Lydia
The assault from what Lydia guessed was the Northern Army began shortly after her and Caesar had made their way out of the cage and onto the roof of one of the buildings. The soldiers had begun pouring out of the barracks a few seconds later. A seemingly endless stream of armed men and women charging through the compound and reminding Lydia of a giant herd of wildebeests running straight into a croc-infested river, like in the nature documentaries she used to watch as a kid.
She almost shook her head at her own thoughts. What strange connotations the brain can make in stressful situations.
Because what was happening right now was beyond stressful, alright.
Exploding missiles hitting the base, soldiers shouting at the top of their lungs in panic, helicopters whirring as they charged through the air, the overhanging threat of being discovered outside that damned cage and shot dead…
Yeah, Lydia was pretty stressed out right now, to say the least.
Besides that, any second now she expected the soldiers to just turn their heads and realise that they were missing hundreds of ape prisoners, all of whom they had held captive in the middle of the compound! They were all running straight past it, after all.
But if any of them did notice the missing apes, no one seemed too concerned about it at the moment. Perhaps that was understandable with the overhanging threat of, at least by Lydia's estimation, a much better equipped army at their doorstep. Why would they take the time to think about what they considered to be a bunch of animals at such a time?
Might be that this attack would become the perfect distraction after all? Provided that her and Caesar actually survived it…
At least that would be a positive note… Maybe…
Another missile rushed towards the base and Caesar quickly put an arm around Lydia's shoulders and pulled her down for cover. It didn't hit anywhere near them in the end, but she appreciated his consideration all the same.
The two of them began to stealthily make their way along the roof, heads kept low, until they reached the edge that faced the Colonel's quarters. A bunch of soldiers were gathered at the heavy metal doors leading into the building at ground level, yelling for their leader to come out as the sirens tolled in the background.
There was no answer.
"Odd…" Lydia spoke lowly beside Caesar. "Shouldn't he be out ordering everyone around at a time like this?"
Caesar nodded severely, a deep crease appearing on his heavy brow as he stared up at the balcony leading into the Colonel's room. Every morning since they had arrived, Lydia remembered how he had been standing up there, high and mighty as the soldiers had stood in line and cited that incessant battle cry of theirs.
Now, in the midst of the battle he had been expecting for so long now, the one he had been riling his troops up for, there was no sign of the madman at all.
Caesar grunted to gain Lydia's attention and inclined his head towards a narrow metal beam that might once have supported another section of roof, but now only served to mark a separation between the centre of the base and one of the barracks the soldiers lived in. Then, the Ape King reached over his own shoulder and patted his back, making Lydia tilt her head in confusion.
"What?"
"Jump on. We are going across." Caesar instructed simply.
Lydia eyed the beam again, now with visible uncertainty. As if this whole mess wasn't already stressful – now he wanted to give her a piggyback ride across a slippery metal beam about 20 feet in the air? Right above a hoard of trigger-happy soldiers in the middle of a goddamn war-zone?
Not to mention Lydia absolutely loathed being carried around. She felt much better being in control of her own movements, especially when being so very far above the ground like this. As if that time she had been hauled around by Luca and Orion like a sack of potatoes during Caesar's battle with Koba hadn't been enough of this sort of stuff for a lifetime for her.
But then again, she had insisted on coming along whether or not he liked it – nobody had said anything about her liking it either.
The things she did for love…
"Right." Lydia agreed, moving behind Caesar's crouched form and slipping her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, hoping she wouldn't end up choking him in the process as she grabbed hold of her own wrist in front of him. He got up on all fours when he was satisfied that she had the proper grip and Lydia's legs were lifted off the roof to wrap tightly around Caesar's midsection, adding security to her hold on him.
She figured she probably looked like an abnormal, oversized ape child like this, but didn't give it much more thought once Caesar began trudging towards the precarious-looking beam. All Lydia could think of at that point was to hold on for dear life, pressing her cheek against the nape of the Ape King's neck and squeeze her own wrist so hard she was sure it would turn blue with bruises once she let go.
And speaking of letting go…
"How do we get up there once we're across this thing?" Lydia managed to ask, biting her lip.
"I will climb." Caesar answered matter-of-factly as he carefully placed one hand in front of the other, followed closely by his dexterous feet. "You keep holding on."
Great, Lydia thought sarcastically, letting her eyes wander from the ground below them and all the way up to the balcony about two floors higher up. Part of the building's façade had already been partially blown up by a missile.
Here's to hoping there won't be another while we're going up there, Lydia thought as Caesar, now safely across the beam, began making his way up the walls, using whatever nooks, crannies, metal rods and cracks in the concrete he could find to get the best grip possible.
