Author's Note:

The events of the second movie begin with this chapter, though rest assured, I am not going to just rewrite scenes from the movie with my characters in them. Most of the time, my characters will be somewhere else during specific events, and that's what we'll follow in this story, since I assume that most of you reading this already know what happens in the movie.
On some occassions, like it is the case with this chapter, I will have to describe some scenes which are shown in the movie, though I plan to elaborate on them in any case.


Orion

The three adolescent chimps strolled along one of the trails through the forest at a leisurely pace. It was the day after their near-catastrophic hunt with the adults, where Blue Eyes and Caesar were nearly killed by a vicious bear, and the rain had, finally, mercifully, stopped.

Even so, the sky was still white with heavy clouds and everything was soaked from the recent downpour.

Orion didn't exactly appreciate the dreary weather, but patrolling the forest had become one of the duties he had taken on as he had gotten older, and provided a much-welcomed break from the usual hunting, skinning and butchering. Also, he didn't mind it nearly as much if it meant he could spend the time with his two best friends.

Speaking of Blue Eyes and Ash, they were signing away to each other beside Orion, and it occurred to the slightly younger chimp that he better try to follow the conversation in case his input was suddenly needed. The discussion, however, seemed only to consist of Ash teasing Blue Eyes about his carelessness the previous day, which Blue Eyes grudgingly did his best to ignore.

Orion could only shake his head at both of his friends. It was light banter and not something Blue Eyes took personally, he knew, but the prince was still very much put-out by his father's reprimand after the incident.

"Think before you act, son." Caesar had told him.

Orion, while acknowledging his friend's wish to prove himself to his father, could not understand why he reacted so defensively towards Caesar's guidance. Orion's own parents would probably have reacted much harsher, had he acted the same way Blue Eyes did during that hunt.

He touched the claws and incisors dangling from the string around his neck. Bears were no joke.

He had told Blue Eyes as much as well while eyeing the prince's newly earned wounds across his chest. His friend had only scoffed and waved him off in much the same way he'd done to Caesar.

Really, Orion thought to himself while his two friends continued to argue beside him, Blue Eyes can be too stubborn sometimes… Too proud to realise that his father is only trying to help him become better.

And this hadn't been the only time, either. Most of the colony had noticed a growing tension between the two for quite some time now, and with each day, Blue Eyes was becoming more and more distant towards his father.

Mother had said it was part of becoming an adult, to want to rebel against one's parents, while at the same time wanting to prove yourself to them. It was a confusing and a vulnerable time in anyone's life, be they human or ape. When Orion had argued that neither he nor Ash were rebelling against their fathers, she had also said it must be doubly hard on Blue Eyes, with the pressure from all sides for him to grow up to become as great a leader like his father. It was a great burden for someone so young.

Orion admired his mother's wisdom at such times. She knew how to explain things in a manner that made them seem obvious.

His mother… now that was another thing that Orion couldn't understand when it came to his friend. He had always seemed to enjoy Lydia's company when they had been younger, seeking guidance from her just as he would any other adult, much like the rest of the ape children in the village.

But something had changed.

It had started roughly at the same time Blue Eyes had begun to distance himself from Caesar in favour of seeking guidance from his honorary uncle, Koba, instead.

Now, Orion didn't have any particular dislike for Koba per se. He was a skilled hunter and a strong male in general, even if his face did scare Orion to some extent when he was younger. It was just that he knew Koba's general opinion of mother, which Orion suspected was rubbing off on Blue Eyes. While Koba was civil when he had to be around Lydia, having finally accepted her as a contributing member of the colony, his grudge against humans was still ever-present and prompted him to avoid her on most days.

And telling his horrible stories about "human work" didn't exactly improve things.

But mother wasn't like those humans who had hurt Koba, Orion knew this in his heart and, luckily, most of his peers seemed to be of the same mind.

His verdant eyes strayed to Ash, whose obvious infatuation with Lydia hadn't faded since the day the strange family had arrived. Mind you, Ash was beginning to build up a healthy interest in ape females, just as their peers were, but Lydia was, without a doubt, Ash's first "crush", as she had called it herself.

