A/N: So yeah, I know I just updated the original fic yesterday. But I'm going to be honest, and level with you guys. The last version didn't sit right with me. I think after a year of growing as a writer a few things hit me:

A. I struggle to write for someone hearing impaired. I don't think I'm ready, as a writer, to write a character like that. So this rewrite is going to alleviate that problem.

B. I really brushed over a lot of subjects that shouldn't be brushed over.

So, honestly, I'm starting over. From chapter one. I hope, honestly, that you all are OK with that. And will follow this new version.

To clarify why Maurice is still alive yet an older ape when we meet him in Rise, the reason is that in my opinion the Simian Flu also affected the longevity of ape life. So let's say, for the sake of the story, that apes now live about the same lifespan as a human. Putting Maurice in about his fifties. (Which would be older for an ape of course)

As with before:

"SIGN LANGUAGE"
"SPEAKING"

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Planet of the Apes. Still belongs Pierre Buelle and 20th Century Fox. Ethan and other OCs still belong to me.

...

CHAPTER 1
A Boy In The Muir Woods

Ethan could feel his legs giving out from under him.

He was bleeding out profusely, his back covered in blood. The bear had come out of nowhere, in his expert opinion at the age of seven. And even he knew how lucky he was to even still be standing, walking, and breathing. With shaky legs, he attempted to trudge through the forest, listening carefully for the creatures return. Not that it mattered much, he could feel himself fading fast.

The ambush had already killed his parents. They'd been warned of how dangerous ape territory was, but they hadn't listened. And that had cost them their lives at the hands of a tall, hulk of a beast that had ended their lives before taking a swipe at Ethan's back. The thought made him cry quietly, even if he knew that they wouldn't want him to cry. They would want him to keep moving and surviving.

That had been the whole reason they had left the human colonies in the East. Ever since the war with the apes had ended, things had gotten worse. Ethan closed his eyes, and tried to push the thoughts out of his head. But they were forever embedded into his mind. Death, crying, starvation, the constant threat of extinction. Ethan's father had hoped by moving back into the land that they'd lost to the apes, they might find an uninhabited patch of land to start over.

But no, instead they were all going to die out there.

He finally stumbled over the shred of his pant leg that had fallen bellow his feet. His body rolling down the hill until it violently hit the mud. Ethan cried out, but he doubted anyone heard him. And if they had, who could help him? No ape would help a human, and no other animal would either. If anything, he figured there were predators in the woods that were waiting impatiently for the right time to tear him apart for food.

The snap of a tree branch seemed to confirm his fear. Ethan closed his eyes tightly, praying silently. Hoping quietly that whatever it was would make it quick. There was a long silence, and then the footsteps began, he tried to turn himself to look at whoever was coming, but only let out a sharper cry of pain. "Don't move." Ethan was silent, had something spoke English. "Hurt."

He felt something against his back, as if feeling the blood. He whimpered quietly, trying again, in vain, to look at the human that was looking over him. "Help me." Ethan breathed. "Please."

There was a silence, as if the owner of the voice was considering it. Ethan felt as the person pushed harder into his back, too young to realize it was trying to stop the bleeding. For a second, whoever it was seemed to consider if he could save him. But after a moment, Ethan felt strong arms wrap around him, and pull him close enough that he could see his savior.

His breath caught in his throat.

The orangutan that stared down at him was big, older, and strong. But seemed to show no aggression. Instead, he seemed to look at Ethan with a look of pity. Ethan squirmed a bit, but the orangutan tightened his grip on him. "Not hurt you." The ape told him quietly. "Save you."

"A...A..." Ethan breathed. "You're an..."

But he didn't finish his sentence. His voice faded as his vision did, to the point he barely registered that the orangutan had started to move. As his world went dark, he could only wonder if what this ape said was true. Or if he'd simply bring him somewhere to bash his brains in, to put him out of his misery.

If the stories they were told of apes were true. That might have been a more reasonable way to go.

When he woke up, he was covered in soft blankets.

It took him a minute to register the thick bandage that wrapped around his body. And even longer to realize, as he tried to sit up, that he was nude. He pulled his blankets back over him upon realizing that, his nature telling him that the last thing he wanted was to be naked. Yet, he couldn't complain, not yet at least. He stared around his current surroundings with quiet curiosity.

He was in a small, hut-like home, or at least so it appeared. It was made mostly of wood, and didn't look too different from a treehouse. The furniture was made of wood, and seemed specially tailored. There was a small table with chairs, seemingly for food, he figured. And right in the middle of it, Ethan noticed, seemed to be a pole for exercise. Finally, along with his bundle of blankets that made a makeshift bed for him there was another, much bigger one with a wood base nearby.

