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Author's note: Though all the rabbit characters are from "Watership Down", there are two things I thought I should mention for legal issues. The names of two weasels, Sneezewort and Lousewort, are two names I borrowed from the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques, specifically the book titled, "The Long Patrol". Anyway, for all Acorn fans, if you're like me, and we're saddened by Acorn's death in "Tales From Watership Down", then despair no more. Enjoy the chapter of Acorn!
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CHAPTER 12"Here, Justin, I found some more groundnuts while I was at silflay. I thought you might be hungry again." This came from the slender Acorn, but rather muffled, due to the fact that the rabbit was trying to convey his message with the nuts loaded in his mouth, carrying them like how a chipmunk carries its food. Justin tried not to laugh at the sight of Acorn awkwardly trying to extract the nuts from his mouth and instead, helped the thoughtful rabbit get the stuck nuts out of his jaw. As Justin shelled some of the groundnuts, he noticed that Acorn laid down on the grass next to him but made no move to start a conversation. Justin at first thought he was lonely.
"Something on your mind, Acorn?" he asked, popping a groundnut into his mouth, "Aren't you still hungry for silflay?"
"No, I've had enough of grass, but I can easily say though that I wouldn't mind for some flayrah right now, especially some carrots and cabbage."
Justin smirked. "Is that supposed to be some kind of hint? You know I can't summon stuff out of thin air unless if they were to be used to fight Elil-rah or defend you guys from getting hurt." Acorn laughed and shook his head.
"No, I didn't mean anything of the sort. I just have these cravings from time to time, and I can easily tell you that I loved eating carrots and cowslips and all sorts of greenstuff while I was alive in the physical world. They were literally enough to drive me out of all my senses and reason!"
"From the sound of it, you probably had lots of fun going on raids at Nuthanger Farm for flayrah, not to mention had a really keen sense for finding cowslips back at Watership Down and your old warren." Yet at this statement, Justin was surprised to see Acorns face fall slightly, becoming glum.
"Acorn, did I...did I say something wrong? If I did, I didn't mean any harm by it." The skinny rabbit sighed as he closed his eyes on his memory.
"No, it's not you, cross-bearer, and I know you didn't mean any insult to that. It's just that despite knowing the story of the journey to Watership Down in your world, you never did know how much of a rough time it was for me over there. Not to mention how sad I was at first when I stopped running and met the Black Rabbit to come to the land beyond life."
Justin then remembered. In "Watership Down", Acorn, like the other rabbits, had a very miserable time at Sandleford warren because they were bucks who were too weak or small to make it into the Owsla. Any rabbit not in the Owsla were given an extremely rough time, for the Owsla did everything they could to make their lives a living hell. If any flayrah or cowslips were found, the Owsla would bully the other bucks away from it, and it wasn't much of a wonder that the Owsla got the best of everything: the best den in the warren, the prettiest does to mate with, the best grass, the fun and excitement of going to raids. The rest of the non-Owsla rabbits, however, were usually left with nothing. And it wasn't Acorn who went through this; all the rabbits, with the exception of Silver, Holly, Bigwig, Buckthorn, Campion and Strawberry, had been harassed by the Owsla at some point in their lives. That was primarily the reason why so many bucks were willing to leave with Fiver and Hazel to Watership Down in the first place. And that wasn't all; in "Tales from Watership Down", during an extremely cold, harsh winter, Acorn died of starvation and hunger, so he was the first of the band to come to the land beyond life. That probably must have been very lonely and hard for him.
Justin then spoke to Acorn, "Let me guess, there were times you remembered how difficult it was for you back at Sandleford, and how you were the very first to die and come here?" Acorn nodded.
"I can't tell you how sad I was to leave Watership Down. It was something I risked everything for, my life, my well-being, my freedom, and as soon as we got settled there, after a few seasons, I had to pass away because there wasn't enough food to keep us alive during that winter. And what made me ashamed was that I blamed Frith and El-ahrairah for doing this to me. I fought and pleaded to let me go back to Watership Down because I didn't want to leave and be separated from all my friends, not to mention give up the very life I worked so hard to live, after so much torture I had to endure back at Sandleford. It just wasn't fair! I got mad at them, saying that if they truly cared for a rabbit like me, then they wouldn't have ever put me through all this and take it away so quickly." He paused before continuing in a softer voice, "But I think what also bothered me was the fact that not a lot of rabbits cared a lot about me, so when I died, I probably never amounted much to them so it was probably better for the warren. It was like I was just some sort of...of..." He tried to find a suitable word. "A filler rabbit. You know, like a rabbit who's just there to make the number of the rabbit warren large but doesn't really amount much to anything."
"Acorn, that isn't true," Justin whispered as he placed his hand gently on the rabbit's head and comfortingly stroked the spot between his ears, "Your friends missed you greatly when you died. I remembered reading that in the stories of Watership Down after Efrafa's siege, Hazel and Bigwig especially felt your loss. Everyone was very sad that you passed away because you're been through the thick and thin: the mission to retrieve does from Efrafa, the siege afterwards, not to mention the journey to Watership Down in the first place. No one would ever forget what you've done. And I'll admit, you didn't have as big of a role to play, not like Hazel's authority, Bigwig and Silver's strength, Fiver's visions, but you still had a role nonetheless. No matter how small a role you have, none of the missions that took place in your life wouldn't have been the same, maybe never have been even fulfilled, if everyone didn't play their part. And despite what you think, you were helpful too. You and Pipkin were the best insect-catchers to help feed Kehaar, helping the rabbits convince him to go find does for the warren's survival. You were also there to help defend the does if the Efrafans ever broke through the blocked tunnels during Woundwort's attack. And you're forgetting that El-ahrairah asked you to be one of the few rabbits to come get me in the land beyond life and to protect me from danger. That's far more important than any expedition any rabbit's ever been on."
