the darkness of the forest.

While he followed whatever that thing was, Koba finally knew that the thing was indeed a human who was spying on them and this caused his blood to boil. He pointed the end of his gun at the moving object and was about to pull the trigger but stopped when he noticed the human in the white clothing suddenly disappearing out of sight. Confused, Koba slowly made his way slowly through the dark foliage to see where the human had disappeared to. As he tread carefully forward, Koba's eye widened when he noticed the flickering of fire light dancing through the darkness. Koba hadn't realize that they've gone so far from the apes already as he glanced backwards from where they came from.

Turning his sights back to where the human camp was, Koba could see the human in the white shirt walking towards the soldiers. Frowning, Koba recognized that stupid human. The one that is of Ellie's mate. Why was he going to the humans? Was he planning to betray them? If he was, Koba himself was not going to allow that to happen and he aimed his weapon at the stupid human's back, his finger already slowly pulling on the trigger to fire. As much as he has grown close to Ellie, if her mate was going to put them all in danger, then Koba was not going to make sure that the apes were safe first.

As he aimed his gun at the man's back, Koba bared his fangs as he was about to pull the trigger and then, nothing. For a moment, while Koba was up there in the tree, he merely heaved in on himself, still sitting in that same position with his gun pointed at the man's back. Closing his mouth and taking a big gulp of air, Koba tried again, to fire his gun at the man. But nothing happened. Soon enough, Koba found that his arm was shaking quite badly and he quickly brought his arms back close to his body and leaned into the tree. Closing his eyes, he tried to still his fast beating heart and couldn't understand why he couldn't kill that stupid human. A few months ago he would have had no qualms with killing that human, but now… Why was he hesitating now?

Koba knew naught how long he had stayed like that for as the next thing he remembered was the voices of several humans nearby. Opening back up his eyes, Koba glanced down at the edge of the beach and could see the stupid human standing across from a few of the soldiers. There was one of them in particular who was wearing something on his head and had dark rings on over his eyes. Koba knew those, they were some sort of eye wear that humans use, but those dark ones were rarely seen by him. However, within a matter of moments, he was surprised when the soldier suddenly pointed a gun at the stupid human. Cocking his head to the side, Koba observed carefully as the human with the sunglasses said something aloud slowly.

Grunting in satisfaction, Koba turned around, now knowing that the other human was basically doing his job for him. But as he made to leave, Koba could hear the stupid human yelling behind him, causing him to pause momentarily. Turning back slightly, Koba watched as the man in the white shirt basically yelled at the other humans, saying many things that Koba didn't quite understand himself but could see the genuine desperation within the stupid human's hand movements. Then he heard it loud and clear.

"The apes… They don't want war at all. They want nothing but peace. To stop this senseless fighting. If we don't start changing now, then we humans should be doomed as a species."

Then all was silent.

Koba again was baffled by this stupid human, not quite understanding why he would go to such great lengths to defend them. It just didn't make any sense to him. What did the stupid human get out of defending the apes? It confused him to no end.

With a blink of an eye, Koba then saw the human soldier pointing his pistol straight at the stupid human's head. The human with the sunglasses was fast but Koba was faster. Without thinking about it, Koba aimed his weapon and fired, letting the bullet fly true, as it struck the human in the arm, causing him to grunt and cradle his wounded limb close to his body. Before Koba could react, the tree he was in, suddenly kicked up debris all over him, causing him to duck for cover. Growling in annoyance, he quickly pointed his gun outwards and fired it again before he leaped down at the ground and rolled off to the side, quickly disappearing within the dark thicket.

More gunfire could be heard as Koba hid among bushes of the ground, wildly looking around as shadows appeared all around him. While he looked around himself, Koba could see something glowing white darting through the forest. Growling, Koba chased after it and within a few seconds he pounced upon the stupid human, who yelped in surprise.

"Quiet!" Koba hissed through gritted teeth as he placed his hand over the struggling human's mouth to keep him from blabbering and giving away their position.

Lifting back up his head, Koba could distinctly hear the voices of the human soldiers all around them, all yelling into the night. Breathing heavily, Koba reached back down and grabbed the stupid human by the shirt and yanked hard, ripping the fabric off of the man.

"Hey what're you-"

Koba gave the dumb human a warning bark to shut him up before he balled up the torn white clothing and lobbed it off into the distance.

"Be quiet and follow," Koba ordered in a hushed tone as he slunk off deeper into the dark thicket, the man sluggishly following.

As soon as they were far away from the beach as possible and within the safe boundaries of the inner Muir Woods, Koba turned around and roughly shoved Malcolm into a tree.

