The snow crunched beneath the hooves of the horses as the party made their way through the wintry woods, leaving the desolate ski lodge behind. Maurice had been occupying himself with taking point of the area before them, looking for any signs that would lead them to the Colonel, with Bad Ape leading them by pointing out landmarks and directions. Sitting behind him was of course the little human girl, who buried herself into his long shaggy orange fur, for warmth and comfort. As they rode on, eventually they came through a trail within the woods and Maurice had decided to ride up with Caesar. He then felt movement behind him and Maurice turned to see what was the matter and saw that the girl was looking up at the ape leader, who was drinking from a makeshift container, fashioned out of a gourd.
Noticing that the girl was staring at him, Caesar had turned to curiously look at her too. Ever the teacher, Maurice saw an opportunity to teach the child their form of sign language. Grunting softly to get her attention, Maurice pointed at Caesar, then made the appropriate sign by sliding a finger along and down his neck:
Thirsty.
He then repeated the gesture so that he could be seen clearly by the little human girl.
Thirsty.
The child stared at him blankly, but Maurice did not give up. Experience had taught him that some children needed more time than others or instructions when learning new things. Again he demonstrated how to sign the the word to the child, while noticing that Caesar was looking on with slight interest. The apes' brooding leader appeared intrigued despite his recent sorrows. The apes' leader's expression softened somewhat, for perhaps the first time since the tragedy back at the fortress.
Concerned about Caesar's state of mind, Maurice chose to take this as a good omen, even as he worried about the girl's seeming inability to communicate. Granted, he had never tried to teach a human the ape's version of sign language before, but, coupled with her apparent muteness, he had to wonder if there was something truly wrong with her...
"What he doing?" Bad Ape asked in a hushed voice as he watched the shaggy ape making gestures to the little girl.
"Teaching," Koba spoke up from off to the side, causing Bad Ape to look in his direction. "Teaching her how to sign…"
"Teach," Bad Ape repeated as he turned his big green eyes back to Maurice and slowly mimicked the gesture as well, a smile growing upon his lips. "Teach."
Eventually the small girl had turned away from Maurice and stared back at Caesar. She then reached upwards with her fingers and drew them down her throat, repeating the older ape's gestures.
Thirsty.
Releasing a small huff, Maurice was glad that the child was at least able to mimic him, a smile upon his lips as he turned back to look at his dear friend. Caesar, to say the least, was quite amused by this as well and offered Maurice a quick glance before he offered the gourd to the child, who took it and immediately began to drink from it. As Caesar made eye contact again, the ape leader gave a silent nod, to which Maurice returned in thanks.
Seeing this, Bad Ape's smile only grew while Koba frowned at the sight.
…
Breathing heavily, Winter continued to pass the stone along, down the line to the other ape beside him. Just like the days before, they were all made to work by carrying heavy stones to some wall that the humans were building and the apes were used as the labor force. As he had passed the stone along, Winter hissed as he pulled his hand back and looked down at them.
As he was looking down at his fingers, seeing the scratches that had formed over the calloused skin, Winter's vision started to go blurry and to his surprise he suddenly felt warmth on his cheeks as he felt tears rolling down the sides of his face. He was reminded of comforting nights of when both Glade and he would spend their time together eating, and simply laying down in their secluded nest within the hidden fortress, away from the prying eyes of others. He could recall the smell of huckleberry from the bonobo, as it was one of the older ape's favorite things to eat. Even during this time of war, there could be delightful things within this, even if they were slight.
Feeling a hand place itself upon his shoulder, Winter snapped out of his thoughts and slowly glanced down to see who it was. To his surprise, Winter met the face of one of the elder apes, a orangutan named Percy who smiled up warmly at him.
"I know and understand what you are thinking, my dear Winter," Percy gestured slowly. "We all miss him too. He was an ape who loved and accepted all others. An example that many should strive for."
With a sniff, Winter wiped at his snout with his arm and furrowed his brows.
"Well… his example is what got him killed," Winter gestured back sternly with a angry frown.
At this, Percy withdrew his hand and gave Winter a solemn look. At this, Winter huffed out and shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I'm just…" Winter started but paused his hands, unable to express what he was even feeling at this time.
He felt so many emotions right now. Anger being his main focus right now as he was angry that Glade had left him, and the one that caused this was none other than Caesar, who did not adhere his warnings. However, deep down he felt sadness as well. The empty pit of loss of what was taken from him, never to be filled or healed ever again. That was a pain that could never be mended.
"I do not know if I can keep on going like this," Winter confessed.