Justin then remembered his own occasional conflicts he's had with his beliefs and his life, and he continued. "I...I also know what it feels to question, sometimes even blame someone for all the things that have happened to you in life. I mean, I can easily tell you the number of times I've questioned my faith, thinking that God didn't love me or care much about me if me put me through every day with bullies and people who just put me down to make themselves feel better. It wasn't even for survival; they did it because I was an easy target and because I never had the courage or the strength to fight back. Heck, there were times I resented God because if he did love me, he wouldn't have put me through a miserable life with my dad or my parents' divorce. The thing is though, none of us know why we go through suffering, and yeah, it sounds cliché, but sometimes life isn't fair for everyone. That's the truth. Yet, it gives us a chance to get stronger, to motivate us, I guess, to work harder at changing things in the world, so that it doesn't happen again. Besides, Acorn, I can honestly say, even if you feel like a filler rabbit, I would rather prefer you over an Efrafan like Mallow or Vervain because you're thoughtful and kind and don't bully anyone. So, in a way, you're more of a rabbit than they ever will be." Acorn beamed at Justin for the remark, and Justin was relieved to see that he was cheering up. Finishing his groundnuts, he got up.
"I've got an idea! Let's go find some cowslips together. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Do you even know what a cowslip looks like? And even if we do find one, will you be willing to eat it??" questioned Acorn with a slight, crafty smile on his face.
"Er...no, not really," and this caused both Justin and Acorn to chuckle as they walked across the fields to join the other rabbits.
***
"What a nice day!" breathed in Holly in extreme appreciation as the warm morning sun slowly gave comfortable heat over his broad back, "Makes you glad to be alive, eh young one?"
Hawkbit just said a bit grumpily, his tone sarcastic and biting, "Glad? Glad?? Oh yes, I'm so glad we're out as hlessi, sleeping out in the open and cold instead of nice, warm burrows back at the warren! I'm so glad we're suffering from sore paws and muddy fur! By the name of Frith, I'm so glad that we run into trouble at every chance the fates get to bring to us, always trying to risk our well-being for Justin's sake! Cuts, bruises, thorns in my flesh! Ilips, cats, Efrafans, King Darzin, rats! It never ends! This all had better be worth it, that's all I got to say!"
"No, in a moment, you're going to be saying a lot more in pain when I bite you if you open your big mouth again, Hawkbit! Now shut up, stop blaming Justin, and keep your tharn mind on running!" This came from Bigwig, who was running side by side with Hawkbit and who was already starting to get annoyed by the ongoing complaints. Justin, who was riding on Bigwig, pondered on what Hawkbit pointed out. It was certainly a relief, no doubt about that. It has been over a week since they had been attacked by King Darzin and his cats, and so far, there hadn't been any faces of danger that had come their way. Not that the others were willing to keep their guard down. Bigwig and Holly agreed that every time they set up a resting place to sleep at, they will always do a sentry guard of three or four rabbits each time while another group of rabbits were assigned to carry the cross-bearer away if dangerous enemies ever appeared. The rest of the Watership soldiers would join with the sentry to fight and counterattack their adversaries. That way, splitting the rabbits into two groups of defense and evasion would further increase the cross-bearer's chances of surviving. And in the case that they would be surrounded again or become overwhelmed by an unstoppable eli, Hazel, Fiver and Blackberry gave Justin instructions and guidance on what to do with his cross. So far, with the abilities to time freeze and stop enemies in their tracks, to temporarily blind enemies to prevent confrontation, to destroy any lances or weapons, and to morph Bigwig into a relentless, formidable dog (Bigwig actually requested that Justin keep this power in mind since he thoroughly enjoyed taking on Darzin and those cats), Hazel and the others felt assured that they could handle anything that came their way.
Soon, the Watership Owsla came across a dense patch of woods and bushes as the sun began to set in the west, the fading sunlight faintly shining among the birch and spindle trees. Holly, Silver, and Strawberry decided that it would be the best time to rest for a little while before traveling again late at night. The darkness would certainly help provide more cover for the band as they made more headway towards the mountains. Hazel and Bigwig unanimously agreed, and soon, the rabbits were napping, grazing, or resting on the cool grass and flowers. As Acorn stopped to pass hraka, a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He whirled around, but whatever it was, it was gone. Not even a rustle from the bushes or a snap of a dry twig; it literally disappeared. Justin, noticing the alertness of Acorn, asked the rabbit warily, "Acorn, what's wrong?"
"I...I'm not sure, but I thought I saw something. In the thicket over there." Justin looked at the direction Acorn was facing, but the illumination from the sunset showed that there was no creature to be seen anywhere among the bushes and grass.
"Can you smell anything?"
"No, I can't, and I didn't hear anything either. All I saw was some sort of shadow or flicker from the edge of my sight, but when I turned around, it was gone." He sighed with relief, but suspiciously as well. "Let's forget it, shall we Justin? I probably just imagined it."
Justin just continued to stare at the spot warily. "Since when do you have an overactive imagination?" Acorn thought about that for a moment, and in a matter of minutes, he and Justin were telling Bigwig, Holly, Fiver, and Hazel about what happened. Bluebell, Buckthorn, Bigwig and Holly, being extremely skeptical, scanned all around the area carefully, sniffing the vegetation for scents and searching for any telltale signs that an enemy had recently been hiding, yet they all found nothing. Hazel and Blackberry pestered Fiver about any feelings of impeding danger, but the visionary buck had none. Word of Acorn's jumpiness reached the ears of all the bucks, and this poked Hawkbit into scornfully teasing the poor rabbit.
"Oh look, Acorn, my nose is twitching!" he mocked, "Do you think danger is close by?? Oh look, Acorn, a leaf is falling from the trees! It's Elil-rah, so run for your life!" Acorn looked extremely embarrassed and hurt, and Justin, feeling for Acorn, just sat next to him and stroked his head, silently telling the rabbit that it was better to be safe than sorry. Meanwhile, Silver, Holly, Campion and Hazel talked about Acorn's alarm.
"We can't take any chances, Hazel," Campion urged, "If Acorn thought he saw something, then we must take it seriously! We've already had several encounters with Elil-rah's Owsla, and I wouldn't be surprised if more of them are coming! I don't want to risk Justin's life."
