Lydia
It was Storm and Blaze's snarls which had first alerted Lydia to the fact that something was wrong, and she slowly sat up to take in her surroundings.
The dogs' hackles were raised, their teeth on display as they both stared menacingly towards the entrance to the small cave. The flickering light from the still-burning torch fixed to the cave wall cast dancing shadows across their small hovel, but it was another movement entirely that ended up catching Lydia's attention as she turned her head to look down into the nest.
Beside her, Orion stirred before he, too, sat up. She would have to get used to sleeping beside someone again.
"What is it, Mother?" The young ape male spoke in a soft whisper when he noticed the dogs' agitated state. Immediately, he was on high alert as well, his heavy brow lowered as he looked to Lydia for answers.
"I don't know, but…" She signed before putting her index finger against her lips in a request for silence.
The sound of pebbles skidding across the cave floor caught their attention just then, followed by the sound of carefully placed footsteps. The pair's heads whipped towards the entrance to their home. It was not the soft sound of the apes' bare feet, but booted footsteps.
Lydia felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as her heart seemed to still inside her chest.
No… She thought as dread washed over her. This can't be.
"Soldiers." Orion signed the word that she dared not as his stare grew hard. Determined.
Lydia nodded before she reached for her hunting knife. It would be easier to manoeuvre with than her bow and arrows inside the narrow cave system.
But just as she was about to get up, Orion grabbed her arm, holding her back as he gave a quiet hoot.
When she turned her head to her son, his lips were set in a firm line as he shook his head at her.
"No, Mother. Stay here and I will go. I can overwhelm a grown human male easier than you can." He signed once he let go of her arm, immediately raising his large flint knife, which glinted wickedly in the torchlight.
She wanted to protest. What was Orion even thinking? Like she would let him go toe-to-toe with an armed, battle-hardened soldier. He had just returned to her yesterday – what if he got hurt? Badly? She couldn't allow that. Her instinct was to protect him, to shield him, like she had always done.
And yet something in her son's eyes managed to convince Lydia that he would be fine. That he could handle it.
Her blue orbs drifted towards his torn ear, so horribly disfigured now. But he had survived that. He had been without her protection for two years, faced humans and forest predators alike and he had survived.
He isn't my little ape child anymore, Lydia thought, a strange mixture of pride and ruefulness blooming inside her chest, briefly drowning out her fear and anxiety. He's a grown male ape now.
A warrior.
"Stay here." He repeated in a hushed tone before getting up, leaving Lydia to calm their two canines down. It wouldn't do for them to give away their position – sounds did travel far inside these caves…
And just as that thought had passed Lydia's mind, she heard the footsteps halt and stilled her movements completely as a dark silhouette could be seen just beneath the edge of the deerskins covering the entrance to their home.
Orion, upon seeing this, had moved to press himself against the cave wall just off to the side of the entrance, waiting and ready to strike.
And strike he did, when the deerskin was moved aside by a gloved hand to reveal the barest hint of a person's outline.
Orion turned around then, quick as a viper, and with a mighty, protective snarl, he thrust the wickedly sharp flint knife into the man's gut. Lydia had never heard such a sound from her adoptive son and looked on with eyes widened in surprise. In the same move, the chimp pushed the soldier backwards, out of the private cave and into the corridor, where the unfortunate human male was slammed against the wall with so much force that Lydia flinched. The animal skins covering the entrance to their home, as well as the thick branch they were attached to, were all yanked from the cave wall and obscured Lydia's view of what had happened between her son and the intruder.
It didn't matter, though. She knew what the outcome would be before the scuffle had even ended – the soldier hadn't had time to fire his deadly weapon, much less breathe a single cry of fear or surprise.
Had Orion's knife piercing through the man's gut not killed him, then the impact with the wall surely would have, what with how incredibly strong the apes were. There was no way this soldier could've survived.
And as Lydia tentatively rose to her feet and stepped into the cave corridor, she saw that she had been right. The intruder had lost his helmet and his neck was twisted into an odd angle, telling Lydia that it was definitely broken. Below his protective vest, Lydia could also see how fresh, dark blood trickled from the wound, glistening in the flickering torchlight.
Orion stood over him, panting heavily with his hackles raised, his nostrils flared, and his hand still clutching the handle of his flint knife.
