Watership Down: The CrossBearer

by RogueFanKC

Justin is a scorned and outcast human teenager, but when he is chosen as the Crossbearer, he must fullfill the prophesy of saving Elahrairah with the help of the Watership rabbits in the land beyond life, a journey of courage and love between friends.

20. The Witch Rabbit Trials! Fiver and Justi...

/*

Author's note: I will never, ever, EVER write a 35-page chapter ever again! ARGH!  This is easily the longest chapter I've ever, and WILL EVER, write again! Why oh why did I have to go overboard with the writing?!

Acorn: Because you're insane?

Hawkbit: Because you have no life?

Speedwell: Because you're such a nerd?

Remind me to hurt you three later on! Anyway, hope everyone wasn't TOO mad at leaving the chapter with such a cliffy like that!  Enjoy the second part of the chapter of Fiver!

*/

CHAPTER 19

Justin shivered in the night air as darkness fell in the Web of Thorns he and Fiver were imprisoned in, the sky offering faint glimpses of moonlight as several clouds party covered the silver gleam of the stars and sky.  Fiver was still unconscious and was lying on his side, breathing softly with a pained expression on his face.  Though it was upsetting to watch, Justin did his best to make Fiver comfortable as he covered his rabbit friend using his tattered, ripped flannel shirt as a blanket, and now, Justin was starting to get a bit cold from wearing only his T-shirt.  He shuddered as he stared gloomily at his surroundings; he could see now why his incarceration was called "The Web of Thorns".  He and Fiver was in the middle of a small, grassy clearing only several meters wide, and all around them, were masses and masses of thorny, impenetrable vines, nettles, and sharp wooden spikes of ivy.  It was so thick, that Justin couldn't even put his hand through the tumble; not even an elephant would have been able to break through the walls of prickles and barbs and razor-sharp leaves.  There was only one clear pathway out of the prison, formed from a wide parting of the vines, and it was heavily watched and guarded by the twenty otters that had ambushed them before.  The otters, delighted with the opportunity at seeing Justin and Fiver being under strain and depression, kept throwing jeers towards the teenager as he sat next to Fiver, sullen and silent in his own thoughts.  The boy knew that Hazel must be out of his mind with worry for Fiver's sake, so he promised himself that he would watch over Fiver until they had a chance to be reunited...but, desperately, Justin wished his friends were here with him, their familiar voices, their different yet amiable personalities, their comforting presences.  He was lonely.  After all, he couldn't remember a time when had ever been separated from them for this long of a time.

                At least the clearing has a small pool of clear, cold water supplied from an underground spring, so Justin got the chance to relive his thirst, but as his stomach growled, Justin knew he couldn't ignore his hunger much longer; he hadn't eaten for about a day.  Suddenly, Shardik came out of the thicket, strolling towards the prison evidently towards the only exit of the Web of Thorns where the otters were at guard.

                "What now, Shardik?" the otter growled impatiently at the brown, grizzly bear, and Shardik narrowed his eyes at the obvious display of disrespect.

                "The King of Yesterday wishes to see you and your otter crew at his quarters, so I am to relieve all of your of your guard duties while all of you talk with the king.  He wishes for you and your crew to come at once, so leave.  Now."  The otters, glad to be rid of the burdensome task, left without much argument, though they all made it a point to throw several snide swearing and curses at Justin before leaving.  Justin was now alone with Shardik as the bear just glared at him, his eyes, twinkling in the moonlight, were narrow, dark slits of apathy and disinclination.  Justin just looked at the bear, mystified and shivering, not sure what to expect, but he knew that if the bear wanted too, he would take Justin's head off with just one swipe of his claws.  Shardik just observed the boy, sitting cross-legged in front of him, his eyes wide with puzzlement and fear, and then he just dropped several objects from one of his colossal, furry paws, depositing them in front of the prisoner.  To his surprise, Justin saw that they were all apples, yellow, ripe, sweet smelling, and from the same tree that Justin and the Watership clan were at earlier.  Justin just quizzically looked at Shardik in puzzlement, at a loss for words.

                "For your hunger," Shardik said gruffly and offhandedly before he turned his back to the teenager and squatted on his haunches, his entire body frame blocking the path out of the Web of Thorns, nullifying any chances Justin had for an escape.  Shardik just tetchily sat there, sullen and wishing he had better things to do with his time that guard prisoners, especially problematic ones.

                "Um...Shardik?" Justin's voice emerged tentatively from behind him.

                "By Frith, what is it?!" he growled with annoyance and impatient eyes as he turned sharply back to the human, expecting another whiny request or complaint.  At the sight of the angry look on his face, Justin just cast his eyes to the grass, but he forced himself to say what needed to be said.  "I just wanted to say thank you, for bringing me and Fiver some food."

                Rolling his eyes, the bear just turned back abruptly in a huff of exasperation, and Justin wasn't sure whether or not Shardik even accepted the gratitude, but then he heard Shardik rumble softly and huskily, "You're welcome, but it's hardly appropriate.  It's just some insignificant apples that fell off one of the trees you and the visionary knocked down with the earthquakes you summoned to damage this world.  And theoretically, those apples are only for you, not for the rabbit, since all they usually feed on is grass."

Justin suspected the bear was lying, especially since the fruit has no trace of dirt or bruising on them, but he hid it with a wide, grim smirk.

                "Even still, I want to share it with Fiver when he wakes up.  He's going to be depressed enough since he's separated from his brother, Hazel.  And I know Hazel's hurting too because he doesn't want anything to happen to his brother; he and the rest of the rabbits from Watership Down are probably worried sick."  The bear snorted but didn't say anything.  He couldn't care less.

Justin glanced back at Fiver worriedly before adding sulkily to Shardik, "You didn't need to hurt Hazel like that; it wasn't necessary.  He was just defending his brother, and he gave his word that we would all stay for the trial."

                Shardik, even with his back turned to Justin, growled threateningly and sarcastically, as if warning the human that he was treading into a very hostile subject matter, "And if was not to attack him, what should I have done, mighty cross-bearer??  Should I have stayed back and stood idly while I see innocent creatures forego horrible destruction and risk injury, all for the sake of that rabbit who lies next to you??  Need I remind you, young one, that if you and the seer didn't produce the destruction in the first place, you and Fiver wouldn't even be here, and the Kings of Yesterday and Tomorrow wouldn't have to judge you and your companions so harshly at the trial the next day.  If you think about it, everything is of the fault of you and your rabbit cohorts."

                "But we didn't cause it," Justin shot back, getting a bit miffed from the fact that none of the animals were even giving them a fair chance, "Fiver...he can see things, but he can't make them to happen.  Whatever occurs in his visions happens because they're supposed to, because they were going to come up with or without warning, and even if Fiver didn't see it coming, the earthquakes would have happened anyway.  Just because he's different and has the power of premonition and physic stuff doesn't mean he's a threat or a menace.  None of us are here to cause trouble, we just want to get back to El-ahrairah's warren as quickly as possible so we can heal him."

                "A likely story," spat out Shardik bitterly, his back still turned to the human teenager.

                "I'm telling the truth."  The bear didn't answer, clearly ignoring him, and Justin's temper flared up again.

                "Shardik, please, just listen to me."  Still silence.

                "Shardik?"  No answer.

                Justin glared at the bear's back as he commented rudely and impetuously, "You know, for someone who's an advisor for the Kings of Yesterday and Tomorrow, you're not very wise or perceptive."

                That did it.  At this, Shardik felt his tolerance for the human wan even more as he lost his temper, turning around and marching directly up to the cross-bearer until he was face to face with the boy.  Justin could feel the hot, sticky breath of the carnivore as he did his best not to wince and whimper from Shardik's terrifying visage, his violent, narrowed brown eyes and bared, glistening teeth.

                "How dare you!" Shardik roared, his loyalty for his kings burning hot, enraged passion into his blood, "You have no right to speak to any of us in that manner!"  Justin didn't answer as he glanced back down on the ground again, unable to say anything, and Shardik had to fight the urge to grab the cross-bearer's head and snap his neck.  He decided to shoot a vile accusation right back.

"I'm surprised you even care about the well-being of your rabbit friends of Watership Down and of El-ahrairah.  Yet I can see why: you need them to protect you, to watch out for you, to act like mindless pawns for your own benefit until it is appropriate for them to be cast away once they no longer become useful.  They're all so blinded by their fervent, insane loyalty for you because you are the cross-bearer, they refuse to see the obvious and logical threats and dangers and despicable events of destruction and greed you bring along with you."  Justin could sense the bitterness in Shardik's tone, and frankly, he was really starting to get sick of how he was being treated like this.  Damn the civility; if he was going to be considered like scum, he might as well use that viewpoint to argue back.

"That's funny, coming from you!  You're the one who's blind!  Everything that's ever happened, the fights, the jeering, the earthquakes, wasn't because of me or Fiver!  Yet you're always so willing to not lose face and please everyone, you listen to your kings and the other animals without even taking time to see what's the truth!  Nothing was my fault!  And yet because you don't want to compromise your principles or admit to yourself that maybe not all humans are bad, you'd rather put the blame on me because it's easier to find a scapegoat than to fix things!"

