Red, along with his fellow renegade apes were hastily assisting the human soldiers as they fired their machine guns that were mounted on tripods, into the sky. Where overhead, helicopters from the enemy forces shot back at them relentlessly. Ducking for cover from the sudden attack, Red helplessly watched as one of the soldiers had taken out a rocket launcher and shot it at the helicopter that had flown on by them, striking it down.

Cheers from the soldiers erupted from around as they scored a direct hit on their target. While the soldiers all congratulated each other for the small victory, Red simply watched the helicopter that was now engulfed in flames, unsure of how to react. On one hand, they had taken down one of the forces from above. On the other hand, Red was, to say the least, terrified of what he was witnessing or even being a part of.

Was this really the capability of humans that were willing to fight each other?

"Come on, donkey! Lets go! Reload!"

Red felt a shove from behind him, prompting him from his thoughts as he quickly got up and helped the human soldier with the machine gun. He glanced at the human for further direction on what to do but the man simply stared at something ahead. Confused, Red followed the human's gaze and to his amazement, saw a horde of apes scrambling out from behind sizable outcroppings of rocks beyond the wall. Caught between the camp and the northern army, the apes were obviously making a dash for freedom after somehow escaping from the pens that held them. They were all trying to cross the stretch toward the foothills towards the frozen forest beyond. Red couldn't help but blink in confusion, wondering how and when the apes had gotten free from their chains.

All of a sudden the machine gun right next to rusted haired gorilla sounded off and red hot bullets sailed through the air, aiming straight toward the fleeing apes. Red watched with growing horror from within him as apes suddenly fell onto the frozen ground, one by one. He could do nothing but simply observe as the apes were being needlessly slaughtered before his eyes.

…

High up in the watchtower, Caesar approached the railings and noticed that his apes were taking heavy fire from the soldiers on the wall. From his elevated vantage point, he watched in horror, desperate for a way to keep his apes from behind slaughtered by the human soldiers. Scanning the camp below, searching for a strategy, his eyes locked onto one of the tankers that was spilling out its fuel contents, all over the ground.

That was how!

Before Caesar could do anything, the sounds of roaring rockets in the air caught his attention and he quickly ducked as the campgrounds erupted into a blaze. Recovering from the sudden shock, Caesar quickly glanced down the railing to see that the flag underneath had caught on fire. Remembering that there was a bandolier of grenades on the table, he raced back into the Colonel's trashed command center.

Fists pounded furiously on the other side of the barricaded door; the Colonel's officers had finally managed to break through the locked door below and make it up the stairs. Unfortunately, they were calling out to a dead man, but Caesar did not care; they could find their leader's corpse on their own. Instead he aimed right toward the bandolier and snatched it off of the table as quickly as he could. Just as Caesar had grabbed them, the soldiers had smashed through the crudely constructed barricade. The soldier saw the sight of the chimpanzee and went for their weapons, aiming them right at the escaping intruder.

Bullets slammed into the walls and other objects around Caesar as he rushed out onto the railing that jutted outside and leapt right off of it. Reaching out, he grabbed at the flagpole, which only barely supported his weight, breaking his fall. The end of the pole tore loose from its moorings, but Caesar held onto it for dear life, riding it down toward the ground before letting go and tumbling onto the snowy floor of the campgrounds.

The rough landing knocked the breath from Caesar's lungs, but he quickly sprang to his feet and took off across the yard, as the enraged officers fired on him from the tower above. Bullets slammed into the ground behind him, tearing up the ice and snow. But Caesar moved on, running forward to save his apes from the danger of the soldiers on the wall.

…

Hundreds of apes were pinned down behind the outcropping, driven back from the hills by the machine-gun fire from the wall. Not for the first time, Rocket wished dearly that they could have made their escape under the cover of darkness and before the other humans from the north could arrive with their army. But now they had to make do with what they had. Taking a moment, Rocket fired back at the wall with the rifle that he had kept on him, hoping to provide cover for the other apes, some of whom were still emerging from the tunnels-like Tinker and Ash-to discover that there was nowhere to go.