From behind him, Ethan could hear rustling. And then felt something placed carefully onto his forehead. His eyes looked up to see the orangutan from before. Placing a gentle warm cloth on his head, letting it soak in. Beside him though, he also noticed a tall chimp, who seemed to be looking him over as well. Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but watched as the orangutan put a finger to his lips.

"He is lucky to be alive. I believe he was with the other two we found." Maurice, said orangutan in question, signed to the chimp, who Ethan would soon learn was the ape king himself, Caesar. "I believe the other two must have been his parents. Helped him get away. Even though if I had not shown up, he would have surely died."

Caesar looked to consider this a moment, staring down upon Ethan. Normally, he might have now tried to get a hold of the humans somehow. But at this point, he knew that was a moot point. Humans had migrated to the East Coast after the war, and it would take months to traverse the distance on foot. And while he could have tossed him out, could have thrown him out, he'd never do such a thing to a child. Unlike adults, a child would most likely pose no threat to the colony.

Ethan's brown eyes watched him closely, and after a moment, Caesar spoke. "What name?"

It took him a minute to register that the chimp was talking to him. Ethan blinked slightly, were they not going to hurt him? Were they actually helping him? He tried to wrap his head around that, but it was difficult. After the humans had lost the war, they'd all been raised to fear and hate the apes. People called them savages who would murder and maim any stray human they came across.

Yet here they were, at his bedside... Taking care of him?

His brow furrowed as he thought over whether to buy it. Or to simply take it as an act to lull him into a false sense of security. But ultimately, he finally spoke up. "E...Ethan... Ethan Reese." He rasped, his voice pained. "Where are my clothes? What are you gonna do to me?"

Caesar shook his head. "Almost torn off. Discarded. Working on it." Caesar replied, indicating that Ethan would not be without clothing for long. "Do nothing. Help you. Heal you."

Ethan was silent for a long moment, trying to sit up. Yet the sharp pain had him laying back down in seconds. He whimpered quietly as they helped him continued to lay down. "D... Dad said you hated us." Ethan managed. "Don't you hate me?"

The two apes laughed a little at that. Was this what the humans told their children since the war? Of course, it wasn't all a lie. There were still apes who hated humans fiercely. But the way he made it sound, well, you'd think they were the types that would actually ever hurt a child. "No hate. We will not hurt you." Caesar replied, his voice calm. "We save you, no?"

Ethan was silent for a long moment, taking in the logic of the ape. He was right, they had saved him. And at any moment in the time he'd come there, they could have hurt him. But they didn't, instead they'd taken off his destroyed clothing, mended his wounds, and rested him in soft blankets to heal. It was a merciful action... And in a way it confused his young, seven year old brain more than anything else. "What do I call you?" Ethan asked.

"Caesar." Caesar spoke up.

"Maurice." Said the orangutan, speaking for the first time since he'd saved him.

Ethan however, was more focused on Caesar. Everyone knew of the great chimp, Caesar. The mere fact that he was inches away from his face seemed to invoke intimidation beyond words now. Many stories were told by the humans of the great ape king, fierce on and off the battlefield. About how single-handily he had lead an ape revolution, and then, ten years later, lead the apes into a five year long war to victory.

Even among humans, Caesar was somewhat of a legend.

Ethan wanted to say something about it, but felt one of their paws moving towards his eyes. "Rest now. Need to conserve energy." Maurice told him in a quiet, yet authoritative way. "We talk when you're stronger."

Ethan wanted to argue, but the ape carefully closed his eyes for him. As if to tell him this was not an option. Normally, the seven year old would have fought going to sleep. But his body screamed its need for rest to him loud and clear. And with any luck, he'd wake up in the same position later.

Maurice, meanwhile, turned again to Caesar. They shared the same look, one of uncertainty and fear. What were they going to do with the boy, after all? Again, it would take time for the child to heal, and then months to bring him East to his people. And then, even if they did, the humans might kill the apes on-sight if they saw them in the possession of one of their young. Especially if they appeared to fear their species as much as they did.

"I will keep Ethan here." Maurice signed to Caesar, using the boy's newly learned name. "At lest while he is recovering. And we decide what we are going to do about this."

Caesar nodded his head approvingly at that. Indeed, they would need time to discuss this. A matter which would be far easier if they hadn't already known his parents were dead. This left them with a hard decision on their hands, one that came down to a moral dilemna. Did they have the child leave on its own? Such a fate might be cruel to some. But if they sent him with an ape guide as close as possible to the nearest human colony, it might work.

Or did they let him stay?