"Do not give up Winter," Percy signed this time, catching the younger gorilla's attention. "We know that Glade is gone and no ape will ever replace him. However, he died because he loved you. Sacrificed his life so that you can live. Do not abandon this second chance that he has given you."
Winter however, was unconvinced of this.
"And what else is there to live for?" Winter asked.
"There are others who need you as well," Percy gestured as he slowly looked off in the distance.
Confused, Winter followed the older orangutan's gaze and saw that they were both now watching Coral within the distance. Luckily for the heavily pregnant female, she was given a smaller minimal task that didn't require such strenuous effort to complete. Watching Coral clear away some of the small rocks to make room for the other apes to have access to the bigger boulders, the female had momentarily stopped as she turned and met Winter's eyes. It was as if the world was moving slowly between the two gorillas, that was until one of the human soldiers shouted and Coral nodded quickly before continuing to clear the way.
Coral however, had watched the human go before she glanced back in Winter's direction and offered him the most tender of smiles. At this, Winter couldn't help himself as he offered a small smile in return as well, before glancing back down at Percy. The older orangutan beamed warmly at Winter and gave the younger gorilla a few pats on the back.
"Come, Winter. We must continue onward if we are to survive," Percy gestured as he accepted another hefty boulder and passed it along.
With a silent nod, Winter followed the older orangutan and continued on as well. Percy was right, Glade did sacrifice his life so that Winter himself could live. If he were to die now, he would be disappointing Glade in what he did for him. So he's going to move forward until tomorrow and do his best to come out of this, alive.
…
Sunlight filtered through the trees marking the end of the woods. The apes had been traveling for hours through the dense, snowbound wilderness, having left anything resembling a trail early on. As they all rode on, Bad Ape fidgeted restlessly on Rocket's horse, growing visibly more anxious by the moment as they continued on the path. This of course, only alerted Caesar and the others that they must be drawing near to their destination.
Watching Bad Ape fidget on the spot Koba couldn't help but remember when the scrawny chimpanzee was about to leave with them. Back at the ski lodge, while they were all preparing to leave, Koba had watched both Maurice and Caesar venture out of the building to meet up with the others. He of course, was the third to leave but had stopped momentarily and had turned to see Bad Ape standing by the empty fireplace, his back turned towards him. Koba couldn't see what exactly Bad Ape was doing as the smaller chimp seemed to be fiddling with something within his hands.
Just as Koba was about to leave, Bad Ape had then moved, approaching the mound of hoarded things that the chimpanzee had called home and gently reached out, placing the stuff toy crocodile upon the pile. At this, Koba simply stared within the quiet as Bad Ape's shoulders lowered, giving the smaller chimp a somber air about him. It was then Koba realized that maybe, with Bad Ape going with them, he is finally leaving everything that he had ever loved and cherished… behind.
Koba had thought about going on over to Bad Ape and apologized on how he had treated the chimp yesterday. However, it felt as if this was not the time to do so. Instead, Koba rounded himself and silently left Bad Ape alone with his memories and joined up with the others, outside.
Drawing his thoughts away from that memory, Koba turned to look at both Rocket and Bad Ape again, seeing the smaller of the two fidgeting on top of the bulkier chimp's horse, growing visibly more anxious by the moment. Clearly annoyed by all the squirming, Rocket growled and turned around to glare at Bad Ape, who jumped at the sudden action and shrunk away slightly from the bigger simian.
"Sorry, friend. Sorry," Bad Ape apologized repeatedly.
Heaving out a long drawn out sigh, Rocket rounded his head forward again and simply glared daggers at Luca whom was chuckling amusingly at him. Koba on the other hand, merely huffed at the poor expense of Rocket and rode silently on.
"I'll make you pay for this. Wait and see," Rocket signed unamused at Luca to which it only fed the silverback's amusement more and confusing Bad Ape.
Eventually the group came upon an enormous canyon that laid before them. Steep, snow-covered cliffs descended in rocky shelves toward the vast unseen expanse at the bottom of the gorge. The peak of a prison-style warden's tower rose from the depths, confirming that they had indeed reached this human zoo Bad Ape so dreaded.
Pulling out the binoculars, Caesar looked more closely at this human zoo. There, he could make out just the silhouetted figures far below, barely visible along the edge of the lower gorge from his vantage point. Even with the binoculars, he could barely make them out, or what they were doing.
"Luca, come. Let's go closer," Caesar spoke up as he lowered the binoculars and nodded at Rocket, then looked back at the others. "Stay here. Keep them safe."
Just as both Caesar and Luca were leaving, Koba took in a deep breath and followed suit, after the two. Noticing this, Caesar spun around quickly and bared his fangs at the scarred bonobo.