Simian bodies of all kinds were cut down by the human's weapons. Littering the icy flats between the outcropping and the foothills. According to Bad Ape, Spear and Winter, they had explained that Maurice, the pregnant, wounded, elder apes and most of the children had managed to make it into the side of the forest and up the mountains at least. The rest of them though, were trapped here behind the rocks.

With nowhere to go.

…

Keeping back, out of the line of fire, Red realized that the apes, despite all the torture they had went through, were fighting back as a few stray bullets struck the machine-gun next to him.

Fighting for survival.

For some reason or another, the sight of the besieged apes coming under fire bothered Red more that he thought it should. He had no love for Caesar and the apes, who had chosen to side with the chimpanzee and betrayed him. Even for Koba, an ape he had once idolized, who had fallen so far from grace that the scarred bonobo was nothing but a stain now to the apes… but then something did strike out to Red in regards to Koba. For all of what the scarred bonobo had done, Koba had always fought to protect apes from humans… not the other way around.

Apes fight war to protect apes. Not to help humans.

Koba's words echoed into Red's mind, causing guilt to prick at his conscience.

I did not have a choice… I don't have a choice. None, Red thought to himself.

But what would Koba have done?

"Donkey! Donkey!" the gunning soldier beside bellowed at Red, jolting the rusted haired gorilla from his bitter musings. "Grenade launcher!"

Flustered from the order, Red stepped behind the soldier and searched through one of the packs to retrieve the demanded weapon. As he finally found the firearm and fished it out, Red was startled by what he saw down in the camp far below.

Caesar was racing on all fours across the prison yard with mortar shells, arcing over the wall and hitting the ground, exploding in the chimpanzee's path. To Red's astonishment, the ape leader kept on going. Darting around and charging fearlessly through the billowing smoke around him. Red continued to watch in awe, despite himself as Caesar rushed toward a large tanker that sat by the base of the wall. Looking back and forth quickly, Red's acid-green eyes then noticed the bandolier of grenades that Caesar had around him. The ape leader was less than thirty feet from the tanker, and closing in, when he plucked a grenade from the belt and reared back to throw it. Everything slowed down as Red watched Caesar reaching up for the pin on the grenade that he had just pulled. But then something dark, darted from out of sight and struck the ape leader in the side, causing Caesar's face to contort in pain and agony, before collapsing onto the ground.

Red gasped at the sudden turn of events and lifted his gaze up to see Preacher stalking his way out of the smoke toward Caesar, his bowgun in hand. Letting his gaze fall back onto Caesar, Red could see a bolt sticking out from the other ape's side. Watching the human soldier loading another bolt into his weapon, Red then noticed Caesar struggling in pain as he snapped off the steel shaft that pierced his body, leaving the point embedded in his flesh. He watched as the ape leader grimaced as he turned to see Preacher approach him, ready to loose another bolt from his weapon.

Red couldn't tear himself away from the scene.

"God damn it, donkey! Get me the launcher!" The human soldier shouted from behind Red, causing him to flinch at the horrid noise.

Grunting, Red briefly stared back down at Caesar and Preacher for a moment before standing back up and turned away from the two. As he approached the human soldier, Red stopped a moment to think once more. Images of the machine-gun bringing down apes, who would of course stand no chance once they were bombarded by the grenade launchers. Images of apes being blown apart again by the grenades filled Red's mind, shaking him to his core.

What would Pope do?

What would Koba do?

What would Caesar do?

Pausing, Red slowly looked down at the weapon in his hands as his heart pounded deep within his chest.

What should I do?

…

Pain stabbed at Caesar with every movement and every breath he took. Even worse though, was the knowledge that he had come so close to freeing his apes, only to be brought down by a human whose life he had once spared.

Lying in the snow covered ground, Caesar saw Preacher brandishing his freshly loaded crossbow. The injured ape could do nothing as he met the eyes of the human as he grimaced at the pain that erupted from his side. With the grenades resting nearby and just out of reach, it pained Caesar the most as he knew that should the human shoot him now, he would not be able to save his apes from danger. It was ironic really, that it would be Preacher of all people, not the Colonel, not Red, who would ultimately end him.