"Nor do any of us, Campion," Hazel agreed, "but keep in mind, we've been running for a long while, and here is as safe as any to rest and sleep for a while before traveling again fu Inle. Besides, here in these woods, we have extra cover from the trees and bushes, so it'll be safer to rest now rather than leaving and going to sleep somewhere with less cover. If we tried to run now, we'll only get more exhausted in the process, and that could be dangerous for us if Elil-rah's messengers attack. We wouldn't be strong enough to defend and fight back, and I don't want to have Justin carry the entire responsibility of battling with his cross-bearer powers; it'll exhaust him as well, not to mention that I only want to have him use his powers as a last resort, not when we find it convenient."
"Well, Fiver hasn't had any of his visions yet, so we can afford to wait for a bit," commented Silver thoughtfully, "but I'd feel a whole lot better if we started guard duty now. I'll take over the watch tonight, and the lot of you can sleep." Holly however objected to this.
"You're going to need more reinforcements if you want to keep the young cross-bearer safe."
"And I can think of the perfect 'volunteers' to assist you," broke in Hazel as he and Campion grinned knowingly at each other and glanced wily at Hawkbit, who was still making fun Acorn for his paranoia.
***
"Why didn't I keep my big mouth shut?!" groaned out Hawkbit rhetorically and indignantly as he, Speedwell, Acorn, and Silver ambled around the grass and trees, encircling Hazel, Bigwig, and the rest of the Watership rabbits who were now sound asleep and lying on the cool grass. Hawkbit literally had to be cuffed to stop him from joining the tantalizing warm bodies huddled close to each other, appearing nothing more than a bundle of furs. As Silver and Acorn patrolled among the birch trees, Speedwell had a slight banter in his voice as he chuckled.
"It's never done you any favors before, Hawkbit." Hawkbit shot a withering glare at his companion.
"I already hate Hazel-rah for making me do sentry duty tonight. Please do not make me hate you too." Acorn and Silver came back from exploring every single dark shadow and corner in the woods, and satisfied that they found nothing, they decided to remain close to the group of sleeping rabbits. Acorn then saw Justin stiffly rise from the group of sleeping rabbits and slowly, as to not accidentally awaken Pipkin and Dandelion by stepping on them, walk towards them.
"Justin, what in Frith's name are you doing?" asked Silver incredulously as Speedwell and Hawkbit came back to see what the fuss was all about. "Is something wrong? You should be resting, not be on guard duty with us. You need all the strength you can get when we journey again in case we need your powers." Justin shook his head.
"Nothing's wrong, it's just that I couldn't sleep and besides, I was worried about you guys, especially since you can't get any sleep and have to spend the entire night protecting us. If you guys want, I thought one of you could go take my place and get some rest since I'm not sleepy at all. Plus, I could just keep watch too cause there's nothing else to do here." Hawkbit instantly became jovial at this statement.
"If you all excuse me, I'm going to sleep like a slug now! Enjoy patrolling!" but before the rabbit could instantly dive towards the mass of sleeping bodies, Silver, perturbed, grabbed Hawkbit by the collar of his gold and green tunic and vest, stopping the rabbit by the scruff of his neck.
"Get back here!" muttered Silver, plainly irked, "Well, Justin, no point in disagreeing with you, since you're probably going to argue with me if I tell you to get back to sleep. Acorn, you stay with the young one and keep him company while Hawkbit, Speedwell and I keep wandering around to spot any elil. And Justin, I don't want you to wander off at all; stay close to Acorn and the group. If any of you see any enemies, Acorn I want you to raise an alarm and wake up the others, then stall and attack the enemy while Justin, I want you to stop time and freeze them. That'll give us leeway for escape."
Justin and Acorn agreed while Hawkbit, unsurprisingly, sputtered, "What?! That's not fair! Why does Acorn get to get out of sentry duty?!"
"Because I said so! And besides, a good, long night of guard duty will do wonders for that sarcastic, bad-tempered, complaining big mouth of yours!" tweaked Silver patronizingly as he cuffed Hawkbit between the ears. Speedwell chortled silently while Hawkbit conceded in grumbling curses, which Justin and Acorn could only hear fragments of "Me and my big mouth" or "I now officially hate guard duty even more". As Silver, Speedwell, and a cantankerous Hawkbit left to wander in the woods, Acorn turned to Justin.
"As long as we're together again, and seeing that I can't silflay or leave you alone, how about a game of bobstones to pass the time? You might be able to fall asleep again after playing a few games, and then I can go continue my sentry. So how about it?"
"Bobstones??" Then Justin remembered; it was the game rabbits played with each other many times, sort of like a guessing game. Though he was extremely vague on the details, in the book "Watership Down", bobstones is played by having a rabbit hide sticks or stones underneath his paws, and the other player tries to guess a common characteristic about them (such as dark, long, smooth, etc.) or a certain number. However, the number of stones the rabbit his under his paw could only be up to four since anything greater than the number four, all rabbits simply described as "hrair" or "many". Justin, who never got to see what the game looked like, happily agreed.
As it turned out, all Justin had to do was gather a certain number of stones while Acorn had his back turned to him and cover the stones with his hands, hiding them from Acorn's sight. Once it was safe for Acorn to guess, Acorn has only one try to surmise the number or related characteristic about the stones. After the guess, Justin must then lift his hands and uncover his bounty, showing Acorn whether he guessed right or wrong. If he guessed wrong, Justin then would have to turn around and wait for Acorn to gather his stones, and then it would be Justin's turn to guess. This would bounce back and forth until one of them guessed correctly. However, the charade was a lot harder than it appeared to be, and Justin learned that the hard way when he lost to Acorn. Twelve times in a row.
"Bobstone guess," Justin said to Acorn, causing the rabbit to turn around and look at the teenager's palms, which were flat on the grass and dirt. Acorn gazed at Justin's hands for a moment before he smiled mischievously.
"Bobstone guess is...four." Justin groaned good-naturedly as he lifted his palms to show the four medium-sized rocks underneath his hands. Acorn chuckled to himself.