It was now covered in blood, as was the chimp's hand.
"Sweetie…" Lydia spoke in a hushed tone as she walked over to stand beside him. His breath slowed and the anger across his face faded as he turned his head to look back at her.
She had thought he would be needing comfort. He had just killed someone, after all, and Lydia knew that no matter your hatred, it was not something to be taken lightly. It left a mark.
But, evidently, there was no time for such comforts. No time to even think about what had just happened.
While he did look shaken, Orion's eyes bore no trace of the shame and regret that Lydia had expected them to. Instead, they were wide with concern and alarm as he reached out for her shoulder, whether to steady himself or underline the severity of the situation, she did not know.
"We must warn everyone." Orion spoke urgently. Sensibly. "More are bound to be here."
Lydia nodded at her son's words, knowing he was right, and hurriedly strapped her hunting knife to her thigh. She had managed to pull on a pair of deerskin pants before the soldier had arrived at their little hovel, though she hadn't managed to tie them or slip on a jacket over her thin tank top to shield her against the coldness of the night.
There was no time.
"Go warn the gorillas and find Rocket. I'll go to Caesar and Blue. They have to know we're under attack!" She ordered, and Orion nodded obediently as he called Blaze to his side.
It was like a silent agreement that they each take a dog to protect them. To warn them if anything was amiss on the path ahead.
Storm went to Lydia's side almost automatically. As if knowing what was expected of her before Lydia had even given the order for her to come.
Smart creatures, dogs.
"Be careful, Mother." Her son implored as they parted, him dropping down on all fours as he hurried down the corridor, while Lydia darted into the opposite direction, Storm hot at her heels.
She hadn't even had the time to pull on her boots and so, the sound of Lydia's bare feet against the cave floor, mingled with her laboured breathing as she ran, echoed through the long, narrow corridors that made up the Ape Colony.
Though she worried about Orion, her concern for Caesar and the two princes were much more pressing in this instant. Orion had shown that he was capable of handling himself and, unlike Caesar and his sons, he was aware that something was wrong and could take the necessary precautions.
Even with her lungs struggling to take in air as she ran, Lydia wanted to yell. Wanted to sound the alarm like the apes usually did when in danger. To let everyone know that their worst fear, the greatest threat the apes had faced yet, was on their doorstep. Worse, it was inside their very home, sneaking and slithering around like venomous snakes, looking for prey.
But she couldn't do that, she knew. Yelling would not only alert the apes to the danger, but also let the soldiers know that their cover had been blown. Who knew what they would do if that happened?
Lydia did know… They would throw caution to the wind. Abandon their careful approach and instead go about shooting anything and anyone they thought looked even remotely like an ape.
She released a trembling huff of exertion as she saw the tell-tale, warm light of the main cave.
The cave where Caesar slept with his family near the waterfall. It was literally the inner sanctum of the colony, protected by being hidden behind a wall of rushing water and only having a well-guarded, rocky path that lead into it from the outside.
Because of this, Lydia figured that the Royal Ape Family were well-protected and still unaware of the danger.
But as she entered the large cavern, the human came to realise that she had been wrong to assume so.
Terribly, horribly wrong.
Storm stopped and began to growl as they reached their destination and before Lydia had even properly exited the corridor and stepped into the light, she saw it too.
She saw it and was able to predict the outcome before the man had even pulled the trigger all the way back.
She saw it but could do nothing as Blue Eyes, for she knew it was him, standing with his back halfway turned to her, faced the threat.
It seemed like the Ape Prince had only just noticed the soldier when it happened. That ear-splitting sound of bullets being fired.
Lydia didn't see the small shadow that darted from the Royal Ape Family's nest and into another corridor – but she did see Blue Eyes, the eldest Ape Prince, Caesar's pride and joy, one of Cornelia's last treasures in this world, as he fell to the ground in a bloodied heap, riddled by bullets.
Lydia felt her heart drop through her body like a stone through water, only for it to land so heavily inside her gut that she was almost floored by the imaginary impact.
For a moment, she could do nothing. Nothing but stare in absolute horror as Blue Eyes, an ape she had known since he had been three years old, who she had helped teach and comfort and raise, lie limply on the floor.
