WARNING: This chapter contains heavy description of gore and violence. Reader's discretion is advised.

A lone figure travelled upon horseback through the Simian Forest, the only faint sound breaking its waning silence being the crunch of snow beneath the dark chestnut's hooves. The messenger wore a heavy coat with a fur-lined hood and sleeves, a thick scarf bundled up around her scarred neck and throat. Her face was painted with sedimentary powder, brow marked with lines of ebony, across her eyes and the ridge of her freckled cheeks bones. Her vivid hazel eyes were liquid lime and tonic, lips hidden behind threads of robust wool excreting frosty clouds of steam. Snow fell quickly around her, on the look out for any movement surrounding her. Her bow and quiver rested confidently upon her back. Her eyes found something out of the ordinary and she slowed her horse with a gentle tug of the reigns and a murmur, slipping off the bare back of the handsome stallion. It was a long, clean cut in the wood of one of the nearby trees, leaking sap down the surface of its rough bark.

Krissa could tell it was fresh, judging by how fresh the oozing treacle-like substance was. Her eyes found the next tree, the slits growing more frequent, all pointing in the same direction. She took a deep breath and turned, quickly tying her horse to the nearest branch and heading following the wounds. It took her a while to find the clearing, but when she finally did, she stepped out like a doe would into a field typically favoured for hunters. Without the tree-cover, she felt horribly vulnerable, fighting her own instinct to rush back inside and hide in the dead vegetation. Her head swung to one side, finding as she swept the entire clear that it was abandoned. Once she turned to the other, she gazed upon what looked like an old broken-down truck. On top sat a cloaked figure, a skull adorned upon his head and a set of antlers pointing to the gun-metal heavens. Her fists balled. He sat motionless, like a vulture watching its prey, observing her as she moved so carefully toward him.

Once she was at a comfortable enough distance, she stopped, ankle-deep in snow. The wind whipped around her, stirring the few locks of raven curls that stuck out from her hood. It was so quiet. Not even a single bird sang, not even a raven. She knew they were waiting out in the bushes. It was when they stepped out, she hadn't been anticipating the number of them. Thirteen of them, a mixture of human beings and apes, joined their leader, two of them climbing from inside the rusting vehicle. Eventually, Pine reached up and pulled back his mask in order to speak to her. His partially blind gaze settled upon her and she bit back a shudder. "I'm surprised that they keep sending you," Pine marvelled. "I thought they would.. send a scout."

"I am a scout," she bit out. The ape was visibly surprised by the strength in her voice. Three other times she had brought him a message from Cornelius, and three other times she had signed her responses. The first time, Pine had sent a scrawny human boy to deliver his request, going as far as meeting them at the sentry outpost. Directly after the message, he had moved to shoot himself with his own glock, but instead of doing so, Krissa talked him down. The cruelty of Jonas and Pine's wrath was astounding. The request was to send a single horseman out at dawn, have them travel until they found a trail of marked trees, and to follow them. There, they would find him waiting to speak to the messenger. Each time, it was Krissa who they had sent. Each time, she would remain silent and stick with yes or no answers. Each time, Pine would act just as disturbed as before. Not today- today was different.

Pine tilted his head slightly and looked her up and down. "You, a scout?"

"A warrior, a scout, a fighter," she listed, keeping her eyes as steady as possible. She glanced among the apes, who looked at her warily, unsure of how to react, of how to take her in. Bringing her hands to her chest, she gave it a gentle beat, then allowed her hands to fall at her sides. Pine examined her like he would an insect as she continued and it only caused her anger to bubble up into her ribs from where it had simmered steadily in her stomach. "An ape."

The air was still, very still, until one of the humans Pine's band began to laugh. Soon it became two, then three, and eventually the apes joined in, chortling filling the entire clearing. Krissa's eyes never fell away from the male in front of her, who glowered at her in all his ugly glory. He, among the others, seemed to be the only one who was displeased. Soon however, his long facial features churned and moulded themselves to that of a proud fiend, looking over his trove, a smirk lacing his lips. A deep, throaty croak escaped him and the others fell silent, one of the humans coming down with a sigh, wiping his eye free of laughter-sparked tears.

With a graceful jump, he landed in the snow and began to approach her, growing larger and larger with each step. He reached up and she flinched, although received nothing but a pat on the shoulder. The collision was heavy and hard, coming off as more forced than he had most likely intended. Krissa was confused and glanced at the other in question, only to suddenly be socked in the gut by the end of his rifle, earning a sharp grunt from her as she fell into the snow. She choked on the air now knocked from her lungs and writhed, rolling over and feeling the contents of her stomach suddenly rush out in one convulsing gush. The aroma of bile floated up into the air, steam coming off the puddle as it would fresh horse manure.

Pine kicked her over before she could struggle to her feet and squished her jaw in one of his large hands, pulling her up so he could face her. One eye shut against the waves of aching pain resonating through her stomach and diaphragm, she breathed heavily, trying her best to keep her nerve. She had to hold on just a little longer. His hot, rancid breath hit her cheeks and she bit back another wretch, trembling as if she were a newborn fawn. "You're pathetic excuse for... ape," he hissed down into her face, inches away, as if leaning in for a kiss. "Have no.. use for you now."

With a violent shove, she fell back into the snow, just barely skimming the vomit-soaked patch behind her. Scrambling back, she rested upon her elbows and looked up Pine, her confidence admittedly shaken. "Best start running..." he rumbled, continuing on. ".. but what good will it do?" Someone cocked their gun and Krissa swallowed thick. His voice was gruff and husky, much like his brothers was, speaking low in his throat to her in order to add more of an intimidating spin. "There's nowhere you can.. go where I won't find you."

