Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I didn't know what to expect after death. No one knows—though I was no stranger to it around me physically, death was a mysterious, scary and inevitable thing to all creatures—humans and animals alike. Even tiny insects are not immune to the dark unknown. It is the one thing everyone can be certain will happen at some point in our fragile lives, yet we are all unsure of what will happen after.

So it was more than unexpected when I woke again in my...

Home?

"No, we are not going home right now," a familiar voice so long gone from my life echoed.

Yet here I was—the home I hadn't seen since being left behind at the sanctuary and breaking out to steal the virus, since being shot by Koba so the humans had to heal me in the ruins of my past.

Vision blurry, I shook my head to make sure that what I was seeing was real.

My old home from before I had first led the apes to the woods...it was untouched as if the end of the world had never taken place. The kitchen where I would swing from the pots and pans to steal cookies on the top counter...the spiral staircase I would climb, and the ladder next to the bookcase. Even the attic with my own personal room I would leap up to was still intact...how was this possible? I was dead!

But death didn't seem to be the explanation.

A solution worked itself quickly into my racing mind. I didn't need to see what year it was; the only way that all this could be possible...was by traveling through time. It was foolish to assume such a thing so fast and the explanation seemed silly, but rang with a hint of truth. After dying, I had somehow traveled back in time to before the war between humans and apes had started, before the virus had infected the entirety of the human race itself.

Was there a way to go forward again? I could hardly fathom going back in time, but returning to the future?

I moved, my body rigid though I could no longer feel any pain from the arrow that had struck me in the side. Feeling the tender area with a hand, I was shocked to find that the blood had disappeared, and the arrow along with it. Maybe it wasn't so foolish to think that time travel had been the cause of my sudden appearance here, after all.

I began to make my way in slow motion towards the kitchen, taking in the table where I would sit with...Will. Will and his father...I could just faintly remember a bottle of milk being given to me so I could drink, and how shocked they had been to see that I was able to feed myself at such a young age.

I glanced up at the pots and pans that hung from the ceiling. I no longer needed them as I had in my younger days to steal from the cookie jar. I was bigger and taller, so much so that they would break if I attempted to swing to the top cupboard.

Despite my quick thinking and sharp memory, I could hardly remember what a cookie tasted like after everything that had happened. The last time I had even seen such a thing was when I had given them to the apes in the sanctuary.

Maybe I could...? A piece of innocence that was so long forgotten flared.

Unable to resist, I leaped swiftly without assistance of the pans to the counter, but not before knocking into stacked dishes unintentionally. The sharp sound rang through the otherwise quiet house, and a voice that was somehow familiar broke the silence, a light switching on soon after the commotion. I froze in place, my arm still stretched over the counter.

"Who's there?"

When my gaze landed on the one who had spoken, my heart nearly stopped for a second time. The man's eyes grew ten times their normal size, and he stared unbelieving at the familiar creature before him.

I knew this human, and he knew me.

"Will...?" I whispered, hardly daring to believe that the man who had saved me from the lab to raise me as his own was standing untouched like the house itself, no longer simply playing on a camera screen. I didn't know what had happened to him when the virus began taking over; I had assumed that he perished, or had turned primitive. It had been quick to take millions of lives, so why not his own? I had been at a strange sort of peace with not knowing his fate, only thinking about him from time to time as I had told Maurice...until now.

"Caesar?" He questioned, eyes still wide with disbelief that I was actually there...and speaking. If time travel had really happened, then I had been thrust back to not only before the virus spread, but also to before Will had ever heard me speak when we had said our goodbyes in the redwoods.

He glanced quickly at my arm still outstretched over the counter, frowning when he caught on to what I had been planning to do. Cautiously, he took one step forward...and then another. I backed away and he stopped, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. Then, to my surprise...he reached into the jar to give me a cookie himself.

A peace offering. I accepted, taking the cookie into my hand and staring like I had seen a ghost, no longer hungry for the snack.

"How is this possible...?" I murmured more to myself than my long-lost adoptive human. I had died. I wasn't supposed to be here! Time travel just wasn't possible! Yet here was living proof right before my very eyes...it was the only thing that made sense, the only thing that could explain how Will was alive and well again.

"I could ask you the same question," Will whispered, his voice quivering. "We left you at the sanctuary. Did you escape? But that doesn't explain how you're bigger and talking."

We. Will and Caroline. She came third to Will and Charles, but I still remembered her just as well—the vet who had treated me after I'd been hurt in our neighbor's backyard. She and Will had left me alone at the sanctuary after my violent attack against the same neighbor. Was she sleeping in their room?

Silence.

What about the other apes...Maurice and Rocket? Lake and Luca? Buck, who had saved me during the bridge battle...? Rocket's son Ash, who had suffered a terrible end by the hands of Koba? My wife and Blue Eyes who had suffered an equally terrible fate at the hands of the Colonel? Did I dare believe that they were alive and well again like Will?

...What had become of Koba himself?

No, I disagreed with myself. I hadn't even set the virus loose on the apes in the sanctuary yet, so they did not possess the high intelligence that came along with it. My family had yet to come into existence, and for that I was grateful. None of the horrors the Colonel had thrust upon them had happened.

...But what if I did use the virus on the apes again? Would the future repeat itself? The humans dying, apes becoming smarter...the battle on the bridge...and Koba turning against his own kind to start a war more violent and devastating than anyone could have ever imagined?

"Caesar?" Will's quiet and stunned voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He seemed to have been lost in his own, finally coming back to reality.

"I don't care how you got out. I don't care that you've somehow changed and can talk..." he laughed softly, as if afraid he was going to wake someone up.

Nothing more was said. I simply stared, still not believing that he was standing before me like nothing had ever happened.

He took another hesitant, slow step forward. I remained frozen in place, allowing him to continue forward until we were so close in proximity that I could feel his breath.

I couldn't help myself, slowly and carefully reaching an arm out towards him. It had been so long since I had last seen his gentle face. I stroked its soft skin gently and he closed his eyes in content as I re-familiarized myself with his features and he with my touch.

Without warning, he suddenly wrapped both of his arms around me in a tight motion. I stiffened but relaxed not a moment later, and the cookie crumbled to the floor.

"I've missed you so..." I confessed, grip tightening. Will wasn't just a human. He had saved me from the harsh environment of the lab, had raised me from nearly my time of birth. He had shown me that there was still good in humans when it seemed that all there had been was darkness.

"I've missed you, too," Will returned. Fresh tears dripped from his face and onto my hair. "I didn't want to leave you in that place, but we had to. I was going to bring you home again, I promise."

I squeezed my eyes shut at the word ' home,' remembering the absolute anger and helplessness that had wracked my soul when he had abandoned me a second time. "I know. I understand."

More silence. We remained in each other's tight embrace, relishing our unexpected reunion.

Will pulled apart first.

"We need a more aggressive virus," he stated firmly. "My father is deteriorating again...he's dying. I need to test a new version back at the lab soon."

Soon. So that incident hadn't happened yet, either. Everything that the human race had endured was all because Will wanted to treat his sick father. No matter how much it hurt for the both of us, for Charles and the apes, I couldn't allow him to do such a thing. I was beginning to see that I had been sent back into the past for a reason. Had it all just been a terrible vision, a dream that had brought itself to me so I could prevent it from happening?

I was not about to let this given opportunity go to waste so carelessly.

I released a heavy sigh, staring intently into Will's wide eyes that were just as confused as mine. What I was about to say would change the course of events that would throw humans and apes against one another. Was it for the worst...or for the better? It could hardly be the first if I could stop humans from needlessly hurting others because of one certain ape's hatred and betrayal.

With horror, I realized that if Will hadn't tested the virus yet, it could only mean that Koba was alive again—and still locked away in the lab.

I had to put an end to his fury before it started.

So I made the hardest decision I'd ever had to face. It would mean that the apes would stay trapped in the sanctuary unless Will advocated for their freedom. It would mean that Koba would forever remain in the lab as the humans' experiment until his dying day unless the tests were stopped. It would mean that I would never see my family again.

But it would also mean that the humans would survive, and by the humans surviving, so would the apes who had perished during the war. They would be trapped in unfavorable conditions, but they would still be alive. Though Blue Eyes and Cornelius would never be born, they would remain unharmed by the evil that resided inside the Colonel.

I thought we had a chance, a voice of the past—future? whispered faintly.

I did, too.

Now we do.

So I made my final decision.

"Do not test the virus again on Koba. The human race will pay a heavy price," I whispered so quietly I almost couldn't hear myself speak.

"What?" Will's eyes widened further than I thought was possible.

"His hatred for humans will only grow into something much worse," I attempted to explain to the best of my ability. But how could I explain that the entire reason the human race had fallen was because of him? "He will start a war between humans and apes that you cannot win."

"How do you know all this?" Will questioned, slightly suspicious. It was a lot to take in...he took a hesitant, slow step forward again. I didn't dare move or back away to show him that my words were real and serious, allowing him to continue forward until we were almost touching once more.

"I..." What was I supposed to say? That I had died in the future? I should leave out the dying part; I didn't want Will to worry any more than he already was by my distressing words. I decided on the first explanation—he had to understand. He had to.

Trust me. You have to trust me, his words came flashing back from the sanctuary as he held my hand through the cage.

"Do you trust me?" I questioned. What I was about to say would be life-changing, and I needed to know that he would put his full trust forth that my words needed to be believed.

Will nodded without hesitation, and I could see that his trust was real; almost tangible.

"Of course I do," he answered just as swiftly as I had asked.

I drew in a long, deep breath, closing my eyes for only a moment before opening them again. I stared long and hard into his own eyes until I was fully convinced that he was ready to hear the truth.

"I come from the future. A world where the virus has attacked human intelligence so their minds turn into that of animals."

As soon as I revealed the humans' horrible fate, Will's expression faltered, and his stance became unsteady.

"But the virus worked on my father..." He whispered. "I just need to make it stronger."

I couldn't—wouldn't allow it to happen. "Do not test the virus again," I repeated in a gasp, my breathing suddenly becoming harder to control. My side stung so much I had to hold it once more, something sharp piercing my sensitive hair.

"But I have to save him," he begged, his voice pleading. "I lost him once. I can't lose him again."

"I'm sorry, Will. There is nothing that can be done. Please...you must listen. The consequences will be more disastrous than you can ever understand. I've seen it. You are going to—"

I stopped, unable to bring myself to reveal his own fate to him, though he seemed to understand the message as I had hoped he would.

Disbelief that my words were seemingly true. Regret that the virus had seemingly failed, and resolve that his hopes and dreams of curing a disease that was never meant to be cured in the first place were crumbling all around him like the cookie that had fallen to the floor.

And then...

"...I believe you."

Just like that.

He was more than just the human who had raised an ape that was too smart for its own good, all because of a virus that had been transferred from its mother. He was more than a human who had taken it upon himself to try and save his father, to cure his race of disease, but in the end had been the cause of destruction.

I sat in the car, distraught from seeing a dog hooked to a leash that had walked by—noticing the similarities between its collar and mine.

Am I a pet? I'd asked through sign.

"No, you're not a pet," Will had answered. I hadn't been so sure, but now I was beginning to understand.

Who is my father?

He was my...

"Father," I rasped, bringing my hand back to my burning and throbbing side. With every passing second, it was becoming difficult to breathe—and it was then that I understood I was dying again. My arrow wound had returned, part of the sharp weapon still lodged inside. Will managed to catch me before I could hit the floor, eyes growing wider by the second as realization dawned over him.

"Caesar...you're bleeding...you're..."

"Outside," was all I could say. I needed to see what the outside looked like. I knew that if the outside was the same as the inside, my suspicions would be fully confirmed.

"No, you need help," Will protested. "I'll wake up Caroline—"

"No," I interjected firmly. "I need to see the outside."

Will hesitated, but complied upon my stern expression that meant I wouldn't take no for an answer.

So he picked me up as gently as he could, grunting at my heavy weight.

"You're definitely bigger," he chuckled through his tears as red seeped onto his hands. "Just as she said you would be."

I pictured myself swinging from the beams in my room as he and Caroline had talked. "You know, he won't stay this way for long. He's going to soon grow into a large, powerful animal."

Cool, night wind soothed my burning wound and ruffled not just my fur, but the plants, grass and trees as well that I immediately took notice of. Any sort of leftover confusion or doubt inside me that I had indeed traveled through time instantly washed away—it was true.

The front yard was just as untouched as the inside, with bright green grass and leaves from the trees that apes hadn't yet used to swing towards the forest. Will seated himself atop the front porch, his grip tight but gentle.

I cringed as another sting of pain shot through my weakened body nonetheless.

"How did this happen?" He demanded to know.

My gaze was becoming blurry again.

"...Future," was all I managed to say.

If he hadn't believed my words before, he certainly did now with the bloody truth that lay sprawled in his arms.

"Caesar, let me help you," he pleaded again.

I shook my head gently, only focusing on him now. There was no one else in the world—it was just the two of us. Will had no reason to worry—the humans were safe now. My job here was done.

I did not belong in this time, and the same understanding passed to him.

"I wish you...you could have met my sons," I said to try and distract myself from the pain. "Blue Eyes and Cornelius would have loved their grandfather."

Will could only gape at the thought, astonished that I had become a father of all things. The only comfort he could offer me was a smile through his tears.

"I'm proud...to call you my son," he whispered, taking my hand into his own.

I sucked in a deep, stinging breath at the knowledge that he had been thinking the same. I was his son, and that was all that mattered.

"Thank you. For everything...father. I trust you too...knowledge is power."

Will's breathing stopped for a moment as soon as the single word left my mouth for the second time, and his eyes watered. He gripped my hand tighter and I gripped back, determined to hold on for as long as I could.

"No...thank you. For giving us a second chance. I believe you. I won't let the lab do anymore tests."

I barely managed to nod, giving a weak smile as Luca had done for the girl upon his dying breath. Just as he had put his full trust in me, I put my full trust in him that he would keep his word and stop the experiments. Perhaps the apes would be freed, including Koba. I wasn't sure what would entail then, if his hatred would only take over again just to start another war. But I had warned Will of his distrust towards humans so that he would know what to do in the dangerous situation.

"O-ther apes," I groaned through my pain. "In the sanctuary."

Will nodded as soon as the words left my mouth.

"I'll get them out. They'll be moved to a better place, somehow. I'll tell those people they were careless and let you escape. I'll sue them for every penny they have for ever laying a hand on you. I'm sorry, Caesar. I'm sorry for everything that happened."

His eyes were shining by now.

"You have n-nothing to be sorry for," I ground out. He may regret the death of the humans. He may regret leaving me in that place to fend for myself so I would eventually become who I was today with the help of the virus working inside me.

But none of that was going to happen ever again.

More than anything, I understood my purpose now. I had lived to witness the downfall of the human race, and my job was to go back in time to save it. I owed it to Will—to all the humans who held kindness in their hearts, who didn't deserve the horrible fate they had received. Humans like Charles, Will and Caroline, Malcolm and Ellie with the boy, and the little girl Maurice had befriended—they far outnumbered those like the ones who ran the sanctuary and the Colonel, those who wanted nothing more than to destroy us when we wanted anything but war—those who saw us as nothing more than savages and animals.

"Caesar?" Will's grief began to fade into the background, and I could barely make out his gesture towards the window above—the design that had become a symbol of hope and freedom for apes. "Home. This will always be your home."

Like the humans who could no longer speak, their ability to make words stolen by sickness, my own had been compromised by life fading from my soul.

You are my home, I signed in return, reaching my hand to my head and forming a circle around not my own slowing heart, but his so strong and young. From day one.

He smiled through his tears that had gradually transformed from grief to acceptance that he was losing his only child.

"Who was that? In the video?" Malcolm's voice echoed.

"A good man. Like you," I had answered. I wished now that I had given a different answer, regretting that I hadn't explained more to Malcolm who the man in the video really was.

But I did not regret my choice to save the humans.

For by saving the humans...

I had also saved my family.

Both of them—apes and humans alike.

I had discovered my true purpose, and so looking into the trusting eyes of my human father for the last time...

I knew I had made the right decision.

Chapter Text

I wasn't sure what to think. The only thing I could do was stare down at the limp, red-stained form in my arms. What just happened? Had it just been a terrible dream? I was definitely awake, or at least I thought I was.

The night air swept past, a cool breeze following along with it. I gripped the body in my arms tighter, willing it—him to wake up again. He couldn't be gone!

Deep down, I knew none of it had been a dream. Caesar had somehow escaped out of the sanctuary, and he spoke—he actually spoke.

I'd been able to create a drug that had almost cured alzheimer's, but I could never come up with something like that in my own head.

"Do not test the virus again on Koba. The human race will pay a heavy price," he'd said. What did it mean? Obviously something bad, but it was a lot to process. How did he even know who Koba was, a bonobo who had never even seen the outside of the lab?

It suddenly felt like thousand-pound weights had been dropped onto my shoulders. Caesar had said that he'd come from the future—a future where the ALZ-113 virus had become deadly, causing sickness and death instead of hope and a cure. I said I believed him—and I did. There was no other explanation for how he'd returned from the shelter, how he'd grown bigger or how he knew Koba, nor how he could talk of all things.

Time travel existed, and I was the first human being to discover it. Caesar had been the first time traveler; the thought just made my head hurt. I looked carefully over his bloody wound, a wound that he had received in the future. He'd been fine while I had talked to him in the kitchen, but then...the wound had come back? I leaned towards the theory that no matter if someone was saved in another timeline, time itself would find a way to make sure whatever had happened repeated itself until the victim was gone for good.

"...Will?" A voice broke the silence. I didn't have to turn around to see that it was Caroline.

She gasped. "Is that...Caesar?"

I lowered my head, letting out a long sigh.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. It wasn't like I had any other explanation, and it was clear who I was holding in my arms.

"How did he...how is he...?"

Get out of the sanctuary? How was he bigger than before, and how had he gotten hurt with an arrow punctured so deep into his side there was nothing we could do? Caesar had explained that something in the future caused it, but what exactly? I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.

"I don't know, Caroline," I answered again.

"Is he..." she whispered, moving to kneel down next to me. She eyed his arrow wound, eyes wide with just as much sorrow as there was confusion.

"Yes. It's too late." Too late. It was too late to save the only son I'd ever had—the son I'd raised as my own after saving him from the lab.

She cupped her hands over her mouth. Her eyes shone in the dark, bright with tears. Just a few days ago, we'd dropped him off at the ape sanctuary. Now he was here laying still in my arms, his own eyes far away and unseeing. I could tell she wanted an explanation just as much as I did.

"I heard something, so I went to see what it was, and then I saw him. He was in the kitchen...trying to get a cookie. Then he saw me...and spoke."

"What?"

If I were her, I'd want to double check if I'd heard things right, too.

"He spoke, Caroline," I repeated firmly. "And what's even more unbelievable is that he said he came from the future. He said the 113 is going to destroy us."

She narrowed her eyes; she didn't believe me. I didn't believe me, either. I didn't want to believe that the cure I'd been working so long and hard on was going to be a failure if it was all true—the complete opposite of making history, and Jacobs making money like our plan had always been.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"

No, it definitely wasn't a dream. I pinched myself just to be sure, and I could feel the sharp sensation. Feeling any kind of sensations such as pain in a dream was rare, which only confirmed the impossible.

"I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference between being awake and dreaming," I settled with. Right?

She shook her head. "It's all...it's just...impossible."

It was also impossible for an ape to grow and develop the way Caesar had, becoming faster and smarter each day, no matter if he'd had help from a virus that was passed down from his mother. It was once impossible to even think about creating a cure for a disease that was thought to be incurable.

"He said he had kids in the future," I continued slowly. With each passing word, it was beginning to become just the slightest bit more believable in the way Caesar had described everything. "Blue Eyes and Cornelius. If he decided to save us instead of trying to have children again, something bad must have happened to them he wanted to prevent."

The sun was just beginning to peek behind the houses across the street. "He called me their grandfather, Caroline. Remember that day in the woods when he asked who his father was? He said I..."

I stopped myself, bringing Caesar closer to my chest in a protective motion as if something was going to hurt him again.

"What are we going to do?" Caroline questioned in a resolved kind of tone. She was finally beginning to believe it all herself. There was just no way I could make all of it up in one night.

"He gave us a second chance to make things right; we can't let everything he worked so hard for go to waste."

It was dangerous to mess with things we didn't understand, and I was starting to see that now with ALZ-113 thanks to Caesar and what he'd told me. But time travel was something else entirely, and if all the theories and cliches in time travel films were correct, then time would always try to right itself and go back to the way things were before. It was most likely that no matter what I did or attempted, humankind was still going to pay the price of my own mistake.

But I had to try.

"He wants me to stop the testing at the lab. He wants me to free the other apes."

Caroline squeezed my shoulder softly. I moved a hand gently over Caesar's face to close his once bright and green eyes that were now so dim and lifeless, my heart clenching in despair and my brain working into overdrive to honor his wishes.

"So that's what I'm going to do."

Chapter Text

"Time travel is real."

"Caesar had gone back in time after dying in the future, and then he died again from presumably the same wound in my arms. This confirms the theory that time will eventually change back into its predetermined fate."

"But with Caesar's warning about the future, I might be able to change things for the better even though time...and nature might resist."

"Caroline and I had a nice service for Caesar in the woods...without permission. We buried him under his favorite tree that he loved to climb."

"Dad is still deteriorating. If I don't have another, stronger treatment for him soon, he's going to get worse."

"But based on what Caesar told me, there's nothing I can do. Maybe some things just aren't meant to be changed..."

"If time travel theories are correct, then that means Caesar's younger self could still be stuck at the shelter."

"If it's true, then we have to get him out of there. If not...then I'm still going to help the other apes like I promised."

"Are you okay?" Caroline's voice broke me out of my recording. I set the device down on the desk, spinning around in my chair to face her. Eyes heavy from lack of sleep, I blinked to ward off the weariness. Ever since Caesar had returned and then passed away, his death was taking an emotional toll the more I realized that the same thing was going to happen to my father if something wasn't done. But nothing could be done...it was almost cruel, but was I really willing to risk humanity's fate just to save one person? Before Caesar arrived, I hadn't had any idea about what the future was going to bring. Hope and a cure were the first things to come to mind—not illness and death.

But now that I knew the results the future was going to bring, I had to do something about it. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes again.

A heavy sigh. No. Caesar is dead. My father is going to die, too. He was bedridden, confined by his illness that was getting worse and worse by the day. It scared me to think that he had already died once in the near future.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, putting a hand to my face even though I knew she could tell I was lying, anyway.

"I'm having trouble believing all of this just as much as you are," she said, moving closer to the desk to get a closer look at my research. Once dedicated to Caesar and his incredible intelligence that grew every single day, it was now mixed and littered with anything and everything that had to do with time travel. So many questions, yet so little answers. If only Caesar was still alive—then he could have told us more. He'd said that humanity was going to pay a heavy price. Lots of people were going to die; myself and Caroline include. Because of the virus itself? Maybe it was better that I didn't know; just discovering the world's fate was frightening enough.

"Testing was supposed to start today. I have to get over there now."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," she reassured me. Him. My father...

She was still guilty that she hadn't been there when he'd gotten in trouble, when Caesar had attacked our neighbor. We both were; it was a stupid decision of mine to go back to work when I had started to see that he was getting sicker.

The stupid decisions were going to end.

xxxx

The two of us stood in front of the lab's window lined with animal cages on the inside, the animals themselves waiting for testing to begin—but no matter what, I was going to stop it.

"We can't do this," I told Jacobs firmly as possible. The man was wearing his usual gray suit with a red tie.

Jacobs just stared, waiting for an explanation. I hadn't exactly had time to prepare for one on such short notice, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"It worked on my father for the last five years, that part is true. But now his immune system is rejecting the 112."

Jacobs shifted, his eyes narrowing. "That's why we're doing another test. Because you need to make it stronger."

I nodded slightly. "Yes, but now we can't. Since the 112 no longer works, we don't know if the 113 is going to have the same kind of effect or if it's going to get worse."

Much worse. You have to listen to me.

"Well, isn't that why we're testing it on chimps?" Jacobs questioned, impatient.

"They're innocent creatures that don't deserve this."

And one of them is going to start a goddamn war because of us.

Jacobs blinked, then gave a faint and somewhat amused smile. "You finally develop a conscience after all this time? Will, what's this about?"

"Because I've raised one from the time he was a baby."

His eyes widened. "You...what?"

"You would have had him killed if you found out, so I saved him," I explained slowly. If this wasn't going to get me fired, I didn't know what would; but I had to take the risk. "The 112 virus was passed down from his mother...he was the reason she 'acted aggressively' that day."

Jacobs leaned in closer, his voice barely a whisper. "And you still have it?"

It. The single word was like nails on a chalkboard. Caesar was far from an 'it.'

"...No. He passed on recently, presumably from the 112 that stopped working in him just like it did in my father, who's only getting worse." Not a complete lie. This would be much easier if Caesar hadn't...left. He could have actually talked to help me explain that this was only going to end in the worst possible way. Caesar himself was walking proof! But he was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. He'd given me a huge responsibility, had trusted that I would know what to do to stop the future from happening. I didn't exactly know what to do, but I was figuring it out along the way and I wasn't going to break that trust.

If Jacobs caught onto the lie, he didn't show any indication. He took in a deep breath, letting it out. I almost felt bad for him, but he had no idea what was coming. "First you tell me you experimented a dangerous virus on your own father without knowing what kind of damage it would cause, and then you tell me you stole one of our test subjects. You know what this means, right?"

Of course I did, but I had to stay as long as I could. "I'm fired? I could quit right now if I wanted to save you the trouble, but I can't."

"What do you mean you 'can't?'"

This wasn't going the way I'd hoped. How else was I going to explain it all to him without sounding completely nuts?

"I just...have a bad feeling. Haven't you ever felt that way about something, and then it turned out that you were right and shouldn't have done it in the first place?"

He scoffed, and I glanced towards the newly caged chimps. For the most part, they were sitting and waiting patiently...warily for something to happen. Out of the corner of my eye, one certain bonobo seemed to be taking an interest in our argument. I shrugged it off, looking back towards Jacobs.

"I think you're finally starting to lose your mind," he declared simply. "Ever since the Bright Eyes incident, you've been...off."

Just the answer I was expecting. We were scientists—we relied on facts and data, not a bad feeling in your gut that was telling you something bad was going to happen. It wasn't like I could outright tell him that Caesar's future self had somehow traveled back to the past, that the world was going to end if we went through with the experiment.

"And I don't blame you for thinking that," I agreed. This was all crazy, and I was still processing that it was real and not just some messed up dream. "Just give me more time to research...not on the apes."

Jacobs lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples. He was firm in his decision to keep going, that much I could tell. But his stern expression faltered, and he let out a long and frustrated sigh. "We just brought in an entire team waiting for you to give them the go ahead, as well as an entire group of new chimps. You do understand the time and money lost on this certain project if we stop?"

I was just as firm in my decision not to go forward. The weight of the world was weighing down on my shoulders, and I was practically suffocating with every word that Jacobs spoke, with every word that would only seal humanity's fate unless I said something that convinced him otherwise. "I understand, but we can't do it. Not now."

Not ever.

"Will, we have no choice—"

Bang, bang.

Screeching interrupted Jacobs, and my head shot towards the glass to see that Franklin and the others were standing by, desperately trying in vain to calm down one of the test subjects.

"Get that animal under control!" He shouted through the glass.

"We can't afford to have another Bright Eyes incident, can we?" I asked, shooting Jacobs a knowing, warning glance.

He frowned and ignoring his calls for me to come back, I rushed inside to see the reason for all the commotion. The same bonobo who had been staring at us was circling its cage like a pacing tiger, pounding its arms against the glass cage so hard that it vibrated.

"I don't know what got into him," Franklin said, already preparing a tranquilizer gun. I stopped him, resting a hand on top of his before he could point it through the cage's open slot. Franklin looked back at me, silently asking for an explanation as to why we hadn't begun the experiment already.

"It's not a good idea to try this while they're agitated, even under sedation. Let's give them some time to calm down...while I do more research," I answered for both the chimp handler and Jacobs.

He gave one last, defeated sigh.

"You have two more days. If you don't pull through, you're fired like what should have happened a long time ago."

I brightened instantly and a spark of victory sprung into my chest, but Jacobs cut me off before I could say anything more.

"You better not mess this up," he warned before leaving the lab.

Not a second time. This is the only chance I have to make things right.

"Two days are all I need."

xxxx

"So you're Koba."

It took everything I had not to stumble over in my shock. This was the bonobo that Caesar had warned me about; the one who was going to start a war between apes and humans. How questions weren't going to be answered anytime soon, but I could get the gist of why. He'd probably been locked up for most of his life to be experimented on, and my experiment was what would send him over the edge.

"Nice to meet you...again." I couldn't recall anything about my future life, such as how exactly the virus had spread from the lab or how I'd died, but I guessed that I'd once met this ape before my experiment had started. Was this the one I'd chosen? "Thanks for that little distraction."

For a split second, I thought I saw him nod in response with a cruel, distorted grin. I blinked and the motion was gone, leaving nothing but an ape sitting and waiting for his experiments to start. But they weren't going to start—not today. I'd managed to hold off Jacobs for now, but he was still going to try and get me to do the experiment later. I had to come up with another reason why we couldn't do it, or at least find some kind of proof. I could try quitting—but then they would most likely do the experiments without me. I had to stay and make sure nothing went wrong...

Koba gave no further sign that he'd understood my words. Maybe I'd just imagined it somehow...I wouldn't be surprised with everything that had happened so far. To have the future self of your son appear and warn you that a virus was going to wipe out most of humanity can mess with your head.

Turning away from him, I eyed the other apes who were trapped inside the lab. I realized that I had not only kept a promise to free those at the sanctuary, but also the ones who were here. If I even attempted to break them out now, Jacobs would fire me for sure, and then he'd still continue testing with a new group of apes who weren't 'aggressive' like the ones who had been broken out.

"Don't worry," I said slowly so as not to scare them any more than they already were. "I'm going to help you."

I glanced towards Koba once more. He stared back, his scarred and haunting expression piercing so deep into my soul that I had to look away.

I was going to free the two groups of apes that were here and at the sanctuary, of course, but I didn't know what to do about Koba yet. If he was going to be what set off a war between apes and humans, then he couldn't be trusted even if he hadn't been exposed to the 113. I had to be careful with him.

But Jacobs was willing to hold off on the experiments, so humanity and the world were safe from the deadly virus, which was definitely a good start...

For now.

The first step was getting to the ape sanctuary.

Chapter Text

The first thing that came to mind when stepping foot into the main office of the sanctuary was...how could I have ever left Caesar in this place? It was obvious now that something wasn't right—especially when Landon had told Caroline and I to call ahead before visiting. I hadn't bothered this time, the thought honestly slipping my mind. Even if I had remembered to call ahead, I wouldn't have done so, anyway. The shelter was in for a much needed wake up call.

It surprised me when Landon didn't seem at all concerned when I walked into the office. He sat behind his desk, hardly glancing up at my dramatic entrance. A younger, blond-haired boy stood off to the side eating what appeared to be a bag of chocolate chip cookies; Caesar's favorite. Why were cookies haunting me? I shook it off inwardly, ignoring the kid's hard glare and stepping closer to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" He asked casually, as if he didn't know who I was. How couldn't he? We'd left Caesar here, and I was starting to regret it more than I already did.

"I need to see him," I said firmly. No matter what it took, I was putting my foot down. I didn't care that I didn't have a court order yet!

"Who?" Landon asked. He was still too preoccupied to look up, fiddling with what seemed to be strands of yarn.

"Caesar," I answered a second later.

The name finally grabbed his attention. He looked up, frowning when he saw me looming over his desk.

"We don't have an ape by the name of Caesar here," he murmured, going back to his yarn.

What was this guy playing at? But then it only took me moments to realize: this was the past. The past that Caesar had traveled back in time to. It wasn't supposed to be possible, but it happened. Now things were either going to go the way they had gone before—or not at all. Time was already beginning to tamper with memories, as Landon proved. Was I going to eventually lose my own memory? I hoped that wasn't the case. After everything, I didn't want to just forget my only son. Maybe time only affected certain people...I'd have to wait and see. But the longer I waited, the more the world was still at risk of being exposed to the 113.

"If you're not here for any apes, I suggest leaving," Landon said.

"I was..." I grappled for a new reason why I was here. It was pointless trying to check if Landon really and truly couldn't remember Caesar. If I argued any further, he was one more person to add to the list of who thought I was crazy. I wondered if I could say that I was here on behalf of Gen-Sys, looking for more apes for research. I definitely hadn't approved of leaving Caesar in the place where we took apes for experiments, but I'd had no choice. At this point, Landon had no idea who I worked for. If I said anything about the lab when we'd just ordered a group of new apes already, he'd probably get suspicious. I could always put in another request for more apes later under the company's name like we always did when bringing in new primates.

"I was actually looking for a job," I settled with. I needed to help the apes here, and actually working could be the best way to pull it off. I'd be able to come every day, or at least just the two days that Jacobs had given me before I would be fired and they would start the experiment without me. "Or even just volunteer work if you need it."

If I remembered right, there were only two other people who worked here: Landon's son and the night guard, Rodney. There was no way he could refuse extra help, right?

"I can clean the cages," I persisted when completely ignored. "I can just...keep an eye on the apes during the day, help them get used to humans."

"And why would they want to get used to us? They're not people, you know," Landon argued lightly. For some reason, his quote was familiar, as if I'd heard it somewhere before. "The apes here are used to their own kind and their own kind only. I don't see why we'd need another human working here."

Sudden noise in the background. Apes slamming their cages, just like Koba had done in the lab. Dodge, if I remembered his name correctly, finished off the last of his cookies and crumbled the bag, tossing it to the floor without a care. My eyes narrowed, but Landon didn't say anything in response to the action. Annoyed, Dodge left the front office to go in the back area and take care of what was causing all the commotion.

"I don't even have to work with the apes. I can just help around the office and keep things organized," I reasoned. "I've been looking for jobs everywhere and this is the last place I found...I don't even care that it's out of the way. I'll get up at three in the morning if I have to." This had to work. It had to!

No response. Landon had made up his mind, eagerly waiting for me to just go out the front door. Yelling could soon be heard and I glanced up, moving towards the play area window. I couldn't see the cages from behind the other door, but a pained scream was enough to reveal that Dodge hadn't done anything good.

"You know, if I don't find a job soon, I could always...find another way to make money."

Landon finally looked up again at the threat. "And how do you plan on doing that when you never had an ape here in the first place?"

"Wouldn't have to be mine."

The man wasn't fazed, reaching for the phone like he was going to call the police. I placed my hand over it before he could pick it up.

"Look, I won't sue, but I just really need this job. I can even make sure that your son doesn't...hurt the animals, which would really be a reason to sue then. I could have this entire place shut down."

"You're that desperate?" Landon sighed. "Do you have any previous experience with animals?"

I cringed inwardly. Now that I knew what I knew, guilt was like the plague. I was ashamed that I'd ever considered working in a place like Gen-Sys, experimenting on highly intelligent creatures whether they had been exposed to any virus or not. "I worked in a lab before it was shut down," I explained, the part about the lab shutting down anything but true. I made sure not to mention the exact lab; for all Landon knew, I could have come from any lab that had gotten shut down.

"And why the sudden change of mind? First you experiment on animals, and now you want to take care of them?"

"You could say I've turned over a new leaf," I said, giving a strained smile. If Landon noticed, he didn't say anything.

"You're free to come and start volunteering. If you can prove yourself, I might even consider hiring."

My smile became less strained, and hope crawled forward.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. I won't let you down."

"When can you start?"

I only had two more days after this and if I came up empty-handed with proof that the virus was dangerous and couldn't be tested, I was done for—and so was the entire world.

"Right now," I said with enough confidence and determination to shake the room. Landon just chuckled, like he was highly amused that I still wanted to work here of all places.

"I'm impressed already," he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "My son will show you the ropes. To tell you the truth, that boy does need more discipline. If you can keep him in line, I'll even give you a raise." He scoffed at the absurd thought.

Dodge. I don't know why, but an image of water and sparks flashed in my mind, leaving him sprawled out on the ground. I reached up to rub my head and the image faded, leaving nothing but wonder and amazement that he was actually alive again. Had something happened to him in the future, too? The kid had returned from the now-quiet back area, leading me through the playpen and through the next door where the cages lined each other on one row and then another, separated by a tiled pathway that traveled down the two sides.

"You can start by cleaning the cages," he said, handing me the necessary cleaning supplies. "I'll get them all to go in the other room."

Looking from one cage to the next, my heart dropped when it appeared to be obvious that no, Caesar wasn't here. The theory that you could run into your younger self when time traveling was false, but I did happen to notice the one empty cage where they must have put him. "You sure you don't have an ape named Caesar?"

Dodge glanced back at the cage I couldn't tear my eyes from, giving a careless shrug. "I've never seen him."

The confirmation hurt.

"Who's this guy?" I asked, nodding towards a lone orangutan in another cage.

"That's Maurice," he answered, obviously annoyed by the question.

"Do they all have names?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah. This is Cornelia," Dodge said, pointing towards a female ape sleeping in her pen and cuddling with a toy.

Cornelia. Like Cornelius? I had to wonder, remembering the names of Caesar's sons. Ever since Caesar had told me what he'd named them, it always baffled me that he'd chosen specific ones like Blue Eyes, who he must have named after his mother. It left me unsettled to think that something horrible must have happened to her in the future, something horrible enough to make Caesar think there wasn't any way to try and save her. But based on time travel theories, you were never able to save someone who was never meant to be saved at all. I didn't doubt that Caesar's intelligence had gone so far as to figure that out, choosing to be content with not getting involved in Cornelia's life at all in order to protect her.

With that, the kid went to go do his job, allowing the apes to go into the play area. I glanced down at the bucket he'd placed beside me; of course I was going to do my own job, but I had another job to do, too. This whole thing was going to need a lot of planning, and I only had two more days. But so far, so good.

I couldn't help but stare at the large animal, and Maurice stared in return until he finally decided I just wasn't worth it, turning his back to me.

"I'm sorry you're stuck in here," I told him gently while I started to clean, putting on the gloves and taking a wet cloth to start rubbing. "But I'm going to get you out. I know you might not remember him or anything that happened in the future, but it's what Caesar wanted."

I noticed that the orangutan seemed to stiffen when I mentioned Caesar's name. His back tensed, and he turned around slowly to face me again. Much to my shock, he began to...sign?

"...What?" I asked, just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. How he knew sign language didn't matter; it was what he had signed that was more concerning. I signed the word 'what?' to him in case he had trouble understanding human speech.

Maurice signed again, and it was then that I knew for sure.

I do remember.

Chapter Text

After cleaning the cages, Landon was still eager as ever for me to leave. There wasn't much else for me to do, so he said I could come back tomorrow. Of course I was reluctant, especially with what Maurice had revealed. It wasn't like I could just sit down and talk to him through sign language; then Dodge and Landon would think I was even more crazy than they already thought I was. I had to be subtle with this, so I made sure to at least tell Maurice I would be back first thing in the morning when the door first opened.

Sighing in exhaustion, I managed to make it back home in one piece. It was late and dark out, but Caroline was waiting for me when I walked in, and I didn't even wait for her to ask how things went.

"I stopped the experiment," I told her. Her weary expression brightened just a little. "Jacobs gave me two days starting tomorrow to do more research, but I'm going to convince him that we can't do anymore tests."

She still didn't say anything.

"What is it?" I asked. She simply glanced down to the floor.

A horrible realization dawned on me. "How bad is...?"

She just took my hand and led me to his room.

xxxx

Dad barely acknowledged us when we entered. He was awake, but not really—just staring almost blankly ahead. His eyes, green ever since I'd treated him with the 112, flickered in my direction when I came closer. I sat down on the edge of the bed, saying nothing. Taking hold of his hand, I squeezed it lightly as possible.

I can't lose you, too...I begged. Wasn't losing Caesar enough? I wanted to scream, but had to keep quiet so as not to startle my sick father. Sick...had there been a point in the future when I'd tried to test the new 113 on him, so desperate that I had stolen from the lab again? Did it work...or had he refused, choosing to pass on naturally? The virus couldn't have spread when, or if I'd tried using it on my father. That part was still confusing, but none of it mattered. Should I just allow the tests to move forward and try again?

Not a good idea, logic echoed. But if I didn't do anything, I was just going to let him die, and that wasn't something I'd be able to live with.

But I was going to have to. Dad wouldn't want me to risk the lives of everyone else on the planet just for him. He'd want to go peacefully without something as big as that on his conscience...

