Double chapter this week for you all!

The moment Rocket had showed them the keys, both Caesar and Koba were already preparing themselves when it was their turn to be released. First, of course, had to be the others while they all made a silent escape through the hole. Just as Rocket and the others were about to release themselves from their bindings, the sounds of approaching footsteps sent all of their hearts racing. They all craned their necks and were dismayed to see the Colonel heading toward them, despite the rather late hour.

Caesar straightened himself and shot Rocket a warning look, whom immediately hid the captured rifle behind his back, as well as the keys within his hands. If they were lucky, the Colonel had not already spotted the weapon. If so, the apes' attempt would be over almost before it had begun. However, the Colonel didn't even spare a glance at the ape enclosure. Instead the man simply gazed pensively at the completed wall looking at the far end of the canyon, taking the sight in.

Silently glancing at the other, Caesar could see them signing at him, asking him what was going on, to which he simply held out his hand and shook his head slowly at them. Letting his gaze wander on back to the Colonel however, Caesar himself was curious as to why the man was out and about. If he were to assume, he would think that the man was worried about the upcoming battle that would ensue between him and the northern human army. Maybe, if the Colonel was distracted enough, he would move on soon and leave them to escape.

Caesar and the others watched tensely, silently urging the Colonel to return to his lair. After a brief moment though, the Colonel had turned away from the wall and stared right at the cages that held both Caesar and Koba, a stern look upon his features. Instead of heading back to his tower as they had all hoped, the Colonel instead detoured toward both Caesar and Koba's cages. As the Colonel drew nearer and nearer, Caesar could see a canteen that was held within the man's left hand, while Koba merely bared his fangs at the human.

The Colonel stopped in front of Koba's cage and regarded him for just a second before moving on and stopping right in front of where Caesar stood. Staring off into the distance the man stood there silently, thinking, wondering, pondering on what to say to Caesar.

"You can take comfort," the Colonel spoke up after what seemed like an eternity. "Your struggle ends. Ours goes on. Nature still has the power to wipe us off this planet at any moment. It killed the dinosaurs with a single meteor."

At this, Caesar couldn't make sense of what the man was saying and quickly glanced in Koba's direction, who looked just as confused. Caesar then rounded his head back to the Colonel, as the man had slowly turned to look at him and approached his cage. Caesar eased himself back just a tad bit as the Colonel stuck his head right by the bars of his cage.

"You apes… are so strong. I wonder… what kind of world you would have built… on our graves."

The man seemed to trail off for a moment, leaving Caesar and Koba to ponder the man's odd demeanor. Was he simply drunk? Or was he feeling guilty or just contemplating his mortality in anticipation of the battle that was going to happen? He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Caesar, who remained still.

"You know, when I first came to the city. A man had said he had to see me, and said… that he knew you… that you both had worked together."

At this revelation, Caesar's eyes widened and knew that there was only one person the Colonel could be referring to.

"Malcom…?"

At the mention of Malcolm's name, Caesar could see Koba going stiff within his own cage.

"Stupid Human?" Koba signed.

Drawing in on himself, Caesar remembered the man, a friend to the apes so long ago. After he had gotten back into the forest and found Malcolm and his family, Caesar had urged them to flee the war that they had tragically failed to avert. It took a while of convincing but Caesar was able to make Malcolm and his family take their leave with Blue Eyes, Ash, Rocket and… Koba.

Caesar's voice jarred the Colonel from his reverie and simply stared at the ape leader.

"He said that you were remarkable, " the Colonel spoke up. "More than just an animal… that you were a great leader."

The man then shook his head slowly at the memory.

"I thought he was crazy… And he pleaded with me to find you and make peace with you."

Caesar kept quiet and simply stared at the strange man, wondering what had happened between his and Malcolm's exchange. Caesar could recall that Malcolm was one of the very few humans who cared deeply about taking care of people. Be they human or simian. It was no different for the man and his family, as they saw that all life was precious.