"What was stupid human doing!" Koba demanded.

Grunting and recovering from that rough shove, Malcolm rubbed his shoulder as he tried to get back up but was pushed back down again. Sighing, Malcolm held onto his arm and slowly lifted his head so that he was looking right at Koba. From his vantage point, Malcolm could see Koba's face, outlined just by the slight luminescence from the moon.

"I was trying to help Caesar and the apes stop this war," Malcolm whispered back.

"You think those humans will listen?" Koba asked as he pointed back in the direction from where they came from. "Humans kill apes. Humans kill humans. What makes you think. That they will listen to you?"

"Because we have the capability to change," Malcolm answered.

"Humans can not, change," Koba growled back.

"Yes. They can. Much like you," Malcolm replied, seeing Koba physically take a step back from his words. "I agree, some humans can't change, but given time and their environment, they have the capacity to do so. Just like you."

The whites of Koba's teeth could be seen as he opened his mouth several times to retort but whatever he tried to say to the stupid human, nothing came out. Instead he growled and turned away from Malcolm, fuming on the spot.

After a long while the two decided to move through the dark forest again. To get as far away from the beach as possible and return to the safety of the apes.

"Thank you," Malcolm spoke up, causing Koba to stop and turn around to look at him. "For saving my life."

Koba merely narrowed his eyes at Malcolm and grunted in response before turning back around and leading the way once more. Unbeknownst to the scarred bonobo though, was the genuine smile upon Malcolm's lips as he followed.

Eventually the two made it back to the ape camp and was immediately taken in by the patrolling apes. The two were questioned on what they were doing out from the safety of the group, with many of the warriors stating that Koba was causing trouble yet again. However Malcolm was the one to stand up and announce that everything was his fault, causing everything to be silent once more. He then proceeded to explain that he had snuck away from the apes, to hopefully discuss a form of peace with the human soldiers. Ultimately though, that plan had failed as he stated that he thought that maybe he could change the minds of those soldiers.

"But… If it wasn't for Koba who trailed after me. I would not be standing here right now," Malcolm said aloud, turning to look at the scarred bonobo.

There was another wave of chatter and everyone was instantly silenced by Caesar, who raised a hand to quiet them all.

"It is late. We are all still tired from the fighting. We will discuss more tomorrow," he informed.

With that announcement made, everyone slowly dispersed and went to their sleeping quarters. Malcolm went on over to where his family was and Ellie immediately started to patch up the man's arm wound, from where he was shot.

As Koba went back to his secluded spot to turn in for the rest of the night someone had followed him back to his nest. Turning around to face whomever it was, Koba was surprised to see Ellie standing there, tears streaming down her face.

"Ellie? Something wrong-"

Before the bonobo could even finish, the woman threw her arms around the scarred ape and hugged him tightly, surprising him so.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Koba," Ellie's voice could be heard saying over and over again as she wept into the bonobo's shoulder.

Not knowing on how to handle this, nor what to do, Koba instead exhaled tiredly and hugged Ellie in return, softly patting her back.

"You are welcome," Koba responded as he pulled away after a little while.

Upon seeing Ellie's teary joyful face, Koba couldn't help but offer a small smile at the human woman before he return to his usual frown.

"Go. Go to your family," Koba said quietly with a head nod in the direction of where the other two humans were waiting for her. "They need you now."

"Thank you. Thank you again, Koba," Ellie thanked as she walked away.

Watching her go, Koba heaved out a deep sigh and went back to his lonely nest, away from the other apes. Laying himself in, Koba looked up at the treetop and soon enough, his heavy eyelids fell and sleep came for him.

As the memory faded, Koba was silent for a long time as he stood there with Cornelia.

"I owe that human family my life," Koba stated simply as he idly scratched at his forearm. "Nothing else."

Upon hearing Koba, Cornelia couldn't help but smile a little at him. Gingerly, she reached out and touched Koba's shoulder, causing him to slowly turn his head back to her.

"Other apes have already left us. Many of the elders has talked about this and the apes who has no one left... have already chosen to leave," Cornelia explained sadly.

"And what do you think of this?" Koba asked.

"I think that we should not split. That we apes standing together is what makes us strong, but now… Now we are hurt and broken. That is why we are separating and I understand that. As much as I want them to stay, I cannot force them to. It would not be right. Many of our females, whose mates and sons were banished, or had flee for their lives, they will not stay. They have already decided to leave and seek their loved ones," Cornelia explained as she cradled the still sleeping Cornelius closer to her bosom.

Koba however was silent as he watched the queen cradling her son.

