The Next Day…
Geleel sat on the bench in his cage as he glanced at Caesar ever so slightly, the ape genuinely inspired him so much in such a short span of time.
He had promised freedom to all the apes in the zoo, and though that idea was still a fantasy at the moment, the events of last night gave Geleel hope.
Caesar was the leader now, he was young, but Geleel knew never to underestimate those who were young, heck, even back home in Africa the troop's elders would belittle him for his age and small stature…yet he was the one who protected them from that Leopard.
Geleel shook his thoughts away from that, not wanting to go into another fit of missing his home.
Another idea crossed his mind, the Landons had a human visitor in the zoo right now, from his cage he could see the man was clad in a blue shirt.
Geleel narrowed his eyes as he could see the man place something onto Landon's desk, they were seemingly having a normal conversation, the ape boy couldn't make out any distinct features that the man carried.
Fortunately, as the Landons began leading the man through the door; Geleel knew he was going to see him better now.
That's when it dawned on him, they usually put the tarp up on his cage before letting someone get this deep into the zoo…yet they were leading this man into the zoo with no fear of him seeing Geleel.
The ape man almost felt his heart drop as the man was now close enough for his face to be clear…no, it couldn't be…
But Geleel could never forget that face, it was Will Rodman, the man whom the former still blamed for the death of his mother to this day.
Geleel's face morphed from a shocked and dumbfounded one to a deep frown as Will got closer and closed.
The ape man snaked his fingers around the grates of his cage as Will glanced at him swiftly before stopping in front of Caesar's cage…the man didn't look evil per say, he looked almost guilty to Geleel.
But the ape man knew it was an act, this man took his mother away, but why was here? And in front of Caesar's cage?
Will focused fully on Caesar's cage now, trying to ignore the searing glare that Geleel was sending his way.
Caesar sat with his head between his arms on his bench as he took note of Will's presence, the human's eyes locked onto the ape's form.
Geleel was puzzled by this, what was he about to do to Caesar? Kill him too?
The ape man's confusion grew when Dodge opened the door to Caesar's cage…what was happening right now?
Dodge then handed Will a leash, as Geleel immediately began putting the pieces together, his frown was beginning to falter into confusion again…no, this cannot be, no way the human that Caesar was talking about all this time was Will Rodman.
"Caesar." Will spoke with a smile, seemingly trying to appeal to Caesar who was still hiding his face.
"Come on, we're going home." Will then added as Geleel felt his heart sink for a second time.
There it was…that was confirmation, Caesar was actually raised by this man…
"Home…" Will stated once more as Caesar looked at him longingly.
"Come on, we're really going." The man added as Caesar leaped off of the bench and walked up to him.
Geleel was still mentally fighting all the questions and traumatic flashbacks running through his mind as Caesar stared at Will.
Images of his mother's corpse, him attacking Will, his baby brother that he never met…the birthmark on his chest, that birthmark was akin to the one Caesar had on his chest…could it be? It would make sense as to why Will raised the chimpanzee…but no, Will was a bad man, why would he raise his brother? Was Caesar actually his brother?
All these questions were making his head ring, but he still didn't take his eyes off of Will and Caesar as the former relentlessly tried to get the latter to go home with him.
Geleel gave Caesar a glance as the latter glanced back at him swiftly…the Chimpanzee knew the next decision he made was going to be a vast one.
Not only was he thinking of the ape man in the cage before him, but he was also thinking about the other apes in this zoo that he vowed to free…these were his apes now, he could not turn his back on them, his home was leading them to the Redwoods.
So one glance down at the leash in Will's hand was enough for Caesar to make his decision, he was no longer a pet, he was on his way to becoming a leader…no, a king.
Will had put his hand out thinking Caesar was raising his own so that they could leave the facility, but when Caesar placed his hand on the cage door, the human was left with a confused face.
Geleel was also confused, more than before somehow, he had expected Caesar to go back to the easy life of being Will's pet chimp.