"Chin up, young one! It just takes practice! Besides, you should see Hawkbit when he loses at bobstones; he'll get worked up, then abandon everything and storm out of the warren, even in the pouring rain, until he cools off! There was even one time when after losing, he accused Bigwig of cheating, and the poor chap had to go run out while Bigwig chased him all around the beech hangar, cuffing and biting his rear!"
Justin choked with laughter. "Hahahahaha! I would have paid money to see that!" He sighed in satisfaction before saying absentmindedly, "I know it's just a game, but I wish I was a rabbit like you Acorn, so that maybe I'd finally win a game or two."
Upon uttering these words, Justin's cross suddenly burst into golden sunlight, and Acorn, surprised at the unexpectedness of it, yelped in shock while the brightness swallowed up Justin's body. Speechless, the teenager could only stare in puzzlement for several seconds before the light faded away, and to Acorn's complete disbelief, he saw that Justin had now transformed into an exact replica of him! The same light brown fur with dark brown eyes, the slender body, it was a complete mirror likeness of the rabbit himself! Justin, completely oblivious to his transformation, shook his head, trying to erase the slight dizziness he felt while the cross was glowing. He couldn't explain it, but he felt...weird. Upon seeing Acorn gaping at him in utter amazement, confused, Justin asked innocently, "What? What's wrong??"
Justin's mind then froze when he heard the words leave his mouth. Instead of hearing his own familiar voice, he sounded exactly like...like...Acorn. But that's not possible, he thought frantically, but in his panic, he looked down and saw that instead of hands, he now had two rabbit forepaws. Justin, even now in more shock at seeing that he probably did something really unwise, absent-mindedly placed his hands (paws) on his head to discover that he now had long rabbit ears and furry cheeks complete with a sensitive accessory of whiskers. Justin looked down on his neck, and to his dismay, he saw that the golden crystal cross was no longer around his neck. He had lost his cross.
"Acorn, please tell me I didn't...somehow...turn into a rabbit!!" It was a wonder Justin's horrified screeching didn't wake up the sleeping Watership rabbits close-by.
"Then, does that mean you want me to lie?" asked Acorn awkwardly, still in shock at seeing his splitting image. Horrified, Justin nervously scuffled around in the dirt, gawking at his furry body, all the meanwhile jabbering, "Oh geez, oh geez, how the heck did this happen?! Oh man, I'm in trouble now! Could things possibly get any worse right now?!"
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF FRITH AND INLE?!" bellowed out Silver's voice, and both Acorn and Justin turned around to see Silver, Speedwell, and Hawkbit staring at the two rabbits in bewilderment. Earlier, they saw the sudden flash of light from Justin's cross, and worried that Justin's was somehow using his powers to fight an unknown eli, immediately rushed over. Instead, they just found the sight of two identical Acorns staring nervously and sheepishly at them. Acorn muttered to Justin, "Well, things have now gotten worse."
After some frantic explaining, Silver, Speedwell, and Hawkbit, who, to Justin and Acorn's annoyance, seemed he was enjoying the predicament the two got themselves into, quietly discussed the situation, hoping they could get it settled before Hazel and Bigwig woke up. Knowing how those two would react to this mess, Justin and Acorn were desperate to find a solution.
"I'm telling you, I don't know how this happened!" yelled Justin in frustration for the umpteenth time, "All I remember was that I said I wished that I was a rabbit like Acorn so I could win at bobstones, and the next thing I know, I'm a rabbit!!"
"Why would you even want to be like Acorn?" simpered Hawkbit, and as Speedwell angrily cuffed Hawkbit on the head, wearily, Silver suggested an idea.
"Justin, remember, you're the cross-bearer. You can do anything with your powers as long as they were meant for good and for fighting evil, so apparently, if your cross allowed you to do this -."
"But I didn't want it! I was just joking when I said that; I didn't think my powers would take this seriously! And now, I can't find my cross!!" Justin impatiently interrupted, his nerves already frayed.
"I know, I know, you repeated that," Silver said a bit heatedly at the interruption, "but as I was saying, the solution is simple. Just make a wish to change back into a human boy, and then everything will be all right. Just try it now, even though you don't have your cross. You still might have the power." Justin, taking a deep breath, closed his eyes, and prayed silently to change back to normal. A minute passed, then two, but still nothing happened. Justin was now getting quite discouraged.
"I don't understand, it worked before, and I wasn't even concentrating on becoming a rabbit! This is just great! Now I'm going to be stuck as a rabbit like this forever!! And I won't be able to use my powers when Elil-rah comes to attack us!!" Justin moaned dejectedly.
Speedwell tried to cheer Justin up, saying, "It's not that bad. I'm sure we'll think up of something, and for now, you'll find that being a rabbit isn't so bad."
"But did he have to turn into Acorn?!" groaned Hawkbit in exaggeration, "Having one useless rabbit who jumps at every single shadow is bad enough!" Acorn and Silver both cuffed Hawkbit on the head this time, but Justin then asked, "But what about Hazel and the others?"
"I'm afraid we'll have to tell them. This entire situation could endanger all of us and risk El-ahrairah's health, so it's urgent that they know so that they can somehow think up of a way to fix this. No matter what, Hazel, Blackberry, and Fiver have always pulled through with scrapes and sticky situations. Besides, even if we don't tell them, they'll find out sooner or later. I mean, by Frith, I'm surprised that after all this commotion, they're all sleeping soundly." Justin groaned at the thought of Bigwig and Hazel scolding him for being so unintentionally foolish. Hawkbit, however, seemed to be pleased at the thought.
"So, where should I stand to get a good view of Bigwig chewing your head off again, young one?" he laughed at the teenager, and before Silver, Speedwell, and Acorn could all give him a well-deserved cuff for the third time, the complaining rabbit hopped out of their reach.
"Get back here!" growled Speedwell.