It would probably have gone a lot faster if Lydia hadn't been weighing him down like this, especially since he wasn't exactly in prime condition after having been starved for days. Not that Lydia herself was doing any better, but she, at least, didn't have to carry another person's entire weight while climbing up a wall.
Caesar made no complaints, though. Nothing apart from the occasional grunt of exertion as he hauled them both further up until they finally, mercifully, reached the metal grid that made out the floor of the balcony. Once there, Caesar carefully snuck underneath the railing and stayed in a crouch until Lydia let go of him, first with her legs, then her arms.
He briefly laid a hand on her shoulder, silently checking if she was unharmed before they both slowly got up and, very carefully, stepped into the room.
To Lydia, it felt like walking into the lion's den.
Only the predator in question didn't seem to be home…
As she and Caesar tentatively stepped into the dark room, they didn't look back as a helicopter was shot out of the air and exploded against the mountainside just outside the base itself. The battle out there, the shouting, the shooting, the blasts of missiles striking down, all seemed to fade into the background as the pair took in their surroundings.
The place was a mess. Chairs knocked over, strewn across the floor together with lamps, books, papers and various sorts of military gear.
Now, unlike Caesar, Lydia hadn't been up here before, but she was pretty sure that this was not a state a man like the Colonel would let his private quarters be in. Deranged as he was, it was clear he believed in order and discipline, and Lydia was certain this would translate into his choice of décor as well.
The room he had picked for himself in the base was certainly as Lydia would have expected. This place, with its control panels, small, backlit war table, the windows overlooking the entire compound...
This was the central control room, supposed to be the brain of this quarantine zone and everything that took place within it.
Just like how the Colonel saw himself. In control. The brain of his unit – his soldiers his arms and legs.
But where was he?
Lydia followed Caesar over to the war table, where a map of the entire West Coast was laid out, plans of military assaults scribbled onto it with a neat handwriting that Lydia was certain belonged to the Colonel. On top of said map laid a belt with hand grenades fixed to it, together with an opened can of food, a small primate skull – perhaps that of a gibbon, Lydia wasn't entirely sure – and lot of bullets lying around in piles.
A battered hip flask was also lying on the table, its contents spilled across the map…
And the picture of a young boy.
Lydia didn't even have to ask who this was. She could guess it pretty easily. Why should she be the only flu-survivor to keep pictures of loved ones, after all?
A low, laboured gasp from the room in the far back had both of them whip their heads in the direction of the sound, Caesar immediately moving a protective arm in front of Lydia to prevent her from investigating it.
Heart hammering inside her chest, Lydia obeyed her mate's silent command and stayed behind him as they slowly inched towards the back room…
Caesar
When Caesar finally moved past the doorframe leading to the back of the Colonel's quarters, Lydia close behind him, he was met with the sight of the man he was here to kill.
The Colonel.
Shirtless and sprawled across his bed on his stomach, arm outstretched to reach for a bottle of alcohol slipping just an inch out of his grasp, he didn't notice Caesar and Lydia standing in the doorway to what was quite obviously his bedroom.
He must be drunk, the Ape King concluded inside his mind, which was already beginning to fog over with anger and the need to finally get justice. At last, the man who had caused him and his apes so much hurt and suffering would be dealt with.
"I'll wait for you out front." Lydia signed after having gently poked his arm to get his attention. She had a serious, though compassionate look on her face, and Caesar nodded with the most thankful expression he could muster at the moment.
He appreciated that. Her letting him deal with this on his own. The fact that she could tell that he needed to do this by himself.
Besides, Caesar knew that this would be a low-point for him. Something that would bring him satisfaction, but also something he would never feel proud of doing. And even though he knew Lydia was no stranger to death and also had nothing but contempt to spare for this man, Caesar didn't want her to be here when it happened. Didn't want her to bear witness to what he was about to do.
She cast one last, pitiful look at the Colonel and turned back into the front room, leaving the two enemies alone at last to sort out their differences.
For Caesar to finally rid himself of his hate.
Caesar's breathing was laboured as he spotted the pistol lying by the bed, still in its holster. He couldn't have planned it better himself, even if he had tried – it was almost like the world itself wanted him to end this man right now.
The Ape King calmly moved forward and took hold of the gun, letting the holster slip off before he pointed it towards the Colonel's head. He noted with an underlying satisfaction how the man froze mid-action in front of him.
This was it.
He was ready to pull the trigger and finally end this, once and for all.
Caesar grit his teeth and felt how his brow furrowed. Tears of anger and relief were welling up in his eyes already, and he panted heavily in preparation.
He wanted the man to look up and face him. To look Caesar in the eyes and realise the mistake he had made in hurting the Ape King and those he loved. To take so much from him and still attempt to take more!