'If you touch me-'

"I won't, not yet. Part of the game."

Krissa ground her teeth together and struggled up onto her knees. She was ready to spit like a cobra, but held herself back. No, not yet. Almost, but not yet. 'Cornelius is stronger, Pine. You can't win this!' she signed. Pine took the safety off his gun and snorted, brows lowering. "There's still time. You can stop this-"

A bark escaped the male, silencing her and shaking her to the bone. Something about his natural vocalisations had always effected her in ways she wished it didn't. She could only compare them to the rattle and hiss of a beast, something unearthly- especially after the maiming he had received from his brother and damage it had done to his vocal folds. 'There is no time!'

"How do you know?!" Krissa exclaimed, finally reaching her boiling point.

Pine stepped forward and snarled, causing her to raise her hands as if to protect her head from any blow he threw her way. He began to vigorously sign, hands dully slapping together in great clapping gestures. 'Look at my face, my body, your throat, and see!'

The chinobo's arms swung outward and the barbarians backing him up triumphantly shrieked, one firing off a bullet that sent a small murder of crows up into the air, flying for cover elsewhere in order to escape the possibility of being shot. His body then tilted the opposite direction and he squared his shoulders, voice venting from his throat at this point. Something wasn't quite right with how wide his eyes went as he began to shout at her. "IT'S HERE! WAR IS HERE!" Great huffs of air billowed from his maw, straining to keep his complete composure and failing greatly.

'Get it through your head!' Another staring contest ensued, the two burning holes into each other's heads. Slowly, she moved and hugged herself against the cold, shuddering deeply from her raven curls to her boots. Pine sniffed and straightened his posture, turning away. "Now, I'll count to.. three, and you flee."

Krissa gritted her teeth.

"One..."

Her heart fluttered like a caged hummingbird.

"... two," the disfigured simian articulated, forcibly emphasising the word as it rolled off his tongue and stuck within his teeth.

This really was it. War really was here.

It took Pine forever to finally reach the final number. "Three."

Wheeling around, the maniacal outcross lowered his head, bracing and preparing to fire. He was so eager, so ready to end her short, pitiful life there without so much as a fight, just as he had imagined, but instead he found nothing but thin air before him. She was gone. The dull sound of bodies hitting the ground perked at his ears, followed by a gentle tap on his shoulder. He whirled to his left and came to find himself face-to-face with the ravenette and the pointed end of an arrowhead. He had neglected, in his rage, to think of an ambush. The others were already on their way through the bush, having been watching and waiting in the canopy, but he realised quickly that they were surely too late.

He knew that Krissa saw it in his eyes as she gazed down along the arrow.

"My turn," she seethed.

The eldest sibling's gut dropped and he ducked, throwing himself down into the snow as the long-bow was fired straight over his head, missing him by a hair. It embedded itself in the nearest tree instead, followed shortly be the sound of something splitting and the triumphant call of a hunting horn: loud, deep and mournful. A deluge of sharpened branches flew forth, cutting Pine down at the shoulder, entombing themselves inches away from his old arrow wound. The flesh audibly tore as he cried out, the agonising sensation growing stronger with each movement, their ends chewing deep into his tissue and sinew. As soon as he was at his knees, he reached around and ripped the needle-like object from his dark hide, and with a snarl of rage, lunged forward the moment that Cornelius's troops burst from the greenery. Those left behind from the spontaneous assault of grass-thin daggers turning and firing in panic, breaking rank and falling into chaos.

Cries and shrills filled the clearing. Pine moved like clockwork, taking out the first ape in sight and bludgeoning him until his neck had broken in multiple places, disarming him afterwards and using his spear to cut into his next opponent from the front. With undulating movements, he stabbed and cut through, ruthlessly gutted the smaller male, the two making eye contact as he slowly died of his injuries. After the deed was done, Pine threw him to the side, weapon and all, and picked up the nearest gun. A vicious pant-shriek escaped him, the sound piercing above the explosions of homemade grenades and explosives. "PUSH FORWARD!" came Jonas's order. Horses ran freely, some without their riders, some with. Pine yanked a pistol from Thistle's grasping hands, the male begging for help, only to be stepped on and shot ever so calmly by his leader as he ambled by.

Saliva shown in strands as his jaws parted, the faces of those he brought down becoming one big blur of flesh and ruby. He aimed for heads and chests, watching limbs severed in sprays of claret and corpses fall lifeless to the ground. The moment he spotted the familiar shape of Cornelius's lieutenant, Rocket, he snarled deep in his chest and charged, only to be nearly shot for a second time. Pine was just barely missed by a bullet and scrabbled behind the old truck, listening to bullets skid and ping off the rusted, weather-worn metal. Rising, he shot a bullet or two, the human next to him that had covered his escape getting clipped and falling back with a blood-curdling cry.

The sound of another horn signified for the enemy to fall back, and feeling a burst of pride, Pine leapt over the front of the truck and caught the nearest horse, using its reigns to pull himself up onto the saddle. The mare screamed in fear as he reared, raising his gun and encouraging the others to follow. "DON'T LET THEM RUN! CHASE THEM!" he stormed. With a jubilant, blood-thirsty hurraw from who were left, he briefly shot a delirious glance in Jonas's direction and then kicked his horse forward with the sharp ends of his heels.

The mare whinnied once more and before he knew it, he was flying through the woods.