Caesar was gone, and in most likely just a few days or even hours, my father would be gone, too, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in my life I'd tried so many times—unsuccessfully—to fix when it was never meant to be fixed in the first place.

"Was a...younger version of Caesar there...at the sanctuary?" Caroline's soft voice broke me out of my thoughts. Her voice was strange, like the words were foreign in her mouth, yet mixed with a sense of curiosity. Time travel was pretty confusing and interesting, after all, and it was strange to talk about such a thing, especially when it was actually happening. I could only shake my head when dad's eyes began to slide shut.

"No. No, he wasn't. He's just...gone, Caroline," I told her quietly, emotion void from my tone. She'd asked to try and distract me, at least for awhile, and it was helping a little. "Meeting your past self is false. Or maybe it's just because Caesar passed on, causing his younger self to disappear like he never existed. Dodge and Landon didn't even remember him. As far as I know, we never dropped him off."

"They couldn't remember him at all?" Caroline asked in a whisper, her curiosity rising. "Does that mean we'll forget, too?"

I gave a light shrug. "I don't know. I hope not, because I don't want to forget him. I think we probably would have by now if we were, though."

"Good. I don't want to forget, either," she agreed.

"I got an unofficial job at the sanctuary," I revealed. It was my turn to try and cheer her up. "The day wasn't a total waste."

Caroline smiled through the darkness, most likely trying to picture how I'd pulled that off.

"I met an orangutan named Maurice. He knows sign language, and he remembers Caesar. I'm going to find out what happened."

If it hadn't been for my father, I would have looked forward to waking up at three in the morning.

xxxx

He was still hanging onto my arm by the time I woke up, having fallen asleep on the side of the bed.

Feeling for a pulse, I discovered with relief that he was still hanging onto life, too. He wasn't gone yet...he was still here.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I told him as I began to prepare for the day. I could trust that Caroline would watch out for him again.

xxxx

Dodge was already there by the time I arrived. It was still dark out, the day barely starting.

"Can't believe you actually came back," he said, amused at the fact.

"Glad to be back," was all I said in response. "So what should I do first?"

Dodge just gave me a somewhat frightening grin as he led me inside the building to the cages, picking up a bucket he'd left on the floor with a silver scoop inside.

"It's their breakfast time," he said as he handed me the bucket before leaving to go back to the front area. Now that there was an extra helping hand, he no longer had to do the dirty work himself, and I was surprisingly okay with that as long as it helped me with my plans.

Shaking my head in exasperation nonetheless, I glanced down at the bucket's contents, almost getting sick to my stomach. What rested inside was nothing but a big pile of brown, chunky goo. To learn that this was what Caesar had to eat didn't help my stomach at all, and I had to put a hand to my mouth in order to stop myself from releasing my disgust.

I pulled myself together despite the horrible sight and smell, starting to travel down one row of ape cages. Similar to the lab in Gen-Sys, there were open slots where I could slide the food into. Of course, I didn't really have any experience with taking care of the apes there; it was all on Franklin as the chimp handler. The only experience I had with ape care was Caesar...

I found myself rushing a bit to get to the one cage where a certain orangutan still sat in the same spot that he had yesterday. It was almost saddening to see such a huge animal like him in captivity, but it only served as a reminder why I was here in the first place—to get him and all the others out.

"Hey, pal," I said once I was standing in front of his cage. Pal...the word echoed through my mind of times long gone, times when I used to call Caesar the same thing. "Hungry?" I asked, signing the word so he could see instead of hear if needed.

Maurice blinked at my action, then began to move his arms in response. Yes, he signed back. But food here never good.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I agree with that. Just smelling the stuff is terrible." Again, I signed the words at the same time I spoke. Maurice grumbled a bit like he was laughing.

"So can you tell me more...about what you remember?" I asked. We needed to get into it right away—it was day one of my two day time limit. Thankfully, Maurice didn't seem to mind that we were rushing into things. He seemed relieved.

I woke up suddenly back in this cage, he signed. I watched his movements intently, making eye contact to let him know that I was listening. I knew something wasn't right. Wasn't anything I could do about it, no one I could ask. Other apes don't remember. Not smart anymore.

"Can't imagine how hard that must have been...to wake up in a place you thought you escaped from with no one to talk to." The thought alone was gut-wrenching enough to think that such a gentle creature like Maurice had been thrust back to one of the worst parts of his life.

You are his old owner, aren't you?

"Caesar?" I didn't have to sign the name; he understood the single word crystal clear. "Yeah. I'm Will...Will Rodman."

He missed you a lot, more than he cared to admit, Maurice signed with a soft expression. My heart rushed in my ears at the revelation. We'd been separated again after he'd escaped from the shelter, hadn't we? Because of my death?

I believe a part of him always craved interaction from good humans like you, Maurice signed in a gentle motion.

"What else can you remember?" I questioned fervently. Maurice had to pause for a moment, and I was glad to allow him time to gather his thoughts.

Bits and pieces. Not a lot. All fuzzy...but I remember war the most. Violence.

"I bet...Caesar said something about an ape named Koba starting a war. Can you remember him?"

Barely. I see a blurred, scarred ape. Not much else...do you know where Caesar is? Not in his cage.

There was that inevitable question again. The question I'd first asked myself upon arriving to the shelter, and now the same question that Maurice was asking. Finding out the answer myself was bad enough, but if Maurice had known Caesar as well as I suspected, it was going to be just as hard for the orangutan to hear.

I debated with myself for a second whether I should tell the truth. If I told Maurice that Caesar was gone, would he still be willing to answer questions? I had to take the risk; I couldn't just lie to him. That would only make things worse.

He's...gone, buddy, I answered in complete sign so I wouldn't have to hear myself say it out loud once again. Maurice's eyes widened in shock.

What happened?

"You don't remember?"

Maurice froze in place more than he already was, lost deep in thought. I gave him a moment or two again to collect himself, but started to get worried when he still didn't budge after about a minute had passed.

"You okay?" I had to ask. Maurice lifted his arms to his head.

Having trouble thinking. I remember sign language and talking, but not much. Can't talk anymore. I mostly remember being able to think very clearly. Now thoughts are fuzzy like memories. Slow.

So he could remember some things, but not everything. Sluggish thoughts...apes not smart anymore...I pieced two and two together quicker than I expected. "You haven't been exposed to the 113 yet," I explained through words and sign.

What is...113? Maurice signed back, his gaze a mixture of questions he must be bursting at the seams with, and grief for his lost leader.

"The virus that makes apes smart." But makes humans sick. It was starting to make sense, but I needed more answers.

Apes stupid again, he signed, glancing at the other cages. The apes had finished most of their breakfast by now, and were starting to get eager to be moved into the play area so they had more space. Dodge had taken notice of our conversation through the window of the back door, giving me a 'what the hell?' kind of look.

"Do you remember how you were exposed?" I asked in a rush in case he was going to come back.

Caesar did something. Can't remember what, Maurice responded.

Caesar is gone, my mind rang again sharply.

Humans all die? Maurice distracted me from my inner pain. Faintly recall...but alive again?

"Humans and apes," I revealed. Maurice was taken aback by the statement, shifting uncomfortably in his cramped spot. "He died in the future and came back to the past, Maurice. That's why you woke up here again. I promised him I would save both."

Maurice nodded in understanding, but also confusion. How?

If Caesar had survived, he would have been living proof that the virus was dangerous, not exactly that he himself was dangerous, but that he could have told Jacobs directly, however shocking it would have been, that the virus was dangerous—that it was going to wipe out most of humanity. But now that I'd met Maurice and had discovered that he knew everything we needed to know, or at least part of it for now, he could be what Caesar couldn't.

Proof. Proof that had lived through the whole thing to tell the tale. If Jacobs heard Maurice's story, there was no way he would approve more testing. Everything inside of me was screaming that it was a terrible idea, that it was going against everything I'd promised Caesar that I wouldn't do—another test that could go horribly wrong—but if there was a chance that it would help humanity instead of destroying us, then the risk was worth it.

The door slammed open, and Dodge made his way inside. "You done in here?"

"Yeah, they're all fed," I called back to him. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Hurry up before my dad gets here," Dodge ordered, remaining by the door until I began to pick up the bucket to bring back to him.

Maurice...if I give you the virus again, do you think you'd remember everything? How all the humans got sick? I questioned through only sign in case there was any chance that Dodge would hear. Maurice blinked, slowly processing what I'd asked.

Then he gave me his answer.

Yes.

Chapter Text

Landon arrived not long after the two of us. Thankfully, though Dodge had caught a moment or two of my conversation with Maurice, he hadn't said anything to his father about it, most likely shrugging it off. Landon had me organize and shred some papers as if I'd signed up for an office job. I didn't voice my complaints, sitting quietly with him in his office while organizing, and Dodge allowed the apes to go into the play area.

Time ticked by slowly, as it always did when you were looking forward to something and wanted it to go by faster. The only thing I could do was keep working, lest I wanted to raise suspicions. At last, light began to seep in through the windows of the office. After a few more papers were put into their rightful place, Landon had me wipe the area down and sweep, which didn't take too long. Pretty soon the only thing that needed tending to was the back where the apes were kept, and I was more than happy to oblige when Landon said I should feed them their lunch (and then take mine.)

Much to my relief, I didn't have to worry about Dodge eavesdropping or barging in since he was already on his own lunch break. Because the shelter was so far from home, I'd already planned ahead to bring a simple, bagged lunch that held an assortment of treats for any apes who were curious enough to try some.

What's this? Maurice signed when I handed him a piece of an orange, the perfect snack for an orangutan to try. It saddened me to think that in all his life, he'd never been able to try one of the most common fruits in the world.

"An orange, but all cut up so you can eat it easier. It's a lot better than the slop they give you, trust me," I said, nodding for him to take a bite. It seemed that Maurice had an okay handle on human language, but I still signed most words in case he had trouble understanding, anyway.

"What do you think?" I questioned through both words and sign when he gathered enough courage to give the orange a try.

Very good, he answered, satisfaction written all over his face.

"Have you ever had a cookie?" I asked, my grin growing wider; I'd come prepared. Maurice only shook his head, giving a shrug.

"It's even better than an orange, though not as healthy..."

Reaching into my paper bag, I brought out the brown and black, round treat. If Caesar had loved them so much, then there was no doubt that Maurice would, too. In no time at all, I discovered that I was right, and the big guy stretched an arm through his cage to ask for seconds. Happy to share more, I reached into the bag to bring out another and give it to him.

Thank you, Maurice signed gratefully. You're right. Much better than slop.

"No problem," I signed back.

You are different than most humans, Maurice took note suddenly. The first to show me your good side.

I blinked in surprise. Then again, it wasn't much of a surprise at all; it was sad to think that the human race could be so cruel to fellow creatures that we shared the earth with.

"I promise I'm going to get you out of here," I told him softly.

What about the others?

I expected this.

"Them, too." I'd promised Caesar I would free everyone, after all. The sounds of the apes still locked in their cages that rang through the shelter was more than enough reason for me to try.

Will they be given the virus as well?

That one I did not expect. I shifted nervously in my sitting position next to Maurice's cage, and the orangutan could instantly tell that something was off.

"I don't know about that, buddy," I said honestly.

Why? Maurice signed in an almost frantic motion, like the idea terrified him that his friends wouldn't remember any more than he currently did.

Why?! My mind screamed.

"Even for just one ape, it's a really big risk. If I gave it to all of them, there could be an outbreak again," I explained, hoping that Maurice would understand. One ape was fine. It would just be one test with low risk of any accidents happening, but giving the virus to an entire group of apes was an entirely different story. One ape I could probably pull off without anyone noticing. Anymore than that...

I don't want to be the only ape that remembers, Maurice signed, the look on his face nearly enough to change my already set mind. He was still confused at the events that had taken place, and excluding myself since I didn't really count, he was all alone. Though the other apes he knew so well were around him, they weren't themselves—they weren't the apes who had become as intelligent as they had when exposed to a virus I'd created that would threaten all of mankind.

I let out a slightly frustrated sigh—slightly enough so Maurice wouldn't pick up on my frustration. He said he'd be willing to help, but now he wanted me to give the others the virus, too? He just didn't understand how dangerous it was.

"I can't do that, Maurice," I signed carefully.

His next question was just as unexpected and caught me off guard.

Human more important than ape?

"What? No. We're both important," I tried to reason, becoming increasingly worried that maybe this wasn't going to work out like I'd hoped. Why did there always have to be something that came up and ruined everything?

"I'm trying to save us both," I said firmly, locking eyes with the large animal. Maurice looked away.

"Please...I need your help," I said through words and sign, getting more desperate by the second. If Maurice refused to cooperate, I didn't know what I'd do.

Will you help them, too? Maurice signed, just as desperate. He locked eyes with me again to show that he was serious about this. They need their memories just as much as I need mine. They have a right to remember.

I looked away, unable to argue any further. Those eyes, so dull that must have once been full of life in the future, had now been stripped of any hope that the future—the apes' future—would happen again.

I just couldn't risk it, and it seemed that Maurice had read my mind, letting out a disappointed huff. I was tempted to try and bribe him with another cookie, but he signed his disagreement before I had a chance to reach into my bag.

Then find help somewhere else.

He turned his back in the opposite direction, giving me the cold shoulder.

xxxx

What was I going to do now? Everything had been going so well—I'd gotten volunteer work at the shelter. I'd met Maurice who was able to communicate through sign language, and he could remember most of what happened in the future, but not everything. Now after refusing to give his friends the virus too, he refused to help at all.

I got up from my spot on the floor where I'd been sitting in front of Maurice's cage, reluctant to leave though the ape was still giving me the cold shoulder. I didn't want to test his patience any further, so I decided to leave him alone for the time being. Lunch break was over, so Dodge and Landon had come back to make sure that I'd fed all the apes. They didn't seem to notice, nor care, that Maurice hadn't touched any of his own lunch.

My next and final job for the day was simple: clean and repair the nameplates that were plastered against the apes' cages. Landon said that he'd always meant to get them fixed, but never had any time. I was suspicious about the 'never having any time' excuse, but kept my mouth shut.

He gave me the replacements for the signs, and I took them to the back area to get started on pinning them to the cages.

I started with Rocket's. Just from the the way he stood tall, growling and making direct eye contact that just begged to start a fight, I knew he must be the alpha here at the shelter. If Caesar had been his leader once in the future, I wondered what must have taken place for them to switch such important roles, and my stomach turned at the thought of Caesar getting hurt in a fight for leadership.

Cornelia's name was next. She was awake this time, staring blankly at her cage walls while snuggling with a stuffed toy, as if subconsciously looking for something important that she'd lost.

Blue Eyes and Cornelius? I had to wonder, a strange sense of sadness almost overwhelming me. Maybe even Caesar?

I finished pinning her new nameplate down faster than the others in order to escape the horrible, dreaded feeling.

Caesar would want her to remember, my inner voice spoke up. I ignored it.

Dodge laughed the whole time I replaced Buck's name as the massive gorilla roared and pounded at his cage that was ten times smaller than him, and it was then that I realized these apes needed my help more than I thought.

They needed to remember. But I just couldn't do it...

Last but certainly not least, I reached Maurice's cage, feeling a stab of guilt as I replaced his old nameplate with a shiny new one as if he was going to be staying here for a long time.

He still had his back turned to me, so I had no choice but to speak instead of using sign.

"I'll do it," I said in defeat. "I don't know how, and it's a really big risk for the humans. But we're both important and you're right, they all deserve to remember. They can all help us change the future."

At first, I didn't think Maurice understood. I didn't know what I would do to get his attention otherwise if he didn't understand human language. But then, much to my surprise and relief, he began to turn back around to face me, and his usually dull eyes were smiling—a spark of his future self returning.

xxxx

"Working late?" Franklin asked when I finally arrived in the lab after a very long drive from the sanctuary.

I nodded. "I only have one more day for research after this." Research...right. Little did they know...

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking...why did we stop the test yesterday? You never gave us a straight answer," he asked as he prepared to leave for the night.

Because the future self of the ape you gave me to raise came back to the past to warn us that the world is going to end.

"Just needed to make sure we're using the right delivery method," I explained, and Franklin nodded in understanding.

"You know, I was wondering about that, too," he admitted. "I had the craziest dream last night that my mask got knocked off and I was exposed."

I gave him a questioning glance and he almost immediately backtracked.

"Not that I ever doubt your decisions, doc."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Hey, is it okay if I stick around with these guys for awhile longer? Just for more research...I'll lock up for you."

Franklin nodded again. "Sure, they're all yours. I'd be careful around Koba, though...he's still pretty worked up about yesterday. I just can't figure him out."

As Franklin left the lab, I tensed slightly at the mention of Koba—the ape who was going to start an all-out war in the future. How could one ape alone cause such destruction? Maurice wasn't able to remember a lot of him yet, but I knew it couldn't be anything good. He said he remembered war the most. Violence. All because of this one ape, and I was standing in the same room with him.

I went about my business nonetheless, trying my best to ignore the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. I had somewhat of a plan to administer the 113 to the other apes, and it involved sending an order for more apes to be delivered to Gen-Sys ASAP. I didn't really have any idea what to do after that; just how was I going to give the virus to all the apes at once without risking the entire human race?

Simple: I wasn't. The fact that I'd lied to Maurice broke me inside, but I just wasn't willing to make the same mistake all over again. Though I hadn't exactly lied...I was still going to help the apes escape the shelter, and I was going to do it by putting in an order for them to be 'experimented on.' They wouldn't like being transported to another place just to be put in new cages, but I was going to figure things out from there. I felt horrible for thinking it, but if worst came to worst, at least the humans would be saved.

I was only going to give Maurice the virus by injection, and I was going to have to do it at the sanctuary. Not the ideal place, but it was necessary to avoid any suspicions that I was up to something in Gen-Sys.

I stared down at the capsule in my hands that contained a needle filled with the infamous ALZ-113. "I'm sorry, Maurice. I can only help you remember, not the others..." I had no choice but to lie to him because if I didn't, then he would refuse to help.

Releasing a heavy sigh as I glanced around the lab in case there were any other late night workers, I saw that I was in luck. Shoving the needle into my coat pocket, my gaze landed on Koba's cage that was making little rustling noises. The other apes were quiet, seemingly asleep. Beginning to lock everything up like I'd promised Franklin, I couldn't help but rush a bit so I could get home to dad faster. He had to be okay, he had to...

I froze when a voice suddenly spoke before I could set foot outside the lab, eyes widening.

No, no. It's impossible. Caesar was the only one who could talk. Right? No one else was in the lab who was capable of speaking, and definitely not any apes. Maurice couldn't remember how to talk yet, but he wasn't even here. I hadn't even considered giving the virus to Koba...

But he was the only one in the lab who could have spoken, and just by the tone of his scratchy, gruff and haunting voice, there was no one else it could have belonged to.

"So he remembers, but only a little...? I remember, too. I remember everything."

Chapter Text

One step forward.

Then another.

And another...

My feet dragged on in slow motion towards the cage, my ears hardly believing what they'd heard.

I stopped a few inches in front of the cage, hardly daring to close in the distance anymore than I already had.

"...Koba?" I asked, trying my best to keep my voice steady, which was a hard task to pull off when you just heard an ape speak. I'd already heard Caesar talk, of course, but this was different. This particular ape hadn't been exposed to any kind of virus that I knew of yet, so how did he know how to talk? Why couldn't Maurice talk, too?

No answer...complete silence. Not even the other apes were making any noise. It turned out that they were still awake and alert, cowering under my presence.

"...Koba?" I asked again, heart pounding in my ears like no tomorrow. Tomorrow...I only had tomorrow left, and then Jacobs would approve official testing for the 113 that I'd managed to stop for now. If I didn't come through with any 'research,' I'd be fired and that would be that—they would proceed without me and the human race would be done for...all because of me.

Still no response. Koba himself sat inside his cage behind the glass, his one-eyed glare digging into my very soul. If looks could kill...

"I know you can talk," I told him, done with the silent treatment. "I just heard you."

He was testing me—that had to be it. Either that, or I was finally going crazy like Jacobs thought I was already. The bonobo's expression remained hard and unreadable, until I noticed that he seemed to be staring at my pocket where I'd put the capsule filled with 113. Reaching into my pocket I brought it out, and Koba's single good eye followed my movements as I waved it back and forth like I was teasing a dog with a treat.

It was strange and frightening at the same time, as if I was holding the fate of the entire world in my hands. It looked like Koba understood, but he wasn't about to give in and admit that he was more aware of the issue than he was letting on.

"Alright, have it your way," I said with a sigh, shrugging and putting the capsule back into my pocket.

One foot forward and then another until I was nearly out of the lab...

"I remember you," the same, haunting voice that had spoken finally made itself known again. A shiver swept down my spine, and I turned back around to face the ape capable of talking. It just wasn't possible...

Koba lifted his arm towards me, my heart skipping a beat. "You and your human work. Strapped to table...human work failed."

"I had the craziest dream last night that my mask got knocked off and I was exposed," Franklin's recollection came rushing back. It hadn't been a dream at all, had it? It was real. It was what happened in the future—what had started the entire epidemic. Franklin was somehow subconsciously remembering the accident, like Maurice could remember bits and pieces of the future. The revelation only made me more anxious to convince Jacobs that there couldn't be anymore tests.

My chest tightened, throat becoming dry. So Koba really was the ape I'd chosen to test the 113.

"When Koba woke here again...was very confused. But now Koba sees...he's been given another chance to make things right."

To make things right for who? Was he considering changing from the ape that Caesar had warned me of, or did he see being sent back into the past as an opportunity to change things for the worst for the humans who made his life a living hell? I was definitely leaning more towards the second, but I was almost willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...

"Caesar warned me about you," I told him, unable to tear my gaze away from his mesmerizing, cloudy eye. He stiffened at the mention of Caesar, but managed to keep himself together and hide any hate or distrust towards the ape that he must have been feeling.

"Caesar wrong," he whispered in a growl that he was trying his hardest to hold back. "Koba does not deserve to be trapped here again. New ape. Not like before..." he said slowly as if to help convince me that this was indeed the case. "Want out."

Did he really think he was in a position to make demands right now?

"So you've changed?" I questioned, daring to take another step closer to the cage. "How can I believe that if you weren't able to change in the future?"

A pause as he thought of the best possible answer, his freedom relying on every word.

"The future is the past...do not understand how time works. Confusing. But Koba understands second chances."

I let out a sigh, raising a hand to rub down my face. Ever since Caesar had warned me about this ape, I'd been bracing myself for the day when I would finally meet him, and now that day was here. If this really was the ape who was going to start a war in the future, then he was going to ruin everything if I even considered releasing him with the other apes. He'd find a way to change the future in his favor, and I couldn't allow that to happen. My original 'Koba Plan' after giving it some thought had been to just leave him here in the lab, where he would be watched twenty-four seven without having to worry about doing anything extreme, such as taking his life.

"You can trust me," Koba stated in a whisper that was all too friendly—too fake.

"Do you trust me?" Caesar questioned.

"Of course I do," I answered just as swiftly as he had asked.

I trusted Caesar, and Caesar told me that Koba couldn't be trusted. I wasn't going to take any chances, starting to turn around and back away.

"He killed me..." the bonobo's voice just barely dragged me out of my thoughts too deep to escape from, turning around again and stepping closer once more.

Who killed him? Caesar? The statement surprised me. Caesar was anything but a killer—yes, he'd attacked our neighbor, but only because he'd been protecting dad. It was like when Bright Eyes had protected her baby; apes were very protective of their young, and I'm sure Caesar must have been very protective of his family in the future.

"Why did he kill you?" I asked softly, though I already knew the answer.

Maybe because you started a war between apes and humans that never should have happened.

Koba's single, non-cloudy eye blinked and he leaned closer to the window of his cage, his breath staining the glass.

"What made ape smart...also made ape crazy," he warned, his voice dark and cold.

My breathing hitched at his words, and my hand traveled down to my coat pocket again, feeling for the 113. What did he mean...that the upgraded virus had caused apes to go crazy in the future? Had Caesar himself gone crazy because he'd been exposed to the new virus, not just the 112?

"Ape not kill ape..." Koba's tone switched from dark to an odd kind of sadness in less than a second flat, only increasing my wariness. "But many apes were killed under his command," he continued, his voice switching just as quick to anger. "Caesar saw I was different from others affected. He beat me close to death...dropped me from a great height..." Koba's eye closed as he remembered, but then it opened just as quick like he was determined not to let the memory get to him.

Had I gotten it all wrong, and Caesar had been delusional during his last moments? Was Maurice going to go crazy if I ended up giving him the virus, not to mention all the apes at the sanctuary? Was it why Caesar had killed Koba in the first place, because no matter how innocent he claimed he'd been, he'd gotten out of control enough to start an entire war?

My nose tickled suddenly and I fought off the urge to sneeze, an odd sense of Déjà vu sweeping over me.

What Koba didn't know was that I'd seen Caesar just before his death, and he'd seemed completely fine then before his arrow wound from the future had returned. Thanks to Caesar's warning, I'd already known to steer clear of the ape who had started a war. I picked up instantly on the fact that Koba was telling anything but the truth, simply allowing him to spill his lies; they weren't going to get him anywhere. I decided to entertain him for the time being, anyway. Maybe I could get some more information about the future, however unreliable it was. Maybe I didn't have to use the 113 on Maurice. Maybe if Koba really had changed and was willing, he could be the one to help me convince Jacobs that the experiments were all wrong and needed to be stopped...

"Humans wanted peace, but Caesar wanted war. Koba tried stopping war, but failed. Bloodshed..."

I come from the future. A world where the virus has attacked human intelligence so their minds turn into that of animals, Caesar's voice echoed. I needed more answers, but maybe the answer had been in front of me all along, and Koba was painting a picture of the exact opposite of the virus' effects on humans. He was making it seem like instead of the humans becoming sick, they were the ones who had wanted peace, and the apes were the ones who wanted war, the virus causing them to become crazed like...animals. The humans had become sick, yes...but not because of the apes themselves. Koba was trying his hardest to make it seem like it was all on the apes, but it was because of the virus that rested inside them that humans created—a virus that affected one species in a certain way, but not the other.

He pointed to himself. My head throbbed and I had to reach an arm up to hold it, a flash of red clouding my vision.

Who should I trust...Maurice or Koba? The answer was obvious and his words faded into the background, a million questions bombarding my aching brain. How did he supposedly remember everything when Maurice only remembered a little? How was he talking when Maurice couldn't remember how to talk, or was it only because the virus helped improve the apes' vocal chords later on? Was he still exposed to the 113? But that wasn't possible; we hadn't done any tests on him yet. I eventually came to the conclusion that time travel affected different apes in different ways, and Koba was (unfortunately) the lucky one to keep his intelligence. But none of that really mattered; what mattered was that I had to give Koba a chance to redeem himself, to tell the truth and help change things for the better...to let me know that I could trust him.

"He hated you."

My head shot back up at the three, cruel words. Maybe redemption, especially trust was a little too far off... I couldn't tell at this point if Koba was grinning or snarling, but I kept my gaze locked onto him, determined not to show any fear.

"Caesar," he continued harshly. "For everything you did. You are the human that made him fall apart...made him love humans more than apes..."

I honestly wouldn't blame him if he did. He had every reason to hate me after what I'd put him through. The way I'd treated him like nothing but a pet even though I'd told him he wasn't, my amazement over his intelligence too great and not thinking of the ape behind the intelligence. The shelter, the abuse that followed after abandoning him when I'd had no other choice but to leave him in that horrible place; the very same place where Maurice was suffering inside once again. But then Caesar's words before his passing came flowing back.

You are my home. From day one.

It was just another one of Koba's lies. I may have made a lot of mistakes with Caesar, but I had comfort in knowing that he didn't hate me, at least.

"He stopped me from attacking you. In woods. Koba regrets letting you go that day..."

What woods? The Muir Woods where we'd let Caesar play? Had the apes escaped and claimed it as their new home? Another flash catapulted into me unexpectedly, and an ape strikingly similar to Koba...or was it Koba?...slammed me into the ground from above, only to have Caesar stop his proposed attack and lift me to my feet. Trying to convince him to come back home, but then saying our goodbyes...

"Koba," I interrupted in a pitiful attempt to stop the sudden migraine. His good eye landed on me the moment I spoke, annoyance crossing his features that I hadn't let him continue speaking. "Can we make a deal?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his tiny space. "What kind of...deal?"

It was crazy, possibly even more crazy than thinking of giving the 113 to Maurice and the others. But I'd promised Caesar that I would free the apes both here and at the sanctuary—Koba included—if I could just get him to change, to see that with where we were now, everything could change—and change for the better. Then maybe, just maybe, I could free him along with those who deserved to be freed.

"If I let you out," I said slowly, choosing my words wisely. I was going to make him stop the lies and exaggerations so I would know for certain that he could be trusted..."Will you help me convince everyone that the virus is dangerous for humans?"

Koba fell deadly silent, a silence so deafening that my ears began to ring. I could tell that I'd struck a nerve.

"Virus very dangerous for humans, yes..." Koba agreed, nodding towards the capsule hidden in my pocket. "Did not make apes dangerous. Did not make apes kill humans."

I had no warning, my heart stopping when Koba's arm shot out of his slot to grab me by the neck. I hadn't thought I'd been close enough for it to even happen, but it was all I could do to just hope that he wouldn't snap my neck then and there. No one else was in the lab at this late hour, so unlike the Bright Eyes incident, there wasn't anyone who would be able to save me. But it seemed that Koba just wanted to make a point, gripping my neck tighter and tighter until I could hardly breathe, his hot breath scalding my skin through the glass cage.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and he whispered his poison into my ears.

"Koba tells you truth," he spat. "Some apes kill humans on their own without virus help. Apes better than humans—smarter. Humans stupid. Never. Help. You!"

It was like he didn't realize that he just contradicted everything he'd said, confirming all of his lies—which was exactly what I wanted. I'd given him a chance, and he hadn't taken it. Instead of letting himself go, allowing himself to change...he was still stuck in his ways from the future. Now I knew for sure that no matter what, he had to stay where he was.

I peeked open one eye and then the other, staring straight back into his tortured soul.

"You're wrong," I said firmly enough to make Koba stop and actually listen, his grip on my neck lessening. It was all I needed to pull away sharply, causing him to fall back into his prison. The first thing I did upon release was feel in my pocket for the capsule, and I sighed in relief when I found that the 113 was still safe and sound. "We've been given a second chance. We can both live...together. It's what Caesar wanted."

Koba flinched at the all-too familiar name, growling and baring his teeth. "Wanted..." he hissed the past tense word. "Caesar gone? Why do anything Caesar wants?"

I closed my eyes again, picturing a world where hate didn't exist. Where humans and animals were equally important—a better future that could start with the apes. I opened my eyes a second time, giving Koba a look that told him my mind was made up and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Because I made a promise...and I'm going to keep it."

"Koba given second chance. War will begin again...no Caesar to stop me this time," he growled, his own hate overwhelming and getting the better of him. "Humans get sick again...apes get smart again."

"Do not test the virus again on Koba. The human race will pay a heavy price," Caesar's voice echoed again.

The virus that makes apes smart, I remembered explaining to Maurice. But makes humans sick...makes apes smart...but makes humans sick...what if there was a way for the virus to make apes smart, but not make humans sick?

It hit me like a pile of bricks, punching me in the gut so hard my breath was knocked out of me.

The 112. Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?! The 113 was deadly to humans. But the 112 was harmless, only causing the immune system to reject the cure, which had pushed me to create a more aggressive virus strain—a strain that was going to be the end of humans if I risked exposing Maurice. Maybe if I gave him and the other apes the 112 instead...

It was absolutely perfect. The 112 was what had originally made Caesar so smart after his mother passed it down—it had the same effects on apes as the 113, right? It would help Maurice remember everything and tell us the truth, all while protecting humans from its stronger virus strain with fatal side effects.

"Koba, you're a genius!" I couldn't help but shout into the otherwise empty lab, newfound hope rising and a laugh sounding that was unable to be held in.

He scowled at my joy, his one good eye narrowing and his scarred face transforming into a fit of rage as he realized that he'd been more of a help than he intended—that his true intentions had been revealed.

"Koba told you truth. Now let Koba out. You keep his promise," the bonobo demanded, reality beginning to sink in that maybe I wasn't going to let him out at all.

One thing I was sure of was that he could not be let out under any circumstances.

"I'm sorry, Koba," I apologized genuinely. I felt sorry for him. I really did. "But some promises just can't be kept."

I ignored the piercing screams he fell into, rushing out of the lab to my personal workspace and gathering all the research and data I could find about the first version of the 113. The only catch was that besides current (as old as it was) research about the virus, I had to start from scratch. I'd used up all the 112 treatment that I'd been giving my father over the past five years, and the lab had eventually destroyed what little was left, Jacobs determined to get rid of the failed experiment until there was no trace of it left to give the company a bad name.

"Filthy, dirty human! Never trick Koba!" He screeched so loudly that my ears almost popped. If he wasn't careful, someone was going to hear him if they just so happened to walk into the lab—then that would be just another reason to do more experiments on him. "Going to find a way out! Koba will kill again! All of you!"

His threats weren't too serious. He was contained in a small, glass cage where there wasn't much he could do to try and escape under constant supervision.

Maybe this whole thing was going to work out, after all. Maybe I didn't have to lie to Maurice. Maybe all the apes could regain their intelligence, and it was all thanks to the one ape who had started a war—who had intended for the same war to start again, but had unintentionally given me a much better idea to save the future and stop that from happening.

But I had to hurry. I only had until tomorrow morning to redevelop the 112—just enough to give to Maurice. I could worry about the others later.

I called Caroline to explain everything and she understood, listening to the details and agreeing to help with my new plan that had formed so unexpectedly—thanks to Koba of all apes. She said that dad was still hanging on, which only fueled my determination. What would only make this all even better would be if Jacobs saw the good the 112 could do to apes, reversing his stance ever since the Bright Eyes incident, and then curing Alzheimer's with the miracle drug if we found a way to make it possible. But I knew that it was a fool's wish, that it was something I shouldn't try to mess with any more than I already had. Things were finally beginning to look up for both humans and apes alike.

It was too good to be true...

I sneezed, thinking nothing else of it as I began to push myself tirelessly through the night.

Koba never stopped screaming.

Chapter Text

It was ready.

The 112 was finally ready.

By some miracle, I'd managed to stay up the entire night until the virus was fully developed, at least enough for just one ape.

Koba had finally stopped screaming at one point during the early hours of morning and when I went to go check on him in his cage, he was sound asleep; the poor guy must have really tired himself out from making all that noise. Whenever he would wake, all I could do was hope that he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut—to not reveal that he was a highly intelligent—no matter how messed up—bonobo. It would only make things worse for him than they already were.

I'd secured the 113 capsule in a place where it wouldn't be found. I couldn't destroy it just yet—I had to wait and see if the 112 was successful with Maurice. Would it really have the same effects? Bright Eyes' intelligence had greatly increased, but she had never started talking. I could only assume that Caesar had somehow become exposed to the 113 as well, allowing him to form the ability to speak human language. If the 112 didn't work with Maurice, we would still possibly have to take the risk with its more dangerous 'sibling.' There was no way Jacobs would care about an ape who could only communicate through sign language.

From the lab I headed straight to the shelter, arriving half an hour later than I normally would have.

"Only your third day on the job and you're late? Cutting it close, Rodman," Landon said when I finally came in the doors. I had to change from my lab coat to just a casual attire. My hair was still a bit of a mess and ruffled, but I hadn't had any time to do anything about it.

"Sorry," I told him in return, giving a sheepish smile. "But I thought you said this wasn't a job."

Landon just gave me an annoyed glance akin to the evil eye, obviously not appreciating my sarcasm.

"Don't let it happen again," was all he said in reply.

"I promise it won't."

And it probably wouldn't, if everything went according to plan today. If I managed to keep my promise to free the apes, I wouldn't have to go back to the shelter again.

Landon began to lead me to the back area, explaining one of my first duties of the day. "Gen-Sys just ordered another batch of new apes. Ever heard of them?"

"Gen-Sys?" I questioned, giving a simple shrug and shaking my head; he still had no idea that I actually worked for them, and I hoped it would stay that way until this whole thing blew over. He went on to tell me about how they were a company that used apes to test new drugs on, and if I had any problems with it. I said no outwardly, but inwardly I was all against it ever since I'd raised Caesar, and especially now that I'd met Maurice.

"They need a new group of apes for testing by early afternoon," Landon continued to explain.

I'd been expecting this—bracing myself for it. I was the one who'd put in the order, after all.

"Strange, since they only recently asked for more. Probably put down the poor things because of some failed project."

Poor things...I doubted that Landon actually cared; he was just glad it wasn't him.

"Dodge will show you how to use the tranquilizers to get them ready for transportation."

Little did he know that I already knew how to use them.

xxxx

I made it to Maurice's cage at last after what seemed like hours of tranquilizing a number of different apes. There were only so many that were experiment-worthy in the eyes of the shelter, and some apes were off limits like Buck, the giant gorilla in his tiny cage. So far I had most of the apes that had known Caesar (or at least, I thought I did.) I was going to have to come up with another way to help get Buck and the others who weren't able to come to the lab; it wasn't like I could have requested every single ape in the sanctuary unless I wanted to look highly suspicious.

Making sure that Dodge was still busy with the other apes outside in the truck, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the 112, Maurice's usually-dull eyes lighting up when he spotted the capsule in my hand.

Virus? he signed, his arms moving more wildly than normal; his excitement brought out a smile on my end.

"Yeah, this is it," I confirmed, fighting to keep my voice steady so he would have no chance of detecting any white lies.

What Maurice didn't know was that this virus wasn't the 113 that I'd told him about. It was the 112, and I decided to keep that bit a secret from him in case he still refused exposure for not being the same as the 113. I also made sure to leave out the fact that I'd talked to Koba; he didn't need anymore things to worry about other than regaining his memories.

Covering my mouth with an arm suddenly so I could let out a coughing fit I just couldn't hold in, Maurice gave me a worried glance.

You...okay? he asked, tentative as I pulled myself together.

I sighed when the fit was over, throat sore from the aftermath. "Yeah, I just didn't get any sleep last night. I'm fine." I kept telling myself that it was just a normal cough. People coughed every day; there was no reason to think that my cough would lead to an entire epidemic.

I readied the needle, pushing it slowly and carefully outside the capsule exactly like I had done when I'd first treated dad. Before the deed began, I glanced back up and locked eyes with Maurice. He stared until he broke contact, connecting instead with the 112.

"I have no idea if this is really going to work, Maurice," I said honestly, inwardly preparing myself for what we had been waiting for all this time. "I don't know what kind of side effects you're going to experience, or what the first thing you'll remember is going to be. I just need you to stay calm the best you can, alright?"

Maurice blinked, processing my words. Then he nodded, stretching an arm out towards me through his open slot. I had to be quick and cautious about this at the same time, my nerves nearly getting the better of me; Dodge or Landon could walk in at any time!

"Okay, buddy...you ready?" I asked. Maurice nodded slowly again, just as eager as I was to see if this would actually work, if it would actually help him to regain his intelligence and bring back his memories so he could prove to Jacobs once and for all that the 113 was dangerous.

"This is going to hurt for a second," I warned. "Stay still."

Taking a deep breath, I lowered the needle towards Maurice's arm. Unable to bear the sight of the sharp point he looked away, and I began the injection.

"Maurice," I said in order to get him to look back at me—I had to see if the virus was beginning to affect him, and soon I had my answer when he turned his head back around.

His eyes once-dull eyes gradually began to change into a bright, golden-green color—the very same color that Bright Eyes had possessed when she was exposed to the drug.

"What do you think of the woods?" I asked in an attempt to distract him from his discomfort, and also to see if the virus was taking any...other desired effects memory-wise. "I know a great place called the Muir Woods. I think you might have gone there once in the future." I made sure not to tell him exactly how I knew this. I still wasn't entirely sure if that's where the apes had claimed their home, if the weird 'vision' I'd experienced while talking to Koba had actually been a memory of my own, but I had a feeling that the Muir Woods were important.

Maurice grunted as I gently took the needle out of his arm, his eyes brimming with unexpected...tears? Was he actually crying? Was it because of the pain or a memory...? If a memory had resurfaced, I had a bad feeling about which it could possibly be and I felt sorry for him that it was the first thing that had come to his mind.