But when the Colonel finally raised his head to face Caesar, something wasn't right.
The Colonel… wasn't right.
He was drenched in sweat, his face glistening with it in the low light, and around his mouth were thick, messy trails of blood from his nose.
Caesar nearly recoiled at the sight… And then the sound.
Because when the man tried to talk to him, instead of the smooth, eerily calm voice the ape knew his enemy to possess, a raspy hiss had taken its place.
Just like the soldiers Caesar and his group had found on their journey here.
The Ape King felt his jaw go slack with realisation and, following the Colonel's gaze as it shifted towards one corner of the room, he spotted it.
The doll. The one the girl had thrown into Caesar's cage the other night in an attempt to comfort him. Its fabric was stained in blood, like a murderer covered in the blood of their victim, though it looked so innocent as it lied there on the floor, tossed away like the forgotten toy it really was.
The Colonel had become infected by it, the ape realised, an unsettling sort of sensation squirming inside his gut. He had contracted the disease that the little girl had. The one that had made the Colonel kill his men – and his own son as well.
Before he could ponder on that feeling, Caesar was brought back to the confrontation when he felt the Colonel grab his hand, the one holding the gun, and watched with a burning heart as the man put it against his own, sweaty forehead.
Newfound anger welled up inside Caesar's chest at the sight. The way the Colonel looked him in the eyes almost expectantly, as if to say: Go on. Do it. See what I have become and free me of this misery.
He forcibly removed the human's hand from the gun, wanting no guidance from his nemesis in how to end him. Not needing it.
The ape shook with anger at this point, tears running down his cheeks and his eyes narrowing dangerously at the Colonel. The man who had taken his son. The man who had almost killed his mate. Who had imprisoned his apes, tortured them, worked them half to death and starved them.
But… As Caesar looked at him, eyes squeezed tightly shut and on the verge of tears in preparation for his own end, he realised that this… Killing this man would never bring him the peace of mind he desired.
Those large, wet eyes begging for death… Those were not the same cold, calculating eyes with that hint of madness lurking just beneath the surface. They were the eyes of something much more primitive and helpless.
The Colonel had become the very thing he feared the most. That which he had killed his own followers to evade and eradicate. That which he had believed was beneath him as he had pushed towards his so-called higher purpose.
And now, faced with his own deterioration, he was begging for an escape. For mercy.
No… Caesar thought, feeling his fury melt away as he lowered the gun to simply stared at the sick human in front of him, base and weak as he was.
The Colonel opened his eyes as the metal barrel of the gun was removed from his head and looked up at Caesar with confusion painted across his bloodied face. The accompanying rasp almost sounded like a question to the ape. Perhaps he was asking what Caesar was doing?
Perhaps he was asking why he hadn't pulled the trigger?
Perhaps he was still begging?
Caesar slowly crouched in front of the sick man, laying the gun back down on the metal case beside the bed. He felt how his face fell into calmer folds the longer he stared and how all his pent-up hatred and resentment gave way to a strange sense of disappointment and pity.
There would be no satisfaction in killing this creature. No peace of mind and no feeling of justice… It would simply be giving him a mercy he didn't deserve, and Caesar wouldn't, couldn't do that.
No, the Colonel would provide that for himself – just like he had for everyone else who had fallen ill to this disease.
At this point, that would feel more like justice to Caesar than him pulling the trigger now ever would.
The Ape King, still with fresh trails of tears on his cheeks as he looked the Colonel in the eyes, stood once more and slowly backed away. He knew the Colonel could still grab the gun he had left beside the bed and shoot him where he stood… But somehow, he also knew that he wouldn't do it.
Not now.
The human on the bed stared after him with teary eyes and a barely-audible sniffle as he understood that Caesar would not give him his end. It was obvious that he was scared of the idea of having to do the deed himself. That he would have preferred handing over that responsibility to someone else rather than exercise his own justice onto himself.
But was he more frightened of that than he was of the disease?
Almost clumsily, the Colonel grabbed hold of the gun with his blood-stained fingers and pulled the gun up to his face. He pressed it tightly against his own cheek, almost seeming to lodge it under his cheekbone, right beneath his eye. It would be sure to kill him if he actually built up the courage shoot.
Caesar now stood in the wide doorway leading to the front room, watching calmly as the Colonel finally squeezed his eyes shut and, with one last, raspy sob, pulled the trigger.
The Ape King didn't move a muscle at the sound of the gun being fired. It seemed almost unceremonious in the way it happened, with no echo and no residual ringing through Caesar's ears.
The wall behind the Colonel was covered in blood, his head falling forward to hang limply by the edge of the bed. Caesar couldn't see his face anymore, but he could see the exit point at the back of the man's skull.