The young soldier halted several feet away from Caesar, staring down unhappily at his victim, as if conflicted. That was but only briefly before Preacher raised his crossbow and took aim right at Caesar's heart, face set in a stern resolve. Caesar braced himself for the fatal shot, regretting that he could not save his apes one last time. It was up to Rocket, Maurice, Koba and the rest now.

Setting his mouth into a thin line, Caesar face his death head-on, staring back at Preacher. Before anything had happened though a deafening blast erupted right in front of him, causing Caesar to cover his face on instinct. Coughing, Caesar glanced back and saw that Preacher had vanished from his spot, leaving nothing behind by charred, unrecognizable fragments and a blackened crater.

Dazed, Caesar's ears still rang from the blast as he blinked in surprise. It all had happened so fast that it took him another second to realize that he was still alive and that Preacher was… gone.

As the smoke cleared around him, Caesar looked around in confusion, trying to see what had happened. Glancing over his shoulder, Caesar was then surprised to see Red standing high on the wall, holding onto a grenade launcher within his hands, smoke slowly spewing out at the end of the barrel. The renegade gorilla gazed stoically down at Caesar, who still could not believe his eyes.

The rusted haired gorilla stood calmly on the wall with the soldiers, cradling the weapon, looking more at peace than Caesar had ever seen him before. For a second, Red reminded Caesar of the once loyal ape he had known years ago. Part of the Gorilla guard with his brothers, standing tall to defend the colony from any outside intruders, friend to many of the apes. Before he had thrown in with Pope and turned against Caesar and the other apes. Before he had sided with the humans against his own kind.

The human soldier behind Red was notably less serene in his actions. With his ears still ringing from the explosion, Caesar could not hear what the soldier was screaming at Red, but the furious human was obviously shocked and outraged by what the gorilla had just done. The man drew his sidearm and pointed it at Red, who made no acknowledgement nor effort to escape his fate that was to come. He merely gazed down at Caesar, a regretful and apologetic look within his acid-green eyes, until the bang and flash of a muzzle signaled his end.

Caesar regretted the other ape's sacrifice. Red must have known what would happen to him if he fired upon Preacher. That they, the humans would have killed him if he had betrayed them. But Red had done so anyway, trading his life for Caesar's when it mattered the most.

The human soldier who had killed Red pointed his gun at Caesar and opened fire. Reacting quickly, the wounded chimpanzee had snatched the fallen grenade from the snow and sprang to his feet, despite the sharp pain to his side, caused by the sudden motion. Gritting his teeth, Caesar pulled the pin from the grenade and hurled it straight at the leaking tanker beside the wall.

The soldier watched in horror as the grenade arced toward the tank car, even as Caesar had spun around and sprinted away from the tanker as fast as he could.

The leaking tanker erupted like a gigantic fire bomb once the grenade had gone off. Towering flames engulfed the entire section of the wall, consuming all the soldiers in the enormous blast that dwarfed the one that had killed Preacher. The din from the explosion drowned out the world, including Caesar's own pounding heartbeat as he raced onward, before being thrown forward from the blast.

Landing hard onto the frozen earth, Caesar grunted and gasped for a moment before he slowly pulled himself up to look at the destruction. Billowing black smoke, reeking of burning fuel, rose like a malignant cloud toward the sky. Blasted wooden logs, boulders, and slabs of concrete laid out in a blaze.

A wheezing sound off to the side had caught Caesar's attention, causing him to turn toward it to see what it was. His heart pounded within his chest as he took noticed a second tanker that has now caught on fire and was spewing flames as well. Reacting quickly, Caesar got on all fours and raced toward the adult pen, just as the second tanker had exploded. The explosion had caused a chain reaction, setting off one tanker after another, blasting the camp apart. Sprinting toward the tunnel's entrance within the adult pen, Caesar tumbled into it, right before the cataclysmic explosion destroyed everything within its path.

Landing on the ground and rolling onto his hands and feet, Caesar raced through the crumbling tunnels, which were already collapsing around him, followed by the explosion from behind. Dirt and ice rained down, threatening to bury him alive as his feet and knuckles splashed through the muddy puddles. Caesar had never navigated these tunnels before, let alone in the dark, so he gasped in relief as he spied a shaft of daylight shining down from above the surface. He rushed toward the source of light and leaped right at the bottom of its opening, landing on his stomach and covered his head, as the tunnel behind him had collapsed away.