The back door banged, signaling that someone was coming. I let out a quick gasp, raising a finger to my mouth to stop Maurice from making any noise if his voice had indeed returned. I contained the needle and thrust the capsule back into my pocket just as Dodge and Landon arrived. I wanted to ask Maurice how he was feeling, but such a thing was impossible with the two of them in the room. To avoid any suspicion, I took the tranquilizer gun back in my hands that I'd set onto the floor next to Maurice's cage.

"Maurice is going too, this time," Landon said, his tone almost sad at the thought that such a long-time resident (or prisoner...) was going to be leaving. "I'm honestly surprised. Gen-Sys has never requested an ape his size."

He nodded towards me, and my stomach dropped for an instant. "Well, go ahead and tranq him," Landon ordered.

Only when he turned to Dodge to give his son more instructions did I dare sign to Maurice when they weren't looking. His tears had subsided, and he was simply staring into space, into a former time that he'd regained again through his newly returned memories. His eyes rested upon mine, and a smile emerged. I returned the gesture, signing again to make sure he understood. He'd just been injected with a virus, so there was no way I could shoot him with a tranq. Dodge and Landon didn't have a clue of what had just taken place, so Maurice was going to have to avoid any other drugs entering his system.

Play dead.

Maurice's light smile transformed into a concentrated gaze that left me shaken; a gaze that signified the virus was slowly but surely taking effect, and his intelligence was returning along with his memories. Bending downwards until he was in a relaxed, sleeping position, I shot the dart off to the side of the cage into the ground, intentionally missing my target.

Dodge wheeled a cart over that was big enough for Maurice. We opened his cage, lifting him up along with Landon's help. His chest rose up and down in a steady motion, and if I hadn't just been involved in giving him the 112 or telling him to play dead, I would have thought he was sound asleep.

xxxx

The last ape, Rocket, was determined to stay in his cage. He knew something was up, and he didn't like the idea of being moved one bit. If only I could tell him that he was going to be okay, but I knew that unlike Maurice, he hadn't regained his intelligence (yet...) No matter what he just wouldn't stay still so Dodge had a hard time aiming his tranquilizer, and the boy was anything but patient. To him, he was on a tight schedule to get these apes to Gen-Sys by late afternoon. Much to my horror he switched his tranquilizer for a stun baton, swiping it against the cage so Rocket fell into a fit of screams and cries that showcased his distress.

"You're only making it worse," I said calmly to the best of my ability, keeping my anger at his action contained. Rocket slammed his entire body against the front of the cage like he was trying to get to us. I had known that Dodge was anything but kind to the apes, but I hadn't seen his actions up close until now, and it wasn't pretty. Rocket refused to cooperate, jumping up and down in place like he was taunting the one trying to get him out.

"What do you know? You're not even supposed to be here," Dodge said in an almost an animal-like growl. "I'm sick of these stupid monkeys never listening."

He opened the cage without hesitating. Rocket didn't appreciate his decision, growling wildly like any protective animal would do if a human invaded their space. Dodge wasn't having any of it, lifting his stunner towards the defenseless ape.

"No, don't!" I shouted, putting a hand on his shoulder. Dodge pushed it away, and put his weapon to good use. Rocket screeched when the stun baton struck him, his cry echoing all throughout the sanctuary.

"Hey!" Landon's sharp voice rang out not long after. The man entered swiftly, checking Rocket as if to make sure he was 'okay,' and then giving us both a pointed and frustrated stare.

I stared right back, filtering my thoughts to him. Don't forget...I could still sue.

Landon sighed, his frustration getting the better of him. "Dodge, that's enough. You're done for the day."

"...What?" Dodge seethed, his fists clenching when our eyes met. "The day hasn't even started!"

"And Gen-Sys needs these apes by the time it does," Landon shot back. He turned to me, obviously not happy with the situation, but unwilling to give me a reason to shut the entire place down. "Rodman, you'll be doing the transporting this time around. Dodge, you're staying."

"Dad, that's not fair!" he protested, glancing back and forth from me to Rocket.

"Why do you think they never listen?" I questioned with a slight smirk that only he was able to pick up. Dodge slammed Rocket's cage with a hand so hard I was almost afraid that he would break it. Almost.

Landon turned his attention back to me when his son was out of sight.

"Now's your chance to prove yourself. If you really want this job, you'll pull through. Don't make me regret it."

"I'll do my best," I promised. "To make up for being so late this morning."

Landon just grunted and went back to the front to prepare for the shipment. I was left alone with Rocket, the ape favoring his arm where Dodge had shocked him.

I took advantage of the opportunity while I had it, and lifted my tranquilizer gun.

"I'm sorry. But everything's going to be okay soon," I whispered gently, aiming directly at the ape.

xxxx

I could hardly believe it, but everything was going according to plan...so far. Maurice had been injected with the 112 with little to no side effects as of yet. I'd managed to get most of the apes out of the shelter. We were on our way to Gen-Sys now, and then the next step would be to convince Jacobs and the others that the 113 was dangerous, that it couldn't be tested under any circumstances.

Maurice had to do the trick. If Jacobs still refused to listen after hearing his story about the future, then I had no idea what I would do after that. Most people had a 'seeing is believing' type of mentality, and if they still didn't believe, then I feared what they would do to Maurice—an ape who could talk. If Koba hadn't revealed himself at the lab on purpose or by accident, that is. At least, I hoped that Maurice's voice would return. Sign language was the next best thing, but the most effective way to get Jacobs to listen was by talking.

Silently, I made another promise that after we were done with the convincing part, I would do everything in my power to protect Maurice from the media that would likely erupt at the ape who could talk, and the experiments that Jacobs would likely try and pull. The human race would be saved, but then it would be Maurice who needed saving—as well as the other apes. They were going to be anything but happy getting placed in just another cage, but I was going to get them out. I was going to keep my promise to Caesar.

More than anything, I wanted to ask Maurice how he was doing and if he was feeling okay. When I'd injected dad with the 112, the effects had worked overnight. We just didn't have that kind of time...but Maurice was in the back of the truck with the other apes, so I had no choice but to wait until we arrived at Gen-Sys. I tried to picture the look on Jacobs' face when I would bring them in and when Maurice would start talking, laughing to myself at the thought.

The road to Gen-Sys itself was nice and quiet...even relaxing; I was thankful that Landon had excused Dodge from his duties for the day, for the dumb luck that he'd lost his patience with Rocket besides the horrible abuse I'd witnessed. It was just the apes in the back of the truck and I, and nothing but the empty road ahead. Surprisingly despite my lack of sleep, I didn't feel tired. How could I feel tired with everything that was going on?

My nose twitched, a sneeze escaping. If I wasn't tired, why did I feel so dizzy...? Sudden coughs wracked my chest, and the road swayed. Throbbing in my head only aggravated the coughs and ignited a second sneeze. The throbbing became ten times worse and I could barely breathe, my hands shaking violently at the wheel.

...What's happening to me...? Was my last thought before everything went black.

xxxx

I was the only ape wide awake, and my thoughts wide open. I was able to think clear as day like I remembered I once had. It worked, the virus had worked, and I almost wished that Will hadn't given me the virus.

Caesar...Caesar was gone, downed by a silly arrow. But one arrow was all it took...

Blue Eyes and Cornelia, and the atrocities that the Colonel had thrust upon them, rendering poor little Cornelius an orphan. If this really was the past, did that mean they could be born again? I instantly shook the thought away, not allowing to get my hopes up.

Caesar was gone...

Wet pricked at the corners of my eyes. I could remember waking up, stuck once again in the sanctuary with no idea why or how. My first clue that something was wrong was Cornelia and that she was alive again. But however right it had seemed that Caesar's wife was alive and well, my joy had been dashed when I realized that she was no longer herself, that none of the apes were themselves any longer.

I let out a low growl when the memory of a certain vengeful ape known as Koba came to mind, and all he had done to both species—how he had started a devastating war between the two.

The strong urge to break out of my dreadful cage altogether overwhelmed me when my adopted human daughter came to mind.

Nova...where was—?

My thoughts came to a crashing halt when the moving human machine jolted, and I felt myself falling forward in a violent whiplash.

When all settled and the blurriness faded from my vision, I could see the faintest bit of light seeping in through the back door that had flung itself open.

Whimpers from the other apes starting to finally wake from the sleeping drug pushed me to go onward, to use all the strength I had to force my own cage door open and step into the outside.

The human machine was turned over onto its side, and it seemed that we had been tossed off the road. Cages littered the red-stained grass, and the apes' anxious cries were the only things that brought me comfort that they were alive.

It was then that I spotted him.

Oh, no.

"Will..." I spoke, the name familiar yet foreign on my tongue; words were going to take some time getting used to. But my voice had returned and that was all that mattered. "Will...wake up," I pleaded, desperate to see any signs of movement—of life. No doubt he would be excited to hear me speak...but there was nothing.

No response. He was face-down, and there wasn't any blood that I could see coming from his weak form. That still didn't change the fact that he just wasn't waking up...

I put my hands on his fragile body, shaking him gently and carefully as possible. This man, this human had helped me more than any other, and it was my turn to help him. I just didn't know how, and I was only making it worse...

"Please...get up," my untrained voice came out in a pitiful whine.

Will remained frozen to the ground. I lay next to the scientist, protecting him from the chill wind with the warmth of my fur.

"H-Hey, is everyone alright?" A voice suddenly asked in a worried shout that cut through the cold, morning air.

That voice...why was it somehow...familiar?

"Hello? Is everyone okay?" the voice shouted again. A shape revealed itself from the shadows, and an older man stepped cautiously towards me, halting in his tracks when he spotted an orangutan of all things leaning protectively...or maybe aggressively in his eyes over a fallen man.

No...it couldn't be. I knew this man, and he knew me...he knew the apes...but he didn't know it yet, fear and confusion evident on his face at the sight of a large orangutan like me out of its cage.

"It's okay..." he whispered, blinking rapidly as if to try and ward off his shock, raising both of his hands to show that he meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you...help is on the way."

He must have contacted other humans to help with the crash, to help Will...but I wondered if they were going to help us. Apes. Will and I had a plan to save both human and ape, but now it was ruined. We were running out of time, and there was only one person who could possibly help us now if Will wasn't going to wake up. Out of all the humans in the world, we had crossed paths with him.

Was it fate, or had time itself found a way to bring us together again...?

The man's eyes widened ten times their normal size when I rasped his name in a pleading whisper, repeating the single word he'd spoken.

"Malcolm...please help."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

How did we escape the sanctuary the first time? How did we rescue all of the apes from the human camp?

I ran through every moment we had been trapped in cages by humans, trying tirelessly in vain to find a way out of this hopeless situation.

Apes together strong...but I was only a single ape this time, excluding Koba and the other apes with us in the lab who couldn't remember future events. They were back to their primitive selves, unable to think cleverly of an escape.

What would Caesar do? I could recall myself asking the question as we had tried to break into the human camp, not knowing then that I would be asking the very same question a lot now that Caesar really was gone.

I didn't know. I didn't want to know, too wrapped up in my doubt that Koba's words had created about our leader, that we wouldn't be in this situation at all if he hadn't died. If he hadn't been so foolish to let the humans in the woods go—the very same humans who would eventually cause his death.

Caesar was gone and there was nothing we could do about it; we had no one to look to but ourselves, and my mind was working overtime to try and come up with a way out. The worst thing about it all was that I didn't know where the human scientists had put the other apes. They had been moved to a different part of the lab away from where I had been placed with Koba, and I didn't have the slightest idea where to look first if I managed to escape.

The only thing I knew was death. Our hours were numbered, and all we could do was wait as we were helplessly separated for time to run out. My stomach churned not only from hunger since the humans hadn't bothered to feed us, but from knowing that this was the last day we would be alive if something wasn't done.

The lab was dark now. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a single source of light anywhere. As horrible as it was, I almost wished I was back at the shelter. One of the scientists had wanted to return us, but his leader hadn't. He was afraid of getting in trouble for Will's crash, so he wanted to kill us instead.

I attempted to pound the cage glass with my arms when the humans had left Koba and I to ourselves, but then stopped for fear that they would come back and punish me for trying to escape if they heard. But what good would it do if I did manage to break the glass? Though it was dark and no other humans were in the lab, there were most likely others still awake somewhere in the building. I would only be caught and brought back to my prison, and death would come much sooner.

"No way to escape," Koba grunted besides me. "Might as well stop trying. Humans come to take you away soon."

I could only growl in response. How could the monster next to me show no remorse, even after ten years of peace and happiness with Caesar's leadership? How could he show no guilt for the war he had started to prove that apes were better and stronger than humans? If anything, Koba had only proved that apes were more like humans than we had thought with his violent tendencies and lack of emotion or care for others.

"Koba just like them," I stated quietly, forcing myself to look past the glass right into his single, cloudy eye. "The humans. Always filled with violence and hate...is that not...what you wanted to prove to apes...that they couldn't be trusted? Just like you?"

Koba stared back through his side of the glass, his good eye twitching at my words of truth. I expected him to retort, to defend himself...but he remained silent, edging me to go on and say something that would warrant cruel words in response or even an attack despite that we were separated by our cages.

"All Caesar wanted was peace," I continued. "We did not have to make friends...just live peacefully knowing the other existed and nothing more...but you wanted war just as the bad humans wanted...never realizing there were good humans, too." Good humans like Malcolm who had risked his life for the apes, and Will who had helped return my memories so we could make the most out of this peculiar situation.

"Humans worse," Koba growled back, refusing to take responsibility for his future actions—placing the blame on someone else.

"Both just as bad," I argued. Violence was violence...it wasn't needed...but it was what Koba and the bad humans had wanted to show that they were better when really, they were just the same.

"This is the past..." Koba mused, closing his good eye as if to picture what he had in mind. "The future can happen again. Koba make things right...make humans pay. They do not deserve second chance..."

How could he not see that this was a second chance for both of us? To let go of our hate for one another and make things right for the better?

"Humans may have hurt us in the past...but do all humans deserve our hatred because of something they had nothing to do with?" I reasoned softly.

Koba's entire body shook behind the glass, his eye opening to look at me. "Maurice not understand...Koba want to make humans scream like they made him...want to make human leader fall from height again so he can no longer hurt apes..." the bonobo hissed in defense.

"Like Caesar did to Koba to protect apes?"

He blinked quickly at the comparison between the two deaths, his head snapping away in shock. Koba had killed Will's human leader, dropping him from a great height because of what he had done to him...and Caesar had done the same to Koba, dropping him from a great height because of what he had done to apes.

No more words were exchanged. We couldn't say anything more as the quiet sound of footsteps began to approach. I cowered when two white-coated humans entered the lab, making their way towards me with gloved hands ready to take their prisoner away as Koba had said they would. The two didn't bother turning a light on—they had come for one thing and one thing only, soon to leave from this pained world.

"You sure you got it done?" the first human asked.

"Yes," the second human said in response, albeit hesitant. He fidgeted, nervous and his face full of regret. "All the new apes are gone," he confirmed the first human's question. "I still can't believe Will tried bringing in more. Why would he do that?"

My heart stopped. Gone...? All the new apes...the ones that Will had rescued from the sanctuary to free them after we would have convinced the humans...gone? The apes who had first made Caesar's colony possible?

Rocket...

Cornelia, facing her horrible fate a second time in a way that was just as bad...?

My world fell to pieces.

xxxx

Thank you for trying, Caroline's voice echoed from before she had left the hospital.

I was inwardly smacking myself for not trying harder. Maurice's face as I had left Gen-Sys was one of the most heartbreaking things I had ever seen, and wasn't going to leave me anytime soon. I wanted to convince myself that he was just a normal orangutan who couldn't talk, but no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, nothing could change the fact that I had abandoned him in his greatest time of need.

Even if Maurice wasn't some intelligent ape, it was still wrong what they were doing to the animals in that place. Maybe it wasn't wrong at all to the scientists, but it was still something I didn't agree with. I was thankful that my son wasn't able to fully remember Maurice (if what he had drawn really was a memory...) so I didn't have to tell him that his friend was gone.

Monitors and machines hummed and beeped in Will's room, curtains to the window closed so the small space was dimly lit.

Was Maurice really gone already? The thought made my stomach churn, and I had to reach a hand up to rub my still-aching head that hadn't let up in the slightest.

"Are you alright?" a soft voice broke me out of my troubled thoughts. Looking up, I caught the eyes of Will's nurse, Ellie. She had come to check in on him again, but Will hadn't spoken since saying Caesar's name; she said it would take time for him to recover from his accident.

"Oh, yeah," I responded softly, moving my hand away from my head. "Just a little headache...nothing serious."

Ellie made her way towards Will's bed, her movements slow and uncertain.

"Are you okay?" I tried asking. It looked like she was in the same boat as me, her expression full of confusion at recent events. It wasn't every day you took care of a man who had been driving a truck full of apes.

"Yeah, it's just...have we met before?" she questioned, staring at me with the same confused expression and longing. Longing to know who I was...or had we met once in the future, like I had supposedly met Maurice and Caesar? It was all still a blur to me. No matter how hard I tried to recall any further events, all that came up was a big blank spot.

"Maybe," I told her with a small smile, my heart picking up speed. "You do look a little familiar."

She shook her head slightly, nodding in Will's direction. "I'm sorry...has he talked again yet...has he showed any sign of movement?"

I followed her gaze, resting upon Will. "No, he hasn't said anything else besides 'Caesar,' and he hasn't moved."

Ellie sighed, giving a nod.

"Was he...bleeding, by any chance? When he came in?" I couldn't help but ask, Maurice's words about 'no blood' coming back to me. I'd repeated the words over and over, trying to make sense of them and why Maurice had been so confused that there just hadn't been any blood, but to no avail.

"No, he wasn't bleeding anywhere," Ellie answered, brow furrowing. "Was he showing signs of illness before the crash?"

I shook my head, bracing myself to tell a little fib. I hadn't known Will before the crash, so there was no way I could have known that something was wrong—if at all—with the scientist if I hadn't met Maurice. He'd said that no blood was strange—but what did it mean?

"Caroline said he'd been coughing a lot before the accident, and he said he thought he sneezed blood at one point."

Ellie kept her gaze trained on Will, searching for any of the symptoms that I'd described, only to find that his vitals were still normal according to the steady beeps and hums.

"The mind and body are both incredible things," she said thoughtfully, "one can trick the other into thinking that something is wrong."

Something is wrong...or was the proper wording something had been wrong?

If the virus was real and everything Caroline and Maurice had told me was true about humans dying...did Will's body think it was still sick when he really wasn't? Had Will died from the virus itself in the future?

Ellie's expression brightened then, as if she had remembered something important aside from coming into the room to check on Will. She reached into her pocket, pulling out an odd looking capsule that seemed to fit in with the hospital's environment, yet was strangely out of place at the same time.

"I could get in a lot of trouble, but I found this in his in his pocket and it still has a bit of what was in there," Ellie explained, handing me the capsule to hold. "I can't figure out what it is, but it feels...important, somehow. Maybe you have an idea?"

I stared at the capsule with the number 112 written across its surface, eyes widening. Caroline had told me that this was the less dangerous version of the 113. Will's plan had been to inject Maurice with the virus, and that was how the orangutan began to talk. The 112 had supposedly returned his memories of what was going to happen in the future so he could convince Jacobs not to go through with the test, as we had already failed to do. Staring down at the capsule curiously, a thought began to occur to me...

I looked back up at Ellie, the nurse waiting for me to give her an explanation.

But before I could respond, a voice interrupted.

"You have to come back."

A full sentence from the unconscious scientist. I stood up from my seat, but Ellie motioned for me to stay back so as not to overwhelm Will.

"Please...you're the only one they'll listen to. You can't just stay here."

Here? What did he mean by 'here?' Was whoever he was talking to trapped in some kind of limbo, and Will had found his way to him in his coma?

I wanted to laugh for thinking something so silly, but maybe it wasn't so silly at all...

Ellie and I stared in shock, and she moved quickly to stand next to the bed in case her patient was ready to fully wake.

"Mr. Rodman?" Ellie asked gently, glancing up when his heart monitor began to beep a little more quickly than what she liked. "Will?"

The scientist didn't answer, his eyes still closed and body remaining still with only his mouth moving.

"We need you," Will said, his tone desperate. "Please come back...don't leave me again. I finally found you and I'm not leaving until you come with me."

His head nodded atop his pillow as if he was saying yes to someone in response that we just couldn't see.

"I know it hurts...I'm hurting, too. It has to hurt reliving how you die, if that's what this is...but you have to try. No more wars...no more pain. We can do this...together."

"It's like he's having..." Ellie started, unsure. Was he just having a dream or a nightmare in his coma? Some part of me wanted to believe that a dream was indeed the case, but the other knew that it was the complete opposite—that it was real, especially with everything I had seen and learned today.

"A conversation with someone," I finished for her, glancing back down at the capsule in my hands. "And I think I know who..."

Jacobs had said that he was going to test the 113 first thing in the morning.

We had to hurry if we were going to save all of humanity.

"Ellie," I said. Her head snapped up in surprise when she heard her name in my voice, a streak of familiarity crossing her features.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but...I think I know why we seem so familiar to each other."

Ellie blinked, silently willing me to continue.

"We don't have much time. You said there was a little left in here..."

I gestured to the capsule still resting in my hand.

"How much?"

No time to explain, Maurice had told me at the scene of the crash. But maybe I didn't need any explaining. Maybe I just needed a little help to remember...

Then I could take Maurice's place if the orangutan was already gone, and if by some miracle he wasn't...

Then I could be his human backup if Will was unsuccessful in bringing back who I thought he was talking to from...wherever they were.

xxxx

Gone...they were all gone...the others like Buck who had remained at the shelter were lucky enough not to have come to this awful place, a lab where they put apes down just because they did not have enough room.

The humans seemed to be taking their time, and I wasn't sure if I wanted them to go any faster.

If my family was really and truly gone, I didn't have to protect them any longer. I could speak out, warn the humans of the virus that was going to destroy them if they went through with the test.

The virus that they were currently discussing amongst themselves, uncertainty hanging in the air.

"Are we really going to test the 113 in the morning?" the first human asked.

"That's what Jacobs said. Whatever he says goes," the second human answered with a shrug.

The first human wasn't so sure. "Don't you have a weird feeling about it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling that something's going to go wrong..."

The second human gave a frustrated sigh. "Are you talking about that dream you had again? That's all it was. A dream!"

"More like nightmare. It was so real, like I could feel myself getting sick," the first human explained, his eyes wide with fear as he remembered the horrifying details. "There was so much blood..."

"Come on, man. We're going to change the world with this thing. Let's just get this last monkey out of the way."

"Orangutan," the first human corrected.

"Right."

Should I really risk revealing my voice to these two scientists, who would surely do more harm than good? Would they only alert their leader that an orangutan had somehow started talking to them?

"Come on, buddy," the first human said, already prepared with a treat he assumed would bribe me out of my cage. I knew better, that this was the way they would drag me to my end, so I cowered even further away and attempted to make myself as small as I could.

Buddy...only Will was allowed to call me buddy. I growled, baring my teeth. The human stepped back, leaving the treat to sit by itself.

"Ever try orange soda? I bet you'll love it!" He tried, a small grin stretching across his face like he had thought of something funny. "Perfect for an orangutan."

"Nice," the second human murmured, rolling his eyes. "He's not gonna come out. We should just tranq him now and get it over with."

"No," the first human insisted, eyes wide at the idea. "We just need to get him to come quietly so I can take care of the rest. He was tranqued just a few hours ago, we don't want to overdo it."

What they didn't know was that I had played dead.

"Why does it matter?"

Koba's words came rushing back.

Koba want to make humans scream like they made him...

Like they had made so many apes scream, only causing pain and torture and death in the end...

Did humans really deserve a second chance? Was Koba right?

"Let's get out of here. He's not gonna listen," one of the humans murmured in annoyance. I perked a little at his words and he seemed to notice, smiling awkwardly. "You can go back to sleep."

The humans left. Was it really that simple? They were gone, and they had left open my cage door. Not a lot, but it was slightly ajar. I could see my freedom on the other side, however hard it would be to achieve it. I could escape, I could get out of here and find Will! Only then would we be able to finish what we had originally planned.

Hesitantly, I took a step forward. One step, and then another...

I instantly regretted being such a fool when something tight was wrapped around my neck.

"Get him, get him!" One of the humans shouted in a rush to make sure I was captured, flinging another collar around my neck.

I was frozen to the spot, unable to move on my own or make any sounds. The collars restricted my ability to even speak if I wanted to, squeezing so tight I could hardly breathe.

No. I had to get away, I had to get out. Who would stop the virus if I wasn't here? Certainly not Koba, who wanted nothing more than the humans to experience their deaths all over again.

The bonobo himself did nothing, watching me struggle not with a grin or smile on his scarred face, but...apathy? He didn't care what was happening to me, nor did I expect him to.

His words had caused me to doubt my leader—to doubt Caesar. What was I thinking?

Caesar had been sent back into the past for a reason, and it was to stop the virus from spreading and killing humans. We had been given a second chance to make things right, to make a new life for ourselves. Caesar had wanted nothing more than peace with the humans; it was what he had always wanted. If the virus was stopped, we could find a way to co-exist peacefully together without worries of war and death.

Will wasn't here. He wouldn't be able to protect me if I revealed myself, but maybe it was why I had also been sent to the past.

To make a sacrifice.

My family was gone, as the human scientist had revealed while unknowingly to him, I had listened and felt horror pinching at my gut. I had nothing to live for now, nor to protect except the promise that Will had made to Caesar...and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.

My struggle against the poles increased tenfold. I did not want to hurt the humans, but if I had to in order for them to stop and listen, to get rid of the collars that stole my ability to speak...

"Get the tranq. It doesn't matter!" One of the two humans shouted. The human he'd addressed rushed to get his assigned weapon—a silver gun, dropping his pole. He aimed directly at me, but before the human could fire—

"NO!" a voice boomed so loud that I felt it vibrate against my chest.

Time stopped. The human lessened his grip on the pole he still held and I gasped, air returning to my lungs at last.

It wasn't me who had spoken, and there was only one other human...or ape in the room who could have done so, risking his voice in order to stop the scientist from shooting the sleeping gun.

I turned my head in the opposite direction from the humans just as stunned, my heart pounding wildly against my chest so hard I feared it would burst.

When the single, cloudy eye met two of mine, I thought I would collapse from shock. He had been oddly silent throughout the whole ordeal, never even bothering to try and taunt me along with the humans as they had tried to get me out of my cage like I thought he would have done.

...Koba?

Chapter Text

I didn't know how long I had been trapped in this endless, white space. Time had no beginning and no end—such a thing did not exist. The space stretched on and on with no end in sight—and no one to join me in its eternal glow.

I was alone, and I was at an odd sort of ease with the fact.

...What if I gave into the white unknown? Would I go somewhere else that was equally as peaceful? Would I meet Blue Eyes and Cornelia again, or maybe even Cornelius? I shook my head at the thought. Cornelia was still alive now that we had been sent back to the past, and so Blue Eyes and Cornelius had yet to be born. Cornelia was the only remaining member of my family alive, and my sons would not come into existence again if I remained in this unknown space.

Feeling my side with a hand where the soldier had struck me with the arrow, I was surprised to find that the small, yet deadly weapon was no more. Since passing on in my human father's arms, every ounce of pain in my aching soul both physical and mental had vanished.

"Caesar..."

I stiffened, eyes widening as my name reached my ears in the familiar voice, slowly turning around to see a tall figure moving...walking in my direction. The blurry shape changed into the human I had just been thinking of—a man with brown hair and eyes who wore simple, human clothing. My breathing hitched as realization fully dawned that I knew this human. He had somehow crossed the realm between the land of the living and the dead, and now he was the only other being to keep me company in this strange and never ending place.

"Will? What are you doing here...what happened?" I questioned, heart pounding quick yet gently against my chest. If I was truly dead...then how was I still breathing? How did I still have a heartbeat?

I banished any further questions from my mind. I was gone. I was at peace.

"Can't really remember," Will admitted, blinking to try and ward off the fuzziness that mixed into the white. "I think I was driving...and then I fell asleep."

I frowned, worry pinching in my stomach.

"You were in an accident?" I questioned, remaining in my spot on the blank floor...or sky...I wasn't quite sure what the oddity beneath our feet was, but it was the least of our problems. Will couldn't be gone, too. Not the one who had taken me in and raised me as his own...

"I think I was trying to save all the apes from the shelter...we were so close," Will tried to remember the accident that had brought him here.

Warmth spread throughout my chest knowing that Will had tried his best to keep the promise he had made, but just as soon as the warmth had come, it vanished, replaced by a deep emptiness that couldn't be filled. Will was here in the realm of death, or almost death, and it was all my fault.

"I'm sorry, Will..." I whispered quietly, not an echo to be heard.

He frowned, gazing not with fear, but...curiosity at our blank surroundings.

"It wasn't your fault," Will assured. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, following his curious gaze. "I've been here for a long time...I think I'm supposed to wait for something, but I don't know what."

Will gave a small smile.

"Maybe you were waiting for me," he suggested calmly.

Waiting...was it why I could still breathe, and why I still had a heartbeat? Could it be possible that this was not death's realm itself, but the In-Between where one would wait to be reunited with those he knew?

"You have to come back," Will said suddenly.

Go back? No matter where I looked, I did not see an exit. How did Will know there was a way to go back? Soft beeping and humming reached us from an unknown source that we couldn't see, and Will's eyes widened the slightest bit in realization.

"I guess this is what happens when you have an accident like mine," he chuckled lowly. "But I can still wake up...and you can, too."

It wasn't possible. No, I was gone...I was here and I was at peace. Will took a step forward, but I just as quickly took a step back.

"Please...you're the only one they'll listen to. You can't just stay here," he said, his voice pleading for his only son to go with him back to the land of the living.

He wanted me to go back and convince his fellow scientists that the virus was dangerous. I wasn't so sure that such a tactic would be successful—maybe it would deter them from sealing their kind's fate with the virus, but I had an idea of what they would do to a talking ape after the convincing was done.

"I can't..." I whispered sorrowfully with a soft shake of my head. I wanted to help my father, I really did. But no matter how much I loved Will or the good humans who had helped apes, their species had proven time and time again that they just couldn't be trusted. I'd let the humans go in the woods, showing mercy to their Colonel in the hopes that the war between us would cease. In the end, one of the humans I had freed sent me to my end.

"You still have a chance to come back...take it. Help me keep your promise," Will pleaded, determined not to give up as easily as he had when he'd left me behind in the shelter. I had wanted to go back home with him so, so badly...but just like now, I knew my place. It was time he learned his.

I shook my head gently again, already firm on the matter. I had made my choice to stay—now all my father had to do was accept it. Maybe only then I could truly pass on in peace...

"I can't," I repeated, "you must fulfill my promise on your own."

"We need you," Will pleaded again, his tone growing desperate. "Please come back...don't leave me again. I finally found you and I'm not leaving until you come with me."

"You need to go," I said.

"What?" His voice hurt, offended that I wanted him to leave so quickly after he had just arrived. "Caesar..."

"I don't want you here." He didn't deserve to be here. He may have made a lot of mistakes, but out of every human I had known, he was among those who deserved the unexpected second chance that had been thrust upon us without warning.

"I can say the same about you."

I let out a low and tired sigh. He may not want me here, but I wanted to be here. After so many years of pain, it was finally time to rest.

"I understand now...I have to let go...to accept that my time has come and gone." I was dead, shot with an arrow by the very same human I had allowed to leave the woods.

"It's not your time yet," Will argued softly.

"My time has already passed. I'm dead," I confirmed more to myself than my human father.

Something sharp poked my side. Feeling with a hand, I discovered with shock that the arrow had returned once again. Breathing in and out turned into a chore, thousands of angry needles pushing deeper. I wobbled, and Will reached out his arms to try and stop me from falling. I resisted, regaining my balance and hissing in discomfort.

"More like half dead," Will said, thoughtful and sympathetic. I blinked in surprise at the statement, holding a single arm around my waist to alleviate the stinging pain.

"Caesar, I may not know what happens when we die, but I'm pretty sure we're not fully dead...this is the past, so you haven't gotten shot with an arrow yet...your body just thinks it has, like mine still thinks I'm sick."

The thought that Will may have died from the virus itself in the future left me unsettled. After all this time of not knowing his fate, now I knew and instead of bringing me comfort like I had thought knowing the truth would, it had only made things worse.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Will...I'm tired. Since your death in the future, there has been nothing but war and pain that you were fortunate enough not to witness...my wife and son gone because of humans who couldn't stand to leave us alone, burdening us with the blame for the virus that caused the downfall of your race."

Will wasn't having any of it. He knew as well as I the real reason that the virus had escaped, though neither of us wanted to admit it. He was owning up to his mistakes, holding onto the hope that somehow, he would be able to fix his wrongs.

"It was all on me, Caesar. I wanted to heal my dad, to cure him from a disease that didn't want to be cured no matter how hard I tried. I see that now, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused because I wasn't strong enough to let go, because I couldn't accept that all good things come to an end."

He paused, as if uncertain whether he should say his next words. His expression softened, his decision resolved.

"But it doesn't have to end yet," he said with such certainty I almost wanted to believe him. The humans' world was going to come to an end if we did nothing, leaving everything they had created and left behind for the apes to claim. We had built a home for ourselves—a future. Then what little humans remained used every force they had to take it away from us, destroying countless lives in the process.

I turned away from him, refusing to meet his gaze again.

"How can I ever trust humans again? If we go back...they won't understand. They will be afraid. What they fear, they destroy. We will never be free..."

Will was quiet for a moment.

Then...

"You said you trust me."

My head shot up, turning back in his direction. Will smiled, glad that he'd regained my full attention.

It was true. I did say that I trusted him upon returning home, and it was true...he was the one human I could trust, a human that wouldn't hurt apes or blame them for a virus that wasn't their fault. He would never hurt me, and he would never allow any other human to hurt me or my family.

"Let me show you. I'll protect you, Caesar. I promise. I won't let anyone lay a hand on you or Cornelia, or the others. You're not the only one who still has a chance..." He begged, confirming the trust that I had placed in him.

Please come home...if you come home, I'll protect you, Will's words from our goodbyes in the woods came rushing back as he had tried to convince me to go back home with him. Had it not been for the others, I would have followed without hesitation. But I had become their leader, and I knew I couldn't have left them behind, choosing to stay in the woods.

I knew that Cornelia was still alive in the past. She had avoided her deadly encounter with the Colonel, and I had made the choice to warn Will about the virus so it wouldn't happen again. Blue Eyes and Cornelius still had a chance to be reborn...what kind of father would I be if I denied them that chance, simply because I was afraid that the same future would happen again when we had the chance to stop it?

The arrow's stinging sharpened like knives, and I gripped the wound tighter with a hand. Warmth and red seeped onto my touch.

"It hurts..." I let out in a gasp.

"I know it hurts...I'm hurting, too," Will said in an attempt to try and comfort me; I wasn't so sure it was working. I was meant to die, and I was at peace with the fact in spite of the pain that didn't want to go away. "It has to hurt reliving how you die, if that's what this is...but you have to try. No more wars...no more pain."

"How do you know...what I'm feeling?" I ground out. I didn't want to try...I couldn't. It was too hard...even if we were successful in saving the humans, they would only destroy apes once their future was restored. Didn't he understand?

"If you really wanted to leave...then you wouldn't be here with me. We can do this...together."

Stinging from the arrow lessened as his words passed my ears. The warmth on my hand began to fade, the red vanishing.

"Apes together strong..." I whispered, feeling the arrow still lodged in my side. Apes strong with or without me...I could remember telling Maurice.

"Maybe...apes and humans together strong this time," Will added in, full of hope that such an impossible feat could work. Could it really be possible? Would humans accept us at last, leaving us be to live out our lives in peace?

"Mr. Rodman?" A voice I found somewhat familiar echoed without a source to be seen; a female's voice belonging to the one who had cared for my bullet wound after being shot by Koba. But where...?

I scanned our white surroundings and Will followed to try and find where the voice had come from, but it was just as blank with no other ape or human in sight.

"It's almost like..." the female's voice began, unsure.

"He's having a conversation with someone," another familiar voice echoed across the vast, blank space. I blinked, eyes widening in surprise.

"Malcolm...?" I questioned more to myself than Will. He looked back at me with confusion.

"Good human. He helped apes," I explained fervently. "Long time into the future. Must be with you in the living world..." But how did he find him?

"A world we can still save," Will pushed. "The more help, the merrier."

Maybe it wasn't so hopeless...pointless...

I found that I could stand a little straighter, feeling for the arrow in my side again.

It had vanished, completely gone.

Maybe Will was right...it wasn't my time yet...

"And I'm your dad, so you have to do what I say," he said with a small grin, holding out a hand for me to take.

I couldn't argue with the statement, giving a soft smile in return and stepping closer, reaching out my own hand.

For Cornelia.

For Blue Eyes.

For Cornelius.

For Maurice.

For Rocket.

For Lake.

For Luca.

For Buck.

For Bad Ape.

For Red who had been turned into a Donkey by the humans he thought would protect him in the end, and even Winter who had betrayed my family because he thought they would leave us alone.

For the hope that apes and humans could find peace and tranquility without worries of war and violence...

Together.

We couldn't stop now.

"I'll...try," I panted the last word as my hand grasped his.

xxxx

"Why isn't this one gone yet?"

The human leader of the lab stared at me with a deep frown, waiting for an explanation from the other two humans who had tried to get me out of my cage.

"He talked," the first white-coated human said, his face still filled with shock at what had occurred the night before. He and his partner had removed the collars from my neck, allowing me to return to my cage.

"What?" The human leader asked to make sure that he had heard correctly.

"Not him," the second human said, his voice shaking as he looked at me.

"Koba," the other revealed, pointing at the bonobo's cage. Since I had been left alone by the two humans, Koba hadn't spoken another word. The two argued that they must have been dreaming or had heard things, but even so, they had been too nervous to try and get me out again. I was safe for now, but relief had yet to come that I wasn't going to be sent to death like my family, tears stinging at the corners of my eyes.

"And what did he 'say?'" The human leader asked.

"He said the word no," the first human answered. "While we were trying to get the orangutan out of his cage."

"That's why we didn't get rid of him...Koba stopped us," the second human said to help his friend.

The human leader reached a hand up to rub his face. "And has he 'said' anything else since?"

The two scientists hesitated.

"He hasn't talked since saying no," the first admitted.

"And there's not the slightest chance you could have dreamed it?" The human leader asked, his tone becoming frustrated. It was morning now and the lab was bright. He wanted nothing more than to get a head start and test the virus like he had originally planned.

"We were both awake!" The first human argued. "At least, I think we were..."

The human leader was not impressed, giving me another harsh glare.

Should I speak now? Though Koba had risked his voice to save me, he hadn't said anything more. Was he playing with the humans to make them think they were crazy? While I had to admit it was somewhat entertaining, we still needed to warn them that the virus couldn't be tested.

"I want this one gone in the next hour," the human leader said, pointing right at me. "We just don't have enough room for it. Pick an ape for testing and get it over with."

"Yes sir," the second human said in defeat. He moved towards Koba's cage while the first watched, his terrified gaze glancing back and forth from me to the scarred bonobo that had talked.

"We know what you said." He pounded the cage hard with a single hand, as if to threaten Koba into speaking. The bonobo remained silent and unfazed, but a dark grin slowly stretched across his features—the last straw for the two humans who would no longer tolerate being played with.

"Why not use you for the virus, then?" The second human asked, snapping on a fresh pair of gloves for dramatic effect. Koba just continued to stare, as though he was actually waiting for them to bring him out of his cage for the experiment. "For embarrassing us in front of Jacobs and making us think we're crazy?"

"Sounds fair to me," his partner agreed, a bit reluctantly.

No, my mind raced. No, no, no. Why wasn't Koba saying anything? Hadn't he finally realized that humans deserved their second chance after our talk?

But it was then I knew that he didn't want the humans to be saved at all. It had been his plan to talk, to make them angry for making them think they were crazy—to make sure that he was the one and only bonobo they would use for the test. I hadn't been present the first time it happened...maybe it had just been an accident that caused the virus to break loose. But accident or no, Koba had plans to make sure that the virus was going to break free even if he had to make it happen intentionally.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak and finally warn them of what was sure to happen if they went through with the test.

Stop!

...What?

I tried to speak again.

Stop.

I was only able to think the word, my voice compromised.

My throat was sore from the two collars that the scientists had used, squeezing my neck so tight I could hardly breathe. My voice was...gone? Just like Nova's, but for a different reason altogether! I panicked, and my eyes widened as the scientists had no trouble luring Koba out of his cage, for it was what he wanted. They put one of the choking collars around his neck, and he did not resist.

The bonobo followed willingly besides them, turning his head around to look at me.

