As I began to sleep, I started to flinch when I was awake. The room began spin and become darker the minute. In near minutes, it went all black. I turned towards the entrance to see no one is in my burrow. The music that my captors once played back in Afghanistan began to hunt me in fear. The shivers in my body came from the voices of my fellow soldiers suffering and dying in captivity. Even covering my ears would not make the screams nor the music go away. I started to hurry through the tunnels and eventually arriving at The Honeycomb. I could only see the whispers of the rabbits of the warren speaking terribly about me.
He was the human responsible for Holly's death.
It's all your fault, Thomas!
You're not the soldier you turned out to be!
Nor even a rabbit.
You'll forever be known as The Thousand Enemies!
"Please... stop!" I begged, as I became more frightened and weak.
The human is begging.
He's too weak!
Too weak to save The Captain of this warren.
The same captain from Sandleford!
Breathing heavily and I started to scream! "STOP!" I screamed continuously, until minutes later... the whispers vanished. Nearly lost my voice, I was chocked up. I than realized the entrances of the chamber were sealed.
Thomas... run!
I turned around to see Holly was struggling to breath and saw Shang Tsung chocking him. "LET HIM GO! YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Do you honestly think that I'm gone?" his voice was different. "Even my other me has more bite."
A sting came upon my shoulder that was painful that brought me to my knees. "PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!"
"Hang in there, son!" Captain Holly shouted.
Shang Tsung laughed. "A rabbit calling a human his son. How touching."
"You never know what compassion is, nor showing it to your own kind or animal"
"Silence!"
A stab pierced Holly in his heart.
"HOLLY!" I rushed over to him, as his body dropped to the ground from the rock. I was able to reach him and feel his fur. However, blood was upon my hands.
"You...must stop him." Captain Holly said weakly near death.
"But how?! He's gone!" I told him.
"The marking... on your shoulder... is not from this world." I lowered my left collar of my shirt to see a marking that resembles the Mortal Kombat dragon. "You must defeat him... and restore everyone from our warren."
"I don't understand, Dad." His voice becomes a whisper of silence, as he draws his last breath and his eyes closed. "HOLLY, NO! You can't leave me again, Dad! Please!"
"Your father's soul is mine." Shang Tsung started to consume Holly's soul, as his body vanishes, leaving my arms empty. Shang Tsung's eyes became completely black. "You... will be next."
A cage rose and finding myself locked in. I than spotted Farid next to Shang Tsung. "Finish Him."
"It'll be done." Farid spoke, as he lit the trail of flammable substance that follows, until it reaches inside the cage. Fire rose and engulfed me, as I could feel myself burning into crispy corpse. I began to twitch and screamed for Holly. The flame grew hotter and my body began to decompose and feel the froth from my mouth, as I still screamed.
Thomas! THOMAS!
My body still twitches and I still screamed in pain, as I'm still dreaming. I was being shaken to be awake, but I still feel like I'm dreaming.
Thomas, wake up, son!
A voice of someone I knew right away, but the screaming continued to block his voice.
You're dreaming, wake up.
My vision was still off, until the flames turned the surroundings black and slowly coming back to my burrow. I turned to see someone there, but it wasn't clear, as if a figure was a firing shape.
"Please! Leave me alone!"
Just listen to my voice, son. It's me. Holly.
I blink a few times, until blurs come, until I noticed a rabbit was present.
That's right, son. Wake up, you're having a nightmare.
When my vision became clear, I noticed Captain Holly was there. Frightened, I scooted back to the wall curly.
"It's okay, son." he repeatedly said to me, in a calm soothing voice. "Wake up." Shivered from my frightening dream, I couldn't move. He slowly approaches me. "I'm here son... I'm here... I'm here... I'm here."
I was able to control myself again from the nightmare. "Captain Holly?"
"It's alright, son." he warmly smiled. "You could call me father."
In a attempt to reach for him, I tried to reach for his fur. However, I stopped only to think he could only be a ghost. "I can't. I need to feel you, so I know you're there."
