/* Author's note: I know, I know, I'm a week late!  Please forgive me!  Tests, papers, and more tests1  What else could go wrong?  Oh, wait, some writer's block!  Sigh! =(  Anyway, I finally got this chapter written and posted, so I hope you all enjoy it.  Oh, I thought I should mention this: any paragraphs you see written in italics represent flashbacks or memories being remembered in this chapter.  Anyway, enjoy this chapter!  We LOVE Silver! (and no, I'm not talking about the metal! ^_^ ).

CHAPTER 14

                "How could you abandon the carrots while we were running away from that dog, Silver?!" screamed Scabious at him, enraged that Silver lost the flayrah bounty for the Threarah.

                "I'm sorry, it was an accident!  I couldn't help it!" Silver apologized, but the other rabbits weren't very considerate and understanding.

                "By the light of Frith, I knew it was a mistake to let you come with us!!" complained Nightshade.

                "You're always getting in the way, having trouble getting through tight scrapes because of your huge size, being easily spotted by elil by more than a hrair distance because of your silver fur, always attracting attention!!" put in Pimpernel.

                "What's the matter, Silver?!  Nothing to say in your defense, you clumsy, huge oaf?!  By the Black Rabbit, how in the name of Frith did such a mild, inadequate, overweight rabbit such as yourself ever become an Owsla soldier?!!" sneered Nightshade, seeing Silver's eyes water in shame and offense.

                "By the Black Rabbit, wait until I tell the rest of the chaps back at Sandleford!!  You'll be lucky not to get laughed out of the warren, you fat, irresponsible idiot!!" shot Toadflax, "After all everyone knows that the reason you are even in the Owsla in the first place is because you're the Threarah's nephew, so you don't even deserve to be a true honorary Owsla soldier!!"

                "I'm sorry!!  It wasn't my fault!!  It was an accident!!  Please, I'm sorry!!"  Yet, it didn't do much good for his angry, Owsla comrades.  True to Toadflax's word, everyone in the warren was talking, whispering, mocking, and laughing behind Silver's back on how he was always a blunder, how he was too overweight to even be considered handsome enough to find a mate, and how if they were the Threarah, they'd be humiliated to have Silver for a relative.  The Threarah wasn't much more sympathetic; he scolded, fiercely admonished, and even cuffed Silver several times, reminding him how he put his reputation as Chief Rabbit on the line for him, his worthless nephew.  To ease his misery, Silver siflayed outside, alone since no one wanted to be near him, mournfully eating every single blade of grass he could reach, stuffing his mouth with food, hoping that the slight euphoria of eating could erase the tears and feelings of embarrassments he had for being a disappointment to everyone, including his own family.

                "Silver!  Silver, old chap!!  Wake up!"  Silver promptly woke up from his slumber, and secret nightmare, only to find Bluebell standing over him, concerned but smiling compassionately at his long-time friend.  Silver, hastily brushing the tears threatening to leak out, making it appear that he was rubbing his eyes because he was tired, got up, croaking, "Oh, it's you, Bluebell.  What's wrong?"

                "Nothing's wrong, Silver.  It's your turn to do the night guard, and my shift has just about ended, so I just wanted to wake you and let you know."

                Silver shakily smiled.  "I will, I appreciate it, old chap.  You get some rest."  Bluebell nodded, but as he laid down on the warm grass next to a sleeping Strawberry and Hazel, he turned around and was a bit confused at what he saw.  Silver, before joining Dandelion and Fiver for the night patrol, was doing his best not to whimper as he grabbed considerable amounts of grass, wolfing the plants down.  If he didn't know any better, Bluebell would have sworn Silver was in some kind of sad anguish.

                                                                                ***

                The other rabbits looked at the towering rocks and terrain; after a day and a half, they had finally reached the mountains that were disconnecting them from the meadows that safely housed the warren of El-ahrairah.  In as less as an hour, they would probably arrive at the base of the foothills by foot and paw, ready for the tenacious climb.  It was a breathless sight.  High rocks and jagged tops, brown and red from dirt and sun, shot towards the light blue sky, some so high that they were nearly touching the white clouds that were gliding lazily.  There were distinct areas of the mountains, however, that were green and lush, covered thickly with groves of trees and bushes, providing ample cover, and, to Justin's relief, there were many paths through the mountains that weren't too steep, making it easier for them to travel.  Still, the mountains were incredibly intimidating and elevated, and the soaring rocks made the significant impression that it would take many days before they could even reach the summit of the mountain range.  Blackberry and Strawberry told everyone that the journey downwards would be much easier than the climb upwards, but that did little to lessen the overwhelming sight of the gigantic rocks.

                "Isn't there any easier way to get back to El-ahrairah?!!" groaned Hawkbit as he stared at the red and brown mountains so hard against the sun, it was starting to make his eyes hurt.  "By the fur and paw, traveling once through those irritating mountains was good enough for me, and I still remember the cuts and scrapes I had to endure from running through those sharp rocks!!  For Frith's sake, I'm still agonizing from memories of the exhaustion from climbing that tharn terrain!!  Hazel-rah, why is it we must always do things the hard way?!!"

                "To make you suffer?" chimed in Bluebell teasingly in a singsong repartee.

                "Oh shut up, Bluebell!" growled Hawkbit through his gritted teeth.

                Blackberry rolled his wearily.  "To make sure that it will be harder for Elil-rah and his minions to follow and track us down, especially since it is easier for us rabbits to climb the terrain, not to mention even if they do manage to follow us, they'll have a jolly hard time trying to catch up while we're running."  He paused, and then had a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he teasingly added, "But of course, making you endure this ordeal all over again, Hawkbit, is certainly a side benefit, if not entertaining."

                "I'll give you 'entertainment', you black-earred duffer," grumbled Hawkbit portentously as the rest of the rabbits chuckled, agreeing with Blackberry's sentiment completely.  Pipkin, however, pleaded with Hazel, "Hazel-rah, can we rest here, just for a while??  We haven't had much to eat during the journey across the desert, and look, there are several patches of nice grass and clover nearby!  There's even a nice pond of water to rest by!  Can't we, please, Hazel-rah?  I'm famished!"

                "Thinking with your stomach again, eh, Pipkin?" smirked Bigwig as he playfully and gently cuffed the small rabbit on the head.

                Holly took Pipkin's request into consideration.  "He's right, Hazel.  We all could do with a rest and some silflay, and running to the point of exhaustion won't help us keep Justin safe.  Besides, the young one looks like he could use a rest more than anyone of us since he's not a rabbit, and he's is certainly not used to such of a drastic environment in the land beyond life."  Hazel looked to see Holly was telling the truth; Justin hadn't had any water for over a day, and he especially appeared haggard and sallow.  Even though Bigwig, Campion and Hawkbit insisted that he ride on them while traveling through the desert, Justin just smiled and refused, saying that he was all right and the walk wasn't going to kill him.  Yet apparently, the journey was far more than what the teenager was used to, and if he didn't rest soon, he may collapse from fatigue.  Or worse.  Despite this, Hazel also didn't like the alternative.  The problem was that resting here, in the oasis while still being a considerable, yet short run towards the cover of the mountains, left them completely out in the open.  It was only one day since the attack from Blood Whitetail and the Wolfen Gale, but it also left Hazel tremendously edgy.  After all, who knows what other horrors or elil the dark beast, Woundwort, or Prince Rainbow would send out towards them, ever determined and resolute in their attempts to prevent the cross-bearer from completing his mission.  It was a bad fix, but Hazel had to concede that Holly was right.  He turned to Fiver who was still staring at the mountains and sky with a glassy expression on his face.

                "Do you sense anything, Fiver?"  The small rabbit shivered, though he had no idea why.

                "There's certainly something oppressive, Hazel," Fiver spoke guardedly, "but it's not anything definitely threatening, like the rat, Veil Guplea, or the cats and King Darzin."  Hazel, however, understood his brother too well to not guess when Fiver was withholding something in secret.  He moved closer to his smaller sibling and whispered softly, as not to alarm Holly and Bigwig who were close by.

                "But you do sense something about this place?"  Fiver looked into his brother's strong and questioning eyes, and knowing better than to lie, he sighed and nodded.

                "Yes, and the strange thing is, all I can see are feathers, raining down from the sky.  That's all I can make out, and I'm sorry to tell you this, Hazel, but it doesn't indicate whether or not Justin and the rest of us will be facing immediate danger from Elil-rah.  I'm sorry, Hazel, but that is all my visions tell me, and I know that is not what you want to hear, especially now."  That was certainly true, but there was no point to try and change things.  And whichever choice they took would involve risks either way, but Hazel could concede that Holly and Pipkin's choice of rest would be the safest.  As the other rabbits joyfully and eagerly took Justin to rest and relax next to the pond and cool, soft areas of clover and grass, Hazel, in secret agreement with Holly and Bigwig, stood by as lookouts for any incoming threats.

                "Silver, will you please stop eating away all the clover in this field?!  Leave some for the rest of us, for Frith's sake!" growled Hawkbit as Silver, who mumbled a muffled contrition as he was busily stuffing his face with the fresh greenstuffs.

                "Be gracious, Hawkbit.  There's enough for everyone to silflay," Dandelion gently admonished as he lost no time in filling his own mouth with grass, chewing hungrily.