We made eye contact.

Tell them, I pleaded with my eyes, heart smashing against any hope I had left. If you've really changed and have any ounce of honor within you...tell them!

He said nothing to the humans as they continued leading him away.

Tell them! For Caesar! I screeched in my mind. If the humans weren't warned of the virus that would be the cause of their end, then Caesar's final wish would go to waste.

Koba only grinned, his plan for the humans' demise becoming a happy reality for the bonobo who had been so tortured.

I growled, though the sound came out low and pitiful. How could I be such a fool to think that Koba had changed, that he would allow the humans to live?

He disappeared around the corner with the two scientists.

I reached my arms up, pounding the glass of my cage in desperation.

The other humans in the lab immediately took notice of the orangutan going 'crazy' in its cage, yelling and scattering only fueling my determination to get out and stop the scientists from taking Koba into the testing area.

Glass shattered, unable to hold itself together under my weight.

You can't do this! I wanted to scream. My throat tightened further under the pressure when a collar was suddenly wrapped around my neck again just like the night before. The virus is dangerous! It's what he wants!

I didn't even have to look at the human next to me, who had raced to get the one weapon that he knew would stop my terrifying actions—the weapon that would make me fall asleep. I doubted I would live to see the next day if he didn't miss his target.

A second collar was thrust around me. I swiped with an arm just out of the human's reach and he leapt back with a scream, almost letting go of the pole that connected to the collar.

Please...listen...I begged, the world becoming hazy as the two collars squeezed even tighter. I stared into the human's eyes and he stared into mine, a flicker of understanding passing between us. Maybe he understood...? Maybe he would stop the scientists from testing on Koba?

Then it was gone.

The silver gun was aimed directly at me, and it was then I knew that all hope for a better future with both human and ape was lost.

xxxx

Caroline had returned to the hospital first thing in the morning. She had made arrangements for someone to visit Charles and stay with him, so she could stay with Will for the day.

"He was talking in his sleep," I told her when she had become settled enough as we sat together in Will's room.

Caroline listened intently, believing every word I said. If talking apes didn't faze her, I didn't know what would. Certainly not the fact that Will had apparently been talking to someone in his coma.

Ellie explained that she'd helped give me what was left of the virus that Will had given to Maurice so I could try and remember more details.

"He said something about—" I began, but was promptly interrupted.

The man—Will—shot up without warning, gasping wildly in his bed with the wires and IV still attached. Ellie raced to his side, but he resisted any help she tried to give.

"We have to stop the virus...free the apes...but I got into a crash!"

His shoulders heaved as he panted out the words, his heart monitor beeping out of control.

"It's alright, Mr. Rodman," Ellie comforted to try and bring the beeping down before any relaxing medication would be needed.

"We understand, Will," I said for equal comfort. "We're going to stop it. We're going to help the apes."

"Malcolm..." he gasped, staring right at me.

If it was weird hearing an orangutan speak my name, it was even weirder hearing a scientist speak my name when I hadn't even said what it was.

"He told me about you," Will explained, the beeping becoming slower by the minute.

"Caesar?" I questioned. Caroline had told me that he was dead; that he'd died in Will's arms after his arrow wound from the future had returned.

The virus had worked, or at least, I thought it had. Ellie said there wasn't much left, so maybe it was why I could only remember little things about the future.

Little things like an ape named Caesar who, like Maurice, was intelligent beyond belief. Little things like meeting Ellie during the apocalypse, and that was why we were so familiar to each other, though she hadn't been injected with the 112 along with me. Little things like Alex witnessing horrors that no kid should have to witness. Little things like a man I couldn't remember the name of pointing a gun right at the center of my head, pulling the trigger.

No wonder I had a splitting headache; I had been subconsciously recalling events that had already happened to me. Maybe the things I was beginning to remember really weren't so little...

But getting shot was the least of my worries.

We had a virus to stop that was going to be the end of all humanity if we didn't do something!

He glanced at Caroline. We were going to have to discharge him a little earlier than what the hospital probably liked, especially after an accident like the one he'd had.

Ellie adjusted his pillows. "You need to lay back down, Mr. Rodman. We won't let anything happen."

"No," Will resisted, reaching an arm over to pull at his IV. Ellie stopped him just in time, meeting his pleading and determined gaze. "We have to get to Muir Woods."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The shaking stopped almost as soon as it had started. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, staring at the entrance to Gen-Sys and then back to Caesar.

"It's not safe for you to be out in the open like this," I said, nodding towards the car. "You should go in the back area where you'll have less chance of being seen until I can get Jacobs to listen..."

Caesar nodded in agreement, taking immediate heed and stepping back into the car, ducking low so no one outside would be able to see an ape of all things standing about; it was a wonder that when I'd first brought him here so he could discover his past, we hadn't been caught.

"I can stay with him," Ellie offered, her arms crossed albeit uneasily. Though we didn't know each other that well yet, she must have had something to do with the future. Maybe she knew Caesar like Malcolm at one point, or even both of them? I didn't know, but I felt that I could trust her with my son for the time being.

"You'll need all the help and proof you can get. I can't remember much, yet," she confirmed my suspicions of being a part of the future, though her full memory hadn't returned.

"What should we do?" Malcolm questioned, just as uneasy. The rumbling had left us all unsettled, causing us to wonder if we should continue forward. Whether 'Time' was angry or not, we had to keep going. We were so close to changing the past; we couldn't let Time or anyone else get in the way.

"We all saw Caesar fading in and out..." Caroline brought up the Muir Woods.

The fading in and out bit had been the first thing we noticed upon his return, and it was hard to ignore.

"He was overwhelmed by coming back to the past," I reasoned. Caesar nodded from inside the car.

"So you're saying that maybe the world itself is overwhelmed, causing the shaking?" Malcolm asked, the gears in his mind turning. He'd been the first to assume that Caesar had been stuck between two times—the future and the past—thus causing the fading effect, and Caesar had agreed, mentioning that it felt like someone had been on either side of him and had started stretching his body to go one way or the other. Maybe the same was true for the world itself...

"Not necessarily by coming back to the past, or else this would have started happening the moment we came back like it did for Caesar. Now that we're so close to changing the past, the world is trying to right itself," I explained clearly as possible. I was having a tough time trying to make sense of it myself. Normally when it came to time travel, it was the opposite—time was never trying to 'right' itself, but trying to stop us from changing said past as we had originally thought.

"So do we still try and stop the virus, or will that only make things worse? Should we just...allow the future to happen again?" Caroline asked tentatively.

"Caesar managed to hang on—the world can do the same," I answered for her. "It just needs our help—an anchor—and we have to do that by changing the past so it can stabilize."

At least, I hoped that certain theory would work. Yes, it was usually the other way around where Time would try its best to stop us from changing the past until certain events happened again, but I was starting to see that maybe time traveling didn't work out like everyone had originally thought. I made a quick mental note to throw away all the research I'd found at home on the subject, then start fresh with what we'd learned from experience and not just theories. Time travel was so different from what any of us had expected...I had to remind myself that this was real.

I turned to Caesar. He was still ducked low in the car, staring at me and waiting for further instructions. "I'll tell Jacobs what to expect, and give him conditions he has to follow before talking to you and Maurice. It's going to be okay, Caesar." But is it really...? Since waking from the accident, I had no idea what had happened to the other apes, where they were, or if they were even alright.

"I trust you..." Caesar reminded me, my heart breaking and putting itself back together at his statement. Just by the tone of his gruff voice, I could tell that he was just as nervous as I was. What if I messed up and something happened to him or the others? Even if I got Jacobs to listen, there was still the issue of protecting the apes once it was known that they were highly intelligent and could talk.

Ellie took her place in the front seat, Caesar still crouched in the back.

"Lay low," I told her. "If we're not back in an hour...assume the worst. Get Caesar out of here." I didn't mean to sound so dramatic, but what else was there that I could do? If worst came to worst, I would probably be arrested for trying to interfere with Jacobs' precious experiment. We just couldn't risk Caesar being seen—it was bad enough having him out in the open like this.

Ellie nodded, starting up the car to go in the back area of Gen-Sys.

xxxx

"Jacobs!"

We were just in time—literally. One of my co-workers had his hand on the release for the virus. Horror seared through my very soul itself when I saw that out of all the apes, they had chosen Koba for the experiment just like I had at one point.

"Stop!" Malcolm cried, Caroline standing wide-eyed in fear besides him. The scientist thankfully tore his hand away from the machine in shock at the loud voices, his head turning in our direction and then back to his boss, waiting for further instructions.

Jacobs stared at me in disbelief. He most likely had expected that since my accident, I wouldn't be back for at least a few days or even a week—but here I was, and he openly sighed in frustration to see that his former star worker was back in one piece and ready to stop him at whatever cost.

"You can't do this," I stated firmly in a near-shout, but I knew I couldn't just yell right in his face to get the point across.

"Will, we've already been over this," Jacobs said, straightening his red tie and trying to hold back his impatience. He lifted a hand to give the scientists a thumbs up to keep going with the experiment, but I quickly placed a hand over his to keep him from raising it.

He blinked, refusing to look at me. "You have one minute to state your case."

"I need more than a minute," I nearly growled. When was he going to get it that this couldn't be done? "What happened to the other apes? Where's Maurice?"

Judging by the damage in the lab itself that we'd come across before reaching Jacobs, it couldn't have been anything good. A cage had been broken out of, and I worried for the orangutan's safety.

"You mean the ones you got into a crash? I had them destroyed," Jacobs put it simply like it was nothing. Malcolm only gaped at the news, looking to the floor in dismay, and Caroline's eyes shone brightly with oncoming tears. The only thing I could do was try my hardest not to punch my former boss in the face.

"No...you can't..." I managed to get out, Maurice's innocent and human-like eyes flashing across my mind. He wasn't gone...he couldn't be! I'd promised Caesar that nothing would happen to him or the other apes, but it looked like one out of two of my promises had already been broken. I couldn't imagine how devastated he was going to be...

"It seems I already have," Jacobs said, annoyed that none of us had left yet. "Now you need to leave Will, or we'll have to do this the hard way."

"I can't let you do this," I told him just as firmly, stepping in front of the glass barrier for emphasis. "I have something you need to see—it has to do with all this. Plus, you gave me two days."

"And your time is up. You got into a crash, damaging products and risking this company's reputation. You're fired."

The apes aren't products, I wanted to scream. I wasn't surprised at Jacobs' lack of sympathy, and I wasn't fazed by his determination to get rid of me.

"If I hadn't gotten into the accident, I would have had time to show you. Please, Jacobs...it's a matter of life and death for the world if you go through with this," I begged.

"This again?" He only said with another frustrated sigh. "Will, it's the reason we're testing the virus on chimps first."

"He's telling the truth," Malcolm decided to speak up, coming to my defense. I shot a light smile in his direction, and he returned the gesture with a nod. "I'm a firsthand witness..."

"So you gathered 'witnesses' to fuel your...delusions and make them think they're crazy, too?" Jacobs shook his head, completely exasperated by my 'decisions.' No, it hadn't been me who brought everyone involved in the future together. It was Time, or fate, or whatever anyone wanted to call it. Jacobs would never understand unless he regained his own memories of the future, and I doubted that he would be willing to play guinea pig and inject himself with a virus we barely knew anything about, no matter how much he convinced himself otherwise.

"If you won't listen to us, maybe you will to someone else?" I questioned, never breaking eye contact and forcing him to look back at me. Malcolm and Caroline shifted nervously at the idea of Jacobs talking to Caesar, no doubt worried that more harm would come to him than good...but we had to do this. There were no other options.

"I have someone you need to talk to, but I can't let you see him until you promise you won't hurt him."

This seemed to pique Jacobs' interest. Finally, we had his attention! Just wait until he actually met Caesar himself...that attention would never waver, and humanity would be saved.

"He's...my son," I explained, shooting a glance in the trial area. Koba was still strapped to the table under heavy sedation, but I could have sworn that I saw one of his hands twitch. I blinked, inwardly shrugging it off and turning my back to Jacobs. "Adopted. He's different, but he doesn't mean any harm. If I bring him in, you have to promise that no harm is going to come to him before or after he talks to you..."

I'd told him that I had 'stolen' Caesar all those years ago, but he had no idea just who I was referring to; he wouldn't until Caesar actually came in, and it was then we would have to worry—myself most of all. I'd also told Jacobs that Caesar had passed on, but now he was back. Jacobs could easily call security, tell them everything, and then I would be arrested and thrown in jail for who knew how long. I wouldn't be able to protect him like I'd promised...

"I didn't know you had a son...is all this really necessary?" Jacobs asked, pointing towards the trial table. I noticed again that Koba's arm twitched this time, my stomach dropping in momentary shock at the movement.

My attention snapped back to Jacobs. We were getting closer...he was finally starting to listen!

"The 113 is dangerous," I began, "and I need you to see why it can't be tested. Not on humans, and not even on—"

SLAM.

Metal banged, and the four of us reacted instantly to the sharp sound.

"He's breaking out of the straps!" One of the scientists that I recognized as Donnie shouted, his mask unexpectedly knocked off when Koba kicked up at him with his feet.

"Hold him down!" Another one of the three cried, Donnie listening and reaching his arms to lock Koba onto the table. His attempt was pitifully unsuccessful, Koba surging his own arm forward to break the strap that forced him down. He took hold of Donnie's arm, twisting it in his strong grip. The scientist cried out, having no choice but to let go.

Jacobs brought out his phone, preparing to call for security, but I doubted that security would be of much help in this situation. Even though we'd only interacted once, I'd learned by just my tiny conversation with him that once Koba had his mind set on something, he would never break out of that mindset. Before Jacobs even had a chance to dial the number, Koba's mouth twitched...and to my horror, began to move.

The three scientists stood helplessly against the walls of the trial room, their eyes just as big and round as ours.

"I told you he talked," Donnie squeaked, holding his twisted arm. He was the only one whose mask was now laying on the floor, but it was exactly what Koba wanted; it only took one human to spread a deadly virus. The crazed bonobo ignored him.

"Do not warn others..." Koba growled out, his own eyes giving away his insanity as he stared Jacobs down. Free at last from his straps, he sat up on the table with the straps themselves hanging loose, continuing to stare directly at Jacobs with his single good eye.

"...What the hell...?" Jacobs breathed unevenly, his phone all but dropping in awe at his feet...awe that an ape was actually speaking...but it wasn't a good kind of awe at all. Maurice would have been a perfect ambassador for their kind along with Caesar, but Koba...? With his violent nature, there was only one way this was going to go down for the apes now—any chance they had at being trusted by humans was hopelessly and utterly lost...

"Let Koba out...or he releases virus and kills all three humans," the bonobo growled, fire burning in his eye.

Wait...wasn't his goal to release the 113, to unleash it on all of humanity so we would fall ill all over again? I remembered from our talk that he wanted to be let out, but his main goal was to destroy humans, and he had the ability to do that right here and now. I realized with just the tiniest bit of sympathy that in his delirium, he must be confused, making the situation ten times worse.

"Malcolm," I whispered, "secure the area. Lock the doors." He nodded, taking a small step to the side.

Koba wasn't happy with my statement.

"Don't move," he warned Malcolm, sliding off of the table so he could stand on two feet. Despite being under heavy sedation only moments ago, his adrenaline and craze must be keeping him perfectly upright.

"Malcolm...there's a red button near the exit of the lab. Pressing it will lock down everything and alert security," I said under my breath. Just like Franklin had done when Bright Eyes escaped. Koba could easily try and break through the glass, but in the state of mind that he was in, he was still trapped. There was no way out.

"Do it," I said, "no matter what he does." The world was depending on us.

Malcolm took one step off to the side, then another.

Just like I expected he would, Koba grabbed Donnie's second arm that he hadn't yet twisted, tightening his grip and pulling. The scientist screeched, his pain echoing all throughout the lab. If anyone else came in, they would be at risk of getting exposed to the virus if Koba released it. Two of the other scientists, even amidst their terror, started to rush forward to yank Koba off of Donnie. The bonobo only slammed a fist into one's stomach, and then slammed his other hand onto the ventilator...the ventilator that would release the 113. Out of the corner of my eye, Malcolm slowly rounded the corner and disappeared into the chimp holding area where the red button was located.

"Koba...it's not what you think," I said slowly and calmly as I could, staying a distance away from the glass and not daring to move an inch, should he snap and actually go through with his threat of killing the scientists. Jacobs glanced in my direction, his eyes narrowing at my words.

"You don't have to do this," I continued, "we can make a better future for both apes and humans." I didn't dare use Caesar's quote—apes together strong—nor my own variant with humans added in. Who knew what Koba would do then?

Caroline could only stare and hope that the ape wouldn't do what we already knew he would, anyway. It was no use.

"Koba must," he hissed his final two words before knocking the ventilator out of place. A blue substance filtered swiftly out of the machine, causing Donnie to cough and breathe in the virus.

No, no, no! Just like that...our chance at saving the human race was gone. But as long as it stayed in the contained trial area with the three humans...

"Will, what did you—" Jacobs began, taking notice of the blue gas. Alarms sounded, cutting him off and signaling that Malcolm had pushed the button.

The world suddenly rumbled, shaking so violently underneath our feet that we were thrown to the floor, including Koba behind the glass. The door to the trial area fared no better, shattering into millions of pieces and allowing for an escape that the bonobo could use. Smoke alarms mixed with the lockdown alerts, piercing our ears as the world continued to shake and break apart, caught between two different times—the future and the past—just as Caesar had been.

Then all was still. The lab was in ruins, glass everywhere. Though we could no longer see the blue virus, all of us knew that it had gotten out—that it had escaped.

Malcolm ran back up to us from the holding area, out of breath.

"There's a fire," he said, his voice urgent. "Gen-Sys is on fire!"

It had to have been caused by the shaking—by the world attempting to stabilize itself just as Caesar had done when I'd held his hand.

On one hand, if the lab was on fire...then there was still a chance the virus wouldn't break out if we kept ourselves contained.

On the other hand...

We were trapped inside of a flaming building with an angry bonobo who wanted us all dead, and I wasn't sure what was going to get us first—

Koba or the fire.

xxxx

I didn't know why, but one day after long hours of work and going home to my daughter Sarah, I couldn't control myself and broke down into tears. I held her close to my chest, unable to stop them from flowing.

When Malcolm first came to the hospital with Will, I was struck with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. It was like I knew him from somewhere, but I just couldn't place where exactly. It seemed that it had been happening a lot lately; an odd feeling of déjà vu that just wouldn't go away. When I was around Malcolm, it was ten times worse, so I just had to ask him if we'd met somewhere before. Then the man had the crazy idea to inject himself with a virus we knew hardly anything about until my patient, Will Rodman, woke from his coma.

It was known as the ALZ-112 virus, and had been invented to be the cure for Alzheimer's disease. After a failed experiment with a chimpanzee, the virus was destroyed by the lab, but then Will had created a stronger and faster version known as the ALZ-113. He'd explained that the future self of 'Caesar' had returned to the past to warn us that the 113 would eventually overtake all humans with death and sickness, and it was then I knew he must be telling the truth as the feeling of loss that occurred around my daughter came back full-force at his words.

Then he explained that the 112 helped with improving memory quality, but not just any kind of memories—memories of the future, as Malcolm had relayed Will's plan from Caroline to me. There had only been just enough of the 112 for Malcolm to take, so I was still left in the dark about a few things...like our relationship. He seemed more tense and awkward around me after I'd helped inject him with the virus, and I had a faint idea why...the overwhelming sense of loss only becoming greater.

"What can you remember...?" A gruff, slow voice pulled me out of the memory. I jumped in my seat a little, calming moments after when I recalled that the same chimpanzee from Will's story—Caesar—was still in the car with me. We were parked in the back lot now where there were less people, and hopefully no one would notice a large chimp such as himself. I had to admit he was doing a good job at laying low as Will had told us.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't exactly remember, as no images would come to mind of a future that I'd lost no matter how hard I tried. I could only feel that familiar sense of loss, and it was almost suffocating by now. I wondered if it had to do with Caesar being so close.

"I can't remember much," I admitted quietly in a whisper. "But Malcolm is very familiar, and I think he had a son..."

I didn't know why, but the name Alex came to mind. Caesar nodded, confirming that maybe I really had just remembered something important.

"I remember that you found me..." Caesar said, like he was trying to help trigger a memory. I appreciated the effort.

It must have been helping, because another 'memory' flashed. I could see Caesar himself laying still as stone on the ground, but then his eyes moved in my direction, letting me know that he was still alive...Alex standing besides me as I called out his father's name.

"You almost died...but how?" I questioned softly.

"You saved my life after I was shot...by ape," he returned with a gaze that stared straight into my very soul. It wasn't an intimidating gaze, but gentle. A gaze that had seen many things beyond its years, worn and tired yet full of hope that the future could turn out to be different.

"Never had a chance...to thank you," he finished with a small smile.

Caesar sat weakly in the back of the truck, his chest bleeding from the bullet wound.

"My son...my family...where?" He panted, looking up at me with eyes that pleaded to know if they were alright, but I didn't know anything...all I knew was that he'd been shot, causing all of the apes to turn against us, thinking we were the suspects. He needed medical attention—fast.

"I don't know," I said honestly with regret, shaking my head. "Try not to speak. You need to rest."

I took my hand in his, lifting it up to his chest to try and comfort him. "Home."

I gave my own smile in return when the memory ended, thankful that I was no longer in the dark about at least one thing; I knew the rest would come back to me eventually, and I was ready to face the loss that would come with it.

Before I could say anything more, the ground beneath the car began to shake. The world itself began to shake again just like it had when we'd first arrived much to our horror, the entire building of Gen-Sys following suit as if we were in an earthquake.

But it was more than just an earthquake, and I could tell that Caesar knew it, too.

The car's horn went off without being touched, swerving to the right as if I was actually driving and barely missing the car parked fairly close to us.

"Are you alright?" I asked Caesar when the horn finally stopped and all was still.

No response. Thinking it was just because I couldn't hear his reply through my ringing ears, I turned around in my seat...

Only to find that he was gone.

The horrifying smell of smoke reached my nose, and looking up...I discovered that flames were coming out of Gen-Sys—

And Caesar was heading fast right towards the building, out in the open for anyone to see.

"Caesar! Come back! Caesar!" I shouted, though I knew there wasn't any point in trying.

The lab was on fire.

Malcolm, Will and Caroline were still in there along with everyone else who worked inside.

Caesar was going to rescue them, and all I could do was wait and hope that they would make it back out.

Chapter Text

My body felt as if it was soaking wet when my mind woke. I was hardly able to lift an arm, it felt so heavy. Groaning slightly, I realized that it must be the sleepy gun's effects. I blinked wearily until the blurriness cleared, not surprised to find that I was back inside of a cage; I couldn't help but wonder if there would ever be a time when apes would be free from these horrid bars.

The new room I found myself in was dim with hardly any light, though I could just make out the shapes of other cages nearby. I thought I could see a dark blur inside one next to me, but couldn't be sure. Only when I noticed the shape begin to move did it confirm that the cage's prisoner was alive, and it was somewhat comforting to know that I wasn't alone in this strange place, though I didn't know whoever—or whatever—was trapped with me.

It wasn't until the shape moved, shifting in its (what I assumed through the dark) sleeping position and groaning did I tilt my head to the side warily. So it was alive...

"...Hello?" I let out slowly. My throat still hurt from the pole collars, but I could talk now through the pain. Even if it was another animal that couldn't understand human speech, it was better than signing through the dim light. I had to make sure it was alright, at least...we were both prisoners held by the same enemy. Until Will recovered from his accident, every human we would come across couldn't be trusted.

The unknown shape whimpered, hooting softly in response to my voice. So it must be another ape based on the sounds that he or she made, and I was more than happy to share our cramped space with a fellow chimp or orangutan, even a bonobo if it wasn't Koba of all apes. Though the ape most likely didn't share the same intelligence that I had regained thanks to Will, it was nice to have some company.

I had to wonder for a brief moment how...why I was still alive. The humans had shot me with the sleepy gun, and I hadn't expected to wake again. But here I was...

"Hello?" I tried asking again to see if the unknown ape would respond once more. I eyed the cage, squinting in order to see better. The creature's...arms, from what I could tell, moved. They seemed to be making certain shapes, but it was difficult to tell what kind of shapes in the dim light. Squinting harder, my eyes finally began to adjust. My head cleared just a little from the dizzy sensation that the sleepy gun had left me with, and the shape revealed itself from the shadows at last.

My heart nearly stopped. No...it couldn't be. Did I dare raise my hopes? The humans had said that he and the others were gone...but he was...

"...Rocket?" I breathed, relief overtaking my shock that he was alive—sitting right next to me in another cage. Looking further around the strange room, other cages lined the walls that also held an assortment of shapes, and my heart restarted and sped up quicker in complete and utter joy, so much that I thought it was going to burst. After all the talk between the two scientists, I'd assumed that when they had said the apes were 'gone,' they had meant dead.

But they were here. They were alive! My heart fluttered and sped up quicker in joy, but my body was still not able to comply with any commands I tried to give. The heavy feeling was still present, and I knew it must be because of the sleepy gun's effects.

Maurice? Rocket signed. You're awake!

"Yes," I said in response, turning my head left to right to try and get a better look at our surroundings. We seemed to be in some kind of holding room based on all the cages. "Where are we?"

I don't know, Rocket admitted through sign. A hidden room. One of the humans brought us here to keep us safe.

I instantly put two and two together. One of the two human scientists that I had heard talking about the apes being gone—they had never been gone in the first place. The scientist had lied to the other, hiding the fact that he had saved us from being killed. Just when I'd thought that all humans were equally as bad as Koba after Malcolm had left me behind in the lab, leaving only my determination to keep Will's promise that he'd made to Caesar, they proved me wrong again. How was it that so many were so different from each other?

I shook my thoughts away from the humans, coming back to my fellow apes. As long as we were in human hands, we were still in danger.

"Cornelia...is she alright?" I needed to know that Caesar's wife was okay. I couldn't see her from where I was, but Rocket nodded, albeit hesitant.

"What's wrong?" I asked, unable to bear the idea that she might be hurt.

I think she's in shock, Rocket answered. She's close to me, but hasn't tried to sign. She sees me, but her eyes are far away like I'm not here.

I blinked, allowing his words to sink in. Either Cornelia was physically hurt, or she had somehow remembered future events—most likely the death of Blue Eyes as well as her own death at the hands of the Colonel; such a horrid memory would be enough to send even the strongest ape into a state of shock. If I wasn't stuck in the cage, I wouldn't hesitate to wrap my arms around her in a pitiful attempt at comfort.

"Can you remember everything?" I asked, wondering what Rocket knew about the future.

Not at first, but now I do. I remember the shelter and Caesar setting us free. I remember the war that Koba started and how he killed my son...I remember finding a new home for us to live where the humans wouldn't find us, and Caesar dying...

He let out a sniff. I remember waking up in the shelter again, and now I can suddenly think more clearly. Maurice, how did we come back to the past?

"I don't know," I answered honestly. There seemed to be a lot of 'I don't knows' in this peculiar situation, but none of the questions that plagued our minds mattered at the moment, especially not how we had come back to the past. We were here, we were alive and that was all that mattered. But then another question surged forward that was too important to be ignored, a question that dealt with the humans' fate, and a sinking feeling pitted itself in the center of my stomach.

"Rocket, how did you and Cornelia regain your memories?" I questioned, hoping against all hope that I was wrong, that it hadn't somehow been released. Of course, it wasn't hard to figure out how it could have been released—it had been Koba's plan all along to cooperate with the humans until the time was right to take his plan into action.

Rocket shrugged. Another 'I don't know' answer, but I already had a faint idea of how he could possibly remember the future.

My cage suddenly began to rumble, trembling as loud noises crashed and banged from outside. Human screams could be heard in response to an enemy we couldn't see from inside the room, and I couldn't help but wonder if they were destroying each other again.

The shaking gradually lessened until it stopped completely, much to our relief.

But the relief didn't last long.

Do you smell that? Rocket signed, his nose twitching at a familiar smell that we knew well—the smell that had overtaken our home when Koba had declared Caesar dead, that Malcolm and his family were to blame—that all-out war had begun after our beloved leader had been shot.

I nodded as the scorching scent of burning flames wafted into the room. My joy that the others were alive was just as quickly dashed as the horrible realization set itself in stone that maybe we weren't going to be alive much longer.

The lab had caught on fire, and we were trapped.

xxxx

He was still laying on the ground from when the world had shaken—Koba. By some miracle, he hadn't yet come to his 'senses,' whatever those were. The other two scientists lay next to him face down and unmoving, Donnie on the floor as well and holding his arms stiffly that Koba had so badly twisted; I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually broken.

"We're trapped, aren't we?" Donnie asked frantically, his eyes darting left to right in search of an escape. But there was no escape; the lab was completely locked down, and even if security had heard the alert, they wouldn't be able to open the doors.

We had been exposed to the virus—there was no way out.

"We're exposed...we can't even try to get out!" Jacobs nearly shouted, groaning as he shifted in the awkward position that he had fallen. I myself was on the floor with everyone else, including Caroline. Only Malcolm still stood, bending to help her up first. She smiled her thanks, coughing amongst all the debris that surrounded us on either side of the trial area from the world shaking.

Jacobs attempted to lift himself onto two feet, only to fall back down. He grunted, trying to move his left foot, but to no avail; it looked like it had gotten sprained during the chaos, twisted at an odd angle like Donnie's arms. But surprisingly, he didn't seem to care about his hurt foot. He turned his head towards me, giving a death glare that didn't exactly faze me; I did what needed to be done—I had to stop him from going through with the experiment and it looked like the world agreed, helping to change the past for the better.

Donnie pointed a finger sharply in Koba's direction, only to cringe in pain soon after. "What the hell was that? I mean, I knew he talked, but how?"

We had more important things to worry about than a talking animal, and Jacobs knew it. He never broke his evil eye with me.

"Will...what's going on? Why was the 113 blue?" Jacobs demanded. He'd noticed that the 113 had come out a different color than it was supposed to, and only I knew exactly why.

Donnie blinked, shocked at his boss's words and looking in my direction with wide eyes. Caroline and Malcolm both held the same expression of shock, but it was a better kind...a more hopeful kind of shock that maybe, just maybe things weren't as bad as they currently seemed.

I shifted my position from where I had fallen face first. My arms had thankfully broken the fall and I had come out of the trembling mostly unscathed. I winced lightly as I sat up straighter.

Before I could come up with an explanation, however, the building trembled for a second time. All of us still awake looked up at the lights and they flickered in tune with the shaking until they gave out, turning the entire room into an endless black hole—giving us one more thing to worry about besides the fire that was sure to reach us, and especially Koba now that we couldn't see if he had woken up or where he was.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked through the darkness.

No response.

"Caroline?" I tried. She didn't answer, and it seemed that no one was able to reply. Shapes began to form in the darkness, morphing into something strangely familiar, yet frighteningly unfamiliar.

The darkness turned to light, allowing me to see that I was no longer in Gen-Sys, but in...my home? I found myself laying on the couch, my entire body so sore I could hardly move.

The virus had gotten Caroline first out of the two of us. She'd sneezed blood unexpectedly one night in the kitchen, and had gotten progressively worse as time wore on no matter how many doctors we went to see, until it seemed that even the doctors themselves were getting sick and could no longer help their patients. She passed away in the same bed where dad had refused the 113 treatment, leaving me alone to face what I had created—a virus that was meant to cure Alzheimer's, but in the end had caused more pain and death than I could have ever imagined...and it was all my fault. The entire human race was paying for the mistake I'd made, and with everyone sick, there was no way I could be punished as I rightfully should be.

So I allowed the virus to take its hold on my body, hardly bothering to even try and get up from the couch that I had decided to make my deathbed; I didn't deserve anything more comfortable to pass on in.

I ran a hand weakly over a framed picture of Caesar and I during happier times before the virus had broken out, before he had attacked our neighbor and had to be sent away.

"I'm-I'm sorry," I apologized in a pitiful wheeze. Sorry for Caesar and everything he'd been through that had made him want to escape the shelter and fight his way across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir Woods, where the apes would live peacefully as the humans around them died off one by one until there wasn't any of us left. Sorry for the virus I had created that was going to destroy us.

If I was going to die alone in my own home without my family, then so be it.

It was what I deserved for destroying the entire world.

I gasped as the sharp, putrid smell of nothing other than smoke clogged my nose, forcing me to cough. The lights in the lab were still off, but the fire must be getting closer based on how strong the smell was now.

"Will?" I sighed in relief when Malcolm spoke my name, happy to know that at least one of us was okay.

The lights flickered, thankfully switching themselves on once again. Caroline was still standing with Malcolm after he'd helped her up off the floor, and Jacobs...

Jacobs was face-to-face with a certain, insane and growling bonobo that had finally woken from his unconscious state. He leaned over Jacobs and just from seeing his wide-eyed, terrified expression, my former boss had regained some—or all—of his memories thanks to the virus that had broken out because of said bonobo.

There was barely any time to react, so I pulled myself up quickly as possible.

"Koba, no!" I shrieked, pushing Jacobs out of the way just in time as he leapt in the air directly at his target, fully intending to rip his face apart. Jacobs landed harshly to the side, hissing in pain and holding his sprained foot. The bonobo missed his target, falling to the floor with a sharp thud. He turned once he was stable, his good eye flaring that I had dared to interfere.

Enraged, Koba leapt for my throat. He wrapped his hands around my neck, squeezing so tight that I could barely breathe.

"G-go. Go!" I managed to shout at Malcolm and Caroline. They raced to Jacobs, helping him to his feet. Even with a sprained foot, he was still able to move quickly with the help of the adrenaline and fear that he had to get away from Koba.

My vision was slowly becoming blurry, fading away bit by bit as Koba stole my ability to breathe. He loosened his hands every once in awhile, allowing air to come back in for a short time before squeezing again. My mind reeled—he was torturing me and enjoying it. I could only hope that the others had gotten away safely, but with the lab contained, there was no way for them to get out. The only thing they could do was find a tranquilizer or something that they could use to protect themselves.

Koba's grip continued to tighten, and he refused to let go of my throat this time. My vision began to give into the black. Despite knowing there was no escape from this monster's insanity, I was at an odd sort of peace.

I deserved it. I deserved to die for trying to play God, for condemning humanity to a fate I was responsible for creating.

Just when I could see no more, the dark suddenly receded and the grip on my neck let go altogether. Gasping unevenly in and out, I held my neck as I looked to see my savior—

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and my head shot around.

"Franklin!" The chimp handler held a tranquilizer aimed right at Koba to get him off of me, and the bonobo slid back slowly to the floor. Franklin had opened the lab—now we weren't the only ones at risk of being exposed...

"Doc, you're back," Franklin said in surprise that I had returned so soon from my accident. "I couldn't leave them in here," he said frantically, nodding towards the area where Koba had been held. Other apes that were used in experiments were still trapped in their cages, crying loudly to get out. "I had a crazy dream and tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. There's a chance the virus could dissipate in the air when it's released with the smoke," Franklin said more to himself than me. "I couldn't leave you guys trapped in here, either."

"It's okay," I said calmly as possible in return. The virus had been released and a raging fire was getting closer by the minute. How could things get any worse? "We have to hurry. There's something I need to do first."

Franklin and I, including Jacobs even with his hurt foot, helped to release each of the apes trapped in their cages, while Malcolm and Caroline stayed in the trial room to help Donnie and the other two unconscious scientists.

"Do you remember...?" I had to ask as Jacobs limped forward to assess the damage done by the shaking. He simply nodded, staring blindly into space as he watched me move a trapped chimpanzee from its destroyed cage, the debris making it difficult for the ape to get out by itself.

"...He killed me," Jacobs answered. I blinked in shock at his words, remembering how Koba said exactly the same thing when he mentioned Caesar killing him.

Jacobs shut his eyes as he recalled his part in the future. "I was stuck in a helicopter on the Golden Gate after the fight was over. The ape leader...your son...allowed 'Koba' to let me fall off the edge."

Koba's first taste of vengeance against the humans who had caused him so much pain, especially Jacobs.

"That's what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it? That the 113 was dangerous and Koba knew it. It was his plan to release it on us."

It was more than astounding hearing Jacobs talk in such a way—admitting that he had been wrong—and using Koba's name like he was another person instead of the single word 'it.' Another chimp still stuck in its cage whimpered, and Jacobs moved a bit of glass away with his bare hands. The chimp instantly leapt up not towards me, but...Jacobs? The head of Gen-Sys labs braced himself, only to be...hugged?

Shocked, it was all Jacobs could do to wrap his own arms around the frightened animal.

"I'm sorry," he murmured so quietly I could hardly hear.

One of the other apes made a signal in my direction when freedom was wide open, and it took a second for me to realize that the ape had signed.

Thank you, she motioned before leaping out of her cage to escape. Checking her nameplate on the cage, it read 'Tinker.' When all three apes were free at last, we made our way towards the lab's exit that had been opened by Franklin when he'd entered.

Franklin himself stopped before we could go any further.

"I can't leave yet," he said, coughing through the smoke that was becoming worse by the minute. The fire was going to reach us any moment, and we didn't want to hang around any longer than we had to. "They're still alive."

It immediately clicked who he was talking about.

"...Maurice?" My eyes widened in disbelief as he nodded, and Jacobs even more so. They narrowed, hardly believing that one of his own employees had gone behind his back. Well, it hadn't been the first time. Since Franklin had to put down an entire group of apes after the Bright Eyes incident, it was easy to understand why he wouldn't want to have to do it again.

"If we get out of this," Jacobs grumbled with the chimp still hanging from his chest. I had to admit despite the situation that the sight was downright weird and adorable at the same time. "You're fired, too," he finished.

Franklin just smiled, more than happy to see Jacobs actually getting along with an ape. He had done what he needed to do, and that was save the apes from being put down. If we got out of this as Jacobs said, and that was a pretty big if with the flames getting closer and the smoke becoming heavier, there wouldn't be a company to come back to and get fired from.

Two of the apes who had been freed from their prisons went to the scientists still unconscious but coming around, wrapping their arms around their shoulders to help Malcolm and Caroline lift them up onto flat carts usually meant for apes. The scientists groaned, confused by the kind of help they were receiving, but grateful all the same.

The flames were beginning to lick the newly opened doors, and we could almost feel the heat enveloping the lab.

xxxx

I stopped behind the others when we reached the exit. Caroline and Malcolm turned to see why my feet had stopped moving, their gazes questioning.

"You go with them. Save Maurice and the others, help Donnie and Jacobs. I have to stay," I said quietly.

"What?!" Caroline cried. "Why?"

"You need to get out. There's no time!" I pushed. "Please, just go."

"I can't leave you here," Caroline argued with a pleading voice, her eyes shining. "Tell me why."

There was no time to explain with the fire creeping ever closer, but I owed them that much.

"The 113 has to be destroyed!" I shouted.

"But didn't it already get out?!" Franklin shouted back.

I shook my head wildly. "No."

"What do you mean 'no?'" Malcolm questioned, just as frantic. They had to go!

"The 113 wasn't released. I have to destroy it," I explained calmly as possible.

"It could be destroyed in the heat," Franklin tried to reason, to which I only shook my head.

"Not the 113. I created it to be stronger and faster than the 112. If it gets out with the fire, there's a higher chance it could be spread around the world."

"So you're saying...the virus that was released just now wasn't the 113?" Malcolm asked. I nodded.

"...I may have switched the 113 plans with the 112," I revealed slowly, shooting Jacobs a smirk despite the situation.

Caroline's eyes widened as she processed what this meant. There was still a chance we could get out without exposing anyone...but more than that, there was still a chance that humanity could be saved, that we could start over and have a second chance to do things better.

"But Will...how? When?" She questioned.

"When I helped Maurice regain his memories," I explained. I had secured the 113 in the lab in such a way that no one would be able to reach it without my help. I hadn't had enough time to create more than one capsule for the 112 virus, only just enough so the orangutan could remember future events and we could get a better understanding of what we were dealing with.

I continued my explanation. "One of the protocols of Gen-Sys, or any lab really, is to always throw away what you use after experiments, especially with animals. I didn't let you finish the first test with the 113, no, but you still had to throw away what you 'used.' Knowing this, I secured what was left of the 113 that was still able to be used, and switched it with the 112 plans so you would have to create the virus again before using it. Just in case we couldn't convince you not to use it."

It was hard to tell, but Jacobs lightly squeezed the chimp in frustration yet understanding, and the animal squeezed back for comfort.

"Now go. I have to do this," I said firmly enough for Caroline to nod and wrap her arms around me in a hug.