As they had grown older, it had begun to embarrass Orion immensely that one of his closest friends was so fond of his mother, but ever since Blue Eyes had begun to change his attitude toward Lydia, Orion was just glad that it didn't seem to affect his other friend's opinion of her.

He had always known his mother was… different. And in more ways than just her being of another species.

Unlike the other females in the colony, she hunted and went fishing. Unlike the males, she helped weave baskets and tend to the garden where they grew tomatoes and other sorts of fruits and vegetables. Unlike anyone, she wore clothes and used her dogs to hunt.

And yet, none of it had never seemed strange to Orion. To him, she was just mother.

And he was proud to be her son.

The three friends walked on through the wet, dense vegetation, spears in hand and Ash keeping up his relentless teasing, when suddenly, voices could be heard in the bushes not far from where they stood, as well as some strange, unnatural rustling noises.

And that's when they saw it.

Right there, clad in strange fabrics, sweaty and tired-looking, stood a wide eyed human male, who, in a split second, reached for something shiny by his hip.

His eyes were full of fright as he pointed the object at the apes, telling them to stay back. The three adolescents were scared and confused, having never encountered any other human than Lydia so up-close and personal before.

Orion really had no idea what snapped the tension in the air but all of a sudden, all hell broke loose.

A deafening blast sounded from the object in the man's hands and before Orion knew it, Ash was lying on the ground, howling in agony as five more humans, one female and four males, came running towards them, shouting with alarm.

Orion rushed to his friend's side, examining the damage while screeching loudly for help, Blue Eyes assisting him as he held on to Ash's arm. They tried to back up against the sloping terrain behind them as the other humans gathered around the assailant.

Carver, they called him, as they started arguing over why he had shot the ape.

It was confusing to witness, and only added to Orion's rising fear as he realised that his and Blue Eyes' spears would be no match for the weapons these creatures wielded.

This went on for some time and Orion felt dread clench around his heart as his friend lay whimpering in his arms.

Soon, however, the apes' distressed calls were answered and the trees rustled as Caesar came down the hill with a huge group of apes. Orion was happy to see, out of the corner of his eye, that his father was part of the group coming to their rescue.

Meanwhile, the apes' approach made the humans gather up in a tight circle, fright clear on their faces as they tried to keep track of the many apes who now surrounded them in the trees and on the ground.

It was a formidable force to behold.

Then, after a few seconds of tense silence, one of the humans, the tall man wearing a bright blue jacket and a hat, who held a bigger version of the weapon the first one had, spoke up, keeping eye-contact with Caesar.

"We don't mean any harm!" He shouted.

"They're apes, man. Do you think they understand what you're saying?" The one they called Carver whispered as he hid behind the tall man. Orion's already low opinion of this man plummeted further, and he clenched Ash's hand tighter as his friend whimpered in pain. How dared he speak of them like they were just beasts, when he was the one who had attacked them like a cornered animal?

"Do they look like just apes to you?" The man in the blue jacket asked, never taking his eyes from Caesar as the Ape King stood over them on a mossy stub of a once massive redwood.

Then, the man seemed to decide on something, getting a determined look in his eyes. He lowered his weapon completely, spread out his hands and took a careful step forward.

"Dad." One of the others spoke warningly. Questioningly. He seemed younger than the rest to Orion.

"Malcolm, what are you doing?" The woman hissed nervously. Not as pale as mother, he noted, but still with brown hair.

"Dad?" The young one spoke again, with more urgency.

"Malcolm." The female repeated. The man took another step forward, ignoring them.

"It's okay. Put down your guns." He answered. His tone was calm, despite the fear present in his eyes.

"You can't be serious?" The dark-skinned male of the group said. He didn't seem to know if he should look at the one called Malcolm in disbelief at what he was hearing, or keep his eyes on the apes surrounding them.

"Do it." Malcolm ordered them.

They never got that far.