Things were going as planned: they were buying their false retreat and were following them toward the falls. Krissa huffed raggedly, her bruised jaw feeling stiff and her hands sticky from the blood they had collected. She had lost her coat thanks to Sharp, who had chased her down from the get-go, singling her out in the crowd in hope that he would be the one to kill her in Pine's place. If it hadn't been for Cornelius's wielding his broken branch, she would have been mauled for sure. It was bitter cold as she ran through the snow, heading directly for the river and following the others across, just as she had been directed by Cornelius. Rocket lead their party, the male already suffering from a bullet-graze to the shoulder, his hand gripping every now and then in order to stunt the bleeding. It seemed to go unnoticed eventually as Krissa and he helped the injured across, allowing them to be dropped off in the mossy rocks and crags not far from the rapids, in case they needed a quick get-away.

The strongest that were left migrated down toward the waterfall, quickly sliding down icy patches and then regaining their footing as they moved along. Rocket continuously glanced over his shoulder until they had met up with Hail's group, consisting of Pigeon, Salt, Tyler, Coal, and a handful of others. The younger twins looked about ready to turn-tail and run, their coats roughed up and blood clear upon their hands. Krissa had to wonder whether Slate and Pine had been this way when they were only yearlings. "You two alright?" she whispered softly as they made their escape up through the thicker brush. One of them graciously opened a path for her using one lengthy arm.

'Berry has never killed someone before,' signed the larger twin, Thorn. Berry seemed to be accident-prone, but Krissa had never thought him that innocent of this cruel world. She had to admit, though, she was still reeling from the tension and carnage of the battle prior. There had been so much death, all around her, and they had lost some of their one for sure... Krissa was unsure as to how she had made it out alive. Maybe she was just lucky. 'Didn't think it would be like this.'

'I don't think anyone your age would think war is this horrible,' Krissa appealed, offering a gentle smile. 'It won't last forever... We'll win, I promise.'

Rocket chuffed in alarm, and upon the thundering sound of hooves, the group hit the ground so hard and so quickly that Krissa felt the breath being knocked from her chest in one ripple of pain. Those quick enough bolted, climbing the nearest trees. A scrawny greying bonobo male careened into view, serpentine eyes wide with fear as he was assaulted by someone on horseback. A mangled cry passed his lips, only to be silenced by the rider's rifle. He rolled, then laid still the moment he stopped. Krissa panicked as suddenly the horse was heading directly for them, and acting upon her first instinct, she covered Berry and Thorn's heads, the trio bracing themselves for impact. Thankfully, she found that it never came, the massive four-legged gelding sailing effortlessly over-top of them, a light sprinkling snow being the only thing that hit them. The ravenette shot to her knees the instant that the way was clear and she felt her heart beat out of her chest. It was an ape, cloaked and wearing a backwards baseball cap, its material worn out from age and its colour more of a faded barn-red rather than its previous shade of fire-engine. She didn't recognise this ape, yet she sure as hell hoped that he was on their side. Going out on a limb, Krissa belted out a short yelp, and with a quick turn of his head, the horse slowed and side-stepped, the ape's eyes peering over at them in question.

The clamour of another set of hooves alerted her to yet another fast-approaching rider, the three turning quickly and then leaping out of the way, the chimp twins scrambling in either direction just in time. This rider was a man, and instead of continuing on his way, he yanked on the reigns and brought his horse to a stop alongside his friend. Krissa raised her bow and wheeled around, narrowing his eyes over at him before she recognised him. It was Nic. He had shaven and was wearing a bandanna around his brow.

"Krissa, christ, where have you been?"

"What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, rushing over.

"Knockin' some heads together," Nic responded, smirking coyly and earning a slight grin from the young woman below him. Rocket chuffed from up in the trees, stopping her dead in her tracks the minute she spotted the mounted chimpanzee to their left raise his shotgun and aim for her exposed head. Krissa raised her hands, throat bobbing nervously. The tension snapped then as Nic tuned in to the desperation of the situation and urged his horse in order to stand in the line of fire, protecting her with the flank of his roan.

"Milo, bud, hey!" he warned, raising his own hands and weapon- a baseball bat - into the air. Krissa carefully peered over the horse's backside, ignoring Rocket's hands against her back tugged at her to get moving. "Easy, put the gun down! These are our friends, part of Cornelius's group. It's jus' Krissa, alright?"

"Look," Krissa quickly began, nodding over in Rocket's direction and then tilting her head so she could look up at Nic. "I'd love to stop and talk, but-"

"Yo, where'd your coat go?"

Men. They had horrible timing and had no sense of urgency. Krissa tossed her head under her long-bow, placed her foot on the stirrup and threw herself up onto the back of the russet-dappled horse in front of her. Her arms wrapped around Nic's waist as she tried to get comfortable from where she was sitting upon the horse's haunches. This was going to be a bumpy ride. "It's back there," she said, jerking her head over her shoulder before straightening out once again. "Now, we have to move. They'll be here in seconds if we don't hurry the hell up!"

Her head shot up and she looked to Rocket for orders. He was croaking and rumbling desperately, trying to get them to move. 'You go with them on horseback, but make sure they get to the waterfall. Be careful!'

'Ten-four,' she responded, then twisted around, nodding to Berry and Thorn, who brought the tips of their fingers to their chin and waved the back of their hand in her direction in a quick thank-you. 'You're welcome. Fight hard, boys.'

The chimps quickly knuckled away and launched themselves up the nearest tree, disappearing completely from view. Krissa quickly gave Nic's horse a kick and the two friends and his partner set off. As hastily as she could, she began to speak to the survivor she was latched on to. "The ambush and fall-back worked. They think we're.. weak and that we're trying to get to the waterfall. Cornelius is waiting there with the others."

"Just tell me where we're goin', sweetheart," he offered.