Caesar then slowly slid the door closed before swiftly turning and jumping back onto his bench, leaving Will in utter befuddlement.
"Caesar?" Will questioned in confusion.
"I guess he likes it better here with his own kind." John said in a condescending tone as Will turned to him with an irate expression.
"Some of us share the same sentiment." Landon then added as he gave Geleel a knowing look, the ape man glared at him, he was trying to take a dig at Geleel's lack of urgency to accept humanity and stand by his own species even after all these years.
Unfortunately, he couldn't keep glaring at John anymore, he noticed Will looking at him once more.
Dodge snatches the leash out of Will's hands and walks off with a smirk.
Will didn't seem angry or malicious right now…he looked confused, hurt, lost and…apologetic almost.
He then glanced at Caesar's back once more before John began leading him out of the cages.
An air of confusion still befell Geleel as he watched Will and John exit the zoo, this was all still so perplexing.
He had vowed to never trust Will ever again, but the man raised the same ape who was vowing to free Geleel and the others right now.
Right…Caesar, Geleel thought everything over as he looked at the Chimpanzee, the ape's back rose as he tried to bite back his tears…despite the past, if Caesar was willing to cry over shunning Will, the human had to have raised him nicely to evoke this reaction.
Geleel was still battling the suspicion that Caesar could be his long lost brother…or that Will wasn't actually an evil man…but one thing was for certain right now.
Caesar just turned down his chance at an easy, happy life, for them, for every ape in San Bruno.
He sacrificed his own happiness and content for them, his loyalty lied with the apes.
Geleel was not ignorant, he knew now wasn't the time to be angry with his own thoughts and confusion towards Caesar, as the latter had just given up everything for his and every other ape's sake just now.
The ape man grunted sympathetically, as Caesar was confused by this.
Geleel's sympathetic grunting grew louder and louder as pretty soon, other chimpanzees began to join in…the entire zoo had began to grunt in hopes of cheering their new leader up.
Even Buck could be heard from all the way outside grunting in sympathy for their new leader, they all understood he needed them emotionally just as much as they needed him right now.
Caesar turned to Geleel with his eyes still moist from crying, he then turned away from the ape man and looked at all of the other apes who were still grunting in rhythm.
It was official now, his show of loyalty had fully devoted them to him…they trusted him…and he did not intend to let them down.
Later
Geleel and Caesar were outside of their cages as they walked around in Landon's office.
Caesar had told Geleel he needed a means to get the apes to become even more unified than before, they had to be a unit if they had any real hopes to escape.
Geleel had struck a deal with Caesar though, if the ape answered all of his questions, he'd show the chimp Dodge's cookie stache, and that would be perfect for unifying the apes.
"What is it you wanted to ask me?" Caesar signed to Geleel as they stood in the middle of the room.
Geleel drew in a deep breath as he tried to think of how to relay any of his thoughts to Caesar without sounding insane.
The ape man then walked up to Caesar with squinted eyes.
Caesar was beyond confused when Geleel brushed his fingers against the latter's birthmark.
"Is this a scar? Or was it with you since birth?" Geleel questioned Caesar.
"It has been with me since I was a baby, why?" Caesar then questioned Geleel as the latter sighed and chose not to answer.
"Caesar I don't know how to really put this but…I think you might be my little brother." Geleel signed to Caesar as the chimpanzee's eyes opened wider than they ever did before.
He couldn't believe it even if he tried to…Geleel was raised by chimpanzees in Africa from what the ape man told him, how could Caesar possibly be the brother that was lost?
"What makes you think that?" Caesar finally signed back, he at least wanted to hear Geleel's reasoning before writing the ape man off as crazy.
"When I was at Gen-Sys, I was with my mother, she was pregnant, the humans didn't know she was when they brought her into that disgusting lab." Geleel began to sign out the story as Caesar's face began to scrunch up, this story was sounding very similar to the one Will had told him.