…

After the sudden explosion from within the camp, Rocket glanced back at the treacherous place and saw that it was alit with flames. Feeling fingers closing around his, Rocket turned to look down at his side and noticed that Tinker too was staring at the burning flames with wide bright green eyes, with Ash standing just on her other side as well. Reaching over, Rocket made sure that both is mate and son were fine before checking on the others around them who seemed more shocked than injured.

As much as Rocket would like to know what had caused such a thing, he was not going to dwell on this and allow this moment of escape to pass on by. Letting out a grunt, he then ushered everyone toward the forest and mountain ahead, telling Ash, Spear and Winter to make sure the apes were heading there. Understanding the urgency of this dire moment, the apes quickly did as they were instructed and retreated toward the safety of the forest and mountain. Hand still entwined with his mate's, both Rocket and Tinker quickly followed.

Just as they reached the cliffs, Rocket had taken notice that a few of the apes seemed to be having trouble. Taking a moment to tell Tinker to go on ahead with Ash and the other, Rocket quickly approached the source of the problem. Nearing the apes Rocket came to see that it was both Grey and Andy, both whom were having trouble with their charge-Koba, who seemed to be struggling within their arms.

"What is going on?" Rocket asked confusingly.

"He just woke up!" Andy signed in panic. "From the explosion!"

"And he started lashing out at us," Grey finished as he tried his best to hold down the scarred bonobo to no avail.

The two chimpanzees yelped in surprise when they were suddenly tossed away and Koba stood up abruptly onto his feet, a rather delirious look upon his features.

"Caezar?!" Koba slurred as he quickly looked around himself, only to find the mentioned ape not among them.

"Koba?" Rocket signed slowly as he set his rifle down while approaching the scarred bonobo.

"Rocket?" Koba said slowly and nearly faltered before he righted himself back up. "C-Caesar? Where Caesar?" he asked quickly once more. "Where is he?"

Rocket's brows furrowed in worry as he continued the slow approach toward his friend.

"Caesar, he… he stayed behind," Rocket explained. "Went after the Colonel. Tried to stop him but he would not come."

Koba's eyes merely widened as he comprehended Rocket's words and quickly did a double take at the campgrounds, seeing it on fire. For whatever had transpired during his unconscious state, Koba saw that the camp now laid in a waste of flames and destruction. With charred and flaming debris still raining down on the canyon below.

Watching Koba, Rocket noticed the scarred bonobo's shoulders lowering as he kept his gaze upon the destruction before them.

"Where is the tunnel?"

Rocket perked up, surprised by the sudden question.

"Rocket. Where. Is. The tunnel?" Koba asked again.

At this Rocket set his mouth into a thin line and shook his head. He knew exactly why Koba was asking and it best that he did not know. Caesar couldn't possibly survive such a terrible explosion that had occurred and was most likely have been swallowed by it.

"Koba-"

Before Rocket could tell Koba that there was no way Caesar couldn't have made it through the explosion alive, the bonobo had suddenly sprinted past him. Blinking in surprise, Rocket turned around and saw that Koba was running back the way they had come. Down the rocky and frigid slopes and crags toward the canyon below.

"Koba!" Rocket bellowed after the scarred bonobo.

…

Climbing up the ladder and finally reaching the opening of the tunnel, Caesar dragged half of his tired and beaten body out onto the snow covered ground. A stab of agony from the bolt wound to his side was so intense that he had to pause a moment to catch his breath. Gasping and panting, he let the pain subside a little before lifting his head to the side and his eyes widened in horror. The Colonel and his troops may be gone, but in their place was now another problem.

The human soldiers from the north.

The soldiers all deckered in white, were walking alongside their convoys as they made their way across the icy expanse. Rising painfully from the opening of the tunnel and onto his feet, Caesar kept close to the outcroppings as he tried to get a better look of where these humans were heading. With one hand covering his wounded side, Caesar knelt by the stone coverings and peered past them at the destroyed campgrounds. He quietly watched as the soldiers in white had ran into the camp and came out with some of the Colonel's men.

