This chapter marks the official start of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Muir Woods, now 10 years after the Revolution…
The ape colony was practically complete now, a system was established.
They had many customs that were incorporated into their society now due to the many years of trials and tribulations they had endured.
The last two of those years had yielded one major development, no humans.
The colony could not fathom the last time they had seen a human straggler, much as any humans who threatened their livelihood.
The thought of humans destroying each other was the deduction they had romanticized as the truth.
Now with the threat of humanity out of the way, the apes were free to thrive and continue growing in strength and numbers.
Alas, in order to grow, they had to find ways to survive, and the main aspect of survival was sustenance…food.
They weren't living in some sort of urban simulation, there was no grocery store they could just waltz into, they had to hunt.
Which is exactly what they were doing at the moment, despite the rainy weather transpiring, they still had to hunt to maintain the colony.
Caesar, naturally as the Ape King, was at the helm of a group of hunters.
His face was painted white as a red streak trickled down his forehead, though it was a bit sullied due to the rain drops running down his face.
On a tree to his right, Geleel was perched next to Rocket and Ash, the younger chimp was no longer a small child anymore, he had grown into a powerful ape.
All of them dawned unique markings on their bodies.
Geleel's markings were the most striking out of the entire troop, while most apes utilized white paint for their faces and fur, he did not have fur, so he utilized black paint on his body and two red streaks on his cheeks.
The man did not have fur, though his skin was dark in complexion, it was a dark brown, nowhere near the same deep black hue that many apes had as their fur color.
Geleel then looked behind him to see the large array of chimpanzees and a few bonobos perched in the trees behind them, this was the only set of apes designated for this hunt.
The Ape man then looked down as he noticed a few gorillas and chimpanzees poised with weapons and bolas strapped to their backs, this was the right wing ground team.
The left wing ground team consisted of the same species of apes, though they were led by Koba, and his son Limbo, who much like Ash, had grown into full maturity now.
Blue Eyes had grown like them as well, but his father had given him the task of hemming up the back of the troops and making sure everyone was in place, he would join them at the front soon enough.
Suddenly a chimpanzee named Bam swung up the group, this was their scout.
The chimp grunted in order to get the attention of his leader.
"Caesar…they are close." Bam relayed to Caesar through sign, he was referring to the elk they hunted.
Caesar nodded in affirmation before swiftly turning to Koba and Limbo.
"Koba!" Caesar grunted out as he signed for Koba to lead his team forward.
Koba nodded before motioning for his team to follow him, Limbo tried to keep up with his father in order to impress the scarred bonobo.
Geleel turned to the left as he ordered Silas, the same bonobo that had thanked him for getting 'rid' of Red all those years prior, to move forward with the right team.
Silas nodded in affirmation as he too led his team forward.
Caesar then grunted at the troop that was in the trees as he motioned them to move forward.
With that, the apes, including Geleel, began swinging forward from branch to branch, despite how slippery the branches were due to the rain, the Ape man felt no struggle or fear as he traversed the trees alongside the others.
When Caesar came to a halt, every ape came to a halt as well.
After a small pause, Blue Eyes landed on the branch next to his father and affirmed that everyone was in position…he seemed determined to impress Caesar.
Caesar didn't say anything directly to his son, he simply nodded.
The Ape King then took another long pause to wait for the right moment to start the hunt.
Blue Eyes was growing rather impatient, the elk were right below them, he did not understand what his father was waiting for.
"Now father?" Blue Eyes began signing but Caesar grabbed his hands, ceasing his impatience.
Though Blue Eyes had immense potential to do great things, the young ape was often far too eager, habitually rushing into things.
Perhaps it was his hunger to prove himself worthy of being Caesar's son that drove him to make such brash decisions…but that was not important at the time.
Caesar was still staunchly timing the elk…
Geleel waited for his brother's signal, his breathing and heartbeat became the most prominent noise to him at the moment, the pitter pat sounds of rain against the trees did not register to him right now, he was locking in.
After about ten more seconds had passed Caesar raised his fist into the air and let out a loud screech.
As soon as his screech traveled to the ears of the troop, it was on, everyone sprung into action, immediately charging at the elk who began fleeing the scene.
The elk herd let out various noises of peril as the apes chased after them.
Koba's shrill cries rang through the air as the left wing blocked off a potential escape path from the elk.
Limbo grunted as he leaped forward with a net, draping it over the head of one elk, effectively dragging it to the floor with it's own momentum.
Brutus, who was now a sizable male gorilla, and a few other chimps began to help Limbo secure the elk, they had made the first catch of the day.