                "Well, I don't see why the big chap needs to wolf down every single blade of grass in sight!  He practically eats enough to feed three rabbits but it never seems to do much good for himself or any of us!  It's a wonder that he should need it, especially since he's as big as a cow and probably just as heavy.  It would do the world of good for old Silver if he could start taking his mind off food for once in his tharn mind and keep his attention focused on protecting the cross-bearer, like any responsible Owsla soldier!"  At these harsh, yet unintentional words, Silver's eyes just went dull as he just stood there on all fours without glancing at Hawkbit, pausing, stunned and lost in his thoughts.  He flashed back to when they were all back at Sandleford warren, and he was in his first week in the Owsla:

                "C'mon, you buckos!" ordered Captain Holly, their present Owsla leader and captain, "We're all going to go on a raiding expedition to bring back the Chief's lettuce!!  Pine Needles, Ash, Butterbur, Silver, all you four, come with me!"  The Owsla captain heard soft groans coming from the troops, and his red eyes narrowed menacingly as he got up to Butterbur's face and barked, "Is there something you find wrong with my orders, young one?!!  Come on, speak up!!"

                "Must we take Silver?!" Butterbur asked defiantly, "He only get the whole lot of us in trouble!"

                "He's jolly well right, Holly!" chipped in Ash as he glared at the seemingly introverted Silver, who didn't, couldn't, say anything in his defense. "Silver's just a beginner, and he probably doesn't know anything about expeditions and the like!  Can't we bring Toadflax or Nose-in-the-Air?!"  Holly growled as he scratched Butterbur in the ear.

                "No complaints, you insolent, questioning beetle!!  Now be silent and start running!!"  The five started making their way towards the farmhouse west of the warren.  Though the trip was only a short run, it was extremely difficult for the heavy, bulky Silver, especially considering his weight and immense size was not due to endurance and strength like Bigwig.  Still, the pale-furred rabbit kept at it without any complaint, eager to prove his usefulness and significance in the Sandleford Owsla.  The travel went smoothly enough...until they finally reached the rickety, wooden fence that was separating them from the garden of baby pea vines, lettuces, and cabbages, still waiting a month or two to mature under the nights of sun and rain.  Holly and another rabbits scratched a hole underneath the wooden barrier easily enough, but when it came to Silver's turn, who was last in line, he found the hole wasn't large enough to let him pass through, and he ended up getting stuck halfway.

                Amidst the laughing and jeering from Butterbur, Ash, and Pine Needles, and the cursing from Captain Holly, they finally managed to extract the large and hugely embarrassed rabbit out of the run.  Unfortunately, Silver pulled too hard on the board that was pressing against his enormous back, and it painfully and excruciatingly left several splinters gouged into his flesh, causing Silver to squeal out in agony.  This was loud enough to wake up the sleeping dog that was guarding the farmer's garden, and in an instant, the front porch lights went on and the farmer, alerted by the dog's angry and furious barking tirade, appeared with a shotgun ready.  The five were lucky to get out unscathed, but all the rabbits, including Holly, were furious at Silver.

                "By the fur and paw of the Black Rabbit of Inle!!" screamed Holly at him in front of the entire snickering Owsla liege when they got back to the Sandleford warren, sending Silver to new depths of humiliation, "You are the most useless Owsla soldier I've ever trained!!  Never in my entire life have I ever dealt with such a bumbling, fat oaf!!"  It went on like that for some time, and it wasn't much of a surprise to everyone at the warren to see Silver, crying uncontrollably as he went to silflay on a patch of burnet, gobbling down as much as he could, hoping it could erase his hatred and burning loathing of himself but at the same time increasing his corpulence and heaviness.  Instead of the wonderful first impression he was hoping so much for, he instead now had to deal with the crushing blow of cruel reality.

Everyone just worriedly looked at Silver who didn't even show any indication that he was cognizant; he just stared off into space with a glazed look in his eyes, his mouth slack and his ears flopping limply.  It wasn't Hawkbit's unmitigated rudeness that primarily staggered him, but the other rabbits didn't know this, and they became incredibly irate at Hawkbit's candor.

                "Oh wonderful, Hawkbit!" growled Buckthorn as he crossly cuffed him repeatedly on the head, "Must you always open that cantankerous trap you yours every day?!  For the sake of the Black Rabbit, Silver didn't need to hear that!"

                "OW!  Stop that!  Must I be cuffed and beaten for every time I tell the truth?  Ow, ow, stop it!!"

                "Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it!!"  Buckthorn then gasped as he just realized what he had accidentally slipped out, and he softly cursed to himself in regret, wishing he took his own advice and kept his mouth shut.  Judging from the way Silver just suddenly and sorrowfully fixed his eyes on Buckthorn, it was pretty clear that he heard what Buckthorn said, and from the hurt look on his gentle face, it caused more damage than he expected.  A lot more.  Without a word, Silver quietly turned around to hop off towards the pond.

                Buckthorn tried to make up for his temporary thoughtlessness by apology.  "Silver, wait!!  I didn't mean to...It...It just slipped out!  Silver, please, I didn't mean it!  I'm sorry!"  But Silver showed no indication that he heard for he kept hopping slowly away from them.  Buckthorn could now feel the guilt in his stomach causing a sense of frosty loss spreading in his mind and nerves.  He didn't mean to hurt his friend.  The other rabbits just silently stared at their giant, yet tranquil companion edging himself further and further away from them, putting some space and distance between them.  Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be a healthy boundary, for Silver of Buckthorn.  Hawkbit, rubbing his head to smooth out the aching bumps he had recently developed from everyone cuffing him, scoffed loftily, "It appears I'm not the only one who has the big mouth around here, right Buckthorn??"

                "Hawkbit, if you don't keep that trap of yours quiet, I'll certainly be more than willing to show you how hard the ground is with your head!!" snarled Buckthorn as he turned his head violently to face Hawkbit, his paws ready to give a very painful beating.  As Hawkbit harrumphed crossly in silence, he then momentarily turned towards the direction that Silver took, wishing for once, he had the ability to turn back time or stop it, like Justin.  Justin, who was washing his face with the cold, clear water from the pond of the oasis while Campion and Acorn were nearby, lazily resting on the soft, supple grass, heard soft scrabbling noises of gobbling and champing and turned around to see Silver literally binging on the grass and clover.  The funny thing was, even though he was devouring everything, Silver appeared to be absolutely disgusted with himself, as if every fragment of vegetation left nothing but a bitter taste in his mouth.  And pitifully enough, it looked like Silver was crying.  Justin decided to ask, hoping that maybe he could help him like he did before with the previous rabbits.

                "Hey, Silver.  You okay?" he asked softly.

                "I'm fine," choked out Silver hastily between mouthfuls, but Justin knew he wasn't telling the truth.

                "Silver, I just wanted -" Justin began, but Silver cut him off harshly, which was a surprising and drastic change from the usual gentle, understanding, and courageous demeanor of the gentle giant.  His eyes were now a harsh red as he barked, venting his frustration and stinging on Justin.

                "I said 'I'm fine', young one, so embleer Frith, stop pestering me!"  The look of rage, of annoyance, of troubled thoughts, it was all so familiar to Justin as the demeanor on Silver's face made the teenager flash back:

                "What the hell is the matter with you?!!" yelled Justin's father, his face turning a slight crimson color as his balding head and skin underneath his blond mustache was starting to turn red from anger.  "You expect me to give you sympathy for being such a fat, clumsy, idiot?!!"

                "Dad, please, I didn't mean to -," but the pain on his cheek from the slap his father gave him silenced Justin from trying to defend himself.

                "Dear God, what the hell am I supposed to do with you?!" Justin's father continued to rage on, "You think I'm ever happy with the likes of you for a son?!  Ever since your mother left, you became more and more of a burden!!  Every time, I hope and wished for a son I could be proud of like other fathers, one who did such great and noble things of recognition, of praise, of status, like being the smartest in the school, someone who was destined for leadership, someone athletic and going to a prestigious Ivy League school on a sports scholarship, or damn it, someone I could be proud of!!  Instead, I'm stuck with a bumbling, fat idiot who I never wish was my son!!  Listen to me, boy, for this will be something you'll always hear for the rest of your life: no matter how hard you try or how much you convince yourself otherwise, you'll always be a disappointment to me and everyone else!!  You're never good enough, never smart enough, never striving to be best, but always satisfied to be mediocre and a dreamer, like every other fool out there!!  For that's what you are, nothing but a useless, whiny, weak, fool who will always be pushed around and stepped on!!"

                As Justin's father left the house to get back to his night shift at work, Justin was left alone in the house, and despite the rivulets of tears falling down his bruised face, the then twelve-year old managed to shuffle towards the kitchen, lost and dazed like a zombie, to wolf down a half-open box of old cookies, hoping that the food will bring some slight comfort.  Yet to him, there was nothing more pathetic than a chubby twelve-year old adolescent, crying and eating in a fetal position on a chair in a dark, silent kitchen.

Justin, not wanting to push his friend, kept silent, but Silver's heart pained greatly when he saw Justin flinching from the outburst, like he expected to be hit for questioning him.  Silver, who would never hurt a living thing unless it was for self-defense or to protect those he cared about, felt his self-loathing increase even more when he saw the look of hurt of the teenager's face, mirroring his own back at Sandleford.  Justin just stared at the ground, biting his lip, and Silver, extremely mortified for being so callous when Justin was just trying to help, sighed in shame.

                "Justin, don't do that, please," Silver whispered jadedly, his voice only a notch or two away from pleading, "You know I would never hurt you like your father.  Please, for Frith's sake, don't wince like that."  Justin didn't answer him, and now, he was acting exactly the same way Silver was being towards Buckthorn: distant, withdrawn, and resentfully miserable.  It was heartbreaking.