"What did you do?" Caesar inquired.

The Colonel didn't answer at first; he just stared mutely at the ground, lost in his own thoughts and memories. Caesar wasn't sure that the Colonel had even heard his query, that was until the man finally answered.

"I shot him."

At this, Caesar's flinched at the words.

"Or rather… I did shoot at him," the Colonel suddenly corrected as if he were confused. "Except… something or somebody shot me."

The Colonel then curiously unfurled the sleeve on his right arm and presented to Caesar the bullet wound that had long since scarred over. Koba however, seemed a bit more intrigued, as something had jostled his mind, causing him to remember.

"That man. He had dangerous ideas," the Colonel continued. "He needed to be put down… but he had someone with him that night. To protect him. Now he's gone. Out there. Somewhere. Most likely poisoning the minds of others."

Hearing the Colonel speak about Malcolm escaping, Caesar couldn't help but let his eyes wander slowly to where Koba stood. The scarred bonobo met his eyes and stood strong and firm, knowing well what had happened that particular night, so long ago. Caesar did not know the exact details when he had returned back to the Muir woods after the city that night but knew that Malcolm had gone off to meet with the Colonel and was saved by Koba.

Letting his gaze wander back to the Colonel, Caesar watched as the man had grown silent. Abruptly however, the man suddenly snapped out of his daze, slightly startling both Caesar and Koba. The Colonel's head jerked up and he glanced around, almost wildly, as though trying to orient himself. A suspicious almost paranoid gleam entering his eyes.

"What's going on here?" the Colonel asked as if he was unsure of the situation at hand.

Both Caesar and Koba held their tongues, unsure of how to respond to the Colonel's ever strange behaviour. Was it the alcohol that the man had been consuming? Or was it something more? Fractured into the man's damaged psyche.

The sound of something falling onto the snow had caught the attention of Caesar, Koba and the Colonel. All whom looked down at the man's feet to discover that he had dropped the flask that he carried by his side. Caesar and Koba watched as the man slowly bent down to pick up the canteen. While the Colonel had reached for the container, it did not go unnoticed by both Caesar and Koba as the snow besides the canteen were riddled with a few drops of liquid, painting the white snow in red. As the Colonel righted himself back up, he met Caesar's piercing glare if only for a brief moment though. Caesar's face warped into that of curiosity as he noticed blood falling slightly from the man's nose.

Why was he bleeding?

Caesar nearly jumped out of his skin when the Colonel had mutely smacked the canteen of the flask upon his cage. For a slight moment, Caesar and Koba could both see that the man's usual self assurance was nowhere in evidence as he slowly walked away from the cage and retreated back to his tower.

As Caesar watched the Colonel go, he was both relieved and puzzled by the man's sudden departure. Slowly turning to look at both Rocket and Koba, he could see that they were both equally perplexed about the odd scene.

"What was that?" Rocket signed from his enclosure.

Caesar however, shook his head, having no idea as he turned his attention to Koba. The scarred bonobo on the other hand, didn't sign nor speak. Instead he kept his icy cold glare in the direction where the Colonel had retreated to before letting his eyes wander back to where Caesar was. Whatever the Colonel was doing, it didn't matter. The important thing was that he was gone now and they could all get back to their plan to escape.

Wasting no time, Rocket set to work freeing himself from the chain, binding him to the other apes. He grunted with satisfaction as he stepped free and went to work with freeing Tinker next before lobbing the keys over to Ash. Following his father's example, the younger chimp quickly undid his bindings before freeing Maple, her mother, Lake, Winter and soon the others. One after another, the other apes eagerly unchained themselves and for the first time, were able to move their limbs freely.

Ash approached his father quickly and handed the set of keys back to the older ape. Rocket smiled warmly and embraced his son.

"I'm so proud of you," Rocket gestured.

"And I you," Ash signed back.

