And we are finally here with War. Please enjoy!

The redwood forest had survived the end of the world. Human civilization may have collapsed, but the woods endured through it all, unchanged by the plagues, riots and upheavals that had brought humanity to the brink of extinction. Towering trees, rising as much as three hundred feet, high above the cool forest floor. Which seemed to mock mankind's precipitous fall, while the primeval scenery was just as it must have been, many years ago. Before everything went downhill for mankind.

Sunlight filtered through the dense green canopy overhead, which was filled with birdsong along with the ceaseless chattering of squirrels. A brisk winter wind rustled the leaves, branches and ferns of the forest. The whole forest itself, clouded in a damp misty haze that chilled the air.

Soft footsteps moved along through the woods, quiet with every single step. Crunching the leaves and twigs under leather boots, ever so softly. The boots belonged to one of two individuals whom were roaming the forest floor. The first man, with pale blue eyes, tall and slightly lanky, was dressed in attire befitting a soldier, decked in camo fatigues. A white band around his left arm with a red cross on it presented to all that he is a medical personnel, a pacifist, a healer, who was there to assist and remedy all wounds. The man goes by the name of Nicholas or simply Nick to close friends.

Coming to a slow stop, Nicholas heaved out a tired breath as he wiped at his brows and surveyed his surroundings. Even though the forest air was cold around him, he still sweated due to the large backpack that he carried, full of whatever limited first aid was provided to him. Wiping at the moisture that had accumulated on his nose, Nicholas turned halfway to see that his traveling companion was just a few steps behind, looking about curiously.

"Max?" Nick called out to the other soldier.

Maxwell, or simply known as Max, is a man who is of mixed heritage. Slightly shorter than Nicholas but no doubt much better built for fighting. He adorned himself in spiked black buzz-cut hair to accent his squarish jawline. Eyes, the colors of dark Mahogany that were hardened by the long harsh years of living throughout the flu epidemic, aimed themselves at Nicholas at the sound of his name.

"Something wrong?" Nicholas spoke out quietly.

The other man simply shook his head and let his dark eyes wander up towards the canopy, his hands held onto his M16 rifle loosely.

"Nah. Just never seen trees this big," Max responded.

Nick couldn't help but smile at the simple response. Of course his companion Maxwell wouldn't know of redwood trees this large. Max had originated from Fresno California and it was only plains and buildings there if they could remember. It makes Nick wonder though, how rough it must have been for Max to have travelled from there to where they are now. Following Maxwell's gaze, Nick simply stared up at the towering Redwoods. Considered the largest trees of North America by many and probably still is to this day, untouched by man. Now though it was the home of-

The two were suddenly startled by the sounds of explosions and gunfire that had erupted in the distance. Both Nicholas and Maxwell suddenly took cover behind a giant redwood and remained there, listening intently to the sounds that echoed afar.

Holding onto his rifle tightly, Max frowned as he eased himself behind the redwood tree. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned his head to see Nick looking at him and shaking his head slowly whilst keeping a finger to his mouth.

"They're far," Nick spoke quietly as the sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the forest.

"It's exactly as they said," Max huffed out, turning his attention back to the source of the noise. "They are fighting… aren't they?"

Nick took a deep breath and let his gaze wander up to the source of the noise as well.

"Yeah… yeah they are."

…

Faster, the ape urged his horse while he rode away from the fighting, leaving his brothers behind to seek help, Faster!

The mare's hooves dug into the forest floor, tearing up clods of dirt as she raced through the woods, escaping from the screams, gunshots and explosions from behind them. She wove expertly between the trees and had leapt over logs and brambles in her stride.

Riding bareback, Spear spurred his steed on, urging her to quicken her pace. As soon as he was far enough, Spear had let out screeches at the top of his lungs, desperate to sound a warning to anyone who could hear him. He could not believe how quickly the human soldiers had come upon them. One minute he had been standing guard with Bark and Thimble, not truly anticipating any danger; the next, his longtime friends were dead, the wall that they had built, breached, and all was blood, flames, smoke and death.

The tribe needed to be warned. Caesar need to be warned of the human soldiers that were coming.

Spear ducked slightly as more gunshots echoed through the forest behind him. He hoped that his fellow apes had rallied and were returning fire at least. To his fear, it seems that the noise of the battle was following him instead of receding as he continued to gallop away from the fighting; this could only mean that a retreat was underway, with any surviving apes shooting back at the human soldier's relentless onslaught as they attempted to escape.

Spear wanted to desperately thing so.

His frantic screeches continued, warring with the pounding of the horse's hooves. Spear was starting to fear that none of his companions would hear him in time. Just as he was starting to lose his hope, his desperate cries were answered by a rising chorus of simian calls and hoots coming from up ahead and growing louder by the moment.