"Head south. Be careful, there will be a steep hill getting down into the valley. Don't fly down there.. or your horse will break an.. ankle." With a brisk nod, the man whistled in order to get his friend's attention. Her grip tightened around the rider's waist as she glanced over her shoulder, watching snow fly everywhere. Even despite her growing exhaustion, she refused to let her guard down, every little movement scrutinised as they passed by. No sign of the enemy. Krissa eventually took a look at Milo, the chimpanzee whom had been accompanying him. He bore a scar upon his mouth and a pair of angry brown eyes, greying fuzz poking out from between the lip of the hat and his brow. He certainly had good aim while on the run.

The question itched at the roof of her mouth and she gazed ahead, over his shoulder. "Left here, it's quicker," she began. Wrinkling her nose, she sighed and shook her head. Had this been what he had wanted her to come see at Pablo's? Was Pablo fighting? Were there others who were against Pine? "Where'd you.. meet him?"

"Says he came from Berkeley," Nic explained, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. The horse flew over a log and he grunted as they went down. The animal was beginning to huff with each stride. "Knew your buddy Pine's pop, back when they were younger."

Silence fell. Krissa's eyes flickered over to the chimpanzee again and she shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. She just hoped that him knowing Koba didn't mean that he had the same ideals as the deceased bonobo's lunatic of a son. After all, it was because Pine was trying to follow in Koba's footsteps that all this shit was going down. Her eyes caught sight of a nearby landmark that sparked a memory deep within her brain. "Turn right here, then weave and go straight." The bush became thicker as they went along, the path more narrow, and before they knew it, they were approaching the edge of the ravine.

"Stop!" Milo shouted suddenly, his old, crackling voice hoarse. If she hadn't been used to such gravelly tones, perhaps Krissa would have been disturbed by the sound. He had absolutely no emerald in his eyes, which Krissa found odd. How could a chimpanzee not even have any trace of green? Even Poppy had had the tiniest bit, when close enough. Perhaps he hadn't gone through the laboratories? The horses came to a screeching halt. "We... walk from here."

Krissa quickly threw her off the horse's back and landed with a cuss, immediately falling into the lead and skidding down the crumbling snow and rocks. Nic and Milo followed behind quickly, heading for the snow-clumped spruces that lay in their way. The clear opened up, the waterfall's dull rush drowning out the sound of Pine and his hive approaching, right on cue. Her attention swung around and she panicked: where the hell was Cornelius?!

"In-coming!" the chimp warned, wheeling around and reloading his gun. It was incredible how handy he was with a weapon, especially for an ape. Had he had experience? She really hope he did. Shooting others at close-range was one thing, but at long-distance? Nic bolted for cover alongside his friend, leaving Krissa to scramble in the other direction. Finding the closest boulder, she skidded across the ice and caught herself on rough limestone, although not without scraping her palms. The tang of fresh blood hit the air and she pressed her spine hard up against the rock, willing that they wouldn't find them. Where was their back-up?!

A hissing huff suddenly drew her attention. "Come on out here, Nic!" Jonas's familiar tone drawled loudly into the clearing, high above the crashing waterfall and echoing through the cavernous walls. "We know you n' your stinking mongrel are out here!" Slowly, she leaned out of hiding so she could see the tiniest sliver of those already in the mouth of the ravine, ignoring how the ice cracked slightly beneath and plunged her ankles into the frigid-cold river. Krissa staggered slightly but managed to regain her footing fairly quickly. She wasn't going to let herself get spotted all because she had practically tripped herself. The pebbly bottom gave slightly and she sank an inch or so down. Jonas had his semi-automatic slung over his shoulder, waltzing over to the boulder opposite, which she could just make out the form of Milo shifting behind. Alarm shot through her and her heart went out to the stranger. In a hot second, she made the quickest decision she had ever made and bolted out from her cover, holding her bow drawn.

There were at least thirty of them who turned and gawked at her, apes and human beings alike.

"Shit..." she gritted out under her breath. Whack!

Something hard collided with the side of her head and she was suddenly seeing stars, sinking down to the snow. Snow seeped up through her t-shirt, her head throbbing something awful as she rolled to the side in a daze. Once her eyes had finally focused, she caught sight of Poppy, who looked down at her with an indescribable expression. So, it really was true. The youngest of the twins was just as twisted as her brother. The idea made her stomach turn, realising thay all the comfort and kindness she had offered her, all of it had been in order to trick her- to trick everybody. "You..." Krissa breathed, trying to get up, only for her brother's heavy hand to yank her up.

Her entire body trembled as her arms were wrenched up behind her bank, the tyrant holding her still and forcing her head up with a yank of her curls. Krissa growled at the pain burning within her scalp but stared, watching the blonde and Sharp pull Nic straight out of his hiding spot. Immediately he was shoved down into the granular, heavy, wet dunes of snow, his bandanna torn from his crown. At first Nic seemed to speak to Jonas from across the clear, their words going unheard until the survivor slugged back, tearing his arms from Sharp's strong grip and striking him straight across the face.

Fear spiked through her as another of Pine's dwindling band wrestled him down and bound his wrists with the very material he had worn so proudly. Fighting the male behind her, she bit hard on a sharp bellow of anger that erupted from her throat, coming out as one elongated growl. "Easy, human," hissed Pine, his hot respiration hitting her ear and the back of her neck, causing her to arch away from him like she would from someone with the flu.

"No," she spat back. Her gaze darted from the brawny piece of fuzz behind her and Jonas. "I will never stop fighting you! I will not stop until you're fucking dead! You bastard!"

