WHAM! Mallow was thrown back by more than twenty feet as Blackberry, Strawberry, and Hawkbit came to Justin and Bluebell's aid. Their heads were still ringing from head-butting straight into Mallow's skull, yet they still stood firm in front of Justin and Bluebell, shielding them, as they glared at the Efrafans in absolute fury, daring any of them to try to attack. Mallow, who was now nursing a bloody and possibly fractured snout, was about to rise and try again, but by this time, Hazel and the other rabbits rejoined with Justin and Bluebell, now uniting the entire group of El-ahrairah. Blackberry growled at the Efrafans.
"We're not letting any of you lay a paw on Justin! Not while we're with him!" he shouted before adding, "And I doubt any of you wants to see what else the cross-bearer can do with his power!" His words struck home as this caused the now defenseless Efrafans to fidget nervously, making them even more reluctant to try to attack, but Vervain snarled viciously, "You haven't won yet! The cross-bearer will not leave here alive!!"
"Bigwig, quickly! Take Justin with you. I don't like the fact that Vervain is so confident, and now's the best chance we have of getting the cross-bearer away from here," Holly whispered, but Bigwig and Hazel shook their heads.
"We can't leave here without Bluebell, and it's apparent Justin won't want to leave without him, and besides, we're still surrounded so..." but what Hazel was about to say trailed off when the ground started shaking with gentle tremors, as if something heavy was landing against the grass. Yet, it was too rhythmical for an earthquake, if there were any in the land beyond the living; in fact, the shaking was almost like...
"Footprints," Pipkin gasped with realization, "Something's coming, Hazel-rah! Something big! Can't you smell it?!" Fiver and Hazel did smell something, something that reeked of darkness, decay, and it was extremely overpowering. Even Justin could detect the stench. Vervain laughed cruelly.
"Woundwort and Prince Rainbow knew that we would not be enough to kill the boy, so he commanded several beasts to accompany us to finish where we left off! They were only so glad to take the responsibility, especially since they despise men!! Now prepare to meet your fate, cross-bearer! Ilips, show yourselves!!" As soon as Vervain had stated those chilling words, a large black shadow, cast by the pale moonlight, suddenly towered behind Justin and the Watership rabbits, silhouetting all sixteen companions, and with dread, they all turned to see a living nightmare. It was an Ilip, the same beasts Justin remembered that ruled in the land of darkness in the story of El-ahrairah gaining the sense of smell in "Tales From Watership Down". Yet the book could not possibly prepare him for the sight that he beheld in front of him. It was tall, as big as a two-story house, and it looked like a distorted version of a bear, except its face was flat and stretched, like the face of a cat smashed against a window. Its entire body was white, whiter than the moon, and it was completely covered with shaggy, white fur which helped set off the blue pupils which were narrowed into slits as they gleamed sadistically at Justin. Its wide mouth had rows and rows of ivory-colored, round teeth, ready to crush anything into powder in its mouth. It was on all fours, and each of its wide paws had six fingers with a wicked, ivory-colored claw. They all gaped at the large, ferocious beast that was looming over them as it spoke in a guttural voice lined with hatred, "Evil man, you will never escape us, so don't even try to do anything foolish!"
"Um...'us'?" stammered Justin, trying his best to not cower in the presence of the animal, but two roars from behind them answered that question. Hazel and the others turned around to see two other Ilips behind the Efrafan Owsla, and they were already starting to advance towards Hazel and the group. Now they were surrounded by three Ilips instead of one.
"Oh embleer Frith!" cursed out Buckthorn in aggravation. "If it isn't one thing, it's another!" Hazel nodded to Bigwig, silently signaling him to escape with Justin while he tried to stall or reason with the Ilips. It wouldn't hurt.
"Ilips!" he cried out in a loud yet calm voice, "Please, don't do this!! You helped El-ahrairah before to send him to the King of the Yesterday to help his children gain the sense of smell! We're all part of El-ahrairah's Owsla and his loyal friends, so please spare the boy! He's the only hope we have of helping El-ahrairah and saving this land!" Yet the Ilip shook his head in disgust and advanced closer and closer to Justin.