"You stay here too!" Caesar growled, causing Koba to stop in his tracks.
There was a tense silence within the air and Koba cleared his throat.
"Caesar… I can help," Koba started.
At this, Caesar's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head slightly at Koba.
"You can not help anyone!" Caesar spat in the bonobo's direction. "All you have helped, was start a war and caused the deaths of many apes!"
Visibly hurt and upset by Caesar's words, Koba gritted his teeth, lowered his gaze and balled up his fists. It looked as if the scarred bonobo was going to say something back to the ape leader, but in the end, held his tongue. After a few heartbeats, Caesar narrowed his eyes at the scarred bonobo before rounding on Luca. The ape leader then gestured for the silverback to follow and immediately left the area. Luca followed on after Caesar but gave one last glance back at Koba for a long moment before finally leaving as well.
Once Caesar and Luca had disappeared amongst the thicket, Rocket had walked up to Koba and placed a hand upon the scarred bonobo's shoulder. Koba glanced on over to Rocket's sympathetic face and quickly turned away again.
"I'm okay," Koba said suddenly as he shook Rocket's hand off of his shoulder and walked a few paces away from the others.
Feeling helpless as he watched Koba go, Rocket stood there for a moment before deciding to make his way back toward the others.
"I worry what will happen to Koba if Caesar keeps treating him like this," Maurice signed sadly. "Apes should not be be doing this to each other. Caesar should know this."
"Caesar just lost his family..." Rocket tried to defend their friend but was finding it hard to do so.
"Yes, I understand clearly that Caesar had just lost his family, we all do. But taking his anger out on another is not good, Rocket," Maurice answered.
"But Koba is strong. It will take more than that to break him," Rocket replied.
"Koba may be strong but there is always a limit to how much one can take, Rocket," Maurice warned. "No matter how strong an ape is. I fear that if this keeps up, we would lose more than just Caesar too."
After hearing Maurice out, Rocket simply lowered his head and nodded in defeat.
"I understand Maurice. I really do. It's been… hard. On everyone. But you are right. Caesar must stop treating Koba as if everything was his fault," Rocket agreed. "I will talk to Caesar when he returns with Luca."
"I believe we all need to have a talk with Caesar," Maurice signed. "I fear that this is something much more than meets the eyes. Something that is more deep within."
Hearing someone walk up to the both of them, both Rocket and Maurice glanced at Bad Ape who had a look of concern on his fate.
"Friends. Friends. Why are friends angry with each other?" Bad Ape asked worriedly as he glanced at the spot where Caesar was previously at, before turning to look at both Rocket and Maurice once more.
At this, Rocket merely heaved out a deep sigh and shook his head slowly, while Maurice offered Bad Ape a sad smile.
...
Caesar and Luca furtively exited the safety of the snowy woods. Keeping low, they slowly made their way down the slope toward the jutting granite shelf. While they were traversing down the mountainside, a grunt from Luca caused Caesar to stop momentarily, causing him to turn back to the gorilla.
"Luca? What's wrong?" Caesar asked quickly.
"We need to talk, Caesar," Luca signed.
This was a surprise to Caesar as Luca, much like Rocket, was an ape of not many words. Curious as to what the silverback had to say, Caesar tilted his head curiously at Luca.
"What do we need to talk about?" Caesar asked.
"It's about Koba," Luca gestured back.
At this, Caesar's golden green eyes widen for a moment before narrowing into cold slits.
"What about Koba?" Caesar spat out the bonobo's name as he turned away and continued down the slope.
As Caesar found his footing, Luca landed down right next to him and rose up slowly to look down at him.
"We need to talk about what you said back there and your treatment of him?" Luca signed.
At this, Caesar's brows narrowed at Luca, with the gorilla simply staring back with a unreadable expression. Growling, Caesar half turned away from the silverback.
"There is no discussion here for that ape, Luca," Caesar said lowly.
As Caesar was just about to climb down another slope, a rough hand took him by the shoulder and spun him around, surprising him.
"No, we need to talk about this now!" Luca demanded.
Caesar blinked in surprise up at Luca. While he stood there though, Caesar narrowed his eyes but made no indication of leaving.
"The way that you have been treating Koba throughout this journey. Belittling him. Making him feel as if he were less. Making him feel as if he was the cause of everything. It is wrong, Caesar," Luca explained.
"Because he is the cause of everything!" Caesar snapped angrily, causing Luca to lean back slightly. "Koba is the one that caused the apes to go to war with the humans! I told him that his hatred of humans will cause many apes to die. But he did not listen? No! Instead he gave into his anger and doomed us all! I treated him like a brother and he repays me by killing my family!" Caesar finished with unshed tears.