Geleel ran besides Rocket and Ash as the Ape man had his sights set on one elk that was seemingly straying from the herd's line a bit…
The Ape man timed it perfectly…he knew this kill was guaranteed.
Geleel then swiftly drew a stone blade from his waistband and immediately projected it towards the elk, right as the poor creature turned its head it was struck in the neck by the blade, tumbling to the forest floor with a loud squeal of pain.
Ash, Rocket and Geleel both stopped in their tracks as they realized the latter had connected.
They were all in agreement that they were going to secure the kill properly.
Rocket was about to join his son and Geleel but unfortunately the trailing part of the stampede had trampled him and a few other apes, separating him from Ash and the Ape man.
Ash screeched out in shock at the stampede as he hid his face in defense.
Geleel lets out a gruff yell as he pulls Ash to the side so that they would avoid being trampled.
Both of them stayed huddled together as they decided it would be best to wait before moving again.
Up ahead, Caesar was running alongside Blue Eyes and a few other apes.
He noticed an elk running towards a small slope, which prompted him to grab a bola from Maka's back.
The Ape King swung the bola over his head before slinging it towards the elk, effectively bounding its legs and forcing it to tumble down the slope with a shrill cry.
Caesar and Blue Eyes both stopped at the edge of the slope as they both took note of the elk's frantic state, unfortunately for the latter, it could not run away due to the bola wrapped around its legs.
It was trapped, this was an easy kill in Blue Eyes' mind, so naturally he wanted to go down there and finish it off with his spear.
Caesar held onto his son's chest, something wasn't right here.
The Ape King then began slowly moving forward, seemingly cautious of any dangers that may be lurking, Blue Eyes followed behind him, still not understanding why they couldn't just kill the elk and get this over with already.
"Stay son…" Caesar signed to Blue Eyes, he already knew his son was thinking of being reckless, the young chimpanzee was far too keen on rushing into everything as if he had all the knowledge in the world.
Blue Eyes was disgruntled by his father ordering him to stay, he was more than ready to make decisions on his own in his eyes.
Caesar was evidently more seasoned than his son, he could tell this area was not fully uninhabited, and judging by the fresh claw marks in a tree he was inspecting…the inhabitant of this area was not very friendly towards apes.
Being distracted by the tree, Caesar failed to notice his son completely disregarding his prior orders, and advancing the elk with his spear.
The elk repeatedly squealed in terror as Blue Eyes was poised to end its life swiftly.
Unfortunately, before Blue Eyes could even think to strike the elk, a large grizzly bear emerged from the bushes with a mighty roar.
This startled Blue Eyes, but he was not quick enough to react as the bear swiped him away, a loud screech of pain and terror erupted from Blue Eyes as he tumbled to the floor, losing his spear in the process.
Caesar's attention was immediately drawn by the roar of the bear and the screech from his son…without even a thought, the Ape King had gone into protective mode.
So with a loud cry of his own, Caesar lunged at the bear, landing on its back as he tried to grab onto its neck, unfortunately the grizzly was too dense, and the Ape King ultimately had to roll off of the beast and stand in front of it.
Blue Eyes watched as his father stood up in front of this large and robust carnivore, all the while clutching the deep claw marks embedded in his face, chest and torso at the behest of that bear.
Caesar wasn't too keen on standing in front of this bear whilst it was clearly angry and in a feeding frenzy, but he had a duty to protect his son.
The Ape King dodged a few swipes from the bear as he then tried to swing the blade that was in his hand at the bear.
This attack proved futile as the bear easily knocked the blade out of Caesar's hand leaving him ultimately defenseless.
Caesar realized the predicament he was in now, no weapon, practically defenseless standing in front of this 700 pound monster and his son who was bleeding profusely…the King could only do one thing.
With a loud cry into the air, Caesar continued to dodge the bear's attacks, hoping that soon the member of his troop would heed the distress calls and come help them.
Back with Geleel and Ash, who both had stood up now due to the stampede finally getting too far ahead.
"You okay Ash?" Geleel questioned the young ape out loud whilst also signing out the words, Ash seemed very rattled.
For quite a while now, the Ape man knew Ash to be as anxious and nervous as he was energetic, this was his first hunt, the nerves were expected.
"Yes I am fine, should we check on my father and the others?" Ash signed to Geleel who shook his head slightly.
"Rocket is tough, have some faith in him; besides, we still have a kill to claim…come, I will show you how to properly butcher the elk." Geleel said to Ash before walking forward.