"Please come back," she whispered, releasing her grip. I remained silent, unwilling to make any promises I couldn't keep, and she understood.

"Malcolm...thank you. For everything," I told the man we had crossed paths with so unexpectedly. He'd saved my life after finding me on the road and calling for help, after all. "Take care of Caesar."

Malcolm nodded. "You do what you have to," he said, taking quick steps backwards with the others. "We won't let anything happen to them."

I waited until they were completely out of sight to make sure they were gone, that no one had tried to stop and come back to convince me otherwise. Then I turned to go back into the lab where I had secured the 113—

Only to be tackled to the floor by a now-awake Koba that just couldn't seem to be stopped in his rage, not even with a tranquilizer. I could almost feel his fury along with the flames, realizing that he must have overheard me talking about the 113 and how I'd switched it with the 112.

He was far beyond angry and more than insane, pinning me to the floor. I struggled, making a pitiful attempt to throw him off, but he was rooted to my chest, pounding it with his hands and knocking the breath out of me. He was going to make sure I didn't get up this time, and there was no one here to save me. I couldn't allow myself to give in yet—humanity was resting on my shoulders, and I was not going to die with the burden of its destruction once again. Still I struggled, unable to rid myself of the bonobo that refused to let go.

I was going to die, and Koba was going to make sure of it. Only one more blow—

A dark blur suddenly shot over me, shoving Koba off of my chest.

xxxx

Running into a flaming building wasn't one of my wiser choices, but that was just it; I had no choice. Will, Malcolm and Caroline were still in there, and even if human help was on the way, I couldn't leave them to face their fate. Humans around me screamed as they ran towards the entrance I had come through, hardly paying attention to an ape like me on the loose.

I could clearly remember the lab we had broken into in the future in order to release our fellow apes. Flames spurted and I dodged, the heat strong against my fur. The fire was small for now, but it was going to get bigger as it spread. I remained low to the floor where it was easier to breathe, avoiding the different kinds of chemicals that must be mixed in with the smoke.

I didn't think twice when I finally spotted Will, my heart first leaping in joy that I'd found my father, then terror when the horrible realization thrust itself upon me that he was being attacked. Without hesitation I sent the ape sprawling to the floor to get him off of my human father, panting uncontrollably. If we didn't leave soon, we would perish. When Will remained laying face up, red spotting his body, I feared the worst. Then much to my relief, he twitched, moving slightly. His movements became quicker as if he'd realized something important, going in the opposite direction from the exit. Neither of us needed words to tell the other that something was wrong, that the human race was still in danger and he had to stop it, struggling to his feet.

I had to buy him time from the enemy that had attacked him, unwilling to let the attacker out of my sights until he had paid for hurting my father. When his face came into view, I almost shied away at the very image that had haunted my dreams for so long. He was the last ape that I expected to return to the past, somehow believing that Time would not affect him and he would stay gone forever—how wrong I was.

"Koba..." I began, unable to finish whatever had come to mind.

"...Caesar...?" His gravelly voice was just as shocked, if not more so than I was to see that his leader had returned. "How...Maurice said you died by arrow..."

Maurice. I wondered where he and the others were, especially Cornelia. I hadn't had the slightest idea where to look on the way here, only knowing that Will was in trouble, that I had to save him from the fire. He was the only one I could see, realizing that Malcolm must have left with Caroline and anyone else that had still been inside. I could only hope they were far away from the smoke and flame-filled building, out of harm's way.

"Apes all dead," Koba sneered. I stopped in my tracks, shaking my head to rid myself of his venomous words. "Maurice...Cornelia...Rocket...Will killed them all."

Will would never commit an act so horrible, and Koba knew I was unfazed by his truthless words. He needed to be calmed, to be brought out of his psychotic state before the fire grew worse. Flames singed our fur, our breathing labored due to the smoke...

"We can start over," I said, deciding to fight the lies with truth. I refused to fight him again. If I even laid a finger on him, my nightmares would only return stronger than before. "This is the past."

"We can never go back. We are already here," Koba growled, his stance tense and watching my every move should I attack first. He was still set in his ways from the future. Why couldn't he listen? He hadn't committed any of the horrible acts that he had in the future yet. If I could find it in myself to forgive him, the others could too and we would be able to start a new life among humans...

"Caesar pathetic...humans will never change. Why should I?" Koba hissed. "Caesar gave them so many chances for peace. They threw chances all away, leading to your own death. How can Caesar still take their side?"

"I know both sides of the humans. The good outnumber the bad," I insisted, recalling Maurice's words of only knowing their bad side. "They do not deserve this. We have a second chance to start over. Both of us."

He only stared at me harder, his tense stance never faltering. In a split second, he decided to rush towards Will. I had no choice but to grab him from behind by his legs, yanking him back to the floor.

"Why protect human that treats you like pet?" Koba demanded, refusing to show weakness as he lifted himself back up. "The human that started virus?"

"Humans learn from their mistakes...fix them." I said in Will's defense. "My father learned...knowledge is power," I recited one of the three most important ape laws. By warning him about the future, Will was able to try and fix the damage that was going to be done.

Koba growled, hardly having a second chance to rush for Will before I tackled him.

"Koba," I said gently, but he was far past the point of being calmed in any way, shape or form.

"Tommy," he seethed, enraged. Koba had never been one to share much of his past, but this 'Tommy' that he spoke of had to be part of it—most likely a human who had caused him much pain and torture.

He didn't see me—Caesar—anymore; he saw Tommy.

"Apes and humans together...strong," I repeated Will's words.

It was the final straw, but before he could make the first leap to fight...

The world rumbled once more and his entire body began fading in and out in time to the shakes, just like mine had done when I'd first arrived in the past. I could remember the feeling of being torn in two, like my arms were being stretched to their limits. The feeling was almost unbearable until Will had taken my hand, reassuring me that it was okay—that I was here and here to stay.

The feeling of fading from existence wasn't something that I would wish on even my worst enemy. Hesitantly, I reached a hand out for Koba to take, assuming my touch would stabilize him like Will's had done for me. But Koba refused to take it, backing away in terror at the odd phenomenon that was happening.

Then, to my surprise, he began to...shrink? His body continued to flicker, shortening after each interval. His growls turned into cries, his cries into whimpers that could hardly be heard over the roar of the flames.

I could feel Will's presence by my side as he stared down with just as much confusion at the new and vulnerable bundle that I picked up into my arms, that I had rushed into the building when I was supposed to stay with Ellie.

"It's gone...the 113 isn't a threat anymore," he confirmed in a wheeze.

"We need to go," I said as the heat became almost unbearable. We could still make it out of this...we had to...especially now that I held such a tiny life in my arms.

But then I noticed that Will could hardly move. Koba had taken a toll on him, red still seeping down his face. It couldn't be the virus that had affected him...he'd managed to stop it.

He gripped his chest like it was difficult for him to breathe and his footing faltered, forcing him to fall to the lab floor in a heap.

I inched to his side on all fours with one arm raised to carry the new, small weight.

"We have to go," I said again, gripping his shirt sleeve and tugging it gently. He winced even from the light touch, and I knew then that he must be in even worse pain than I thought.

"You need to go...both of you," he gasped, nearly choking on his words.

"I can't leave you," I said in almost a whine, shaking my head in disagreement. He was my father. I would not leave him here to die alone...

I moved underneath his shoulder to lift his arm up, only to cause him to groan sharply in extra pain.

"Go...get out," Will moaned more sternly this time.

"You saved me...now I have to save you," I grunted, pushing his backside with my head to try and lift him upwards, only to have him slide back down as soon as my assistance left him.

I searched the lab for anything that could be of use, but Will shook his head. "All gone."

As much as my aching heart told me otherwise, that there had to be a way to save my father, the logical side of me knew it was no use. He couldn't move, and I couldn't drag him without doing more damage. There was nothing here I could use to help me move him, and both of us knew it.

"That's the anchor," Will gasped. "I have to stay. I was the one that caused all of this...the world needs me gone so there's no chance of the virus spreading again."

It didn't make any sense. If Will was gone, that didn't mean his absence would be an anchor and stabilize the world! What if I disappeared because my anchor was gone?

"You're...wrong." I panted, lowering myself further from the smoke that suffocated my lungs.

"You live a good life," Will said, ignoring my words and staring up at me with eyes that I noticed had changed from brown to green. "Promise."

I blinked to ward off tears, but they did not cooperate. Like Koba, they did not listen and slid downwards, cooling my burning fur just a little. "I...I promise," I said, taking more than hesitant steps backwards.

I couldn't do it, but looking down at the bundle held in my arms, I had to. For the both of us.

I turned my back on the one who had raised me and ran before the fire could catch up.

xxxx

I stood with Caroline, Ellie, and Franklin outside of the lab that was about to give into the vicious flames that overtook the inside like the roar of a monster at the dusk setting in. Firetrucks had arrived, desperate to put the heated enemy out before it could get any worse. The two scientists that had fallen during the shaking were already in an ambulance, and Donnie's twisted arms were being treated as well as Jacobs' sprained foot with the chimp—surprisingly—still holding onto his shoulders.

We did it. We'd made it out, but there were still two other people inside that had to make it out, too. The fire had transformed into something too strong for even the firefighters to handle due to the numerous chemicals inside of Gen-Sys, making it too dangerous to even attempt going in to rescue any victims stuck inside. They would have to wait until the building collapsed to search for survivors.

Still no sign of Will, nor Caesar.

"Malcolm...what if..." Maurice grumbled sorrowfully in a whisper so no one else would hear, his once-bright orange fur now dark and covered in ash.

"They just need a little more time," I whispered in return. I'd been more than overjoyed to find that Franklin hadn't been lying, that the apes really were still alive, and Maurice even more so when we saw each other and he realized that I hadn't abandoned him after all. Though with the joy came shock that Caesar was nowhere to be found outside, and we all knew where he had gone without Ellie having to explain.

It took some convincing, but the police allowed Maurice and the other apes to remain free while Ellie helped those wounded or in shock, including Cornelia.

"They'll make it," I said more firmly to concrete my belief. It was hard to believe, exactly, when the ground beneath our feet trembled once again and Gen-Sys unexpectedly faded in and out just as Caesar had done upon arriving in the past. The fading continued until finally it stopped, and the ground stabilized once again.

...Was it over?

"Look!" Caroline suddenly shouted, pointing towards the entrance. Both apes and humans followed her gaze, eyes widening when a shape appeared through the smoke.

His eyes laid on Maurice for a split second, but they did not see. The worn, soot-covered chimpanzee collapsed and we rushed to his side before the police could hold us back.

Ellie already set to work as other paramedics set in, unprepared to help a chimpanzee of all animals but listening and following her instructions.

What I noticed most aside from Caesar's labored breathing and the ash that covered his fur was an odd, tiny shape. Maurice looked up at me like I had an answer, his bright green eyes just as wide and confused.

Gripped tightly in Caesar's arms was a tiny, whimpering baby bonobo.

Chapter Text

The faint sound of beeping alerted me to the waking world, blinking my eyes wearily until life came into focus. White walls surrounded me on either side except for curtains that covered the windows, and a box with strings sat next to the equally white, soft bed that I found myself in. Something sharp poked the back of my hand, and a clear mask rested directly on my face, offering clean air in stark contrast to the smoke-filled lab I realized I had successfully escaped from.

...I was in a hospital? A human hospital, no less. I hadn't really been sure where I would wake after collapsing in the lab's parking lot, especially after falling in front of a crowd of humans besides Malcolm and the others.

Voices made themselves known and at first I couldn't pinpoint their location, but then I glanced up slowly to see a black...television, if I remembered correctly, playing images of the events that had taken place earlier.

My heart sank even further when Gen-Sys was shown on screen—or what was left of it. Hardly anything at all, leaving absolutely no chance for Will to somehow, miraculously escape.

Will...

"Can you describe what happened here yesterday?" A woman holding a microphone asked a dark-skinned man standing next to her. Eyes widening, I realized that the man was...familiar...one of the humans in Malcolm's group that had helped to fix the lights.

"Well, it was the strangest thing I've ever experienced," the man answered, the name 'Foster' appearing on screen to show who he was, and confirming my suspicions. We had never interacted much, but it was strange and almost...comforting to see another familiar face from the future.

"The ground started shaking like we were in an earthquake," Foster continued, "and then the fire started inside Gen-Sys. But the strangest thing of all...and I know this is going to sound crazy...is that the building started fading in and out."

"Fading in...and out?" The news reporter repeated, skeptical and unbelieving of his words. I didn't blame her; I had hardly believed it myself as Time had tried desperately to stabilize, causing chaos in the process and even turning one of my most formidable enemies back into a newborn.

"They said it was the chemicals from the fire messing with us, but I know what I saw," Foster said, unwavering from his belief that something beyond his comprehension had gone on inside...and outside the lab.

"I don't even think the fading was the strangest thing," another man stepped in. The news reporter tilted her microphone towards him, eagerly awaiting another explanation. "An ape helped me get out. A big orangutan."

A big orangutan, his words echoed. It had to be Maurice! I could faintly remember seeing my friend upon escape, and how big his eyes grew as they landed on a leader that he thought had been dead. I could only imagine his reaction when we finally met face-to-face, confirming that I was indeed alive and well.

"Thank you so much, Foster and..."

"Kemp," the other man supplied.

The woman nodded and turned away from the two, facing the screen again.

"The head of Gen-Sys, Steven Jacobs, says that the fire was non-toxic and that the apes—used primarily for experiments—are being taken care of. One of the chimpanzees was sent to the nearest hospital in critical condition where he will be treated..."

Her words faded away, the only thing I could hear being her specific words about the apes. So the others were safe...I could almost breathe a sigh of relief, but didn't allow myself the luxury. Only when we were all together in a safe place—a new home—would I allow myself to do such a thing.

The door to the white room suddenly opened, tearing my attention away from the television. Ellie came into view, smiling when she saw that I was awake and turning it off with a controller so she could speak with me.

"You had to come here in an ambulance, just like a human," she started, as if knowing what I had been inwardly questioning (why had I been placed in a hospital?)

"How are you feeling? Any pain?" She asked gently. "Difficulty breathing?"

"No," I answered quietly, shaking my head in a gentle motion.

Silence for a moment. I could tell that she wanted to know about...him. So that she could say something to Caroline, who must be waiting outside for any kind of news. I squeezed my eyes shut at the horrible memory of having to leave him as scorching flames surrounded us on either side, all the while protecting the one who had rendered him unable to leave in the first place.

"Koba…enemy ape…attacked him…badly. I was too late to save him..."

Had he been telling the truth, that Time needed him gone in order to stabilize itself—a horrible sort of exchange? Or had he known that he was too broken from Koba's beatings, using Time as an excuse to get me to leave faster? Or had he just been overcome with guilt for causing humanity's near-extinction that he actually wanted to die? I didn't know what to think about the third explanation. The virus was no longer a threat after its destruction, so it had to be the second reason. I was too numb to think straight, unable to feel anything except the grief that slowly clawed its way to the surface.

"I'm sorry..." Ellie whispered softly. A trace of fear flashed in her emerald eyes at the mention of Koba, and I wondered if she could remember him now—how he had blamed her family for my death, sending apes after them. "You tried your best; I'm sure he knew that."

Did he? I supposed that I would never know. What difference would it make if Will knew that I had tried my best to get him out? He was gone either way and there was nothing I could do. I only hoped that he was not stuck in the In-Between as I was after my own death…but the arrow that struck me had taken place in the future and hadn't happened. Will's death had taken place now and could not be reversed.

It just wasn't fair. We were supposed to begin a new life—a new future together with both human and ape, as we had both hoped would one day happen after this was all over. But now he was gone and no longer here to share in our new beginnings…if we were indeed successful, my father would not be there to see all we had accomplished, to see our new home and to see that we could set aside our differences. He was supposed to keep his promise to me, not make a new one that I would have to keep.

You live a good life...promise.

It felt like I was drowning now, my heart heavy with grief in the black depths. I would take not knowing Will's fate again over leaving him to die in burning flames, wishing I could relish in ignorance that he had not died from the virus, but had somehow survived and escaped the city…but it was all a fool's dream.

"Apes…where?" I would have demanded if I could, if not for my voice that was still weak from the deadly smoke. I needed to distract myself from my heavy heart and go back to concentrating on what Will had given his life for. If I allowed despair to overtake me so much that I could not go on, his sacrifice would be in vain and I could not allow that to happen.

Ellie remained silent at first, her eyes downcast. Just by her expression I feared the worst, that something might have happened to them after I had collapsed.

"They had to be sent back to the shelter," she answered finally, hesitantly.

My body jerked almost involuntarily in the bed, knocking my mask off when she fell silent once more. She hurriedly bent over, reaching an arm forward to put it back in place. I resisted, determined to get up and run straight to the shelter itself. It couldn't be…not after everything we'd been through. They couldn't be back in that horrible place!

"Caesar," she said firmly as I struggled in her grip on my shoulders. I didn't want to hurt her, but if I had to...

"Caesar. You need to stay calm. You're still recovering."

I panted, still struggling and paying no mind to my body's screaming, burning muscles that thought they hadn't yet left the flaming lab.

"I can give you medicine to calm you down," Ellie stated in a desperate effort for me to still myself. It wasn't a threat, but an opportunity for me to listen and help me recover as she wanted; as I wanted. If I didn't help myself heal, what good would I be to the others? I forced myself to lay frozen, and she loosened her grip. I looked up at her with pleading eyes, begging to let me go.

She only shook her head. "There was nothing we could do—if we refused or tried to keep them with us, we would have been sent to jail where we couldn't help them."

Jail. The human version of the shelter where bad people went for not following the law...I nodded gently in understanding. If she or Malcolm and Caroline were sent to jail, there would be nothing any of them could do for my family.

"You were an exception since the owner didn't recognize you," Ellie continued wearily, "and you needed treatment after the fire. Once you're better, that's where they want to send you, too. But I promise we'll figure something out."

I had to wonder who 'they' were that she was referring to, but none of that mattered. What mattered was that I had gotten out of the fire alive, that Will's sacrifice hadn't been in vain. I'd managed to get both myself and the newly transformed Koba out of there quickly as possible before the fire overtook everything, and I hoped Koba himself was alright if he had been taken to the shelter, as well. I knew Maurice would be willing to care for him and perhaps one of the females, but other apes would certainly question having to care for the ape who started the war between humans.

"Where's...Koba?" I asked just to be sure.

"The baby?" Ellie asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. She hadn't been present when Time had turned the tables and changed him back into his younger, scar-free self, but she managed to put two and two together quicker than expected. "He went to the shelter, too. One of the females is taking care of him."

Perhaps Cornelia? I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of here, to run straight to that horrible place and repeat future events by letting them out. I needed to be reunited at last with my wife, to comfort her through all of the confusion and pain that she must hold since remembering what had happened to herself and Blue Eyes.

"Caroline and Malcolm are waiting outside," Ellie said before turning to leave. "Just let me know if you'd like any visitors. I'll be back to check on you in a little while." She gave a final, soft smile and disappeared.

I was left alone with nothing but my thoughts. Now that the virus was destroyed, the humans had nothing more to worry about; if the majority even remembered the future, that is. We could find a new home and live alongside each other in peace, especially since the humans—besides a select few—did not know that we had regained our intelligence through the fire. Some humans were already grateful to the apes for helping them get out...

But was it really going to be that easy?

xxxx

We were back.

After everything we had been through, we were back at the shelter—the one place I never wanted to return to ever again. Now that we had regained our intelligence, the cramped cages were even worse. The way the owners treated us was even worse, and the food quality was just as bad; I yearned for another orange like the one Will had given me.

Will...

He'd never gotten out of the building along with Caesar, and I feared the worst.

Caesar...

I could hardly believe my eyes when his ash-covered form exited the lab and his eyes met mine, but they were far away...confirming Will's death. The scientist just couldn't be gone...not the one who had helped me regain my memories...not the one who was so close to helping all of us escape...but deep down, I knew it was true.

Will was gone. More than anything, I hoped against all hope that Caesar was alright. He had been taken away in a flashing, loud and moving human machine, and I could only assume that he had been taken somewhere safe.

Glancing around at the other cages, it was more than noticeable that my fellow apes were not at all happy upon returning to one of their worst past memories, either. Rocket locked eyes with me, immediately signing his displeasure.

We have to get out of here.

But was it wise? Now that the virus was destroyed, the humans were not going to simply die off one by one like before. We'd been lucky after our first escape that they had gotten so sick they hadn't been able to come after us in the redwoods, and I highly doubted that it would be the same this time. The humans weren't going to get sick, so if we escaped and they discovered how smart we really were, they would only come after us again...and be successful.

We should wait, I signed back to Rocket. He shook his head in quick disagreement, giving out a loud grunt.

We have to wait and see what happens, I continued to sign. I don't like it either, but Malcolm and the others might be able to get us out. It's not safe outside like it once was before...and we have a little one to look after, now.

Even though his bad eye had somehow returned to normal and he was shorter—younger than usual, we all knew who he was. It couldn't be mistaken. None of us—only Caesar—knew the answer as to how or why. All that we knew was Koba had somehow been reverted to a baby.

I could just make out Tinker in her cage. She held little Koba in her arms lovingly, and Rocket looked on with an unreadable expression. The bonobo had been the cause of his son's death, after all. Of course Tinker knew this as well, but her motherly instincts must be taking over since Ash had yet to be born.

Had Rocket met Koba before the latter turned back into a baby, their confrontation would not have been pretty. Maybe Tinker simply took into account the fact that Koba wasn't exactly Koba anymore, only seeing a newborn bonobo who needed a mother, and she was more than willing to step into the role until Ash was born again. Not that she would stop caring for Koba when her son returned, but just because it was in her gentle and caring heart to give Koba a loving home. Caesar had almost sacrificed his life for our former enemy, and she wasn't about to let the noble deed go to waste.

The only thing we could do was wait for our fate to come to us, no matter how much we detested being thrown back into an undesirable part of our lives.

xxxx

Fate came much sooner than I thought it would.

The shelter was dark and we were supposed to be asleep, but I just couldn't lay down and give myself up to the tempting need to rest. Ever since we had arrived again, I was on high alert, and it was the same for Rocket. The least we could do was keep watch over our newly reawakened family, protecting them from Dodge. The boy was just as unhappy to see us as we were unhappy to see him, and he made sure that his unhappiness was known by giving me the sloppiest dinner yet, zapping my cage with his stick.

"I can't believe that idiot tried taking you away," he scoffed, spitting directly into my cage. "You're never getting out of here. He deserved to die in that fire."

I could only growl, making my stance bigger and causing Dodge to step away from my sudden, unusual aggression when I was supposedly one of the more calmer and gentle apes.

Will was not an idiot and he did not deserve to die in the fire; no one deserved to die in a horrible situation like that. I couldn't let Dodge insult him when he was no longer here to defend himself.

In return, we were never let out into the play area, forced to remain in our cramped cages throughout the night. I sat awake, still refusing to give into the need to sleep. What if Dodge was right? What if Caroline and Malcolm weren't able to do anything about our confinement? Our 'owners' would not be willing to let us go so easily, determined to keep us trapped until our dying days.

Let's wake everyone up and go, Rocket signed fervently. I can't stand being stuck in here another day.

Not when we had grown so used to open spaces, to the wide sky above, to the protective trees of the forest. The shelter was nothing compared to the woods and apes weren't meant for cages, especially apes who were smarter than humans thought.

We broke out of the human camp. We can do the same here again, Rocket continued to try and convince me.

I wasn't so convinced; it would be foolish, dangerous to try and leave now.

We can't, I signed back. It's not safe. Nowhere for us to go. Yet. I had to hold onto the hope that amongst the humans, there was a place fit for us to live out the remainder of our lives in peace. We just had to be patient enough to wait for help, and trust that help would come soon. Caroline and Malcolm, including Ellie, would not give up on us so easily.

Patience, I signed my thoughts. As much as we all wanted to get out sooner than later, sooner was not an option.

Rocket's eyes grew wide.

What is it? I signed again.

Someone's coming, he answered suddenly, his posture turning nervous as he glanced towards the shelter's entrance. I followed his gaze, my own eyes growing large when faint voices could be heard.

Dodge usually guarded at night with one other human, but something was wrong.

He screamed, but just as the cry left his mouth, it was cut short.

...Was he dead? Were they both dead? I blinked in surprise at the sudden struggle and silence from behind the closed doors that led to our cages.

I could remember Dodge's death—when he'd tried to use his electrical stick on us, and Caesar had responded with water. He was flung backwards, and he did not get up.

I was brought back to reality when the back doors slowly creaked opened, and faint shadows emerged.

There's more than one, I thought frantically. Maybe I should have listened to Rocket's pleas of getting out…

Footsteps inched closer, one black shadow taller than the other. They stopped at each cage and a quiet, firing sound split the air. I recognized the sound as that of the infamous sleepy gun; whoever was here, they were taking us away! Was it Malcolm, or even Caroline? Maybe they went to find help? No, Malcolm would have said something about a plan before we had been brought back…

The shadows reached Rocket's cage. Unlike Dodge's unsuccessful attempt at getting him to calm down before making a shot, the tall shadow simply went ahead and fired, leaving me breathless that Rocket was down before he could have even made a fuss.

I growled a warning to the enemy who dared try to break in and cause harm to my family.

"I know you can talk," the voice belonging to a male said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. My eyes widened in surprise at his statement, but I did nothing further. I couldn't—wouldn't allow any other human besides Malcolm, Ellie, and Caroline to know of our intelligence. Malcolm had said that a few others were suspicious thanks to the apes that helped in the fire, but they didn't know that we could talk. I shuddered to think what would happen to us now if the humans discovered our ability to speak. We would be thrown in a circus as I had once known or worse—be put through the same experiments that had happened to Koba.

Talking was no longer even needed now that the one we had wanted to convince remembered how dangerous the virus was, himself.

"Talk," the unknown man demanded. His voice sounded somehow familiar, but I just couldn't place him.

I held my ground, refusing to reveal my own voice.

"If you don't talk," the man said, leaning closer to my cage, "I'll do worse to your so-called 'family' than I have already done in the future."

Realization hit. No...it couldn't be...it couldn't be him...not the man who had murdered Caesar's wife and son...

I knew then that I had to speak, or he would be true to his word.

"...Please don't," was all I could whisper in a pitiful beg.

"I knew it," the man said with a dark chuckle. I could just barely see him grin through the cage. "Just wait 'till they find out I wasn't crazy, after all, Preacher."

How did he know that I could talk? I had never said anything to him in the future; it had only been Caesar and a few others. Maybe he was so deluded that he 'recalled' all the apes talking, including myself.

I'd been so focused on the one man in particular, that I hadn't noticed the other. His own eyes were wide with fear and confusion, hesitating to come any closer when the other man motioned for him to come closer.

"It'll come back to you soon," the man reassured his comrade. "Tranq him and let's get out of here."

As the world faded into black around me for the second time since getting hit with a sleepy gun in the lab, I could only think that fate must have caught up with Dodge at last, just as it had with us.

xxxx

The room was dark now, just enough for me to fall into a somewhat peaceful sleep, though I resisted the urge. How could I sleep with everything that happened earlier? I had to stay awake.

I also couldn't just lay here broken and helpless. I had to do something.

Against Ellie's wishes I reached up to my mask, pulling it away gently.

I sucked in a deep breath forcefully at first, but then my sore throat relaxed and air came a little easier, still feeling a bit forced through the ash that must be trapped inside. Looking down at the tiny stick in the back of my hand—or IV, as Ellie had called it—I gripped with my free hand and pulled, the stick coming out with a small hint of pain as though I had just poked myself with it. I sat up in the bed, making sure that any extra strings were off. The beeping had stopped, and I assumed it meant that if I didn't get out of here and fast, then Ellie would come rushing in to see if I was alright.

My ears suddenly twitched...footsteps...was it her already? Quickly I got back into the same resting position as though I was a child staying up past my bedtime.

I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep and listened. The footsteps seemed to be coming closer...

The door opened slowly, quietly...

I barely had a chance to react when strong, gloved hands wrapped themselves around me harshly. My mask was thrust onto my nose again, and this time an odd sort of air released along with a smell just as strange that made me want to gag instantly. My eyes drooped and my muscles fell limp, but I fought the tingling sensation that began to take over.

"It's nice to see you again, but I guarantee you probably won't feel the same about me," a strikingly familiar voice growled into my ear.

...I knew that voice. The voice that had sent me on my path to vengeance.

It couldn't be. Not now. Just like Koba, I had thought that Time would not affect him, and he would stay gone forever.

I was wrong again, and I doubted that Time would be on my side once more and render him just as small and vulnerable as Koba now that it had stabilized.

"I have no intention to harm your wife and son again...well, just your wife since your sons have yet to be born...but if you resist, I won't have any problems doing so. I could easily stop your heir from ever being born in the first place."

My blood ran cold at his words, his ever familiar and harsh voice sending shivers down my spine as I gave in at the mention of Cornelia. I would not allow him to hurt her once again...I had no choice but to allow the sleepy air to take over, to allow the darkness to completely envelop me, surrendering and giving myself up.

"If you really thought I would let you and your apes take over a second time, well...think again."

Chapter Text

The same woman that reported Gen-Sys collapsing was back on the air and interviewing witnesses, though she wasn't at Gen-Sys again. Instead, she had taken up 'residence' at the San Bruno Primate Shelter, where she was reporting the death of one of two security guards who had failed to prevent a break-in from happening.

"He was wearing a mask so I couldn't see his face," a man named Rodney explained, looking very disheveled and anxious from the night's events. "And he was really forceful. There was another one with him that seemed younger—he was also wearing a mask—that just watched when the other man hit me hard on the head. I-I think he intended to kill me too, but didn't know I was still alive...just knocked out."

The boy named Dodge Landon hadn't been so lucky, meeting a cruel end...and so the entire group of apes had been taken—including Caesar.

How could we let this happen? We had promised Will that we would protect the apes, and now we had let them be kidnapped.

Ellie was still being questioned by police, as Caesar had been her 'patient' during the kidnapping itself.

I sat in the waiting room with Caroline, trying my best to comfort her. Charles wasn't doing any better according to his caretaker that she'd hired, and the news along with Will's death was rightfully taking its toll on her.

"We promised we'd keep them safe," Caroline sniffed, tears in her eyes as we sat together. I wished I could do more to comfort her aside from a few words that hardly meant anything in this situation, but there wasn't a lot I could do.

I had to call Rita, telling her I still wouldn't be home for awhile due to my job, which was the norm for an architect like myself. It was a lie, but only a small one for now until I was able to actually get home; I didn't want her to worry just as much as we were worried about Caesar and the others, now. I could only imagine taking Alex into my arms and giving him a big hug, saying sorry that daddy had been gone so long.

Why would a man want to kidnap a big group of apes? The woman's voice on TV echoed the question. Who was he and where did he take them?

Thanks to the bit of the 112 now permanently in my system and Rodney's description of the masked man, I had a slight idea of who could have possibly stolen a handful of apes.

The pain in my head had stopped ever since Time had apparently 'stabilized' itself, but the memory was just as fresh.

"They don't want war," I tried my best to convince the man standing in front of me. "All they want is peace—to be left alone just as much as you do."

Colonel McCullough wasn't so easily convinced. "Do you think the virus is going to 'leave us alone' anytime soon? The apes are dangerous just by being. They need to be taken care of."

I shook my head so hard I feared it would topple off, but that was the least of my worries. "You can't do this," I begged. I had to convince him somehow, someway that the virus wasn't the apes' fault—it was ours. Humans...not apes.

"Their leader...Caesar...he's incredible," I said firmly, but with just enough wonder that I hoped would spark enough curiosity in the other man to at least go and talk to the ape I had become good friends with.

"He'd be willing to talk to you to come up with a compromise," I pleaded, unfortunately sensing that I wasn't getting through to him in the least bit. He'd explained much to my horror that like the humans he'd 'sacrificed' in order to protect mankind, the apes that also carried the virus needed to be eradicated, as well.

"Animals can't talk. They never have and never will," the man grunted. "They can't think for themselves. They are not organized."

I shook my head again just as hard as the first time in protest. "It's true. The virus made them smarter. They're just as human as you or me now..."

I stopped, my gut warning me that I'd said the wrong thing to a man who wanted to destroy every last one of the apes that I had come to know as my friends; as allies.

"Is that so?" The Colonel let out a small, daunting laugh. "They said you were an ape sympathizer, but I didn't know you were this far gone."

The momentary pause between us was enough to prove that something wasn't right.

He lifted the gun that I had been eyeing from the side so slightly that I'd hoped he wouldn't notice, aiming directly at the center of my forehead.

He pulled the trigger before I even had a chance to react.

"I think I know who he is," I said in a whisper as I was drawn back into the hospital waiting room. Ellie still hadn't returned from questioning. "I think I know who took them."

Caroline stared, her eyes intent. Ever since the fire, they had been a bright green-gold like mine—a side effect of the harmless virus that showed she had been exposed.

"Who?" She questioned, her voice just as intent. "How?"

"I tried talking to him once in the future—I tried to convince him that the apes weren't dangerous. He didn't want to talk."

"...What happened?" Caroline questioned in a whisper.

I stared back at her with an equally intent expression to let her know just how serious this was—how dangerous this Colonel was.

"He killed me."

xxxx

It was becoming almost tiring, yet a routine—waking up in new places. First the redwoods, then the hospital...and now what looked to be an underground cave similar to the one we had used to escape the human camp.

The human that came into focus wasn't the Colonel himself, to my surprise. When he'd first spoken as he grabbed me in the hospital, I recognized his voice instantly as belonging to the one who had murdered my wife and son.

No, it was Preacher; a young Preacher at that. His face was like a child's that had seen too much, eyes big and round as he studied me curiously. I found myself laying on nothing but dirt inside of a cage, as I'd expected even before waking. Where else would the humans put us? The air was damp like wet clothes, causing my nose to scrunch unpleasantly.

I started to move from my laying position, and Preacher jerked in surprise. I stopped, and he stopped as well, blinking and raising his only weapon—a crossbow like he had used in the future—directly at me through the cage bars. I could only stare, refusing to let future events take hold in my mind. I couldn't let my guard down just as Preacher couldn't let his, so I simply remained in my half-sitting position.

It seemed like years passed before the young man surprised me with words.

"...Is it true?" Preacher asked in nothing more than a whisper. "Was there a virus in the future that nearly wiped us out? Can you talk, too?"

So he couldn't remember what was no longer going to happen in the future, now that the virus was destroyed. Why was the Colonel one of the lucky few to regain his memory? Ellie had explained before he had taken me away that because of the 113 version Will had switched with the 112, she and Caroline—including Will's human leader—had all regained their future memories when Koba had released it in the fire. Ellie had been located outside, but she guessed that the virus must have escaped and survived long enough to affect certain people before evaporating into the air. Maybe it had managed to reach much farther than that? But it didn't make any sense...the Colonel would have had to regain his memory a long time before the fire had ever happened...

The smallest movement from Preacher forced me back into reality, instantly reminding me not to let my guard down.

"Is it true?" He repeated a little more strongly this time, bringing the arrow closer to the cage.

"...Yes," I breathed out after a moment. Young Preacher balked, stepping backwards and nearly tripping over a seat that he hadn't put to good use.

"The virus was real," he murmured, his voice laced with realization and panic all in one. "It was all real...he wasn't crazy after all this time..."

"And I'm glad you at least see the truth now," a new voice made itself known. It wasn't exactly new as I looked behind Preacher to see the Colonel himself walking steadily towards us. It was only him and no guards by his side. He wore the exact same gray shirt and green pants that he had when he told me the story of humanity's downfall, a glowing stick...flashlight...? held in one hand.

"Exceptional job making sure he didn't try anything, son," the Colonel said encouragingly, patting Preacher's shoulder. If the future soldier reacted in any way, he didn't show it, but I thought I could see him take a small step back that the Colonel never noticed. He simply nodded, waiting for further instructions which the Colonel was more than happy to give.

"I'll take it from here. You go and keep watch over the others now."

The others. My breathing quickened, my shoulders heaving in my anxiety for the others that were apparently safe for now. So he'd taken them, too? I wasn't the only one...

"Don't get any ideas," the Colonel said menacingly, glancing in my direction. "We're currently underground and you have absolutely no idea exactly where underground. I created this place exclusively for you apes to make sure you don't get out so easily...there's a lot of twists and turns that even your intelligence can't figure out."

He hadn't lived to see our great escape—our underground tunnel that we'd used to escape his human camp. But Preacher had, and he couldn't remember yet. Though I didn't dare get my hopes up as the Colonel's words about an underground maze sank in. We may be smart, but we didn't have time to figure out a silly puzzle.

"Let's walk," the Colonel said patiently, waiting for me to come out of my cage as Preacher reluctantly creaked open the door.

I could run if I wanted to. There were no other guards in sight apart from Preacher; it was just him in the way of my freedom. It would just be me and what appeared to be three sets of holes that led somewhere, and I had no idea which one led to the outside. I also had to remind myself that Preacher still had his crossbow with him, and could easily strike down his target for a second time.

The Colonel chuckled softly, seeing the gears turning in my head. "It's no use," he warned, stepping towards the big hole in the middle.

"Is it this one?" He asked me, stepping towards the hole to the left next. "Or this one?" He moved to the hole to the right. "Or this one? Not to mention all the others that lead to who knows where."

My shoulders couldn't help but sag slightly and he immediately noticed my confusion and disappointment, smiling softly through the dim light.

"Walk with me," the Colonel said not as forcefully this time, but more gently...as if he was starting to try and earn my trust just by being polite. "No chains this time. Just no funny business and nothing will happen to you or your apes."

I took a slow step forward. Preacher remained where he was by the gate's door, eyes ever wider at the fact that I was moving on two feet and not four. One more step and then another until I was side by side with the Colonel, and he began to lead me through his underground maze. Despite the air becoming cooler the deeper we went, his unfitting clothing for the temperature didn't seem to affect him; my fur was enough for me.

It was impossible trying to keep track of where we were, or to make mental notes of the many holes we passed in the lack of light, the only source being the flashlight he held in one hand. There didn't even seem to be any sort of sign that said where the holes led to, something that only he must know in his crazed mind. Only a fool would try and escape this never-ending puzzle, my hope to get out and free the others wavering with each tunnel we passed.

"Some place we have here, huh? It took many years to come into being," the Colonel said as if to try and make small talk. I had no interest in talking, the only thing on my mind being where the others could possibly be held, and the Colonel seemed to pick up on this.

"Like I said, I have no intention to hurt you or your apes," he confirmed, staring straight ahead into the little ray his flashlight provided. "Instead, I have a...proposition."

He said nothing more about the 'proposition,' and I didn't push. If he expected me to make some kind of deal with him after everything he had done to us, then he was sadly mistaken. I allowed him to continue speaking without interrupting, hungry for more information about the man that so clearly remembered the future, he went to great lengths to try and prevent it in the past.

"They said I was crazy; delusional," the Colonel continued. "My status was revoked and I had to make do with what I had—the simple determination to make sure intelligent apes like yourself never rise again. So I gathered a team of my own scientists, working to create a kind of serum..."

He stopped with no further explanation, leaving me to my imagination although I couldn't possibly imagine what would come next.

At last, we exited the long tunnel and came into a small room similar to the one in the future where he'd stayed, but not quite. A big, brown table rested in the middle with no seats to sit in, and checking a desk near the table on the right, there were only strange, blinking boxes instead of pictures of his son that I remembered from his disheartening story. White papers with stick figures that resembled humans were pinned to the plain walls, yellow lines striking through each figure until it seemed that they were on their knees. One other image that stood out to me among the rest was a detailed drawing of the old human camp that must have come into existence from the Colonel himself. Other papers with information I couldn't piece together laid on the desk underneath the human drawings, complicated numbers and pictures atop their surfaces.

The Colonel led me closer to the glass window, my feet dragging along the soft, now-carpeted floor. I half expected the overlook to reveal the same camp from the drawing, the same camp that had held us captive and tortured us.

Though instead of overlooking a camp, it overlooked...

A lab? Humans wearing white coats worked away, unaware to even look up as the Colonel brought me closer to the window. Silver tables that could only be meant for someone like me lined each other on either side of the lab in three rows, empty with straps hanging loose. With even more horror, I realized that there were enough tables for all of us, like they had been counted in advance.

I could no longer hold in the burning question, unable to tear my gaze from below. "What is your...proposition?"

The Colonel smiled gently again, like he'd been waiting for the moment when I would ask.

He paused as if for dramatic effect, and I assumed that the 'serum' had something to do with his proposition that he'd mentioned.