"Why you stay. Koba? Why face. Hurt and pain. From other apes?" Cornelia asked as she turned her lime green eyes back up to the bonobo.

Koba blinked back and met Cornelia's gaze. He blinked once and his mind went immediately blank as he tried to come up with an answer for her.

"I-I," Koba stuttered.

But try as he might though, nothing else would come out that would give him any define reason to keep on staying with the apes.

Seeing the bonobo struggle to come up with an answer for her, Cornelia tilted her head when she noticed that Koba's eyes darted off to the side for a moment before they were forced back down to the ground. Curiously, she followed his gaze and noticed that he had spotted Caesar in the distance, directing the other apes on what to do. She was confused at first but then everything clicked into place within her mind. She couldn't help but turn back towards Koba and smiled warmly at him, causing the wounded bonobo to this time look at her in confusion.

"You do not need to say. I understand, Koba," Cornelia said simply as she reached out and gently touched his shoulder.

With that said by the female, Cornelia finally left the bonobo alone, who watched her take her leave while he idly scratched at his chest, just above his beating heart.

…

"So long... Since we have. Been back here," Glade spoke quietly with a big smile as he sat behind Winter and was grooming the white haired gorilla.

"Home. Our home. Gone now," Winter gestured solemnly as he slowly looked about.

The white gorilla stood up and then lumbered on over to where the teaching area was. As he approached Maurice's teaching school, Winter could see the dried blood stains that streaked across the their sacred law.

Ape not kill ape.

Winter then felt someone touching his arm, causing him to break away from the scene and turn to the ape by his side.

"Ajax was a good ape. He died doing his duty. He shall be remembered," Glade signed slowly, his wet soulful eyes upon their old teaching school area.

"Ajax was. Like brother. To me," Winter huffed, a couple of tears escaping his eyes. "I can't believe he's gone now…"

Glade's brows furrowed as he kept his grip upon the younger gorilla's arm, hoping that it would bring the bigger ape some kind of comfort at least. Everything that has happened to them, after the humans had came into their lives. It had all ended up in nothing but death and tragedy. Something Glade himself thought that would never occur within their lifetime. But like the changing seasons and weather, this is something that they had no control over and all they could do is just adapt and change with it.

"Come, Winter," Glade tugged on the albino gorilla's arm.

Silently, Winter followed suit after the smaller ape and was led away from Ajax's final moments when he was alive. Winter didn't want to think about it, but he hoped that at least when Ajax had died, he was brought with some kind of comfort in his last moments.

While the two were walking away from the old teaching area, where Ajax's final resting place was, Glade felt a small nudge to his shoulder, causing him to look up at the timid gorilla.

"Winter?" Glade asked curiously.

"When I was here. With the apes here and with Juno. We… talked. About our differences. I remember you telling me. That sometimes being different… is not weakness. But something good," Winter repeated as he glanced up at the sky through the trees, remembering his talk with the withered arm chimp. "Juno and I talked about it. About what it means and what you meant by it. But then Juno said something funny. He said that he knows why you said it to me," Winter continued and then stopped as they were off to the edge of the colony now, just far enough from the other apes.

The white haired gorilla then turned to face the bonobo walking beside him whom had also stopped as well.

"What did you mean, when you told me this?" Winter asked apprehensively.

The bonobo simply blinked up at Winter a couple of times, seeing the uneasiness upon the gorilla's face. However, a big wide smile slowly enveloped Glade's face and he reached up towards Winter. The smaller ape took a hold of the white haired gorilla's face and pulled it down. Winter was expecting for them to touch foreheads again but was genuinely surprised with his lips were met with Glade's. The bonobo's lips felt velvety soft upon his own leathery ones. Too shocked to move at what had just happened, Winter stared wide eyed as Glade slowly moved back and tenderly brought their foreheads together this time.

"That. Is why," Glade whispered.

Hesitantly, Winter reached up and touched at his lips, still shocked at what had just happened. Glade however gave Winter a small smirk but waited for the gorilla to comprehend on what just happened.

"You… what was that?" Winter gestured slowly, still in shock.

Glade however tilted his head to the side and simply kept a smile upon his face, waiting for the gorilla. Winter sat down with a loud thump and touched at his lips again, drawing his hand back and look at it to see if there was something upon his fingers.

"Why did you do that?" Winter asked curiously.

Glade simply pant-chuckled, confusing Winter even more before the bonobo shyly looked away.

"Because. Glade. Likes you," the bonobo spoke up as he placed a hand over his own chest. "Because Gla-... because I. Am different."