Ash cautiously followed after Geleel, spear in hand.
For quite some time now, Ash could never understand why the human in front of him was so calm in any dire situation, Geleel was rarely rattled by…anything, it was uncanny, but also a bit inspiring for the young ape, he understood why Gabrielle wanted to be like her father so much.
When Ash caught up to Geleel they both noticed the elk on the floor…the Ape man's blade was inserted right into the side of its neck, it gasped and sputtered, trying to hold onto its last bit of life.
Geleel kneeled down in front of the elk as it writhed in unbearable pain.
Ash then knelt next to the Ape man, his spear still firmly grasped.
"Now…we kill it?" Ash signed as he prepared to strike the elk with the final blow.
"No…" Geleel spoke outloud as he placed a hand on Ash's shoulder to stop the young ape's attack.
Ash looked at Geleel in confusion, the elk was there, all they had to do now was end it off and take it back to the village.
"The elk is already dying…we do not need to inflict anymore violence upon the forest's creature, this is our home, we should respect it as it respects us Ash." Geleel conveyed to the young ape, the latter was a bit taken back by the former, he'd never thought hunting would entail this…he'd always expected there to be way less compassion behind the hunts when he was younger.
No…they ate the elk, but they did not need to disrespect mother nature by inflicting insult to the already prominent injury.
"Make sure to look the animal in the eye before it leaves the world…this way it does not leave Earth alone." Geleel stated as Ash ensured his eyes were locked onto the elk's.
A part of him was very conflicted about this procedure, it was hard to watch something die…but another part of him was happy to see that apes were not merciless killers…nothing like the humans Koba spoke about.
After a few more moments of fighting for its life, the elk finally succumbed to the wound…all of the life in its body and eyes were dormant, it simply laid on the forest floor…lifeless.
Geleel then closed the opened eye gently before patting the deceased creature's head gently.
The Ape man nodded at Ash, letting him know it was okay for them to begin butchering the elk.
Unfortunately, before either of them could make a move, a loud cry rang out through the forest.
There was no mistaking it…that was Caesar, and his call was one of distress.
Without so much as a second thought, Geleel immediately leaped up and began sprinting towards Caesar's cries, his brother was in danger, nothing else mattered right now.
Ash was almost left dumbfounded by the speed in which Geleel had taken off, this didn't stop the the young chimp from taking off after the man right after.
Geleel did not have time for anything else in the world right now, his feet slapped against the forest floor loudly as he continued sprinting.
Ignoring his increasing heart rate, his pounding breaths and the slight ringing in his head, he continued sprinting forward.
As he got closer to Caesar's calls he heard a loud earth shattering roar…no.
Fortunately, right as Geleel emerged from the bushes, he notices Koba flying through the air, a spear above his head.
The Ape man's eyes then traveled down to the bear that was about to finish his brother off.
Unfortunately for the grizzly, it never got the chance as Koba drove his spear into the back of its neck right before it got the chance to maul Caesar.
All three of them rolled down the slope as Geleel watched Blue Eyes move out of the way.
Everyone landed in different forms, Koba was on his stomach, the bear sputtered and gasped but ultimately died, Caesar was the visible to them right now…he was being smothered by the large bear.
That's when Geleel decided to jump down next to Blue Eyes as the latter was a bit startled at his uncle's sudden appearance on the scene.
Geleel didn't really take note of Blue Eyes or Koba getting up again.
He immediately ran over to the bear and move its body back a little to help his brother get up.
Caesar dragged his body out from under the large bear with the help of his brother as he took a second to regain his breath…that was one of his closest run-ins with death.
Both Blue Eyes and Koba sighed in relief at the fact the Ape King had survived unscathed.
"Thank you brother." Caesar signed to Geleel with a huff as they brought their foreheads together.
The Ape King then turned his attention to Koba, the one who initially saved him and Blue Eyes in the first place.
"And thank you Koba, for saving my life." Caesar signed to the scarred bonobo as the latter accepted Caesar's thanks, even if he didn't always see eye to eye with King, he respected Caesar greatly still.
Geleel didn't like Koba's attitude towards his family at all, but, the ape did save his brother's life, that was one thing he owed the bonobo.
Koba then tossed Caesar the spear that was dropped to the ground, the latter easily catching it.
Geleel was about to celebrate his brother being alive fully, but when he followed Caesar's eyes to Blue Eyes…he realized the state his nephew was in.
The young chimp had 5 gaping bloody wounds on his body now…no doubt they were inflicted by that bear.