With a side-glance in his sister's direction, Poppy was signalled to motion them forward, and in that instant Nic froze, big brown eyes latching onto the end of the his friend's weapon as it swung toward him. The pistol rose and the energy in the clearing rose higher and higher, growing tighter and tighter. Krissa's fear drove meandering words from her lips. "Wait... wait, stop. No, don't- don't hurt him, please!" Her head reared and she shot Poppy a pleading glance, the smaller outcross lowering her eyes and pressing her lips together, clearly guilty of the crimes she was committing. "You can't- Jonas, stop, listen-"

Nic squeezed his eyes shut and visibly flinched as the pistol was brought to his temple, his lean frame quivering something awful. It was as if he had known this would be how he went, only for them to fly open last minute, complete and utter horror spreading across his features. His hands rose from where they had been dropped to his sides for the final time and he gently signed his last words. 'I love you.'

The shot rang out like a crack of thunder. Nic's cranium whipped to the side in a glorious cloud of crimson, his body slumping down into the snow with a shove of Sharp and Thistle's hands.

'How do you want to die?'

"Bravely."

Several things happened directly after the gunshot: Cornelius's troop leapt from massive drifts of snow, crystals of ice and frost violently rupturing up into the thin rays of sun that bled through the dreary heavens. Pine's mere thirty was matched by those fifteen upon the edge of the clear and the other twenty along the crags and crevices on the waterfall's sheer face that poured into the water and powder below. Water hissed in a fine spray of crystalline droplets in every direction as Slate sailed out of his hiding spot behind the wall of partially frozen tears, a roar ripping from his throat as he threw himself into battle. He soared down toward his brother, his father's spear drawn and ready to strike him down for good, if not for how swiftly Pine moved in turn. The instant he realised what was coming, the hulking brute brought his gun up to shield himself and the two rolled back into the snow and pebbles.

The beating began, Pine coming out on top and bringing his hands to his throat while Slate battered his sides brutally, teeth snapping as he gasped for air. This left Krissa exposed, he discerned in a pang of alarm, urging him to keep on fighting as he scrambled to get a hold of anything- something. His hand found the nearest chunk of ice he could manage and he swung up, smashing his fist across the side of his brother's bad ear. Pine was tossed into the snow, baring his injured shoulder and leaving spots of crimson in the snow; he had been shot, but by who? No, the wound was ragged, meaning he hadn't been struck by a bullet.

The needles.

Tinker had been incredibly resourceful in having the females make them, the women working all through the night to make as many as possible for the assault in the morning. It had been an ingenious plan, and had saved quite a few lives in the process rather than sending all the troops, full-force into the fray. From behind him, he watched as Krissa lunged for Poppy, the two females tumbling violently through the snow, only for the smaller female to shrill and back away, hands raised. She had absolutely no battle training- why was she out here? Pine bowled his brother over, knocking him from his thoughts with the force of a missile. A battle to overcome one another came to fruition, the two brothers glowering at one another. Pine, with a smirk, rutted up and caused his brother to stumble, throwing him back into the boulder to his right. A puff of air escaped the opposing male and he exalted back, winding up for a blow.

Slate was successful at dodging the first, Pine's fists knocking some of the sheet-rock free, the sudden crack startling him. He wove to the right, only to be cuffed by a secondary swing, then a third, all sound knocked from his eardrum as it was replaced by a high-pitched bought of tinnitus. Squirming beneath the troglodyte, he managed to find an opening and dove for him at the soft flesh just between the crook of his arm and his ribs, biting down as hard as he could. The metallic taste of blood flooding over his tongue reminding him of the day they had fought so viciously over Nic's arrival.

His brother cried out and tore away, the force just about jarring Slate's jaw. Pine stiffened, stumbling and grasping at his side, before staggering to a stop and hunching over, breathing raggedly. "There's no.. stopping this, brother!" Pine shouted over the screams of horses and apes alike. A flare shot up into the air, taking down one of his fellow hunting scouts from his place in the trees and sending him falling to the ground as he tried his best to put himself out. Slate flinched and looked away, trying to ignore his pitiful cries as he slowly burnt to death in the snow. "This- this is how it has to go now! This is how.. things should be!"

"You're.. right," Slate panted, clutching the side of his head. His face felt as if it were on fire, sharp pangs of pain shooting through his right disk each time he blinked. He could feel the hot sensation of his own blood beginning to ooze from a cut left behind by his brother's talons. Slate had hoped that the next time he'd see his brother would be when he was tethered to the massive wooden spike they had erected in his honour, but he now understood that he would never get a chance to hurt Pine in the way that he had hurt him. Rolling his cranium upon its joint, he watched as Pine slowly moved for his gun, favouring both his arm and side now. 'You deserve to die, just like Koba. The massacre he created wasn't meant to continue, it was meant to end.'

His brother sneered, shaking his head. 'You think I would just let his war stop? After he didn't complete his mission? To rule all apes and crush human kind?'

"They weren't meant to be.. rebirthed. Caesar stopped him for a reason."

Pine threw back his head and burst out in a fit of laughter, the sound coming straight from his gut in an almost human manner. Slate's anger turned to dread as he watched his brother bring a bloodied hand to his face, slowly growing more hysterical by the minute, until finally his cackle died shoulders simply shook in silence mirth. He had flown far off the handle, hadn't he? "Come on then!" Pine jeered loudly, at the top of his lungs. 'Come kill your dear brother!'

Slate's eyes made for the top of the falls, considering his options, but he had hardly enough time before the butt of his brother's gun barely missed his head. He watched the opposing male tumble to his left and wheeled around, the two somersaulting violently into the partially frozen river after impact. With a heavy splitting sound, the ice gave way beneath them and they were quickly submerged in a deeper part of the drink. Slate's head was quickly pushed under the water and alarm shot through him, the burst of fear assisting Slate in hauling himself back up, Take Pine's place and watching the bubbles spray up to the surface of the shallow, icy pool. At first something throbbed in the back of his mind, something urging him to push harder, but he was snapped from his own murderous intentions by a hard couple of blows from the heels of his brother's hand.