"It's all for the better since you treat your rabbit protectors like foolish dogs!"

"Sort of like how some of the other animals treated you??!  I remember what the guards assigned by the King of Yesterday and Tomorrow said to you when you took us away from the otters!!  Do they respect you or do they fear you because you're the kings' advisor?!"

"That's different!!" snapped Shardik heatedly, quivering.

"Then why can't it be different for me and my friends?!" shot back Justin.

"Because it just is!!"

"You're wrong!  I would never do that to them!!" Justin gave Shardik a baleful look as he stood up, hands balled into fists.  "You know, for an animal, you're just as bad as any human back in my world!  No, wait, I take that back!!  You're even worse; at least none of the humans I know would feel virtuous about killing me!!"

Shardik growled at the insult.  He alerted, incensed, "I'm warning you, Justin, hold your tongue!  You wish to see if you were right when you say that I would have no remorse if I killed you?!  I have killed humans before, and I will not hesitate to do so again!"

Justin actually hesitated until he remembered a loophole, "Funny, I thought the King of Tomorrow ordered you to not kill me until after judgment has been passed at the trial, so by his orders, you can't kill me."  Shardik cursed under his breath; Justin had him there, but he refused to back down.  Seeing Justin being so defiant and insubordinate flared up his past anger and rage against the creature of man.

"Don't tempt me, cross-bearer, for the King never said I couldn't hurt you if needed to teach you some discipline and respect!"

"For what?!  I've been trying to be respectful of every animal in the Lands of Yesterday and Tomorrow ever since we've stepped foot on this kingdom!" Justin growled back with equal strength, "I never fought back, tried understanding why every animal in the world hates me and my guts, not to mention tried saying 'thank you' to you twice for saving my rear, only to have it thrown back in my face!!  If you even gave me a chance, maybe you'd realize I'm doing my best to show good intentions and compliance!  You just pretend not to listen, or worse ignore it!  When it comes down to it, you hate humans because you understand them perfectly, or at least you think you understand them perfectly!!  You don't know anything about men, how we're no different than animals sometimes, how we go through suffering, strife, and sadness just the same!!  Maybe if you stopped selfishly focusing on your own angst, you'd realize you're not the only victim here!!"

Shardik's paw flew out so fast, Justin didn't have time to flinch, but he was amazed that the bear had such amazing speed and agility.  He didn't even comprehend what was happening until he felt the bear's colossal right paw encircled around his neck, his fur quivering with temper and the black claws shaking as they slightly increased the pressure around his collar.  Shardik held the boy ever so precariously around his neck; one squeeze, just one, and Justin would be decapitated.  The anger in Justin's body was now competing with fear and panic, and Shardik, with great restraint, controlled himself from beheading the teenager.

He snarled lividly, "And why should I give you a chance?!  Why should any of us give you a chance?!  Even if you are pure and noble, you can easily be twisted and turn manipulative with your powers of light and miracles, especially with the taste of potential greatness yapping along your worthless, hairless hide!!  Just because you are a sincere boy of some compassionate religion doesn't mean that your religion is twisted and warped itself, always searching for ways to inflict damage, pain, and plunder for destruction, all for the name of some 'benevolent' god!!  Let me say quite clearly, Justin, you may be the cross-bearer, but you are nothing more than a lost idiot who lives in a foolish dream!!  You don't know anything!!  Let me make this clear: you are a human, and as such, we hate you!  We will always hate you!  Nothing you can say or do will ever change that!!  I've seen what such powerful and prophetic figures such as yourself has caused for innocent beings, and it was such turmoil and greed for supremacy and sin that cost me my own life back in the physical world!!  You say men go through pain and misery as well?!  That's because they do it to themselves!  A human has always caused every cause of war, dissention, and anguish because they even don't treat their own fellow man with respect and compassion!!  They can't even make peace with each other, and yet you expect us animals to be brainless enough to believe that they would care for the likes of us?!!  And you taunt me and say that I do not know anything?!  HOW DARE YOU!!"  He expected the teenager to retort back, and promised himself that if Justin did, he'd have the perfect excuse to kill him, and he could have the King pardon him for murdering the cross-bearer before he made it to the tribunal.  Instead, Justin's eyes widened a bit in dawning before relaxing with understanding, and the teenager cast his eyes down in shame.

"Is it because you experienced that when the humans of Ortelga worshipped you as their God, and the evil king tyrant Genshed killed you because you were a threat to his authority?" Justin asked softly.  Shardik's eyes widened in shock, and his paw stiffened as he inhaled penetratingly in the dark night.  Justin shut his eyes as he felt the paw of the great brown bear tremble like a small child, lost and unsure of what to do.

"How...how did you know??" Shardik growled severely, his voice now guttural and low.  Justin didn't answer, and all the flashbacks of pain, fire, and loss came flooding back to him horrendously as Shardik lost his temper, provisionally blaming Justin in mad rage, and roared loudly enough to echo his ire throughout the entire forest.

"DAMN YOU, TELL ME, HOW DID YOU KNOW?!!  HOW COULD YOU KNOW WHAT I HAVE SUFFERED FOR BECAUSE OF MY PAST AND THOSE FOOLISH HUMANS??!!  HOW DID YOU KNOW?!!  TELL ME, OR FRITH HELP YOU, I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!!!"  He brought the petrified Justin forcefully to his face, and Justin, his upper body still encased in the massive furry claws, was now staring directly at Shardik's hard, brown eyes as the bear breathed heavily due to a mixture of sorrow, grief, and anger.

"You were there, weren't you?!!" he snarled, his eyes filling up with angry tears due to the reminders of what he had endured in vain, "You were with the hunter Kelderek and his naive priests and priestesses, weren't you?!!  How dare you!!  You mock me and lecture me about civility and good intentions when you were there yourself in Ortelga, watching how much destruction and bloodshed was caused, all in the name of myself because they thought I was a god!  I was never a deity, but due to those simple-minded fools, everything I did was twisted and misshapen to justify every act the Beklans did to wage war against that spawn of evil, Genshed!!  And how was I repaid?!!  That evil wretch shot me to death with his flame arrows before I managed to kill him by clawing his head off!!  And you, a boy who is just as naive and delusional as Kelderek was, actually has the nerve to talk back to me, to ridicule me, knowing the travesties and anguish I had to endure because of that entire religious war?!!  Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now, you lying, insensitive, troublemaking swine!!"

Justin's voice wavered as he answered softly, "Because I didn't realize who you were until now."  He paused as Shardik's paws slightly tightened their grip.  "I know because...because you were in a story, a story that told people about how you arrived after a forest fire drove you out of your home, how you were believed to be Shardik, a god that could deliver the Beklans from the oppression of Genshed, and how Kelderek and his friends followed you until the very end, but by doing so, they misused and confused reality and the truth because all of them were so desperate to believe in a myth in order to give them courage and strength to fight back."  Justin was telling the truth.  In addition to "Watership Down", "Shardik" was another story by Richard Adams he was familiar with.  In that story, a hunter named Kelderek during medieval times spotted a bear, Shardik, who was badly injured by a forest fire.  Kelderek believed that Shardik was God reincarnate, a bear foretold in myths and legends to come back again to free the world of the iron rule of Genshed, an evil tyrant and ruler who was cruel, overly sadistic, and wanted nothing short of domination and subjugation over the oppressed Beklans after the hostile takeover of their home.  However, Shardik, in the end, was killed by Genshed after the tyrant shot arrows during a bloody confrontation on the mountains, but not before Shardik had enough strength left to rip the evil emperor's head off, leaving him to bleed to death.  Yet, in the story, what was touching was to Kelderek and the Beklans, Shardik seemed to kill Genshed in order to avenge the death of Shana, a slave girl who was brutalized and bludgeoned to death by Genshed right before Shardik was killed, thus symbolizing to the Beklans Shardik's love for them.  Of course, what was ironic was that Shardik wasn't really a god at all, just a normal bear who was caught in the crossfire of the Beklans' desperation for divine hope and Genshed's lust for power and rule, but Kelderek and the others were too blind and unwilling to see that.  Yet what was even stranger was the fact that Shardik came from the same story of the author who foretold the stories of "Watership Down", but there was little time to dwell on that.

Shardik shuddered as he held Justin haphazardly, still shaken up from what the young one had revealed.  He wanted to kill Justin so much...but, he looked into Justin's eyes, childlike, harmless, trusting and so much like Kelderek's eyes of admiring loyalty, and knew the teenager was telling the truth.  He couldn't kill him.  Yet, he added hastily to himself as he grudgingly released the boy, and Justin gratefully choked, coughed, and sputtered in air to cool his pounding heart.  Yet, Justin didn't feel triumphant, especially when he saw that the forced memories of Shardik's past deeply pained him, his eyes wet as his paws absentmindedly rubbed the burns and seared wounds in his fur, his jaw grim and set.