                "Young one, please, don't do that.  I wasn't -," but what Silver was about to say was lost under the stamping of Bigwig as he frantically sent a warning in the dirt with his thumping hind leg.  The sounds of the alarm echoed powerfully in the stillness of the air.

                "Hawk!  Hawk!"

                "Wha -??  Silver, what's going on??!" Justin cried out as he snapped back to attention while the rabbits were scurrying out of their temporary respite to get out of the open as fast as they could.

                "Silver, Justin, watch out!!  Above you!!!" hollered Buckthorn urgently from a distance, and Justin looked up automatically to see the fleeting image of an enormous brown hawk diving straight towards him from the blue sky.  As the bird got closer and closer, Justin could see that the animal was as big as a living room, with a sharp yellow beak, inked black at the very tip, and powerful, scaly, yellow talons powerful enough to claw, rip, and crush Justin's body in a matter of seconds.  Before Justin could try to grab his cross and time freeze the field, allowing the rabbits the tactic for escape, Silver lunged and tackled Justin out of the predator's way.  Knowing that the bird would kill Justin in its path faster than the young one could even pray his powers to be invoked, Silver pinned Justin underneath his massive body, shielding the cross-bearer as the hawk flew past, screaming a shrill, hunter's cry.  There was a sudden flick of the hawk's feet.

                "Aaaagggghhh!!" shrieked Silver in pain as the hawk rose up in the air again, and as Justin was hurriedly brought up to his feet by Buckthorn and Campion, Justin looked in horror as he saw Silver's back now had six, deep, parallel slashes across his black tunic, exposing his flesh and showing six complementary gashes running sideways across his back, the blood starting to trickle and stain his beautiful pale fur.  Instead of Justin, Silver took the full intensity of the attack of the bird predator head-on.  Campion hurriedly ordered Justin to climb on him, but Justin was temporarily stunned at the sight of Silver getting hurt, the haunting vision of the blood refusing to leave his eyesight.

                "Justin, hurry!!" yelled Campion urgently.

                "But Silver's hurt...!" Justin protested.

                "Justin, for Frith's sake, he can't die, but you can!!  If you don't ride on me so that we can carry you away from danger, you're going to endanger all of us!!  Hurry, get on!!"  A bit disinclined but knowing Campion was right, Justin quickly obliged as he scurried on the broad back, and as Silver watched this, the pale rabbit was pained again at seeing Justin depend on someone else over him.  As the hawk went circled back to try another air strike, Campion and Justin, along with Buckthorn, Silver and the rest of the rabbits, tore off towards the mountains, hoping that the cover of the mountains would be enough to protect them.  Buckthorn noticed Silver was wincing from the gashes along his back while he was running.

                "Silver, you're hurt!" cried Buckthorn, "You can't possibly travel in THAT condition!"

                "Frith in a barn, Buckthorn, just shut up and run!  Hurry!!  Don't worry about me!!  Just concentrate on getting Justin and the others away from here!!"

                "Silver, old chap, please, don't be stubborn!  You're not doing yourself or any of us any good if you push -!!"  Silver had enough, reaching his breaking point, and now, his demeanor suddenly grew darker, acidic, and more furious, and needing the proverbial scapegoat, Silver roared angrily at Buckthorn.

                "Buckthorn, just shut up!  I've had about enough of this when I was alive in Sandleford back in our pasts, and I don't need anymore from you!!  And it's not as if you are actually concerned about me, since after all, every rabbit with half a mind agrees with you and Hawkbit that there's no use for a rabbit who's slow, fat, and only got in the Owsla because I needed the Threarah and other rabbits to help me out!!"  Now Silver's hostility, his grief, his resentment from all his anguish was exposed, and Buckthorn was stunned, but it quickly melted into anger.  He and Silver had been friends since they started journeying to Watership Down to escape their doomed warren, and the audacity of Silver thinking the absolute worse about him, the mistrust and the dark caginess, set Buckthorn's ears to perk up furiously straight like steel rods.  Granted, what Buckthorn said earlier should have never been said, but that was inadvertent and unintentional, but Silver, a rabbit everyone knew to be tender and considerate, was acting completely and deliberately callous to Buckthorn.  In Buckthorn's view, there was no need to be THAT bitter and offended, especially since they're comrades.  Or at least they were, it seemed.

                "Embleer Frith, Silver, you're just as thick-furred as Hawkbit!!  What in the name of the Black Rabbit is even with you?!  I said I was sorry, that I didn't mean what I said earlier!!" growled Buckthorn as they tried to both focus their minds on running during the quarrel.

                "And that's supposed to change how I feel?!!"

                "Yes, but now on a second thought, I probably should have taken back that apology since you are completely being difficult and perverse!!  You don't have to be such a mulish, intolerable, old buck!!  You should have known me better than to think that I'm like every other rabbit who's made fun of you!"  For some reason, this enraged Silver even further.

                "Well let me tell you something, Buckthorn...!!!" snarled Silver, but Dandelion cut them both off irately while panting hard due to their sprinting.

                "For the sake of El-ahrairah, will you two please stop arguing?!!  We have more things to worry about!  That hawk's not alone!!  He's brought an entire flock of birds to help him kill Justin!  Look!!"  Sure enough, as Dandelion pointed out, the hawk that attacked him was now joined with two-score other hawks, all ranging in size and colors of red, white, brown, gold, and black.  Each of them was armed with sharp talons and beaks, and their precise eyes stared down at the band of sixteen running for Justin's life on the ground.  The hawk that attacked Silver and Justin earlier, probably the leader since he was the largest, screeched a shrill command to his other rapacious feathered subjects.  "Skeeeah!!  There is cross-bearer, dear hawk friends!!  There, riding on red rabbit back!!  Crimcraw, Kittakel, come with and help Scry-rah ambush and capture human!!  The rest of flock, go scattering other rabbits and sure they no defend the human boy!!  Pick rabbits up and from sky drop them!!  If no injure them, certainly delay them rabbits from help cross-bearer man!  Now my hawk brethren, kill boy!  ATTACK!!"

                "WE OBEY SCRY-RAH!!  WE SCATTERING!!" chorused the loyal birds in broken English as they all immediately started diving towards El-ahrairah's Owsla and their teenage friend.

                "We're in trouble!  They're starting to attack, Hazel!!" warned Holly and he, Hazel and Bigwig led the rabbits in the front while they ran as fast as they could towards the mountains.

                "Everyone, keep running!  They may not be able to attack us once we're within the cliffs and mountains!!" yelled Hazel as loud as he could so that all the rabbits could hear the plan over the roaring of the winds rushing by and the crying and shrieking racket of the birds.  As they raced, Justin, laying low on Campion's back and keeping a firm grip on the rabbit's fur, asked Speedwell, who was running next to them, "Speedwell, I don't think we can fight evenly against the hawks while they're trying to attack us from the air!  What do you guys do whenever a hawk attacks?!!"

                "We go underground, down the burrows and runs we've dug for our warren!!"  Justin gave him a blank, dismayed look.

                "What if we don't have any holes or run to go down to?!!"

                "Then we go under cover of some trees or grass so that the hawk can't see us and we wait until it goes away!!"  Justin glanced at the deserted wasteland and the foothills that were leading an elevated path towards the mountain range.  There were a few scarce shrubs, plants, and patches of grass and weed, but nothing large enough that could hide a large group like this and certainly not thick enough for them to ward off the hawks from aerial surprise attacks.

                "What if we don't have any cover?!!"  Speedwell gave it a moment's thought, and then admitted sheepishly, "Uh...well...since, we've never had that kind of problem before...I don't know."

                "In other words, Justin, we're all doomed, and you're going to die," declared Hawkbit flatly and lugubriously.

                "Hawkbit, shut up!!" all the other rabbits yelled at him, but then to Justin's horror, as he glanced over his shoulder, a black hawk, as well-built as Bigwig, was starting its descent at Campion and Justin, its claws and talons outstretched and ready to sweep Justin off.  And to make it even worse, the hawk was flying and gliding faster than Campion could run.

                "Campion, quick, go left!!" Justin yelled shrilly, his quick mind already formulating a plan to avoid the hawk attacks while they were all still out of reach from the cover of the mountains.  Campion, however, looked at Justin with a quizzical, baffled stare, stumbling on the diction of human English.

                "What -??  What in Frith's name is 'left'?!"  Justin bit back the urge to groan in aggravation as the hawk got nearer and nearer.

                "THAT way!!" Justin yelled, indicating the direction with his left hand, "Hurry, hop to the left before the hawk has a chance to attack us!  NOW!!"  Campion, trusting Justin's judgment, moved to the port side with a powerful leap of his back legs at the last second the hawk dove.  In a split instant, the hawk realized his talons struck hard, powdery dirt, missing Campion and Justin by several feet, and it had no choice but to ascend back into the air with a few powerful flaps of its wings before Dandelion and Buckthorn had a chance to tackle it.  Campion and Justin's hearts refused to slow down from their rapid beatings as they both saw the hawk take back to the sky with an angry scream.  Dandelion shakily smiled at the two of them as they finally reached the base of the high, rocky cliffs.  "Well done, Justin, you clever fellow!  That'll keep that one from attacking you in such a hurry!"