However, the scars did not look to be the main source of his pain right now judging by his down trodden expression.
The pain of disappointment was far greater than any physical pain, Blue Eyes felt as though he was the biggest disgrace to his father right now, the son of the Ape King…almost dying on his first hunt.
The disappointment was slowly bubbling over into anger…he just could not understand why he could not do things the right way.
Blue Eyes was pulled away from these thoughts he felt a pair of fingers jab him right in the center or his freshly scarred chest, eliciting a gasp of pain from him.
He looked up at his assailant…ofcourse it had to be his father.
The young ape watched as Caesar seemingly inspected his wounds…they were deep.
Caesar's worried expression then turned into an unreadable one, one that made Blue Eyes feel as though it was just him and his father here.
His uncle, Koba, Ash who had just arrived moments ago were invisible to him at the moment.
"You must think before you act, son." Caesar signed to Blue Eyes as the latter was certainly not in the mood to be scolded right now.
He already knew how much of a disgrace he was…he didn't need his father to tell him.
"You-" Caesar's signing is cutoff as Blue Eyes rudely snatches the spear out of his hand, walking off immediately after without a care for whatever else his father had to say.
Caesar sighed before turning to Geleel, the two brothers didn't even need to speak, it was clear that the Ape King did not know what to do with his son who was growing more and more rambunctious by the day.
By this time, most of the other ape troops, including Rocket, Limbo and Silas had came upon the scene.
They were all dumbfounded and shocked by the deceased bear in front of Geleel, Caesar and Koba…but they were mostly confused by why Blue Eyes brushed his father off in that manner.
There was no time to dwell on it, the hunt was concluded by this point, it was time to go back to their village.
The ride back to the village was mostly silent.
The tension between Caesar and Blue Eyes had caused a dark cloud to be cast over the troop.
Geleel wasn't just thinking about that as he found himself daydreaming at the road ahead, his horse's mane flowing in the slight breeze.
He still couldn't get over the whole Koba thing, the ape man knew that bonobo had a stigma against his family…them being human and all.
Koba hated Geleel and everything he represented, the only reason he suppressed that hatred is because he knew Geleel was not afraid of him…and he knew challenging Geleel in any way would not keep him in Caesar's good graces.
The ape man then shook his head slightly to be rid of those thoughts, why should he care what Koba or any other ape thinks for that matter?
They were heading back to the tribe with enough food to feed them all for weeks, he had a beautiful wife and the best daughter a man could fathom…there were always going to be apes that couldn't accept them…but it didn't matter.
He could still sit back and smile at the colony's progression over the years, Maurice teaching the young apes, laws being made, bonds being formed…societal growth was beautiful to him.
Emilia
Emilia, Gabrielle, Tinker and many other female chimps were surrounding Cornelia at the moment.
They were inside of Caesar's hut as they were all tasked with helping the Ape Queen get through her birth process safely.
At any moment now she could go into labor, and bring forth her second child with Caesar.
"What do you think the next child might be?" Tinker signed to Cornelia who smiled at her, Emilia said it was best to keep the Queen occupied with conversation.
"I hope it's a girl." Gabrielle said as she brought a pale of water over to Cornelia.
"And why is that?" Emilia questioned her daughter with a chuckle.
"Because Ash and Blue Eyes are boys, it wouldn't hurt to have another girl around here ya know." Gabrielle complained as the older women laughed at her.
"Whatever the baby may be…you will love it like you love Blue Eyes, right?" Cornelia signed to her niece-in-law as the latter gave her a fond smile.
"Yes of course auntie Cornelia, that's still my baby cousin in there." Gabrielle spoke once again, causing her to be met with smiles from all of the females in the room.
Before their conversation could continue, a loud horn sounded off…that notified them that the hunting troop had made it back.
Gabrielle ran outside of the hut as she peered over the steps that led up to it in the first place.
She immediately noticed her father and her uncle dismounting their respective horses, but where was her cousin?
The curly haired girl watched as the village hooted and screeched in cheer at their return, she then ran back over to the other females.
"Everyone is back." She relayed to them as they were happy to hear that news; for many of them it meant their husbands had returned home safely.
"That's great, we can-" Emilia is cut off when Cornelia suddenly lurches forward with a pained grunt.
This caused all of the other female apes to become distressed as they all surrounded Cornelia.
"Give her a little space!" Tinker signed to them with a screech to emphasize it.
"Gabrielle, go get Caesar and your father right now." Emilia spoke to her daughter with so much urgency that the girl didn't even stop to nod, she immediately ran back to the stairs.