Winter simply met the bonobo's eyes and after being told this, he simply didn't know what to do nor say. However, he did know one thing. Ever since he had met the bonobo, he's felt nothing but warmth and content from the other ape. Glade was nothing but loving and kind to him, the true nature of the bonobo species.

"How. Long?" Winter asked curiously.

The bonobo offered the albino gorilla a congenial smile.

"Long time. Very. Long time," Glade answered.

…

Watching Cornelia take her leave and being left alone once more, Koba carefully bent down and picked up a fur pelt and looked down at it. There was the head shape of a bear, the very same bear he killed to save both Blue Eyes and Caesar during their hunt so many moons ago. The pelt was all but destroyed, leaving only a partial head within the scarred bonobo's hands.

Had it really been that long? He guessed it must have, since with how everything was all but in ruins now.

"Koba?"

At the sound of his name, Koba quickly rounded himself and was surprised to see Caesar standing just a few steps away from him.

"Caesar?"

Caesar slowly made his way on over to where the scarred bonobo was and stood next to him. The both of them were silent, simply looking around at their surroundings, unsure of how to start things.

"Home," Caesar spoke up suddenly, causing Koba to snap his head towards him. "This was our home. A home for all apes. All different in our own ways. All hurt, young and old. Living together. In peace." he continued but the paused. "That is all gone now.

Koba couldn't help himself as he lowered his head in shame at Caesar's words, knowing well that he was partly the cause of it all.

"Because of me-"

"But we must move on," Caesar interrupted the bonobo, causing Koba to glance up at him.

Caesar did not look at Koba, but kept his eyes upon the apes in the distance. Eventually, Caesar closed his eyes and relaxed his body. As Koba watched curiously, he could see how Caesar looked a lot older than he actually was. Bearing the stress of caring not just for his family but for all of the apes as well. The stress taking a toll on the chimpanzee who must have been no more than a couple years younger than he himself. Slowly Caesar opened back up his eyelids and slowly turned to look at Koba, who stiffened slightly, under the ape king's gaze.

"The apes. They hurt you again?"

Koba didn't answer but his gaze lowered and he turned away slowly.

"I'm sorry. My friend," Caesar spoke genuinely. "For hurting you. For not listening to you. For not helping you."

Taking a couple of breaths, Koba looked off down to the side as he took all of this in, unable to describe all these feelings within him. It made him want to yell, to shout, to scream and to cry at the chimpanzee standing before him, for not listening to him. But yet, it also made his respect, his devotion, and his heart grow evermore towards the other ape for being acknowledged.

"Sorry," Koba shuddered out. "I'm sorry. Too. So, sorry," he continued, his nose flaring and eyes becoming wet. "Did not mean. For this to happen. I-I…" Koba stuttered before finally turning his gaze upon Caesar. "I wanted to protect our apes. To protect our family. And to protect yo-"

Koba immediately stopped himself and shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. He held his arms close to his body before he stretched out a supplicating palm towards Caesar and held it there.

"Forgive me."

Caesar looked down at Koba's outstretched palm and slowly, he brought his hand up and closed the bonobo's opened palm with his, surprising the other ape.

"That is not for me to make," Caesar spoke quietly, meeting Koba's gaze. "My fault too."

Koba curiously drew back his hand and couldn't make out what Caesar had meant. What did he mean when he said that, that was not his choice to make? Did Caesar not forgive him? Or did he already forgive him? He wasn't quite sure.

Caesar however, cleared his throat and stood up straight once more.

"I should have listened to you. The humans. They would have come for us eventually. No matter how long we lived in peace. No matter how much we wanted it. Humans and apes… both are unable to live with each other. For now," Caesar gestured.

With a deep breath, Koba dropped the bear pelt within his left hand onto the ground, deciding that maybe a change of subject should suffice for the time being.

"What do we do now?" Koba asked instead. "We have nowhere else to go."

There was a long silence between the both of them and eventually, Caesar turned to regard Koba once more.

"Then we find a new home, Koba. Safe from humans. Time is very hard ahead now but together, we could face it," Caesar answered. "Apes. Together. Strong."

Koba stared long into the chimpanzee's golden-green hues with his own and milky colored ones. But Koba closed his eyes momentarily before opening them back up again.

"Apes. Together. Strong," Koba repeated those words softly.

Caesar then reached out and took a firm hold of Koba's shoulder, with Koba doing the same.

"Koba?" Caesar spoke up after a long silence.

"Yes, Caesar?"

"I must ask you to do something for me."

Koba met Caesar's gaze once more and could seen the sincerity within those eyes. He huffed and nodded.

"What do you ask of me, Caesar?"