"Go. Go help your mother and the others," Rocket quickly signed back. "I will help your uncles get your sister and the rest of the children. Be prepared for them."

A determined look overcame Ash's features and he nodded once at his father before bolting off in the direction where apes were already helping to expand the hole so that the bigger ones like the gorillas and orangutans could fit down it. Tinker on the other hand had made her way over to where Rocket was.

"I am not leaving without our Cinder," Tinker signed her face held in determination.

Meeting his beloved, Rocket knew that whatever he would have said would not have swayed her, especially as he too was very much the same. Smiling warmly instead, Rocket leaned forward and planted a kiss upon his mate's lips before pulling away.

"Then wait for us," Rocket signed.

"You bring our daughter and all the children back. Both Caesar and Koba too," Tinker signed back to her mate.

Just as Rocket turned around to leave, Tinker had quickly took hold of his arm and held it tightly for a moment before she embraced him strongly.

"Be. Careful," Tinker whispered.

"You too," Rocket breathed back gently as he held his mate close.

After a moment, Rocket then stepped away from Tinker and met her worried gaze. The petite female took in a deep shuddering breath but nodded, letting him know that he should go. Dipping his head back at his mate, Rocket then held the keys firm within his palms as he turned around to leave.

...

Cautiously looking about, Rocket made sure that they were not being watched before he unlocked the gate to the adult pens and briskly ran on his knuckles across the yard to where Caesar and Koba were. As he neared the other two, the bulky chimp took a moment to adjust the rifle that was strapped to his back before handing the keys to Caesar. The nearly hairless chimp kept his eyes about as the two apes unchained themselves from their bindings before unlocking their own cages and stepping out of them.

"No more cages," Koba said through gritted teeth. "Never again."

To that, both Caesar and Rocket agreed as they all glanced around themselves to make sure it was safe before keeping themselves low and dashed through the campgrounds. The three apes quietly discreetly kept to the shadows as they hid behind the many large objects, away from the prying eyes of the human soldiers who were still up. Moving through the darkness the trio found themselves in a murky alley between the soldier's darkened barracks and pen containing the ape children, whom were huddled together for warmth.

Taking a glance behind them, Caesar could see that Koba at least made some attempt to cover their tracks that were left in the fresh snow. The bonobo was quickly spun around by Rocket, who shook his head side to side quickly. As much as they hated leaving any indication of their whereabouts laying about, there was simply no time and nothing to be done about it. They must move on. All they could do now was hope that the tracks went unnoticed until it was too late for the human soldiers to react.

Making their way up to the gates of the children's pen, Caesar had then quickly made his way up to the enclosure, fiddling around with all the keys to see which one fits the keyhole. While Caesar was trying to get the gates to open, both Koba and Rocket were on lookout, making sure that no humans were making their way toward them in the middle of the night.

After a tense moment, the sounds of the gate being unlocked caught the attention of both Koba and Rocket. Caesar-who spared not even a single second-had already rushed in and was working on the secondary gates. Both Koba and Rocket followed after the ape leader and they all noticed that the children were all stirring from their sleep by the odd commotion not too far from them. Once the second set of gates were finally opened, Caesar, Koba and Rocket entered into the pen and watched as the children slowly got up dozily, rubbing at their eyes and separating themselves from each other as they started to take notice of the adults.

...

Despite their age, the little ones had learned too well that attracting the humans' attention was to be avoided at all costs. They kept quiet as the three adults were slowly being swarmed by the children. Their wide, hopeful eyes tore at Koba's own heart as he gently patted their heads and helped the other two to shush them. Glancing in both Caesar and Rocket's direction, he could make out that the two were looking for their own child from among the crowd. It was not long before both Caesar and Rocket were rewarded by the sight of both Cornelius and Cinder from among the small bodies. The two practically broke into a run and jumped into their fathers' opened arms, who embraced them tightly, never wanting to let them go.