"My mother was a beautiful Chimpanzee, strong and proud, even when we were kept against our will, she still made me comfortable and promised to protect me and her unborn child in the lab." Geleel continued as Caesar focused more intently on his hands.
"The humans were…ruthless, they called us stupid animals but…they were the only ones who behaved like savages, all humans except one." Geleel signed as Caesar was waiting to see the name.
"Will Rodman." The ape man revealed as Caesar felt his heart pulsate…there is no way…everything was coming into view now, Geleel's theory was making more sense as he continued the story.
"Will was kind to us, treated us like beings and not animals…at first that is, but he was administering medicine to mother, a drug that changed her eyes, they began calling her Bright Eyes despite that not being her real name, she was still compliant with it in hopes of one day being freed by Will, she began getting smarter with the help of the medicine…" Geleel continued as Caesar's breathing sped up.
He had heard this all from Will…Geleel was certainly telling the truth now.
"Unbeknownst the humans, mother had given birth to a beautiful baby chimpanzee with eyes that matched hers…that baby was you, Caesar." Geleel finally finished as a stream fell down his face.
Caesar could hardly hold back the waterworks himself…Will had always told him there was one other special human in this world that probably would love him a lot…never did he think that special human was in the same primate zoo as him.
"Brother…" Caesar signed to Geleel as he accepted it now…it all made too much sense not to be true, even despite this evidence, the two had a connection since the day Caesar was brought to the zoo.
So without question, within less than 5 seconds the two males were locked in a firm embrace, they both breathed heavily as they seemingly did not want to let go.
This moment was especially special for Geleel…all these years wondering what had become of his little brother after Will's betrayal…all those worries were gone now, the small chimp had grown into the powerful Alpha that was currently hugging him at the moment.
Will's betrayal…that reminded Geleel of something as he separated from Caesar, brown eyes clashing with green.
"Will raised you after killing our mother?" Geleel signed abruptly as Caesar immediately grunted and dismissed that.
"Will did not kill our mother, he was only trying to show humans that his medicine can help them…he wanted the drug to be approved so he could help his father…my grandfather, you were there when mother attacked the lab right?" Caesar questioned Geleel who frowned slightly.
"She only did it to protect you from the humans." Geleel reminded his brother.
"That may be true but…humans did not understand that, and humans love to shoot and then ask questions after…Will did not kill mother, she was shot to death by a security guard." Caesar revealed as Geleel felt like a nuclear bomb had just gone off.
All these years he spent resenting Will…and it wasn't even the man's fault for his mother's demise.
Despite that feeling…at least the confusing air from before was lifted off of Geleel, he now knew that Will wasn't the evil man he thought him to be…he genuinely had a good heart; he was just working for the wrong people…Steven Jacobs.
"Will saved my life, all of the other apes in that lab were killed in cold blood, Will took me home and raised me as his son when he didn't have to, I am forever grateful for that, but I cannot go back with him anymore." Caesar signed as Geleel fully focused on his hands now.
"The apes need me…need us, as long as any ape is behind a cage I can't live with myself knowing I didn't at least try to grant them freedom, are you still with me on this quest to free the apes?" Caesar questioned his newly dubbed brother before extending his arm.
Geleel didn't even hesitate to lock their arms together.
"You already know I'm still with you, brother." Geleel signed as Caesar smiled at him, the universe mysteriously brought them back together…but things always happen for a reason, their reunion would be the seeds of a revolution and they hardly knew it yet.
Geleel had rooted around in the desk of the room as he fished out Dodge's chips ahoy cookies and presented it to Caesar, this was going to be their ticket to making the apes feel even more unified than before.
The ape man walked over to Caesar as the latter took the bag and opened it.
"Rocket will hand these out." Caesar signed to Geleel as they began leaving the room.
"What makes you so sure he'll comply?" Geleel questioned with a grunt.