Relieved by the cries of his brothers. Hope flared up within Spear's chest. Quickly bringing his horse to a halt by pulling back on the reins, Spear peered through the trees that were just up ahead. Then his spirits soared on high as, heralded by the thundering sounds of hooves galloping over the earthen floor, an entire company of mounted ape soldiers came riding out towards him, all armed for combat. The charging cavalry was composed of every species of great apes, all united to defend their endangered colony from the human soldiers. Spear was impressed at how quickly his cries for help was answered by the cavalry of charging apes. All of the apes were trained well by Caesar himself.

And with good reason.

Spear grinned at the reinforcements. The black hairs bristled along his back and shoulders in an aggressive display, making him appear even bigger and more intimidating than he actually was. Baring his canines, Spear joined in the roaring chorus of his ape brothers as he raised his weapon high and pointed it towards those that he had left behind to face the guns and malice of their enemies. Together he turned his horse back the way she had came and rode alongside with his brothers, all heading back towards the trench, as one.

Apes together strong.

The humans had begun this attack first, but the apes would end it.

…

Red and the other donkeys, of the human soldier army had fallen back to keep out of the line of fire between the two forces. He watched as both sides fell to each others weapons, shot down and riddled in giant spears and arrows flying every which way. Bodies, both human and simian, littered the forest floor, while the moans and whimpers of the wounded were hard to tell apart from one another. To Red, this was nothing new to him and was all the same.

"Reload!"

Upon hearing the call of the soldier known as Preacher, Red jerked and quickly hurried towards the human on all fours, bearing his heavy pack of gear. The human had quickly retrieved whatever he had needed from the rucksack and nodded at Red. Red however had looked past the young human with the bowgun, towards the front lines of battle, where the retreating apes were being cut down by the soldiers' guns and arrows. Gorillas just like Red himself, were dead and dying upon the hillside, bleeding out onto the greenery around them. He watched the slaughter with cold acid green colored eyes and a stony expression.

Unbeknownst to Red, Preacher was staring at him quizzically before loading the fresh quiver that he had retrieved and taking a step out from behind the fallen trunk they were hiding behind, was ready to join back into the fray. Seeing the human moving forward, Red tagged along with him, but only got a few step in before a startling sight drew their gazes upward.

Two, then three trails of spiraling white smoke hissed through the air high above their heads. The vaporous streamers had then smacked into the earthen ground, rolling towards Red, Preacher and the rest of their comrades. The streamers continued to spew thick, billowing fumes everywhere, mixing in with the foggy haze of the forest. Both Red and Preacher balked in confusion at the sudden smoke that had clouded their vision.

Then he heard it: the thunderous pounding of hooves approaching.

Many, many hooves.

And this only spelled more trouble for Red.

…

The cavalry thundered down the slope of the forest, charging from within the woods, above the breached fort. The riders with slings hurled more volleys of smoke bombs over the heads of the retreating apes, causing a second wave of fuming missiles to smack down among the human soldiers. At the forefront of the cavalry, Spear relished the soldiers' obvious surprise and disarray. It was not enough to make up for all the death and carnage the human soldiers had brought to the forest, but it was a good start nonetheless. The faces of his murdered friends were still fresh within his memory and Spear's hackles bristled in rage.

The riders met the wave of fleeing apes, all were in woeful shape. At this, Spear was shocked and angered by how severely the survivors' ranks had been thinned in such a short amount of time. Upon seeing the extent of their injuries, Spear knew that many of the surviving apes will bear the scars and wounds of the human soldiers' sneak attack for the rest of their day. No longer wanting to bear witness to the atrocities that the human soldiers did upon his ape brothers, Spear had let out a war cry that broke through the clamor. The retreating apes, upon hearing Spear and realizing that help had come from them were all filled with great morale once more. Turning back around they all bared their fangs as they echoed Spear's cry with their own and fired back at the human soldiers, along with spears and arrows that soared through the air as well.

After the terrible battle, Spear had leaped onto one of the fallen logs and was surprised to have found one of the human soldiers still alive. The human, had his hands slightly raised as his eyes darted about frantically before they landed on Spear. Spear himself was not happy to see the human still wiggling with life and raised his weapon threateningly.

"No, no!"

Ignoring the human's desperate cries, Spear reached down and yanked the human up onto his own two feet. Glaring at the human, Spear was disgusted to see the human soldier looking so desperate before him. If it were up to him, he would have ended the human's life, like the others. Oh how much he wanted to run his signature weapon through the soldier. To show the human how much his kind had hurt his very own. But no matter what Spear felt now, he knew that if he killed this human, it would not bring the dead back, nothing will. Also, it was not his choice to make. For it is Caesar's. Huffing once through his nose, Spear's grip tightened around the human's clothing and he shoved the soldier forward.