"Saving El-ahrairah?! With a human boy??! You rabbits are a disgrace to all animals created by Frith! You cannot possibly expect to trust a man to help you! They're all evil, enemies to Frith himself, and we will not let you or any other creature stop us from killing him!! He is a threat to us all, and Elil-rah was right to send his army out to destroy him!! Now step aside!"
"You're wrong!" shouted Pipkin angrily as he bravely tried to get into the Ilips path. "Justin isn't evil! Elil-rah is the one who's evil!! He's lying to you about the cross-bearer!! Justin actually cares about animals and his friends, and he would never -"
"Silence, you insolent wretch!" roared the Ilip, and with a mighty swipe of its paw, he hit Pipkin out of its pathway and sent the poor rabbit sprawling into the grass and dirt. Fiver and Hazel rushed over to their fallen companion's aid (Pipkin was unharmed but dazed and dizzy) while the violent act infuriated the other Watership rabbits. Without warning, Holly, Speedwell, Acorn, Hawkbit, Silver, and Campion rushed together towards the Ilip, ready to head-butt the creature into its face. Yet, undaunted, the Ilip simply charged, barreling past the rabbits and scattering them. Bigwig, seeing this, hurriedly ran over to Justin, hoping to carry him away from the Ilips, but with another bound, a second Ilip pounced and put itself between Bigwig and Justin. Bigwig tried to dash between its legs yet a heavy paw clamped down hard on Bigwig, nearly crushing the rabbit with its weight, preventing him from moving. The Ilip snarled to his other two fellow comrades, "Hurry Zhuron, Trycaw! Kill the boy while I hold off the Watership rabbits!" Justin nearly felt his legs give out from under him as the two Ilips, one in front of him and one behind, got closer and closer while the third one effortlessly swatted and batted at Hazel and the others while keeping a firm paw on top of Bigwig. The Efrafans, who were watching from the sidelines, were cheering for the Ilips and Justin could hear Vervain boasting to his Owsla, "You see, you fools?! The cross-bearer isn't powerful! He can't even help his so-called 'friends'; he's only intent on saving himself!" Justin felt his heart wince from the pain of those stinging words, but he didn't want to give up. He wanted to live so that he could help Hazel and the others; after all, what good would he be to them and El-ahrairah dead? Yet he didn't know how he was going to survive this, and he wished with all his might that he could use his power again to help his friends right now. Yet he couldn't think of anything. He couldn't teleport himself and all the Watership Down rabbits away from here since the Efrafans and the Ilips would simply track them down again, not to mention he probably wasn't powerful enough anyway. But he couldn't kill any of them because they were creatures too, and even though they sided with Elil-rah, like Strawberry said, they were simply being controlled by their fear and hate. And seeing a man in the land beyond life certainly qualified as a reason to hate him.
"Please, don't hurt Hazel and the others!" Justin pleaded to the Ilip in front of him as his mind tried to think of any possibility of using his powers to help get out of this predicament. "Look, if you just let me heal El-ahrairah, I promise I'll leave this land! Please, I don't want to hurt any of you! Just let us go help El-ahrairah!! Please, just give us more time!"
"There will no compromise!! This land will be better off without evil plagues such as you! Farewell, cross-bearer!! Your time has come to an end!!" As the Ilip raised his paw for the final blow, the word "time" set off a chain-reaction of memories in Justin's brain as he recalled when Dandelion was telling about the prophecy of the cross-bearer: "...the cross-bearer would have limitless power and have the ability to do anything. If he wanted to change into a rabbit, he could. If he wanted to summon the rain and thunder, he could. Even if he wanted to do something impossible such as stop time on only one season or speed up time so that seasons pass by in moments, he could. The only rule was that God and Frith wanted the cross-bearer to use the power to protect the innocent and to fight evil." Stop time. Freezing the moment so that he, Hazel, and other Watership rabbits could escape, and it was passive, so it wouldn't hurt or injure the Ilips or the Efrafans, even though they certainly deserved it. Yet, would it work? Knowing it was possibly his last hope, Justin grabbed the cross around his neck with both hands and prayed aloud as the colossal paw of the Ilip came rushing down on his frail body. Justin yelled with all his might, hoping God or the cross would listen, his voice echoing in the grassy plain.