"For what it's worth Shardik...I'm sorry you had to go through all that.  In your past, with Genshed and the fire and everything else."

Shardik just glared at him.  Justin continued genuinely, "I...I didn't mean to hurt your feelings either, y'know, with what I said earlier."

Steel ice shone in Shardik's eyes as he replied gruffly, "I seriously doubt that.  Even with your pure soul, you give in so easily to anger and cruelty, just like any other thoughtless human.  You men always fail to see how you actions have consequences on others."  He then leaned closer as he growled with contempt, "And it is because of that that you and Fiver will suffer for it.  Let me warn you, you young fool, I have had enough of your cheek and foolishness!  Utter another word to me, and I will see to it that I hurt that rabbit with you, as painfully and excruciatingly as I can, and you can just watch as I torture the seer!  If you wish to value the life of Fiver, I would highly advise you not to talk with me at all until the trial is to take place in the morn.  Understand?"

Used to the incoming threats day and night, Justin nodded weakly, and Shardik turned around and sat in the pathway exiting out of the Web of Thorns, his back turned to the prisoners as he blocked the door using his massive body frame, muttering and cursing to himself.  Justin sighed; that did NOT go over very well.  To his surprised joy, he heard a soft groan as Fiver, who regained consciousness, shakily propped himself up on his front forepaws, and relieved, Justin knelt down beside the buck.

                "Oooohh...what in Frith's name happened?" he moaned softly, disoriented.

                Justin, pretty sure that Fiver wasn't going to enjoy the truth, halfheartedly told Fiver everything.  The small buck took it in, but Justin could sense that he was beginning to blame himself again, especially since Hazel got hurt trying to defend his brother.  Fiver just bowed his head silently, unable to express any emotion through the clammy feelings of ice and nothingness in his soul.  Justin picked up an apple from the grass and held it out to Fiver.

                "C'mon, Fiver, if you eat something, we'll probably feel a lot better.  We can't do anything but wait for Hazel, Bigwig, Campion and the others when the come at the trial.  C'mon, buck up, please.  Hazel wouldn't want to see you sad and morose like this; he's already sad because we're going on trial tomorrow."

                Fiver choked out, his voice hoarse, "Justin, how can you even be so optimistic and calm about this??  You're going to die, my friends and brother are going to risk themselves in battle for our defense, the forests of the Lands of Yesterday and Tomorrow are ruined, all because of me!  Can't you see that?!  If it wasn't for me, we'd all be on our way to El-ahrairah without risk and injury!"  Fiver was now crying.  "Can't you see that?!  Can't you see it would have been better if I didn't have these premonitions?!  That I didn't have visions unless when needed or pertinent, so that we could avoid Elil-rah and danger before it strikes?!  How can you even look at me?!  I caused all this to happen, even if it was unwilling and inadvertent, and worse yet, I'm putting all of you at risk!!"

                Justin crinkled his brow in worry.  "Fiver..." he began, but the small seer shook his head miserably as he brought his voice to a whisper, unwilling to let Shardik hear, as he leaned over to the teen's ear.

                "Justin, please, promise me this: at the trial, leave me behind.  Go with Hazel and the rest of the rabbits, and leave me here to live out in the Web of Thorns."  Justin gasped out in surprise as he nearly exclaimed, "What?!"

                Fiver explained, "Justin, think about it.  If I stayed behind, that may help in bargaining to the Kings of Yesterday and the King of Tomorrow to give back your cross and the Sense of Smell back to the rest of my friends and letting you go.  Then the rest of you will be free to get back to El-ahrairah, and you don't have to worry about me since I can't die, and with me not part of the group, I wouldn't constantly have to put you and the rest at risk!"

                "Fiver, NO!" Justin whispered intently, "What if there's a time when we do need your second sight?!  Then I'll be in greater danger!  And what about Hazel?  Don't you even realize this'll kill him inside, having to leave his brother behind to take the fall for something that wasn't even your fault to begin with?!  Why do you think the rest of the Watership rabbits are even fighting for you?  For us?!  It's because they care for you too much to let anything happen to you!"

                "Better for me to suffer than for the rest of you to suffer!" spat out Fiver heatedly.

                "Fiver..." but Fiver stopped him from going any further, looking at him fixedly in the eye.

                "Justin, promise me: no matter what happens, no matter how much you want to stay with me, tell Hazel and the others that the Kings would only let you go if I stayed as their prisoner.  Tell them to leave me behind.  Please, for the sake of Frith and El-ahrairah, promise me you'll listen to me and do this!"

Justin was going to object, but for some reason, he couldn't focus on any thoughts as he felt like he was falling in those penetrating, dark, wide eyes of Fiver, under his power of persuasion, wandering aimlessly and without cognizant awareness.  There was a silence between the two for several tense, long moments before Justin, despite his dry, indisposed mouth, betrayed his better judgment as he whispered quietly, "All...all right.  I...I promise, I'll...we'll leave you behind."

                                                                                ***

                That night, as both Justin and Fiver laid on the grass, asleep, Shardik heard Fiver tremble and as he looked over his shoulder, he heard Fiver mutter drowsily, "Betrayal, danger, a fight to the death of one's self.  The battle will be both won and lost."

                Shardik had no idea what the rabbit had said, but for some reason, he felt a strong clench of uneasiness in his body, but he prayed for Frith's sake it wasn't an omen of things to come.  How wrong he would be.

                                                                                ***

                "By the light of Frith, things just appear to be worse and worse!" groaned Silver as he and the rest of the fifteen rabbits, minus Fiver, grouped together in a tight-knit circle in the grassy clearing, all of them desperately trying to think of a rabbit trick or strategy to help them defend Fiver and Justin at tomorrow's trial.  Each one of them was deeply in shock and depression, almost in despair, from the events and circumstances.  Without Justin's cross, the teenager couldn't help them with tomorrow's battle, and without Fiver and Justin, they all couldn't leave the Land of Yesterday and Tomorrow to head towards El-ahrairah's warren, leaving their Prince of Rabbits to grow weaker and weaker in the meantime.  Hazel, however, was the worst out of all of them.  His blood formed a crust of spiked fur on one part of his forehead, but he did not allow anyone to clean them, and instead, Hazel just squatted there on his haunches, looking despondent, inattentive and unresponsive, staring at the ground with mournful eyes.  Over and over, he reflected the scene; his brother screaming during his premonition, the earthquakes, the violence of Shardik and the otters that followed, and finally...the scene of the otters knocking Fiver unconscious and carrying him and Justin away.  That was the most nightmarish memory, and it didn't leave his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push it out.  The others noticed this, but they couldn't say anything that could be cheering.

                "Poor Hazel-rah," Pipkin murmured to Strawberry quietly, almost sighing in sadness, regret and pity.

                "I wish he'd come out of it, the poor chap," Strawberry whispered sensitively, "He's been like that for a while now."

                "Can't say I blame him," Hawkbit muttered aloud as he rolled his eyes in impatient restlessness, "I mean, I'm surprised he hasn't snapped sooner!  Frith in a hole, who wouldn't be depressed after realizing that you've made a jolly idiotic mistake in bringing the cross-bearer and the rest of us to the Land of Yesterday and Land of Tomorrow, completely forgetting the fact that other creatures aren't exactly thrilled to see a human boy here in the land beyond life!!  But noooooo, like always, our leader neglects the obvious and the dangerous, and as a result, we ALL lost our Sense of Smell, Justin was forced to hand over his cross of light to the Kings, and now, on top of all the animals in both kingdoms despising our furry hides, both Justin and Fiver had to be taken prisoner in Frith knows where all because Fiver couldn't keep that big mouth of his quiet about all the doom, death, and despair forewarning!!  So, like always, WE have to go into the thick of danger at the trial tomorrow to get Fiver and Justin out of this mess without the cross-bearer's powers or Fiver's second sight!  A mess, I might add, that was started by Fiver in the first place!!  Frith knows how aggravating this is starting to be!!"

                "Hawkbit!" Dandelion hissed at him warningly, noticing the glazed expression on Hazel's face, but the bad-tempered rabbit carried on sarcastically and doggedly, ignorant of what was going around him.

                "I mean, is it too much to ask Frith and Fiver to have these premonitions before we even encounter danger?!  Is it?!  By the fur and paw of the Black Rabbit, maybe some time in the Web of Thorns might do Fiver some good for it sure as the embleer Elil-rah isn't helping us much with keeping Justin safe and -"

                "Will you shut up?!!" snapped Holly roughly as he clamped his paws forcefully over Hawkbit's mouth, seeing as how every sentence fragment of Hawkbit's testimony made Hazel's eyes water again and wince agonizingly, as if each word was a dagger thrusting into his body.  Hawkbit, oblivious, as usual, didn't even bother seeing how Hazel was still present and close enough to hear everything audibly.

                "Must you always speak your mind at the worst possible time?!!" groaned Blackberry.