There was a long quiet between the two apes, with only the sounds of Caesar's heavy breathing filling the air.
"Do. You. Really think. That?" Luca asked simply in a deep gruff voice, causing Caesar to look up at Luca confusingly.
A somber expression enveloped Luca's features but he continued nonetheless.
"Even if Koba was part of the cause of why this war started, do you still believe that it was entirely his fault, Caesar? Humans… humans fear apes. Even before the great awakening. You know this as well as I do. And I may not be as smart as you or the other apes, but I know… that you know. That war would always be between apes and humans. As long as humans and apes still fear each other," Luca explained.
At this, Caesar paused and gave Luca's words some thought.
"You had once told me… that you had thought that apes were better than humans," Luca had signed. "Yet, we have apes who turn on each other as well. Use them for their own gain. Cause wars between humans and apes. Apes like Pope."
At the mention of he deceased chimp's name, Caesar was taken aback, not expecting Pope to be mention ever again.
"Pope may not be around anymore, but he was very much the cause of all of this, Caesar. Even you had said so yourself. Pope, the one who pulled the strings. The one who still haunts us apes with his actions," Luca continued explaining. "The Colonel… he was the one that took away Cornelia and Blue Eyes that night. Those actions were the cause of Pope's. Not Koba's."
"Stop," Caesar warned as Luca was treading on something still quite raw.
"Koba treated Cornelia like a sister and Blue Eyes like his own son. You have seen this in the many winters that he has lived with us. You saw just how hurt Koba was as well when he saw their-"
"I said stop, Luca!" Caesar bellowed angrily.
At this Luca halted his hands from signing but he met Caesar's intense gaze as the ape leader breathed deeply from where he stood.
"Are you truly mad at Koba?" Luca asked curiously.
At this question, there was a long drawn out pause with nothing but the silence around the two apes.
"Remember, Caesar," Luca started, "Apes together strong."
At Luca's words, Caesar huffed and glared down at the side.
"We are wasting time," Caesar said lowly, after a while, as he fully turned away from the silverback and climbed down the slope.
Luca breathed deeply as he watched Caesar descend the mountainside. He gave a quick glance up back the mountain, to where the others were. He had hoped that maybe he would be able to talk some sense into Caesar. He knew what he had told Caesar was harsh, but he needed the ape leader to see sense again. Maybe… just maybe he had gotten through to Caesar, but only time will tell. If not, he will have to try again. With that in mind, Luca followed after Caesar and descended the slope as well.
…
"Stay here son. Protect your mother and brother!" Caesar had signed.
Grasping the serious situation that they were in, Blue Eyes immediately became alert at his father's hand signs. Watching his father go, the prince quickly woke up his mother and little brother, gesturing to them about the danger that they were in.
"What is wrong, son? Where is your father?" Cornelia asked quickly as she held Cornelius close to her.
"Danger Mother!" Blue Eyes warned as he continued to look around himself. "Father went off to find the others."
Glancing around in the den that they were in, Blue Eyes mentally kicked himself as he could not locate either of his weapons within close vicinity. Luckily, he had found one of his spears and took a hold of it.
"Mother, we need to find a safer place. Do you know-"
As Blue Eyes was signing to his mother and keeping his gaze elsewhere he was suddenly jolted when he heard the sound of loud gunfire within the cave. Ducking his head, Blue Eyes perked back up from within the nest to see where their attacker was. Keeping his breathing steady, Blue Eyes slowly reached out and took his mother's hand.
"Mother, we need to-"
A green light had suddenly danced across his vision, causing Blue Eyes to look upwards from where he was. He saw the dark silhouette of a figure pointing something at him and the bright light that followed after. The last thing he heard was the shrilling cry of his mother as darkness engulfed him.
With a sudden jolt, Blue Eyes' eyelids shot open and he quickly sat up, nearly expelling his stomach's contents as a wave of nausea slammed into him like a tidal wave. Holding onto the railing by his sides tightly, Blue Eyes breathed deeply as he steadied himself and took back his bearing. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Blue Eyes finally glanced upward and saw that he was met with an unfamiliar setting.
Stark dilapidated walls that were once painted white, now a yellow cream color, gave the area that he was in a very clear setting. Around his vicinity, Blue Eyes could make out several unused beddings and many other things that were toppled over or stacked together in the corner. Looking down at himself, he then saw some faded sheets that was draped over the rest of his body, as well as some strange cloths that were wrapped around several parts of his body.