"PLEASE, STOP TIME!! PLEASE, LISTEN TO MY PRAYER!! STOP TIME SO HAZEL AND THE REST OF US CAN ESCAPE!! I DON'T WANT TO HURT ANYONE!! TIME, PLEASE STOP!! PLEASE!!!" In an instant, the cross necklace flashed with a brilliant light, far greater than anything Justin had done with his cross before. It was shining as brightly as the sun, and the Ilips, whose eyes were not used to such intensity, shrieked in pain as they covered their eyes. Their howls were so loud, that Rabscuttle, Hyzenthlay, and the other rabbits back at El-ahrairah's warren were able to hear it, many, many miles away. The Ilip who was pinning down Bigwig also followed suit and released his prisoner, allowing Bigwig to dash out from the enemy's shadow. The Efrafans were also howling in rage, surprise and pain as the light from Justin's cross had overwhelmed them and the Ilips. Strangely enough, the light was not affecting the rabbits of Watership Down, and they were able to look with astonishment and amazement at the sight of Justin, with closed eyes, clasping the cross in his hands tightly in front of him as the pillars of light even illuminated the night sky.
"By the fur and paw!!" gasped out Holly, "I can't believe it!! He's harnessing his power!! The young chap finally did it!! He's keeping the Ilips at bay, to help us!!"
"It's such a beautiful light," whispered Silver in awe as he stared, "It so warm and comforting, like the power of Frith himself."
"But what is he doing?!" Hazel asked, yet before anyone could guess, the cross illuminated the sky, turning the night into day. The cross flashed once, twice, and then slowly faded as it lost its orange radiance, returning the color of the sky back into the dark, starry, night. Justin, feeling the warmth of the luminosity fade away, opened his eyes as he, Hazel, and the remaining rabbits gaped at the wonder of the miracle that occurred. The Ilips and the Efrafans, including Mallow and Vervain, were completely frozen! Each of them were softly immersed with golden sunlight, completely covering their bodies, and were in immobile, frozen positions, their faces contorted with rage and pain, as time had stopped on the entire field. Only Justin and the rabbits Owsla of Watership Down were immune from the time-stop. Dandelion joyously hopped around Justin and the Ilips in giddiness.
"You did it!! You did it, young Justin!! By Frith and Inle, when you use your powers as the cross-bearer, you certainly know how to use it effectively!!"
"Hey, it was you who gave me the idea when you told me about the prophecy of the cross-bearer," smiled Justin, relived and exhausted from the entire ordeal. "I'm just glad it worked or else it would have been my last night alive." As some of the rabbits gathered around him and nuzzled him happily, showing their affection for their human friend, his eyes fell on the injured Bluebell as he was being looked over by Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Strawberry. His heart started to ache again with worry as he slowly walked back to Bluebell and knelt down next to him. Bluebell was panting with effort, but as Justin knelt beside him, he slowly rested his head on Justin's shoulder as the teenager gave him a soft, yet emotional hug.
"Thank you," Justin whispered in his ear. Bluebell, a bit embarrassed for being hugged by a human, replied, "By Frith! From the way you're acting, you think I was meeting the Black Rabbit of Inle again! Don't worry, Justin, it's just a flesh wound! It'll take more than some tharn lance to put a good rabbit down!"
"Actually, it did," answered Strawberry as he sniffed and licked the dried blood off Bluebell's shoulder. "With something like this, you certainly can't journey back to the warren without resting for three or four days of constant supervision and care. The journey would make us lag behind, not to mention we would go at a much slower pace than if Bluebell was completely well."
"But we don't have three or four days, Strawberry!" Bigwig complained in exasperation. "We don't know how long the Ilips and the Efrafans will remain like tharn like this, but I can say by the King's Lettuce that it won't be for long!"