"I love you, son," Koba could hear Caesar say emotionally as held Cornelius close to him.

Rocket on the other hand had let out soft coos, to calm his little one. Gritting his teeth and swallowing hard, Koba had turned away from the scene of the parents reuniting with their child, to give them a sense of privacy. However, that was not technically true, as he felt quite left out as he very much had no child nor offspring to call his own… Instead, Koba continued to gently pat the children around him, making sure that they were comforted as well, while they have yet to be back with their own parents.

As Koba helped calm the rest of the children around them, out of the corner of his golden-green eye, he saw the frightened gaze of pale silvery ones.

"Silver?" Koba gestured to the young one who sniffed quietly as he looked about for his own parents before meeting the scarred bonobo once more.

Seeing Grey's littlest one, looking so lost, caused a lump to form within Koba's throat. He then reached out to Silver who quickly took that as an invitation and practically leaped into the older ape's arms. Hearing the soft muffled cries from Silver, Koba placed his snout atop of young one's head and hummed deeply to help keep him calm.

"You're safe now," Koba breathed gently. "I'll take you back to your mother and father, I promise."

...

As much as they all had wanted their reunion to last longer, Caesar, Rocket and Koba each shifted their own respective child onto their backs before getting all of the children to safety. They needed to act fast, lest it was too late for them.

Once they neared the pole that were connected to the electrical wire, which lead to the adult enclosure, both Caesar and Koba helped hoisted the children up onto them. They directed the young ones to cross quietly to the other side, where they would fall into the hands of the others who would catch them. The children hastily scaled the pole and scrambled out onto the electrical line strung high above the guard towers and camp, right over the heads of the soldiers that patrolled below.

Once they arrived above the adult pen, the children began dropping silently down into the waiting arms of several apes, who hastily ushered them into the direction of their parents and or guardian, whom clutched the little ones joyfully as they were reunited.

Caesar, Koba and Rocket waited until all the other children had made it safely over the adult pen before following suit. With each bearing a single child of their own, the three adults took extra care to not jostle too much, for fear of dropping their charge, before they too let go of the electrical lines and landed silently from above.

Spotting Ash, whom was busy lowering the children into the escape hole, Koba quickly maneuvered Silver onto his front and approached the younger male.

"Ash!" Koba breathed, startling the younger chimp.

"Uncle Koba?" Ash gasped back.

"Where is Maple and her parents?" Koba asked. "I have her little brother and their son."

"Their down in the tunnel already," Ash signed back.

Before Koba could say more, Ash and quickly got down low on all four and hooted gently into the hole. Before long Maurice's face came into view. Ash had then glanced back up to where Koba was and gestured for him to lower the child into the orangutan's arms. Koba hesitated for a moment but handed Silver to Maurice who gently cradled the little chimp and disappeared with the child back into the hole.

Getting on his knees as well, Koba peered into the underground tunnel and could see the shaggy ape handing Silver off to both Grey and Cedar. Both, whom tearfully, along with Maple embraced the young one gratefully. Seeing Grey's family whole again brought a warmth deep within Koba's chest as he watched the reunion. Grey had then glanced upwards at the opening and spotted Koba. A genuine and thankful smile spread upon the brown haired chimpanzee's face.

"Thank you," Grey thankfully signed at Koba. "Thank you for bringing us back our son."

Koba didn't say anything and instead simply nodded once at his good old friend. Easing himself away from the hole, Koba had looked up at the sky and noticed that the edge of the horizon seemed to be a little brighter. Was it nearing morning already? It only seemed like just a couple of hours since they've all planned their escape. But then again, there was that moment where the Colonel came in to disrupt things.

Looking over towards his right he then saw Rocket making his way towards Ash with Tinker in tow, now holding Cinder within her arms. Now their family was back together as well. All that leaves… Letting his gaze wander around the enclosure pen enclosure that they were in, Koba spotted Caesar whom still hugged little Cornelius close to his chest. A lump had set within Koba's throat as he could only watch from afar the lonesome father and son duo. Cornelia and Blue Eyes should be by their side. Instead, they were taken from both Caesar and Cornelius, ripped away by the Colonel.