"By the comical field, you three never like it when I express my opinions! It's not as if I don't care -" but what Hawkbit was going to say was lost when three dark, sleek figures emerged from the bushes and tackled him, pinning him to the ground. In a split second, Silver and Speedwell were tackled by another group of mysterious figures and pinned them down too. Silver, realizing he was trapped, tried to squeal an alarm, hoping to wake up Hazel and Bigwig and the rest of the team, but before he could cry out, a thick paw gripped his snout and mouth shut, and Silver felt a piercing fire in his throat. He screamed, despite having the noise muffled underneath the paw, and he could only writhe in agony as the figure sank its teeth deeper and deeper into his windpipe, silencing his voice and stifling the air in his lungs. As Silver felt the blood flow down his fur and smother the voice in his throat, he could faintly hear the muffled yells of Speedwell and Hawkbit and guessed that they too, were being silenced to prevent them from warning their comrades.
Acorn and Justin looked at the sight in horror as the black figures attacked Silver, Hawkbit, and Speedwell, but before any of them could do anything, paws came up from behind them and grabbed them by the necks and torsos, covering their faces and gagging them from screaming. Despite their efforts to break loose, the assailants were too strong, and Acorn and Justin then felt themselves being hurriedly whisked away from help.
***
"Let go of me!!" Justin tried to yell underneath the thick, furry paws that held him in a fierce bear hug, but the brawny attackers held him firmly as the rabbit could now feel the wind rush by his ears and furry body. Acorn, however, was trying everything he could do by scratching and clawing his way out of the grip. Though he succeeded in injuring the huge animal with a few deep cuts, the dark figure kept running without even showing the slightest indication that he felt the injuries. Whatever the creatures were, they were incredibly strong. In a few minutes, Justin and Acorn could feel themselves slowly coming to a halt, and before they could struggle again, the messengers of Elil-rah roughly dropped both rabbits on the dirt and grass. Dizzy and quite shaken, both of them looked up to see that they were out of the woods and into a nearly barren plot of land, filled with dried, brown weeds and dust. But then they noticed that they were not alone; the entire area was filled with weasels.
All the weasels were dressed with black and silver chain armor, which glistened underneath the light of the torches several weasels were carrying. Yet even underneath the metal, Justin could see that they were all powerfully built, brawny, and hefty, possibly even more than Bigwig, for all of them were taller than any man Justin knew. The weasels all varied in size and shape and color, but they all had a formidable, bloodthirsty, ruthlessness look in their eyes as they all craftily smiled down at their two prisoners, licking their chops as if they were going to kill and eat them. Acorn wasn't going to put that possibility past them, especially considering the fact that he spotted some of them still had the blood of Silver, Hawkbit, and Speedwell on their chins What was most unnatural about the weasels though was the fact that their claws and their teeth were all encased in metal, the razor-sharp edges and bright luster making both Justin and Acorn shiver at the imagination of how painful it would be if the weasels decided to use them. All of a sudden, there was a shriek of rage as a huge, stalwart, black weasel with eyes as red as Elil-rah's stepped in front of them and snarled at the weasels who kidnapped Acorn and Justin.
"You fools!!" howled the weasel, "I asked you bumbling, moronic imbeciles to abduct the cross-bearer, not some useless rabbits! Do they even look like men?! By the dark beast, I'll have your teeth and tails for your reckless errors, and if I don't punish the likes of you, then Elil-rah definitely will!!" All the weasels quivered at the statement, and it was then that Justin realized that not one of the weasels in the mass had an unmarked body. Every one of them, including the furious speaker, was littered with ugly gashes and horrific scars, and it wasn't difficult to guess that Elil-rah must have used corporal torture on them before to get them to obey his every whim. A slow-witted, white weasel behind Acorn trembled as he spoke bravely, but slowly, to his leader, "But...but Volgnamass, we haven't failed!! The rabbit is cross-bearer, the human boy we spied traveling with the Owsla of Watership Down, and we saw him use his power to transform a rabbit before our very eyes! We haven't – URK!"
What the white weasel was about to say was horrifically cut short as the black weasel leader (Volgnamass) swiftly raked his claws through the white animal's front, slitting his throat with the sharp edges of the metal claws in one swipe. As the white creature sunk in pain, coughing up crimson blood and saliva, and weakly cupping his throat to lessen the pain as he tried to desperately get air, Justin couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature. Since he couldn't die, he would have to endure the pain of his injury for several days, maybe even weeks, before he could feel better again. Volgnamass snarled his impatience as he leered at the injured weasel.
"Oh really?" he sneered at his cowering accomplices, "Then would any of you care to explain why you brought back two rabbits from the group instead of the cross-bearer himself? Why you had to bring a revered soldier of the Owsla of El-ahrairah along with him?" None of the weasels answered back; they were too frightened of Volgnamass. Acorn, on the other hand, was staring at Volgnamass with a mixture of shock and anger. He was surprised that a weasel and a messenger of Elil-rah would even consider him to be a formidable opponent, but he also knew that Justin's life was depending on him, so he cannot fail this battle.
Another weasel, considerable smaller than Volgnamass and had the fur of light brown, timidly spoke, his entire fur and body shaking in apprehension, "Volgnamass-rah, we...we brought two rabbits because the cross-bearer transformed...transformed into an exact copy of one of his rabbit mates! And...And since we couldn't see or smell the two apart, we...we figured we'd bring both of them here so that you could at least deal with both of them. We know one of them is the...the cross-bearer, but...but we don't know which one!" It was then that Justin realized that his transformation blunder had saved his life; if he didn't accidentally transform into a clone of Acorn, then the weasels would have no problem in picking him out of the group, and he'd be dead by now. Silently, Justin prayed his gratitude to God and Jesus, while Volgnamass's face became hard and cold. With a quick flick of his arm, he had the brown weasel by the throat, and breathlessly, everyone watched while Volgnamass lifted the soldier five inches off the ground. The poor brute was now squeaking in fright and dread.
"Please, Volgnamass, please have mercy!!"