"It's alright, son. You could feel my fur." he nodded.
Slowly, I reached for his chest. When my reached there, I could feel his chest breathing in and out, as well his heart still beating and too feeling his fur. I scooted closely to him. My hands began to pat and feel his fur. "You're here."
Still warmly in his smile. "Yes, son. I'm here."
I buried my face to his chest and embraced, as I cried. "Thank God, you're here." I continued to cry. "I was terribly frightened, alone, from knowing you're dead.."
"I'm still alive in spirit, son." he softly spoke.
"Please... please stay with me. I'm too afraid to have another dream like this and hurt someone and/or myself." I pleaded.
"I'll be with you, until you wake up in the morning." he was willing to stay with me. "Now get some sleep."
I lie back down, as he was began to lie on my bed. I was close enough to him, that I could rest upon his side. "Please have your paw around me."
"I'll protect you from your nightmares." he lie his paw around me, and I hold into him. "I'll always be with you... always." Soon afterwards, he began to hum soothingly to me of a song. He continued to do it, until I knew what the song was. It wasn't Wayfaring Stranger, but another song that I could recognize right away. It was that song, helped me fall asleep.
May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh, how far you are from home
He started to hum once again, I clanged onto his paw and scooted closer to him.
Believe and you will find your way
His humming continued once again. It was very comforting, as if he was my father singing to me once I was a kid.
A promise lives within you now
May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be your journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun
Mornië utúlië... I began to sing the chorus.
Believe and you will find your way... Captain Holly sung once again.
Mornië alantië... I sung again, before he finished the rest of the lyrics.
A promise lives within you now
A promise lives within you now
"Thousand times... that promise lives within you." Captain Holly gently, warmly, kind-hearted voice, whispered to me.
"How do you even know that song? If I don't mind asking." I was curious.
Captain Holly chuckled. "When you were back at your home, I listened to what your 'human music'. This song, 'May It Be' speaks to me."
"And I think you were a good singer. Thank you, Dad." I began to fall peacefully asleep. "I love you..."
"I love you too, son. And I'll forever be with you... always." I felt his nuzzle and he began to fall asleep as well. Through his breathing, I was able to lift a smile upon my face.
I slowly woke up in the next morning. I close my hands to feel Holly's paw... but I have no feel of his presence. I got up to turn around to only see Hyzenthlay was close towards me, where she's sleeping. It wouldn't be her resting by me for comfort. I turned around to every corner of my burrow to find a clue of how Captain Holly appeared to me. It wasn't until I looked down to see... the scarf he gave me back. This scarf that was tarnished from Holly's blood. I could feel my chest close very tight with me, making myself harder to breath.
I picked up the scarf and closed my eyes to imagine Holly being there. My mind began to imagine that I was feeling Holly's fur for comfort. It didn't even stop tears falling from my eyes. I miss him terribly. I longed for his comfort that sobbed in grief.
I'll forever be with you. I'll be watching over you from Frith's Meadow. Always. The eerie sound of Captain Holly's voice whispered to my ears. I hugged my scarf, to picture Holly being there to hug him.
Hyzenthlay woke up and paced herself to look all over the burrow. "Holly? Holly? Holly?! Where are you?!" The two of us than looked at each other. She was near to tears, as if she experienced the same dream as I had too.
"You saw him, too?" I asked her.
She sniffed, as she cleaned her eyes. "Yes. He came and slept beside us." I didn't had any idea she saw him too.
"How did you seen him, like I did?"
"Your scarf." she answered. "I noticed you were having a horrible dream. I prayed to Frith, even to The Black Rabbit herself to have Holly visit us."
"He just came?" I questioned her.
"Yes... he came down from Frith's Meadow." she nodded her head. "He gave you comfort and words of courage to have you carry on."
It was than I started to realize that I wasn't just dreaming... he was there when I woke up from my nightmare. "Did you spoke to you too?"