"...A serum that will take your intelligence away," he revealed, turning back to look at me. I could only stare in return, his words grating harshly against my mind.

He wanted...our intelligence gone? He must know about the fire, but did he also know that the 112 had just returned the others' intelligence and memories? As though he'd read my thoughts, he continued.

"When I saw the news about the fire, I knew: apes helping humans escape...an orangutan helping a man get to his feet when he tripped. No other ape would be able to think 'I have to stop and help him.'"

"It was what I was waiting for after all these years. You and the rest agree to take the serum, I'll let you go. I've already found a safe place—paradise." He moved to the table, lifting up another picture that contained a wide open, green space with trees and a lake—a place fit for none other than apes. We could never return to the redwoods, I knew that much—not when the humans weren't going to become sick again like last time. They would only drive us out, and I doubted that they would simply give us permission to live there even with Malcolm and the others' help.

"...And if we refuse?" I questioned, still as stone.

His answer was quick; he already had everything planned. "I convince the government that you're dangerous and need to be put down. Of course, if I force you to talk in front of the entire world, then they'd want to do what Gen-Sys did with their experiments...only worse. They'd want to see how you tick."

I processed this, anger and betrayal that should have been obvious from the start building in my bones. "You said you didn't want to harm us..."

"I didn't say I would be the one doing the harming," he rebutted, leaning back against the table.

I never broke eye contact with him, a sudden thought occurring to me. "Why not just give us the serum while we were sleeping? Why give us a choice...?"

He closed his eyes as if in regret, but I knew that he was not capable of feeling such a thing.

"Though I have done some horrible, horrible things in the past—and the future—I still have some amount of 'honor' left within me."

I glanced away for a moment, but then turned my hard stare back to him. I would not give him the satisfaction of submitting so easily. "You don't know what honor is. I showed you mercy, yet you give none in return."

He instantly knew what I was referring to—the moment in the future when I had allowed him the opportunity to take his own life after the virus had started to take his mind. His expression furrowed as he recalled when I had taken the gun, but had decided to mercifully hand it back.

"You let me end my own life," he said, pointing a finger harshly in my direction. "How is that any better? I may have wanted you to shoot me, but I never truly wanted my life to end."

"I could have shot you myself," I said slowly, "I could have ended it, but chose not to because it wouldn't make anything better. It wouldn't have brought my family back, just like taking away the thing that makes us who we are won't solve anything. Time has already been fixed; it is solved. The virus is no longer a threat, so why take us? Why force me to make this decision?"

He remained silent, only continuing to watch me intently, a slight smile crossing his features. However small, I could still see it and he knew. He wanted me to make the decision myself—to watch me suffer as I had to pick between two choices that were just as bad as the other.

"I think it's only fair that since you apes took our intelligence away...that we take yours. An eye for an eye. It took nearly my entire life to get this thing to work, and now that you're finally here, I can't let it go to waste...not when I sacrificed my only son's birth."

I gaped, eyes widening. I knew that Blue Eyes and Cornelius could still be born, and the Colonel had known that his only son could be born again, too. But he had...stopped his son from being born? Since it hadn't happened yet, I didn't know whether it counted against the man's many horrible actions, like killing the sick humans as a sacrifice to try and protect humanity.

"I was so busy preparing...preventing apes from becoming as smart as you are—to make sure that humanity didn't face the same end—that I put my personal life on hold, though I did bring Preacher into my life again under...unfortunate circumstances to cope with the loss of my boy and bring at least a small part of the future back to life."

He'd kidnapped Preacher and claimed him as his own son, replacing the one that could have still been born. Bringing his son into the picture released a new emotion from me: pity. I felt sorry that this man had gone to such great lengths to prevent something that had already been prevented—the humans' downfall. Yet still he was not satisfied, wanting to steal what made us who we were to ensure that the apes' 'takeover' had no chance of ever happening again even without the virus' help.

Regret, nor compassion, was not possible with this man, even if he tried his best to show it.

"I see you're still confused and conflicted about your purpose even now," he said, determined to shoot down any ounce of hope I had left in me. I knew my purpose ever since coming back to the past: saving the humans from the virus that my father created. It had turned into something much more than that: a mission to save the apes and live peacefully amongst humans in a safe home like the woods.

Was I only trying to prove something that could never happen?

"You think you can live among humans the way you are, but you're wrong," he continued. "If I reveal your intelligence, none of you will ever be accepted and left to live in peace. There will always be someone, somewhere who'd want to use your smarts for their own personal gain in some way or another. Hell, maybe even to start war again. I might even be doing you a favor."

It was then that I realized there was no escape this time. No one would come to rescue us and even if they did, they would be lost amongst the countless tunnels in the maze with no way out, just as there was no way out for us.

Apes and humans together strong, Will's words echoed, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. If we allowed the Colonel to win like this, my father's sacrifice would be in vain, his dream to see humans and apes living together dashed.

But maybe the Colonel was right. It had never been possible before, and it wouldn't be possible now. Ellie had promised they would figure something out, but what if nothing could be figured out? If the Colonel hadn't taken us, we might have never escaped from the shelter a second time.

There was no way to escape this endless nightmare…maybe the only way to achieve Will's dream was to just…give in. We could give up our intelligence, and the humans wouldn't be so afraid, wouldn't feel the need to destroy us.

The Colonel offered me the picture of paradise that he claimed was ready for us if we complied. I stared void of feeling at the green grass, the trees and the lake. Would freedom be worth it if we didn't have our minds to enjoy the feeling of freedom itself?

I never looked up from the picture, uncaring if the Colonel took it as a sign of defeat. If defeat meant no more pain, no more suffering...then maybe it was better this way.

"Will it...hurt?"

"No pain," he responded, his tone frighteningly gentle, a tone I knew deep down I couldn't trust—it was all a trick, it had to be. There was no such thing as paradise, but if giving in would put the Colonel's madness to rest and leave us alone, it was worth the risk. "Our own experiments like the ones Gen-Sys had—but not exactly like theirs—faded away peacefully into the night."

I finally looked up. "What is it like...to lose your intelligence? I never...never knew..."

Never knew what it was like not to be on the same level as a human. I had been born inside Gen-Sys, the virus passed down to me directly from my mother. The others knew what it was like of course, but not me...I didn't know what it was like not to be able to think, to be aware, to make my own choices...

"Hard," the Colonel said simply, piecing my thoughts together bit by bit through his words. "It becomes harder to think, to make logical choices...like when I pulled that trigger and ended my own life. I was far from done with you apes, but that weapon looked so inviting...an escape even if I didn't want to escape...the world becomes hazy, wrapped in a dark cocoon. I'm sure if I hadn't taken my own life, I would have gotten even worse to the point of no return. I wouldn't have even been able to make the choice to end my own life. But looking back on my death now...it was almost peaceful to escape the never ending hell we live in."

Peace. The very thing I had worked so hard for...and failed to achieve. Maybe achieving peace was only possible by losing the one thing that made us yearn for it.

I let the picture of paradise fall from my hands, Cornelia flashing through my mind. I hadn't seen her yet in all the madness since arriving in the past, and I realized that being in the presence of the man who took her life and that of our son's must be a bad shock.

"My wife...she needs me," I said, finally looking back up at her murderer. "Please let me be with her. If you let us be together...I'll make my decision by morning. Please let me see her."

The Colonel's hands gripped the table as he leaned further back against it, contemplating whether or not he should allow me to reunite with the one he had killed in the future. He picked up a device from the table that buzzed, talking into it.

"Get Preacher over here." He glanced up at the lights inside the room, as well as the lab. It hadn't just been a serum that he'd been working on, but an entire underground base with working lights. "It's all powered by a very complicated system," he said simply like it was nothing, though pride was evident behind void expression. "A system you will never figure out. The tunnels are left dark for a reason."

A reason I already knew—to keep things confusing and to stop us from escaping.

Then he took the device and left me alone in the room to my thoughts that I soon wouldn't have any longer.

xxxx

Should I say something while I still had time? I wondered as the young past soldier led me back through the endless tunnels, his trusty crossbow at the ready.

"I know I'm not his son," he said as though he'd read my mind. "He told you everything, didn't he? Well, not everything..." The crossbow that he held lowered, a far away look in his gaze at the dark tunnel ahead; I still couldn't fathom how he, nor the Colonel, could find their way with something so simple as a flashlight. After so many years below, they must have memorized every single passage.

"I can still remember when he took me away, even though he thinks I was too young to remember," Preacher whispered. I remained silent, allowing him to tell his story, to get it off his chest when he must have held it in for so long in his kidnapper's clutches. "It was night, and I kept hearing noises from outside my bedroom. My parents went to check and see what it was, only to never come back. I was scared, so I went outside to look for them. They were both laying on the ground very still; I couldn't tell if they were breathing. Then he grabbed me and took me here where I would never be found."

"I'm sorry..." I murmured. He looked down at me in surprise, like I wasn't capable of being sorry, but his expression faded into gratefulness that I had listened, noting a parallel between our situations in captivity and relating to it, even if the Colonel didn't see him as a prisoner.

"I was tempted to look for them—my parents—when we went up there to get you, but I was scared to try and escape him...and I think he knew it." His pace slowed as if he was stalling the inevitable of placing me in another cage. The Colonel knew that I wouldn't dare try to escape with the others now that I had seen what awaited us beyond the bars; endless holes and tunnels we would never be able to piece together. Even if we escaped, it would be impossible trying to find our way above ground. And what then?

"I didn't believe anything he said about a deadly virus spreading in the future, or apes taking over, or even me being a part of his insane fantasy," Preacher continued. "It was all crazy and I just wanted to go home and see if my parents were somehow okay. But now I see that maybe he wasn't so crazy, especially with how you're actually here and talking..."

"It was never what we wanted...to take over the human race," I said softly in defense of my family. Why couldn't humans see that taking over had never been what we wanted, that all we wanted was peace? "It was only peace we strove towards, but humans thought differently, blaming us for something we couldn't control. My father made a horrible mistake he couldn't take back, but Time has given us a second chance to make things right. The virus is no longer a threat, and peace is still the only thing we want. Do you believe that humans would accept apes like us even if the virus is now destroyed?"

We finally reached a holding area where Maurice and the others were put, my heart leaping and their eyes lighting up with hope as I walked into view, but they were wary of Preacher guiding me towards another, separate cage away from their large area so they were all together. I immediately noticed that Cornelia was kept apart in an entirely different cage next to mine much to my dismay, especially in her condition. Even from a distance, I could see that she was not well—simply staring ahead right in my direction, but not seeing me. It was haunting that the Colonel had known we would come, building two cages near each other so we could be 'together.'

"...No. No, I don't," Preacher said as he led me to an empty cage next to Cornelia's, all the while keeping a close eye on the others and watching their reactions. He seemed to be...amazed, yet fearful at the same time, and he empathized his answer. "They'll never be ready for something like you even if all you want is peace."

I stood at the cage's entrance with him for a quiet moment before speaking again, my tone sincere as the words left my mouth; I did mean it, even as betrayal burned through me that though I was with Cornelia at last, I was not truly with her, separated by cage bars and away from my family so it would be hard to communicate.

"I hope you make it back home one day," I said calmly, putting aside my growing frustrations and worry. "And that your parents are still alive." Preacher was just a young adult now, taken under the Colonel's wing against his will in the most horrible way possible, forced to live underground for most of his life. He may have killed me once in the future, but now it hadn't happened. He didn't deserve any of this.

His eyes flickered in subtle thanks, and another thought occurred to me.

"...What's your real name?" It couldn't be just 'Preacher.' That had to have been a nickname given to him by the military or the Colonel, not his birth name.

I willingly entered the cage and Preacher shut the door, a hint of curiosity and longing crossing his features. "I don't remember. That's another thing I want to find out…maybe after this is all over, he'll finally let me go and I'll get to ask my parents."

Once he made sure the cage was securely locked, he stood guard in his place for a few more moments.

"Is it true…that I really was involved in the future? He told me a lot, but not what happened after he…after he died. He doesn't know anything after that." Preacher wanted to know what he'd done, and I couldn't hold it back from him. He'd given me so much already, and I had to give something back.

My gaze traveled to the crossbow in his hands, my side prickling with the sensation of the arrow. Was it the same one he used in the future? Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised. He glanced down, understanding passing between us as he pieced together the story the Colonel must have told him about me letting him go in the woods, only to betray my mercy.

Our eyes met then, but we spoke no further and he simply stood near our cages to continue keeping watch.

xxxx

Hopelessness was contagious. Even from far away in a separate cage, even their surprise and delight to see me alive again was not enough to hold over the inevitable sinking feeling that everything was coming to an end. Maurice and the others could feel, see that I had nothing but bad news—

That I had given up.

I was tired, as I had told Will in the In-Between. A part of me wished I hadn't returned at all, but a bigger part had won over that now lay battered and defeated. Cornelia was still silent, staring ahead into nothing even when I tried saying her name out loud.

"Cornelia," I whispered softly, my hands gripping the cage bars. She did not respond, staring right through me like I wasn't even here. "It's me. Caesar," I tried again. Still, she did not respond, only whimpering and curling in further on herself.

The Colonel had promised that we would be together, but he had found a loophole. We were together as he had promised, but not in the way I had imagined. He wanted to keep us separated, to make sure that our sons could not be born again...

Caesar...you really are alive, Maurice signed when I reluctantly turned away from my wife to face the others. Despite the situation, the orangutan stared as though looking at a ghost, eyes wide with enthusiasm. You're here...but how?

Preacher still stood to the side, mesmerized by our attempt to communicate from so far away by sign.

I closed my eyes, remaining quiet for a moment before signing. Will brought me back. And I almost wished he hadn't, regret seeping into my being. Maurice nodded slowly, the same grief flickering in his eyes. He and Will had come to know each other, and Maurice had finally been shown the good side of humans once again apart from Malcolm and his family, most importantly now that we were in the past where it seemed all humans were against us in one way or another.

I couldn't save him...

I'm so sorry, Maurice signed solemnly. He was a good man. Friend. I simply nodded in agreement, my heart throbbing with his loss. I could have done more, should have done more. Maybe if I had run into the building faster...

There has to be another way, Rocket signed from inside the cage. Tinker stood by his side, and I could see that she held a little bundle in her arms that he ignored. Koba...just when he had been given another chance to redeem himself in the most unexpected way, the Colonel came and proved that sometimes, bad humans still prevailed.

We can't let him win like this. We can still escape.

Not like the sick human camp escape route, I signed back wearily, my arms barely having the strength to make even the smallest movements. More tunnels than we can count...will get lost and separated easily.

Rocket's arms fell limp and quiet, and a familiar, long-lost gorilla came into view, my breath catching.

Buck? I signed, thankful to see another face that I had thought was forever lost. Buck had sacrificed himself to save me from the shooting helicopter on the bridge, and it was evident that he was confused to be alive once more. It's good to see you again, I smiled faintly.

I knew something wasn't right from the start, but couldn't place it. Then it became clear to me that we had come back. Couldn't ask anyone when I was still stuck in my tiny cage, he explained. Maurice had just been the one to make a connection with Will, forming a plan together.

What are we going to do? An ape that I recognized as Andy signed, one of the first to awaken in the shelter before the battle on the bridge.

I couldn't bear to tell them about the Colonel's plan—his plan to take our intelligence away in exchange for our freedom...but it wouldn't really be freedom. This was my family, and I could not allow anything more to happen to them. I could not allow my promise to Will go to waste.

Just as Will had promised me he would save them, I had promised to him that we would make the most of our lives.

We had a sleepless night, despite my suggestion that they get all the rest they could.

The Colonel arrived the next morning—or at least we assumed it was morning—to find me ready and waiting for him on two feet, staring him down while some of the others backed away or just looked on with fear and hate. Tinker held little Koba close to her chest protectively, Rocket sticking close by her in spite of his resentment for the small bundle. Preacher moved away from his post to greet his 'father.'

"I see you've come to a decision," he said, simply waiting for me to give him my answer without asking.

I didn't even nod, the words leaving my mouth almost robotically, void of emotion, except for my family that prevented my fragile state from completely falling apart.

"I agree...but under one condition."

Chapter Text

What does he mean…you've come to a decision? Maurice signed when he glanced in my direction as Preacher unlocked the cage, his expression lined with nothing but worry as I was led away.

Maurice…remember when I said apes strong with…or without me? I asked through sign, stopping in my tracks. Surprisingly, the Colonel allowed me to finish. After all these years of creating a serum that would take away our intelligence, I thought he would be in a hurry to get it over with—or maybe it was the other way around and now that we were finally here, he could take his time and relish in our pain.

Maurice gripped the cage's bars with his hands, attempting to push his head through, but to no avail. I had just returned from the dead, and he was understandably hesitant to see me leave with our enemy.

Caesar…what is he going to do?

Nothing, I signed back a little more quickly than I would have liked, giving away the fact that something must be wrong. You're going to be free soon…

What about you?

In the harsh glint of both Preacher and the Colonel's flashlights, I sent Maurice a reassuring smile. If the Colonel agreed to my condition, my family would be safe and that was all that mattered.

I will be free, too.

"Let's go," the Colonel said at last, his impatience finally getting the better of him. "I'd like to hear about this 'condition' of yours."

I couldn't help but wonder if he sincerely wanted to listen to my condition, or if he just wanted to listen and then refuse, adding more pain to our torture. Looking back as the Colonel began to lead me out into the underground maze once again, I locked my eyes onto Cornelia until she faded away into the darkness.

Either way, I had to try.

xxxx

"Only me," the two words left my mouth firmly, my gaze glued to the Colonel. He stared back, his own gaze just as intense as he processed my request.

I had been led away from the others, back into the carpeted room with the table so they wouldn't hear the decision I had made. I had to tell myself that it was for the best—that I couldn't handle being the bearer of bad news, that the Colonel wanted to take our intelligence away. But if things went the way I hoped, maybe I wouldn't have to say anything…

"And why do you think I would use the serum on only one ape when I've made enough for all of you? When I've waited my entire life for you to come so I could use it?" The Colonel questioned, his stare unreadable though I could tell he wasn't happy about my possible 'condition.'

My voice faltered, losing what little strength it had. This was the only chance I would be given if the Colonel agreed, and then there would be no more chances. Maybe if he saw how defeated, how tired and broken I really was…he would finally show a bit of mercy.

"You may have remembered the future from the start, but Time affects others differently…just like how Preacher can't remember yet," I made my case slowly. The Colonel's attention seemed to spike at the mention of his kidnapped son, and why he couldn't remember future events like we could. It was all still a mystery how Time chose who should remember important details.

"The others…they just recovered their intelligence and memories in the fire when the 112 was released. They've come too far only to lose it…please…I'm the one you want…not them."

The Colonel took his signature position, leaning back against the table like the first time when he'd brought me into the room. If I didn't know any better, the position seemed to help him think. Glancing to the left slightly so he wouldn't notice, I caught sight of a bottle that he had taken a drink from.

"And how can I trust that they won't take over again this time? Their numbers can grow. They can retaliate at any time they choose."

"I'll make sure they won't. You can watch them if you must…use guards." Guilt stabbed through me at the thought of Preacher being forced to stay with the Colonel. He would be free along with the apes, but not allowed to leave. He would be forced to keep an eye on them.

"If the world puts two and two together from what they saw on the news, or hears one of them talk, the other side of my deal will happen, anyway," he informed. The other side of his 'deal'—that the government would want to experiment on them.

"Isn't that what you want?" I questioned. "Your second choice?"

He shook his head, exasperated. "I said I wouldn't harm you…and I intend to keep that promise. Of course, if the government gets their hands on them, then that's a different story."

"I understand, but freedom is worth the risk. I'll tell them not to cause any trouble, tell them not to avenge me…they'll listen."

They had to.

"How can you be so sure? One day they could simply…snap without their leader. Then the government really would have a reason to put them down."

"Please…" I begged, uncaring how weak I was making myself seem. It wasn't about me anymore...it was about them. "You know what it's like to build something great, only to lose it. They cannot lose who they are, but I…I want this. I'm the one you want. Not them…please."

My head lifted when he finally spoke again, the faintest bit of hope sparking at his unexpected words that dripped from his mouth like the madman he was.

"You're right. You are the one I want...I suppose I could make it work..."

Against the hope that just maybe, things would begin to change for the better, something told me that I couldn't trust him. I couldn't possibly trust the Colonel under any circumstances...what if he went back on his promise to only give me the serum after I was 'gone?' There would be nothing I could do if I didn't have my mind...I wouldn't be able to protect them.

But this was the only chance we had.

"I need to make preparations for the serum," he said, moving towards the desk with the human drawings to gather a pile of the papers with complicated numbers. He turned back towards me. "It will take about a day or two. Until then, you can be with your wife and the others. Tell them what you want...just remember what I said about still having some amount of 'honor' left in me. They'll have their freedom." He took the bottle sitting to the left, sipping again and then placing it back down.

I nodded slowly, following him out into the tunnels once more. Looking back, I stared at the light from the room until it faded into the darkness, imagining a similar situation that would happen to my consciousness. I wasn't going to tell my family anything; they didn't need to know anything else other than that their freedom was on the horizon beyond the pitch blackness of the tunnels.

xxxx

The sound of a sad, yet hopeful tune swept all around the cave, emanating from an odd, stick-like instrument placed on Preacher's mouth as he sat in a seat next to our cages, his crossbow by his side. The Colonel had left him to guard us once again and he hadn't resisted, more than happy to play a song for captive apes. The bittersweet tune swept into my ears, distracting me from the inevitable...that I was going to be the only one to take the serum.

Not the others.

I still couldn't believe that the Colonel had agreed, and a big part of me knew he absolutely couldn't be trusted, but what choice did I have? The others had only just regained their memories and intelligence through the 112 in the fire, and it could not be taken away just as soon—I wouldn't allow it.

"Beautiful tune..." I murmured when Preacher stopped playing the instrument to catch his breath. It reminded me of the piano that Charles had played before he'd gotten sick again.

"When you're stuck underground for as long as I have been, a sound like a harmonica is the most beautiful thing in the world...he gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday. How he knows when that is, I don't know...must be a detail from the future, or he made one up." The young man shrugged, returning to his playing.

A harmonica...so that's what it was. Maurice seemed to enjoy the sound as well despite our current situation, and the others simply sat and listened, Tinker rocking baby Koba along to the music. I was back in the cage next to Cornelia's, together as the Colonel had promised, but unable to physically touch her. The gentle sound of the harmonica seemed to bring her out of her shock bit by bit, turning her head slowly towards the player. When I tried speaking to her once more, however, she still did not respond.

"Have you ever tried to escape?" I asked Preacher, cutting off his tune as my words reached his ears. Though he knew we could talk now, it must still be surprising to him that apes could speak, especially since he couldn't remember the future. The former soldier's gaze darkened, furrowing as an unpleasant memory was brought forth by my question.

"Only once. My first and last time, I was ten years old and tried to get out through the tunnels...big mistake. I got lost really easily trying to find my way around, and the Colonel...dad didn't find me until a week later. Well, he didn't exactly find me. He knew exactly where I was; he knows these tunnels like the back of his hand. He let me get lost so I would learn my lesson. Lesson learned...by the time he 'found' me, I was starved and dehydrated, half delirious."

When he was ten years old? How long had the Colonel kept him trapped down here? I could hardly imagine...being taken away from a loving family, only to be thrust into a world of darkness...just as we had.

"Do you know the way out now?" I couldn't help but prod. Hopefully it wasn't too much, that the question didn't make it look like I was only trying to get information. I was genuinely concerned about young Preacher's situation just as much as our own and he seemed to pick up on this, relieved to be able to talk about his captivity when the Colonel wasn't around.

"He blindfolds me if we ever go up there and plays music so I can't see or hear where we are until we're far enough away. The only time I get to hear real music...not that the harmonica isn't real music." He chuckled half-heartedly in an attempt to add humor to the darkness he had been raised in. "I only know four passages by heart, since he wouldn't show me the others. One to the main room where he took you, the cave where you first woke up, my room where he keeps me, and then this cave because he knew all of you would come eventually." Bringing the instrument to his mouth again, the bittersweet tune rose and then fell in perfect harmony, only to stop moments later as if it was his turn to ask a question.

"...Why can't I remember the future like he and you can?"

I blinked, allowing the question to process. "I am not sure..." I answered, just as unhappy as he was that I didn't have an explanation. Time was indeed a mystery, a puzzle that couldn't be solved just like the tunnels. "When I met my old friend...enemy...another ape..." I glanced sideways in Tinker's direction as she continued to hold her newborn child that had been given a second chance. "He could clearly remember the future. Maurice, the orangutan—" I nodded in his direction so Preacher could see who I was talking about—"needed my human father's help to regain his memories, and those in the cage just had their intelligence and memories returned in the fire when my enemy released the good version of the virus."

I shifted in my spot, Preacher listening curiously. "Sometimes one remembers on their own like me...but other times, they need a little nudge. I do not understand it myself."

Preacher chuckled again. "Time must have a thing for the bad guys, then."

In the future, Preacher could have been considered a bad human. He had betrayed me after letting him go in the woods, only to kill me with his crossbow in return for my mercy.

"I am sure it will come back to you... " I reassured gently. But did I actually want Preacher to fully regain his memory? Would he only turn on us again? He had been too wrapped up in the end of mankind to even think about helping apes, but now that the world wasn't ending...maybe he would have a change of heart.

"That's what he's said all these years," Preacher said impatiently. "I just want to know why he took me. Now that you're here I know it was all true, but it's not the same as remembering...I need to know if I actually used this thing he forced me to use all this time." Preacher kicked the crossbow resting by him with a foot. "I need to know it was...I don't know, worth it that he took me away."

Desperate to escape the awful memory of the night he was kidnapped by the Colonel, Preacher brought his harmonica to his mouth again, the same sad yet hopeful tune playing once more and pinching sorrowfully against my chest.

Preacher was trapped in the dark the same as we were, and he wanted out just as much as we did. I could only hope that when the others were finally freed, the Colonel would at least let him go.

xxxx

Preacher stopped playing his music to allow us to sleep, though I was sure none of us could.

"Thank you," I said gratefully.

"For what?" Preacher questioned, bemused at what I could possibly be thanking him for. "I'm the one keeping watch to make sure you don't escape. Though I doubt you could even if you tried..."

"The beautiful music," I answered, glancing down at his harmonica in the glint of the flashlight. "Music gives us hope."

He followed my gaze down to the instrument, a small, almost invisible smile crossing his features. The smile faded as quickly as it had appeared, and he glanced in Cornelia's direction. For the first time, she was staring directly at me...like she could really see thanks to the melody that had reached her ears.

Preacher seemed to stiffen in his seat, battling an inner conflict. Cornelia's gaze met hers then and he sighed, standing up to move in my direction.

"He doesn't want you with your wife, in case you try and…have your sons be born again," Preacher explained as he creaked open my cage door. I blinked in shock as he moved towards Cornelia's next to open hers.

I already understood, but his next words surprised me.

"Thanks...for talking. And listening..."

I nodded in response, stepping quietly into my wife's cage to really and truly be reunited at last with the one I had fought so hard to avenge.

xxxx

She stared directly into my soul as I moved in slow motion towards her, her bright eyes no longer filled with shock and distress now that I was here.

"Cornelia...you're really here...you're alive..." I whispered, brushing a hand gently across her cheek. She blinked, startled out of her reverie from the beautiful music that Preacher had played. The harmonica had thankfully seemed to lift her spirits, bringing her out of her overwhelming shock.

Caesar, she signed rapidly when her eyes connected with mine at last, fully seeing.

He was so brave, standing in front of us. When I tried to get Cornelius to safety, that's when a shot rang out. Looking behind me, all I could see was our son still as rock...and then the human pointing his gun at me. Everything went black and I never knew if...if...

If Cornelius lived.

"He survived," I reassured her, rubbing gentle circles around her back. She shuddered, then relaxed when my revelation sank in. That night was tragic, but our youngest son had made it through. I still felt the relief when he'd come out of his hiding spot, encouraging him to come to me and holding him close to my heart when he was safe in my arms.

"You did your job well," I comforted, "a mother protecting her son and succeeding."

What happened after that? She questioned.

"I went looking...for him. The one who killed you. The one who holds us captive now."

It's over now, she signed. We just have to get through this. Together.

"There truly is no escape," I let her know honestly. I could not lie to her about how dire our situation really was. "He has everything planned, always one step ahead...he wanted to do something to you and the others, but...I stopped him. I had to make a decision."

Whatever decision you have made, we know it's the right one, she signed, ever supportive.

Our sons, she signed again, her arms shaking slightly. This is the past...

"Blue Eyes will be born again," I said soothingly as I brought myself closer to her. If I was going to be 'gone' soon, my primitive self might turn Cornelia away. I didn't know how I would act, and so there was a chance that Cornelius would not be born after Blue Eyes. But we could make sure that Blue Eyes would be born...

Maurice and the others, knowing what must be coming next based on our intimate touches, turned around and moved farther back into their cage to give us privacy, Preacher leaving the cave after.

Soon it was just the two of us alone in the vast darkness.

xxxx

The Colonel returned the next day to gather Caesar, who had been placed back into his original cage the night before by Preacher so he would not suspect that anything had happened between him and Cornelia.

The Colonel seemed to always come when a new day started, letting us know that it was morning again in the world above. How long we had been trapped down here I didn't know, and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out. My stomach rumbled, begging for nourishment that the Colonel hadn't bothered to give. But food and water were the least of my worries when he returned once again...with our leader in chains and shackles, connected to a chained leash held by none other than Preacher.

"Caesar?" I gasped, the name leaving my mouth instead of through sign.

"Maurice..." Caesar began as he looked into my eyes, his own worn and defeated. I couldn't place it, but he did not sound like himself. Cornelia hooted in distress at the sight of her husband from her cage, but Caesar refused to look at her as though he did not want her to see him in such an ungodly state.

"Please don't be mad. Don't seek out vengeance."

"What do you mean?" I asked, just as desperate for answers. He had left and followed the Colonel so willingly without any chains, but now he was shackled.

...Why?

"Live a good life..."

"Caesar..." I rumbled, reaching a hand out through the cage bars. Caesar reached his own hand forward as if in slow motion, like he was having trouble commanding it to move.

"Maurice, I...I...can't..."

His words faltered and slowed along with his body. His bright, golden-green eyes blinked rapidly and to my horror, they began to lose their brightness, fading into a dull black. He growled like a wild, primitive animal, scratching at his chains and screeching when Preacher attempted to use the chain leash to move him.

Rocket hissed beside me, standing protectively in front of Tinker and baby Koba, though I wouldn't be surprised if he was only protecting Tinker.

"What did you do to him?" I growled to the Colonel.

"What I was going to do to all of you...but he convinced me otherwise. You're free now."

Preacher's expression said otherwise, his features lined with what seemed like guilt as he stared down at the primitive Caesar. He knew something wasn't right, that the Colonel had something more planned for us than what he had promised Caesar.

No...he couldn't have! I hadn't been a part of the conversation that had led to this moment, and Caesar had been oddly quiet, refusing to fill us in on what was going on. But the sight before us proved what had been going on behind closed doors—that the Colonel had been working on much more than an underground maze after all these years, and that Caesar had sacrificed his intelligence to save ours.

It was a part of his decision that he had made—he wanted to be the only one.

He was no longer Caesar.

The Colonel unlocked the cage as well as Cornelia's, allowing us as a group to step outside and follow him to our supposed freedom. Preacher unshackled Caesar in the cage, hurriedly rushing out when the wild...animal rushed at him with his teeth bared, locking the cage again just as quick.

"King Kong is no more," the Colonel's voice echoed triumphantly through the never-ending tunnels, Caesar's animalistic screeches following close behind.

xxxx

It was all too much.

First Caesar had returned from the future, dying in Will's arms after warning us about a virus that would destroy most of humanity. Then he had returned from the dead, only to be taken from us soon after.

Now Will was gone and his father was dying, as his caretaker had called to let me know. Despite resisting, Malcolm had insisted that I return home to be with him while he took care of searching for the time being, looking up anything and everything he could find about the man named Colonel McCullough. We had promised Will that we would keep the apes safe, and now they were in the hands of a madman who must remember the future like we could, though I didn't know how it was possible if he hadn't had any 'assistance' like Malcolm injecting himself with the 112, or myself being exposed through the smoke in the fire.

I could remember my own death starting with a sneeze and a bloody nose in the kitchen, and it hadn't been pleasant way to go.

Hands shaking, I opened the door and took a deep breath, stepping inside. The house was quiet, and I stood frozen with the knowledge that I was never going to hear or see Will again...it just wasn't fair. If Caesar had come back, why couldn't he?

"Are you all right?" A voice brought me out of my inner misery. It was a stupid question for Charles' caregiver to ask, but I knew she meant well. I must look like a mess after everything that happened

I sniffed, nodding. "Yes...yes, I'm fine. It's just that..." I gestured to his room, and she immediately understood.

"I'm sorry," she said mournfully. "I tried to make him as comfortable as possible."

I nodded again, hardly able to reply. Charles was the only family I had left, and now he was leaving, too.

"Thank you," I told the caregiver sincerely, grateful that she had been here when I couldn't be. Will, Malcolm, Ellie and I had been so busy that I'd had no choice but to contact someone after Will had gotten into the truck accident so I could stay with him at the hospital. It felt like forever had passed, and it was surprising yet almost comforting that Charles had held on this long, as if waiting for his son's return that would never happen now.

Nearly choking on my own air but holding back, the caretaker could easily see my distress. "Would you like me to stay while you see him...? He's been mumbling in his sleep..."

Nodding once more, she followed me into his room. I didn't want to be alone, especially if these really were Charles' last moments. She stood politely off to the side near the entrance to the room, keeping us company yet respectfully keeping her distance at the same time.

I took position, sitting softly onto the edge of the bed. "Charles?" I asked in a gentle whisper. "Can you hear me? It's me, Caroline."

The caregiver had been right; he was mumbling, but I couldn't make out any words.

"He's...he's..." Charles breathed, his chest rising in a sharp motion. I placed a hand over his and he relaxed at my touch, but his eyes never opened.

"Charles?" I asked again, wanting to give him comfort as best as I could. "It's okay. If you need to go...you can. You're going to see Will again..." Tears threatened to escape, already making their way out of the corners of my eyes.

Why couldn't Will come back? The question repeated itself.

I could finally understand a single word that Charles spoke, his voice unclear and raspy, but still understandable nonetheless.

"No..."

"No...?" I repeated, brow furrowing. Had he just responded to what I'd said about Will? But how? Was he actually able to hear me?

"Not...his time...yet..." Charles rasped, his head turning to the side. "He's still here...still here...Will is still here..."

My suspicions had been confirmed that he really could hear me talk...but why was he talking about Will? What did he know...? How was it even possible?

"Will," Charles rasped again, repeating the same words. "He's here...to see the new world."

I stared in confusion, then horror when I noticed that his chest was slowly stopping. It was no longer rising and falling in its steady, yet painful motion.

Charles was just as still, his hand just as cold and face pale. A single tear streamed down my cheek. Ringing from the phone suddenly sounded, and the caregiver went quickly to pick it up, leaving me alone with Will's late father. She returned a moment later, reaching the phone out in her hands towards me so I could take it.

"It's a nurse named Ellie. She says it's important, that it's about Will..."

Eyes widening just as much as hers, I reached for the phone.

"Ellie?" I asked, voice straining so it wouldn't break amidst the tears that wouldn't stop falling now.

"Caroline," Ellie said in a rush on the other line. "Malcolm hasn't found anything yet, but the search team found someone else after Gen-Sys disappeared."

No, no. It couldn't be. Fighting against the hope that somehow, someway, Charles had been right, that he hadn't just been muttering nonsense before his death, my grief-ridden brain registered that Ellie hadn't said collapsed, like the reporter on the news had.

"Disappeared?" I repeated just to make sure. I could almost see Ellie nod on the other side of the phone.

"Gen-Sys didn't collapse," she said calmly through her rushing. "After we left, it disappeared, leaving a big opening for the team to find survivors. The fire vanished. They just didn't want anyone to know so the public wouldn't panic."

"What are you saying...?" I asked, not daring to give into the hope slowly rising, only to be disappointed.

"They found him, Caroline," Ellie revealed, my heart pounding faster at each word she said, gripping the phone tighter. "They found Will. He's still—"

I didn't have a chance to hear the single word 'alive' leave her mouth, dropping to the floor as shock and overwhelming happiness overtook my grief.

Charles was right.

Will was alive.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

I don't like this, Rocket signed his distaste for our new home. He had moved away from Tinker and little Koba; now that it seemed there was no immediate danger, he wanted to distance himself as much as possible from his wife and her newborn 'son,' and I couldn't exactly blame him.

I couldn't bring myself to speak, resorting to using sign as well to stop any more oncoming of tears that threatened to break loose.

We should be happy, I signed to Rocket in resignation. We should be grateful. The Colonel kept his promise and that's what matters most.

Buck stepped towards us, just as tentative as Rocket. Cornelia remained curled up on the grass just a few feet away, her eyes glassy. Tinker stepped closer to her in place of Buck to keep watch, but minded her distance. If anything, all Cornelia wanted now was to be left alone, but little Koba had other ideas. Now that Tinker's grasp wasn't so tight, he could give into his curiosity.

The little one struggled only momentarily until he was loose, dropping from his new 'mother's' arms. Tinker hooted in alarm, about to try and grab him gently again, but little Koba was too fast. He crept quietly towards Cornelia, arms outstretched as if he was asking for a hug. His tiny hands made contact with Cornelia's nose and she snorted slightly, blinking out of her inner struggle. Tinker moved forward to try and pull him back, but much to her surprise, Cornelia stretched her own arms forward in response. Little Koba squealed happily in delight at the action, snuggling into her grip while she held on tightly in return.

Tinker smiled, surprised yet thankful that little Koba was unintentionally helping Cornelia with Caesar's loss. Rocket only frowned, snorting in frustration. He turned away from the sight too disgustingly adorable for his mind to handle that even though Koba was no longer himself, he was still hugging Caesar's wife and he didn't like it one bit.

But Caesar is still trapped, Rocket signed to pull his attention away. He's not who he once was. How are we going to get him back to normal? He glanced this way and that as if to try and find an opening in the paradise that led back into the tunnels. But I knew that we could never return to that horrible, dark place; we were finally free, just as Caesar wanted. We couldn't let his sacrifice go to waste and try to get him back, only to get lost in the underground maze.

We can't, I responded, my hands and arms numb. I was unsure if the numbness was from the leftover sleepy gun effects, or if it was just because of how tired and unfeeling I really was. Caesar was gone...there was no bringing him back from whatever state of mind he had been forced into.

The Colonel said the effects are permanent.

There has to be some way we can—

I instantly cut Buck off, the huge gorilla frowning in protest. We could not allow ourselves to put our newfound freedom at risk.

No. The Colonel was right...Caesar told us not to be mad, not to seek out vengeance.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but even so, wet trickled down both sides of my cheeks.

He told us to live a good life, to be happy. So that's what we have to do. For him.

I opened my eyes again, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. Now that Caesar was gone, we had no choice but to fend for ourselves. To lead ourselves...

I was back at our other, better new home, the home that we had reached all on our own after fighting so hard to escape the human camp—the last obstacle in the way of freedom. But just as soon as happiness had arrived, it was taken away just as quick—Caesar was dying.

I didn't know what was worse; watching Caesar die physically or mentally.

Andy made his way forward, the mirage of Caesar whisking away. Jeanpierre followed close behind and even Wolfie, the ape who had fallen from the bridge as we had tried to escape to the woods, was back.

It was then I realized that those who had died had returned just like Caesar and Buck, and Koba had been given a second chance by returning from the dead and being sent back into the past, as well.

What do we do now...? Jeanpierre signed in worry, the gentle and soothing breeze ruffling his fur. I still could not believe that the Colonel had kept his promise to Caesar that we would be safe, that we would not lose our own intelligence and memories as he had forced Caesar to do, but it was a pleasant, unexpected surprise even if we had lost our leader.

I let out a small, quiet sigh. There was only one thing we could do.

"We live," I was finally able to bring myself to speak.

Staring back at Cornelia and little Koba snuggling together, I signed the three things that we had once built so successfully together, and that we could build again in honor of Caesar.

Home. Family. Future.

xxxx

It had started out like a normal prison cell, first. It had a toilet, a sink and a bed. The concrete walls were nothing but a stark white with no interesting spectacles like posters to look at. As time went on, 'dad' had attempted to make the cell look more like a normal bedroom, almost similar to the one he had kidnapped me from. Now the walls were a light blue, the bed was a nice shade of blue to match, and the tiny space was also carpeted like his main room (as if that was a plus.)

