Disclaimer: I do not own Planet of the Apes. All original characters belong to me.

There was no form of trepidation as Ava entered the ape's colony, again. She was still calming herself from the rage she felt towards Carver. She just wanted to make it alright again.

The apes were surprised to see not just one, but three humans step into their colony. Ava didn't need to tell them anything. A few of the apes took hold of them and walked them up the spiral staircase, presumably to where Caesar was.

"Please, we just need to speak to him," Malcolm said.

The three of them were shoved into the tree house. Ava could only stare at the scene before her. There was Caesar, his sons, and other apes surrounding an ape that looked to be sick. She pursed her lips together, "Caesar?"

The ape slowly turned to face the group. His face was adorned with anger, his nostrils flared. Ava had never seen him so angry before, especially with some of it being directed towards her.

"Please," Malcolm spoke, his hand raised in a calming gesture. "We had no idea that he still had the gun."

"This is...my home." Caesar turned his back to them. "You should...not be here."

"We know," Malcolm answered.

"Malcolm," Ellie placed her hand on his arm, silently nodding at the scene before them.

Caesar was kneeling next to another ape who appeared to be having trouble breathing. She looked sick, Ava was able to detect.

"How long as she been like this?" Ellie questioned. Caesar slowly turned to look at her, the menace in his eyes didn't wane. Ava could feel Ellie tense next to her. "I have medicine, antibiotics."

"She can help you," Malcolm said.

"Do not. Trust you."

"I don't blame you. But believe me, we're not all like Carver."

Ava took a few steps forward, ensuring that she kept some distance between her and Caesar. The other apes had their eyes focused on her. "Caesar," she spoke, waiting for him to look at her. "Please, let us help you." She raised a hand and signed, "Trust."

Her gaze switched between Caesar and the sick ape. She hesitated before signing to him, "who is this?" She then gestured at the ape.

"My wife." He then signed, "Cornelia."

A silent breath emitted from the young woman. She took another look at the ape and smiled sadly at her condition. "Will you let us help her?"

It wasn't easy for him, or maybe it was. Regardless of how the other apes felt, Caesar ultimately agreed to accept their offer. Ava was relieved more than anything. She held her hand out to Ellie, motioning for her to come closer. As Ava went to move away, to give Ellie room to work, Caesar grabbed hold of her hand. She paused and looked over at the ape, who kept his eyes on Ellie and Cornelia. But when Ava felt his hand squeeze hers, she understood what he wanted-needed. He needed for her to be there next to him. Having Ellie so close to his wife unnerved him, he had every right to feel that way. To have Ava, someone who would do anything for him, next to him was comforting. While ten years was a long time, Caesar could feel his trust for her starting to appear again. He only wished everything wasn't so different. A part of him wished that he could go back before everything-before he was sent to the sanctuary. When everything was simple and good.

Ava kept quiet, keeping a tentative eye on Ellie as she worked on administering the medication to the sick ape. The entire time her hand remained entwined with Caesar's, at the same time, she tried to keep this affection from Ellie and Malcolm's eyes. However, Ellie did spot it. Just for a brief second, out the corner of her eye. It was rather...peculiar. How Ava could be holding Caesar's hand when she had only known him for a few days? It made her curious. There was no way, with how timid Caesar is of the humans, that he would allow Ava to display that kind of affection with him. There had to be something going on...something that Ellie and the others weren't aware of.

While finishing with administering the medication, Ellie snuck a quick look over at Caesar and Ava. Their hands were still entwined but Ava was still trying to keep it hidden. Ellie began to stash the meds back into her bag.

"How is she?" Ava asked.

Ellie sighed and gave Cornelia another look. "She just needs rest. She'll need another round of medication in about six hours."

Ava inched closer to Cornelia, her brow furrowed as she examined her. "She's going to be okay, right?"

"Hopefully." Ellie nodded.

"One day."

Both women turned to look at Caesar, who was focused on his wife. "You all stay...one day."

"We may need more time than that," Malcolm said.

Caesar turned sharply to Malcolm, "one day!" Ava bit down on her lip, deciding to keep her mouth shut. "Ape will help."

They were able to stay. Under one condition: Carver had to be put somewhere else, far away from the apes. Ava and Malcolm were eager to agree. Carver had already caused enough problems for them, he was finished with the mission. If they absolutely needed his assistance, then they would retrieve him. Other than that, Carver was stuck in one of the vehicles, warned to leave for any reason.