"Now why should I bother on a insignificant fool like you?" Volgnamass asked softly, sickeningly, "After all, even if I don't harm you, you don't matter much to me anyway. I have over five score weasels here at my command and you and Lousewort wouldn't slow us down at all if I simply disposed of you two. After all, I've had it up to my fur with your sniveling, embleer, incompetence! You, Sneezewort, and your friend Lousewort are finished with this mission! As soon as I cripple the both of you, I'll finish where you failed and kill the cross-bearer myself after I easily pick him out between those two rabbits!" At this, he started squeezing Sneezewort's neck, strangling him slowly and painfully while his metal claws sunk into his flesh and drew blood. The brown weasel gurgled and squealed softly as the pain enveloped him. The injured white weasel (Lousewort) was on the ground, begging Volgnamass to spare his friend and to not hurt him, but his weak pleas fell on deaf ears as it seemed that neither Volgnamass or the other weasels gave even a damn about them. Suddenly, a voice rang out, but it didn't come from any of the weasels.
"Stop it!! Leave them alone!! You're hurting them!!" Taken aback, Volgnamass finished snapping Sneezewort's neck with a quick squeeze, and turned around to see Justin, still disguised as Acorn, standing on his hind legs and staring defiantly up at Volgnamass in the eyes. The weasel smiled in triumph as the comprehension dawned on him. Justin, trying to hide the shaking in his heart, stood firm.
"Well, well, well," hummed Volgnamass aloud as he slowly advanced towards the brown rabbit, "Now why would a rabbit, who is destined by the great and powerful Frith to despise all elil, actually stand up and defend two weasels? Could it be he has a sudden change of heart, here in the land beyond life, even though he knows our powerful master Elil-rah has corrupted all elil in this land? Or could it be that this particular rabbit has a merciful and compassionate soul, like how the pacifist boy was when he avoided bloodshed while battling with the Ilips or when he spared King Darzin when he lost the battle to the Watership soldier, Bigwig? Which means, this caring rabbit...IS THE CROSS-BEARER!" Justin's eyes widened at the outburst, and Volgnamass's eyes gleamed viciously as he guessed the truth. Christ, Justin was in immediate danger now. As Volgnamass and the other weasels began to proceed towards Justin, Acorn's voice rang out suddenly.
"LEAVE ACORN ALONE, YOU COWARDS!! IF YOU DON'T, I'LL...I'LL USE MY POWERS ON YOU AND TIME-FREEZE THE LOT OF YOU!!!" Volgnamass's face registered shock as he and the other weasels turned sharply to Acorn, who was on all four of his paws and ready to go down fighting against the army. Justin was completely floored until it hit him; Acorn was pretending to be Justin, so that the weasels would think he was the cross-bearer.
"Your powers?!" Volgnamass growled in outrage. Acorn continued the charade.
"You heard me, you pack of bullies!! Leave my rabbit friend Acorn alone, or else I'll use my cross to stop time and freeze the whole lot of you permanently! Or maybe I'll use my cross to set the rest of you on fire, like I did with Veil Guplea in the forest of illusions!" Volgnamass's eyes narrowed in anger as he cursed himself for previously guessing wrong.
"Only the cross-bearer would know these things!" he scowled deeply, "Then that means you are the human!"
Acorn braced himself, ready to claw and bite any weasel that dared to come close, hoping he could buy Justin some time to miraculously escape. "That's right, you dim-witted, slow, stupid, couldn't-find-his-tail puffball! And unless you're eager for some injuries, I'd advise you to keep your distance! Not unless you want to see what else I can do with my cross!!" Volgnamass suddenly barked out, "Quickly, get him you fools! He can't fight against all of us! Ignore that other rabbit! Just hold the cross-bearer down! I'll kill the boy myself!!"
At this, the other weasels, save for the injured Sneezewort and Lousewort, charged at Acorn, neglecting Justin completely. Justin looked back; he could see the woods were not far off, and it was only a considerable run before he could find the other Watership rabbits again, but...what about poor Acorn? And what about Sneezewort and Lousewort for that matter? Knowing it was foolish, he hurriedly ran over to the fallen weasels as he heard Acorn cuffing and scratching at several weasels in the face, causing them to cry out in pain. Justin knelt down to Lousewort, while both of the elil stared at him in surprise.
"Are you two all right?" he asked worriedly, "If you can walk, you can try running away from here and escaping to the forest before Volgnamass notices you're gone!" The white Lousewort shook his head gingerly as he coughed up more blood.
"You're a good one, mate," he choked out tenderly, "but don't waste your sympathy on the likes of us! We made the decision to follow Elil-rah, so you shouldn't even care. Listen to me, rabbit, go back to the woods and get the rest of your Watership friends over here to help the cross-bearer! Get an army of rabbits to save your human friend!" Justin, however, shook his head in grief.
"Look, it doesn't matter now, whether you're elil or not, you're still creatures that don't deserve to be hurt by anyone, especially not by the likes of Volgnamass. And I hate to tell you this, but we don't have an army of rabbits, at least not one large enough to fight all those weasels!" Then Sneezewort, dumbly, asked hoarsely, "Why can't the cross-bearer create an army then? Doesn't he have the power to do so?"
Justin just stared at Sneezewort for the simplicity of the suggestion. But he didn't have his cross, so there was no way he could summon the power to do so, but...how did he even lose it in the first place? Could it be possible he hadn't dropped and lost it as he thought? Could it possible the cross wasn't missing but...hidden underneath the rabbit disguise?! Like his human form?! It was worth a try.
Volgnamass beamed in macabre delight as the other weasels, after an extremely difficult tussle on Acorn's part, succeeded in pinning the rabbit down; however, it took four weasels to prevent him from struggling. Acorn's breath came out in short gasps and pants as the black weasel inched close to his face, leering, "So this is the dangerous cross-bearer?! HAH! Couldn't even use your powers to save yourself, and all you could do was resort to kicking, running, and cuffing, just like any other weak rabb-" It then hit him. Why didn't the boy use his power against the army of his weasels? He could have, but he was prepared for that because he and Elil-rah planned out that the vast amount of soldiers would have been too much for the young one to time-freeze them , not to mention weasels weren't scared by simple flashes of light like Vervain and Mallow were. Yet this one didn't even try it, though Volgnamass knew he could have. In fact, this one fought like he really was a rabbit to begin with, but then that meant...