The only thing that stopped me from trying to get out myself aside from the blue concrete walls and the concrete underneath the carpet was a steel door, barricaded so I couldn't try and escape; the Colonel had thought of everything to make sure I couldn't possibly dig my way out whenever he wasn't here to watch me, though I had taken advantage of what little freedom I had as he helped me memorize the tunnels I would need to know most when the apes arrived. The tunnels themselves had never been much help, only leading from one to the other with no exit in sight.

Since we were going above ground, I had to look like a normal person and not a soldier that had just come out of the military. 'Dad' had given me the proper clothes I needed to change into; a plain white, normal looking t-shirt and black shorts. Based on the loose clothing, I guessed that it must be hot in the place he was planning to take me.

The Colonel came into my room a few hours later after I had gone back to the ape leader's cage against his wishes. I could hardly believe it as he led me to the above world; after all these years, I was finally getting another shot at freedom. While it had been only a day or two ago since we'd taken the apes from the shelter, it still seemed like a hundred years had passed me by, and I could do nothing but sit in my dull, blank room with walls just as blue as how I felt.

I allowed him to take away my crossbow and to tie the blindfold around my head as he always did in the few times we had gone up, and he placed a pair of headphones to each of my ears, turning the volume up as high as it could go. Music that a normal parent would probably classify as 'noise' burst through to my eardrums, but I couldn't exactly complain. It was necessary so I wouldn't hear any clues as to where the Colonel's underground base was located, and the blindfold as well so I wouldn't see anything in case I did manage to escape.

Of course the urge poked and prodded at me to try and move my head in such a way so I could at least see a tiny bit, but it was no use if the Colonel caught me trying to peek out from the blindfold. I would only lose my chance to escape, so I forced myself to try and pay attention to what I could feel instead.

The Colonel kept a hand firmly gripped on my right shoulder as he led me through the tunnels to get out, the faint yellow glow from his flashlight filtering into my blindfold. Carefully, I paid close attention to how many times the looped song ended and then began again, the feeling of walking for hours confirmed until a headache pounded along with the music.

Dirt transformed into metal as we stepped onto an underground elevator that we'd used previously to get to the apes. The elevator jerked from being used so suddenly and more than it was used to as it brought us out from under the tunnels, my stomach dropping as it lifted higher and higher. As we stepped onto new terrain, I had to wonder as the ground beneath my feet changed into something soft and sandy...

Were we on a beach? I couldn't hear the crashing sound of waves with the music blocking out any source of other sounds there were. The outside heat from the sun was immense, confirming the reason why I needed a simple t-shirt and shorts, not anything like the cold and chilly underground. It only further confirmed my suspicions that maybe, just maybe...the Colonel had somehow managed to build an entire underground city of his own design right underneath one of the most visited places in the world, or maybe he had found his own private beach that was never used.

He guided me into his car—I couldn't really tell what kind it was—and according to the looped music and how many times the four minute song played, we drove for about an hour across the beach-like surface until finally, we came upon a normal, smooth road.

He was quiet for the most part, and I didn't dare interrupt the silence or beg for him to take off my blindfold or headphones. I'd waited almost eighteen years for a chance like this, and so I could wait an hour or two more.

The car halted at last.

"Just a second," I thought I could hear the Colonel say through the blasting music as if he'd forgotten that I still had headphones on.

'Dad' leaned towards me then, pulling off the blindfold and headphones, my ears thankful for the sudden silence and eyes stunned at the array of colors that were such a welcome sight compared to the underground base. A bright, golden sun met my sensitive eyes that were so used to the pitch black tunnels, and I blinked to ward off the soreness that they were awarded, reaching up my hands to rub the water away that had begun to emerge thanks to the sharp light.

When the blurriness cleared, I found that we were now at...a diner. We were at a diner? This was San Francisco, or at least the outer part of it. I could see the red Golden Gate Bridge—not even a beach like I'd previously thought because of the sand-like substance beneath my feet.

It was just a quaint little diner far away from any help I could flag down, except for about two or three other cars in the parking lot, and I had to be careful about that too, should the Colonel try and hurt innocent people if I tried screaming for help.

"Well, come on," the Colonel said, his gaze trained on the small, homey building ahead. I had no idea how far we were from the actual base, but I almost found it amusing that we could be walking directly above the tunnels right at this moment. If we had really changed locations in a few mere hours, it indicated that one of those hundreds of tunnels led to this specific location, and the Colonel had just used his car to try and confuse me as to where the end of that certain tunnel was.

Who knew where the others led to?

xxxx

It seemed like forever since we'd arrived at our new home, but I had no urge to move or get up from where I had collapsed next to the lake. Rocket and Buck encouraged me to try and eat some greens and an orange kind of fruit they had found that reminded me of the one Will had let me try back in the shelter before everything happened, but I had no appetite. I just couldn't fill my stomach knowing Caesar was still stuck in the darkness, that the Colonel had most likely not fed him anything since arriving in the tunnels...

I knew I was setting a bad example by not moving or eating. I'd told everyone that we had to live, that we had to make the most of our new home for Caesar, but I just couldn't bring myself to get up, much less eat or drink despite the fact that it had been a day or two since we'd last eaten.

I sighed when Rocket came up to me again, turning my head away in slight annoyance. I expected him to try and get me to look in his direction so he could sign reasons why I should fill my empty stomach, and why I needed to get up. But when nothing happened, curiosity got the better of me and I finally looked in the direction where Rocket would have been. Only...it wasn't Rocket that came into view.

Cornelia, I signed in surprise, at least sitting up a little straighter in respect. I couldn't tell whether she had broken out of her shock already somehow, but it was a welcome sight to see her up and about thanks to little Koba who had helped ease her back into a right state of mind; I inwardly hoped that she would stay that way, and be willing to share her pain of losing her husband. It always helped to talk...maybe it would help both of us.

Silence reigned for a few moments between us before her arms began to move, signing the last thing I expected her to question at a time like this, at a time when she was so fragile and about to break.

Caesar said he went looking for the Colonel after our deaths...but what really happened?

Our deaths. She wanted to know what had really happened after the Colonel had murdered her and Blue Eyes. I looked away again, weary gaze downcast and reflecting back at me in the clear water of the lake. If I told her what had happened to Caesar, would she only retreat back into her shock? Talking helped in most cases...but maybe not in this one. The water itself was so perfectly clear and unmoving that I could see her reflection as well with no trouble making out what she was signing.

Maurice...you have always been honest. Please be honest now, too. Did that soldier you set free really kill him?

So even though she had been stuck in a state of shock, she'd been listening in on my entire argument with Preacher and the Colonel...it still upset me more than anything that I finally recognized the soldier we had let go in the woods, only for the Colonel to return and nearly destroy us all, trapping those who had lived and went on their way to our new home in his dreaded human camp where they were tortured and forced to work.

If Cornelia wanted to know the truth, then I could not keep it from her. She was still the Queen.

The Colonel trapped all the apes that survived the first attack in a camp, I went on to explain, hoping that she would not be too badly affected by the horrors that had taken place. I was not captured, but I was with Caesar, Rocket and Luca. He wanted to find the Colonel right away, and we wanted to go with him though he didn't want us to come. We went to a place where we first thought the soldiers were hiding and found a young human girl.

Nova...oh, how I missed my little human daughter. Where was she now, here in the past? Back with her family, the man who Caesar shot that must have been her father? Was she even born yet? I wished I knew, but there was no way I could find her in a gigantic world crawling with millions of humans once again.

Cornelia remained silent, continuing to listen.

We met another ape who could talk, too. It turned out that there could possibly be more apes like us!

I chuckled softly to myself at the thought of Bad Ape. Was he back at the zoo where the humans had so harshly 'given' him his name?

Luca was killed after soldiers attacked us by surprise. Caesar went on without us for revenge, but we still followed. The humans were in the middle of an argument with one another, the other side coming to destroy the Colonel. The three of us, including my new human daughter Nova, managed to help the others escape their cages through a tunnel that sick humans used to escape.

And then...? Cornelia's arms moved as if in slow motion.

I sucked in a deep breath, my lungs welcoming the pure, fresh air so different from the shelter and the city, and braced myself.

I did not see it happen, but now I know that the same soldier we released had shot Caesar with an arrow, and he passed just after we made it to our new home.

Cornelia whimpered, her shoulders quivering. I moved for the first time from my fallen position at last to wrap my arms gently around her in a hug, and she leaned in thankfully to my comforting embrace.

My grip loosened, and she signed her thoughts. He should not have tried to avenge Blue Eyes and I, just like he does not want us to avenge him now. I never wanted him to get hurt...

"We will be okay. We are free now," I said with words, unable to sign while I held her.

But Caesar isn't...I can't do this alone. Not strong enough...I...we need him.

The Queen gently distanced herself from my hug.

"In the future, in his final moments, he said...apes strong with...or without him," I said before she could go any further. She stopped, turning back around to face me. My eyes were still wet as were hers, tears of our entire family joined together in the mourning of our lost leader.

But even though we had lost Caesar, we had not lost ourselves.

"And it's true—we escaped the human camp. We made it to our new home, and we've made it to a new home now in the past because of Caesar's sacrifice."

Cornelia made her way slowly back in my direction and I lifted my hands, raising both arms to create our beacon of hope.

Others who had gathered around us did the same, copying my movements.

The Queen breathed in slowly, and I smiled softly when she lifted her own hands despite her overwhelming grief.

"We can make it through this together, too," I promised.

We created a nest so large that all of us could fit in together the first night in paradise, sleeping side by side in as much comfort as we could.

xxxx

Our waitress had taken our orders completely unknowing that the the man next to her was a kidnapper and possibly a murderer, if my parents really were dead, or based on what he had done in the future that I still couldn't yet remember. 'Dad' sat across from me in his seat, a glass of wine in hand as we waited for our food. I'd ordered the most normal thing in the world I could find on the menu—pancakes. While trapped with the Colonel underground, I hadn't exactly gotten to choose what I would eat, but today was a special occasion and he let me decide for once.

I was really just biding my time instead of looking forward to the pancakes, waiting for the perfect moment. All I could do for now was casually stare out the diner windows like I didn't mean anything by it, inwardly aching to just be able to walk out the door and never look back.

"To the future that is now the past, that which will never happen again...and to the savages that will no longer wreck havoc on our planet," the Colonel's slightly tipsy voice broke me out of my reverie. I made direct eye contact with him to let him know that I was listening, smiling softly in response to his words.

"To the human race that no longer has to fight for survival, that no longer has to bow down and become the savages' cattle."

"To the human race," I repeated, raising my glass a little higher. It wasn't any kind of wine, seeing as I was only eighteen, but 'dad' had let me choose from the menu and the next best thing was a root beer. The few other people in the diner with us went about their business and I had to tell myself not to stare, not to scream for help right then lest the Colonel break out of his daze and do something that would blow my chance at freedom.

He took what seemed his hundredth sip from his glass, a little more quickly than any normal person would do while drinking. My breathing quickened and my heart rate picked up, muscles tensing from the anticipation of what I was waiting for.

"...What are you going to do to them?" I whispered in an attempt to make at least a little conversation to try and get my plan moving, to try and get him to reveal his own plan for what he would do to the apes next. If the Colonel had been sober, there was no way he would reveal his plan for the apes to me then; now was as good a time as any.

"What I planned to do in the first place," he responded plainly. I already knew what 'plan' he was referring to—the serum. Though he had promised the apes' leader that they would remain unharmed, that they would be able to keep their intelligence, it had been a lie from the start, and the leader had been stupid enough to believe him. Eventually, what 'dad' had done to the leader was what was going to happen to every single one of them.

"If I could sever their heads like those who thought the plague could be 'medically' dealt with, I would."

I blinked a few times to try and comprehend what he'd just said.

"What did you say?" I asked, just to make sure I'd heard right.

"If I could sever their heads like I did to those who had other ideas about the virus and disagreed with my decisions in the future, I would. But we're not in the future anymore. This is the past, and we have to remain civilized."

Sever their heads...

I looked up at the apes who had captured us, fully expecting that we wouldn't be able to live another day. Their leader's stare burned right through my very soul.

"You're him."

"Are you okay, son? You look sick yourself, like you've just seen a ghost," the Colonel's voice barely echoed in the background.

"You're Caesar."

"Preacher?"

I could only stare ahead blankly at the man before me as it all came rushing back.

"We were searching for you for so long...we heard you had a hidden command base, but we could never find it. Some of us started to think that you might be dead, but Colonel McCullough said you were out here somewhere."

"Just kill us already."

"Shut up, man."

"What? They're animals. They're gonna slaughter us."

The ape leader's stare hardened like he was offended by my fellow soldier's statement, like they were anything but animals that needlessly killed.

"I did not start this war. The ape who did is dead."

"You're letting us go?" I asked in disbelief as the apes prepared to send us on our way back through the woods.

I snapped out of the memories, my heart pounding out of my chest so hard I had to hold it with a single hand, not going unnoticed by the Colonel.

"I-I just have to go to the bathroom. Is that okay?" I questioned as naturally as possible. The Colonel grunted but nodded, and I did my best not to get up so quickly that it would cause suspicion on his end.

I remembered. I remembered it all, and it wasn't anything like I'd expected. The apes...Caesar. He'd let us go...

You owed him your life, but you killed him! Maurice's shout rammed against my aching brain that pounded just as hard as my heart.

I hadn't witnessed his death, but I'd killed Caesar in return for letting us go, when he had shown us mercy and offered peace, the exact opposite of what the Colonel had said he would do...

I walked up to the fallen ape, crossbow ready to shoot the second and last arrow that would end his life. He had shown me mercy and let me go, but he was still an ape. Human civilization was ending this very second as I knew it, and I couldn't just allow him to live while the rest of us died. I couldn't fully stop the pang of guilt that stabbed at me; maybe in a better, non-virus ridden world, things could have been different. I could have repaid Caesar and let him go in return for letting me go. But things weren't different. They were the same, and they would always be the same if nothing was done about it, starting with the King of Apes.

I lifted the crossbow, hesitating for a split second before deciding what I had to do. But then...then?

I couldn't remember anything after that...had I died? It must have been an instant death which I was grateful for, at least.

I knew I couldn't stay in the bathroom for too long. I waited a few more minutes so I wouldn't go back out too quickly either in case that would cause some kind of suspicion as well, simply staring at my reflection in the mirror. As if to convince even myself that I had just gone, I subconsciously turned on the sink water to pretend that I washing my hands, hardly noticing the steam rising from the heat when I accidentally turned the knob to the left.

Everything he'd said about war and savages, beasts who showed no mercy...I knew now that it had all been a lie, at least most of it. The apes had just fought against us to protect their own kind, their own families...

Now...I fight only to protect apes.

Unable to make eye contact with even myself, I glanced downward into the bathroom sink, shoulders trembling and trying not to physically release my disgust though I hadn't eaten anything yet.

I hardly expected him to be there alongside my foggy reflection when I looked back up, my gut jolting in shock like I was watching a scene out of a horror movie. The Colonel stared and I could only stare back, hardly daring to even breathe.

"You killed them, too?" Caesar asked as the Colonel told his story of those he had murdered, both sick and innocent.

"What did I do, Preacher?" McCullough himself asked when the ape leader asked if he had killed those who disagreed.

"You severed their heads, sir," I responded, doing my best to remain indifferent, to hold myself together.

"Y-you severed their heads...oh my God, you s-severed their heads," I stammered to the Colonel's reflection. I couldn't let myself fall apart now! I had to be ready to escape when the opportunity came! Slowly and carefully, I turned in order to face my captor directly, the one who had held me prisoner all this time—the one I now remembered had been the cause of so many terrors inflicted upon his own species in the far, alternate future.

It was all true. It was all real.

McCullough mumbled indistinguishably to himself, glancing away and then back at me before finally speaking words I could understand.

"I guess it's all finally come back to you. Who knew a single word like 'sever' would would be the trigger," he said, tone thick with the realization that his only 'son' had remembered everything about the future at last just like he said I would. It had taken forever, years, but I had finally regained who I once was, my future self that had turned into a hardened soldier because of the apes.

But that soldier now saw that it wasn't the apes I should be worried about.

"You killed them all...even the ones that weren't sick and disagreed with you. You killed our families..." I whispered weakly, resisting the urge to fall to my knees and never get up again.

But my head shot up higher, eyes wider than they had ever been before, meeting his gaze that had cast a looming shadow over me.

"You killed my family," I said in nothing but a whisper, recalling the screams of terror I wished I hadn't remembered in the first place and the horrible sounds glued to my mind so strongly I knew that I would never be able to forget again. How could I have ever followed him...how could I have ever thought that he was a great man that would lead us out of extinction when he had only been taking part in it?

When I had found my parents outside my house as a child, I couldn't tell if they had been alive or dead, and now I was even more unsure if they were actually alive now in the past. The Colonel had murdered them in cold blood in the future, but here in the past...had he really murdered them again? They couldn't be gone...they just couldn't be...

The Colonel's glare softened and to my disgust, he smiled as if to try and comfort me. "Believe me when I say it was done for the greater good, that all of us had to make sacrifices just like I had to shoot my own son. If I had let them live, there was the very strong possibility that you would have been infected with the virus, as well. We all would have been infected, leaving nothing. Nothing but a planet of apes—savages ruling the earth."

"No," I returned, coming to my own resolve at last. After all these years, I was finally making up my own mind—and choices.

"You are the savage."

Before he could take another step forward I surprised even myself, flinging the hot sink water in his direction. He screeched in fury, stumbling backwards against the wall and unable to right himself immediately thanks to the wine he had downed. His head made sharp contact with the floor, his eyes sliding shut.

"And my name isn't Preacher," I stated firmly in a gasp, rummaging quickly through his pockets until I found what I was looking for—keys to his car. Without second thought, I burst the bathroom door open to just get out of there and run. Our waitress had just come with the food to our table, shouted something I didn't make any sense of, probably trying to get me to go back and explain what had gone on in the bathroom.

I finally remembered who I was, and I definitely remembered how to drive a car even though McCullough hadn't bothered to teach me in the years I had been stuck with him.

There was only one problem—the car wouldn't start. It remained frozen to the parking lot...had the Colonel done something to make sure I wouldn't escape, like he knew I would make an attempt? I wouldn't be surprised. Cursing to myself I leapt out, eyes darting every which way for something, anything that would be of use.

There! A truck that had already been started, indicating that someone out of the other people that had been in the diner with us was leaving at this very moment. Taking a deep breath I made a break for it, leaping into the back and praying that whoever owned the truck would come soon and get me out of here without even realizing he had a stowaway.

My hope was short-lived when a man did a sudden double take as he walked up, immediately noticing he had an unexpected passenger.

"What the hell are you doing in my truck?" He demanded, furious as he began to open up the back to try and get me out.

"Please," I begged. "I don't have anything right now, but I promise I'll find some way to repay you later. I need to get to San Francisco."

"And why should I help you?"

I said the first thing that came to mind. He wasn't a crazed man like 'dad,' and he wasn't one of those apes, though they seemed to be equal in terms of what I was going to say.

"Because you're human."

I could tell that I'd struck a chord when the man's hardened gaze softened at the statement.

"Fine," he said in defeat. "I was going in that direction, anyway. I can take you to a hospital where you can get help and call someone."

Without another word he turned to get in the front seat.

"Wait," I called. The man returned, the annoyance in his gaze back.

"What now? I'm taking you where you want to go. So let's go," he said impatiently.

"What's your name?" I asked, readying myself for the question he would most likely ask next.

"Carver. What's yours?"

I smiled more to myself than to him at the fact that I finally remembered who I really was, revealing the name that my parents had given me.

"Gabe."

xxxx

Something's not right, Rocket once again signed his distaste for our new home.

"What do you mean?" I couldn't help but sigh. Days had turned into nights, and nights had turned into days. I had lost count of how many times the sky transformed from blue to black with beautiful twinkling lights, unsure of how many days we had really been situated in the Colonel's paradise.

It had been debated whether or not we should hold a kind of service for Caesar, but Rocket had refused—Caesar wasn't truly gone. He was still alive, but he just wasn't himself. It wasn't time to say goodbye yet if there was the slightest chance we could bring him back. How such a feat would be even possible, I had no idea. But Caesar wasn't gone, so it had been voted upon that we hold off on a tribute. As much as I shuddered at the thought, we didn't even have a body, so we couldn't send him across the lake.

Most of our time had been spent exploring every last inch of our new surroundings, and it seemed that Rocket had been doing his best to find something so wrong with our paradise so that we would have to try and escape. Either that or he was still deliberately trying to avoid Tinker and little Koba, which I certainly didn't approve of. No matter how much hate he held in his heart for our past enemy, Koba was no longer...Koba, and Tinker saw through that. Why couldn't he?

Haven't you noticed that there aren't any animals? No elk...only birds, Rocket signed uneasily, his gaze turning towards the orange setting sun.

I hadn't really thought about it, nor noticed what Rocket spoke of about there being hardly any other animals besides us. But now that the subject had been brought up, I had to admit that it was a little strange. Nothing to be worried about, but strange nonetheless.

Our only source of food are fruits or berries that we gathered, Rocket continued to explain. Including greens, of course. But no live meat for us to hunt.

"Then we'll just have to make do without meat," I reasoned.

Rocket huffed. Greens, fruits and berries were always a healthy choice, but elk was a special treat every once in awhile.

Don't you think it's odd...that he brought us here so easily?

I blinked, and Rocket affirmed his thoughts.

No humans to get through. I did not think they would allow apes like us to be free so easily.

"Rocket...stop," I said firmly, unable to take his negativity and doubts any longer. "I don't like it either, but we're finally free. It's what Caesar wanted."

Rocket shook his head in protest. I'm not going to stop, was what he was saying clear as day.

"You're trying to find the bad in the good where there is none," I scolded gently.

His face brightened like he'd just thought of an idea, somewhat reminding me of Bad Ape's comical expressions.

No. I have to show you something!

"What?" I murmured, still slightly annoyed. We just wanted to live in peace as Caesar had told us to, but Rocket was ever determined to break the peace that was seemingly all an illusion to him.

Come see! Follow! He commanded eagerly, rushing through foliage so quick I had no choice but to follow so I wouldn't lose sight of him. He climbed, rushing up the trunk of a tall tree and gesturing for me to do the same. I picked another tree close by the one he had chosen, taking my time unlike the chimp to climb upwards until the orange glow of the sun settled upon and further warmed my fur. We had an entire view of the valley now including the lake, but I was lost as to what Rocket wanted to show me.

"What is it?" I questioned, squinting to try and make sense of the valley that was completely normal (in my eyes, at least.)

Wait...wait...Rocket signed. Keep looking.

Then to my surprise, he began counting backwards. Three...two...one. Now! There!

He pointed his arm sharply ahead and I jerked at the unexpected action, keeping my eyes trained on the sunset. A flock of birds had appeared, and I hadn't remembered them flying in from a certain direction.

Look...those birds always fly in the same spot, at exactly the same time when the sun first begins to set. Then we never see them until the sun sets again. Isn't that strange?

Now that I thought about it, birds that flew in the exact same spot at the exact same time did seem a little strange. Maybe Rocket was onto something...what that something was, I wasn't sure, but it couldn't be a bad thing...right?

A despaired screech suddenly sounded, stealing our attention away from the odd flock and down below where a frazzled Tinker stood, expression wide-eyed and panicked. Rocket immediately leapt down from the tree and I followed, searching his wife for any sign of injury, but there seemed to be none.

Though I already had a sinking feeling at the sight of her empty arms, I asked anyway. "Tinker? What is it?"

Koba is missing! She signed, absolutely frantic.

When I turned back around just as the sun began to fully disappear behind the trees, I couldn't help but notice that the birds were missing along with Koba.

Chapter Text

Nearly every ape gathered to see what the commotion was. Tinker led us to a spot in the big nest we had all created, her eyes wide and panicked at the thought that little Koba was gone. Though we all knew Rocket's opinion of the baby, it was surprising when he took initiative to ask his wife the first question before our soon-to-be search.

What happened?

I was already starting to fall asleep for the night, and when I woke up...he was gone! Tinker signed frantically, eyes glued to the spot where she had last seen her 'child.'

No one else was nearby? Rocket questioned. Tinker shook her head, surprised that her husband was at least curious of the baby's whereabouts. For all we knew, he was most likely happy that Koba was missing.

No...where could he have gone? Tinker let out a despaired moan at the thought that little Koba was lost in our new home somewhere. He was only a baby...he couldn't find his way around, especially not in a new place like this!

Buck took a step forward, glancing at Rocket and hesitating a moment before signing. It is possible that someone...could have taken him.

Rocket noticeably stiffened, the back of his neck hairs slightly raising in defense as he glanced at me to see if I agreed with Buck. I stared back into his eyes, searching for truth, and he huffed in offense.

You think...I had something to do with this?

To his surprise and mine as well, Tinker stepped towards him, her expression pained. Could Rocket have really stolen her new child? It didn't seem too far off given his feelings for the young bonobo, and Tinker understood this the most out of all of us.

We all know you still hate him.

Rocket bristled, his stance tensing and neck hairs raising even higher. All of his pent up resentment and anger towards the little one finally exploded, confirming what we already knew: that Rocket was never going to accept Koba as his own like Tinker had, and for good reason. His mouth twitched and instead of signing again, he opened it and sounds burst forth.

He spoke for the first time, his words sharp and carrying strongly over the lake. Gruff and deep, his new tone almost reminded me of Caesar's. He had been an alpha once before at the shelter, so it was not too surprising that his voice would sound like that of a commanding leader, and almost like our lost Caesar that he took after.

"He started a war! He killed our son! We can't just forget!"

Complete silence followed his outburst, no one daring to break it. Tinker remained in her standing position, refusing to show weakness and let Rocket's anger get the better of her.

He's not the same ape, Rocket, she signed defiantly.

"I will never forgive him," Rocket's mouth moved again, putting his new ability to speak to use. His voice was softer this time, more vulnerable as he let his guard down for Tinker, uncaring that the rest of the apes were watching along with myself.

I'm not asking you to forgive, Tinker amended. Time gave Koba a second chance to start over in a strange way that none of us ever expected...maybe you should do the same. The old Koba is gone and we are in a new time where future events have not happened...Ash can still be born again. He is not gone. Koba has not killed him...we can only remember what will never happen again.

Rocket's frown faded bit by bit. He seemed to take her reasoning into consideration, just as a good leader should though he refused to call himself such as long as Caesar was still alive. He made a glance in my direction and I nodded, showing my agreement with Tinker. It was up to him whether to concede; his tense muscles relaxed only a little and he blinked, coming to a bold and caring decision on his end that was a welcome surprise for all of us—especially Tinker. Her green eyes shined ever brighter at his next words, filled with hope that not all was lost between her husband and missing child.

I may hate him, but I promise I did not take him, Tinker. I will find him, he signed as if to make up for yelling. The chimpanzee turned to leave, rushing towards the trees to begin his search for our former enemy.

Rocket—Tinker attempted to sign before his leave; but it was already too late. Her husband was gone, determined to find her new child and make at least one thing right since arriving in our new home.

"We'll send more apes out to search come daylight," I comforted Tinker gently as the sun finished setting. Staring up at the darkened sky, the birds that Rocket had shown me came to mind and I couldn't help but wonder if it was safe for him to go out on his own like this. "He can't have gotten far. He's too little..."

Tinker nodded, the faintest hint of a smile flickering. Thank you, Maurice.

"Rocket was with me when you first said he disappeared," I decided to let her know. She stared, eyes widening at my revelation.

"He did not take Koba," I confirmed gently, hoping the fact would bring her some comfort while Koba was missing and Rocket was gone all night, at least. Her shoulders slumped, guilty all the same that she had blamed Rocket for something he did not do.

The once clear and setting sky transformed, molding into a damp and dark-black gray. It had not rained since arriving in our new home...

Until now.

xxxx

"Did you see the news about the fire?" Carver asked as we made our way to the city hospital. Once we were far enough away from the diner and it was deemed safe enough, the man had pulled over to allow me to sit in the front seat.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did..." I replied in almost a murmur. The fire on the news that had alerted the Colonel that the apes were finally here...now Gen-Sys was destroyed. As a soldier in the future, there had always been talk of where the virus had originated—that a human being like one of us had started it all. No one—especially the Colonel—wanted to believe it, placing blame on the apes instead.

"Crazy, man. Apes helping people escape, like they're smart. You want to know what's even crazier?"

I nodded, turning my head to stare out the truck window. I had to hold in a gasp when the famous, red Golden Gate Bridge came into view in all its glory, like nothing had ever happened to it in the first place. The bridge stood, tall and proud just as it was meant to be in the bright and shimmering sun as we continued to drive over.

"I feel like I've seen something like this before...like from a movie or something, but I can't remember what it's called. Somehow, those apes were...familiar."

I blinked, glancing back from the window towards Carver. Had he been involved in the future once, too? Everyone in the world had to be at some point, I supposed, whether it had been when the virus first broke out or even deeper into its clutches when the apes began to 'take over.' I wondered what Carver would think if I tried to tell him that his feelings of déjà vu were real, that he had indeed seen those apes once before. I decided to keep my mouth shut, lest he most likely think I was crazy and throw me out of his truck.

"Now some lunatic has gone and taken all of them. Who would want to steal a bunch of apes for no reason?"

Because he still blames the apes and wants revenge for something that will never happen again, I thought knowingly to myself. And he's just crazy.

My eyes widened slightly as I remembered that the Colonel hadn't been the only one involved in taking the apes. I had been there to help get them out of their cages and watch helplessly as he murdered an innocent boy. According to the news, the other man—the other security guard—that the Colonel had attempted to kill was still alive. What if someone recognized me? What if Carver eventually recognized me and turned me in at the hospital?

I told myself not to worry...the Colonel and I had both been wearing masks and dark clothes. I was wearing a completely different shirt and pants now, so the chances of someone recognizing me based off of a simple description were relatively low.

I let out a somewhat relieved sigh when Carver pulled into the hospital's parking lot. I was so close...I could try calling...them...to see if they were still alive. Now that I had my future memories back, I could also remember my old phone number to the home I had been raised in before deciding to join the US Army at the age I was now. I could forget that I even had future memories at all, choosing to let them whisk away in the wind to rebuild the life I had lost after my kidnapper stole it. Whatever the Colonel was planning to do next, I couldn't stop it. No one could...

So why bother? I wasn't going to let him take me again. As much as I wanted to help the apes in return for letting me go...they were on their own.

I opened the front seat of the truck, closing it gently behind me and standing still before taking a step forward into the building. Carver didn't have to help me, but he did, and I was more than grateful.

"Thanks for the ride..."

To my surprise, he began to follow me out of his truck towards the hospital entrance. I frowned slightly in momentary confusion, but then it came back to me that he'd said he was heading in this direction, anyway. Little had I known that he was actually coming to the hospital itself.

"Oh, I'm sticking around for awhile. Don't forget that you owe me," he said to make sure I wouldn't go anywhere. Not that I could—I didn't have anywhere to go yet, and probably wouldn't for awhile. No matter how wrong it was, some small part of me wanted to go crawling back into the darkness and 'safety' of the tunnels.

"Right," I said in a mumble. Why would he need to come to the hospital? Did he have someone he knew waiting for him?

"...My son," Carver answered as if he'd been reading my mind. "He needs an operation soon..."

The man didn't say anything more, and I didn't pressure him. I could only hope that the operation his son needed wasn't because of anything life-threatening, and that it would be a success.

"Let's go," he said, his tone mildly demanding. I didn't hesitate to follow him into the hospital, sticking close by him in case anyone in particular was on the lookout for me—maybe even the Colonel himself.

xxxx

Just as we had promised Tinker, the search for little Koba began at first light. It wasn't exactly light, however, with gentle rain deciding to fall since the search had started. It was not heavy enough to keep us from looking, but I wondered that if Rocket had been with me, would he have found the oncoming rain suspicious like the birds?

I continued traveling on my own, having sent the other apes out in different directions. Whether they stayed together or split up, it was their choice as I had let them know since Rocket still had yet to return and give orders. Even so, I could still make out the shapes of other apes moving this way and that; the land did not seem big enough for the others to roam completely out of sight, much to my comfort.

Apart from the suspicious rain, I had also begun to notice that a lot of trees looked exactly like each other, unlike the forest we had first escaped to after the bridge battle that contained many different trees, leaf and branch positions included. I stared warily at a single tree that I had apparently already passed, one that stood out with an odd, jagged branch I could easily recognize. Out of all the other trees, this one seemed to have a problem with its leaves, for there were few and far between—or some were beginning to fall down.

...Was I going in circles? The land did not seem to stretch any further than the odd tree.

A sudden shape by my side brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked to see that Andy had decided to join me in my search.

Do you feel that? He signed cautiously, staring with wide eyes at the jagged tree.

"Feel what?" I asked. I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary; just the fact that the land seemed to be endless, yet had an end at the tree, and that we were indeed going in circles when we once again came upon the same tree with the same jagged branch.

I feel strange. Like we're being watched, Andy explained, eyes darting left to right to make sure that he was wrong.

I shook my head and Andy fell silent, telling myself to snap out of it. Rocket's suspicions of the birds that flew in the same direction in the same spot every day were only starting to make me suspicious now, too. I was only overthinking things just as he was doing...

Before we knew it, night fell all too soon again. Rocket still had not returned, and so Tinker was left alone though she still had us.

Where is he? Tinker signed, worry etched across her features. He should be back by now...

I'm sure he's still looking, I signed back. Truth be told, I couldn't help but worry a little, too. Rocket would not have stayed out all night to never come back. He would have returned to let us know if he had found anything—or nothing at all, for that matter.

There was a strong chance it was just my imagination, but the rain seemed to fall harder as I climbed the tallest tree that overlooked the valley—the tree where Rocket had first shown me the birds. The sun was just beginning to set, just barely visible behind the gray clouds and its orange glow fading as a sign the day was nearing its end. I gazed out over the grassy land beyond the trees towards the horizon, eyes squinting and waiting.

Waiting for them. Three, two...one.

Just as I expected, the same flock of birds came into view, flying directly into the stormy clouds. Each day I climbed the same tree to gaze out over the horizon, and each day the birds flew by without fail no matter the weather.

Three days passed, and Rocket still did not return.

xxxx

Carver was determined to make sure I stuck close by him until I paid him in return for driving me to the hospital. As much as I yearned to pick up a phone and call my parents, I didn't dare make an attempt as long as he was watching me, only to assume I was calling for another ride somewhere else to escape him. Deep down, I had to wonder if it was only because I owed him that he wanted me to stay close by, or if he just wanted my company until another family member, maybe a wife, came to see his son with him, too.

I told myself that calling mom and dad could wait, anyway. What if they were still alive and answered the phone? What was I supposed to say? I doubted that they remembered any of the alternate future, so they wouldn't be able to recognize the voice of their older son who had been missing for eighteen years. It would be quite a shock on their end—I had to play it safe, so I gladly stayed with Carver and his son for the time being as a kind of support if that was truly why he wanted a stranger around.

And what if they didn't answer at all, or entirely new people answered? I didn't know if I would be able to handle it; I decided to wait until a better time when I was more prepared.

Carver's son Cooper lay in his hospital bed, snuggled into the white sheets and wearing a gown. He was due for an operation soon as Carver had said, though he was far from anxious as he wore a set of big, black goggles. His head moved from left to right, and I watched in fascination as he used virtual reality to his advantage. The nurse that came to check on him explained that children were welcome to use the goggles to try and prevent any anxiety before surgery, and it seemed to be working well with Cooper.

"There's more dolphins over there," he said gleefully, pointing to his right side as he immersed himself in the ocean setting that we couldn't see ourselves. He was underwater, and apparently there were dolphins swimming above, below and to either side of him much to his delight.

Carver smiled, though wearily. Maybe it would help if I offered to get some food from the cafeteria? Then I could at least attempt gathering up enough courage to call my parents…

"Can I get you something to eat?" I asked like I was a waiter at the diner I had just escaped from. I couldn't help but wonder if the Colonel had come to already, and if he had started a mad search party for me in desperation to get me back. In all honesty, I wasn't that important to him, especially now that I had regained my future memories. I didn't even know where his underground base was because of how well he'd hidden it from me, so it wasn't like I could reveal his hiding spot. But was that what he really thought? If anything, he would at least want to try and get me back for pointless revenge. I had to be careful…

"Sure," Carver said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a bill. Glancing down, my eyes widened at the amount and why on earth he would trust someone he hardly knew with that much.

"Get yourself something, too. Just make sure you come back," he warned.

I nodded in quick response, shuffling my feet to get a move on. I could barely see where exactly I was going except through the room's closed door, and I opened it—only to unintentionally smash into an unaware passerby holding coffee of all things. The hot drink spilled, splattering onto the tile floor and onto my plain, white shirt that wasn't so white anymore.

"Sorry! Wasn't looking where I was going," a man said apologetically in a rush, bending down to pick up his cup. His eyes met mine and I stared, unable to look away from just how unnaturally bright and...green they were. Almost like…but no, it couldn't be. I inwardly shook myself out of it, and the man apologized again. He seemed to snap out of his own reverie upon making eye contact with me, like he'd realized something the same as I had. Was it possible that he recognized me based on the description they'd given in the news…? Maybe I really shouldn't be at such a crowded place right now. I could find help somewhere else, somewhere no one would think that I had taken part in kidnapping an entire group of apes…

"I'm so sorry…I'll get something to clean this up." The man left, leaving me standing in the room's doorway with a stained shirt. I couldn't go get food like this, waiting until the man returned moments later with a wet cloth to bend down and wipe the coffee spill up, handing me a second cloth as well in the process. I pressed the given cloth to my shirt, rubbing in circles until it had absorbed most of the stain.

The man stood back up, his eyes darting behind me to see the other man sitting in his seat next to Cooper's bed, traveling to the young boy wearing goggles.

"Carver!"

Carver blinked, just as confused as the man.

"How do you know my name?"

It was a far-fetched assumption, but I came to the conclusion that this man must have known Carver at some point in the future, and Carver himself did not have his memories back yet. Was it like this for everyone, and the entire world would eventually remember a future where there was a war between apes and humans? I was glad that I hadn't been the only one to have had trouble recalling the future, at least. Caesar had said that he didn't know how it worked, and I was just as lost as him.

"Uh…I overheard one of the nurses mentioning a little boy using virtual reality. Would it be okay if I take a look for some research I'm doing?"

Just by the way he hesitated, I could tell it was a lie. Carver debated with himself for a moment as to whether or not he should allow another stranger inside his son's room. I inwardly hoped he would allow the man to stay so I could find out more—find out if he really did have something to do with the future.

Then he shrugged. "Why not?"

I took a deep breath as the green-eyed man entered, stepping closer to Cooper's bed so he could see the black goggles more closely.

"So this is virtual reality?" He questioned, fascinated just like I had been by the way Cooper looked from left to right, seeing things that we couldn't and immersing himself in an entirely different place other than the hospital room—a more desirable place that most likely almost anyone in a hospital would rather be.

"Where are you, Cooper?" Carver asked his son so the man could get a better idea of how the goggles worked.

"I'm swimming with dolphins underwater," Cooper answered without hesitation, happy to share his virtual adventures. "They're all around me and I can try to pet them," he added, reaching an arm out as if to try and touch a dolphin's nose in front of him.

"It helps him calm down before surgery," Carver explained.

I could see why it would help. The goggles masked any needles that would be poked, and took the patient away from the hospital itself, transporting them into an entirely new, worry-free world while the doctors did their work. Compared to what the Colonel had built, this was nothing—but it was still interesting to see what had originally inspired his plan for the apes. He wanted to make sure they stayed calm before his procedure, and also to really test their intelligence and see how far it could go—if they could tell the difference between what was fake and what was real. When he was done messing with their minds, that was when he would strike as he'd told me at the diner.

My shirt had dried by now, the coffee stain nothing but a dull and yellow circle in the center. Unfortunately, I realized that the bill that Carver had given me hadn't fared much better, still wet and groggy in my hand from being splattered. The man seemed to take notice of this, and cringed in guilt. Carver frowned, but the man came to a simple solution.

"Let me repay you?" He asked hopefully, wanting to make up for the damage he'd caused. I turned towards Carver for permission to decide what to do with his lost money, and he nodded after a quick inner debate, brightening at a new idea he'd come up with.

"Also make sure this kid doesn't go anywhere. He owes me for driving him here."

I stole a glance at the man and he smiled faintly, nodding in agreement, but there was something else in his gaze as well…a kind of knowing, and I was sure in that moment that he had caught onto the description of a younger man with the unknown older man. "I can do that."