Pine burst from the water with a battle-cry, slamming him back against the jagged sheets of ice at the base of his spine. He could feel its sharp edges sinking into his skin, piercing and drawing blood most definitely. The faint current tugged at their upper thighs as Slate and Pine threw punches and teeth snapped at ears, until finally he managed to clamp his fists together, sweeping them upwards and using them to slam Pine's jaws together with a sharp click.

In the next few fluid movements, Slate managed to duck underneath his brother's grasp, water sloshing in torrents as he raced for the shore once more, his brother splashing after him in tow. A shot was fired as Pine attempted to take him out, the dull pain of the bullet hitting him just between the shoulder blades sending him nose-first into the water, his body becoming top-heavy as he repeatedly tumbled until he hit the ground running once more. He cleared the pebbly water's edge within seconds, scaling the side of the slippery rocks with his water-logged hands and clumsily ambling until he reached the top. It was then that his body suddenly gave in to the abrupt amount of blood lost and the great stabs of agony. The chinobo skidded, the water gradually dyeing a passionate shade of wine as he laid back within its depths, coat sticking to his frame.

A paw came into view, followed by his brother's rifle, and although he attempted to pull himself backwards, it was no use. Pine was on him in seconds, the barrel of the gun settled between his eyes. His opposite arm found nothing but thin air as he realised he was at the very edge of the waterfall's mouth, practically teetering, his brother being the only thing weighing him down and keeping him from falling. Accepting that he may have to go this way, Slate squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the bullet to reach his brain, bringing his story to a close.

Instead of a dull momentary pain however, he heard a very distinct click and was brought back to the burning ache in his spine, staring up at his dripping brother as if he were his reflection. They were both as equally surprised, both heaving for air, their chests rising and falling rapidly as their lungs attempted to keep up with their pulses. Slate took a quick breath and winced against the constant ache, only for his moment to be stolen from him as his brother tossed his gun off the ledge and into the pool below them. Back to business. "I'll just have to enjoy this.. with my bare hands!" Pine remarked wickedly. As soon as he raised his appendages, Slate took a deep breath and lunged upward, wrapping his hands around his brother's neck. They sailed back, surprise evident in his brother's eyes. The hard, pleasing crack of Pine's head colliding with the ice rippled through him, the two sliding out of control.

Their bodies skidded until Pine kicked him off him, using his momentum to fling him up onto the opposite snowy bank. His wounded back smeared the flawless powder with a rich ruby, the crash causing him to gasp for breath, gaping like a fish out of water even as Pine barrelled toward him. From there, the warrior was bashed in the snout and the side of his head for the second time, his arms coming up to block his brother's fists as best he could until he was able to land his own blows. Slate quickly ducked and then brought his elbow crashing into Pine's ribs, feeling something give way beneath. With one great shove, his brother staggered away without control over his limbs, allowing them both a quick ellipse in order for them to breathe. It was absolutely ambrosia. He'd never take air for granted again.

"Why can't you just... be you?" Slate rasped, breathing heavily as his brother stumbled back and managed to catch himself, hand fastening to his throbbing head. "Instead of being his son?!"

His words seemed to get through to his brother, if only the littlest bit, which only enraged Pine further. In an instant of blind fury, the enraged simian swerved his way to the left, then bowed in, catching Slate from the side and forcing their bodies to go flying straight for the ground. The two landed directly in the water, Slate audibly grunting as his body bore the brunt of the impact. With a sputter, he managed to grab at least some air before his head was forced under the surface of the river, skull pressed into the stony, icy bed beneath. He fought until he saw stars, his brother's blurred outline beginning to fade until, with one last burst of energy, the chinobo thrust his head above water and enclosed Pine's neck in a tightly-wound hug, his teeth latching onto the side of his head.

There was pressure and then an explicit pop as Pine's dead eye was punctured by his bottom canid, the shrill of panic bellowing from him causing Slate to release, tossing his hands into his snout and throwing his brother off. Everything appeared to be smeared with pure carmine: in the water, on the rocks, on the broken fragments and sheets of ice- it was gruesome to look at, two brothers in a seemingly endless struggle of life and death, to see who would come out on top. Spitting out blood, fluid and parts of his brother's ciliary, he gritted his sullied teeth and watched as Pine twisted in distress, holding his injured features. It seemed as though Pine felt his gaze, however, as the demented primate slowly brought his eyes up to meet his brother's amber stones.

Slate struggled to sit up, working his sore jaw. He coughed, trying to clear more water from his lungs. 'Is this what you wanted?' he signed in an exhausted, cumbersome manner.

"I wanted... her... dead. I wanted out lives.. to mean something," Pine growled, words slightly slurred. Perhaps he had harmed some of his brain behind? There was a gaping hole, he saw, as his brother's hand fell away from his wounded eye. "I wanted to mean something.. to my real father!"

"You meant something to us," Slate forced out, feeling his anger turn to a deep, forlorn ache. "You could... have meant something to her- to Cornelius- to our mother! Wasn't enough? Their... love?"

Pine let out another laugh, only this time it was a low, deep, cynical chuckle. "What mother? That... that female who .. fell out of love with Koba? Or do you mean.. do you mean... Mary? The one who watched us.. grow, watched us.. helped us learn what love was?" Blood was sopping the entirety of the left side of Pine's complexion as he snickered. Slate could feel that dull ring of fury beginning to rise up inside of his skull. What was he talking about? "Do you .. even remember her face?"

"WASN'T IT ENOUGH?!" Slate vociferated, the memories of endless auburn hair, music and silken purple and gold-embroidered cloth coming to mind. 'Wasn't our love enough?!'