The brilliant, infamous glow of orange sunlight behind Volgnamass confirmed his suspicion, and ignoring Acorn, he turned around in fury to see the other Acorn look-alike sitting on his haunches, with closed eyes, and praying silently. Yet what was most astonishing was that the rabbit wasn't even wearing the cross; the light was simply coming from the area where his heart should have been, but even so, that meant that, to Volgnamass's chagrin, that he made a mistake, and the first rabbit was in fact, the teenage cross-bearer.
"LOUSEWORT! SNEEZEWORT! WHAT ARE YOU TWO IMBECILES DOING?! DON'T JUST SIT THERE LIKE A PACK OF USELESS, THARN DOLTS!! KILL THAT RABBIT!! KILL HIM!!!" Yet the two weasels gave no sign that they were listening, and now instead, were staring at Justin in revered awe. Incensed and enraged, Volgnamass made his way over towards Justin, but before he could, he felt a sharp pain in his left side as an object collided with him and caused the towering weasel to stumble. Infuriated, he turned to see it was...Acorn?! But that's impossible, the weasel leader thought in irritation, unless my useless weasel comrades let him go by accident! Volgnamass turned to his soldiers, and to his amazement, the weasels still had Acorn pinned down to the ground. He turned to face the Acorn in front of him, but it was clearly no illusion; he was a real and life-like as any other creature in the land beyond life. Volgnamass raised his claws to gouge the impudent rabbit, but then another mysterious rabbit head-butted him in the back. Now hopping mad, Volgnamass turned to find to his surprise, it was Acorn again. Now there were two Acorns attacking him. Speechless, the weasel screamed, "What in the name of the dark beast is going on here?!!"
Then he saw the most incredible sight. All around the weasel army, rabbits, which looked and smelled exactly like Acorn, were appearing out of thin air, only to emerge full of grit and fighting determination. Justin was using his powers to create an army of Acorns, and from the looks of it, their numbers were much, much greater than Volgnamass's army of fifty. With a battle cry, all the Acorns charged at Volgnamass and his army, overpowering them like a brown, furry tidal wave. The real Acorn, sensing the weasels loosening their grip on him due to the shock of seeing the rabbit army charge at them, kicked out sharply, catching two weasels in the soft spot of their stomachs, forcing them to let him go. Acorn then dashed out, narrowly avoiding the metal claws and the futile attempts to grab him again. Volgnamass could only watch helplessly as six Acorns were cuffing him hard and pinning him down with their powerful hind legs. Everywhere, the weasels fought back, but there were too many rabbits, and for every weasel, there were seven, maybe eight, Acorns to attack them. Justin opened his eyes and stopped invoking his power as he saw Acorn, the original Acorn, run up to him, looking extremely relieved and worried for Justin. Justin, despite his shaking, asked smugly, "Still think you're a useless filler rabbit?"
Acorn laughed, letting his heart open to the warmth of Justin's love and friendship. "Think up of some flayrah for me to eat, and I'll consider changing my mind."
"Acorn!! Where in the name of the Black Rabbit is Justin?!!" Both of them turned around to see Hazel, Bigwig, Dandelion, Campion, Bluebell, Strawberry, Holly, Buckthorn, and Blackberry running towards them. They had seen the telltale golden radiance of Justin's powers, and using that as a beacon, they were able to make headway out of the woods and follow the trail to where the battle was taking place. However, all the Watership soldiers just stopped at stared at the wondrous sight. All around, they could see rabbits, looking exactly like Acorn, fighting and battling against the weasels, who looked they were in a tight spot. Already, half of the weasels, including Volgnamass, were on the ground, bleeding and rendered unconscious from the many blows they received from the huge force. Justin, seeing their stunned disbelief, asked hurriedly, "Where's Silver?! And Hawkbit and Speedwell?! Are they all right?!"
Blackberry answered in an awed tone, as if he wasn't sure what to believe next, "They're injured, and the weasels hurt them so badly that they couldn't speak. Fiver and Pipkin are watching over them right now back at the woods. If it weren't for us being able to detect the stench of their blood, we would have arrived here a lot later. Oh, Acorn, we were so worried for you and Justin! But...where is Justin?! Fiver told us to tell him to heal two weasels named Lousewort and Sneezewort. For the life of me, I have no idea why, but he said that Justin would understand and that it will help us in the future." Yet Justin and Acorn took off towards the two injured soldiers before Blackberry could even finish the sentence. As Justin came us to the two weasels, he could see the questioning fear both of them had in their eyes, that they were fearful that Justin was going to hurt them Smiling sincerely, Justin closed his eyes again, and the weasels just dumbly looked at the slender brown rabbit praying softly for their sakes. In a minute, the light from the rabbit's heart flashed again, and miraculously, the two weasels felt their injuries fade away as they were healed. Shakily, they stood up in wonder and stared down at the two rabbits who just looked at them back with not even the least bit of alarm or caution. They only saw compassion and hope. Bigwig, Campion and Holly were about to rush towards Lousewort and Sneezewort, but Acorn just turned around and held up a paw.
"It's all right, they won't hurt us," he said softly with confidence and faith. Lousewort then spoke in awed urgency.
"Quickly, cross-bearer! You and your mates best be leaving here, as far away as you can get from Volgnamass! Even though he's injured and won't be able to chase you, he will try to come back once he's healed after four, maybe five days! You and your Watership band can get a lot of ground covered in that amount of time!"
"What about you and Sneezewort?" asked Justin worriedly.
"Don't worry about us, lad!" chipped in Sneezewort, "We're through with Volgnamass and his cruelty from him and his army! We're leaving him and going to escape on our own south towards another set of woods! Since you're heading east, we'll have to part ways! Besides, your mates will probably be more comfortable if we didn't escape with you." Justin nodded, and as he and Acorn ran off to join their friends, they could hear the weasels call out a final farewell.