He wasn't too happy about that, but Ava was. She knew that bringing Carver along would be a recipe for disaster… and she was right. Now, because of him, Ava and the others only had a day to clear out the debris and fix the dam. That would be a problem for them. Except, Caesar promised that the apes would help with clearing the debris.

After checking up on Cornelia, Ava and the others make the trek back to the power plant. The apes would take of clearing out the tunnel, while Ava and the others got to work on the power lines to get the plant running. The atmosphere was thick. All of the apes couldn't understand why Caesar would allow them to stay. Especially, after Carver dried to attack his sons. She knew it couldn't have been easy for him. However, she was immensely grateful. It gave her some form of hope that she and Caesar could make amends, to try and piece their friendship back together. But there was no way she could stay with him. And with Caesar being the leader of his own colony, he would never abandon them to leave with her. They were both at different points in their lives. In a way, they didn't need each other anymore. Caesar had his colony, his own family. Ava, well, she had herself and she supposed that was enough for her.

With a flashlight in hand, Ava was knelt down next to Malcolm as they were checking the main console. The wires were still in good condition, which surprised her. When Foster came over to inspect it, he noticed that there was a vital part that needed to be replaced. "Hey Alex," Foster took out the damaged part and tossed it to the teenager. "This relay is busted, could you find another one for me."

"Do you think we'll be able to get this thing up and running?" Ava asked, keeping the flashlight steady in her hand.

"If we can find a new relay, we might just have a chance at jumpstarting it."

Ava nodded. Then, she silently looked back at the line of apes who were clearing out the debris. For a small moment, she felt at peace with the scene. Even though there was tension, they were all working together. No hostility toward one another. Ava and the others wanted to get this one just as badly as the apes wanted them gone. She just wanted peace, and she knew that Caesar wanted the same.

"Hey," Foster said, prompting Ava to look back over at him. "I know I've already asked you this, but I just can't stop wondering. How the hell are you so calm around them? You know what they can do, what they're capable of doing to us...the harm. How can you be so nonchalant about it?"

Ava quietly chuckled. How long could she keep all of this from them? Even after all of this, once they return to the colony, there's no way they would let it all go. They would be more curious than ever. At some point, she needs to tell them the truth. Just… not now. "I don't know what to say, Foster. I guess… I know that as long as we don't hurt them, they don't have a reason to hurt us. Besides, I've always had a love for animals."

"Yeah, but these ain't your typical apes. They can talk, they have higher intelligence, they can use weapons for godsakes. I just can't get behind your level-headedness."

Again, Ava could only shrug. "I don't know how to explain it, Foster. Maybe once all of this is over, I'll be able to explain to you fully."

"Hey!"

A cry caught Ava's attention. She stood and turned to find Alex lying on the ground, and one of the apes was snarling at him. Her reaction was immediate. Ave ran over and placed herself between Alex and the ape, her hand was out in an attempt to stop the ape. "No, please don't."

The ape continued to approach her, he bared his teeth and hissed. Ava again tried to stop him from coming any closer and he swiped at her arm, startling her enough to send her falling down. Still, Ava hovered her body above Alex to protect him. "Please, don't!" She called out.

Again, there was something about this particular human that enraged Koba. The more he'd thought on it, and after seeing her again, he finally understood why. She looked an awful lot like that human who initiated testing on him. The bad human. He growled at her again upon his own realization.

Malcolm saw the scene and sprinted to their aid, shielding both Ava and Alex with his body. "No, don't, no, no."

This only aggravated the ape, even more, he raised his arm in an attempt to hit Malcolm, when one of the other apes-the orangutan, stepped in and stopped the ape from advancing anymore.

"Caesar," the ape spoke. "Want Ceasar. Caesar!"

Ava took the moment to help Alex up to his feet, but Malcolm made sure to keep both of them behind me. From a doorway at the far end of the plant, Ava could see Caesar walk in.

"Humans attack your sons. You let them stay?" The ape turned and advanced towards Caesar. "Put ape in danger! Caesar love human more than ape. More than your sons!"

Ava felt a knot form in her throat at hearing the ape's accusations. And the look on Caesar's face. It was nothing but pure rage. It was rage she had never seen before. Before she knew it, Caesar had attacked the ape. The two of them wrestled on the ground, Caesar taking heavy blows to his chest, making Ava's panic rise in her chest.

"Caesar!" She screamed.

But Caesar was able to get the upper hand. Soon, he was on top of the other ape with his hands secured firmly around his neck. He shook the ape, banging his head against the steel grates. There was blood all over the ape's face. It was horrifying.