At last, we both began to make our way to the cafeteria. The silence was unbearable walking down the hall towards the elevator, and fight or flight instinct began to take over. Should I stay with him, or should I run? If I ran, Carver would only call the police and then there would be a double manhunt on the lookout for me if the Colonel had already sent out his goons who were just as crazy to be working for a maniac like him—who had never bothered to try and help me return above ground in all the years I had been stuck.

In all my thinking, I hadn't noticed that we were already in the elevator. My stomach dropped as we started moving, and I had to make sure I looked anywhere but at the man standing right next to me, focusing on the floor number that he had pushed instead.

"I won't turn you in," the man said to finally break the rising pressure.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I decided to combat. There was no way he could possibly think I was the one with the Colonel. We'd both been wearing masks, and had been dressed in entirely different clothing.

"The news. They said a man kidnapped a group of apes, and a younger man about your height was with him as the security guard of the shelter said. Then Carver said you owed him for driving you here."

It dawned on me then that Carver had indeed told the man to watch me, to make sure I didn't go anywhere and that I owed him for driving me here. The man must have caught onto that somehow—that I had come to the hospital to try and find help, and the man had put two and two together. What did he have to do with the apes, and why was he looking for them?

"Did you know Carver...?" I asked asked slowly, unsure if I should continue on. "In the future?"

He blinked, unfazed by the odd and out of the blue question.

"Yes," he answered calmly. "I'm Malcolm. He was an asshole, but he never told us he had a..." he trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief and just as unsure if he should continue as I had been.

"Did you ever...?" He questioned back, not knowing what to expect, exactly. If Carver had known this 'Malcolm' at some point in the future, did that mean the Colonel had, too? He'd never mentioned anyone like this man in the years that I had been stuck with him, probably pushed to the back of his crazed mind if his encounter with him in the future was less important than his plan for the apes.

"No...I never knew Carver. I was a soldier fighting in a war against..."

"Apes?" Malcolm finished for me almost instantly.

My eyes widened ever so slightly as did Malcolm's at my reaction, like he was trying to contain himself from bursting forth with a million questions that would no doubt overwhelm me.

"They were taken by a man," Malcolm explained fervently. "We've been searching for him for awhile now. Do you know Colonel McCullough?"

The name grated against my ears harshly—a name that I never wanted to hear again. The Colonel had kidnapped me and stolen my life, hiding me in a pitch-black place where I would never have any chances of being found.

It would have been comical if I hadn't known what in the world Malcolm was talking about. From any other person's viewpoint, it would have sounded like he was simply looking for another human—maybe even a child of his own that had gotten lost in the hospital. But I knew better...I knew the truth—that he was somehow connected to the future just as I was. If I had been any other person, I would have thought that he was crazy.

But he wasn't. He'd known Carver in the bad future, had known the apes in the bad future. Maybe he'd even known the Colonel at one point as I suspected.

I stopped him before he could speak again, already knowing the question he was about to ask. I had originally planned to find my parents, but I couldn't. Not right now—not until I was ready and they were ready, for that matter. My parents—if they were even alive—could wait for the time being.

"You're letting us go?" I could hear my future self ask Caesar, the ape who I had thought was going to make sure we wouldn't make it back to camp. Instead, he had shown us mercy, and I hadn't been able to repay him for showing mercy…

Until now. The world wasn't virus-ridden anymore, and the human race wasn't ending. I could finally repay Caesar in return for letting me go. I could have my own revenge against the Colonel for stealing my new life from me, keeping me against my will in the underground tunnels and claiming that I was his son when really, none of it was true.

It had all been a lie and I had to help the apes now, even if I had previously thought of leaving them behind. I refused to leave them in the hands of a madman when Caesar had been so kind to me, even when I had been the one to cause his death.

I had to make things right.

Just by Malcolm's weary and hopeful expression, I could tell that he'd already been trying his hardest to find the Colonel and where he had taken the apes with little to no success, and it was completely understandable; the Colonel had built an entire underground base and not even I knew where exactly it was located except by the bit of information I had gathered on the way to the diner. But maybe the little information I had gathered would be just enough…

"I might know where they are."

xxxx

Where could he have gone? Yet another day had gone by, and still Rocket did not return from his search for little Koba. Andy offered to go looking for the both of them, and I suggested that he take Jeanpierre so he had someone to look out for him in case something really was astray.

A day passed and the two of them did not return, just as Rocket and little Koba hadn't. Buck offered to go on a search of his own for the four missing apes, and I reluctantly agreed. I stayed behind with the remaining apes and Tinker, worried beyond belief for her missing husband.

Another day passed, and Buck did not return.

"No more searching," I said to the others frantically. I could not allow anything more to happen. Little Koba, Rocket, Andy, Jeanpierre and now Buck had all gone missing, and we couldn't afford any more apes to befall the same fate.

The rain hammered harder than it ever had, forcing us to seek shelter in the nearby trees.

It wasn't long before I had to give into my temptation and go out searching for those who had gone missing.

What if you go missing too, Maurice? Tinker signed before I could step foot out into the valley that we thought we had explored and gotten to know enough. Stay here with us.

"I have to find them," I said, my mind already made up. "They have to be out there somewhere."

Tinker's worried expression fell. Cornelia came up to us, her pace slow and cautious.

Please be careful, Maurice, she signed nervously. I nodded, smiling softly to reassure her. If I couldn't find the others, or if the same thing happened to me, at least I would know what had happened to them. I knew it was a bad idea leaving the others...what if something happened to them, too? Their disappearances would be on my hands.

But it was necessary.

Keep each other safe, I signed to Cornelia. She hooted, nodding her approval for me to leave.

Cautiously, I set foot out into the open valley once more, away from the safety of our giant nest. Of course, I knew that if the rain kept up like this for much longer, not even the nest would be safe anymore. I couldn't even begin to place it, but something was happening and Rocket had been right to question our new home. He had also been the first to question, and the first to disappear after little Koba.

A sudden chirp brought me out of my confusion, and I glanced back to the jagged tree I had come upon again to see that...a bird had landed on the odd-looking, sharp branch.

...A bird! They had never come so close to the ground before, and they especially hadn't made use of any trees like this—landing on a branch in the rain, no less. It was my only chance to see what they really were—if Rocket was right and something really was strange about them. I could assure him when he came back that he had nothing to worry about, and everything was as it should be. Just because the land was given to us by our worst enemy, it didn't mean that something was wrong with it. The others had just gotten lost looking for Koba, and nothing more. There was no strange force at work here, no matter how much Rocket had wanted to believe otherwise.

I could prove him wrong, and we could finally live in complete and undisturbed peace when we found them without anyone else going missing.

Taking a step towards the bird, I glanced to the ground until I found what I was looking for; a decent sized rock. I couldn't just climb up the tree, as the bird would only get startled and fly off before I could properly inspect it. Hurting the bird was the last thing I wanted to do, but I just had to see if I could somehow touch it, confirming its existence and that it was a real creature so I could put Rocket's mind to rest when he returned, or if we found him.

Sucking in a nervous and shaky breath, I lifted my arm to toss the rock directly towards the winged animal.

...The rock went right through, the bird chirping in distorted alarm. It hopped, its wings flapping frantically as if it was trying to take flight but unable, and its body suddenly...disappeared, reappearing only a moment later and breaking apart into little boxes that somehow came back together, only to then disappear completely. I blinked once, twice, and then a third time, unable to process what I had just witnessed. The proof was right there in front of me, even though it no longer wasn't.

The bird was gone.

It wasn't real…

None of it was real. The valley, the lake, the trees...why Rocket had noticed that there weren't any other animals besides us, and why Andy had felt like we were being watched. We thought we had escaped the underground tunnels, but the Colonel had somehow created a place that looked almost exactly like the outside.

I didn't completely understand, but I understood enough: Rocket was right.

Chapter Text

"I might know where they are."

As soon as the words left my mouth, the man named Malcolm stiffened, his bright and green eyes widening; he was inwardly questioning what I meant by 'might.' He didn't need to ask, though; I spared him the trouble by attempting to explain...and failing miserably. I just didn't have an exact answer for him about where exactly the apes could be, and neither one of us liked the lack of details.

"It's...complicated," I said slowly, my feet awkwardly shuffling on their own. Little did the man know just how complicated the whole thing was...the Colonel had known about the bad future from the very start, taking every precaution that he could to make sure the apes would never rise to their higher intelligence again, and if they did—he had a special serum that could take it away. He'd gone and built an entire underground base who knew where, creating a pitch-black maze no one could escape—not even highly intelligent apes.

"We can talk it over," Malcolm replied gently as the elevator came to a stop. I'd almost forgotten that we were on our way to the cafeteria to get some food, but I wasn't sure if I was hungry now.

"I don't know if Carver would like that," I said with a small, nervous chuckle.

"Carver can wait," Malcolm persisted. I didn't like the idea of an angry guy on my tail demanding that I owed him money because he drove me to the hospital, but I could tell that Malcolm wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. Besides—if I didn't help Malcolm, he could always decide to turn me in since I had been involved with kidnapping the apes from the shelter, and watching McCullough kill a young man with no mercy in front of my eyes. I wasn't about to give myself up, especially not if there was the slightest chance that my parents were still alive and I could find them.

I trailed behind Malcolm until I realized that we weren't going to the cafeteria like we had originally planned, my pace slowing. I glanced back at the elevator, Malcolm picking up on my anxiety.

"Don't worry," he comforted, though his words didn't do much to help me relax.

Sure, Carver could wait. But for how long? Even if he had a kid to take care of, I doubted that he was the type to just let it go if someone owed him something. I forced myself to continue following Malcolm no matter how much my mind yelled at me to do otherwise.

We entered a room that contained a bed with a sleeping man. Or maybe he wasn't really sleeping...I didn't know his situation, but he didn't look too good with dark bruises lining his face. His chest rose slowly up and down, and he did not respond in the slightest bit when we made our way closer to him. A woman was sitting in a chair next to his bed, her green eyes that seemed the same as Malcolm's weary and worn. In a matter of moments, I could tell that these people had been through a lot, and it had something to do with the apes.

"This is...you never told me your name," Malcolm said apologetically as he introduced me to the woman. She stared at me with her head slightly tilted in confusion, probably wondering why Malcolm had brought a stranger into the room. The TV across from the bed played quietly in the background ignored.

You never really gave me a chance to tell you before interrogating me, I thought somewhat bitterly, but I just couldn't bring myself to be mad at a man who had promised that he wouldn't turn me in if I told him what I knew about the missing apes.

"Gabe," I answered simply. It felt good to say and hear my own name, and not my nickname that I'd had as a soldier. Preacher...I wasn't that soldier anymore.

"This is Caroline," Malcolm said in reply, nodding towards the woman sitting down. She smiled faintly at me and I returned the gesture, glancing back towards the man in the hospital bed.

"And this is Will Rodman," Malcolm began to explain, nodding again towards the man in the bed. He glanced at me as if the name would ring a bell, but I didn't recognize it from anywhere. "The creator of the virus," he explained further. My heart dropped and my eyes widened—no. It couldn't be!

"He's...alive?" I said slowly, attempting to process the revelation but failing miserably. The orangutan had said he was gone, based on his argument with the Colonel back in the caves. Dead!

"Maurice said he was gone."

"You talked to Maurice?" Caroline said with a start, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.

"He was having an argument with the Colonel, and he mentioned that Will was dead..." I trailed off, the woman's expression crinkling in worry. "But he's okay," I reassured quickly.

"What about the others?" Malcolm asked, his tone slightly demanding yet still gentle. He wanted to get to the bottom of the situation as soon as possible, and I couldn't blame him. The sooner we rescued the apes from the Colonel, the better. Especially before something bad happened to them like it had to Caesar. If he'd gone back to his base after I escaped, there was no telling what he would do to them in his anger over losing me. With a stab of ever more guilt, I realized that I would be the cause once again of their pain and suffering if the Colonel took his anger out on them.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I got away from McCullough, so I'm not sure if he's gone back to them yet, or if he's coming after me."

Malcolm's next question came out slowly, like he was afraid of the answer. I had a feeling of what it was, and it turned out that I was right the moment his next words revealed themselves.

"...What about Caesar? Did you ever see or talk to him?"

His tone became increasingly demanding at the thought that something terrible may have happened to the ape leader. What he didn't know was that something had, and he wasn't going to like it.

"What happened to Caesar? What did McCullough do?"

"He's...not himself," I responded, weighing my words carefully and glancing back at the man who had created the virus. What happened to him, and why was he so bruised up and in a coma? He couldn't be alive, it would only mean that the Colonel...

Before Malcolm could question what 'not himself' meant, I interrupted and steered back to the virus creator.

"If McCullough finds out that he's alive, he won't be happy."

"He won't. The Colonel won't even know he's here," Malcolm said firmly. I wished that I could be as sure as him, but I knew the Colonel all too well to believe that he would just leave the man alone if he ever found out that Will was here.

"He has a way of finding things out, and he can send someone to..."

I shook my head to get rid of the horrible thought that the Colonel could and would send one of his goons to do the dirty deed if he knew that Will was still alive. I told myself it wasn't going to come to that, or at least I tried to. If there was the smallest chance that he had decided to go on a search for me, then I was putting Will in danger just by being here.

"Where are they?" The woman sitting in the chair asked quietly, her worried voice barely above a whisper. She and Malcolm must have been searching for so long and so hard only to come up short, and now I was their only lead. She didn't even need to mention the word apes so I knew who she meant by 'they.' Malcolm's weary gaze turned to me and he nodded slightly in encouragement.

"In an underground base," I answered, not too fast and not too slow. The two of them could see my hesitation anyway, waiting for me to explain. "I don't know where it is," I admitted.

It was easy to pinpoint the exact moment that their hope began to flutter, wavering unstably. I was ultimately their last hope, and if I didn't even know where the underground base was, then what good would I be?

"What do you mean?" Malcolm asked softly, keeping his eyes trained on me and refusing to look anywhere else. The woman silently pleaded, begging me to go on.

"The Colonel knew me in the future. He must have wanted me back with him in this time, so he kidnapped me as a child and kept me hidden. I haven't truly been outside of these caves for the last eighteen years of my new life," I obliged, choosing to steal a glance at Will. The man who had sent everything into chaos...

I continued and they listened intently. "Every time he did take me outside, it was for a very brief time and he kept me blindfolded, putting headphones over my ears with loud music on so I wouldn't see or hear where we were."

They remained silent, unsure of what to ask next or if even probing me for answers would help the slightest bit. I decided to give them back their spark of hope that maybe the apes would be found. I thought of incredible stories from real people who had used a certain system to find their way home when they had gotten lost, nothing but a memory of where they had originally come from to help guide them back home.

"I sort of have a vague idea of which direction we came from," I said, nodding towards the laptop that I assumed they had been using to aid in their search. Previously, a simple internet search would have done nothing for them. Now that I was here, I could help them more than they could have helped themselves.

"I was keeping track, even though I couldn't see. Maybe Google Earth is exactly the thing we need..."

xxxx

I had to get back to them, and fast. Who knew if something had happened, or if someone had tried to take them like they had taken Koba, Rocket and the others. I took off through the brush, willing myself to move as quickly as possible.

The bird wasn't real...it hadn't been real. The rock had gone right through it, causing it to disappear into nothing! The once-perfect paradise blurred around me as I ran, but even while moving fast I realized that I could tell the difference between what was real and what was fake.

The sharp, jagged tree that the bird had sat on was a marker. It was a sign that we unknowingly hadn't noticed before, a marker that signaled where exactly the land began and ended—I really had been going in circles, and for good reason. This so-called paradise didn't go on and on as we had previously thought, but it had an end. A short end that did not allow us to go any further, keeping us trapped in one place where someone could watch us, as Andy had suspected.

Without looking where I was continuing to run, I yelped when my body skidded into a shape that wasn't a tree. It was soft like it had fur, and I glanced up in shock to see that I had run into another ape, but it wasn't just any ape.

I panted, eyes widening bigger than they had ever been and staring on in disbelief at the ape—or apes in front of me.

There they were—Rocket, Buck, Andy, and Jeanpierre...all standing together with Cornelia. Tinker had left and I snapped my head every which way, only to find her sitting by the edge of the lake nearby. She seemed to be holding something in her arms, a small bundle. I couldn't help but wonder if the group had only disappeared to find Koba like I had originally thought before meeting the fake bird, taking their time in the search. Had they gotten lost as well and had just now found their way back to the main area?

"...Rocket?" I breathed, my mind racing yet my tone calm.

"...Maurice?" Rocket asked in return in his new, gruff voice that reminded me so much of Caesar. My name rolled off of his tongue uneasily, still getting used to human speech the same as I was. It had been difficult at first mastering the human language, but now I was just as comfortable using it as if I were human myself, and soon the same could be said for Rocket the more he practiced.

"But you were missing! All of you were missing!" I said in a near-shout, causing Andy to jump slightly in surprise.

What? Buck signed, taking a cautious step towards me. I took a step back, my eyes still unbelieving that the apes who had been missing for days were now here in front of me. We never left, Maurice. Are you alright?

Was I 'alright?' I didn't know. I didn't know if I wanted to know, the last few days whirling around my mind like a storm. Now that the missing apes had returned, I was unsure if they had even been gone at all. Had I only been imagining things, like I had previously thought Rocket was imagining that the world we now resided in was fake, nothing but a cruel trick provided by the Colonel?

"Rocket...you were right. This place...it's not real. None of it is real. I saw it with my own eyes—a bird that was there, but then it wasn't. The bird disappeared, and I'm sure this land will disappear at any moment, too!"

Rocket's expression furrowed, confused at my words. The others stared, surely worried for my sanity just as I was suspecting that maybe everything I had seen was just a figment of my imagination. I went on, heart beginning to hammer in my chest.

"The birds you showed me...remember? They always fly in the same spot before the sun sets...look." I pointed to the said setting sun, but my heart dropped even further when there were no birds flying by in sight, the first time to happen since we had arrived. The orange-painted sky remained empty with nothing in front of the lowering sun. The days had always seemed to pass by too quickly, an illusion that had to be brought forth by the Colonel.

"Maybe you should lay down and take a rest," Rocket suggested wearily. We were all tired, myself most of all if I was being honest. We had been through so much in such a short span of time since being transported to the past, and we hadn't been able to achieve even an ounce of rest that we so needed and deserved. But there was one ape that we couldn't give up on just like that...

"But what about Koba? He's still missing," I told the reunited apes. I searched for any sign of little Koba nearby that I may have missed, finding none. No one held him in their arms...he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"...Little Koba is dead, Maurice."

Rocket's harsh, quiet statement barely reached my ears before it even registered what he'd just revealed. "What?" I asked myself, just to make sure that I'd heard right.

"We found him...by the far side of the lake. He must have wandered off from Tinker," he explained almost nonchalantly. How could he act so indifferent to a supposedly dead baby? We all knew he hated Koba, but even if he wouldn't forgive the baby ape for his actions in the future that would no longer take place, he had promised Tinker he would find him. He wasn't truly, completely unforgiving towards the little one so much that he would be uncaring about Koba's death.

Buck reached an arm out, pointing towards the front edge of the lake.

Koba wasn't dead. I didn't know how to explain it, but my heart was telling me otherwise that the small body Tinker held in her arms next to the lake wasn't the real baby Koba. He was still missing, out there somewhere alone. Maybe the Colonel had even kidnapped him, replacing him with a fake animal like the bird. But the closer I looked, the more I could hear Tinker's choked sobs wracking her body, and the more I began to doubt myself.

Maybe Rocket was right again. Maybe I was only seeing and imagining things...I was just so tired from everything that had happened over the last few days. I wanted all the stress, all the fear and anxiety and bad luck to end. Just like how all good things came to an end—all the bad things did too, didn't they? Maybe now that we had found Koba, our minds could finally be at peace and we could move on with our new life in paradise.

I inched slowly towards Tinker and the stiff bundle she held close to her chest, making sure to keep a respectful distance.

"Tinker...I'm sorry," I told her gently as possible. She barely responded, her shoulders continuing to heave in sorrow. To my surprise, she laid the still body of baby Koba in her lap, forcing herself to let go of him at least a little so she could communicate her grief through sign.

He never had a chance...her arms moved just as stiffly as the small body in her lap. Time gave him a second chance, but now he's gone...Rocket must be so happy.

Rocket is not happy, I signed, deciding to move my own arms in a moment of silence for the lost baby. He promised you that he would find Koba, but he did not want to find him dead.

There was a bird, my arms said, repeating my revelation to the other apes. If there was no other way I could console her, maybe the fact that this body couldn't be her real adopted son would help to ease her mind. Tinker's eyes widened at my comment about the bird. But it wasn't real. I threw a rock at it and it disappeared. This place...this paradise...isn't real either. I know it isn't. This can't be Koba.

It is, Maurice. It's him...Tinker sobbed.

I had to know—I had to know that the body in her arms wasn't the newly changed bonobo. Tentatively, I reached forward to try and touch his tender fur—only to have my arm snatched harshly by Tinker. I gasped, my chest rising quickly up and down.

Her bright, green eyes flickered and dulled for a moment. I blinked, unsure of what I was seeing once again. I realized that while I had been gone in search of Koba and the other apes, something could have happened to Cornelia and Tinker, two of the few apes left. The others had returned while I was gone, but what if it wasn't actually them...? The inside of my head nearly burst when Tinker herself spoke, just like Rocket had only begun to do.

But the voice that emerged from her mouth wasn't hers. It wasn't Tinker! She would never talk like this...

"It's alright, Maurice. Stop suspecting what is or isn't..."

xxxx

Hours of looking through Google Earth to see if I could pinpoint where the Colonel and I had come from led to nowhere.

"If you wanted to build an entire underground base of tunnels, where would you build it?" I murmured, checking desperately around the area of San Francisco. The base couldn't be too far, especially if the Colonel wanted to keep tabs on the apes that he had known would come. On the other hand, he could be out of the country for all we knew!

I stared at the map, eyes stinging from staring at the laptop screen for too long. We had come from that way, or I assumed we had, walking through one long tunnel for a few hours based on how many times the song had played, and then we had gotten into a lift that took us above ground so we could get into his car and drive the rest of the way to the diner...so much trouble to go through just to have dinner with his 'son,' celebrating his victory over the apes. But he hadn't won yet...we wouldn't let him. I wouldn't let him.

In the back of my mind, I wondered how they were doing—especially Caesar. Was he still locked up in that cage, in the same cave? Or had the Colonel moved him somewhere else? Had he hurt him out of anger over what had happened with me? Until we found them, we would have no way of knowing, and I hated the 'not knowing' aspect of it.

But knowing which way we had come from didn't exactly give us any more hints as to where the base actually was if I wasn't even sure that's where we had come from; this was a wild goose chase as far as I was concerned. There were a lot of places in that spot around San Francisco, and I couldn't imagine which spot was the base itself in the direction that I had found.

Malcolm sat beside me to help me in my search, while Caroline hadn't left from her spot next to Will. The hospital room was quiet; too quiet apart from the humming machines that kept Will alive.

"I had a harmonica and Caesar liked the sound of it," I decided to break the silence as I continued to check the map. Caroline blinked and glanced at me, confused for a moment, but then she smiled faintly at the thought of me playing music for the apes.

"That was before I could remember the future. The Colonel told me everything, but I had no idea I really did have a part in any of it yet. I thought he was just crazy."

"It's weird how that works," Malcolm noted, just as curious about the subject as I was. Time travel had never been possible until now, and some things were different than what we had expected from books and movies. "It looks like Carver doesn't remember, but something could trigger his future memories to come back...I'm not sure I want them to," Malcolm said with a small chuckle.

"Was he really that bad?" I asked, never taking my eyes off of the screen.

"Not really, now that I think about it. He was just like the Colonel in the way that he blamed the apes for the virus, though he wasn't too much of a threat. I didn't even know he had a son until now, which explains a lot. But Will, the human who was responsible for the virus, learned from his mistakes and tried to fix them."

"Well, one of them is fixed. The virus isn't a threat anymore—there's just the Colonel, and we'll find him and get the apes back," I said, focusing harder.

"There's also the obstacle of finding the apes a new home. Now that all of the humans are back, they won't easily accept intelligent, talking apes."

His statement caused me to look up at him. There was no way it would be possible...

"Unless we never reveal that they're intelligent and can talk."

"I wish people wouldn't be so afraid. Then they could still be themselves, and we could live together in peace."

I thought of the moment when Caesar had asked me if I thought that it was possible for humans and apes to live together in peace now that the virus was destroyed. If we didn't reveal their intelligence or speaking abilities, it might be possible. But if it was the other way around...I still highly doubted it. The humans would be afraid, and there would be those who wanted to do experiments for science; we just couldn't let the apes fall into the wrong hands.

"It's better if they never know," I advised. "Just hearing the apes talk could trigger everyone's future memories."

Malcolm took a deep breath at the horrifying thought. We would never have a chance at peace, then. "Good point. But it can't hurt to dream..."

We fell silent once again while I continued searching through the map, almost every location discovered but uncertain if it was where the Colonel really resided. I couldn't take it anymore—the suffocating blanket that wrapped around me every time the future was brought up, reminding me that I'd played a bigger part than the Colonel had told me. He hadn't been alive to witness it, of course, but I had. I'd done it, and now that I knew that the humans were wrong for trying to destroy nature when it had already won and just wanted to be left alone in peace, it was inwardly tearing me apart that we could have left well enough alone to avoid our own destruction in the end.

Caroline had fallen asleep in her chair. She'd scooted closer to Will's bed, her head resting gently on his chest. Malcolm and I were the only ones left awake to continue the search, though he was just now starting to doze off as well.

"Maurice said I killed him. Caesar."

He raised his head out of his stupor, blinking at me in shock at my revelation.

"I remember it now. I got him once with an arrow and it hit him in the side, but didn't kill him. I walked right in front of him, ready for the second arrow...and then it all went black. I don't remember anything else, so something must have happened to me."

"Do you have any weird sensations? The Colonel shot me with a gun in the head, and I had a pretty bad headache for awhile."

I gaped, but it didn't surprise me that the horrible man had done something so cruel to another human being.

"Will was also feeling sick like he still had the virus that killed him in the future."

I rewinded the last few days in my mind, but nothing came up. "No...no, I don't have any weird phantom pains. It must have been a quick death for me. I don't know if the same can be said for Caesar..." If Maurice had seen him die, the apes must have traveled far away from the cold and harsh mountains to somewhere safer where humans wouldn't find them.

Where humans wouldn't find them...I leaned in closer to the map, slow realization beginning to set in.

"Hey. Do you regret what you did?" Malcolm asked.

Did I regret shooting the ape leader? I thought I did, now that I knew he and the others meant no harm to humans. The virus hadn't been because of them; it had been because of a human, and that human had done his best to fix what happened. I nodded slightly, and Malcolm gave me a warm and friendly smile.

"Then you have a chance to make up for it, and you're doing that right now by helping us find them."

I shook my head harder than I had nodded. "But Caesar let me go when he could have had us all killed. I have a debt to pay to him, and I don't know if I can now. The serum I told you about...it takes away their intelligence, turning them primitive again. There's no cure."

"We'll figure something out."

A place where humans wouldn't find them...I thought again, focusing my attention back on the map. A few regional parks were scattered throughout the area, and there was Yosemite National Park as Malcolm had suggested. There were a lot of forests as well, but I doubted the Colonel would make one of them his base.

"He wouldn't risk building the base where the public could see anything," I disagreed, though a park or even a forest would probably make sense if I had felt some kind of sandy substance beneath my feet.

"But it's underground, right? What did feel like when he took you above?"

"It was hot, and there was sand beneath my feet like we were on a beach."

Malcolm's breath stopped short, and he turned his gaze towards me with an intent stare. "I don't think it was a beach..."

"What else could it have been?"

"What's the opposite of a beach?"

I thought for a moment. What could be the opposite of a beach? It had water, and the opposite wouldn't. It had a cool ocean breeze, and the opposite wouldn't. The opposite would be hot and dry, no sign of life in sight for miles and miles.

My eyes widened. "A desert..." A place where humans wouldn't find them...

"The closest desert to San Francisco is eight hours away," Malcolm said, pointing to a location on the Google Earth map. I traced the trail with my finger, remembering the walk with the Colonel and then getting into his car to go to the diner until I landed back on San Francisco, or at least the outer part of it where the diner had been located.

"That..that sounds right..." I said, my heart rate picking up speed. We'd found it. We found the Colonel's base! What a difference from the harsh, cold mountains we'd taken up residence in—the complete opposite of where we had fought the war in the future. From snow to sand, the Colonel must have wanted to change things up a bit, especially in case someone from the future who opposed him tried to find his base.

Now all we had to do was get there and force the Colonel to give up the apes, a task that I knew was not going to be easy.

The hospital TV suddenly flickered, changing to static.

"I didn't touch anything," Caroline's head raised at the noise, confused at how the TV had changed channels and checking to see if she had accidentally pressed a button while sleeping. Malcolm picked up the remote, attempting to change the channel again, but it landed on the same scene—it couldn't be changed.

The static switched by itself to a scene, and I stood up from my seat instinctively when my captor himself appeared on screen. What was he doing?! Why he would risk putting himself in front of the whole world to see I didn't know, but we were about to find out and it couldn't be anything good. Hospital staff in the hallway moved from their desk to crowd around their own TV, gasping at what they saw—what we all saw.

The Colonel stood in front of a cage—the same cage that he had trapped Caesar in.

And Caesar was still inside—or what was left of him—growling and hissing. He banged on the cage bars, trying to get to the Colonel and failing.

"Caesar!" Malcolm cried, rushing towards the TV. Of course, I had told him about the serum and what it did to apes, but actually seeing its effects like this was another matter entirely. Caroline could only stare in shock, reaching towards Will's hand to squeeze it—he still didn't budge.

The Colonel looked through the TV as if he was looking right at me, and a shiver ran down my spine. He was silently telling me, knowing that I might be watching—to go back to him without any issues. I was going to go back, all right, but it wouldn't be without any issues.

The cave scene switched to a lake—the paradise that he had so carefully planned and had worked on for his entire life. The paradise that wasn't even real, and who knew if the apes had figured it out yet.

He was going to make it seem like they were violent in front of the entire world, when in fact they were the exact opposite. He was going to start another war if he wasn't careful, and maybe that had been his intention. But even if war didn't happen, it wouldn't be the humans who were in danger this time—it was going to be the apes in danger from the human government.

That was the entire reason he'd built a fake, virtual reality world, I realized—it hadn't been for him, or even for the apes, but for the humans who would want to take advantage of apes who could talk and were smart beyond belief.

The world couldn't find out about the apes. Not like this...but the Colonel was going to make sure that they did.

"Most of you don't remember, and won't have any idea what I'm talking about. But for some, memories of the future reside deep inside, clawing their way to the surface without you even knowing until a little help comes along. They said I was crazy, but you'll all see now that I was right. I can help you remember the future that the apes took away from us...the future that should have been ours, what we should have won. The very same apes that are alive again today, the very same apes who can talk and are smarter than you and I combined...what you are about to see may disturb you."

Chapter Text

Sometimes things don't work out the way we expect or want them to, and other times they work out surprisingly well.

I never imagined that I would be here in the human hospital again now, but this time is different than when Ellie had treated me after the fire.

This time, I'm waiting for Will to wake up.

I have so much to tell and show him.

I'm even sitting like a human in one of the chairs, waiting patiently. Will has been like this for a long time, ever since the Gen-Sys building mysteriously disappeared and he'd been found in the rubble of the fire.

Yet I'm still determined to wait no matter how long it takes. Caroline told me about her promise to Will that I would be here when he wakes up.

I am.

No one is bothering me and I'm not bothering them. We've both been through so much ever since I somehow traveled back in time after my death in the future, but things are slowly beginning to get better.

The government had tried to take us again when they discovered how intelligent we were and that we can talk, but other humans protected us—protested for us to the point the government itself decided to at last leave well enough alone. Humans like Caroline, Malcolm, Ellie and even Carver to our surprise once he remembered future events (he was shaken upon remembering that Koba killed him, but when we showed him the baby, he was no longer worried that an ape was going to kill him)

A place has been found for all of us—a place so much better than what McCullough had created.

A massive environment with trees and grass so much bigger than the woods, so much bigger than the Colonel's fake paradise without any boundaries or fences and cages keeping us locked in. The government had given in and put all of us under a protection law so no one can bring harm to us.

I do not regret killing the Colonel in my unaware, raged state. It had not really been me. Preacher—Gabe—had opened the cage and let the monster out; I hadn't hesitated. I almost turned on Gabe as well, but then he brought me back by playing that same song he had when we talked back in the caves. Music is a powerful thing full of hope, playing softly even now in the background of the hospital room.

It's all a blur after that. I can vaguely remember coming to my senses, and then Malcolm was there with a group of humans to get us out. He'd said it took a while to find us, but he did and kept us safe. McCullough's underground base was seized by the government, though it was decided that the caves would not be destroyed. They want to figure out how the Colonel had managed to create such a realistic environment. As long as they are distracted from doing experiments on us, I find myself okay with that decision.

We're okay.

We got out.

We'll never have to go back to that dark, horrible place again. McCullough is gone and gone for good, destroyed by the very monster he had created.

I have regained my intelligence and Gabe now has my trust, forgiven for what he did to me in the future. The first thing he had done after helping us escape was destroy the crossbow the Colonel made him carry. He went to find his parents.

My head tilts as I try keeping myself awake in my seat. I've been awake all through the long night, waiting and waiting for my father to finally wake up. Malcolm had tried convincing me to get some rest, but I would not be swayed.

My hand is outstretched on the hospital bed, curled gently around Will's. It's just the two of us, though Ellie and Malcolm are staying nearby along with Caroline. Ellie thinks he's going to wake up soon and I hope with all my heart she's right, but maybe I don't have to wait much longer.

He's shown no signs of movement...until now. His hand wraps around mine and I gasp softly, becoming more awake than I have in a long time.

His eyes flicker open and he looks like he wants to jump out of bed, but I squeeze his hand tighter to stop him. He's in no condition to do such a thing.

"Caesar?" Will just barely manages to get out in a whisper, his eyes blinking rapidly like he can't believe what he's seeing. In a way, neither can I when I thought he'd died after leaving him in that fire.

"...Father," I say, the name feeling right on my tongue. "You're okay. I'm so sorry I left."

Will breathes in deeply. "So are you. Don't be sorry, what about—"

I stop him before he can work himself up too much. He's been through enough already—just like we have.

But we made it through.

"We're all okay," I assure him. He relaxes considerably.

Better than okay.

"We did it," he laughs, relieved and rubbing a hand down his face. "It's over."

I smile and move closer towards him. He doesn't object, pulling me closer up onto the bed. I make sure to be gentle so as not to hurt him.

"No," I disagree, relief pouring through me as well and also excitement about what is to come. "It's only just begun."

xxxx

Our new home is even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined—a place where we can all live in peace and quiet. Other apes like Red and Winter have found us. Despite what they both do—did—in the future, they have been forgiven. Even Bad Ape has returned and I am happy to see him again, far away from the humans who had treated him so horribly.

Any ape who needs shelter is welcome here.

We are not caged in. Our new home spreads miles and miles and we are free.

After everything we went through, we are finally free.

Humans can visit us if they so choose, but only a few lucky humans who know of the actual location.

Humans like Will and Malcolm who still come to visit often, a feat that would have never been possible the way the virus had taken over in the future.

Malcolm even brings Alex, who is very excited to meet Maurice again and show him some of his old drawings. Maurice looks closely at them, letting out a hearty laugh. Malcolm and his wife look on with smiles on their faces. When I ask where Ellie is, Malcolm says she'll visit on another day with her daughter. There seems to be a bit of sadness in his eyes, but he holds Rita closer to him and she squeezes back.

Caroline holds Will's hand in hers as the two of them take in our new, real paradise.

"Welcome to the new world," she repeats Charles' words in a soft whisper, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're still here to see it."

"Me too," Will agrees.

He and I sit together underneath one of the many trees in the area, Cornelia and Tinker also sitting close by. I move to get up, heading towards Cornelia and glancing down at the small shape in her arms. She smiles, understanding as she hands our newborn son to me.

I bring him to Will.

"Uh...congratulations," Will says, sounding unsure, but out of everything, this is one thing that I am most sure of; I had wanted Will to meet his grandchildren after all, though he'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Cornelius.

"Would you like to hold him?" I ask whether he likes it or not.

Will looks surprised, but nods. I bring his grandson closer to him and he wraps his arms carefully around Blue Eyes.

My son who was killed so ruthlessly now has a second chance to grow up and have a family of his own.

Cornelius will be born in the near future. Tinker holds the newly-returned Ash tightly in her arms, little Koba playing next to her.

The other apes had thought Koba was dead, but it had really some kind of mirage created by McCullough when he kidnapped the real baby and hid him from us until we managed to find him.

The bonobo will not lay a hand on Ash ever again; all of us will make sure of that, both apes and humans alike.

We will all make sure he receives the love and care he deserves under a brand new name, a new identity.

One that won't have any chances of bringing back his future memories when he grows older.

"Charles?" Will asks. I can sense his uneasiness and wonder if re-naming little Koba after Will's father had been such a good idea, given that...Charles was unlike anything Koba ever was.

"I hope you do not take it as an insult," I whisper softly, continuing to watch Tinker take care of him. She's going to be a great mother of two and Rocket is going to make a great father. Watching him join Tinker to play with their adopted son as Charles runs in a circle around Tinker is proof enough that Rocket has finally forgiven the ghost of a future that will never come to be again.

Will catches himself quickly, smiling. "No, it's just...a little surprising. This isn't the same Koba, after all. My dad would be honored."

"Charlie, calm down," Tinker laughs brightly in her new voice that is her own and not just a fake mirage of her body, holding the baby closer so he won't be overwhelmed.

Charlie reaches towards baby Ash with his little hands. I can see Rocket tense up, but only for a moment.

Malcolm approaches us, a knowing grin on his face.

"We have some new neighbors. Their youngest daughter sometimes acts a little strange—she runs around like an ape around their house."

Maurice perks up considerably at this news, smiling as Alex runs about in a similar way around him. Luca seems happy to hear the news as well, eager to see the little human who had been so broken over his death after being killed in the future.

"Maybe they can come visit one day," Maurice suggests.

Malcolm nods, smiling in return. Maurice had told him about Nova. "Sure, I'll ask."

I can hardly believe such a coincidence to happen—that little Nova would turn out to be Malcolm's neighbor of all humans—but I've learned not to question the impossible anymore.

All of the good humans turn to look out over the top of the hill at our new homeland, what we have all achieved together.

Will, Caroline, Malcolm, his wife and son, Foster and Kemp who had regained their memories of the future and came to our sanctuary to see us, Franklin and even Jacobs who we have forgiven as well as Carver and his own son along with Gabe and his parents who turned out to be alive and well, overjoyed to be reunited with their long lost son.

Humans who will always protect us no matter the cost. Jacobs has even promised to help protect our new home.

"Well hello, little one," Jacobs says when Charlie comes to inspect him and asks to be picked up. I hold my breath, almost expecting Charlie's future memories of the man to return, but no such thing happens. Charlie finds a comfortable spot on his shoulders.

Will laughs and I remember him telling me the story of how Jacobs had rescued a young chimp in the fire. "What is it with Jacobs and babies?"

I can't help it either, letting out a laugh of my own. It's been so long since I was able to laugh...

Bad Ape skips over to us, mouth full of delicious food that can be found all around us. "These humans are so nice, they call me good instead of bad. Maybe I will be called Good Ape now!"

If we had changed Koba's name, then Bad Ape can change his, too. We are free to do as we please with no limitations.

"Told you," Will says, nudging me with a somewhat smug grin. I give him a confused look and he's happy to remind me of what he said when we'd both been in that...place. A place that I'm happy Will had convinced me to leave behind, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. "Apes and humans together strong."

Everything is as it should have been the first time around. It's almost still too good to be true, but it isn't fake like the Colonel's paradise had been.

Will hands Blue Eyes back to me. I stare down lovingly at my son, hardly able to believe that he's finally here with me at last, that he's alive once again and Cornelius will be in the near future, too.

Cornelia touches my forehead lightly against hers. No one is going to tear us apart again.

We made it. We made it together. I knew we would, she signs, just like she did when we had been stuck underground.

Home.

Family...

Looking back up, I take in a deep breath and close my eyes as I had done in the future only moments before my death.

But this isn't the future; it isn't the past.

This is now.

This is real.

I fulfilled my purpose.

We all have.