287 My True Purpose by ChocolateSyrup

Words: 92k+

Link: -https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12577797/1/

( Caesar gets a second chance to see Will again, facing a critical decision that comes along with the unexpected reunion. )

Chapter 1

Major spoiler warning! Turn back now if you haven't seen the newest movie!

Hey, everyone! I saw War when it first came out, and was not disappointed! Planet of the Apes, from 2011-forward is definitely one of my all-time favorite prequels/trilogy. The story is amazing, the characters are amazing, the CGI is doubly amazing and gets better with every film! My top two in the series are Rise and Dawn, but War came pretty close. The ending was so sad with what happened to Caesar...it can't be true! );

But one of the only things that did disappoint me was the fact that Caesar never got to see Will again. He saw him through the camera screen of course, but that doesn't really count. I was hoping for a scene of them meeting once more in person, or in a flashback, but it never happened. So I guess we can assume that he died in the early days when the virus first broke out. Who knows...? It's all really depressing! xD

So I decided to come up with a way to make it happen! It was difficult to write in Caesar's point of view, so he might be OOC and I'm sorry. I did my best, but I hope you enjoy anyway :) Apologies for any mistakes in this. I only had time to look over it once, so if you see any errors, feel free to point them out.

UPDATE 7/20: I've decided to make a continuation out of this, so you can expect more soon ;)

xxxx

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."

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, Malcom 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?" Malcom'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 Malcom 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.