While looking down at himself, Blue Eyes then noticed that something was embedded within his arm, hooking itself into some kind of glass jar that had water in it, hanging by his side. Looking up at the thing, Blue Eyes stared at it curiously before he glanced back down at the tube that was stuck into his arm. Taking a hold of the tube, Blue Eyes yanked the thing out of him and tossed it aside. As he moved, Blue Eyes couldn't help but groan in pain as his body ached all over, most of it coming from his head and chest area. Reaching upwards, Blue Eyes hissed in pain as he touched his head, feeling the strange cloth upon it.
Lowering his arm, Blue Eyes looked around himself and spotted a mirror in the corner. With a huff, Blue Eyes got out of the strange contraption that he was in and nearly lost his balance as he landed on his feet. After a few seconds, he had let out a relieved breath and made his way on over toward the mirror. As he approached the object, he could see the dust on the surface from the many years of unuse. With a grunt, Blue Eyes then used his hands and wiped away at the thing. As his very own image stared back at him and Blue Eyes was surprised at what he saw.
Instead of seeing his usual self, Blue Eyes instead saw a very damaged and dirty looking chimpanzee staring back at him. Skin much paler than usual, hair in a tangled mess, in need of grooming and what looked like mud and dried blood still caked onto his body. What stood out the most though was the white cloth that wrapped itself around his whole head. Curious as to why that was, Blue Eyes slowly reached out and undid the bindings.
As soon as the cloth hit the floor, Blue Eyes' own eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at himself in the mirror. With a shaky hand, Blue Eyes hovered it over the large stitched scar that now ran across his shaved head.
How did he? When did he? As Blue Eyes was mentally asking himself these questions of where he was and how such wounds were inflicted upon him he suddenly went still as images of of recent events came rushing back to him. He remembered the nest. A dark silhouette. Intense pain soon after. And finally the cries of his mother as the world faded around him.
Gasping, Blue eyes convulsed on the spot as he held his head with his hands as he started to remember. With remembering of what had happened to him came pain as well. Reaching on over to grab something, Blue Eyes had knocked down one of the strange rolling metal contraptions, knocking it over with a crash in his surprised state. Throwing his head back the scarred chimpanzee had let out a pain filled shrill that echoed all around him. In his agony, Blue Eyes had just slightly heard the distinct sounds of footsteps behind him. With a gasp, he quickly spun around and saw two humans at the entryway of the room, staring at him with shocked expressions.
"Holy shit!" One of them had exclaimed.
Before either of the humans could say anything else, or do anything, Blue Eyes braced himself and ran straight at them. Unprepared by his sudden action, the two humans jumped back at Blue Eyes' charge, and both were barreled into by the injured chimpanzee. Crashing into the hallway the three individuals were all sprawled out on the floor. Blue Eyes was quick to act as he quickly launched himself on top of one of the humans and started to repeatedly strike at them.
Just as Blue Eyes could bring his fists down for a third strike the sound of a gunshot rang through the air and the chimpanzee yelped in pain as his shoulder was nicked. Falling onto the ground with a loud thud, Blue Eyes grimaced in pain as his vision became blurry and he held onto his injured shoulder. Pulling his hand back he could see blood on his fingers.
"Don't move!" the human with the handgun shouted as he stood over his injured friend.
Blue Eyes grimaced but glared up at the human who aimed the firearm at him.
"Nick, you okay?!"
Seizing his opportunity, as the human with the gun had looked away from him, Blue Eyes reached out with his foot and took a hold of the man's ankle. With a hard yank, Blue Eyes manage to pull the soldier's leg right from under him, causing him to fall over backwards. Scrambling onto his feet, Blue Eyes reached out to the dropped handgun and took it as it skittered across the smooth tiled floor. Rounding himself back around, Blue Eyes felt like he was about to spill out his stomach's contents but pushed through the feeling and aimed the weapon down at the human who had shot him before, baring his fangs all the while.
"No, please don't!" a voice called out.
Hearing this, Blue Eyes glared at the other human whom he had attacked before. The other man was slowly getting up and was wiping away at his face, his skin already showing signs of bruising from when Blue Eyes had struck him.
"Please don't. Don't kill him," the man begged. "Please."
Baring his fangs, Blue Eyes glared back down at the surprised soldier who had shot him.
"I don't think he understands!" The man shouted at his companion.
"Wait!" the other man said again and took a step forward, prompting Blue Eyes to now aim the gun in his direction.
The man halted with his hands raised, showing no signs of threat. Blue Eyes however, was becoming exhausted really fast. He needed to do something quickly, lest his own body fails him and he was at the mercy of these two human soldiers.
"Please don't. I-I know you're one of the good apes. Not one to kill," the man continued, piquing Blue Eyes' interest, if just momentarily.