"GO!" Caesar yelled, jumping down from the stub in front of the humans, who were now more frightened than ever. Their eyes were all wide with shock and one or two of them cursed in surprise.

"Okay, okay… We're going…" Malcolm said placatingly as he made the group back away.

And they fled down the hill the way they had come.


Caesar

"We must attack them now!" Koba signed hastily, grunting with anger as he did so. "Before they attack us!"

"We don't know how many weapons they have. How many guns. Or why they came up here." Maurice replied wisely.

He had been occupied with leafing through the book that the youngest human had dropped, along with his backpack. They were filed with sketches, as well as a picture of the boy together with a woman.

Caesar only pursed his lips when the orangutan showed this to him.

The Ape King was at his wits end.

After the encounter with the group of humans, he had gathered his council for an emergency meeting in the village's centre. Around the circle consisting of Caesar's council, apes were hooting, screeching, jumping and gesturing wildly to make their opinions known. Koba, as expected, insisted they must attack. That the humans were dangerous and would surely hunt them down now that they knew the apes were there. He even appealed to Ash and Rocket, pointing out how the humans had shot the adolescent.

"I follow Caesar." The balding ape had replied resolutely.

He looked around at his apes from beneath his heavy brow, searching for one face that would stand out in the crowd more than any other. His eyes found Lydia's a bit away from the council-circle, as she leaned against a hut with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

He could not discern her expression.

Her brows were knitted together in what Caesar assumed must be worry and her entire posture was stiff as a board, even if she attempted to look relaxed.

Beside her, Orion was sitting on the ground with his arm around one of the dogs, Storm, carding his fingers through the thick, stormy-grey fur of the canine as he observed the riled-up apes around the village. His father was sitting nearer the council, listening intently with a deep frown on his face.

"Koba is right! They almost killed you, Ash!" Blue Eyes interjected. Rocket's son only turned his head away, hooting meekly in reply. His shoulder, ripped open by the bullet, had stopped bleeding. Truthfully, it was only a grazing shot that had no way of being fatal. But they couldn't know if that had actually been the human's intention to begin with. A warning.

The hooting throughout the colony was getting louder by the second.

"NO!" Caesar yelled, effectively shutting the whole village up with the sound of his booming voice.

He looked around as silence fell over the gathering, a meaningful look in his eyes as he signed.

"If we go to war… We could lose everything we have built."

He paused briefly before he spoke again, saying the words out loud for emphasis as he signed.

"Home… Family… Future…"

At the last word, he reached out to lift Koba's head up from its bowed position to face him. It was especially important that the bonobo understood this. It wasn't just about the here and now. They needed to think about what came next as well.

"I will decide tomorrow." Caesar signed with finality, and the council dispersed as he rose to his feet.

He wanted to go to Cornelia and the baby. It would calm his mind as it raced to come up with a solution, he was sure, but there was one thing he needed to do before that.

He went towards Lydia, who hadn't moved from her spot. She was looking at the ground, deep in her own thoughts, and only noticed Caesar's approach when he stood right in front of her, giving a curt grunt to gain her attention. Her gaze, hard with worry, lifted to meet his eyes and her features immediately softened.

"Can we talk?" He asked, his stern gaze still in place, as ever. "Alone."

For a split-second, her eyes darted in the direction of Roy, who was in deep conversation with Rocket. Then they fell on Orion, who was looking up at her from his sitting position. He had been shaken-up by the experience and, naturally, preferred to stay close to his family after such an event.

But the adolescent only nodded at her before he got up and walked towards Ash, no doubt wanting to share some comforting words with his long-time friend.

Orion was a good ape, of that, Caesar was sure.

Lydia's gaze returned to Caesar and the Ape King jerked his head towards the village's gates, indicating that they should go to the waterhole to talk. He wanted to keep this as private as possible. Lydia was not part of the council, naturally, but Caesar felt that, given the fact that it was her kind they were dealing with, he should get her input on the situation before he made any decision on the matter.

But he had to keep it discreet, so his council and the rest of the village wouldn't take offense.