And it was all because of him.

However, as he remembered the man, a cold icy fire erupted within Koba's chest, causing him to bare his fangs and hair to stand on end as he turned his attention toward the watchtower, where the Colonel's keep was. If he were there now, he would no doubt make the man wish that Koba himself had never existed. But alas, now was not the time and they needed to escape before this human army that Caesar spoke of, came in the morning.

…

Bad Ape waited anxiously as he eyed the pit from where the apes were supposed to come out from the tunnels. Along with him was the white haired gorilla-aptly called Winter, Spear and a few others. They were the first few grown up apes that had led the injured, old and pregnant safely through the tunnels. The rocky outcropping shielded them all from the human's view, but provided little to no protection against the cold winds.

Bade Ape had directed the others to the safety of the forest, cautioning them to make haste. They all did as asked and trudged on first. From the corner of his eye, Bad Ape saw that the white haired gorilla-Winter-was hand-speaking with a pregnant female. Another gorilla from the looks of it. From the looks of their faces and interaction with one another, Bad Ape could tell that they cared for the other deeply. If he didn't know any better, he would think that the pregnant female wanted to stay to which Winter was aptly against and was most likely telling her to go with the others.

After a brief more moments with their hand-speak, the pregnant female finally caved in and lowered her head. Bad Ape watched as Winter gently lifted the female's head up with a finger to her chin and gestured to her. Whatever the gesture was, it had slightly brightened up the female's features and she nodded once at the white haired gorilla. So, along with the others, the pregnant gorilla followed after and headed toward the safety of the forest beyond.

A noise echoed up from the depths of the pit, causing Bad Ape and the others to peer down it. There they saw Nova guiding a large group of little apes out of the tunnel to the base of the pit, where she steered them toward the ladder leading up to the surface. Snow fell past the children as they began to climb the ladder, one after another. They looked nervously up at Bad Ape, not recognizing him. He felt a pang in his heart as he recalled his own lost one as he stared into their frightened confused faces.

"It's okay," he said softly, urging them on. "Come, come…"

It was then that Spear, Winter and the rest of the others that were with him stepped in and signed at the little ones. Bad Ape wasn't sure what was told to the young apes but the tension and apprehension that they held for him, dissipated and small little limbs reached outward. Smiling warmly, Bad Ape had reached forward and took a hold of the nearest child and brought them up to safety, working along with the others around him.

In no time at all, Bad Ape and the others had brought up a whole troop of ape children, whom huddled together behind the outcropping with some of the other adults that had stayed behind. Maurice followed the last of them out of the pit and joined Bad Ape, Nova, Spear, Winter and the others.

Taking the initiative, Bad Ape crept up to the side of the outcroppings and just like earlier for the other apes that had crossed, pulled out the binoculars that hung around his neck. Making sure that the coast was clear for them all, Bad Ape finally turned around and gestured toward the others.

"Go, go, go!" he whispered to the other apes and children, waving them on with his hand while he lingered behind toe keep watch on the camp.

Bad Ape watched as Maurice led the little ones across and a few of the adults across the flats, toward the lower slopes of the mountain that loomed over the camp, into the safety of the forest. Meanwhile the other few adults that stayed with him help guided the little ones after the orangutan. They all ran single file toward the snowy, wooded hillside as fast as their feet and knuckles could carry them. Should they reach the forest and meet up with the others, maybe that should be enough to hide them away from the watchful eyes of the human soldiers that patrolled about.

Go, go! Run away! Run from the bad place! Bad Ape thought within his mind as he watched them go.