"Don't. Know. Me!" Blue Eyes growled back, causing the other soldier to gawk.
"Holy shit," the other man uttered out quietly, upon hearing Blue Eyes speak.
Blue Eyes immediately aimed the firearm at the other human again when he exclaimed aloud before he directed it back to the other one who still held his hands out in front of him.
"I know you're one of the good ones," the man spoke quietly as he lowered one of his hands.
Watching curiously, Blue Eyes observed as the wounded human had reached down slowly into one of his pockets. At this, Blue Eyes hissed and readied the pistol at the other man. The human however, held out his other hand and slowly shook his head side to side.
"It's okay," the man said reassuringly, in a calming voice. "It's okay."
Slowly pulling his hand back upwards, Blue Eyes could see that the man was taking out what looked like a string and attached to the end of it…
"I believe. This belongs to you," the pale blue eyed human said slowly.
Blue Eyes gawked when he saw the blue stone necklace that Lake had given him.
Reaching up slowly, Blue Eyes felt around his neck and noticed that the gift that he had received from his dearly beloved was not there and he growled at the human for taking something so precious away from him. Lunging forward, Blue Eyes snatched the item out of the human's outstretched hand and held it close to his chest, baring his fangs still. Taking a second to look away, Blue Eye glanced down at his gift and saw that the stone embedded within it was now cracked, confusing him. How was it damaged? In all the times that he had kept it, it never had broken on him.
Unless…
As Blue Eyes thought more on it, pain started to radiate from his head and chest area again. Visions of that night came rushing back to him, filling his mind with what had happened. A beam of green light, the sound of gunfire, pain that lanced through his chest and head, then darkness.
The handgun clattered onto the ground beneath Blue Eyes' feet as he dropped onto his knees and held his head within his hands. His shoulders rising and falling with each heave of breath he was taking, Blue Eyes shut his eyes tightly as the scenario kept on playing over and over again within his mind, drowning out everything else around him. Hissing through gritted teeth, Blue Eyes tried to bear the pain but there was a point where it was just too much, even for him and he couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Before Blue Eyes knew it, he had fallen onto the ground as the world spun around him, unable to make out the blurry objects that spun in front of him. There was one thing he noticed as his vision started to fade away. He could make out the shapes of two silhouettes making their way over him, accompanied with strange voices as it he were listening through several walls. However, everything that had been going on around him was too much to take in. Soon enough, Blue Eyes closed his eyes and his consciousness was taken away, by sleep's embrace.
…
Joining Koba's side, Rocket huffed quietly as he stood there. The bonobo on the other hand, didn't seem to notice his companion but instead shrunk further into himself.
"You have to stop letting Caesar treat you like this?" Rocket signed after a long moment.
Koba shook his head side to side slowly.
"You don't understand, Rocket… I… I deserve this," Koba spoke quietly. "What Caesar said is true… Everything that I had done. Had only hurt apes."
There was a deep breath from the nearly hairless chimpanzee who step in front of Koba and rounded to face him.
"Is that what you truly think?" Rocket questioned, causing Koba to blink up at him. "You were not the main cause of this, Koba. War would have come to us apes eventually. We all know this to be true, no matter what we did. The thing is… even if you or Pope did not start this, humans would have come after us anyways. Remember when we had first escaped the humans so long ago? With the giant firestorm that burned down the forest and filled out lungs with pain?"
Koba remembered those days well. It was after their escape from the city and their first taste of freedom. Back then, they had all been running for their lives. Day in and day out. It was a tiresome but they had to run, in order to survive. The humans… they had wanted all the apes dead and would have succeeded as well, if they kept on chasing them. But eventually the chasing stopped and the humans had all gone back into the city… for whatever those reasons were, Koba cared not for. He was just happy that he and the other apes were left alone in the forest. Able to enjoy their freedom and new lives.
But then when he saw Rocket sign Pope's name, the hackles on Koba stood on end and a angry scowl formed on his face. Pope… that dreaded chimpanzee that used him. Used and manipulated him like some human would. With that in mind, Koba's fists balled up tightly.
"Doesn't matter anymore… what has been done is done," Koba answered as he turned his head away toward the side.
At this, Rocket huffed as he stared at Koba who seemed to have given up on the subject.
"Remember," Rocket spoke up, catching Koba's attention, if slightly. "I used. To hate. You. Too," Rocket finished.
Upon hearing this, Koba simply met Rocket's fierce stare and could see the sincerity within the bald chimp's eyes. After a moment Koba heaved out a deep breath and nodded slowly, understanding what Rocket was trying to convey.