"Best of luck to you, cross-bearer! You are a good one! Thank you!"
"You're a true comrade, young one! Keep running, and if we can ever repay you for what you did for us, we'll do it! Thank you!!"
Acorn turned to see Justin had tears brimming in his eyes. "I must say, Justin, this is a first, seeing the mighty and powerful cross-bearer crying over elil!" Justin smiled as they rejoined with Hazel and the others and made their way back to the woods.
"I'm just gonna miss them. They remind me so much of you, Acorn, with being mistreated and scorned at because they're not considered important or smart enough in their Owsla, but when the time came, they decided to change it for the better good. It's like you leaving Sandleford to start a new life at Watership Down. Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Acorn turned to see Sneezewort and Lousewort running away from the battle and disappearing in the distance.
"I'm sure we will."
***
"Do you two have any idea how worried we were when we found you gone, kidnapped while poor Silver, Hawkbit, and Speedwell were lying, bleeding on the grass?!!" yelled Bigwig at a meek Acorn and Justin (still in his rabbit form). Silver, Hawkbit, and Speedwell, now fully healed once Justin returned, were watching quietly along with the rest of the Watership Down rabbits as Bigwig and Hazel were scolding them. Hawkbit, after being healed, remarked he would have liked to see Bigwig and Hazel scold the entire army of Acorns they left behind in the battle with the weasels, but because of his pleasure from seeing Justin and Acorn being told off, Silver and Speedwell threatened the tetchy rabbit that Justin would have to heal him again if he opened his foul mouth. Bigwig raged on, but everyone could see that he was thankful that Acorn and Justin escaped with their lives. Hazel pointed out that Acorn should be commended for his quick thinking and his eagerness to pretend he was the cross-bearer in front of Volgnamass, just so that Justin had enough time to invoke his power. Still, a proper admonishment was in order.
"All right, now that that is out of the way, which one of you is Justin? Come on, young one! You're not making things any better by hiding from us! Change back to your human form," Bigwig ordered gruffly. Even he couldn't tell which one of the rabbits was the real Acorn and which one was Justin.
"It depends, is Justin going to be punished if he changes back?" Justin asked quietly, hoping that using the third person would keep Bigwig from guessing that it was him.
"Yes."
"Then how about Justin remains a rabbit for a little longer until you cool down?" Bigwig then smiled shrewdly at this statement.
"All right, then both of you will be punished. That's right! Both Acorn and Justin! And I hope Justin realizes that when we travel, he's going to know what it feels like to run until your breath comes short and your sides are drenched with sweat, not to mention that the rocks and pebbles and thorns that cut and bruise your paws while we're running!" Knowing Bigwig got him, Acorn sighed and looked at Justin, silently telling him to try to turn back. Justin, knowing Acorn was right, wished again for the ability to change back to his original, human form. In an instant, the cross appeared around the rabbit's neck, and flashed, changing Justin back into a teenage boy. But, surprisingly, Justin wasn't through. He whispered an additional prayer, and in a twinkling of an eye, to the joy of all the rabbits, there, in a neat pile, was a heap of fresh carrots, celery, cabbage, and kale, enough to feed all the rabbits for several days. Bigwig, trying to keep his stern composure, said hurriedly, "Well, I suppose that Justin and Acorn have probably learned their lessons, but Frith forbid if you two ever get your fat tail in danger aga-! Oh, for the sake of El-ahrairah, let's just feast on some flayrah!"
As the ecstatic rabbits champed and chewed on the dewy, clean vegetables, Acorn, his mouth full of cabbage and carrot, whispered impishly to Justin, "You certainly know how to make a rabbit turn the other cheek, young one!"
Justin chuckled as he bit into a celery stalk, "Well, if you're going to get punished because of me, I thought I might as well make up for it."
"By Frith, you certainly have. Hey, I've been meaning to tell you, Justin. Remember how we talked earlier, about how we don't know why we have to go through pain and suffering and unpleasantness, despite how we're loved and cared for?" Justin nodded, and Acorn continued. "I now truly see that, young one. I can now say I understand what you meant. I mean, if you didn't accidentally change into the same likeness as me, you're would've been easily captured and killed by Volgnamass and his weasel pack. Not only that, you wouldn't have been able to help Sneezewort and Lousewort abandon Elil-rah's evil, and to start new lives somewhere else. So, I guess it all worked out in the end, didn't it young one? Especially since we're now up to our ears in delicious flayrah, enough to feed an army of rabbits!!" Justin smiled, feeling relaxation and peace wash over him after being with good friends and good food. Unfortunately, Hawkbit spoiled the moment.
"If you think we're going to waste good flayrah on that army of Acorn rabbits that are probably still fighting the weasels, you've got another thought coming to your empty, tharn mind! I mean, it's just a waste to even let you eat a couple of carrots! Frith knows how much you need it though! The fatheaded, dim-witted Acorn, actually using his head and showing bravery during battle, like a true warrior?! Not bloody likely! More like he was thinking with his stomach, picturing how fast he could get the cross-bearer back to safety, just so he could fill his lazy, empty head with carrots and the – OWWCHH!" He leapt up in pain, and annoyed, he found that Acorn, in a very sneaky manner, leaned behind Hawkbit and bit him hard on the tail in retaliation for the insults. Enraged, Hawkbit, awkwardly picked up a small, ripe cabbage and growled menacingly, "By the name of Frith, Acorn, you're going to get it this time!"
With a grunt of exertion, Hawkbit flung the ripe cabbage at Acorn, who immediately ducked, and as the vegetable whizzed across, it unfortunately exploded in a pulpy mess on the side of Bigwig's face. In a minute, all the rabbits and Justin abandoned their meal and just watched in insane laughter and howling as they saw the sight of Bigwig heatedly chasing Hawkbit and Acorn, saying threats and curses that aren't appropriate to be written as he tried to cuff the two pranksters.
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Next: HAWKBIT in "Hawkbit's Big Mouth"
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