She sadly down. "Yes. He gave me comfort last night, to show him my smile again." It was heartwarming to see that he was able to see her too. "Sadly, he wanted me to move on and have a new life."
"What do you think?" I cleaned my tears.
She took some soft and slow breaths, before she could answer. "I'm willing to move on, as you should too. However, there's one condition I sat upon with him... I refuse to mate someone else."
"Hyzenthlay..."
"I can't see myself to find another mate and live my life. Holly was the only one, who cared for me the most. I couldn't think of any other buck that has his personalities and heart too." she went on. "If I found myself another mate, I feel like I'm insulting our memories we shared together."
I nodded. "That's a very hard commitment."
"I know. Holly is the only one I loved and willing to be posthumous remain mates, until my eyes are closed." she added. "Luckily, Holly stands by it."
"I figured he would." I said.
"What about you?" she asked me. "Will you find it acceptable?"
"Are you wanting to find a new mate?" I asked her the obvious question that she could easily answer.
"No!"
"Than don't. Live your life. I knew a few marriages that people refuse to remarry. after losing someone dear whom he/she fell in love with." I voiced my opinion and accepted her choice. She lightly smiled. "I don't know if I could find someone I could trust more deeply, like Holly ever again. Or even meeting someone like him again."
She hopped towards me and nuzzled me. "Just remember his words that helped you carry yourself over your trials."
I nodded my head. "Yes. I will." Out of nowhere, I hugged her. Bit startled from her, she accepted it. "Thank you."
"And thank you." Hyzenthlay thanked me back.
When everyone was up and ready for the day, it was time. The time to say our final farewells and goodbyes to Captain Holly. The Owsla of Watership Down, Campion, and myself were the ones to carry Holly's lifeless body to a location near the warren. We were followed by Hyzenthlay, Hazel and Clover, and the others: both rabbits and humans. We were able to find a perfect resting place, where not a single elil would be able to dig him up and take his lifeless body away. Even though, there were no elil around in a time like this, Nightwolf was able to use herbs that would draw predators away from Holly's lifeless body.
After we arrive at his final resting place, the Owsla dug up a burial to place Holly, before placing him there. His body was still covered from blankets that Katie wrapped around him from the previous morning. Hazel stood at the center and spoke a few words of Holly. Short, but briefed. However, very faithful captain and loyal to his warren, a mate to a doe, and a father figure and brother-in-arms to a human. Bigwig nodded his head for approval. There were only a few surviving soldiers, including myself were wearing our formal military outfits for funerals. I haven't had the slightest idea that I packed my formal uniform with me. At first, I thought I wore up for a celebratory victory and/or recognition. However, it wasn't the case I knew in my heart. I only planned to wear for the fallen. In which, the fallen was an Owsla captain.
Hazel had a few speakers to say a few words. The first was Hyzenthlay. She briefly spoke about their first eye contact with each other in captivity in Efrafa to the final days they shared before battle. Bigwig, spoke minor rough about him, but fair. He knew that he couldn't have the best captain to lead his Owsla back in Sandleford and/or being part of the Watership Down Owsla beside him. Campion, a former captain from Efrafa, spoke briefly about his first encounter with Holly. He first felt mixed about his presence in Efrafa. He than like before, brought up about being reprimanded by Holly from looking away a suffering prisoner only stating to Holly, that he was simply following orders. Campion was the few that shed a tear, when he brought up important words that Holly told him, by experience: "What makes a good soldier is not always what makes a good rabbit." A few rabbits spoken a few words about Holly, including Bluebell that he would miss telling Holly jokes that would cause him to laugh, whenever he was down.