                By now, the band of sixteen travelers were at the foot of mountains, and surprisingly, they were at a high, brownish-red wall of rock and sandstone, with jutting outcrops and peaks of boulders, petrified dirt and sand overhead, shading all of them from the sun.  The good part was that with a wall of rock and sandstone at their backs and shielding them from the top, the hawks wouldn't be able to dive at them from behind or above, meaning that the only chance the hawks had at ambush was directly in front of the rabbits' sights.  The bad part was the rocky wall had no direct path into the mountains where they could climb to for further cover from aerial strikes, and if they moved away from the mountain wall, they would be vulnerable to all four sides for attack.  Knowing this, Bigwig and Holly knew that being at risk from attacks only in front and from the left and right sides of them were better than being at risk for ambushes from behind as well.  Silver was panting hard and wincing as his bloody gashes were now dirty with pebbles and dust from the sprint.  Blackberry then turned to Justin.

                "Justin, we're in a bad fix right now, and we can't expose ourselves out into the open without having those embleer hawks trying to drag you away from us!  I think it's time for you to use your cross-bearer powers, young one!  Now, a horde of rabbits won't be enough to stop hawks since no rabbit can withstand the sky attacks of elil, and transforming Bigwig into a dog doesn't give him the vigor to take on all of these hawks at once, the best thing I can think of is for you to time-freeze the hawks so that we can all find a way to safely escape and reach the cover in the mountains before -"

                "SKEEEAAAHHHH!!!" broke in the ringing, ear-shattering hunter cry of the hawks as they lunged from the left and right while the rabbits were trying to think up of a plan.  To their alarm, four hawks as big as minivans swooped below the outcrops of rock and nimbly picked up Pipkin, Speedwell, Hawkbit, and Bluebell from the ground.  Locked in their iron grips, the four friends could only yell and scream in fright and surprise as the hawks started to carry them off higher and higher by the second.

                "Stop!  Bring them back!!" yelled Bigwig as he tried to tackle the hawk carrying Pipkin with a flying leap, yet unfortunately, he was not able to jump high enough, and the gruff veteran missed the hawk's tail feathers by several inches before gravity took in effect, and Bigwig crashed back down into the powdery ground, bringing about a soft dust cloud upon impact.  As Bigwig cursed for the failure at his attempt, Pipkin, Speedwell, Bluebell, and Hawkbit tried to wriggle and sunfish out of the grips of their mercenaries while yelling back for help from their friends.

                "Help!  Please, Hazel-rah!!  Help us!!" screamed Pipkin, crying in grief and distress at seeing himself being taken away.

                "What are you crying for, Pipkin?!" asked Bluebell gruffly as he tried to claw the hawk's legs, trying to make the hawk drop him down before they ascended any higher, "You've always wanted to fly ever since you've met Kehaar back at Watership Down!!"

                "I don't think he wanted to fly while being held in a death-grip by eli, Bluebell!!" snapped Speedwell as he bit hard on the yellow, pimply foot of the black hawk holding him by the midsection, drawing forth blood.  The hawk winced in pain, and in temper, was about to drop Hawkbit, but the white falcon, who was carrying a cursing Hawkbit, next to him gave him a warning glance with his beady, yellow eye.  Not yet, it seemed to say with its expression, remember we follow plan of Scry-rah.  Meanwhile, back on the ground, the other rabbits watched helplessly as they saw their friends being taken away.

                "O embleer Frith!!" cursed Hazel, a bit frantic, "Justin, you can't time-freeze them now, otherwise, Pipkin, Hawkbit, Speedwell, and Bluebell will be trapped up there with the frozen hawks, and then we won't be able to get them down until the time-freeze wears off!!"

                "Blackberry!" Holly turned to the thinker of the group, "Can you think of something Justin can do with his powers to bring them back down?!"  Yet Justin, incredibly saddened and troubled at seeing his friends being kidnapped away and completely lost, in his faith, clasped the cross in his hands and prayed.  Acorn, seeing this, cried out to Justin, "Justin, wait!!  Didn't you hear what Hazel said?!  If you time-freeze the hawks, they'll be stuck, but so will the other rabbits that were carried off!!"

                "Acorn, wait!  Trust Justin!  He knows what he's doing!" Silver told him urgently, and Justin just prayed, in his mind, for a miracle, a solution.  Heavenly Father, please, I can't do this!  I don't know what I can do, and I don't want to endanger the hawks or Pipkin, Speedwell, Hawkbit, and Bluebell!  God, please, answer my prayer!  Help us find a way to get our friends back safely!!"  In an instant, the cross flashed, and in a second, as the stunned rabbits watched, an object appeared, twinkling and glittering with luminescence, into Justin's hands.  The teenager just looked blankly at the object.  It was some sort of weapon, in the shape of an "X", but the entire alien apparatus was shining in yellow and at a closer look, it was made with gold and the edges of each of the arms of the "X" were slanted and razor-sharp.  The teenager was at a loss for words, but Blackberry gasped as the idea hit him.

                "Justin, throw that thing at the hawks!  Throw it!  I've seen such a contraption before!!  Human boys use it all the time, and I saw them playing with such objects while we were raiding farms back at Watership Down one day!!  It's called a 'boomerang', if I recall hearing the boys use the term correctly, and whenever the lads were hunting for small birds, they would throw it at them to knock them out of the sky!!  Hurry, Justin, throw it!!"  Tossing caution to the winds, upon the request, Justin bent his arm back and hurled the boomerang like a discus.  Incredibly, the X-shaped weapon flew swift and sure, and as if guided by magic, it gracefully and rapidly whished by and struck the claws of the four hawks at once, delivering such burning pain, the hawks momentarily forgot their mission as they flapped awkwardly and squawked, trying to avoid the weapon threatening to collide into them.  Unfortunately, in their confusion, all four of them dropped the rabbits they were carrying, and in terror, Hazel and the other rabbits saw Pipkin, Speedwell, Bluebell, and Hawkbit yelling as the plummeted faster and faster to the ground.  If the impact didn't render them unconscious, they would certainly break a leg or a forepaw in the process.

                "Oh no!  They're falling!!" yelled Strawberry as he helplessly watched his friends.

                "And we can't do anything to help them!" whimpered Dandelion as he fought to keep the mental image of the rabbits turning into a bloody, tangled mess, while still being alive despite their horrific injuries, the second they crashed into the ground.  Justin, however, in impulsive inspiration, clasped the cross in his hands again, but this time, the rabbits could hear them whisper intently with tightly closed eyes, "Please...please!!  Don't let them hit the ground!  Levitate them!  Break their fall!  Help my friends!"

                Upon the magic of Justin's cross, Hazel and other rabbits on the ground turned to see a miraculous sight.  Even Pipkin, Speedwell, Hawkbit and Bluebell stopped screaming and instead looked in awe at the golden rings of light that abruptly appeared around each of them, encircling and rotating around softly, supernaturally levitating the four and slowing down the velocities of their fall.  With a soft thump, the four rabbits were gently placed on the hard ground, and the golden rings of light around them vanished.  With ecstatic joy, all the rabbits rushed away from the shelter of the rock outcrop to help them back, but not before Hazel commanded to Buckthorn and the injured Silver before he rushed out, "Both of you, stay here and make sure Justin doesn't expose himself to the hawks!!"

                                                                                ***

                Scry-rah looked intently at the scene below with his two strongest, loyal hawk soldiers, Crimcraw and Kittakel from the rocks near the peaks of the mountain cliffs.  At the sight of Hazel leading ten of the remaining twelve rabbit soldiers from the protection of the rock wall, his eyes gleamed in triumph as his realized his plan was taking into effect.

                "Skkeeeahhh!  Rabbits foolish take bait and leaving cross-bearer boy by self!!  Crimcraw, Kittakel, quick!  Starting rockslide part of plan now!  I attacking human and delay before he die!!  Now starting!!"  With that, the powerful brown hawk took off, intent to stop the human from succeeding in his mission to travel and heal El-ahrairah.  Obeying their chief, Crimcraw and Kittakel viciously started striking the piles of rocks and boulders right above Silver, Buckthorn, and Justin with their hard beaks and scratching claws, loosing the stable formations precariously little by little.

                                                                                ***

                "Are you four all right?!" asked Strawberry worriedly as he and the rest of the rabbits gathered around Pipkin, Bluebell, Hawkbit, and Speedwell, helping them up to their feet, touching their noses, and eager to hurry back to Justin, Silver, and Buckthorn.  All four of them were more or less alive and well, but each of them were shaken from their abduction ad from falling down from such an incredible height, not to mention the sharp talons of the birds left several scratches and puncture wounds on their soft bellies.  Hawkbit, comically, gave Strawberry a dirty look as he growled caustically at him, "'Are we all right?'?!  'Are we all right?'?!!  That's the stupidest question I've ever heard yet, you great, big dandy!!  I've been dragged up in the sky by some embleer hawk, been scratched and dirtied all along my fur, not to mention probably lost several patches of it while I was struggling!!  Then I was cruelly dropped from a long drop, and I'm miffed that Justin's power couldn't have set me down on my rump a little softer!!  I mean, would it have been so much trouble?!!  My rear's sore, I have cuts and bruises everywhere...!!"

