Wake up my friend... It's not your time yet... you'll see them again.
The voices were calling for me. Not sure where it was from, or if I was dreaming. At first, I was seeing ghosts of my past and present family members, friends, and brother in arms. They were in my sights... I was walking slowly to them.
Don't go to the meadow yet. You'll regain their souls and freeing them... and bringing the warren back to life. You must defeat the human sorcerer.
The light began to fade, as the ghosts began to vanish, like dusts. Wake up, Thomas!
I gasped heavily to wake up from this coma.
"Be still Captain Thomas." a voice that was very familiar. "Katie informed me that Watership Down was under attacked." I turned to see it was Campion-rah of Efrafa. Along with them were a few bucks and does surrounding me.
"Where am I?!" I asked weakly.
"You're in Efrafa. I was able to find you near death. Luckily, and thank Frith, that we found you."
"Where's Bigwig?! Hyzenthlay, Hazel, Fiver?! Where are there?!" I attempt to stand, but I was shot down from the pain.
"Steady yourself, human. I know you been through too much. I promised Holly and Hyzenthlay to look after you." The pain caused me to go unconscious once more.
Hours later, I woke up and the pain was gone The burrow was small, but I knew Campion told me that I was in Efrafa. This time, however, as a refugee. The warren was changed, since the downfall of Woundwart. After his disappearance, Captain Campion returned to Efrafa and became Chief Rabbit. Also, he and his warren allied with Hazel's. The pain and the soreness hasn't gone unnoticed though from my injuries. I than looked at my shoulder to see the dragon mark continues to burn on my skin.
"Thomas!" I turned to see Campion outside of the burrow. He hopped towards me.
"Captain Campion! Oh, sorry, I mean Campion-rah." I honestly mistaken Campion as captain, instead of Chief Rabbit.
"No harm done, brother." Campion assured me. "I'm glad to see you're up again."
I looked around. "Am I in Efrafa?"
"Yes."
Something than came into my mind. Katie! "Oh no! Katie! Where is she?!"
"Calm yourself." Campion settled me down. "She's in good hands. She's being amended in her own burrow, not far from yours."
I let out a relief sigh. "Thank you, Campion."
"Apparently, it was thanks to Captain Bigwig." he than looked down in grief and shook his head.
I than remembered that Bigwig was murdered in front of me. Despite of saving my sister's life, it cost his own life. "It's Shang Tsung! He was the one, who did this!"
Campion looked at me with shock. "Impossible! He was defeated seasons ago!"
"I know, but his appearance and voice changed. He wasn't the same sorcerer that we encountered. Even though, I know of seeing him before."
"You have, when?"
"In a dream." I recalled. "Even in Fiver's final words, he recalled of having a vision of him too."
Campion shook his head. "Poor rabbit. His brother, Clover, Bluebell-"
"And Hyzenthlay too." I held back my tears. "All of them were slaughtered and their souls were taken."
He than placed his paw upon me, as we lowered our heads in grief and recited... "Our hearts have joined the thousand... for my friends stopped running today." We than became silent. Not a single word came from either of us. I wished I could have been there in time to save them.
Campion-rah, sir! We heard a voice running down. A Owsla buck entered the burrow, it was Sainfoin.
"Sainfoin?" I was surprised to see him.
"Captain Sainfoin, sir."
"I guess you haven't changed a bit, on your tone." I disapproved his approach.
"Steady on, you two!" Campion intervened, before turning to his captain. "What is it, captain?" From what I remembered; after Woundwart'' defeat and Campion became chief rabbit, Sainfoin was promoted to captain.
"A human was spotted at our entrance! He seeks to enter our warren." Captain Sainfoin answered.
"And who is this human?"
"He goes by the name of 'Nightwolf', sir." Sainfoin answered.
"Nightwolf?! I remember him! He's probably here because of what happened." I remembered.
"Are you sure, Thomas?" Campion questioned.
I nodded back at him. "I trust him."
Campion nodded Sainfoin to allow Nightwolf to enter the warren. I attempted to stand, but I started to stumble down. Campion caught my fall and kept me standing. "One hop at a time." The two of us exited the burrow to find Katie. As we gone through the tunnel, I started to have flashbacks of this warren. A warren that was once desolation, imprisonment, and torture. The voices got into my head, that I attempt to block it out, by covering my ears. The chief rabbit stopped and noticed what I was trying to do.
"I understand the suffering never left here. The ghosts and voices carry over us now and than." Campion stated. "However, it's important that we continue to rise above them and accept what happened here."
I nodded, as we continued to find Katie. When we got arrived at her burrow, she was being attended by two does. One of them came to Campion. "She's still in shock."
"Katie!" I walked towards her and gave her a hug. "Thank God, you're safe!"
"I killed him..." she whispered to me. "I killed him..."
"Who?" I let her go and looked into her eyes. "Who did you kill, sis? Who did you kill?"
She was shivering and silent, until the same words came out of her. "I killed him."
"When we found her, she was in shock. Despite of not having a single injury. Her hands were covered in blood. A blood from another human." Campion came to Katie. "Also, we found something on her too."
"Found what?" I asked him.
"Katie... can you turn your head to the side, lass?" Campion kindly asked her. She turned to reveal... the same dragon marking! It was on her neck.
"No! It can't be." I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, Thomas! I didn't mean too!" she buried her face onto me and cried.
"You were defending yourself. I know you didn't mean to." I comforted her.
"What does it mean?" Campion asked. "Is it bad?"
Like her brother, she now has the marking. We turned to see Nightwolf. "She's now a warrior."
"A warrior?! She's only a child!" I stood up.
"You mean, am I going to fight? I can't do it." Katie became scared, since she was only getting started for her combat training.
"She's in the Owsla, right?" Campion asked.
"Yes. She is, but she's only going under training. Bigwig was instructing us regarding about combat and other traits that an Owsla should know." I answered, before I turned to Nightwolf. "Is there something that we could do to remove the marking from her?"
"I'm afraid not, my friend." Nightwolf answered.
"Please! There must be something we ccould do. She already admitted that she's not ready for anything like this. I'll support what she says, and not let her go through with it!"
Nightwolf understood what I was trying to say. He began to think for an idea to remove the marking. "Give me time. Perhaps I'll find a remedy. Better yet, perhaps Lord Raiden would know."
"Alright." I took his word and we'll find a way to remove the marking on Katie's neck.
"What happened to Bigwig?" she asked.
"Katie..." Campion was about to speak, but I stopped him.
"I'll tell her." After telling her what happened to Bigwig, she became more grief stricken than she was traumatized from murdering another human underage.
However, she was able to stop crying and confessed. "I killed the human, because he was hurting Bigwig. I was just trying to protect him, but I failed."
"You did whatever you could and it wasn't your fault, Katie." I hugged her. "He would be amazed that you aided him."
"True, but I know I still have long ways to go, before mastering combat." she added.
"Listen, perhaps it's best that you two stay for the night. Just until early morning, we'll head back to the down." Campion suggested.
"Thank you, Campion." I thanked him.
"Nothing at all. Try to get some sleep." he nodded, before he exited the burrow.
"Sleep well, my friends. I'll find answers from Lord Raiden tonight. In hopes of dealing with Katie's marking at tomorrow's sunrise." Nightwolf planned out, before leaving the burrow. Katie and I snuggled for tonight at the same burrow.
"I wish Hyzenthlay is here." she cried.
"Me too... I wish all of them are here." We rested upon a straw bed and snuggled next to each other. "Goodnight sis."
"Goodnight big brother." Katie yawned before she fell out. Soon afterwards, I did too.