"He has too, I'm the leader now." Caesar simply signed back as Geleel shrugged at that, he was right.
Soon enough, the two males stood side by side in front of Rocket's cage.
They watched as the bald chimp was seemingly sleeping with his back turned to them.
They nodded to each other before the chimpanzee dropped a cookie into Rocket's feeding slot, the sound the cookie made against the feeding slot instantly woke Rocket up.
He turned to the feeding slot with a dazed and confused expression, why was he constantly being woken up abruptly as of late?
Rocket then cautiously made his way over to the feeding slot only to notice a cookie sitting there.
He eyed it curiously but…picked it up anyways, who was he to deny a sweet and delectable treat?
Rocket bit into the cookie as he continued to enjoy it, completely oblivious to Geleel standing in front of his cage.
It was only when Geleel slid the door to his cage open that the chimpanzee realized that the latter was there.
Rocket eyed him suspiciously before huskily stepping out of the cage.
He glared and sneered at Geleel who didn't hesitate to send the glare right back where it came from.
Rocket then took note of Caesar who was standing in front of another ape's cage with an entire pack of cookies in hand.
The bald chimpanzee wanted all of those to himself…but when Caesar made no effort to offer him the cookie bag, he knew that was not what was about to happen.
Rocket frowned as Caesar walked over to another ape's cage with the cookies.
Rocket turned to Geleel once more as the latter grunted at him and motioned him forward.
"Just cooperate, Rocket." Geleel spoke to the chimp as Rocket understood that enough, didn't mean he had to like it though.
Rocket walked over to Caesar on all fours as the latter banged his knuckles against the feeding slot of the other ape.
The bald chimp now understood the assignment fully, they wanted HIM to distribute the cookies to everyone?
Usually he would protest but, once again he was outnumbered and he was no longer alpha…so begrudgingly he snatched the cookies from Caesar and walked up to the ape's cage.
Rocket looked back to make sure Geleel and Caesar saw him as he dropped the cookie into the feeding slot.
He thought he could get away with the rest of the cookies now, but when both Caesar and Geleel motioned for him to continue sharing the cookies with the other he grunted in annoyance.
The bald chimp did it anyway, he went down the line and began giving all of the apes cookies.
Geleel watched as Maurice titled his flapped face at him, the Orangutan was still curious as to what Caesar and Geleel were trying to do for the past few days.
However, as Rocket continued distributing the cookies, all of the apes were hooting and screeching, seemingly getting rallied up by Rocket giving them food, usually he bullied others and TOOK their food.
Now, he was the one handing them food, and it felt good.
Caesar and Geleel smiled to themselves as they listened and watched all the apes becoming louder and more energized…even Rocket was getting into it, the bald chimp wouldn't admit it but he loved this little feeling of camaraderie.
He raised the now empty bag of Chips Ahoy into the air and screeched in triumph.
Geleel noticed Cleo giving him a knowing look as she ate her cookie, she then nodded to Caesar who was doing the same.
Geleel smiled at Caesar now…yes it was almost time, the revolution was upon them, the apes were completely unified now…nothing could get in their way.
Chapter Fin
AUTHOR NOTE: I know this chapter is a bit short but it's mainly just being used to show how Geleel and Caesar realize that they are actually brothers(adoptive ofcourse, chill out, this ain't some weird incest ape x human story). But I still kinda stuck to the canon plot of Caesar and Geleell utilizing cookies to rally the apes, and Caesar denying Will as a sign of loyalty to his apes. The next chapters will likely be the last couple ones that follow Rise of the planet of the apes(2011). All that's left is the ALZ113 reforming the ape's intelligence and the ape revolution(bridge battle). After I finish that, ima work on my Camp Cretaceous story. I also want to do some chapters for this story that detail what happened with the ape kingdom before the events of dawn and after the events of rise, also a special human will definitely be making a return, for those of you who may think the character was randomly here then suddenly forgotten about lol.