Dead.
Then she heard the soldier, the dark shadow over by the waterfall responsible for this horrid scene, Blue Eyes' killer, speak as he made a report into his radio.
"Ninety-nine, target acquired. I repeat, King Kong is dead. Let's go!"
Over my dead body! Lydia's thoughts rang, clear as day through her head once more, her brain and body jarred into action by the man's proud, satisfied voice. It was like a revolting shock through her very being. One that spurred her into action at once.
She didn't have her bow and arrows with her, sadly, but in all honesty, Lydia was too angry and distraught to even consider that fact. She did have her hunting knife and she did have her dog.
With a cry of anguish and fury, she dashed out of the shadows towards the man, her knife firmly in her grip and her eyes focused on her target, who was in the process of hooking himself to a line hanging just beyond the waterfall. Storm was with her the entire time, charging forward with furious barks.
He barely managed to turn around and, after a split-second of utter surprise and confusion, fire his gun at Lydia.
She knew at once that at least one of the bullets had hit her, the sudden, searing pain as it tore through the flesh of her upper left arm was proof enough of that. But the adrenaline coursing through her allowed her to ignore it for now.
This pain meant nothing right now.
She was on him in a matter of seconds, too close now for him to properly use the large weapon as he suddenly had to grab for her wrists to ward her off.
The ledge they stood on was too narrow for Storm to jump at him, so instead, the faithful canine had gone for a leg, growling horribly as she tore at his clothes.
He seemed surprised at Lydia's ferocity, or maybe it was the fact that he was still tied to the wire and about to lose his balance with a furious woman and dog assaulting him like this. Either way, his eyes were wide and menacing as he stared back at Lydia, the whites of them popping out ominously against the dark face paint he wore.
She didn't feel the ice-cold droplets of the roaring waterfall as they hit her skin, soaking her hair and clothes. She didn't worry about the wound in her arm as she grabbed for his face to claw at his eyes. She completely disregarded the fact that this man was physically superior to her in every way.
It didn't matter. None of it did.
What mattered was that he had killed Blue Eyes and he would pay for it.
In the midst of their vicious scuffle, Lydia briefly triumphed in being able to grab his face and rake her nails harshly against his jaw with the hand not holding her knife.
It made him groan loudly in pain.
It was sure to draw blood.
But her satisfaction was only a temporary one and she quickly lost the upper hand that her surprise attack had provided when he swung his now free arm at her, slamming his fist into the gunshot wound he had dealt moments prior.
She howled in pain as the impact made her let go of her opponent and tumble to the side, against the cold, damp cave floor. If she survived this, Lydia knew this would bruise.
Now free, he managed to kick Storm off as well, hitting the poor beast right in the middle of her chest and, in spite of her rather large size, sending her backwards rolling and whimpering.
Apparently deeming Lydia to be a greater threat than the dog, the soldier turned to the woman, pointing his gun at her with clear intent to kill shining through his maniacal stare.
All Lydia did, knowing she was powerless in this position, was to offer her best, most defiant and hateful stare as she faced him and try not to think of all the people she'd leave behind. If she was going to die here, she would do so while facing her fate head-on.
But in that moment, before the soldier standing over her could even pull the trigger to end her, something further back inside the cave seemed to catch his eye. He turned his face from her to look more closely, his brows knitting together in confusion.
Lydia knew what it was without even having to look. Knew who it was as she saw the sudden look of surprise spreading across the man's features.
It was Caesar.
She turned her gaze to the ape as well, daring to take her eyes away from the threat in front of her to stare at the Ape King, whose own eyes darted rapidly around the scene in front of him.
Blue Eyes dead on the ground, Storm sprawled not too far off, whimpering, the solider with his gun still pointed at Lydia.
His face contorted into a raged grimace, a truly fearsome display as he began to charge forward, only to be stopped halfway and having to dive for cover by his nest when bullets came raining down on him. The soldier had, apparently, decided to prioritise killing Caesar instead and turned fully away from Lydia to fire at the chimp.
What happened next went down so fast that the memory would become a blur to Lydia later on – but she did remember her intent.
To protect Caesar.
She rose quickly, another rush of adrenaline shooting through her, and grabbed the soldier once more, yanking at his arm and shoulder so that the line of fire was diverted from Caesar and towards the ceiling instead.