It was only then, as he finally turned away from the scene, that he noticed Lydia standing there, in the middle of the room, watching him.
The look in her eyes was soft as she regarded him, and her arms hung loosely at her sides, making her posture look almost relaxed. She had found her bow, quiver and hunting knife while Caesar had been in the other room and had strapped it all back where it belonged. Her knife, in its sheath, was strapped to her thigh. Her bow and quiver, still full of arrows, were both slung across her back, easily accessible to her once more.
She looked just about ready to go out for a hunt, had it not been for her overall rumpled, dirty clothes and almost gaunt appearance.
But her eyes were as blue as ever, the colour standing out now in the gloom that surrounded the two of them.
"You didn't kill him?" She asked quietly, puzzlement in her tone.
"No." Caesar answered simply, though took note of the fact that he didn't feel as cheated as he thought he would at this point. "I didn't… He did."
Lydia's dark brows furrowed at that, and she tilted her head in that particular manner of hers.
"But why would he-?"
Caesar shook his head, interrupting her question.
"We should leave. Join the others." He spoke stepping up to her and grasping her hand in his own. "Together, this time."
Though clearly not entirely satisfied with his dismissal of her question, Lydia nodded nonetheless and, in the most comforting way imaginable, leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his own, her free hand reaching up to cup his cheek.
"Are you okay, though?" She asked gently. Her voice was barely audible over the explosions and gunfire from the outside, but their close proximity meant that Caesar heard it all the same.
He nodded, doing a great exhale at the same time, as if finally ridding himself of the anger he had felt for so long now.
He didn't want to tell her about the Colonel being sick just yet. Changed and unable to speak because he had touched the little girl's doll. The same little girl Lydia had shared furs and coats with for weeks now… What if…
No, not now. Caesar chided himself. This is not the place nor the time to worry about this. We are still in danger just by being here.
Almost as if to underline that thought, the sudden sound of pained and frightened ape screams sounded over the constant barrage of gunfire, and the human and ape immediately pulled apart, whipping their heads towards the wall of windows.
"No…!" Lydia gasped as Caesar rushed to the balcony, fists desperately gripping the metal railing.
The soldiers…
They were shooting the apes!
Lydia
Horror gripped Lydia's heart the moment she heard the screams. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she felt how all colour drained from her face in that instant.
Those were her people down there! Her close friends and her family! What if Orion had been hit?! Or Cornelius, or Ivy or Tinker!? Any one of them could already be lying down there, injured or – dare she even think it? – dead!
Before she had time to think of something herself, Caesar had rushed back into the room and grabbed the belt with hand grenades lying on the war table, slinging it across his shoulder.
"Come!" He demanded, not waiting for Lydia to follow as he threw his arm around her shoulder and ushered her out onto the balcony.
In that moment, the muffled voice of a human male could be heard just outside the door to the Colonel's quarters, followed by a loud banging sound as they attempted to get inside.
The Colonel must not have wanted others to see him in his drunken state, Lydia figured, because he had completely barricaded the door with all kinds of junk. Metal crates, tent canvases, chairs and even a large rifle lie in the path of the heavy metal door, making it more than just a little difficult for the soldiers on the other side to force their way in.
It wouldn't hold them forever, though, Lydia knew that well enough.
And so did Caesar, who grabbed her in a painfully firm hold around the waist and suddenly hauled himself over the balcony's railing with the strength of his free arm.
It was all Lydia could do not to scream in utter terror as she felt the two of them drop down through the air, and her arms automatically surged up and around Caesar's neck to latch onto him for dear life. What was he even thinking?!
Before she had even finished that thought, Lydia felt a sharp jerk against her ribs as their fall was halted by the Ape King, who had used his free hand and feet to grab on to the desecrated, burning flag that hung on the outside of the building, right beneath the Colonel's balcony.
He didn't manage to completely stop their descend, but the action did slow them down considerably and gave Caesar the extra time he needed to adjust their landing. It wasn't a soft one, but at least he ended up on his feet and one free hand, with Lydia only just managing to pull her long legs up so that her own feet and shins wouldn't be full-on slammed against the ground.
They both gave a pained grunt either way, and Lydia could swear she felt her ribs slightly give way against Caesar's arm upon impact.
At once, he backed up beneath the balcony by which they had made their escape and dragged Lydia with him until his back hit the concrete wall beside the main entrance to the building. There were no longer any soldiers standing here, as they had all forced their way inside and up to the Colonel's quarters in search of their leader.
They both looked up as they heard the loud exclaims from high above, knowing the soldiers had now burst into the room and discovered the body. One of them rushed out onto the balcony, the bottom of his boots visible through the metal grid floor, though he didn't consider looking through it and directly below where he stood. If he had, he would have discovered the two of them instantly.