…

After the children had gone on through, it was the rest of the adult's turn. Rocket, along with Caesar, Ash, Grey and Andy took charge of urging the other apes down into the tunnels. As much as they dug through the hole for the bigger apes, it was still a tight squeeze for the gorillas and orangutans, that was proven with the first few. However, they managed still and were able to press on without much further complications. Many of the adults had wanted to stay with their own children during their escape but were persuaded that it was better to get all of the children clear of the camp first just in case the humans suddenly caught onto what was happening. It was a silent agreement between all of them that they did not want any children to be left in the pen, should the human soldiers started firing on them escaping apes.

It had taken much longer than they had liked to get everyone out, but finally the last of the apes had exited the pen, leaving only Rocket, his family, Koba and Caesar behind. Rocket and the rest curiously looked at Caesar, finding that the ape leader was standing by the gate, staring up at the Colonel's watchtower, which was lit up from the inside. They assumed that Caesar was keeping an eye out in case the Colonel suddenly appeared in the window again. However, the windows remain empty… for now.

Not wanting to push their luck, Rocket turned to his mate and son,

"Go," Rocket signed at the two.

"No, father!" Ash signed.

"We are not leaving without you," Tinker jumped in as well.

"I will not be long. I promise," Rocket assured his beloved family and pressed his head against theirs. "Now, go! We will follow."

Both Ash and Tinker paused for a moment but nodded silently at the older male's orders. The two of them quickly embraced Rocket once more before entering the hole that led into the tunnel as well.

Watching them leave, Rocket heaved out a sigh and unstrapped the rifle behind his back and turned around to fetch Caesar. Not to his surprise, the nearly bald chimpanzee had also saw the scarred bonobo approaching the ape leader and stood next to him. Approaching the two, Rocket watched as Caesar remained where he was, his golden-green eyes remained fixated upon the lighted window high in the tower. Rocket wasn't sure himself as to why Caesar was delaying. The other apes were safely gone; there was no need to linger or keep watching out for the Colonel anymore. He turned to look at Koba whom was watching Caesar with his own golden-green and milky white eyes, before turning his curious gaze toward Rocket and then back to their silent friend.

"Caesar? What's wrong?" Rocket signed as he approached the other chimpanzee. "We must hurry. Let's go!"

There was silence from the other chimpanzee, which was soon broken with his own voice.

"By the time the sun rises. You all will be on your way… to our new home," Caesar spoke quietly.

Upon hearing these words, both Rocket and Koba eyed each other, not understanding what Caesar's words had meant for them, even when their friend had turned around to grimly look at them.

"Hurry, you both must go," Caesar ushered.

It was then that both Rocket and Koba realized that Caesar did not intend to join them at all.

"Caesar?!" Koba spoke up.

"Without you? No…" Rocket signed solemnly.

A hint of regret appeared upon Caesar's determined features, but he did not relent. His course was clearly set, as it had been the moment he found his wife and firstborn murdered in their home.

"Maurice was right," he spoke up. "I could not escape my hate," Caesar finished as he turned his vengeful eyes upon the Colonel's tower. "He took too much from me."

Rocket lowered his gaze. He wanted to change Caesar's mind, to convince him that the apes needed him more than his revenge. But then he took a moment to remember his own anger after Koba had nearly killed Ash. His own want for revenge and wanting the scarred bonobo dead for what he did. But now… now it was different and it had changed. Koba had changed. Maybe…

"Don't." Koba's voice spoke up raggedly, causing both Caesar and Rocket to look at the scarred bonobo. "Don't go."

Caesar however merely stared at Koba, but said nothing else, waiting for the scarred bonobo to continue.

"It… it will not help. If you go there. And kill him," Koba huffed as he lowered his head in shame.

He then reached up and placed a hand over his chest, lifting his worried gaze back up at Caesar.

"The pain… It never goes away, Caesar. It just makes it worse. An empty cold feeling… I know from doing it myself," Koba explained.