"Caesar, stop!" Ava screamed again. She could see his hands tightening around the ape's neck and a primal yell fell past his lips, echoing off the walls. "Caesar." She saw the tension in his shoulders melt away. The grip he had around the ape's neck slowly loosened.

"Ape. Not kill ape." He finally backed away, his chest heaving.

Everyone was silent, no one-not even the apes, dared to say or do anything. The ape who had initiated it all got to his feet and offered his hand to Caesar. "Forgive me."

Caesar took a moment to look at the other apes, finally giving his forgiveness. The ape merely slinked off and left the power plant. What the hell just happened? Ava was at a loss for words, not sure how to move on from this. She eyed Caesar, who appeared to be in shock over what he had done. Without saying to the humans, Caesar signed to the apes to keep on working and then left the power plant.

"What the hell do we do now?" Foster was the first to break the silence among the group.

Ava placed her hand on Malcolm's shoulder, "I'll be right back." She followed the same path Caesar had taken and exited the power plant. There was only one path she could have taken, and it led down a hill toward the banks of the waterfall. She continued on down the path until she found Caesar sitting on a boulder, staring out at the water. There was no waiting on her part. Ava sat down right next to Caesar, who merely look at her in a sideglance.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I know that letting us stay here to finish our work wasn't a popular choice with the other apes."

"If you don't finish, other human come here."

She nodded. "Still, I know that it couldn't have been easy." He remained silent. Ava took a moment to stare out at the water before asking, "who is he, the ape that you attacked?"

"Koba. He hate human."

"Why?"

"Human tested him."

It didn't connect at first. But the realization made her blood run cold. "Will?" Caesar only nodded at her question and she huffed out a breath. Of course. All those scars that he had, she thought it came from other animals or defending himself. No, it was from all the animal testing that Gensys did on him. "No wonder, I feel like every time he looks at me...I see nothing but pure hatred."

"You look like him."

She looked like Will. She had always known this. "Yeah, I can't fault him for that." Ava hated all of the animal testings Will did at his job. It was the one thing she couldn't understand about him. How could he willingly work at a company that tests on chimpanzees? Yes, they were trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's and look where that led them. The near full extinction of humanity. It led to Ava being the only member of her family left. It did nothing but screw her over. "I promise, once we get done here, we will leave and never come back. The last thing I want is for our presence to create any more trouble for you."

"It won't matter. Ape know human still alive. They will always fear of attack."

"Either way, it will be best for all of us when our work on the power plant is done." She could feel Ceasar's eyes on her. "You don't need me, Caesar, not even in the last ten years. You have your colony and family to look after."

"Where will you go?"

Ava shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I'll probably stay with Malcolm. The fact that I know you're alive and well… that's all I need. I'll be fine." She knew she was lying. Well, it was half a lie. The knowledge that Caesar was alive is enough for her to leave and never come back. Being given the opportunity to see him again and find closure, has helped her in ways she hasn't begun to understand. But she didn't want to leave him. She wanted to find some way for them to stay together, or at least, close enough. It wasn't realistic and dwelling on it would only do her harm.

In an unguarded moment, Ava reached over and took hold of Caesar's hand. He didn't pull away. His hand curled around hers, allowing himself to relish in the comfort that she always provided him.

On top of the hill behind them, Malcolm was watching the pair, silently. He saw their entwined hands and total confusion and surprise set in. But he said nothing. With the image still in his mind, he went back to the power plant, intending on asking Ava something that's been bugging his mind for a while.

Night had fallen fast and so did the temperature. Ava and Ellie were standing outside of the power plant, with their eye fixed on the hydro. Malcolm had told them to wait outside and let him know if the hydro started to work. They were nearly done with fixing the power plant. Now, it was all about seeing if all their hard work would pay off.

"I hope this works." Ellie's breath puffed out in clouds of smoke. She stashed her hands into her jacket pockets, hoping to keep them warm. "I don't know what we're going to do if it doesn't."

"We're gonna have to go back to the city, and then Dreyfus will come up here and kill all the apes."

"Maybe there's a way to convince him not to," Ellie offered.

"No," Ava shook her head. "You know how humans are, Ellie. We destroy anything and everything that may pose a threat. When we get scared, we do crazy shit. That's how we got into this whole mess in the first place. Humans like to play God, they like to control everything in their world." She casually glanced over at Ellie, even in the dark she could see Ava's eyes were glistening. "This whole pandemic, the humans have no one to blame but themselves for it."