The last part was unheard of. They'd encountered humans that had stupidly made their way into the colony by mistake before. But none had ever stayed, they'd left as quickly as they'd come, for the most part. Even if Caesar never allowed the apes to offer them any violence. But there was another thing to consider there: They were adults. All adults that were fully capable of taking care of themselves. This was a child of barely seven years that still had a lot of growing to do, and a lot of rearing to do as well.

It was something that Caesar, and the ape council were going to be divided on, and he already knew it.

"I will have Blue Eyes bring him water and food for when he wakes up next." Caesar signed to Maurice as he made his way toward the door to the hut. "For now, however, this stays between our most trusted advisors, and my family. We do not need to panic the others."

"Of course." Maurice agreed. "I will send for you if his condition changes."

Caesar nodded, and without another word, he left the hut to begin to speak with the ape council.

"Eat. Drink."

These were the words Ethan woke up to the second time his eyes opened. Maurice, the orangutan from before, had gently helped him sit up to see what he meant. There was water in front of him in a wood bowl, and in another wood bowl, a plentiful helping of berries and dried dear meat from a hunt some hours ago. Enough that the apes had decided Ethan would be able to stomach it, but not enough to throw too much into his stomach at once.

Ethan considered that it might have been poisoned. But he didn't consider it long, given he was so hungry, and thirsty. And these apes had been nothing but kind to him, so he worried he would insult them. "Thank you." Ethan noted as he began to partake in what was offered.

Maurice seemed to watch him from afar, working on things within the hut that Ethan figured had to be his. The older ape seemed to live a simple enough life, as he slowly gathered his own food. Which wasn't much more than what Ethan himself was eating. "I was alone." The orangutan turned his head. "A bear got my mom and dad."

"We know. Found them, found you." Maurice explained, indicating they had found him by finding his parents. "Why were you here?" He managed a full sentence.

Ethan was silent for a moment, looking up at the ape. Then back down at his food, he carefully took a handful of berries, and scarfed them down. "Dad said we'd be safer out here. People were fighting..." Ethan was quiet after a moment. "We weren't gonna bother you, honest." He explained.

Maurice believed him quite easily. Children were known to be honest creatures, whether they were ape, or human. So he knew if they had meant ill-will, the little boy probably would have said it. Out of fear if anything. "It alright. We won't hurt you." Maurice told him patiently. "No know what do. But not hurt child." He then added. "Eat more. Need energy."

Ethan didn't argue with that, the food tasted so good. Especially after he and his parents had gone so long without food. "... Can I see my mom and dad?" Ethan asked, a few tears escaping him. "You're not gonna do somethin' to them, are you?" He asked timidly.

Maurice noticed the deep grief in Ethan's eyes. Of course, they had done nothing with the bodies. After they had gathered they were his parents they had kept them, hidden. They would probably give them a proper burial now that they knew this for sure. To allow the child some peace of mind that his parents weren't out somewhere becoming food to a wild animal. "Soon." Maurice nodded. "Bodies safe."

Ethan nodded his head, a lump forming in his throat. Of course, bodies. In the world Ethan grew up in, he understood enough what that meant. It hit him even harder now that his parents were dead. They were dead, and never coming back. He was alone. He let himself cry, as did Maurice, who simply watched him quietly before crossing over. The boy felt as the giant orangutan wrapped an arm around him, offering comfort.

Ethan didn't care who he was, ape or human, he let himself cry into him. Burying his face in his fur, and forgetting for a minute his situation. "It will be OK." Maurice replied. "I take care of you. For now." He told him as he released the boy. "You are safe."

The boy didn't know how to respond to that. Could he really feel safe with an ape? No matter how kind he was? What if it was a trick? A trap for him to feel safe with them? He sniffled a little, then looked at the ape again. Maurice's kind eyes told another story, he realized. The look in them gave him the feeling that he, at the very least, was being genuine in his kindness.

And though it wasn't the other apes too, that was a start.

Setting his empty bowl aside, he watched as Maurice carefully carried them away before looking at him. "Rest, more. Still healing." Maurice told him. "Stay with you."

Ethan didn't try to argue again, he laid his head slowly against the soft fur blankets. His eyes remaining on his newfound caretaker quietly. Maybe this was a terrifying situation, but at the very least, Ethan knew he had somewhere safe to sleep tonight, warm blankets to sleep in, and most of all, that he would survive.

He only wished he knew what kind of life he'd survive to live.

...

A/N: So that's the first chapter of the re-do. I like this start a lot better, and hopefully you all find it better too! I promise more updates now that I've gotten this somewhere I like it better. The old fic will remain up though, so that's not going anywhere if you hate this. It just won't be updated.