A cheer rang across the humans dressed in white as they cried out in victory against the Colonel's forces.

Hearing pounding footsteps behind him, Caesar quickly turned around and braced himself for any sudden attack. To his surprise though, his gaze fell upon a familiar looking face. One that was panting hard and stared back with golden-green and milky-white eyes.

Koba.

The scarred bonobo closed the distance between the two apes and stopped right in front of the chimpanzee a look of shock and wonder upon his features. Koba's eyes looked over Caesar, as if he wasn't sure if the chimpanzee that was standing in front of him, was real or not. Cautiously, Koba then reached out with a hand and placed it upon Caesar's shoulder, feeling the other ape's body under his touch.

Caesar was here. Caesar was alive.

With that in mind, Koba had let out a breath that he had been holding and was deeply moved to see that his Caesar was alright. That he was okay and standing there-although beaten and bruised-with him.

Meeting the chimpanzee in the eyes, Koba could see that Caesar was giving him an apologetic look. As if to say sorry for rendering him unconscious before and not allowing him to go with Caesar in his revenge. As angry as he was about that, Koba did not care about it. For now though, he was just extremely happy that Caesar had survived the explosion and was there with them again.

Before the two could say or sign to each other, both Caesar and Koba paused momentarily when they heard something rumbling off in the distance. The two apes turned their attention up toward the snowy upper reaches of the mountain, where the ominous noise was coming from.

While Caesar's attention was directed toward the mountain he noticed that the cheering from the humans had died down. Confused he rounded his head to where the human soldiers were, noticing that they were staring back at both of him and Koba.

Koba, noticing this, took a step forward and placed his body protectively in front of Caesar, shielding the chimpanzee from the humans. This notion surprised Caesar and yet… it didn't as well. Remembering when Koba had tried to stop his torture, just days before. Begging that he be hit instead. Hardening his features, Koba bared his fangs at the human soldiers, who in response aimed one of their weapons at him.

Before anything could escalate any further, a giant rumbling rapidly built, causing everyone within the vicinity to turn to the upper reaches of the mountain. Dislodged by the earlier explosions, tons of packed snow, ice and rock streamed down the shattered slopes of the mountain, gaining speed and momentum at a terrifying pace. Billowing clouds of powder preceded a wall of white that cascaded over everything in its path.

Both Caesar and Koba ignored the humans and quickly made a dash back towards the other apes that were waiting for them.

…

Seeing both Caesar and Koba racing up the slopes, Maurice's features brightened up, if only momentarily. A thunderous crashing sound could be heard from behind and he quickly rounded himself to see the tidal wave of snow and ice. Panic struck Maurice and he worried about the others as he and a few others had led the bulk of the children up the mountain.

Quickly, Maurice hooted at the mothers, wounded, older apes, and newly arrived apes to help as many children as they could up the pine trees around them. Doing as they were told, all of the older apes took a child and quickly ascended to the top of the trees. Maurice-like many of the others-raced toward the nearest tree while carrying Nova on his back and ascended as fast as his limbs would allow him to.

Just then Rocket, Bad Ape, Grey, Andy, Spear, Winter and the rest of the apes had reached the ledge where Maurice and the others were before. Noticing that they were quickly climbing the trees, the group then turned their sights northward and saw the approaching avalanche. Stunned momentarily the apes stared for only a blink before they too rushed toward the trees. From among the apes, Bad Ape was quite terrified to see what was coming towards them, crying all the while and was to the spot on the ground. Luckily in just a fraction of a moment, Rocket had came back to the lanky chimpanzee and pulled him away from the sight and up toward the trees as well.

…

Further down the mountain, both Caesar and Koba had raced across the frozen crags and launched themselves into the trees. They both climbed as fast and as high as they could, rushing to get above the avalanche before it buried them alive.