Ellie stated at Ava in shock, but slowly nodded her head. A part of her did agree with what Ava said. But the other half was screaming inside of her. She didn't' ask for this. She didn't ask to lose her daughter...to lose everything.

A loud noise emanated from the power plant. The two women fixed their gazes on the hydro, waiting for the moment they had been biting their nails over. Finally, the hydro wheels began to turn and they both huffed out a laugh.

"It's working!" Ellie threw her arms around Ava, both of them relishing in their little celebration. "Malcolm!" Ellie turned and ran into the power plant, leaving Ava out by herself. But she didn't care. It worked. The hydro was actually working. That means the apes were safe, Dreyfus wasn't going to bring the humans up here and destroy the apes' home. Peace could be maintained. The humans will have their power and the apes can continue to thrive in the woods.

It was all going to be okay.

Tears streamed down Ava's cheeks, her smile only grew. Finally, in this dark grim world, there was a glimmer of hope. And she was going to hold onto that for as long as she can.

….

Word had gotten back to the humans that the apes have spotted some form of light source in the woods. Ava and the others gathered up their supplies and, with the apes' guidance, found their way to the source. It was an old gas station that was overtaken with weeds and shrubbery. Kemp was the only one to enter the small building, the others remained outside, taking in the sight before them.

The faint notes from a guitar filtered out the worn down speakers. Soon, the song was blasting through the speakers. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It had been so long since she last listened to music. Ava looked over at Ellie and Malcolm, both had tears in their eyes and bright smiles on their faces. Foster even began to dance, which only made Ava laugh. She hadn't seen them this happy since...well ever. She still couldn't believe they did it.

Caesar, who had ridden his horse, strode over to Malcolm. "Thank you," Malcolm said. "It worked, well at least it did here, we'll know when we get back to the city."

Caesar offered his hand to Malcolm, "Trust." The ape then looked over at Ava, the smile on her face was enough to make him smile as well.

"Thank you, Caesar. If you hadn't let us stay here, none of this would have happened," she reached up and took his hand. "Thank you."

Caesar nodded and she saw a look cross over his eyes. He turned to Malcolm, "Follow." He instructed. Then, he took a firm hold of Ava's arm and motioned for her to get on the horse. She hesitated before seeing him motion at her again. With his help, Ava hoisted herself onto the horse, seeing the surprised looks from Malcolm and Ellie.

"Follow," Caesar instructed again before tugging on the reins, sending his horse off on the trail.

The place he took them was back to his colony. That was surprising for all of them. Ava thought that he was escorting them back to camp, so they could pack up their things and leave. But no, he took them back to his colony. The apes surrounded the arriving party as she and Caesar dismounted his horse. Taking hold of her hand, Caesar led Ava and the other members up on an incline. He situated them into a line then pointed out to the horizon, "the lights."

They looked out and saw the San Francisco skyline lit up. It was beautiful. Ava had forgotten what the city looked like when it was lit up. She could only imagine the reaction from the rest of the colony. They were probably celebrating.

Ava felt Caesar tug at her arm, leading her further up the incline to where he and his family lived. She saw Cornelia at the top, with their baby chimp in her arms. Caesar was the first to greet her, asking if she was feeling any better. Ava saw her sign to him that she was, and that made her feel nothing but relief. Another good thing to happen tonight.

Caesar turned around and pointed to Ava, who approached the pair. "I'm Ava," she signed to Cornelia. "I am a friend of Caesar's."

"She helped you to feel better." Caesar signed.

Cornelia smiled. She braced her hand behind Ava's head and tugged her close until their foreheads were touching. Ava could feel her heart swell. She remembered the many times that she and Caesar did this when they were younger. It was a sign of affection that Ava always loved in partaking with him. The fact that his wife, whom she had never formally met before, was showing her the same amount of affection warmed her heart.

Cornelia moved away and placed her hand against her chest and then signed, "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure," Ava signed back. She then turned around and saw their eldest son approaching the pair, at least, that's who she thought it was. She backed up and made her way back down to the group, wanting to give the family some time together. She hugged Malcolm and Ellie, basking in their accomplishment. After all the obstacles they faced while up here, all of the tension they had experienced, it was all worth it. They had completed their task. They can all live in peace now.

But their celebration was short lived. A gunshot rang out.

Ava's attention was immediately brought to where Caesar was standing, near the edge of the cliff. And in a matter of seconds, Caesar fell over the side, into the darkness below. "Ceasar!" Ava's screamed echoed across the canyon.