He disappeared a few seconds later, and only then did Lydia feel Caesar's vice-like grip around her midsection loosen up. She gasped and let her arms slide off from around his neck.
"Shit…" She mumbled as she leaned against the wall, her back flat against the cold surface, and willed her heart and lungs to return to their rightful places in her chest rather than up her throat.
This whole situation was completely insane!
Caesar didn't give Lydia much time to catch her breath and regain control of her now somewhat wobbly legs. He turned and grabbed her shoulder with his other hand, eyes intense and commanding as they stared into her own.
"Lydia! Go! Get out of here!" He ordered and pointed towards the adult apes' cage.
An explosion sounded as a missile hit somewhere off to the far side of the base.
Lydia's heart sank, and she felt a strange, fearful twist in her stomach at his words. She could tell that he didn't intend on coming along with her, even now.
"What?! What happened to doing this 'together'?! I won't leave you, Caesar!"
"You must! I have to stop this!" Another explosion, this one closer to where they stood. "GO!"
He jerked away from the concrete wall they had been pressed against, pushing Lydia forward as well with a hand firmly planted against her back, urging her towards the escape route. She stumbled with the force of it and almost fell head-first onto the ground, though she managed to right herself just in time to see Caesar charge down the road between the cages on all-fours. He clearly expected her to follow his orders now – otherwise he wouldn't have left her behind like this.
But even now, Lydia wouldn't follow Caesar's orders.
She grit her teeth and clenched her fists.
No! She wouldn't leave! He might want her to, but she had promised to stay! She wouldn't go down into that damned tunnel unless she knew he was with her!
And almost as if that mere thought had set things in motion, that's when she saw it. Or rather, she saw him.
A soldier coming forward from behind the back of the children's cage.
A soldier with a crossbow.
A soldier with his eyes firmly set on Caesar's retreating form.
Oh no, you fucking don't! Lydia thought as fury and a familiar sense of spitefulness rose inside her. She knew very well what this man intended to do, and she was having none of it! They hadn't come all this way just for this asshole to ruin it all in the last second!
But just as she took out her bow and prepared to run after them, Lydia heard a grunt to her left and froze.
It was too deep, gritty and downright animalistic in its quality to come from a man.
Momentarily distracted, and with no small hint of anxiety, Lydia turned her head and almost did a double-take when she saw him.
Red.
He was standing several yards away from her, one giant arm bracing against a concrete wall and a hand clenched and shaking at his side. The flames dancing across the green canvas of a tent behind him made his red fur take on an orange gleam and his eye sockets look deeper than they truly were. He was breathing hard, with an expression of horror and trauma on his face that Lydia had never imagined she would see on him.
He realised she was there, staring at him, only a split-second later, blue clashing with green as their eyes connected across the distance between them.
Hadn't she already known there was another threat closing in on Caesar, Lydia would probably have been caught like a deer in the headlights by the mere sight of the red-furred silverback. Would probably have knocked and arrow and loosened it at him first and then asked questions later.
But she turned away instead, not caring if Red was going to follow and try to capture her or even kill her as she darted down the road between the cages as fast as her legs would carry her.
She had more important things than Red to worry about right now.
And besides, he looked pretty distracted himself.
Caesar
Caesar was so close! Just a few yards more and he would be able to throw the grenade and, hopefully, divert the soldiers' attention long enough for his apes to escape – maybe he would even manage to destroy their ramparts. It was a rather large oil tank…
He rose up from his four-legged run and reached for one of the grenades tied to the belt he had taken from the Colonel's quarters, moving his other hand to release the pin.
This was it! If he could just hit that oil tank with this grenade, then maybe…!
Suddenly though, Caesar was forced to halt his movements as something landed in front of his feet.
He stumbled forward, bracing against the ground with his free hand while holding on to the grenade with his other, the pin, thankfully, still in place.
Caesar only just realised that the thing that had landed in front of him was in fact an arrow, when something else whooshed past him just a foot or two ahead a mere second after he has stopped. Despite everything that was going on all around him, the explosions, the shooting, the screams and shouts of the soldiers, the whirring of helicopter blades and the hums of engines, the Ape King still heard the hiss of the quiet projectile that went past him, the sound of an arrow in flight familiar to him by now.
But it wasn't one of Lydia's arrows. Not like the first one. The one that had landed in front of his feet, which he had recognised almost immediately by its fletching.
Caesar quickly turned around to see what was going on behind him, only to come face to face with a soldier.
And not just any soldier… No, it was the one they called Preacher. The one Caesar had released together with his companions that day back in the forest. The one who had witnessed his conversation with the Colonel about the madman's supposed cleansing of humanity.