He had known humans, true. But he wasn't one himself and so, he could only guess what their reaction would be to whatever action the apes took.

The walk up to their usual sitting place on the fallen log was made more difficult than usual by the muddy ground, a result of the last week's heavy rain. Lydia often had to grab branches of nearby trees to haul herself up when they met a steep slope, while Caesar merely grabbed the protruding roots in the ground with his dexterous feet.

All around them bright, green leaves were dripping with moist and the echoes of birdcalls sounded through the huge forest.

Near the end of their trek they came to a particularly steep part of the trail, and Lydia once again hauled herself up with the help of a branch.

Only this one snapped.

"Fuck!" She yelped as she fell backwards, no doubt expecting to roll all the way down the muddy trail to end up battered and bruised at the bottom of the hill.

Caesar, who had walked beside her, swiftly turned and reached out his arm, grabbing her around her back and pulling her towards his chest to steady her. She placed her hands against his furred chest to regain her balance, fingers digging softly into his pectorals.

And suddenly, there they stood, in the middle of the overgrown trail, right there in the forest, breathing heavily from the prospect of the near-accident, with Caesar's one, strong arm firmly situated around her back. It took them both a moment to recover from the slight startle. A moment in which their eyes met with an intensity Caesar didn't think possible.

Then, as quickly as it had occurred, the moment was gone and Lydia stepped out of his hold with a soft "uhm, thank you" and a faint blush across her cheeks.

The Ape King could only nod as he tried to school his features back into his customary stern gaze and followed her as she continued up the last stretch of the trail.

It had felt nice, Caesar realised as they emerged from the bushes to make their way towards the mossy, green log. Still, he could not help his straying thoughts as they returned to her body pressed firmly against his, her fingers against his hard chest.

Her heavy breathing through her parted lips.

No! He reprimanded himself sternly. Your beloved wife has just given you another child only yesterday! Your people are facing the greatest threat to their existence in almost ten years! You cannot let your instincts blind you! Focus!

He had done a great job at oppressing these thought in the past three years, if he did say so himself. It had even come to a point where he'd almost been able to rid himself of the image of her naked body. It probably had to do with the fact that he simply didn't give himself the time to ponder on it most days. He had a village to run, after all.

And when Cornelia had fallen pregnant, he'd devoted himself utterly to the project of becoming a father once again. He was overjoyed with the new addition to his family, which had only solidified his love for his wife even further.

So why, time and time again, did he find himself drawn to this human woman? It was ludicrous.

Lydia crawled up onto the log, careful not to slip on the damp moss that covered it, and, unknowingly, gave Caesar a nice view of her clothed rear.

He ignored a stray, indecent thought that followed the image before him, and hauled himself onto the log as well. The Ape King sat with a grunt beside her and they fell into a comfortable silence, letting the sounds of the forest permeate the air around them.

"What do you think of… this situation?" Caesar signed finally.

Lydia, having turned her head in his direction, frowned slightly and sighed in a hopeless manner after a few seconds.

"I don't know… I was beginning to think that maybe I was the only one left. I never anticipated this problem." She answered in sign, not wanting to break the quiet atmosphere around them by speaking out loud.

"I am trying to think of a way to deal with it. Peacefully." He signed imploringly, putting emphasis on the last word. "Many apes want to fight. My own son, too. But we risk losing everything if we do this. On the other hand, I fear the humans will attack, now that they know we are here. The way they looked at us. I have seen this look before, many years ago."

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the image of all those humans they encountered on their way to freedom ten years prior. All with eyes full of fear, trying to defend themselves against that which they did not understand.

"When humans have fear in their eyes, they attack." He said simply, hoping that she would understand his meaning.

He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, how she nodded at his words.

"True," she signed, "you guys probably gave them quite a scare… But I agree with you. We should not attack."

"But apes have to take action. We have to react." He signed back, underlining the dilemma they were faced with.

She pondered this for a moment, scratching her arm absentmindedly as the cogs turned in her head.