From what Caesar and Rocket could see, Koba was shaking as he explained this to them. They did not know if it was due to the cold or something else, but Koba's voice wavered as he continued.

"Please… don't go. I… we have already lost too much. If what you say is true. About the humans soldiers. Then let the humans kill each other. Let's just go," Koba begged.

Rocket was quite speechless. In all of his time knowing Koba, the bonobo hardly ever begged. Yes, there were moments where he would ask for forgiveness from Caesar when he was disciplined, but never in a begging state like this. Caesar on the other hand, merely offered Koba a solemn smile. The ape leader had then reached up and gently took hold of Koba's head and slowly pulled their foreheads together. The two stayed like that for a moment, before Caesar pulled his head back to look at Koba, a relieved and thankful look upon his face.

"Thank you, Koba. For everything," Caesar spoke quietly confusing Koba.

"Cae-"

Before Koba could even finish Caesar's name; with a blink of an eye, Caesar had yanked the rifle away from Rocket and slammed the butt end of it atop of Koba's head. Like a sack of heavy bricks, Koba's form fell into a heap upon the snowy ground.

"What did you do that for?!" Rocket signed in panic as he knelt down to assess the damage upon their friend's head.

"I needed a way to stop him. He was going to go with me, even if I told him no," Caesar explained.

So full of emotion, Rocket did not know what to sign or say. Instead he looked over the unconscious Koba, making sure that he was fine before meeting Caesar's gaze again.

"Please, Rocket," Caesar spoke up softly as he handed Rocket back the rifle. "Understand."

Standing up quickly, Rocket took the weapon away from Caesar and sternly met his friend's gaze. Caesar simply stared back and stood unmoving from his spot. Maybe Rocket himself should knock Caesar over the head as well and drag both him and Koba back to the others.

But what would that solve? Caesar would simply just go back.

Seeing the emotional determination set within Caesar's eyes, Rocket couldn't help but lower his shoulders. Caesar was very bent on seeking his revenge, so much so that he had resolved to what he came to do and nothing he, Koba, nor the others would say, was going to deter Caesar. Even if it was young Cornelius as well.

"You are… really going to do this?" Rocket asked.

Caesar only nodded.

Caesar had made his decision, and as much as Rocket hated it, he was going to respect his friend's choice. Letting out a shuddering sigh, he finally nodded at Caesar, accepting the inevitable. He was tempted to join Caesar in his search for vengeance, but already know what his role was going to be, even before Caesar had said it.

"Rocket," the bald chimp looked at the ape leader. "Please look after my son. Make sure that Koba gets to safety. Tell them… tell them I'm sorry."

Rocket turned his head away and shut his eyes tightly for a moment before nodding his head. He did not like the position that Caesar had put him in, but it was the request of his best friend. Turning to look back at Caesar, Rocket could see the sadness within the ape leader's golden-green eyes. Like with Koba before, Caesar had reached up and pulled Rocket forward as well, pulling their foreheads together as they shared a moment of silent communication.

Caesar then pulled away from Rocket and looked his friend in the eyes.

"Go. Take Koba and go," he said.

Rocket strapped the rifle to his back again and heaved Koba's heavy body up onto his shoulder before reluctantly returning to the entrance that led back into the tunnel. Glancing back over his shoulder, he paused with the unconscious Koba on his shoulders, to look at Caesar one last time before descending carefully into the tunnel after the others.

Rocket wished his friend all the luck in the world.

And wished that the Colonel will pay for his crimes.

As you readers may already know, I used a lot of the deleted scenes from War of the Planet of the Apes for this chapter and hoped you guys liked it.

Regarding the part where the Colonel referencing Malcolm and being shot at... well I would like to refer you all all the way back to chapter 41.

I think I like it that Koba refers to Malcolm not by his name but by his nickname "Stupid Human."

Reunions everywhere and a little bit more on Winter and Coral.

I hope you all have a wonderful time reading this chapter.

Happy Readings!