With a grunt, Rocket smiled and gave Koba a pat on the back before he had walked on over towards the ledge to oversee the area. Watching Rocket from his spot, Koba could see the other ape looking about curiously. Confused, Koba approached his friend.
"What do you see Rocket?" Koba asked quickly.
Rocket blinked once, then twice before he started to turn around.
"Danger," Rocket signed quickly in response before he bolted from the spot.
Seeing the seriousness in Rocket's face, Koba quickly followed suit. Maurice and the others were about to ask where they were all going but Rocket had seemed to have already informed the older orangutan of what was going on. With that in mind both Koba and Rocket darted down the mountainside slope, hoping to reach Caesar and Luca in time.
…
With the binoculars within his hands, Caesar watched as the figures down below were erecting rows of tall, X-shaped wooden structures along the edge of the cliff, some distance away from the compound. Caesar himself had counted roughly a dozen of the crosses, but could not make out what purpose they served for the human soldiers.
A perimeter defense of some kind? Or scarecrows?
Putting down the binoculars, Caesar was confused by what the humans were doing. Lying right beside him on the ridge that they were on, Luca signed in curiosity, after they had both not talked to each other for the longest of times.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know," Caesar answered while shaking his head.
Huffing deeply, Luca then pointed down past the crest of the ridge.
"What's that? A patrol?" Luca asked after a moment of fidgeting on the spot.
Narrowing his eyes at where Luca was pointing at, Caesar turned the binoculars down further, just below the ridge, where a pair of horses were tethered. Caesar was curious of the sight.
"I don't see riders," he began.
Just as he finished, a blurry shape suddenly rose into view, obscuring his vision through the binoculars. Everything happened so fast as the human had suddenly lunged towards Caesar with the bayonet at the end of his rifle. Just as Caesar expected to be skewered upon the point of he weapon, Luca had taken a hold of the ape leader's shoulder and yanked him backwards. Rolling haphazardly into the snow, Caesar got back up to just see Luca and the human rolling across the frozen ridge as well. Scrambling to his feet, Caesar was about to rush toward his friend, hoping to assist the silverback, but another soldier suddenly appeared, taking aim right at him.
"Hold it!" the soldier ordered.
Suddenly a large brawny shape came flying in and with a loud whack, the shape had struck the soldier on the head, who crumpled onto the ice and snow. The figure that had came to Caesar's rescue was none other than Rocket himself.
"We saw them coming!" Rocket signed quickly.
Caesar was grateful for his friend's timely appearance, but what about Luca? Off to the corner of Caesar's peripheral, he could see that Koba was with Luca who was assisting the silverback gorilla.
Luca painfully rolled off of the human soldier that he was on top on with Koba's help. Gasping, Luca clutched at the weapon embedded within his gut and yanked it out, dark blood painting the snow beneath him a crimson color. With heavy breaths, Luca glanced up at the others before he fell back down onto the snow.
"We need to get him out of here. Now!" Caesar ordered.
With a nod, Rocket took one of Luca's heavy arms while Caesar took the gorilla's other side. Helping their wounded friend up, both of the chimpanzees made their way back up the snowy mountainside.
Koba on the other hand was looking around him, horrified by the blood that was dripping from the gorilla. As he spotted the human soldiers, his vision became red and he made his way on over to the unconscious men. Reaching down, Koba took a hold of each of the human's head and forcefully twisted them, hearing a squelching sound that came from their broken necks. It was a quick death to say the least, one that these two humans did not deserve at all for what they've done to Luca. However, if they were to get back up, they would alert the human soldiers of their whereabouts and he couldn't have that happening. So, taking safe measures, Koba made sure that they would all be safe.
After he was finished with what he was doing, Koba quickly turned around and gathered the weapons, following quickly after the others, making sure to keep a lookout for any other possible dangers that may come their way.
…
Sheltered in the woods, Maurice waited with Bad Ape and the girl. His worried beady green eyes searched the twilight for their absent friends, concerned for their safety. Dusk had deepen the shadows under the trees since Rocket and Koba had rushed to aid Caesar and Luca, after spotting a human patrol heading their way. Maurice had not hear any gunshots thus far, which was encouraging, but it was also possible that the other apes had been taken prisoner at gunpoint by now as well.
With that, maybe more human soldiers would be coming for the rest of them too.
He was just starting to wonder how long they should wait for the others before investigating. That was until Caesar, Rocket and Luca appeared over the hillside toward them. With what he had saw, Maurice immediately knew that things were not right, with both the chimpanzee's supporting the silverback gorilla. Trailing after the three was Koba, who carried some weapons within his arms, one of the rifles with a lethal looking blade at the end of the barrel.