                Acorn was seething.  "Hawkbit, you know we love you as our friend, our comrade, and our fellow Owsla warrior, but if you do not keep quiet, we will rip your throat out!!"

While Acorn, Blackberry and Holly were fiercely berating the blackish, big-mouthed oaf, Bigwig separated himself from the contemplating group to talk to Hazel who became more sullen, morose, and disheartened than ever.

                "Hazel-rah," Bigwig murmured, wishing that he didn't have to be the one to say words of hope and encouragement (motivational support was not his strong suit), "Don't dwell on it anymore than you have too, old chap.  You'll wear yourself out before the duel at the trial by morning tomorrow, I daresay."  No response.  "We're not leaving any of our chaps behind, Hazel-rah; you know that as well as I do.  Even if we have to run through the gauntlets of hellfire and back, we won't let Fiver and Justin be under the mercy of these crack-brained, ignorant simpletons!  Hazel, you remember the raid from Efrafa and the siege afterwards?  We've gone through all that together, and even then, Frith and El-ahrairah showed us grace and deliverance from those bleak situations, and this is no different!!"

                "But Hawkbit's right, it is my fault, Bigwig," Hazel choked, not looking at him and feeling the frustration and sorrow eat him up even further, "It's all my fault.  I let Fiver and Justin be taken prisoner, and I couldn't do anything to stop it, and now, Fiver and Justin are both at stake."  His throat was burning with grief as he whispered with strain, "He's hurt, alone, helpless, and I couldn't do anything.  I failed him."

                Bigwig had little patience with self-woe and self-pity, so he literally got into the Chief Rabbit's face and growled intently, "O embleer Frith, Hazel-rah, listen to me!  It is not your fault, so quit this foolishness now before I cuff some sense into you myself!!  What's a life of a rabbit without taking a few risks?!  No matter what you would have done, we'd be in danger!!  We understand that, Fiver understands that, and by Frith, even Justin knew that!!  Justin and Fiver don't blame you for what has happened to them, and neither do we!!  You made a choice to enter these lands, and by Frith, we're all going to see through it that we deal with the consequences together!  So stop and buck up!  NOW!"

                Hazel still didn't reply as he glanced back down in the ground, unable to meet Bigwig's gaze, and before Bigwig could give in to the urge to grab him and shake some sagacity and clarity into his Chief, Silver announced with a tired, cautionary voice as dawn was about to break in an hour or so, "It's just about light.  The trial is going to start soon."

                "I just hope we can muster enough strength to duel," Buckthorn wondered worriedly.

                "Even if we can't, I won't give up!" Pipkin chimed in bravely, "None of us will!"

                Campion, despite his fatigue, smiled at the little rabbit's enthusiasm.  "That's the spirit, bucko!  We'll show these animals what us English rabbits can really do!!"

                Hawkbit grumpily remarked, rubbing some of the cuffs he received from Acorn and Blackberry, "Wish we could get over to the clearing now, though.  If it wasn't for us losing our Sense of Smell, we would have been able to make our way through this confounded darkness and get to the clearing where the trial was taking place!"

He had a point; no smells of familiar recognition to guide them to the path left the rabbits with no other alternative except to wait until the first traces of daylight would illuminate the forests.  Until then, they literally couldn't see their paws in front of their faces; it was dim under the thick covers of the woods, and all of them were so keyed up and anxious, none of them could sleep.

                "This is getting unbearable!" whined Speedwell, "I almost shudder to think what Fiver and Justin are going through as of this moment!"  Campion held up a paw, his ears straining intently.

                "Something's coming this way!" he warned guardedly as a heavy form made its way through the bushes and weeds in front of them.  It was the King of Yesterday, giving all of them a solemn glare as he snorted impatiently within the thick foliage.

                "The trial is about to begin in a short bit," he announced in a scornful tone, as if he didn't expect the rabbits to bother showing up for Fiver and Justin's defense, "Are you rabbits of Watership Down ready to fight in the dueling fracas??  Be warned, it won't be gentle, and none of the duelists shall show lenience in this fight, especially with your cross-bearer's life at stake."

                "Don't push us," growled Bigwig with defiant, brave impudence as he rose on his hind feet and looked at the Oregon bison straight in the eye, unwavering, "We've all faced horrors and elil much bigger than any of your subjects in your kingdoms, so we won't back down ever!!  You may be too blind, shortsighted, and stupid to see it, but Justin is our friend, and even if we have to fight all the embleer animals in this tharn land, we WON'T ever give up!!  We'll all fight to the end!!"  All the other rabbits, upon hearing these words, gave heated choruses of agreement and determined conviction.  Well, all except for Hazel who was still too gloomy and heartbroken to even answer back.  The bison just stared coolly at the rabbits, unfazed.

                "Let us leave," he muttered sharply, "Since I still hold your precious Sense of Smell, none of you can easily find your way out of the thickets and underbrush without grave hindrance.  I shall lead the way.  All of you, follow my form by listening in carefully to the noises my body makes as we travel through."

                "Since when do you care about our well-being??" Hawkbit accused the King of Yesterday suspiciously with narrowed eyes.

                "I don't."  The bison then turned back to smirk knowingly.  "Of course, if you English rabbits of El-ahrairah are too weak and clumsy to even succeed in following me to the trial, then I'll be more than happy to announce to the jury and the King of Tomorrow that you have all chosen to forfeit the matches and allow the cross-bearer and Fiver to be judged without defense."

                "We'll go," Hazel said steely, immediately, and without hesitation.  Without further ado, all fourteen of the Owsla of El-ahrairah, with some stumbling among tree roots and tall weeds, hopped behind the wooly, mammoth, using their sensitive ears and eyes to trail the huge form in the accustomed darkness of the thick forest.  After a while, Holly noticed something was wrong.  They should have reached the clearing by now; even when the rabbits left to go rest underneath the dense, bushy cover of the trees, it was only a short run from where they were to reconvene.  Additionally, Holly could feel the terrain slowly rising uphill, the grass wet with dew, the soil moister and softer, and their surroundings getting darker and darker, almost pitch black.  Wherever they were going, it wasn't the clearing.

                "Wait, everyone!  Stop!!  Stop now!!" he cried out.  Everyone halted, and the King looked on with a trace of annoyed yet eerie satisfaction.

                "Well, what is it now, rabbit??" the King of Yesterday demanded impatiently and harshly, "We need to keep going if we are to reach the clearing and the trail where your friends are being put on trial."

                "Holly, whatever is the matter?" Buckthorn asked, baffled.

                "It's wrong!!  This is all wrong!!  Can't you all feel the ground, the moist fog hanging around us?!  This isn't the path to the field!!  We're going down the wrong way!!  He's not leading us to the clearing at all!!" Holly squealed while glaring at the bison with the utmost look of fury and outrage on his whiskered face.  Realization came to Silver and Campion and Bigwig at once.

"He's right, chaps!  This isn't the right passageway to the field of the trial!!  Oh confound it all!!  If we had our Sense of Smell, we would had realized it a lot quicker!!" Campion exclaimed.

"What is the meaning of all this, your majesty?!!" Bigwig spat out venomously, drawling a sarcastic tone of disrespect on the last two words of address.  The bison was silent as he glared at the group of rabbits now as Holly now could realize they were all deeper within the intense shelter of trees and plants, blocking out any remaining light emerging from the forests facing the sun as it began slowly rising.  They were losing time; the trial was going to start soon.  Silver addressed to everyone urgently.

"Everyone, turn back!!  We're going the wrong way!!  We're going back, and we'll all find our way to the clearing from there!"

"You trouble-making wretches won't be going anywhere!" rumbled the King of Yesterday, and then with an evil sneer on his hairy visage, he ordered eloquently, "Grab them!"

Immediately, there was an uproar as twenty or so otters, the very same otters who tried attacking Justin earlier and who were ordered to guard both Fiver and Justin in their prison, jumped out of their hiding places, snarling and whooping with sadistic delight.  Before Hazel could react, he, Dandelion, Blackberry, and Hawkbit were tackled forcibly by several broad, bulky, strong forms, pinning them as they uselessly tried to fight their way out by cuffs and kicks with their hind legs.  Campion, Buckthorn, and Bluebell tried to head-butt the group that were attacking their friends, but they were unsuccessful; the otters, strong and solid from years of swimming against harsh currents and oceans, hardly budged and didn't even groan in pain from the strike.  Not to mention for the three rabbits, their heads were still ringing painfully, as if their all slammed themselves into a stone wall, and it was due to this distraction that allowed three other burly otters to sneak behind and attack them.  Speedwell, Strawberry, and Acorn delivered several brutal kicks to their antagonists as they all madly dodged and tried to evade the ruthless aquatic animals.  They managed to elude them, but unfortunately, several otters immediately had the brilliant inspiration to use their tails as weapons to catch them off guard.  And that was what happened when Speedwell, Strawberry, and Acorn got excruciatingly knocked to the ground, breathless, as the crowd took the chance to pin them down as they struggled and writhed.  Bigwig, Holly, and Silver, all three of them being heavy rabbits themselves, were showing the otters that pushing them around would be a great big difficulty, especially when several of the otters got facial gashes from well-aimed cuffs from Silver and Holly, and Bigwig sent the leader of the pack, the very same otter who bullied Justin when the boy was trying to get some apples for his hunger, flying backwards with a powerful shove of his hind legs.