                "Ignore him, he's fine," Speedwell said flatly as he cuffed Hawkbit to prevent him from carrying on with his complaining.  Holly jumped in, "Hazel, we must get back to the mountain base with the others!  We're exposed here out in the open, and I don't like leaving Silver, Buckthorn, and Justin!  We better -"

                "WATCH OUT, CHAPS!!  THE HAWKS ARE COMING OVER HERE!!  IT'S AN AMBUSH!!!"  The other rabbits looked up, and they saw that Bigwig spoke the truth.  The rest of Scry-rah's force immediately dived towards the rabbits in an angry, huge strike, and trapped with no way to be able to return back to the mountain, Hazel, Bigwig, and the rest were forced to fight and dodge the claws and sharp beaks.  The hawks weren't weaklings, but neither was the rabbit Owsla of El-ahrairah.  Fiver and Pipkin dodged a hawk's beak by running underneath him and dashing out between his legs, confusing the bloodthirsty bird.  Acorn was knocked to the ground by a powerful sweep from a falcon's wing, but before the predator could gouge him, Blackberry took a flying leap and head butted the bird straight into the spotted, feathery chest, knocking the bird breathless to the ground.  Taking the chance, Acorn leapt up and scratched the neck of the falcon with his back legs, leaving several deep slashes deep enough to claw out puffs of feathers and draw blood.  As they angrily fought and retaliated back, Holly glanced up and asked aloud, "What in the name of the Black Rabbit are those hawks doing?!  Hazel!!"

                Hazel glanced up while Bigwig and Strawberry tackled several hawks off his tail and looked up.  His breath died in his throat as he saw the scene dawn on his mind.  Scry-rah, obviously the leader, was emerging from the cliffs that were directly above Silver, Justin, and Buckthorn, and he was diving silently and fatally towards the three, who were so absorbed at the battle their friends were involved in, they weren't watching.  And above, two giant hawks were trying to loosen the rocks above the three, and from the looks of it, they were going to succeed in loosening it.

                "SILVER!!  BUCKTHORN!!  JUSTIN!!  WATCH OUT, BEHIND YOU!!  RUN!!!"  Yet the screaming and cawing of the hawks were too loud for the three doomed ones to audibly hear Hazel's warning.

                                                                                ***

                Justin, Buckthorn, and Silver, who was leaning wearily against the wall and becoming weaker by the minute due to his injuries, watched the scene of the hawks attacking Hazel and the other rabbits helplessly.  Silver panted as he stubbornly tried to get up.

                "I'm going out there.  I'm going to help them."  Yet Buckthorn got in his path and blocked the obese rabbit from injuring himself even further.

                "You're not going out there like a fool, Silver!  You're weak from your injuries, and you're not going to help Justin if you leave him by yourself!!"

                "Get out of my way, Buckthorn, or I'll swear I'll charge through and run you down!!"

                "By Frith, why do you have to be so stubborn?!!  You don't have to prove yourself, you idiot!!"

                "You wouldn't understand!!  Now get out of my way!!"  Before Buckthorn could tackle Silver, who was crazy enough to try to endanger himself even further for Hazel and his friends, Justin then got in front of Silver and blocked him, unwilling to let him go and stopping the two from arguing temporarily.

                "Silver, don't go!!  Please!!  Buckthorn's just trying to make sure you don't get hurt, and I'll stop the hawks from attacking!!  I'll time-freeze them now, so that we can escape and they can't carry us away or separate us!!"

                "Then do it!  Quickly!!" urged Buckthorn before Silver could refuse.  Justin was about to pray with his cross when a shrill scream sounded from above them, and frozen, the three looked upwards to see a terrifying sight.  Scry-rah, the enormous hawk leader, with outstretched wings, was descending quickly at a alarming rate and approaching feet first, ready to stomp on all three of them at once like a child crushing bugs underneath his shoe.  Instinctively, Buckthorn leapt back while Silver grabbed Justin around his waist roughly and jumped back as far as he could, pulling Justin out of Scry-rah's path.  With a loud thud, Scry-rah's talons crushed the ground into miniscule pieces and pebbles, forming two shallow, cracked, craters, missing the three of them very narrowly; had they remained there two seconds longer, they would have been trampled, and Justin would have been dead.  Yet, the human teenager wasn't out of danger yet as Scry-rah fixed his yellow eyes upon Justin with the orange cross with a transfixed, injured Silver still holding him, both lying on the ground and completely vulnerable.

                "Get away from my friends!!" growled Buckthorn as he tried to tackle Scry-rah from behind, but undaunted, Scry-rah threw his strong wing back and knocked Buckthorn so hard, the brawny rabbit flew back by thirty feet only to come tumbling backwards into the open field, away from the rock wall.  That was the last sight Buckthorn saw before he lost consciousness, lying senseless on the dry ground.  Scry-rah's sharp ears picked up a noise behind him, and he turned to see Silver bravely charging him.  Unfortunately, he also got the same wing treatment like Buckthorn, and flying back, the heavy Silver crashed against the rock wall painfully, and groaning, the gentle giant sunk to the ground.  Justin was now alone with the powerful, deadly hawk.  Scry-rah screamed in triumph as he raised his beak, ready to give a single, mortal peck directly onto the human.

                "Cross-bearer, you die now!!" Scry-rah shrieked, but then, Justin heard a distant whrreeee sound, and to his excitement, it was the golden, X-shaped boomerang, returning back from attacking the hawks that carried off Pipkin, Speedwell, Bluebell, and Hawkbit earlier, and it was ready to strike Scry-rah from behind.  The hawk leader also heard the noise, and in confusion, he made the mistake of turning around right before the boomerang was about to hit.  CRACK!  With an agonizing screech of torment, Scry-rah felt the sharp tip of his beak shatter into pieces as parts of his mouth were now broken off due to the force of the flying boomerang.  Now, Scry-rah was left with a jagged gaping hole when the tips of his beak once stood, his deadly orifice completely useless.  The boomerang, due to striking Scry-rah, flew at an odd angle before landing into the ground, embedding its tip a few meters away from Justin.  Seeing his chance, Justin tore off for the weapon, hoping he could throw it again to ward off the hawk before time freezing him, but Scry-rah was quicker.  And a lot more furious as well.  With a quick dash of its feet, the enraged hawk put himself between Justin and the weapon, unwilling to let the teenager escape and tried to claw the teenager with one of his talons, Justin doing his best to avoid the claws as he madly, desperately fought to survive.

                "Skkkeeeeahh!!  Beautiful beak of Scry-rah!!  All gone!!  Is finished!!  Me kill cross-bearer for hurt Scry-rah!!  You die now!!"  Yet Silver mocked the daunting hawk chief as he regained his vigor and charged towards the left side of Scry-rah, his attack completely catching the hawk off guard.

                "Me no thinks so!!"  Staggered, the hawk couldn't avoid the head butt in time, and with Silver's extremely, abnormal heavy weight, the rabbit crashed painfully into the left wing of the hawk, and the eli bird screamed in pain again as he felt one of the hollow bones in his wing snap excruciatingly underneath his feathers, the sharp twinge sending a burning, red-hot sensation through his entire wing.  With a broken forepart, the hawk stumbled off balance and fell on his right side, allowing Silver to scrabble on top of the bird's neck  and cuff and scratch the hawk as hard as he could while Justin watched from a distance, his heart pounding.

                                                                                ***

                "Rock loosening!!  Rock fast fall!!" Crimcraw declared in a exultant cry as the huge boulder she managed to nudge with her talons was teetering over the edge.  Once it fell, it would literally set off a chain reaction, setting the other piles of rock and dirt to come tumbling down on the cross-bearer and the other two rabbits.  With the other hawks fighting and distracting Hazel and the other Watership soldiers, they wouldn't be able to do anything but watch the human boy get crushed to death before their very eyes.  If the boulder wasn't successful in squashing the human, the avalanche would and Justin would be buried alive under tons of rock and gravel, snuffing him out completely.  As the rock was about to fall, Kittakel screamed out a warning as he looked at the scene below.

                "No!  No no!!  Stop falling rock, Crimcraw!!  Still Scry-rah there down fighting!!!"  The hawks looked down and with dread, saw that their leader was fighting the best he could with a broken wing as one of the rabbits, an incredibly fat and heavy one, was doing his best to pummel the hawk, unaware of the impeding danger.  And within a few feet away was Justin, in an awkward sitting position, watching the whole scene unfold.  Crimcraw turned back, but there was nothing she could do as the boulder wobbled and then finally released itself from its secure position of the cliff, making slight crumbling noises as it plunged directly at Silver and Scry-rah.

                "SCRY-RAHHH!!!  NOOO!!!" screamed Crimcraw and Kittakel as they didn't notice the other rock piles starting to fall to pieces as well, starting the rockslide little by little.

                                                                                ***

                The screams of Kittakel and Crimcraw was loud enough to create a temporary lull between the rabbits and hawks fighting in the open fields, and as they all turned around, they saw with dread what was happening.

                "SCRY-RAH!!" shrieked the hawks.

                "SILVER!!" yelled the Watership rabbits.

                                                                                ***

                Justin heard the noises of something immense, and as he stared up amongst the falling debris and dust, his heart froze as he gasped.  The boulder was enormous, as large as an Ilip, and certainly looked to weigh more than several tons.  With a quick glance, Justin saw the directly underneath it was Silver and Scry-rah, still too busy fighting to notice what was going to happen.  There was no way they would come out of such a heavy impact, even if this was the land beyond life.  In an instant, even though his voice of reason frantically told him that the boulder was too heavy, that there was possible way to do it, that he'd endanger himself if he tried to use his powers again, Justin grabbed the cross with one hand, flung his other hand towards the falling stone, and yelled, "Levitate the rock!  Please!!"