Afterwards, a few Earthrealm warriors: Sonya, Liu Kang, Hanzo Hasashi, Jade, Nightwolf, and Kung Lao spoken a few good words of Captain Holly. Even Raiden has came and spoken briefly as well. I was than last the person to speak of Holly. Nervously, I stepped forward, without a written words, I could speak through my heart. I began from the first time we had set our eyes upon each other in Sandleford... our encounter when he attempt to stop us from leaving the warren, resulting combat, with me saving his life... when seeing each other again, when he found us in Watership Down... him sharing with me his survival at the brook... leading us to find Efrafa... looked after each other during our imprisonment in Efrafa, before escaping... him finding me back at my human world and helping me recover from loss of my family... returning back to free everyone in Efrafa including my sister and Holly's future mate, Hyzenthlay... our times together in our new home... my PTSD attacks, in which Holly helped me return to reality... to our final battle for our home, our final moments when he's near death, to our nightly comfort from the previous night.
When everyone finished our words, the soldiers began to rang out single shots, before playing Taps. The Owsla was ready for burial. Before I let them, I was able to have final seconds to unveil the blanket to see his face. His eyes were shut and his wounds were fixed. Hyzenthlay lied her face upon his and whispered to him that she loves him. I than followed to bury my face upon his to shed some tears.
"Forgive me, Dad. Forgive me, tarli." I whispered to him. "I love you, father." I gave him a kiss on his muzzle, before covering his face. When I let him go, Nightwolf sprinkled herbs upon and around Holly to give his lifeless protection from predators. The Owsla began to bury their captain. I watched, while shaking and sobbing dreadfully.
"Thomas..." I turned to see it was Bigwig. "I'm sorry, brother."
I hugged him and cried with him. "Thank you, Bigwig... thank you."
The funeral was over around noon. By that time, Raiden summoned a portal for all humans and the Earthrealm warriors back to their size, and to their designated realms. I was there to bid farewell to them, especially with the Earthrealm warriors. The last person to leave was Sonya Blade.
"Thomas, thank you for saving Earth." she saluted to me.
I saluted back at her. "Thank you ma'am for not giving up on me."
"Are you sure you and your sister not wanting to return to our world?" Sonya asked. "I could be able to settle an arrangement for you to settle into a base and live there."
I looked back at the warren, where life is returning. Rabbits silflaying around the warren's entrance, Hazel and Clover together, Bigwig and Strawberry laughing together, Bluebell coming up with jokes that would cause somewhat annoyance to Blackberry. The last that I saw was Hyzenthlay and Katie were together and watching the view from the edge of the down. I could see Katie's face is happy. She won't have to see life would be like, if we returned back to Colorado. My heart tells me that the two of us belong here.
"I'll have to say, we belong here." I assured her.
Sonya nodded her head. "Very well. I'll have to say, good luck on your journey, Private First Class." She than walked through the portal and disappeared.
"And to you, Lieutenant." I said my goodbye.
Raiden was the last person to leave. We both gave each other a handshake. "Thank you, for aiding my warriors and saving Earth."
"And thank you Raiden for the same." I thanked him as well.
"What are your plans, after our departure?" Raiden asked me.
I looked behind the warren and my sister with Hyzenthlay. "Well... basically I would adapt my life here and look after them. As well of wondering the mark on my wound."
"It shows that you're marked." Raiden clarified. "Whenever new trouble comes from Outworld and/or other realms, you'll be the among the Earthrealm warriors to defend from invaders."
I nodded. "I understand."
"If there's anything I could do, do not be afraid to call for me."
"Thank you, Raiden." I thanked him.
He than chuckled.
"What is it?" I questioned him.
"From our last time back in your homeworld, you prefer to leave Elder Gods out of it." he lightly joked.
"I go by my beliefs, as you go by yours."
Raiden nodded for understanding. "Very well." He than summoned lightening and disappeared, along with the portal. I headed my way over to Katie and Hyzenthlay, and sat beside. We all than looked at each other.
"What now, Thomas?" Katie asked me.
I looked back at the view and the beautiful blue skies that is present in our view. "For now... I think we'll be okay for now."
"For now?" Hyzenthlay questioned.
"It may not be over, but we'll just have to be prepared for anything." I advised her. "I do have a feeling... they may comeback or something much more that could happen to everyone here."