"You'll all find it much harder to push us around, embleer otter!" Bigwig cursed, his voice heavy and feral.  The otters began to show some hesitance in attacking again as the three rabbits carefully edged themselves away back to the path, desperate to warn Justin and Fiver and still intent to defend them.

"I don't find it hard at all," broke in the King of Yesterday, and Holly, Silver, and Bigwig only had time to glance over their shoulders to see the bison charging at them at a noticeable gallop before they all felt the painful collision of the King of Yesterday ramming them with his horned head and tossing all of them into the air.  They landed none too gracefully after rising twenty feet, crashing into small tree branches and hurtling onto the soft soil.  Holly had several broken ribs, and already his sides were bruising into an ugly reddish-purple color underneath his gray fur, Silver was disoriented and dizzy as blood dribbled down his forehead, and Bigwig hissed in pain as he realized the King of Yesterday trampled his left hind leg, spraining it and rendering it useless for any sort of movement.  Seizing the opportunity, the otters were able to pin them down.  Silver, struggling as two otters grabbed him, cried out to Pipkin who was cowering during the ambush, "Run, Pipkin!  Run!  Get out of here!  Go warn Fiver and Justin!"

Pipkin whimpered as he dashed out, but unfortunately, the otter leader roughly seized him by the scruff of his neck and held Pipkin in a tight bear hug, pining his paws forcefully to his sides like a vise.  Pipkin, unable to fight against the strong grip, did the only sensible thing he could think of: he bit down hard on the forearm of the otter's brawny appendage.  The leader yelped as the buck's teeth drew blood, and he nearly dropped Pipkin.  The small soldier tried to make a break for it again, but the otter was quicker.  With a furious snarl, he grabbed Pipkin again, and in wrathful vengeance, the otter hurled the buck against the trunk of a hard birch tree.  There was a sickening thud.

"Pipkin!" Silver cried out in dread as the buck sank to the ground, unconscious and leaving a bloody stain on the pale surface of the bark.  Within minutes, all the otters had the rabbits, with the exception of the unconscious Pipkin, trapped and detained powerfully.  Silver, Holly, and Bigwig actually each  had two heavy otters literally sitting atop on them and no amount of fighting could buck them off.  Hazel and the rest were faring no better.  Each one of them were restrained tightly with a fierce bear-hug by an otter from behind, crushing their paws to their sides and almost constricting their breathing.  The problem was, the rabbits were hanging by a foot or two off the ground, their hind legs having no traction from the ground to give them leeway to break out of the otters' grips around their bodies, and realizing that they couldn't effectively kick any animal directly behind them, they were all trapped.  The bison noticed their predicament with a fulfilled smile.

"What in the name of Frith are you doing?!!" hollered Blackberry as he unsuccessfully tried to squirm out of the strong vise-like grip the otter had around his torso, "Let us go!!"

The King of Yesterday replied scathingly and harshly, "Cease and desist, rabbits!!  If I really wanted to, I would have had the otters seriously injure and maul you to the point where none of you would even be able to walk on your own accord!  Be grateful for my benevolence!!  I don't wish to see any other bloodshed on this day!"

Campion paled at this statement as he realized what those words meant.  "'Any other bloodshed'?!  What in the name of the Black -??  Oh Frith in a Hole!!  Justin and Fiver!!"

"No, you can't!!" screamed Strawberry, already guessing the king's plans.

"Will you two stop gasping and squealing long enough to explain it for the rest of us chaps?!!" Hawkbit demanded impatiently as he tried to scratch the otter's arms.  This earned him a retaliatory response of the otter squeezing him even harder, compressing the rabbit's chest and upper body excruciatingly, almost asphyxiating the buck.  The King of Yesterday gave a gleaming smile of triumphant eagerness.

"It is quite simple, rabbit.  You and the rest of the group from El-ahrairah's warren are being detained here for a little while, with some help from some of my faithful subjects.  Don't bother trying to struggle.  All the otters are much larger than any of you, and none of you Owsla warriors are in any position to fight out of their strapping grips.  We are quite deep within the forests of the Land of Yesterday, deep enough so that no other animal will be able to hear you scream for help, not that it would matter if you did.  All our subjects and fellow creatures will be at the trial of Justin and Fiver, so all of our lands are bare and empty, devoid of any suspicion.  Of course, not that any animal would actually give a damn about what happens to the likes of you hrair traitors.  And of course, while you're all so inconveniently delayed, there will be no one to fight and battle in the duelists' arena for the defense of your cross-bearer and your seer at the trial.  And with no defense, the King of Tomorrow, the jury, and myself will have no choice but to execute the teenager, thus saving our land beyond the living from the threat of humans."

"No!" yelled Speedwell, angry tears of helplessness forming in his eyes, "How could you?!  You're supposed to be the bally King of Yesterday!!  How can you think this is even appropriate by Frith's judgment?!  You'll be condemning Fiver for a lifetime of imprisonment, and he never did anything to deserve this!  And neither did Justin, for that matter!!"

"This isn't justice, you embleer tyrant!!" cried out Bluebell, and the otter behind him started to crush Bluebell even further, causing the dark buck to squeal and gasp in agony.

"Be silent on how you address our king, you wretch," the otter hissed dangerously in Bluebell's ear as the King of Yesterday continued coldly.

"It is all for the well-being of all we hold dear in the land beyond life.  The cross-bearer, Justin, is nothing more than a threat that can turn into the disastrous end of all Frith has blessed and cherished, and I will not stand and let that happen to this world.  If your rabbit comrade, Fiver, must suffer as a result of this, then so be it!!  For it is far better to have one innocent casualty of war than many innocent casualties!!"

"No!!" squealed Hazel as he vainly tried to struggle out of the otter's grip, but he was too much in an cumbersome position to even match the waterdog's brute strength, and the Chief rabbit could only just whimper and gasp in helpless sorrow as he could sense the King of Yesterday retreating back into the forests.  He called out desperately, "Think about what you're doing!  Think about El-ahrairah and the doomed future if Elil-rah succeeds in taking over this world without the cross-bearer to stop him!!"

"I am," growled the bison audibly, "and to tell you embleer rabbits the truth, I would rather let El-ahrairah and for our world to be plunged in darkness and Elil-rah's rule many times over than to let Justin live.  I know Frith would agree if he were in my position.  I am just simply helping him make the final judgment of his will."  With that he disappeared, leaving Hazel to swallow the bile of regret and pain frothing from the bowels of his soul and grief.

                                                                ***

"Continue walking, both of you," ordered Shardik roughly as he ambled behind Fiver and Justin, both under his ever attentive eyes, "No stalling or dawdling or else my paws will end your life before you can even take a step, cross-bearer!!"

It was already past dawn, and Shardik, under the orders of the King of Tomorrow, allowed Justin and Fiver out of the Web of Thorns, personally escorting them towards the field where the trial was to take place.  Justin didn't need any additional reminders that Shardik was immense and very stalwart, powerful enough to kill him with a single blow if it ever came to that.  Justin forced himself to not look back at the grizzly bear who was already irate at having to take over the otters' responsibilities of guarding them for the whole night.  Not to mention Shardik's talk with Justin didn't do much in helping his savage mood either.  Fiver was still glum and silent as he hopped alongside Justin, unable to think of anything else but his troubling concerns about Hazel and his friends.  Soon, all of them were at the clearing, and with a hard brush with his paws, Shardik pushed Justin and Fiver into a patch of flattened, barren soil, causing both of them to stumble.  Justin held on to Fiver instinctively as Shardik bared his teeth and growled, "Both of you are to remain here until the trial proves your innocence...or demands your punishments!!  Neither of you are to stand or speak unless told to do so!!  Is that clear?!!"

Fiver and Justin nodded apprehensively, and Shardik sat on his hind legs as Justin looked around the clearing, taking in the queer sights of the animal trial.  All around the edges of the circular clearing, various species of animals from both the Lands of Yesterday and Tomorrow lined as spectators, similar to the games of the Coliseum during the Roman empire, except this time, it was a twisted reversal with animals rooting for the spillage of Justin's blood.  All along the grass and trees, birds, lizards and frogs, and beasts of all shapes colors and sizes gathered around for the event, gleefully watching as if it was a farce.  Even the nearby river was chock full of different fishes, each gasping and splashing in the waters as they crammed against one another tightly, hoping to get a good view of the scene before them.  In front of Justin and Fiver were two small, grassy knolls, each being only about several feet high, and perched on them were the King of Yesterday and the King of Tomorrow, standing solemnly and imperially amongst their subjects.  To the right of them, sitting solemnly in a small field of daises was a small gathering of an assortment of animals from both kingdoms.  Fiver surmised that these were to be the jury, the council of unbiased animals chosen to take to court by the bison and the stag.  Seated (or perched) in a dignified manner was a Kenai wolf, a Guadalupe Flicker woodpecker, a Mexican grizzly bear, smaller than Shardik, whose fur also had silver tips, a peacock, a moose, a black bull, a snowy-white owl, a potoroo, an eagle, a heron, a yona, a dodo bird, a brown wood pigeon, a koala bear, a bobcat, a panther, and a hare.  However, despite his or her importance in the trial, every member of the council was glaring evidently at Justin and Fiver; so much for having an unbiased jury.