Though, once more, the intruder managed to down Lydia, this time by swooping a leg around her own, making her trip and fall onto her back beneath the man.
That was going to bruise too.
She had fully expected the soldier to turn his gun at her once more and shoot her this time, but instead, as the sound of several more apes approaching echoed from the caves, he hurriedly turned around and jumped from the ledge and into the rushing wall of water.
He was soon followed by a furious Caesar, who briefly appeared as a dark shadow above Lydia's head before he, too, vanished behind the water.
The soldier must still be attached to the line, Lydia's thought raced. Yes, the soldier was… but Caesar wasn't.
It was only later, as others had rushed into the cave to help, that she was informed of how the Ape King had managed to grab a hold of the line, but that their assailant had cut it before anything else could have happened, leaving Caesar to plummet into the water below.
He was soaked when he came back up into the cave. Came back up to find Lydia still wounded, his eldest child still dead on the floor and his youngest still missing.
And the one responsible for all of this had escaped.
Caesar
He sat as if in a trance now, a sorrowful, yet strangely vacant expression on his face as he stared at the waterfall in front of him. They had just informed him that Winter was gone, and that he was likely the one who had betrayed them.
Caesar couldn't react to this information right now, too stricken. Too empty.
He had asked where Cornelius was instead. If there was anything he could be brought to care about right now, it was the whereabouts of his youngest child. His last living child…
They didn't know where he was. Said they were still searching.
He didn't respond to that at all.
"Come, let's go look for Caesar's little son." He noticed Maurice sign out of the corner of his eye, before everyone disappeared, and he was alone at last.
Lydia had been moved to Sparrow's cave so that the healer could take care of the human woman's injured arm. Orion was with her, Caesar knew, most likely worrying for his mother and entirely blaming himself for letting her go into the direction of danger. It wasn't his fault, though. He couldn't have known.
No one could have known… Except for Winter…
They had carried Blue Eyes off too… to prepare him for his burial, no doubt.
Caesar swallowed the lump forming in his throat at that thought and he felt his heartbeat quicken. He had just gotten his son back and now, he had been stolen away once more – forever this time.
Anger welled up in Caesar's chest as he let his eyes sweep over the scene for the umpteenth time that night, his green-and-golden stare catching sight of something on the cave floor by his nest.
He picked up one of the bullet shells lying around and it glinted almost tauntingly in the flickering firelight as he held it.
The longer he stared at it, the angrier Caesar got.
Was this one of the many bullets that had torn through his eldest son, robbing him of his life? Or was this the one that had wounded Lydia? Had it, perhaps, hit Cornelius, who was still missing?
Had it been one of the many intended for Caesar himself?
He clutched the shiny piece of metal within his large hand.
The Ape King's breathing turned heavy and laboured, his face a grim mask of rage as these thoughts raced through his mind. How dare they?! After the gesture of peace he had offered them yesterday? How dare they?! To sneak into his home, his sanctuary, and make and attempt at his life! To murder his family!
He was jarred out of his raged state of mind when a small sound from one of the cave corridors got his attention, making him spring to his feet, spear in hand. Was it another enemy? Had all the soldiers not left? Or worse, had they come back to finish the job? To slaughter them all this time?
But the Ape King quickly came to realise that this wasn't the case. In fact, what he saw in front of him was probably the most relieving albeit heart breaking sight of this entire, horrid night.
It was Cornelius, standing at the mouth of one of the corridors, whimpering and his green eyes glistening with tears.
The spear clattered against the cave floor as he dropped it.
"Cornelius!" Caesar breathed, his voice breaking as he went down into a crouch, his arms catching the little ape as he came hurdling towards his father, weeping.
The Ape King's arms wrapped protectively around the child as a trembling sigh of relief left him. His youngest was safe. He hadn't been killed like his brother.
But he had seen something terrible and he was scared out of his mind.
"You are safe now." Caesar whispered, rocking his child gently from side to side.
That was how Lydia had found them moments later, Cornelius cradled in Caesar's arms and the Ape King rumbling softly, soothingly, as the child continued to whimper.