                Scry-rah first saw the rock nose-dive towards them, and seeing the look of fear and anxiety in the eli's eyes, Silver looked to see the dark boulder, blocking out the light underneath them, as it rotated and flipped around madly in the air before it would pound the both of them into the ground.  Silver, knowing he couldn't do anything, shut his eyes and bravely waiting for the spilt second before he would be crushed into a bloody pulp.  Yet, a strange sound suddenly broke the whistling incoming noise of the accelerating boulder, and confused, Silver looked up hesitantly to see an extremely wonderful sight.  The boulder was hanging several meters above them, hanging hazardously above, but being levitated firmly by a familiar golden ring surrounding the gigantic rock.  Knowing who was responsible, Silver turned to Justin, but was horrified at what he saw.  The cross in Justin's hand was gleaming, but it was very faint, as if it was dying, and Justin was starting to sweat as his face became incredibly flushed and crimson from trying to use all his power he could muster in stopping the rock from crushing both Silver and Scry-rah.  The hawks watching this were completely flabbergasted; their prey, their target, their victim, was actually helping their leader??  Meanwhile, Justin felt the buzzing in his head grow louder and louder as the blood was roaring deafeningly in his ears.  He could feel himself literally growing weaker and weaker, almost on the brink of collapse.  Levitating a boulder was much, much harder than anything he had ever done before with his cross, and the strain of it, the tension, the exertion, was going to take its toll.  Justin thought a final plea to God for strength before he pushed at the boulder with all his might.  As the rabbits and hawks watched breathlessly, the boulder moved backwards slowly by a meter, then two before the golden circle of light disappeared.  Without the ring of levitation, the boulder proceeded to crash, and with a might resounding into the earth, the rock embedded itself, half-buried into the dirt...a few feet away from a still intact Scry-rah and Silver.  Scry-rah, seeing the miraculous sight of a human, a creature that has always hunted them down near to extinction or to keep them captive as pets or slaves, looked weakly at Justin with disbelief as he croaked hoarsely, "Cross-bearer...why?"

                Justin didn't answer him, and he whispered, panting with fatigue and exhaustion, giving the gray rabbit a weak smile of prideful accomplishment, "Silver, did...you...see that?  I...did...it..."  And then the teenager slumped forward and fainted from the effort.  Silver's heart nearly leapt out of his throat as he hurriedly got off of Scry-rah and knelt to Justin's side several feet away from the Chief hawk.  As Silver lightly and gently grasped Justin, the other rocks from above, the ones previously loosened by Crimcraw and Kittakel, started to fall, creating the planned landslide.

                Buckthorn, who by now regained consciousness, heard the rumbling of thunder, and as he looked up, he saw a massive amount of dust, rock, and dirt was falling off the cliffs and heading straight for Silver, Scry-rah, and Justin.  Upon the second glance, Buckthorn gasped when he saw the cross-bearer was unconscious; without him to cause a time-freeze, all three of them would be buried under the rubble.

                "Silver, above you!!"  Silver at first looked at Buckthorn in confusion before the rumbling noises of the avalanche and the sight of the falling rubble dawned on him.  In the fleeting second before the rocks landed on the ground, Buckthorn saw Silver use his massive body to shield Justin, and Silver's last thoughts were on Justin's safety right before the rockslide covered him, the cross-bearer, and Scry-rah under tons of wreckage, powder and sand, burying them alive completely.

                "SILVER!!" screamed Buckthorn.

                "SCRY-RAH!!" screamed the hawks.

                "JUSTIN!!" screamed Hazel and the rest of the Watership rabbits.  Then all creatures, rabbit and eli, rang their cries of sorrow, of fright, of horror, mixing in harmoniously in the stifling clouds of dust and choking residue of sandstone.

                "NOOOOOOOO!!!"

                                                                                ***

                In the stifling darkness, Silver warily discovered to his relief that a small air pocket was unbelievably formed around him, and though he could move slightly, every motion from his body loosened the rocks and pebbles even further, and if he didn't wish to submerge himself even further, he knew he had to remain still.  As best as he could, he saw that by the weak light of the glowing cross, Justin was still unconscious on the ground, but alive and well, and to Silver's grief, he saw that there was a slight cut on the teenager's forehead, and the blood was starting to trickle down.  Still, at least it was extremely by pure luck that Silver's body was enough to prevent Justin from being flattened underneath the avalanche.  As Silver tenderly and caringly licked the teenager's head, he knew that underneath all this rock, Justin wouldn't be able to breathe for long.  It would be a matter of time before he would suffocate under the dust and grime.  Feeling helpless but unwilling to give up, Silver held to Justin tightly, feeling the tears of powerlessness well in his dark eyes as he tried to do everything in his capacity to prolong Justin's life.  Justin groaned from the constant licking on his forehead.

                "Silver?" he whispered weakly, but still insensible.  Silver felt a little joy and relief crawl in his heart among the grief and worry.

                "I'm here, young one.  Don't talk, just lie still."

                "Don't...leave...me...please," Justin murmured faintly before losing consciousness again.  Silver was shockingly touched.  Even though he snapped at Justin, refused to open himself, and cold-shouldered him distantly, Justin still wanted to be close to Silver, still wanted to protect him, still...trusted and loved him, like a true, dedicated friend.  Silver, now crying, touched his nose against Justin's, thinking that the simple display of compassion would ease his friend and hoping that help would come before it was too late.

                "I won't, Justin."  He then remembered the when he was told he was useless, that he wasn't wanted, that he wasn't needed.

                "Please, help me!" shouted a younger, drier Silver as he tried to loosen himself from the bramble of vines that messily tangled and entwined his hind legs.  He, Toadflax and Pine Needles, after feasting in a farmer's garden, ran out and made their way through a narrow gap between two, lush undergrowths of thick ivy.  Unfortunately, because of Silver's size, he got caught again and was delaying the others.  Toadflax just sneered at him.

                "And endanger ourselves with elil prowling about?!  You can forget it!  You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out!  Come now, Pine Needles, let's return to Sandleford."  Both of the bucks turned and started hopping off, slowly and deliberately, to spite the pained Silver.

                "Are you sure it's safe?  Shouldn't we help him?" Silver heard Pine Needles whisper.  Toadflax laughed.

                "He won't last long in the Owsla anyway, and even if he can't get out of this mess, it wouldn't make much of a difference.  Even the Threarah told Holly and I that he wished Silver would just die so that our warren and his reputation doesn't get tarnished from his bumbling, overweight nephew.  He's nobody, and he's not even important.  He's about as helpful as the outskirters!"  As Toadflax and Pine Needles chortled cruelly, Silver gnawed away at the vines wrapped around his legs, half-heartedly wishing that elil would come to put him out of his misery, his pain, his torment.  Yet, ironically for the weeping rabbit in the dark night, no elil came.

But it was different now;  Justin needed him, and he felt his resolve strengthen slightly as he spoke again with more fervor.

                "I won't give up.  I won't leave you."  He was so busy weeping, he didn't notice Justin's cross glow slightly brighter among the suffocating darkness, reacting to Silver's hope and fortification.

                                                                                ***

                "He can't be dead!!  He can't be dead!!"  This came from Bluebell, nearly in tears, as he and the other rabbits from Watership Down were digging and clawing madly and frantically among the rubble.  Yet, it was almost impossible.  There was such a wide area of to scourge through, and the mountains and piles of rock created from the avalanche were high, bigger than the hawks or the rabbits.  It would take days, maybe weeks to actually claw through all the ruins, not to mention that not even Bigwig was strong enough to move most of the rocks that were pinned firmly to the ground.  By the time they even had the faintest idea of where to look for, Justin would be dead, and all their work was for naught.  They had failed in protecting their friend, and thinking that Justin, their innocent, considerate, understanding and loving friend was killed, was enough to send even the calm Hazel into a tailspin of angst, sorrow, and misery.  The hawks were standing on the ground, their wings folded, and watching the rabbits uneasily and nervously.  They wanted to help, mostly because Scry-rah was trapped underneath too, but how would the rabbits take this?  And what would they do if they actually rescue the cross-bearer?  Would they nevertheless kill him, even if he did save Scry-rah from the boulder?  The rabbits paid them hardly any attention as they continued to search around the debris.

                "Hazel-rah, we can't find their scents!!  It's been eliminated by the dust covering the rocks and dirt, and we can't use our sense of smell to track Silver and Justin!!" cried Strawberry.

                "We have to do something!" choked Campion, his grief at losing his friend after Justin helped him with his battle against Veil Guplea nearly eating up his sense of reason and composure, "Hazel, Blackberry, please, for the sake of El-ahrairah, try to think up of something that can find him before it's too late!!"

                "I don't know!" sobbed Blackberry as he wearily hung his head low, at a loss that not even one bright idea could help them in this situation.  Without Justin's power to help them out of this predicament, they were helpless, and Justin was depending on them.  "There's so much dirt and rock to look through, and we can't possibly have enough time before Justin -!"

                "Don't you dare say it!!" Bigwig growled from one of the rock piles, refusing to cry as he angrily kept kicking at a large boulder from one side of the pile.  "I mean it, if you, any of you, say that Justin is dead, I will tear you to pieces!!  I won't give up!!  I'll find him, even if it takes me until the time when Elil-rah comes, I'll keep searching!!  So what are you waiting for, you pack of useless flea-ridden, tharn weaklings?!  Don't just stand there!!  Help me look for any signs that Justin is still alive!!"  Acorn, Fiver, Hawkbit, Pipkin, Dandelion and Holly were already among the piles of rock, searching, sniffing and straining their eyes for the faintest signs of life.  Pipkin was sobbing as the tears fell down his face while he scurried around madly, and Hawkbit looked at the sky and whispered pleadingly, "O Frith, please, don't take away our friend Justin!  Not now!  He's done a lot for us!  Please, help us find him!  I promise, if you help Justin survive this...I'll...I'll never complain about anything again!  Please, just don't let Justin die!"