The one with the crossbow.
He looked angry, determined and scared all at once, but his eyes were also narrowed with a hint of confusion.
Immediately, Caesar knew it was him who had fired the second arrow. And it would have hit him, had Lydia's own not stopped Caesar in his tracks.
But if Lydia had loosened an arrow just now, that meant…
The Ape King's eyes widened in realisation as they looked past Preacher, despite the danger he posed.
And sure enough, there stood Lydia, by the corner of the adult apes' cage, flames and debris as backdrop as her blue eyes shone with anger. She yet another arrow knocked, pointing it towards the unsuspecting soldier.
Preacher didn't get the chance to follow Caesar's gaze before Lydia's second projectile pierced his throat, entering the back of the man's neck and protruding just beside his Adam's apple.
Preacher's eyes widened in shock. The Ape King wasn't sure she had punctured the jugular, but copious amounts of blood trickled down the soldier's uniform nonetheless, staining it an unbecoming shade of crimson.
The human male staggered, fear and pain apparent on his face as he reached up with one hand to his bleeding throat. It spilled from his mouth as well, and he gurgled as he turned around to stare at Lydia.
Her eyes were cold and uncaring as they met her victim's own.
Then, in what seemed to be Preacher's final, desperate move, he jerked his crossbow into position and aimed it at Lydia, who was quick to draw her own weapon in turn…
Caesar's breath caught in his throat, and he scrambled to his feet in a vain attempt to charge forward and tackle Preacher to the ground before he could release his weapon. Even without having ever wielded one himself, he knew that a crossbow was a much more powerful weapon than a simple bow, even if this one wasn't ape-made.
Lydia didn't stand a chance, and Caesar knew it – and that he had to do something before she got hurt!
Only… Someone else beat the Ape King to it.
Out of nowhere a familiar figure, a huge, red-furred silverback, came forth from behind Lydia, imposing as he charged on all fours towards Preacher with a mighty roar.
Caesar looked on with a mixture of confusion and astonishment as Red rose up once he was near his target, only to be hit by one of Preacher's crossbow bolts. The man had wisely decided that Red was a bigger threat than Lydia, though his quick thinking did little to save him as the enormous silverback came upon him.
He would have eventually died by Lydia's arrow anyway, though he didn't stand a chance against Red's brutal strength, not even getting the time to scream as he was thrown violently onto the ground. Red had gone for Preacher's neck, twisting it away from the torso to ensure it broke upon impact.
It was a very effective technique indeed.
The gorilla was all laboured breathing and pained gasps as he leaned over his human victim, now dead on the ground, and Caesar saw then that not only had Preacher's bolt hit Red deeply in his right pectoral – Lydia's arrow had also hit the gorilla, piercing his left shoulder.
Yards behind Red, Lydia looked horrified, though Caesar knew it wasn't due to the soldier's sudden, brutal demise. No, she was horrified because she had, quite obviously by accident, hit Red as he had come forth to defend her.
The traitorous gorilla, though clearly affected by his injuries, raised his head and looked directly into Caesar's eyes, only for his gaze to shift down onto the belt with grenades lying at the Ape King's feet.
He didn't say a word, either because he didn't need to or because he simply couldn't right now – Caesar understood the message either way.
Right! He still had a job to do. He still had to save the apes!
He could worry about Red later.
Caesar nodded with renewed purpose and determination, then turned, pulled the pin on the grenade he was still holding firmly within his grasp, and threw it at the leaking oil tank he had originally intended to destroy.
The soldiers up on the ramparts never saw it coming once Caesar's grenade set off the chain of explosions right beneath their feet, more or less destroying the defensive wall the apes had helped create.
Caesar was thrown onto his back and sent rolling along the ground by it all, while Lydia had merely stumbled and managed to support herself against the edge of the cage, covering her face with her other arm. As Caesar managed to prop himself up on his forearms, he was relieved to not that she had been a relatively safe distance away and didn't look to have been hurt.
Red, meanwhile, wasn't nearly as lucky. He was still on the ground by Preacher's body and, having been unable to move away from the inferno Caesar had created, his fur was singed, and his face slightly burned. He was making vain attempts at pulling out the crossbow bolt, groaning in pain each and every time he tried.
There was no way he would be able to reach Lydia's arrow.
Caesar coughed as he got up off the ground, taking his eyes off the struggling gorilla to look at the destruction in front of him. Burning debris were still falling onto the ground after having been shot up unto the air by the explosions, and there was no trace of any of the soldiers who had previously occupied the ramparts – which were now falling apart as the flames ate at them.