…

Days after the events on the bridge the apes had finally settled down again after their long journey through the woods. Many of them settled around in small groups and there was a much larger one around a bigger bonfire. Those apes consisted of the royal family and their closest friends and allies. Off to the side though, stood a lone orangutan, with a dash of yellow hair, observing them all silently.

"Hey, just watching?"

At the sound of the voice, Ray slowly turned his head up to look at Alex who was leaning onto the tree next to him. The orangutan was silent but he nodded to confirm what the young human male was thinking aloud.

"Where did you go? I didn't see you after we separated when we got back."

"Keeping apes. Safe."

"Oh… had to do your job huh?"

"Apes. still not safe. With human soldiers. Nearby,"

"I get what you mean," Alexander sighed as he leaned his back onto the tree with Ray standing right next to him.

The two of them were like that for a few heartbeats before Alex tapped Ray on the shoulder.

"Why don't you join'em?" Alexander finally asked.

"Not. Belong," Ray spoke up after a few quiet moments, causing the human teen to curiously glance down at the orangutan.

"What do you mean. Not belong?" Alexander questioned more hesitantly this time.

"Ray. Not belong here," Ray spoke quietly. "Apes. in peace. Now. But. Apes. Will fight. When time comes," Ray continued to explained a sense of sorrow emanating from his voice. "That. Not for Ray. Caesar's path. Blue Eyes' path. Rocket's path. Not Rays."

Alexander stared at the younger orangutan for a long while before it dawned on him on what the little ape was referring to.

"You're leaving... Aren't you?"

The younger orangutan fully face Alexander, offering the human teen a gentle warm smile in the process.

"But… You'll be alone. Out there in the world. It'll be dangerous for you."

"Not alone," Ray spoke quietly.

Ray then looked behind them, with Alexander following the orangutan's gaze. There they could see a few other apes emerging from the darkness as well. Alexander didn't recognize a couple of the apes there. He noted that one of them had a fully white ear, the other had some darker shades to his body and finally, he recognized the much bigger one - Fox eyeing him but turned to look at Ray and nodded.

"Our families are ready to go. Ready to find us a new home, far away from here," Fox gestured with the moon's light.

"W-with them?" Alex asked, slowly turning back to look down at Ray.

"Many apes. Not want fight anymore," Ray spoke up. "Apes… Seek peace. Far away. Over mountains. Beyond forest. Find new homes. For us," Ray said slowly as he gestured towards the distance.

Alexander looked at the other apes and could see the loss and fear within their eyes, but in the moonlight he could make out something akin to hope as well. When he turned to meet Ray's dark green eyes, the teen could definitely see the determination and hopefulness within the younger apes gaze. Alex lowered his head and couldn't help himself as he balled up his fists and shook slightly.

"If… this is what you are striving for. Then I'm not going to stop you, or the other apes. You guys… Like my dad said. You all deserve a chance and I wish you all good luck," Alexander spoke quietly.

The teen then bent down and hugged the smaller ape tightly, feeling his own heart beat within his chest.

"I'm going to miss you, Ray. Be safe okay?" Alexander whispered as he hugged the smaller ape tightly

"Will remember you. Alex. Always." Ray said softly as he slowly pulled away.

The two stood there for a long time and after a little while, Ray and the others turned from the fire, from their friends and family and everything they had ever known, and went to find their peaceful new home.

Alexander watched as Ray, Fox and the other apes that had came to join them, slowly disappeared into the forest, knowing well that they will never ever return. As soon as the last ape disappeared into the darkness, Alex finally let his tears fall from his eyes. He had only known Ray for a little while but he felt as if he had just lost a little brother of sorts, knowing that they both had many things in common. But he understood why Ray and the others would leave as well. This was a war that they were all in and it was either fight or flight and for now, Ray and the others had decided to find peace elsewhere, wherever that may be. Alex just hoped that wherever Ray was going, that it will bring him joy. Something that would not end in pain and loss for him, like it was here.

Eventually, after accepting that they have now officially parted ways, Alexander got back up and made the silent trek back to his tent. The tent where his mother and father was. Once he was there he was embraced by his two parents and they had asked if he was alright. He however simply smiled, informing them that he was simply tired and needed rest. The two grown ups had looked at one another but stepped aside and allowed the teen to enter his own tent. Slipping into his sleeping bag, Alexander laid there for a long while, just simply listening to what was going on right outside of his tent. He could hear the apes murmuring and the crackle and pops of their bonfires. Finally as sleep came for him, Alexander finally closed his eyes and smiled sadly to himself.

"Goodbye."