                "Now's not the time for empty promises, Hawkbit!" blubbered Acorn as he kept clawing at the rocks, "Just shut up and keep looking!"

                "Fiver, use your second sight!  Please, use it to find Justin!!" Dandelion begged Fiver, but then Holly, through his sorrow, turned to see a faint glimpse of something from the rocks underneath a small pile at the far side.  Unlike the rest of the dark brown and beige rubble, these rocks were orange and golden, as if...Then Holly gasped out in joy and squealed.  Underneath the rocks was the faint, but unmistakable glimmer of golden sunlight.  It was Justin's cross.

                "Hazel!!" Holly bellowed as loud as he could, "I see the light from Justin's cross!!  Over here!!  It's glowing underneath all this rock and dirt!!  They're right here!!"  This immediately brought the rabbits to stampede over to where Holly was, and to their short-lived relief, they found that the Owsla captain spoke the truth.  Even the hawks turned their heads at Holly's exclamation.  Almost immediately, without word, the rabbits started scurrying away at the pile for all they were worth, with Bigwig, Buckthorn, and Hazel at the top of the heap and the rest of the rabbits digging madly at the sides, the dirt literally flying furiously between their paws.  Regardless of the Watership Owsla being only bucks, they dug for Justin's sake, cursing that they could dig more effectively like rabbit does could.  A small, tentative caw from behind them made Speedwell and Fiver turn around to see that behind them, perched on the rocks all around, were the army of hawks, looking extremely sorry but hesitant as Crimcraw spoke brokenly, "We help too.  Let us too help dig."

                Speedwell wasn't very tolerable to idea, and frankly, neither were some of the other rabbits.

"You've done enough for one day!" screamed Speedwell in rage as he glared scathingly at Crimcraw, "Get out of here!  We don't want your help!!  It's all because of you embleer elil that Justin and Silver are down here in the first place!!"

                "We no ignore.  Want to help," Kittakel broke in mulishly.

                "'Help'?!  'Help'?!!  Embleer Frith, do you even know the meaning of the word?!!" spewed an enraged Acorn.

                "Please.  Scry-rah, leader chief.  He down there."

                "And he deserves it!!" yelled Dandelion, tears of sorrow now turning into tears of rage and hatred, and he fought the urge to attack the hawks for their ruthlessness to innocent Justin who had never done any harm to them or any creature in the land beyond life.  "Scry-rah didn't even merit for the mercy Justin showed to him when he stopped that rock from falling on him!!  And there you hawks stand, not even thinking about how much this hurts us and El-ahrairah, and knowing you deceitful elil, you'll attack us and kill Justin the moment we get them and Scry-rah out of there!!"  The hawks were silent at this accusation.  Yet Hazel, while digging furiously, spoke firmly and loudly, "Let them be!  Just keep digging!  Every moment you waste talking to them, Justin is getting closer and closer to meeting the Black Rabbit of Inle!  Just ignore th-!!"

                At that exact moment, the dirt and stone at the top of the pile fell completely away to reveal a bruised and battered head of Scry-rah, gurgling weakly with bits of sand and dust clinging to his feathers and blood, but still alive and conscious.  It was slightly comical, seeing a brown head of a bird standing out on top of a large mountain of rock and pebbles.  This, though to the joy and happiness of the hawks, only enraged the rabbits of Watership Down.

                "Where is he?!" growled Bigwig, fire in his eyes as his vision literally turned red with anger, his voice tight and hoarse.  "Where's Justin?!  Where's the cross-bearer?!!  Tell me or Frith help you, I'll claw your head off!!"

                "Help me," croaked Scry-rah weakly, seriously injured from the inundation.

                "HA!  That's a laugh!!" snapped Buckthorn roughly as he was about ready to bite the hawk leader.  "We wouldn't help you if you were the last creature in the land beyond life!  If you don't tell us where Justin is, you'll stay like that forever, and we'll leave you!!"  The hawk feebly shook his brown head.

                "No leave.  Help Scry-rah with cross-bearer and rabbit friend.  Scry-rah have them."

                "I knew it!!  He killed Justin!" sobbed Hawkbit as he bent his head low, letting the withheld tears that he suppressed now flow freely, plopping onto the rocks and brittle fragments.  But Scry-rah shook his head again.

                "No kill boy.  Boy and rabbit friend underneath Scry-rah wing.  Scry-rah put wing over cross-bearer man and rabbit before falling rock.  They safe for while short.  Please dig and help Scry-rah.  I no know if still live.  Hawk brethren help."  The rabbits looked at the Chief hawk in disbelief before Hazel spoke in hopeful incredulity, "You...you protected them from the rock-slide?  You used your wings to shield them from the rocks??"

Scry-rah nodded, his strength ebbing away from him, and encouraged, the rabbits began to dig faster, their hearts now feeling brighter with faith.  And they did not work alone.  Without a word, Crimcraw, Kittakel and the rest of the predatory birds started to hover and flutter around the pile, pushing away rocks and heavy stones with their talons and powerful wings.  All together, in a fleeting cease-fire, the rabbits and hawks worked diligently and together, pushing, digging and sweeping.  Before long, but too long, the rabbits feared, they now were able to clear out the rocks that were pinning Scry-rah's broken wing to the ground, and breathlessly, the Watership rabbits looked in dreadful anticipation as Scry-rah weakly and excruciatingly lifted his wing.  At first, the rabbits could see nothing but the small rocks and stones that even managed to find their way through the clasped wings of Scry-rah, but then, to their elation, joy, and reprieve, they ecstatically saw a panting, weak, and shaking Silver as he pushed himself through the rubble.  And on his back was a limp, unconscious Justin with his cross still glowing in a beautiful, comforting light.  The hawks, seeing that Justin was still unharmed, narrowed their eyes and raised their wings, about to strike.  Bigwig, Campion, Holly, Buckthorn, and Bluebell, enraged at the hawks' treachery, prepared to tackle them, but then, Scry-rah's voice rang out, clear and with resolve.

                "No attack!!  Scry-rah say no hurt cross-bearer!!  Obey Scry-rah!!!"  The hawks, though confused, obeyed without question.  Relieved, but still wary, the rabbits focused their attention on Justin who was carefully being taken off Silver's wounded back.

                "Silver, are you all right?!" Buckthorn asked, nearly mad with apprehension as he helped Silver sink back down on the ground in exhaustion.  Silver coughed and hacked the dusty smoke out of his body several times before replying, "I'm not faring too badly, but Justin is in worst shape.  It took a lot out of him, for him to use his cross-bearer powers to stop the rockslide and to save their chief hawk and me.  I almost didn't make it in time to cover him right before the stones fell, but thank the stars, Justin is still alive...but barely."

                Silver's voice dropped a note or two in sadness and depression at the remark of Justin's status, but Buckthorn just gave a weak grin for his friend.  "The point is, he's still breathing, and it's all due to your girth and resolve, the same resolve you've always shown ever since we were alive back at Watership Down, old chap.  I never would have doubted that Justin survived if you were there with him underneath all that dirt.  You nearly drove us all mad with worry and trepidation when we saw the rocks fall.  We...we thought we lost you both."

                Silver gave Buckthorn a slight, shrewd but amused look.  "You know none of us can die, except for Justin."

                "Even so, it's a hard thing to remember when we see rabbits we care about go into the thick of danger."

                "Really?"  The amusement on Silver's face made the giant crack a weak grin.  Buckthorn coughed nervously, staring at the ground before he worked up the courage to speak next.  "Silver, about what I said earlier, when I was cuffing with Hawkbit, when we were running away from the hawks, I'm sorry.  By the fur and paw, I don't know what made me say that, but I would never -"

                "I know, Buckthorn," Silver said simply, the soft, compassion in his tone and eyes letting the brown rabbit know he was forgiven, that it was all in the past.  As the gap between the two closed, Hazel, Fiver and Blackberry were licking Justin's face, hoping he would wake up from the delicate moisture of their tongues while the other rabbits looked on anxiously.  To their nervous thrill, the teenager gave a small moan, and weakly, Justin opened up his eyes, wincing a bit in the sunlight shining on his face, a bit disoriented.  As his vision cleared, he saw the faces of Bigwig, who was propping Justin up for the others to lick him to revival, Hazel, Blackberry and Fiver, their faces, though shadowed from the silhouettes of their heads, showing relief and smiling in grateful respite.  And behind them, Justin could see Campion, Pipkin, Acorn, Hawkbit, Dandelion, Speedwell, Bluebell, Holly, and Strawberry, their eyes wet but shining.  Justin didn't need to ask; he knew Hazel and the others had rescued them from the rocky tomb in time.

                "Where's Silver?" Justin feebly asked, "Is he all right?"

                "I'll live," smirked a teasing Silver as he came up beside Fiver and smiled upon his friend.  Justin looked at him, slightly questioning but entirely happy.

                "You...you were there while I lost consciousness, weren't you?"  Silver glanced to the side, averting his eyes, but the humble sheepish look on his dusty face, brown from the sand and dust, gave himself away.  Justin grinned as his raised his sore, throbbing arm and gently touched the rabbit's face, making Silver generate eye contact again.

                "Thank you," Justin whispered hoarsely, "I'd...be lost if you weren't there with me during God knows what happened.  Thank you."  Silver swore he wasn't going to cry in front of the Owsla, but by Frith, he knew he couldn't help himself as his eyes started to water again, but this time, for once in a long time, it was due to blissful exhilaration.