The King of Tomorrow spoke out impressively, his voice booming loudly throughout the clearing and silencing the neighboring chatter, "The trial shall now begin!  Justin and Fiver, the legendary cross-bearer and seer traveling with the English rabbit Owsla of Watership Down and El-ahrairah, the Prince of all Rabbits, are accused of causing turmoil, destruction, and bring grave dangers to our home of peace!  Fiver is accused of causing the destruction and demolition of the forests and woods using his powers of the psychic and other dark tricks of the witch-rabbit!  Justin is accused of spreading the same-said chaos, along with the debate of what to do with his fate!  Though he is the cross-bearer of legends past, he is nonetheless, a human being, a creature of man that will always be destined to destroy, plunder, and waste the precious resources of nature itself!  Our council must decide, on this day, through the duel, whether or not Justin and Fiver must be spared, even if he will bring danger to El-ahrairah himself, despite the legends foretold!"

"Wha...WHAT?!" Justin couldn't help blurting out as the animals shouted yells of bloodlust and retribution, and Shardik angrily placed a heavy paw on Justin's shoulder, warning him to keep quiet.  The golden stag heard the boy, however, and he gave a solemn, poignant look at the teenage cross-bearer.

"Justin, this may be hard for you to accept, but...I too know of the legends of the cross-bearer and the battle of destiny you and Elil-rah are to fight in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.  You may have heard the prophecy and the story from your rabbit protectors, but, there is another incantation, another excerpt of the story that has been lost due to the eons and eons of obscurity before time began.  It said specifically, and I quote, 'Though meant for good, there are two sides of the one who bears the cross, just like night and day, air and land, spring and winter, and thus, peace and chaos.  At the time of revelation, the one who was to heal shall also be the one to die, where there is life, there will be death, for the cross brings grave danger of unspeakable horrors to the Prince of a Thousand Enemies'."  Justin's face paled at the last part.  It couldn't be, he thought to himself, but the King of Tomorrow gave him a bitter assurance.

"Don't you see, young Justin?  You may think you will be helping El-ahrairah once you reach his warren, but in reality, you will only be making things worse for him.  If the prophecy is true, then you are destined to cause the death of El-ahrairah, whom I believe is also named the 'Prince of a Thousand', is he not?"  Justin couldn't believe it, and apparently, neither could Fiver as they both just stared at the stag in shock.  The King of Tomorrow continued forlornly, "Which is why this trial must not be hasty nor impulsive in its decision!  What we decide on this day is to affect every single creature of Frith in the land beyond the living, and the fate of all of us rest in the battle to come!  Now, Hazel-rah and the rabbits of Watership Down and El-ahrairah, those sent by their Prince to guard and protect the life of young Justin, step forward and prepare to battle!  May Frith have mercy on all those who have righteous virtue!!"  Justin and Fiver turned expectantly to the crowd surrounding them, but to their dismayed confusion, not one of the animals emerged from the masses.  Hazel and the others had not shown up.  Patiently, the stag waited for several moments while the crowd snickered and gleefully imagined the decided fate of Justin, but Justin's heart plummeted lower as not one familiar face could be seen in the crowd.

"Hazel, where are you?" Justin whispered to himself as the animals continued to chortle loudly.

"Hmph, why am I not surprised?" a yona squeaked disdainfully.

"It's all for the better, seeing as how those rabbits are too ashamed of their own image to show themselves in front of our noble kings!" cheered a moose.

"Yes, but it is quite a shame, really, to not get a chance to see the rabbits run and abandon the human like the cowards they really are," laughed a raccoon.

"No, it can't be," Fiver whispered to himself.  He could still hear Hazel's words echoing his sentiments to Fiver as they touched noses.  Remember, Hrairoo, I will never leave you or forsake you...I will never leave you or forsake you...I will never leave you or forsake you. 

                The King of Yesterday sneered at Justin as he crowed, "You see, you foolish, naive wretch!  Those rabbits never really cared nor trusted you!  They just wanted you for your powers, for your usefulness, but in the event of persecution and humiliation, they preferred to leave and run away from their responsibilities, abandoning you and their precocious seer!!  What a fitting end for such a fool, abandoned and betrayed by the ones who you've trusted the most!  I told you no right-minded creatures would ever commit themselves to a menace such as you!  And now, by ordinance of our law, since there is no creature that is willing to defend them, Justin is to be put to death at once and Fiver must be imprisoned for the rest of his existence in the Web of Thorns, forever!  Let this be a testimony of Frith's righteous decision!"

                "Yes!!" cheered the crowd, "Death to Justin!!  Punish the cross-bearer!!  Punish the seer!!  Let there be justice and peace!!  Punish the guilty party!!!"  Fiver felt now would be the best time to make his offer, pleading guilty for everything, but to his surprise, Justin beat him to it.

                "WAIT!!" the teenager yelled, "WHAT IF...WHAT IF I WANTED TO FIGHT FOR FIVER'S DEFENSE?!!"  This caused a shocked silence immediately around them, and both the King of Yesterday and the King of Tomorrow stared incredulously at Justin, but for different reasons.  This was certainly a twist.

                "Explain, young one," the stag ordered gently while the bison just glared at the boy, wondering if this was another devious trick.  Fiver was about to object and interrupt, but a lethal look from Shardik forced him to stay quiet.

                Justin spoke loudly and nervously, "If...if I fought in the duelists' test, for the defense of Fiver, will you accept?  Since Hazel and the rest aren't here and Fiver's still hurt from the otters, let me participate in the duel!  Let me fight!  If I win, let both me and Fiver go along with my cross and their Sense of Smell, but if...if I lose..." Justin paused as he swallowed and forced himself to continue, "...you can let the opponent kill me during the battle!  Let the duel be a fight for my death!  The challenger can try to kill me all he or she wants, but if I can evade their attacks until my foe tires out or gives up, then it proves that we're innocent!  Please, your majesty!  This way, there will be a fair fight and if I lose, I'll die in this fight anyway!"

                "Justin, no!  You promised!  You promised me you wouldn't put yourself in risk!!" Fiver cried out, tears of hurt and shock welling in his eyes.  By Frith, the teenager's faith and loyalty was stronger than he expected.  Shardik placed a heavy paw on Fiver's body as he hissed portentously, "Be silent!"

                The stag pondered this request; it certainly was the first time he had ever heard of such an offer from an accused.  The King of Yesterday darkly cursed the human teenager in his mind for delaying what should have been inevitable, but he conceded that either way, the human would not leave here alive, especially if he had to kill the young cross-bearer himself.  The animals in the surrounding crowd, though glaring darkly at Justin and Fiver, patiently waited for the stag to make his decision.  The King of Tomorrow then spoke, "Very well, then young Justin.  Be it so."

                The animals all nearly objected in complaint and annoyance, but the King of Yesterday decided to add something to make the fight a little bit harder for Justin.  "Yet, these are the terms, young one!  You are to not use your cross of light and power to battle for it will be an extremely unfair way of cheating!  This duel is to be fought to the best of your Frith-given abilities!  You must also stay in this clearing during the fight, never once allowing yourself to step out of the bounds!  If you do, you automatically forfeit the match, and you shall lose your life immediately!  Is that clear?!"  Justin nodded, refusing to back down, but then the bison gave a chilling smile.

                "Very well then, young Justin, prepare to battle with the opponent I assign for your duel to the death!  The one I choose is SHARDIK!"  At this, all the animals cheered with mighty hollers and whoops of joy and extasy.  The large advisor, despite being prudent and astute, was a formidable opponent with brute strength and a fierce warmonger with a sharp temper of hellfire as well.  He could easily crush Justin with a single blow, and Justin gulped as Shardik gave him the evil eye as he marched into the center of the clearing.  Justin felt his blood run cold; there was no possible way he could win against Shardik.  Not even a trained soldier of the army or military could have enough strength and stamina to match against a prehistoric, colossal bear of the past ages.  Fiver tried to speak to the King of Tomorrow who was silently watching the entire situation unfold.

                "Please, stop this!!" he cried out, "I'm the one who caused all the destruction and turmoil that took place in the Lands of Yesterday and Tomorrow!!  The cross-bearer is innocent!!  Please, I'll stay imprisoned in the Web of Thorns for the rest of my being if you wish!!  Just let Justin and my friends get back to El-ahrairah with the cross and the Sense of Smell!!  Please, stop this!!  I confess to everything!!  Spare Justin please!!"  The stag solemnly shook his head.