She immediately pinpointed Caesar and her father discussing something in the middle of the village.
"Caesar!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, Caesar and Geleel immediately snapped towards her voice.
Most of the entire village was drawn to her yelling as well, very confused by it.
Gabrielle then motioned for the two brothers to come up as they immediately sprung into action and began climbing up the stairs to the hut, the young girl seemed very worried.
They failed to notice many young apes following after them, being the ever curious ones they were.
When Caesar and Geleel got to the entrance of the hut they both stopped in their tracks.
The two both dropped their weapons and began moving forward.
Caesar noticed Cornelia's hand reaching out to him as the other females cleared a path for him to get to his wife.
The Ape King took her hand in his as they both shared warm smiles, all the while he was stroking her head comfortingly.
Despite the fact he had just returned from a very eventful hunt, Caesar was delighted to be here in his wife's time of need.
Geleel drew his daughter in for a firm side embrace as they both watched the scene unfold with softened faces.
Emilia smiled at her husband and her daughter slightly as she stayed near Cornelia, prepared for the baby to be born at any moment.
Sure enough, a few moments had gone by and she was ready for the last push.
"Okay Cornelia, gently now." Emilia said as Caesar helped his wife sit up, the latter groaning in effort.
"Push…" Emilia then trailed off as with one final grunt, Cornelia had done it, she had given birth to a beautiful baby boy.
Emilia wrapped the small infant in a blanket as it cried out, before handing him to his mother who was more than happy to accept him into her arms.
Caesar smiled down at his newborn son jovially, he was just as happy as all those years ago when Blue Eyes was born.
The Ape King stroked the baby's small chest gently as it continued to wail.
Geleel and Gabrielle slowly made their way over to Caesar as they kneeled down next to him.
Even though Gabrielle was hoping for a girl…she was elated to see her new cousin be born completely healthy and unharmed.
A sudden snap made them all turn to the entrance of the hut, among the young curious apes was one ape that stood tall…
Blue Eyes…Gabrielle was confused at her cousin's current state…where did he get those gaping bloody wounds from?
She would question him about those later, but right now was not the time.
"Come…meet your new baby brother." Caesar signed to his eldest son.
Blue Eyes stood there for a little more…but he then eventually made his way over to the rest of his family.
Despite his past transgressions with his father, the sight of his brother warmed his heart.
He looked around him, his father, his uncle, his mother, his aunt-in-law, his cousin, Tinker…all of them with large smiles on their faces.
All of them were just sitting there, one big happy family…it was safe to say he didn't have to stay in a sullen mood for the rest of the day.
Later
Caesar and Geleel both sat on the highest point of the village.
Their faces and bodies were cleansed of any paint that was there prior.
They wanted to specifically take this time to rejoice and be thankful for the society they had created…it was truly beautiful.
"This one looks exactly like you when you were a newborn." Geleel spoke up, bringing Caesar out of his thoughts, and alluding to his newborn son.
Caesar chuffed out a laugh as his brother smiled at him.
As they continued their small bantering, Maurice had sauntered up to them, claiming a seat next to Geleel.
"How is your time as a teacher going, Maurice?" Geleel greeted the Orangutan with a smile, Maurice sighed at that question.
"It is going well but a few of the young ones are a handful." Maurice signed as the two brothers laughed at his expense, they knew managing all those children must've been hectic.
"Another son?" Maurice then signed to Caesar who nodded.
Maurice stroked his chin at that, a second son for the King, fitting.
The Orangutan then took note of Caesar staring off into the distant sunset…both Maurice and Geleel knew the King's thinking face all too well, something heavy was on his mind.
"Still think about them?" Maurice signed, he was alluding to the humans, both brothers knew that.
"Humans? No…humans all destroy each other." Caesar signed back.
"It was bound to happen eventually, after realizing my own humanity…I then realized we are not meant to control nature…yet so many people fight so hard to do so." Geleel spoke out loud, he was the only one capable of doing so without hassle.
"Apes fight just like humans." Maurice reminded them with a knowing smirk.
"Not us." Caesar began signing as he gestured to all three of them.
"We are family…" He signed, Geleel smiled at that…he was right, despite differing opinions…they were a family.
He looked down at the village to see his daughter talking to Ash, the two were probably discussing the events of the hunt.
Humans were no longer a threat to the colony, there was no more war…the time for family was definitely here, Caesar was more than right…they had created a utopia.
Chapter Fin
A.N.-The first chapter of Dawn is here!!! Not my best work but after chapter 2 of Dawn this story will pick up the pace!