"But what other choice do we have?" Hazel said. Bluebell answered the question as he turned to face them. "Simple, leave me behind. Take Justin with you and leave me here. Elil-rah won't hurt me since he's after the cross-bearer, and the sooner you start to travel, the better because you'll put more distance between yourselves and the enemies." Before anyone could respond to that, Justin argued vehemently, "Not even an option, Bluebell! I said I wasn't leaving any of you behind, and I meant it! I'm also not leaving behind my friend who got injured because of me in the first place!! Either we leave together or we stay together!"
Blackberry tried to reason. "Justin, Bluebell is right. If we stay, you'd just put yourself in more and more danger since your power is probably not going to last forever. How long do you think that time-freeze will last on Elil-rah's creatures? Please, don't be stubborn." The memory of Bluebell putting himself in Justin to block the deadly spear blow just further convinced Justin to stick with his choice. He refused. At this, Bigwig got extremely angry as he stood up to his full height and glared down at Justin snarling, "Listen, you may be the cross-bearer, but you're still, by our standards, a young kitten who doesn't know common sense unless it's knocked into of him, and believe me, you don't want to test me! You cannot possibly do Bluebell any good if you get yourself killed, making the sacrifice he gave to you in vain. Now, I agree with Strawberry that we should leave, and we will leave. Even if I have to wrestle you to the ground, beat you unconscious, and carry you on my back myself, you, by Frith, are going too!!" Yet before an argument and a possible fight could break out, Fiver jumped in gently.
"Wait, there is a third option. Justin, try putting your hands on Bluebell's wound." Justin was genuinely confused.
"What?? Why??"
"Just do it, trust me, Justin. It will help." Bigwig rolled his eyes in annoyance as he snorted at Fiver, "Don't tell me, let me guess, it's your visions again, isn't it?" Hazel nudged him gently to signal him to be quiet as Justin, deciding to put his faith in Fiver, knelt next to Bluebell again and gingerly placed his hands on the bloody lesion on the rabbit's shoulder. He didn't know what to expect, so he kept his mouth shut and just prayed in his mind, God, please, I don't know what to do, but Fiver says it'll help us. Just help do whatever I'm supposed to do to help Bluebell and the rest of us continue on...He broke off when he suddenly became aware of the rabbits gasping in bewilderment around him, and throughout his entire body, he felt the familiar sensation of warmth erupting now through his hands. He opened his eyes to find in astonishment, his hands were glowing with a soft orange light, and the light was slowly starting to move from his hands and spread onto the injury on Bluebell's shoulder. In a matter of seconds, the light entirely covered Bluebell, making him glow softly like the other animals. Bluebell closed his eyes and let the comforting warmth and assurance spread throughout his body, erasing the throbbing pain and dulling his aches. With a final flash, the light disappeared and Bluebell was back to his normal self. The rabbit opened his eyes and slowly got up, expecting his wound to hiss and burn from the effort, yet to his joy, he felt refreshed, anew. Strawberry and Blackberry knelt closer to examine the companion's shoulder to only find that it miraculously healed! There was no tear, no blood, not even the faintest sign that there was a wound there to begin with. The other rabbits, with joy and wanting to see if it was really Bluebell who was standing before them, happily went up to him, showing their affection by sniffing, tussling, and rolling the burly rabbit in the grass. Bluebell, a bit more embarrassed by the attention, rolled Pipkin and Dandelion off his back before turning to Hazel.
"Well, c'mon then, Hazel-rah! What are we doing standing around here for like a bunch of clover fields? Waiting to be eaten by some rabbits? C'mon! Let's leave now! I'm up to it!" Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig nodded at the wise words from the Watership jester, and in less than a minute, all sixteen travelers went east, towards El-ahrairah's warren and leaving the still frozen Efrafans and Ilips. Hazel, Campion and Holly were leading the front while all the rabbits in the middle were flanking alongside Bluebell, who requested the responsibility of carrying Justin on his back. Bigwig, Buckthorn, Silver, and Blackberry were tagging along the back in case they were being followed. As fast as they could, the rabbits of El-ahrairah's Owsla went at full gallop, not knowing the many obstacles Elil-rah had prepared to face them on their perilous journey back home.
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Author's note: Next update in a week! Till then, please REVIEW!
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