"It.. will never be enough!" With a sudden explosion of speed that hadn't anticipated, Slate was smashed down into the riverbed yet again. Gravel ground into his wound, causing him to yowl in pain, only to be shut up by his brother's fists. He snapped at thin air, waving his hands around and pounded at his arms until he suddenly felt something on his brother's shoulder; it was a gap in the flesh, the wound he had noticed earlier. In one move of desperation and hope, he grabbed hold and buried his fingers into the muscle, nestling them deep inside until Pine threw his head up, tearing Slate's blood-soaked digits from the meaty part between his trapezius and deltoid.

Within this whirlwind of action, Slate caught sight of a smaller figure on the spur of the moment, throwing its arms were up over its head as it prepared to bring something down on Pine's unsuspecting head. His reaction seemed to reflect within his face, startling Pine enough to duck just as his saviour swung his father's spear at him, and as the weapon came down, the bigger ape snatched hold of it and threw it to the side. Fists curling, his twin struck down the female in question with a mighty stroke of his arms, simultaneously shouting one single word.

He jabbed a finger at her. "YOU!"

WHAM! Krissa was knocked back into the snow by one of Jonas's fists, pain engulfing her entire face as her nose began to drip with liquid the colour of roses, its coppery aroma leaking down into her mouth as the blood filled her teeth and coated her tongue. She was unarmed, her long-bow long since snapped in two when knocked over by a charging gorilla. Twice she had had a brush with death and twice she had been saved by Rocket, but at this moment she had nowhere to go. Her left eye was slightly swollen, her lip busted and nostrils now aching. The amount of blood she had lost was dizzying, and as Jonas raised his gun to shoot her, she could only guess where she was going as she tried to drag herself along. Reloading a cartridge, Jonas glowered out from beneath ragged, dark eyebrows, his teeth bared and yellowed from smoking cigarettes.

The barrel wound itself back in place and he aimed, stalking toward her until he was inches from her, pressing her head back into the snow drift with the cold metal of the python's deadly snout. Tilting her head up, she opened her mouth and clamped down, watching his anger turn to confusion as she pushed forward, using her front pearly-whites to hold it in place and back him up. Jonas pulled away in horror. "You know..." she began, low in her throat. Her anger vibrated up her hands. "I always knew you were afraid of me."

"Me? Afraid of you?" simpered the blonde, snorting in response. She watched a bead of sweat cut through the blood staining his grizzled face. "You've got to have a few screws loose from living with those things."

How could he remain so calm after murdering a man he had once called his friend? Krissa remembered those nights she would visit Jonas and his wife, and how Nic and he had shared a beer or two, singing along to old records that they surely wouldn't listen to if the world hadn't come to an end. Something feral beat deep within her chest, something carnal, something savage. It turned her face red, it forced the tendons in her neck to twinge, a vein of anger running across her brow. It filled her until she shook so hard that she couldn't keep her hands steady, and with nothing in her hands to beat and bash him with, the ravenette's legs coiling like that of a wildcat and she sprung from where she sat upon her knees. She locked onto him with vicious hands, snatching his wrist and twisting her entire body with all her might, wrenching the gun out of his hand. The weapon fell into the snow and she used his body weight against him, the two collapsing into the snow.

The light around her dulled as she was struck by one of his flying hands, the hot illustration of the side of his flattened mitt stinging from the impact. Krissa felt him wind up again and rolled out of the way, her nails digging deep into his face as she wrenched up and bit down hard upon the bridge of his nose. She refused to let go until he finally shoved her away from him, the two sitting in the snow and gasping for air. She wiped her mouth. 'Call them 'things' one more time,' she signed.

The blonde's eyes flashed as if he somehow understood and he opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly he heard Pine's voice scream above the cascading all of water. "YOU!"

An innumerable amount of heads turned to look, some of those who were locked in an intense battle straightening or perking up in order to find the source of such a sound. The scene unfolded above and Krissa watched, glued in a gargoyle-like state, having paused mid-wipe of her mouth. Poppy scuffled in the snow, holding her bleeding mouth with a trembling paw, her large ashen eyes staring up in her brother in anguish. "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS ..WHEN YOU TRUST.. A HUMAN!" Pine fumed, his voice bringing attention to those below, some distracted from their fighting while others continued on. "You suffer, you.. gripe.. they trick you with their stupid ways! THIS IS WHY ..WE SHOULD.. DESTROY THEM ALL! THEY DO NOTHING BUT KILL EVERYTHING THEY TOUCH!"

'Brother-' she pleaded.

"Your... brother? YOUR BROTHER, ME?" Pine marvelled, his raving continuing on. He forced a smile and chuckled roughly, ruptured eye continuing to ooze yet going unnoticed. It was as if he were in his own little world. He took a step closer, his rage mounting. "YOU HAVE.. BETRAYED OUR FATHER- BETRAYED KOBA, AND HAVE THE GUTS TO CALL ME FAMILY?!"

'Pine is weak, killing others he once called family!" their sister signed, doing her best to refrain from looking as meek as she really was. 'Krissa should not have stopped Slate. She made a mistake in letting you live.'

Pine's jaws snapped open, his animalistic nature bleeding through and showing his gruesome, malignant face. It was the first time that Krissa had ever truly viewed the apes as just a bunch of simple animals. The energy wafting off Pine was noxious, causing the ravenette's innards to squirm as the display continued to unfold. She had always been able to look past their primitive body-language, their posture, their appearance... but now, all she could see were two animals, one cowered beneath the other, a life at stake.

"YOU ARE THE WEAK ONE!"