It would have been a liberating moment to Caesar, knowing he had removed the threat to his apes…
If it hadn't been for the fact that he was almost instantly made aware of an ominous, high-pitched whistle, hard to pin-point due to the persistent ringing in his ears.
It almost sounded like the tea kettle back in his childhood home, the one Charles kept in the kitchen but stopped using once he had gotten sicker.
Only this whistling kept getting louder…
A split-second later Caesar managed to locate the source of the sound, and his green-and-golden eyes widened in alarm as he saw a second tank, the contents of which had caught fire and were now getting ready to explode as well.
It was the last look Caesar would ever share with Red as he turned back to him, wanting to save the ape who had come to their aid while every instinct was also screaming for him to get out of there.
Red only nodded meaningfully at the Ape King, though, and inclined his head towards Lydia with a resigned, but peaceful look on his face.
Caesar, understanding, returned the nod before running towards his mate.
"RED!" Lydia shouted with equal amounts of confusion and desperation as Caesar came towards her.
But there was no time to save the traitor-turned-hero ape.
He had accepted his fate and in doing so, he had saved himself in his own way.
It all happened in a flash after that.
"Run, Lydia! NOW!" Caesar roared just as the second tank exploded, going up in flames with an ear-splitting boom that shook the very ground itself.
He was by her side in seconds, grabbing her upper arm rather harshly as he pulled her to he feet. Having to run on all fours, though, he let go of her immediately afterwards, but made sure to usher her in front of him as they both made a dash for the adult apes' cage.
Lydia threw herself along the dirt legs-first and slid down into the tunnels through the hole, and all Caesar could do as he leapt down in much the same manner a second later was to hope he wouldn't land on top of her.
Perhaps luckily, the sliding-manoeuvre had her stumble to the side once her feet had hit the ground, and so the Ape King had the space he needed to also get down into the tunnels relatively unscathed – and without hurting Lydia.
The danger wasn't over, though. Far from it.
"Come on!" Caesar grunted just as another explosion sounded, then another…. And another.
She was up and running through the dark, wet tunnels in no time, and the water trickling through the place splashed around them with every hurried step. Despite running on two legs rather than on all fours, like Caesar did, the danger still literally being hot at their heels seemed to have Lydia run just as fast as the Ape King himself did in that moment.
He only just noticed how the roof of the tunnels were about to collapse as they neared the end of the path and he leapt forward with a gasp, taking Lydia down with him just as the roof fell behind them, choking the flames. Both covered the backs of their own heads with their hands, though it was Caesar who took the brunt of the scattered debris that fell down on the two of them as he covered Lydia with his own body.
The final explosion shook everything around them and, in its wake, left a strange ringing in Caesar's ears.
For a long while, that and the sound of his and Lydia's laboured pants of exertion was all the ape could hear. Was all he could focus on until he finally had the sense to open his eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut up until this point.
His eyes were met with the glare of the white sky above them at the end of the ladder they had reached.
"Are you okay?" Came Lydia's voice, out of breath and unusually meek.
Caesar shifted his gaze down to her, still pressed firmly to the ground underneath his heavy arm and torso. The skin on her face was smudged with dirt in several places and most of her hair had come out of her braid to hang like tattered curtains around her face. Other than that, she seemed to be okay.
He nodded wordlessly in confirmation and soon got up on his feet, helping Lydia upright as well in the process.
They climbed the creaky ladder with careful movements, and Caesar insisted he go first in order to check for danger.
"Stay here." He instructed, his voice almost booming in the relative silence that had followed the explosions. It almost had Caesar himself flinch.
Thankfully, Lydia didn't protest – not this time, at least.
And good thing she did, because the moment Caesar emerged from the darkness, he was met with the sound of human voices. Hundreds of them, their unified shouts not unlike the sound of a raging ocean crashing against the shore. He could only just spy them as they rushed past the boulders surrounding the entrance to the tunnels, their white attire seeming to almost make them all blur together into one giant, ominous being.
If their shouts had sounded like an ocean, the way they all charged past was like the violent current of a river sweeping through the landscape.
The Ape King was both amazed and horror-struck at the sight.
It was a huge army indeed – the Colonel had been right to fear their arrival and, the ape thought, a true madman if he had thought he would have had a chance of winning against them.
Caesar didn't think he had seen this many humans since… well, since that time in the city during Koba's betrayal.
After having helped Lydia up, he snuck closer behind the boulders to see what the army would do now that their enemy had been obliterated – and to try and see whether or not he and Lydia could escape unnoticed.
"Caesar?" His mate questioned, her voice puzzled and nervous all at once.
She too crept up behind the boulder, a hand splayed softly against Caesar's back as she looked over his head.