                "I cannot stop what Frith wishes to happen.  It is his will, and not mine, that shall be done!"

Justin knelt down to Fiver and whispered encouragingly, "Fiver, I know I promised, but I can't let you do something that will cause everyone to suffer!  I'm sorry if you'll be mad at me for this, but Hazel promised you that he won't let you abandon your friends and family, and until you find him, I'm keeping that promise for him!"

"Until I find him?" Fiver echoed out, puzzled with a slight twinge of grief and disbelief.

"Fiver, listen to me!  Something's wrong with this whole thing!  Hazel said he would never abandon you, and I think...no, I know Silver, Campion, Bigwig and the others wouldn't leave us like this!  Something must have happened to them!!  Listen, everyone around here will be too absorbed in watching me fight for my life with Shardik, so it might give you the chance to go find them without anyone noticing!!  Please!  Once the fight starts, try to find them!  I know you can do it!"

"Justin, NO!  And you're forgetting, I don't have my Sense of Smell!!  Without it to guide me through the forests, I'll be as lost as a dry leaf tossed amongst a howling snowstorm!!"

Justin shook his head as he explained, "But...you have another sense!  Your second sight!!  You've done it before when Hazel was shot from the farmers at Nuthanger Farm when he tried to free the hutch rabbits!  You can do it again!  Please, just do this!  Just have faith in yourself!"  He stood up and precariously, but bravely, forced himself to march towards the middle of the clearing where he stood face to face to the looming, dangerous figure of Shardik.  Fiver felt at a complete loss; unless a miracle happened, Justin will die and El-ahrairah will continue to suffer.  Why, oh why, couldn't his second sight of intuition and clairvoyance happen when he needed it.  Feeling hopeless and desperate, Fiver looked at the rising sun emerging from the mountains and hills beyond the cover of the green trees and whispered with all of his valor, "Frith, please, hear my prayer!  Help me!  Show me what I need to do in order to help Justin, Hazel and my...my family!  If there was ever a time I need the guidance of the mystic, let it be now!  Please!  For the sake of Justin and El-ahrairah, help me!"

He tried his best to ignore the roars of Shardik as the battle started and the small buck shut his eyes, feeling the despair eat away at his bones.  No, wait, for some reason, he was feeling cold, bare, shivering underneath the warmth of the sunrise, as if...he gasped as images started flowing into his head like a sudden tidal wave of revelation and divinity.  He saw the Land of Yesterday in his mind's eye, the darkness of the forests swishing by him so fast, it was as if he was flying, past the cold, chilling, wet fog, and the path leading to a small, dank meadow...where to his horror, he saw Pipkin badly wounded and a group of over two-score of otters keeping the rabbits prisoners.  His eyes flew open in astonishment; he knew what Frith wanted him to do.

"Quite a sight to behold, isn't it, my friend?" the King of Yesterday chuckled gleefully as Justin narrowly avoided a cuff from Shardik's claws, narrowly missing him as the blow caused a small upsurge of dirt and sod.  The King of Tomorrow glared at the bison severely.

"Fighting to the death is something to not take joy in, comrade."

"It is when you have directly experienced the thoughtless travesties men have committed against all animals!  This is an event that all animals, who have felt such cruelty, have secretly wished and prayed for in their hearts!  It is what Frith would have wanted!"  The stag did not answer as he perplexedly looked on the duel.  The bison turned to the clearing where the diminutive rabbit Fiver was held, hoping he could have some enjoyment in seeing the anguish and torment of seeing his cross-bearer friend trying to escape death in futileness, but to his surprise, the post for the defendants was empty.

                                                                ***

"Grmph!  Let me go, you embleer, pond-scum sucking waterdog!" Speedwell shouted as he tried to wrestle out of the otter's grip, but he failed miserably.  The otter grinned, showing an evil smile and revealing his white teeth.

"Oh come now!  I thought you rabbits of El-ahrairah's Owsla were trained to fight more properly than that!" he mocked at the struggling white rabbit.

"If I were free right now, I'd show you exactly what I've been trained to do with dirty, low-down, dishonorable brutes such as yourself!!" snarled Bigwig as he tried to fight against the heavy weight pinned on top of his back, but to no avail.  The otter leader, who had his paws free for the moment, chuckled evilly as he commented to Bigwig, sneering, "Hard to believe the cross-bearer would even risk putting his life in the paws of such incompetent fools as you English rabbits!  Ha, such a pity!  Now, Justin will die, alone and defenseless, thinking his own troupe of loyal Watership rabbit protectors, his only allies in the land beyond life, have abandoned him to save their own furs!  It will be such a wonderful, marvelous way to have the human boy suffer before he is executed!"

"Then you're more of an idiot than we thought!" snapped Hawkbit, "All right, I don't disagree with you that several of us were reckless and stupid to go through this entire fiasco in the first place, and if someone listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't be in this tharn mess in the first place, but by the Black Rabbit of Inle, at least Justin has more decency than you, you dripping, wet, embleer thug!!"

"Shut up, you!" snarled the boss otter as he cuffed Hawkbit hard across the face.

"Leave him alone!" shouted Dandelion, "Don't tell him to shut up!"

"Thank you, Dandelion!" crowed Hawkbit, but unfortunately, he spoke too soon.

"He is our fellow Owsla comrade, and we'll tell him to shut up!  Hawkbit, shut up!" barked Blackberry.

"What in Frith's name did I do?!" exclaimed Hawkbit in outrage and scandal, "It's not my fault we're stuck here without our Sense of Smell, in danger of losing Justin and our only chance of helping El-ahrairah thanks to Fiver's lack of visions, not to mention being detained and betrayed by the King of Yesterday and tossing caution to the winds!!  That's the fault of Bigwig, Holly and Hazel-rah!!"

Campion was seething.  "Hawkbit, the instant we are free and clear of this whole mess, we are going to hurt you SO badly!"

Strawberry, wincing at the turmoil outside the trial, put in helpfully, "It's not that hopeless!  Fiver is still out there, and he won't let Justin die without a fight!  He'll save Justin!"

The otter holding Strawberry scoffed, jeering, "That undersized, frail, troublemaking runt??  Don't make me laugh with your delusions, rabbit!  He couldn't be helpful to any animal in the land beyond life!"

"For once, we actually agree on something, waterdog!" spat out Hawkbit scathingly.

"Hawkbit!" scolded Strawberry.

"What in Frith's name did I say?!  I only said the truth!" the foul-mouthed rabbit protested.

"Hawkbit, you're going to be saying a lot more in pain the instant we get the chance to kick your furry tail, chew your ears to shreds, and rip your throat out!!" Buckthorn fumed, aggravated to the limit.  But then, a groan from Pipkin emerged as the loyal buck regained consciousness and slowly got up, unevenly and with great discomfort, trying to get his bearings.  Unfortunately, the otter leader's smile grew even more sadistic as he marched over to where the bleeding rabbit lay.  With a swift movement, Pipkin was squealing in fright and dread as he weakly struggled with the otter having a tight hold around the buck's neck with one paw.

"Stop it!  You're hurting him!" bellowed Silver.

"That is the idea, rabbit!" snarled the otter as he continued strangling Pipkin mercilessly, "I need to teach the runt and make an example out of what we do with animals that side with humans!"

"Stop it!  Please!  Don't!" yelled Hazel, incensed, but then a quiet voice broke out behind the prime otter.

"Let him go," Fiver whispered quietly, and the leader turned to see that the rabbit was alone, standing there quietly and motionless with a peaceful aura around him.  The otter sneered as he let Pipkin go, releasing the buck onto the ground as he advanced towards the rabbit seer.  Fiver didn't make any move to defend himself nor did he show any change to his sad, serious expression on his face.  He just stood there on his hind legs, watching the otter approach him with a glazed, nonviolent look in his eyes.  Everyone just stared in shock or anticipation, or in Hazel's case, who realized what his brother was trying to achieve, a little of both.

"Ready do be disemboweled for your crimes against Frith, you traitorous, simple-minded, foolish witch-rabbit?" leered the otter as he readied his claws to break and tear into Fiver's flesh.  It was foreseeable, to win against such a weak foe, but Fiver, without the slightest expression of hate, malice, or cursing bitterness, said softly, "It is not I who has committed crimes against Frith."

"Die, you sniveling -!" roared the otter, but startlingly, miraculously, he stopped, his paw just inches from Fiver's muzzle and neck.  The other otters looked on in puzzlement, but then, to their terror, they all saw what stopped their comrade from striking out.  All around them, in the dark shade of the forests of Yesterday, they could hear crying, whimpers, surrounding and echoing all among the bushes, trees, and grass as the darkness grew blacker and blacker, their shadows seeing to swallow them whole like a ferocious mouth gulping down infinitesimal prey.  They couldn't explain it, but it was like their worst nightmare come alive.  Such feelings of sorrow, regret, shame, humiliation, fear, isolation, and unbearable grief rushed into their stony vehemence and vengeance, only to shatter it into millions of pieces and leaving the otters broken, crushed, and lacking their tough fortitude.  They were literally consumed and immersed in it.