                "Thank...you...cross-bearer" cawed a voice, and the Watership rabbits turned around to see that it was Scry-rah who had spoken, trembling in embarrassment and dishonor, but keeping his yellow, sharp eyes locked on Justin lying in Bigwig's paws, who was smiling back at his former assassin.

                As the sun was beginning to set in the west, the hawks and Scry-rah were standing side to side as they faced the line of Watership rabbits and the human cross-bearer, all now fully healed and, more or less, completely recovered.  Except for Justin; for some odd reason, he didn't think about healing himself, and the bloody cut on his forehead was still slight stinging, and his flannel long-sleeved shirt was torn and ripped in several places.  Yet he took no notice of them as Scry-rah, with a new intact beak and a repaired left wing, spoke coldly at Justin in front of him.

                "Skkeeah!  Know this, Justin!  Scry-rah and hawks still enemies to rabbits!"  His tone softened, but still maintained a harsh steel entwined with the words.  "But we no tell Elil-rah see you and rabbits at base mountains.  Scry-rah forget not Justin for saving.  Very kind, but very foolishly!  We flying now.  No tell Elil-rah.  We go fly away from Elil-rah, not come back!  We finished fight, is through!  But, we hate man still."  The rabbits, especially Bigwig and Silver, nervously arched their legs back for expected fight and flight, but Justin nodded, faithful that the hawks wouldn't hurt them.  He didn't expect anything else, and he spoke clearly, looking at Scry-rah, "I understand, Scry-rah.  I don't blame you for still hating me, even if I did save your life.  But, I hope that someday, when we do see each other again, it won't be as enemies, but as friends.  I also hope you see that not all men are evil, and I wish you luck."

                Scry-rah still acted as if he didn't believe Justin, but he nodded easily enough, and with a sharp cry, he took of silently and gracefully, the other flock of his loyal comrades following him.  They took off, a mass of multi-colored feathers and wings, and as they sailed into the red and slightly purple sky of sunset and night, the rabbits continued on their journey to the gentle, easy foothills, covered in groves of fresh trees and thick, cool plants.  Justin was now riding on the gentle Silver, and as they slowly made their way to the hills, Silver talked privately with Justin.

                "I'm not exactly best at climbing these mountains, young one.  With my size and weight, we'll be lucky if we don't trail too far behind."

                "It's okay," chuckled Justin reassuringly, "Hazel and the others would never leave us.  After today's events, they'll keep us company and surround us.  I guess they're still fearful that something else will attack us and try to kill me before we reach the warren of El-ahrairah."

                "Well, the record is hrair to none, with the score in our favor," Silver joked uncertainly before pausing, and asking Justin, "Justin, is it...is it ever possible to find healing from past wrongs done to you?"

                Justin flashed back to his father, to his abusive childhood, to the painful trials he himself endured from emotional stability to his faith in his Christian religion, and truthfully, he spoke from his limited knowledge and memories locked in his heart.  "I guess so, but sometimes, we may be looking at the wrong places for healing.  I mean, I know I would like nothing better than to hear my dad tell me that he's sorry for what he did to me, all the hateful things he ever said to me, about how I was a failure, a disappointment, a nobody.  But...I know I shouldn't hold my breath.  Even I did talk to him about how I felt, he would probably ignore me and refuse to admit anything.  So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I know I'm not going to get healed from forgiving a certain person or expecting a certain person to say 'I'm sorry', I shouldn't depend on it, otherwise I'll never grow and move on."  He paused, deep in thought.  "What about you, Silver?  I know you made up with Buckthorn, and I can't tell you how happy I am to see that, but...what about your misgivings with the Threarah and Toadflax and some of the others?"  Silver flashed back to when he quietly passed away, and the Black Rabbit brought him to be in the Owsla of El-ahrairah:

                "Toadflax!  Pimpernel!  Scabious!  Threarah!!" Silver cried joyfully when he found himself among sunny pastures and eternal green fields of clover and grass with other rabbits.  And to his joy, he found the old acquaintances he remembered back from Sandleford.  To his relief, Toadflax, Scabious, and Pimpernel all happily touched noses with Silver, crying with joy and relief, the three former Sandleford Owsla veterans apologizing to Silver for driving him away and remarking how glad they were to see him.  Silver was feeling very elated and free-spirited...until he met up with his uncle.  The gray, old, shriveled, but extremely large and powerful Chief rabbit gave Silver the evil eye and turned away heartlessly.  Silver was stunned, and after a brief silence, he finally spoke.  "Threarah, what's wrong?  I thought you'd be glad to see me."

                "Glad??  Ha!  Not by the black tail and paw of the Black rabbit of Inle, you cowardly, filthy piece of rabbit scum!!"  Silver was shocked, and his uncle turned to face him menacingly.

                "You think I'd actually be glad to see you, after what you did to embarrass me and the rest of the Sandleford rabbits who were killed by man's ruthlessness and evil?!  You abandoned me and your fellow Owsla to die deaths that we never deserved!!  Worse yet, you made me look like a fool in the land beyond life, and if you hadn't left Sandleford, I wouldn't have ever died such a bitter rabbit!!  You cheated me!  I gave my life, my reputation, my authority, to help ungrateful rabbits like you and Bigwig join the Owsla and keep the warren safe, and you left it all behind to help those...those...weakling outskirters!!"

                "You never gave me a reason to stay because you never showed any compassion or friendship to me!" Silver yelled equally back at him, his temper bubbling dangerously underneath his pale fur.  "What in Frith's name did you expect me to react?!  You always said you wanted it to be better if I was dead so I wouldn't be such an embarrassment to you and the others!!  And if I never left Sandleford, I would have never found Hazel and my other friends, my friends who stood by and fought with me, true and good, and they were more of a family than you ever were!!"

                The Threarah laughed cruelly.  "You're no blood family of mine, and if I knew what you were going to do, I would have ripped out your throat when your mother gave birth to you as a kitten!!"

                Silver tried to not cry with brokenness as he felt his hurt come back to him.  "I thought you would have changed by now."

                "Don't expect miracles.  Not even El-ahrairah could help us now."  With that last word, the Threarah hopped off, leaving a pained and heartbroken Silver.  Acorn came up to him after witnessing the argument, feeling for his friend.  "Silver, are you all right?"

                "No."

                "I wish the Threarah would have seen by now how much he was wrong."

                Silver sadly looked at his uncle, dead to him in his heart and blood.  "So do I.  Believe me, so do I."

                Then Silver flashed back to when he, Hazel, and the rest of the Watership rabbits left the warren of the sick El-ahrairah to find the cross-bearer, to when the Threarah said the only sentence to his nephew since he entered the land beyond life:

                "Just when I thought you could not have disgraced me any further, you, Silver, are actually going to the ends of the land beyond life, to save a human?  A man?  Something that is, and always will be, our enemy, and yet here you are, ready to set off without giving an embleer care about how your chaps and innocent rabbits lost their lives to men when they destroyed Sandleford??  I hope you never come back."

                Silver muttered bitterly, "You'd actually be surprised how we are not that much different, you and I, Justin, with your father and my uncle, the Threarah."  Justin realized what this meant, and feeling Silver in understanding and consideration, he leaned over and gave his friend a soft, yet comforting hug around his neck.  Silver smiled at the gesture of friendship.  Justin then whispered encouragingly in Silver's ear, "But, at least, even though we can't repair the hurt and pain we got from others, I do know that we can always depend on each other and our friends, the ones who we love and care about, the ones who feel our pain and understand us, the ones who know us best.  And as long as we have that, I know that we'll be able to heal little by little.  Certainly, the hurt and sadness will still be there, but with a little light, even the blackest darkness in our hearts can be lifted so it won't hurt as much, especially since God loves me...and Frith loves you."

                Silver beamed affectionately at Justin as they started to climb up the mountains.  Unbeknownst to the two, a little behind them, Bluebell and Hawkbit were joking and making fun at Silver's expense.

                "I'm still stunned, Hawkbit!  I mean, I find it quite ironic that Silver was able to protect the cross-bearer when a skinny, underweight rabbit wouldn't have been able to do the job, right bucko?"

                "That's an understatement, old chap!  And I find it ironic that for once, Silver's heaviness and fat body actually prevented someone from getting crushed to deat-...Oh, uh, ha ha, hello Bigwig, hello Acorn, hello Buckthorn!  Nice weather we're dealing with now, aren't we?  Ow, ow, ow, stop cuffing us!!  Ow, ow!!"

"By Frith, can't you rabbits appreciate a little humor?!  Ow, ow!!" cried Bluebell, and Silver and Justin, seeing the scene from a distance, laughed privately.

"Think we should help them, Silver?"  Silver tried his best to look innocent as he mockingly wailed in sarcastic, pseudo torment.

"How??  By the light of Frith, I'm only a fat, heavy Owsla rabbit who spends too much of his tharn mind on food!  Oh, how can I ever save Bluebell and Hawkbit from Buckthorn, Acorn, and Bigwig?  I say we should just ignore it and watch!"

"Oh, shut up Silver!  You made your point!!" growled Hawkbit as he kept shielding himself vainly from the cuffs of Acorn and Buckthorn.

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Next up: PIPKIN in "How Pipkin Got His Wings"

Like this chapter?  REVIEW!  Constructive criticism?  REVIEW!  Want to tell me what you wish to see in a future chapter?  R-E-V-I-E-W!!! ^_~

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