"Show them that we are here and that we're not going away. Show them that we want peace, but that we can and will fight if we need to. A display, if you will." She answered finally, "Make it clear to them that the apes want to be left alone."

He nodded at that. Yes, they needed to show it. Make a display of strength, but also of goodwill. It was something that Caesar, as a leader of apes, could understand.

With that thought, he made a decision.

"Tomorrow, we will go across the bridge. We will show them our numbers. Our strength. And tell them to stay away." He signed, resolute in his choice.

She nodded approvingly, but an uncertain look appeared in her eyes after only a brief moment.

"Do you want me to… come along?" She asked, hesitance clear in her voice

His heavy brow knitted in thought at her words.

"You… don't want to?" He asked confusedly.

"I'm not sure it's a wise thing to do. Showing that you have a human living with apes. They might get the wrong idea."

"And what idea would that be?" He questioned, almost challengingly. He didn't know why, but something about the way she said it made him want to bristle.

"They might think you're keeping me here against my will. As a prisoner." She answered matter-of-factly, looking at him with a blank stare. She seemed to be waiting for a strong protest from him, some kind of indignation at her reasoning.

He wanted to protest. Say that they would never do such a thing and that the humans should realise this.

But there was a truth in her words, he knew, no matter how much he wanted to deny them. Even if they brought her along on her own horse and with her own weapons in hand, there was still a chance that the humans could see her as a hostage of the apes. They were, after all, far stronger than a lone woman with a bow and a dagger could ever be.

The humans might even speculate further than that and guess at what the apes could have possibly done to Lydia to make her cooperate.

The thought made him almost shudder with disgust.

"You are right." He agreed finally, "It is a shame. You would probably have been good at explaining things to them. But I don't want to risk you either." There was a double meaning to his words, and he doubted that escaped her notice, if the softening of her eyes was anything to go by. It was no secret that she had become a good friend to the Ape King, as well as many of the other apes. He also knew that she was apprehensive about meeting other humans again, previous experience in this post-pandemic world having taught her they were volatile at the best of times.

He wouldn't risk exposing her like that, displaying her in front of creatures she had persistently distanced herself from for so long.

Then, an idea popped into his mind.

"You will stay here. Guard my wife and child until I return with our forces." He said after a short pause. "Keep them safe."

He would trust Lydia with this important task. She was a good friend to Cornelia as well and had adored the new-born prince since she had visited briefly the night before, checking in on the Ape Queen. Also, he wanted someone attentive to be by his wife right now, since he'd noticed that Cornelia had seemed even more under the weather ever since the birth. Wheezing, out of breath and feverish. She had brushed him off when he'd mentioned it that morning, but Caesar was certain that something was wrong.

And even if she was fine, it would still be handy to have someone who knew how to wield a weapon guarding her, in case the humans did choose to attack.

Lydia nodded in agreement, looking somewhat relieved.

There was a part of Caesar that still didn't understand why she wasn't at least interested in meeting her own kind after so long with the apes, despite what had happened in the past. Wondering why she wasn't at the very least curious as to what was happening among the last remnants of her own species.

But then again, she had been living with the apes for so long that perhaps she didn't see humans as her own kind anymore. That was a curious thought. After all, she had an adopted ape child and a mate. And all her friends were apes. It was all she had known for the past five years.

And she seemed happy with this.

"I wonder what they want up here, though." She signed, pulling Caesar out of his reverie.

"I was going to ask you about that. What could drive them here? It was a very small group. Not fit for an attack." He replied thoughtfully.

She only shook her head when nothing seemed to come to mind.

"Well, it does not matter." Caesar signed when she didn't give any further reply. "They should stay in their city. And we will stay in our forest."

The rain started dripping from the sky again, creating little ripples in the tranquil water around them wherever it landed. The sound of droplets hitting the leaves high up in the trees calmed Caesar greatly, and he was almost able to forget the difficult task that lie ahead. Almost able to forget the tension between himself and his eldest son.

Almost able to forget the alluring scent of the human woman sitting beside him.

Almost.