…

Arriving at the scene, Caesar himself could see the grisly aftermath of the battle that had ensued. Apes were already scavenging for weapons that they could use, stripping them from the bodies of the dead human soldiers. A very distasteful task within Caesar's mind, but a necessary one in order for them to arm and defend themselves.

Along with Caesar, stood Maurice, Luca and Winter as well, the latter with a look of horror set upon his features. The younger albino gorilla stood out amidst the scenery of green, brown, black and red that littered the forest area. The others noticed that Winter was looking upon the bloody wreckage with obvious distress with him bent low and assuming a defensive posture.

Caesar wished that he could have spared Winter this horrific spectacle, but the times would not allow such mercies to an ape like him. Very promising in his youth, Winter is a gorilla that is quick of mind and strong of limb, who Luca thought highly of. However, Caesar knew that Winter could not defend their apes, let alone help to lead the colony in the future, if he was shielded from the harsh realities of the world as it was. He needed to know what the humans were capable of at their worst, to appreciate the danger that the apes had faced ever since they had first risen from captivity, before Winter himself was ever born.

It was a cruel lesson for the timid gorilla, Caesar thought, but a vital one for survival.

Even though, given Winter's hesitance it did not miss Caesar and the other apes that the white haired gorilla had been slowly improving. This was probably due to the working of an individual ape whom Winter have been fond of. With that in mind, there might be hope to Winter yet, and maybe he could be able to defend their apes in the future.

Hearing some low several sounds emitted from Maurice's throat sac, Caesar turned to give the older orangutan his attention. There was a sorrowful look within Maurice's beady green eyes as he observed the scene before him. Turning to meet Caesar's gaze, Maurice gestured to their leader before he slowly lumbered away from their group. Just a few seconds later Luca had turned his sights upon another gorilla, a few feet away from them and let out a grunting bark. The other gorilla, known as Rex, turned his eyes away from the aftermath and met Luca's. Luca had then ordered Rex and the rest of the apes that had came with them to assist the wounded, as well as the scavenging. Nodding with several grunts, Rex and the other apes behind him all spread about as Luca had wanted them to.

Once the orders were given, Caesar had turned away from the looting and slowly made his way toward the exposed trench, followed by both Luca and Winter. As he approached the trench Caesar was met with the grim sight of his ape brothers, many of them who were covering their wounds or crying in pain. Passing them by, Caesar could see every single one of their faces, burning their mournful eyes into his memories and all reaching out to him. He had wish that he could do something, anything to alleviate the pain that this war was causing his apes. As he reached out to stroke their palms, it pained Caesar every single time and with it, lit a burning fire within his heart evermore. However he had to put on a hard, stoic expression, showing no sign of fear or weakness for the apes, for he is their leader after all.

Descending deeper into the trench Caesar found himself facing another unpleasant reality. A handful of human prisoners were there, awaiting his judgement. The human soldiers were down on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. Lowered helmets that the humans wore, concealed their faces as they stared bleakly at the floor of the trench. Among the humans stood guard a stalwart chimpanzee named Spear whom had turned around when he had noticed Caesar and the others approaching.

Upon seeing Caesar, Spear reached out his left arm in supplication, to which Caesar respectfully met before turning his hard expression upon the human soldiers. His unforgiving gaze swept slowly over the prisoner, meeting and taking in each and every one of their faces with a hard expression. As his gaze kept on going his own golden-green eyes fell upon an individual who was, not human, among with the human soldiers. The red haired gorilla, whom Caesar knew very well, defiantly kept his face turned away whilst his gaze lingered there. It saddened him greatly that Red, a once proud and great ape from their tribe, would have turned on his own. Being reminded of this treachery, brought on a great deal of anger from within Caesar himself and his gaze hardened upon the rust haired gorilla.

As Caesar kept his eyes upon the traitor ape, noises from behind alerted him of someone's approach. Slow, waddling footsteps announced the arrival of Maurice whom turned to look at Caesar, waiting for some kind of news.

"Sixty-three dead," Maurice gestured slowly.

Upon hearing this news, Caesar couldn't help but close his eyes, as he turned the other way. Sixty-three. Sixty-three apes who were fathers, brothers, and lovers to be, gone forever. Their lives taken much too early within this war. This is news that Caesar always had to bear every time there was an encounter among the human soldiers and apes themselves.

"You're him."

Caesar's eyes opened up, his gaze turning to glare at the human soldier who had spoken.

"You're Caesar," the young Latino human soldier continued. "We've been searching for you for so long. We heard you had a hidden command base, but we could never find it. Some of us were starting to think you might be dead, but Colonel McCullough said that you were out here somewhere-"

"Just kill us already!" One of the other soldiers blurted out, causing Caesar and the others to turn their attention to him.