"NO!" Poppy barked, breaking her neat and tidy demeanour. Her coat began to rise, teeth bared and gleaming in the weak, watery sunshine that bled through the snow-choked clouds. Her older brother seemed to be taken aback by her sudden nerve, expressing brief tender emotion in his good eye before his brows lowered and he burned with the same intensity as before. 'Father was wrong. You are wrong! How could you possibly think that killing is right?!'

The eldest twin didn't have a chance to speak any further, to say any last unjust words to his sister, nor get the opportunity to tear her apart. Before Poppy could finish shouting for her brother to stop, it was too late. Pine was struck, stood as still as a ghost, his body becoming as rigid as a board as he gaped up at the sky in consternation. The initially shock faded and the oppressor grabbed desperately for his throat, as if he could somehow dislodge the spear's head from where it protruded horrifically from his neck. Slate gradually rose to stand bipedal, rising from where he had crouched, his brother's gargling cries filling the air as he choked on the dark sanguine fluid that spilled from his neck and bathed his front.

Krissa blanched, all colour draining from her face and her body abruptly plunged into shock, shuddering against the temperature. A rasp of emotion broke from her lips and she choked back a sob. As agile as a bullet, the survivor shot to her feet and staggered forward. At first she made for the falls, but something washed over her that was stronger than Caesar himself. Turning to Jonas, the two frightened humans stared at one another in an ape-ruled wood. "Go," she urged. Originally Jonas simply started up at her, but when she urged him again, kicking snow at him, she watched the man scramble to his feet and race for the bushes, many of the leftover humans following closely in tow.

After watching his frame being swallowed up by the foliage and porcelain paint, the ravenette whirled around, racing for the rocks without another thought, trailed by Rocket and Cornelius who were just as desperate to get to the broken family's side. The entire ravine below, those injured and those still standing, all minded the scene above as it began to unfold one event after the other in dead silence. The woods were so, so quiet, as if completely uninhabited.

Eventually, with a wet, bloody cough and a convulsive jerk, Pine managed to slide off the end of the blade and into the water, oggling up at his brother with wide eyes, one obliterated and one turning glassy. "F-fini..sh.. it.." Pine croaked, barely audible to those holding their breath below. With trembling hands, both coated and dripping with thick strings of gore, he signed, 'You. . . d . . o n ' t ... ha v e... the s tr e..ngth...'

"S-Slate," whimpered Poppy. His distant gaze fell upon his shaking sister, spattered in the hot spray of her own brother's blood. Pine sputtered and choked further, viscid garnet pooling and bubbling at his lips. Slate tilted his head, much like a child when curious, and watched as his brother slowly bled out, apathetic as to how others were feeling in the moment. He was numb to the fact that his own flesh-and-blood was suffering right before his eyes. The yawning cavern that replaced his mutilated throat pulsed and throbbed ever so grotesquely, foam beginning to gather at the corners of his brother's maw. Poppy beseeched for him to end his suffering, but to no avail. "Slate, please... put him out of his misery."

'You'll j.. ust... leave... m e he r e...'

Taking a deep, moist inhale through his nostrils, he shook his head. "No..." he muttered. Reaching down, he wrapped his fingers within a water-dense swath of Pine's thick black hair and hoisted him up out of the water by his crown, soaked and growing weaker by the moment. His voice dropped low, down to something barely more than a whisper. "I'm not like you."

SSHHLCCKKKGHHH! Thlmp.

With one last swipe, Slate finished all the torment his brother had ever caused him, severing his head from his shoulders. Crimson exuded flagrantly out of the truncated stump that had once held Pine's grisly head, allowing the body to fall lifelessly to the ground, limbs still twitching and convulsing in a final salvo of nerves. The river ran red, the wall tumbling to the earth beneath turning a frothy shade of cherry and creating a blossom of deep, dark burgundy in the pool below. Realisation bowled into Slate with the force of a bullet the instant he gazed upon the head hanging from his bloodied clutch. Pine's eyes were sightless, lazily rolled back, and his mouth hung open, revealing a claret-soaked mouth. Blood oozed and dripped from the ragged cut along his neck, ribbons of flesh still hanging from both the weapon and the decapitated pate of his brother. The gruesome spoils of war; his arms and belly were slick, growing chilled by each growing torrent of air.

Beside him, his sister hid her face and sobbed, relieved that not only he was dead, but that it was finally over. Krissa had just reached the top of the canyon with Rocket and Milo at her side, the trio gawking at the sight before them. Slate turned to them, examining the pure dismay painted across their faces, and he felt his eyes burn, tears beginning to thicken in his throat. His brother was dead. He had killed his brother. He had vanquished the very male he had shared a womb with, right in front of the innocent attention of his younger sister. Was it just? Had he gotten what he had deserved? Or could Pine have been saved in the end? Could he have put him to rest in a more... merciful manner?

Slowly but surely, he turned toward those down below in the ravine, and revelled at those who were bowing and offering their hands in submission. The humans were gone, either laying amongst their own dead, or running for their lives. Something from way down deep inside him bubbled up, clawing its way up into his mouth and breaking free from his maw. It started in his guts at first and then reached his mouth, echoing out across the clear. It was a scream of aggression, of anger- a scream of anguish and emotion, and of triumph. It was over. Slate held up Pine's head for all to see. It was finally over...

The wind battered his body violently, snow gusting in tiny shards of glass that scraped his fingers and face and soaked frame, scoring through him and leaving him an empty carcass. The guilt suddenly crashed over him, as if it were a tidal wave, pulling him under the crashing waves. His fist tightened around Pine's coarse hair and he allowed his head to slowly drop, staring at the blossom of valentine that coiled gracefully in the glacier-cold beck.

He'd live with it every day for the rest of his life, but it was truly all worth it in the end. The future offered peace now that Koba's immortal spirit was finally no more.