The apes began to scream and howl in confusion and fear. The only thing keeping her grounded and focused was Malcolm's hold on her arm. A mass ran down from the incline and onto a large boulder in the middle of the colony. It was Caesar's eldest son and he had a gun his hands. He raised it up for everyone to see.

"Human gun!"

Ava felt her stomach turn as what has just happened. Human gun. A human shot Caesar. That meant...Carver. And it also meant that Caesar was… no, it couldn't be.

The orangutan, who had saved Malcolm, Ava, and Alex earlier, turned to them and uttered only one word. "Run."

That's what they did. Ava and the others turned and ran towards the exit. Parts of the colony had been set aflame. What the hell did Carver do? Ava thought as they rushed out of the colony camp. They didn't stop. Malcolm had a hold of Ellie's arm while Ava had a hold of Alex.

They kept running, the sound of apes screaming and Koba's yells of revenge, kept the adrenaline rushing through their veins.

Ellie lost her footing and fell. They quickly got her to her feet and then took refuge under a fallen tree. Malcolm wrapped his arm around Ava, pulling her close to them. The apes were fast approaching and, soon, were jumping over their refuge and continuing on down the hill. Ava buried her head against Malcolm's shoulder, biting back a cry over the anguish she was feeling.

Caesar was dead. He was dead. Caesar was dead!

2016

….

It had been a casual, sunny day. Ava was holed up in Will's home watching television. It was after school and he asked her to stay with her grandfather for the day. She was happy to oblige. Unfortunately, his Alzheimer's were starting to make a comeback. Will was working tirelessly to find a new treatment that would contain a more aggressive virus. Ava tried not to think too much about her grandfather's depleting health. It would only upset her more.

During a commercial break, Ava went into the bathroom, unbeknownst to her, her grandfather was able to sneak right by her and out the front door. While in the bathroom, Ava could hear a small commotion coming from the attic. It sounded like Caesar was upset about something. When she exited the bathroom, she saw that the front door was open. Shit, Caesar must have gotten out. Except, Ava could hear screaming coming from outside.

In a fit of panic, Ava ran to the open door and down the front steps. To her left, she saw her grandfather lying on the sidewalk. "Grandpa!" She jogged over to him, he was confused-absolutely lost. From above, Ava could hear ape shrieks and she turned around, seeing Caesar on top of their neighbor and she felt her stomach drop when he bit his finger.

"Caesar, no!" She screamed.

Caesar paused and looked up, seeing Ava and Charles and the horrified looks on their faces. He knew right then that he had done something bad. In his own shame, Caesar quickly made his way over to them and hugged Charles, his one hand going to hold Ava's. Charles was quick to comfort the upset ape, but Ava knew that this was a terrible situation.

The cops arrived, along with an ambulance and...animal control. The last one made Ava's stomach sink. Someone called about a chimpanzee that was attacking someone. Ava made sure that her grandfather was being looked at first, but when animal control went after Caesar, she was quick to react.

"Wait, please, don't take him away!" She grabbed Caesar's arm, hoping to talk some sense into the worker. "He didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"You need to step back," the man placed his hand on Ava's shoulder, trying to get her to back off. He tightened the wrangling cord around Caesar's neck and it made her panic even more

"No, you're hurting him! Please, let me call my uncle, he can fix this!" She pleaded.

"I'm sorry, kid. But a chimpanzee doesn't belong in a neighborhood, besides, he attacked someone. We have to take him in."

The other animal control work took Ava and guided back over to the sidewalk. She helplessly watched as Caesar, who was terrified, was loaded into the back of the truck. The worker closed the doors and they both went to enter the vehicles. In one last attempt, Ava ran over to the doors and peered in through the small windows. Caesar was staring back at her with wide eyes.

"Caesar, don't worry, okay! I'm going to call Will, we're going to get you out! I promise we're going to bring you home!"

The car turned on and started down the road. Ava ran her hands down her face and took in a deep breath. "Okay, okay you got this. Just call uncle Will, everything will be fine." It had to be. Caesar will be home in no time.

A/N: Hi, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I know, another long wait for a chapter and I apologize once again. I actually lost all muse for this story. It came back a little bit, which is why I was able to finish this chapter. Also, from how much I have planned, there are only about four or five chapters left in this story. So the fact that I'm so close to finishing it is also what helped me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And if you could, please leave me a review. They are what help me through these writing blocks. Please let me know what you are looking forward to, or what you expect in the coming chapters! I'd love to hear from you all! Until next time!