It was a very close for the two apes that were still scrambling up the side of a towering pine when the forefront of the avalanche had struck, carrying a winter's worth of snow and debris down the slope at the base of the pines. A rising tide of snow chased both Caesar and Koba all the way up to the very top of their tree until it could not bear the weight any further. Under the intense weight, the pine that both Caesar and Koba were in started to bend downward. Feeling and hearing the startling crack of wood from underneath them the two apes continued to climb upon the pine tree and then leapt off of it onto another.

This time, both Caesar and Koba had nowhere else to go and ascended this new tree that they were in. Finally going no further the two apes held onto the tree and its branches for dear life. Freezing powder buffeted both Caesar and Koba, from head to toe, forcing their eyelids to shut. The endless rumble of the avalanche thundered in their ears as they fought an elemental battle against the surging ice and cold. The force of the avalanche tried to tear them both from their perch, but both Caesar and Koba wrapped their arms and legs around the tree trunk, refusing to let go or give in.

The avalanche crashed against the two apes and seemed to go on forever. But as suddenly as it had come, the tide had also quickly ceased. Replaced by a stunning silence, after the roar and rumble of the cataclysm that had just occurred.

Barely able to believe that the danger had truly passed between them, both Caesar and Koba cautiously opened their eyes.

An opaque white haze blotted out the world and everything in it from what Caesar and Koba could tell. Meeting each other's eyes, both of the apes were glad to see that the other was alright and was not taken from the avalanche. In their brief moment though, the two had let their gaze fall back down to the canyon below to see what had happened in the aftermath.

From what the two apes could see, everything was gone: the camp, the northern human army, everything.

The entire canyon itself had been buried beneath the mountain of pristine white snow, which extended out onto the wide-open expanse beyond, where no trace of the northern forces could be seen. Caesar himself scanned the plain, searching for any surviving soldiers or vehicles, but beheld only endless white as far as his own eyes could see.

"Gone."

Caesar turned his attention to his companion on the other side of him and saw that Koba was also staring down at the canyon below.

"They're all gone," the bonobo spoke in a grave voice with a stern look upon his features.

Letting his gaze fall back down to the canyon below, Caesar mulled Koba's words within his mind. As much as he would feel for the humans, Koba was probably right to state that they were gone. Should they have survived, who knows what would happen to both of them and the other apes. While in thought, Caesar's head quickly perked up, causing Koba to glance at him in alarm.

The other apes!

At that thought, Caesar let his eyes wander around him and his spirits lifted when the cloud dispersed further showing shadowy figures clinging to the treetops just above the crest of the snow. Relief flooded Caesar as the figures slowly turned out to be chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos all around… all quietly chittering from their own perches.

From among the apes, a bulky chimp raised his fist into the air and began hooting. Not a second after, hoots and barks came from all around, all hailing Caesar. Seeing all of their faces, all well after the aftermath, brought a tremendous joy within Caesar's own heart. Spotting Maurice and the others, with the children higher up signified that they too were well. As his gaze traveled upward, Caesar spotted Cornelius being held onto by Lake and next to them was Tinker with Cinder in her own arms, all beaming down at him. It was here that Caesar allowed a smile to grace his lips.

"You saved them."

Caesar blinked once before turning his attention to look at Koba who in turn was keeping his gaze upon all of the other apes. Then the scarred bonobo slowly rounded his head to gaze at the ape king, a smile upon his own lips.

"You saved all of them," Koba continued.

Silently blinking, Caesar turned his attention back to the rest of the apes and then let his gaze fall back upon the bonobo on the other side of the tree from him. Caesar then reached over and placed a hand upon Koba's shoulder, causing the bonobo to curiously glance his way.

"We, saved everyone. You, Rocket, Maurice, Bad Ape, and everyone else. We all saved each other," Caesar spoke slowly.

"Thank you, Koba."

At that, Koba's eyes widened at being thanked by Caesar. He felt that he did not do much to help the apes at all. However, he humbly accepted Caesar's gratitude and turned back to the apes while throwing a fist up into the air and joined in on their jubilation.

So, yeah... a lot happened in this chapter. Preacher's betrayal and Red's redemption. Rocket and Maurice keeping all of the apes alive. Caesar blowing up the wall and the camp, with Koba going back for the chimp and both surviving the avalanche together.

More to come soon. Happy Readings!