The two chimps struggled with Luca's weight but persisted nonetheless. Unable to go any further, both Caesar and Rocket had to let Luca down onto the ground, the others already making their way to see what had happened to the silverback.
Caesar knelt beside the dying gorilla, his eyes were dry but filled with emotion as he gazed down on Luca, who smiled weakly up at him, panting through gritted teeth.
"At least this time… I was able to protect you…" Luca signed weakly. "Don't push others away… Apes… Together… Strong…"
Seeing this, Caesar merely shook his head side to side quickly, unable to answer his dying friend.
The little girl, who had been mutely observing the poignant scene, stepped in front of Maurice, surprising the older orangutan, and made her way on over toward the wounded gorilla. The child bravely approached Luca and sat down next to him, unable to hold her own emotions as a gasp had escaped her lips and tears flowed freely from her bright blue eyes. To Caesar and the others, Koba especially who sat at Luca's head, was transfixed by how much the girl was crying for the dying gorilla as she reached out and touched his chin comfortingly.
What had Luca done to touch that tender heart of hers?
Luca, breathing haggardly, gazed up at the human child who cried for him and gave her an apologetic look. The little girl had then reached up and took the flowery twig from behind her ear… and gently tucked it behind his. A faint smile briefly appeared upon his lips, belying his intimidating features, before the light of life faded from his eyes and with it, his smile as well.
Luca, their great friend and ally, was now dead.
Caesar remained beside the gorilla's lifeless body, staring silently. A complicated mix of rage and guilt could be seen within his golden-green eyes. Rocket and Bad Ape sat there too, their own features a mix with an array of emotions too. Koba on the other hand, was staring down at Luca, his own golden-green and milky white eyes full of indignation, remorse and sorrow. Maurice had gently called the child back to his side and held her close to his body.
After a long moment of silence, Maurice was the first to speak, grunting softly to get Caesar's attention.
"Caesar," Maurice had signed. "This must stop… It's not too late to join the other apes…" he continued, seeing Caesar's brows furrow in anger.
At this Rocket shook his head quickly.
"We cannot turn back!" the nearly hairless chimpanzee objected. "Luca gave his life!"
"Please…!" Maurice begged.
Looking back down at Luca's face, hatred began to infect Caesar's heart again as his eyes lit up with smoldering flames.
"They must pay…" Caesar said gravely, not noticing Koba's gaze turning towards him.
Upon hearing those vengeful words from Caesar, filled Maurice with despair-and disappointment. He respected Caesar with all of his heart and thought of the chimpanzee as the greatest ape that had ever lived. Maurice owed him everything, including the sharpness of his wits.
But, for the first time, Maurice looked on Caesar and found him wanting. So, he reached out toward Caesar's hand and took a hold of it for a moment before letting go.
"You are starting to sound like…" Maurice began, but couldn't find himself able to sign it.
At this Caesar was curiously waiting for Maurice to finish, but the orangutan had seemed reluctantly so.
"Like me," Koba suddenly spoke up, causing all heads to turn toward him. "You're acting… and sound like me," he stated.
At this, Caesar turned and glared at Maurice, visibly stung and upset by the accusation and by its source. His expression darkened as he glowered at his oldest friend, who had been staunchly at his side since they had first met in the primate shelter so many years ago. Rocket on the other hand looked on in shock and disbelief, having never seen Caesar and Maurice at odds before. Bad Ape however, just looked confused in all of this.
A tense moment, pregnant with the possibility of violence, ensued before Caesar spoke again. Rage, tightly controlled, simmered in every syllable that left his mouth.
"It was a mistake, bringing you all," Caesar seethed. "This is my fight. I will finish this alone!"
Caesar swept his fierce gaze over the other apes, his gaze landing upon the one sole ape he was compared as. Koba however, stared back at him, his features grim as well but he held Caesar's glare nonetheless. Turning away from the scarred bonobo, Caesar glanced back at the others.
"Go! Now! Join the others," Caesar spat as he rose up and took one of the weapons before taking his leave.
Chittering, Rocket rose up and tried to call Caesar back to them, but the ape leader kept on going. Getting further and further away with each step he took, ignoring their pleading calls to return.
Rising up slowly, Koba stared at Caesar's form that was getting further away from them. Turning his head to look back down at Luca, guilt swept over the bonobo and he apologized dearly for his deceased friend. Adding another name to one of his many sins. Taking a deep breath, he then picked up one of the weapons from the pile as well and followed after Caesar.
"You all stay here!" Koba said aloud. "I'll bring him back!"
With that said, Koba rushed on after Caesar.
So... all of that happened...
Also, I'm so sorry Luca. I'll miss you, big guy.