The compound the had been kept prisoner in had been almost entirely destroyed. The only thing left was an empty concrete shell, charred and crumbling in the wake of the chain of explosions Caesar had unleashed upon it.
The soldiers probably thought it was their own doing, though. Had no reason to believe otherwise.
The shouting transformed into a quiet murmur as they all suddenly stopped, and there was a tense atmosphere all around as one of their vehicles penetrated the broken-down walls of the base.
It was only a few, short moments later that the invading army brought forth two or three scrambling survivors, and the massive army began cheering loudly, realising that they had won.
It was also at that exact time that Caesar heard a faint rumble and, with a slight sense of trepidation, turned his gaze towards the base…
And saw it…
Movement at the very top of the mountain…
Caesar couldn't help but slowly get up, forgetting all about the army just off to his right as he stared, trying to make sense of what was going on all the way up there.
"Caesar!? What are you-…?!" Lydia hissed at him.
She got up and grabbed hold of his arm with both hands to try and drag him back into hiding, only to stop mid-sentence and stare at mountain as well, equally stunned.
It was only when the cheering began to die down that Caesar realised they had been spotted, and both he and Lydia, still holding on to his arm, turned to see how the soldiers, one after another, stopped and turned to stare at them.
An eerie silence began to set over the massive gathering of humans, and the fact that here was no way to tell their intent from their facial expressions, as they were all wearing masks, only made the situation feel all the more unnerving. No eyes, no mouth – no expression. Just faceless beings quietly staring back at them.
However, it soon became clear what they would do when one of them, the one who stood nearest, began raising his gun to take aim, and Lydia quickly moved to stand defensively in front of Caesar, putting herself between him and the enormous group of stoic enemies.
Before any sort of confrontation could begin though, the deep rumble from before sounded again.
And this time, it didn't stop, but got steadily louder and louder, drawing everyone's attention away from Caesar and Lydia and back towards the mountain.
Just in time to see a sea of snow coming down towards them, roaring as it buried everything in its path.
Not caring whether the soldiers would try to shoot or not, Caesar grabbed hold of Lydia's arms and, ignoring her yelp of surprise, all but dragged her onto his back. He knew she wouldn't be able to outrun this on her own two legs – Caesar doubted he could do it himself, even without Lydia's added weight – but there was no way he was going to leave her behind.
He just had to try!
Perhaps out of instinct rather than comprehension of what Caesar wanted her to do, Lydia obediently locked her arms and legs around him from behind, exactly like when they had climbed to the Colonel's quarters. After that, Caesar went down on all fours and bolted, hoping against hope that Lydia would be able to hold on as he raced to get away from the avalanche.
He didn't need to turn and look to know that the human army had made a break for it as well, though took heart in the fact that they hadn't made it a priority to shoot them before escaping themselves.
Each to their own.
Caesar moved quickly across the flattened terrain in front of the decimated military base, knuckles pounding against the cold, hard ground as he ran. The added force of his movements due to Lydia's weight should probably have made his hands hurt upon each impact, but Caesar hardly felt any of it as he kept on running.
He had to slow down somewhat as it got steadily more difficult to traverse the terrain. Snow-covered rocks and fallen trees soon served mostly as frustrating obstacles rather than the helpful hiding places they had once been as they reached the foot of the cliff, and all the while Caesar felt how Lydia fought to keep holding on.
Stay with me! The Ape King thought as he jumped on to a large boulder and up onto a tree. The snow bore down on them as the avalanche hit, and he was unable to hear Lydia's grunt as they landed. Just a little bit further!
The tree immediately succumbed to the force of the snowy onslaught and started to fall as soon as Caesar jumped onto it.
He rushed to along the trunk to leap at another one.
This one had to hold – it just had to – he couldn't jump any further from this point.
Caesar only just managed to do it and fought his way up with the help of the scattered branches, feeling Lydia's grip around his body weaken further still as wave after wave of snow made the tree jerk repeatedly back and forth.
And then, all of a sudden, Caesar felt her arms slip away from his shoulders.
NO! His mind roared with anguish as he felt her body detach from his back at what turned out to be the second-to-last jerk. Caesar, however, found himself unable to turn around and reach out for her as he still had to cling on to the tree himself.
He did manage to turn just his head, however, and almost regretted it as soon as he did so.
"NOOO!" He heard his own voice rage against the icy wind.
"CAESAR!"
Both his own shout and the frightened scream that left Lydia as she disappeared through the snow were drowned out by the roar of the avalanche, even if it was about to come to an end just then.
The last Caesar saw of her was her fearful, wide-eyed face and the arms that desperately reached out for him as Lydia fell backwards into the white blur.
And with that, his Lydia, his constant companion, his friend and his love, was gone.