He heard her bare-footed steps against the cave floor. He thought she was deliberately trying to make noise so that he wouldn't be startled, but as he turned his head towards her, it became apparent that it was due to her limping rather than anything else.
Even with the poor lighting of the cave, Caesar could already see bruises forming along Lydia's arms, though it was the primitive bandage around her upper left arm which ended up catching his attention. It lay thick around her arm, and the Ape King could tell that underneath the large leaf covering her injury laid a thick, herbal paste. It wasn't bleeding for now, however.
Caesar looked up at her face, knowing his eyes were damp with tears of equal parts grief and relief, but it didn't matter if Lydia saw them. Even if the colony didn't know it, she was his mate. She would understand.
Lydia kept a respectful distance, standing a few feet away from the pair as if she didn't dare go closer. As if she thought she shouldn't.
"So, you've found him? He's… He's okay?" She asked in a gentle, hopeful voice, clearly relieved as she eyed the ape child in Caesar's arms.
The Ape King nodded.
At the sound of the woman's voice, Cornelius wriggled in his father's arms and immediately reached out for her as soon as he saw exactly who it was, his fingers repeatedly opening and closing in a sort of grabbing gesture. He was reluctant to let go of Caesar, however, still clinging on to him with his other hand and feet.
Even now, she still looked unsure about whether or not she should get closer, so in the end, Caesar, too, reached out a hand for her.
"Come." He spoke simply, his voice raw.
Lydia obeyed, tentatively stepping forward and crouching down to be at the same level as the two apes when she finally reached them. She immediately grabbed Cornelius' hand in both of hers, pulling it in front of her face as tears began to appear in her eyes.
"Oh, you poor child…" Lydia's voice sounded, trembling. "You must've been so frightened."
No one else was here but the three of them, so Caesar wrapped the arm he had extended around Lydia's shoulders, pulling her closer so that she could put her forehead against Cornelius'. It seemed to calm the ape child immensely to have the both of them so close, and he stopped whimpering after a minute or two.
Caesar buried his muzzle in Lydia's hair. It wasn't wet from the droplets of the waterfall anymore, but nice, dry and soft against his face. He breathed in her scent in the hopes that it would calm him down. It did, to an extent, but… Not enough… Not after something like this.
If someone were to enter this cave right now, the nature of their relationship would have been all too obvious, but right now, Caesar didn't care. His child was in need of comfort, his mate was hurt and he himself was out of his mind with grief.
But eventually, Lydia had had to let go and get up. She said she had to get back to Orion, who had reluctantly let his mother out of sight as he himself had gone to check up on Ivy and her parents.
Lydia took it upon herself to inform the guards that they didn't need to search for the Ape Prince anymore, telling Caesar to just stay put and take care of his son as she disentangled herself from their embrace.
He's your son too, now, the Ape King had wanted to say. Can you not see that he craves your presence just as much as mine? He was tempted to ask.
But he didn't say anything. For once, speaking seemed beyond him.
She was right, of course. The guards should know, so that they could prepare for tomorrow instead. There was much to be done, and now that they had been found and the soldiers had realised that they killed the wrong ape, it was more important than ever that the colony got out of here.
Fast.
Still, he could tell that it was with much reluctance that Lydia left the two of them, walking with a limp into the shadows of the corridors once more. Cornelius was none too happy about her departure, but he absolutely refused to let go of Caesar to chase after her.
The Ape King cooed at his last living child, stroking his back comfortingly.
But even in this quiet moment, Caesar couldn't let go of his anger from before. Something inside of him had been… changed. Twisted and possibly even broken – he couldn't quite tell right now to what extent.
But he did know one thing.
The person responsible for this, the Colonel – yes, Caesar knew who it was. Rocket had told him that he had heard the soldier in the corridor mention him by name, speaking to him – he would have to pay.
Pay for rejecting the Ape King's offering of peace. For killing his apes and forcing his people to hide in fear for so long. Pay for invading Caesar's home and trying to assassinate him, for killing Blue Eyes and traumatising Cornelius like this. Pay for wounding Lydia…
For all of this and more, Caesar swore then and there that the Colonel would pay – with his life!
And as he sat there, holding on to Cornelius, the only thing still rooting him to reality right now, Caesar knew what he had to do.
And he knew he must do it alone.