"Shut up, man!" spoke another in a hushed tone.

"What? They're animals," the man hissed out in disgust. "He's gonna slaughter us," the soldier finished as he glared up at Caesar.

Caesar, not one bit amused by this, stepped slowly toward the glaring human soldier and met the stare with his own. The instant Caesar's eyes met the man, the slowly hesitantly turned his gaze away and shrank back a little, whilst he stood there still, looming above the soldier.

"I… did not start this war."

Upon hearing Caesar's gravelly deep voice the soldiers all had their attention on him.

"The ape who did… is dead. His name is Pope. I killed him. The other… is no longer here."

Caesar stared at each and every one of the human soldiers so that they could let what he had said, sink into their minds.

"Now I fight only... to protect apes," Caesar continued, his voice taking on an even harder edge as he turned back to the soldier that had spoken out.

"Oh yeah? What about him?" the soldier shot back by jutting his chin on over to where the captured gorilla was. "We've got ten more just like him."

Exhaling deeply through his nose, Caesar turned his gaze on over to where Red was, who still kept his head turned away during all of this.

"I know these apes. They followed Pope's ideals. They tried to kill me… They fear what I will do to them. So now, they serve you. Just to survive," Caesar continued, turning back to face the man.

"I don't fear you!"

At the sound of the new voice, everyone turned their attention to where the bound rusted colored gorilla was as he slowly and defiantly turned his head upwards to meet Caesars.

"You must fear," Red continued as he met his former leader's gaze. "How long. You think woods. Can protect you? Humans destroy kerna has all power. For them, he more than just human," Red spoke up, breaking Caesar's gaze to direct it at his former brothers before turning back. "He everything. He say: first Caesar die… then all of you die."

Upon hearing Red's last statement the apes around them all started to hoot frantically.

Hearing enough from Red, Spear stepped up to the rusted haired gorilla and struck him down. The furious chimp was going to continue to beat Red down for talking so disrespectfully in front of Caesar but a hand upon his shoulder had stopped him. Turning to look up, Spear could see his king looking down at him.

"Take him out," Caesar ordered.

Luca stepped up and then turned towards Winter who was still looking on with fear.

"Winter, take this traitor outside," Luca signed to the white haired gorilla.

Despite his obvious qualms, Winter pulled himself together and stepped forward to take custody of the turncoat. Reaching out, Winter took a hold of Red and sternly lead him away from the others.

Watching Winter take Red away from the group, Luca turned back towards Caesar.

"What should we do with the humans?" Luca then asked.

Caesar then slowly regarded the humans once more, meeting them with his stern gaze.

A little while later, hands tightly cinched the knot tight, binding the prisoners' hands to the reigns of the horses that had been chosen to carry the humans back to wherever they had come from. Caesar himself watched the handiwork himself as he slowly looked up and met the human soldier, known as "Preacher's," gaze of confusion.

"You're letting us go?"

"Tell your Colonel you have seen me now… and I have a message for him. Leave us the woods and the killing can stop."

His declaration drew mixed expressions from the human soldiers. Before more could be said though, Caesar had nodded towards Spear, who gave the horses' hindquarters a swat, sending them on their way, taking the humans with them.

"Do you think they will give him the message?" Maurice asked as he watched the horse taking the humans away before facing Caesar.

"They are the message, Maurice," Caesar replied, opting to speak instead. "He will see that we are not savages."

At this Maurice hummed and nodded his head.

As the humans and horses finally disappeared from view, a sudden commotion coming from the trenches caused Caesar and Maurice to both turn around. Then Winter came staggering out onto the trench, clutching his head. Blood streamed from a vicious gash on his brow, staining his snow-white pelt in red.

"The traitor attacked me! He got away!" Winter gestured with one hand frantically.

Disturbed by the news, Caesar said nothing before he closed his eyes and heaved out a tired breath. Red had escaped but at least the renegade gorilla and his fellow turncoats did not know where to find them.

"Help the rest of the wounded. Then we leave," Caesar simply ordered.

Original Characters within this chapter:

Nicholas / Nick - A human soldier medic.

Maxwell / Max - A soldier that is partnered with Nick.

These two guys are going to be slightly important later on but as of right now, they're just being introduced. Also, these two are named after actors that played a certain ape as well. ;D

(EDIT: I forgot to add the two apes that Spear mentioned.)

Bark - Spear's longtime friend. Now deceased.

Thimble - Spear's longtime friend. Now deceased.

But that's that! The beginning of War for my fic, finally. I hope you all enjoy what I have in store for you readers. In the meantime, Happy Reading!