"Stop it!!  Make it stop!!  For the sake of Frith, stop it!!" roared one otter as he released his hold on Acorn, and following suit, the other moaning, tormented otters ceased their grasp on their prisoners, blindly trying to shake out the icy cold horrors of sorrow and compunction from their bodies.  The otter leader himself was scrawled into a fetal position, whimpering like a newborn, crying as dark, oppressed memories of pain and ignominy past denied came rushing back to haunt him.  There was no question that the otters would no longer bother them now.  Hazel and the other rabbits looked on with astonished wonder before their eyes fell on Fiver.

"Like a tomtit rounding up a bunch of molting jackdaws," commented Bluebell with an extremely relieved grin.  Hazel, breathing heavily, just stared at Fiver.  Without a word, Fiver hopped over to his older brother, and Hazel hugged him fiercely, thankfully, tearfully, almost worried that if he didn't embrace him, his brother would disappear out of his paws again.

"Fiver..." Hazel whispered with his eyes shut.

"I will never leave you or forsake you," murmured Fiver, understanding his brother's grief.  Hawkbit's voice broke out.

"Please excuse me for breaking this touching, yet nauseating, display of brotherly affection!" he griped unceremoniously and rudely, "But where's Justin?!  Why isn't he with you?!  You didn't abandon him, did you?!"

"Hawkbit!" growled Acorn as he, Campion, and Holly raised their paws, ready to give him a sound thrashing, but Fiver exclaimed, "Justin is back at the clearing with the other animals during the trial!  He is fighting Shardik!  That was how I was able to escape and come look for you!  Justin delayed the kings' attention so that I could find you with me second sight!  He's dueling with Shardik right now, but I don't think he'll last for very long!"

"When I get my paws on that King of Yesterday..!" growled Bigwig as Speedwell and Dandelion carefully placed the injured Pipkin on his back so that the veteran could help the little buck receive aid as soon as he could, "Right, then, chaps!  You heard him!  Fiver, lead us back to the clearing with your sight!!"

                                                                ***

Justin screamed in agony as he was slammed to the grassy ground hard, causing sharp spikes of pain and burning to flow through his head and spine, as Shardik kept a heavy paw on top of the boy's chest and upper torso, pinning him to the ground, as he loomed over the cross-bearer.  It took a while, though how Justin kept it up for this long, no animal had no idea how, but Shardik finally managed to trap his opponent in his deathly grip.  It was over, and now, the crowning moment was to come to pass.  The other animals sensed it as the crowd, the jury, even the King of Yesterday was hollering for blood.

"Kill him now, Shardik!!" cawed all the birds in unison.

"Do it!  Let this human pay!!  Snuff him out!!!" howled a Kenai wolf.

"Crack his skull!!" bellowed a lion.

"Rip him apart!!" screeched the golden eagle.

"Use you teeth!!" suggested the potoroo, and the excitement of the spectacle grew even more as Shardik raised his other forepaw in the air, ready to come crashing down hard onto Justin's frail body, while keeping a firm clawed paw on Justin's chest.  This was it, this was the moment Shardik was waiting for.  His paw lingered in the air for a second, then two, as the crowd continued screaming, roaring, and cawing for Justin's death.  And yet...Shardik just stared at the picture of Justin holding Shardik's paw gently with his hands, his eyes wet but with a sad smile on his face, as if he was accepting his death, as if he had no problem admitting his fate, as if he truly didn't loathe, curse and hate Shardik for what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry, Shardik," Justin whispered weakly, and Shardik was stunned, soon melting to realization.  He came across many animals and humans who both cursed him for his existence and praised him blindly and superficially, trivially, without caring or giving a damn about how he felt or seeing the truth for what it really was.  But this was different.  This was understanding, empathy, and innocence, like the harmless Shana who was murdered by Genshed for absolutely no reason except to appease the ruthless, satanic universal evil.  This was...wrong.  It was then that Shardik knew he couldn't kill Justin, much to his disappointment, conflict, confusion, opposition...and relief.  Luckily, the Watership rabbits came to help him save face.

"JUSTIN!!!" they all bellowed as one, and Shardik turned to see the fleeting image of Acorn, Campion, Hazel, Fiver, Holly, Silver, Speedwell, Strawberry, Dandelion, Blackberry, Bluebell, Hawkbit and Buckthorn rushing at him before their combined force and weight from their teamed tackle struck Shardik's torso and sent the bulky bear flying back several feet, causing him to release Justin in the process.  Justin sighed heavily as Bigwig, still carrying an unconscious Pipkin, helped him rise erratically, leaning on the rabbit's head for support as his weak knees felt like water.

"What took you guys so long?" Justin managed to quip despite his dread.

"We were...delayed," Bigwig put in sensitively, using choice words to take place of the swearing he felt like yelling.

"What is the meaning of this show of disrespect and flagrant defiance, rabbits?!!" demanded the King of Tomorrow angrily as the crowd grew even more hectic, deafening and boisterous at the infuriating sight of Justin being spared.

"Why don't you ask your fellow King of Yesterday?!!" discharged Holly furiously as Hazel quietly explained what had happened to the stag as the animals in the crowd and jury watched and listened fastidiously.  When they were done, the stag made no movement nor indication that he was bothered, so Bigwig, eager to relieve his anger, started making his way to the King of Yesterday, snarling, "I am going to thrash you so badly -!!"

Yet to his shock and surprise, the King of Tomorrow galloped in front of his path and blocked his way, rumbling angrily, "That would be very unwise, Thlayli, especially in your situation."

The others were shocked.

"What?!!  Isn't the King of Yesterday even going to be punished or even be forced to apologize for all the torment and unfairness Justin had been treated with?!!" demanded Silver lividly.

"No," stated the stag, narrowing his dark eyes.

"You mean you're going to let him get away with this?!!" Dandelion gasped out in outraged, scandalized amazement, but the look on the stag's face told him the answer was obvious and evident.  Liberation and elation in the rabbits soon hurriedly turned into anger and resentment.  Hazel struggled to keep his voice calm as he spoke, "Please, your majesty, the fact is, we fought against Shardik and won!  Justin is still alive, and it was Frith's will to let the cross-bearer live and for us to escape the otters' treachery and be able to help our friend before it was too late!  Please, King of Tomorrow, give Justin back his cross and our Sense of Smell as promised!"

The king sadly looked at the crowd of animals staring angrily, and unwilling to lose their respect or support, he said darkly, "The young one shall not need his cross nor will you rabbits need your Sense of Smell again."

Dandelion was baffled, "WHAT?!  WHY?!!"

The stag threw his head back and declared in a loud voice, stunning the rabbits and Justin, "TO ALL THOSE WHO CAN HEAR AND SEE, NONE OF US ARE STILL CONVINCED THAT JUSTIN AND HIS RABBIT PROTECTORS ARE VIRUTOUS AND NOBLE IN THE NAME OF FRITH'S WILL, SO I DECLARE AS OF NOW, JUSTIN MUST BE EXECUTED AT ONCE, AND ALL IN BOTH KINGDOMS OF YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW MUST ACT NOW AND HELP YOUR KINGS FIGHT AND DEFEAT THE RABBITS OF WATERSHIP DOWN!!!  BY ORDER OF THE KING OF TOMORROW, KILL JUSTIN AND IMPRISON ALL THE RABBITS INTO THE WEB OF THORNS!!!  AND BY A FINAL DECREE, I HEREBY ANNOUNCE THAT ALL ENGLISH RABBITS ARE TO BE BANNED FROM THE LANDS OF YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW FOR ALL TIME!!  THEY WILL BE OUTCASTS, AND EL-AHRAIRAH AND HIS CHILDREN WILL NO LONGER BE WELCOME IN OUR HALLOWED SOIL!!!  NOW STRIKE, OUR LOYAL SUBJECTS!!!  STRIKE IN THE NAME OF FRITH!!!  KILL THE CROSS-BEARER AND PUNISH THE TRAITOROUS RABBITS!!!"

"Frith in a hole!" cursed Silver as the animals cheered and started advancing around them, cutting off any chances they had for escape, "The stag is as underhanded as the bison!  He's doing this to save face, to prevent himself from looking bad and losing support for his royal power!!"

"This is not good!" Blackberry squealed as the birds started to dive with their sharp beaks aimed directly at their eyes and heads.  As Justin just numbly stood there, before they could be overwhelmed and trampled, Shardik's voice rang out, "Justin!"

The teenager turned, and to his surprise, the cross necklace hit him in the chest, and Justin nearly dropped it onto the grass before catching it with his hands.  With the cross of power flowing comfortingly through him, Justin clasped the jewel as he yelled the first command that came to his mind.

"Time, stop!  Freeze the entire land!!"

There was a bright flash of light, and for a second, Justin kept his eyes shut as he breathlessly awaited the animals to tear him to pieces.  There was only a deathly silence before he felt a hefty paw on his shoulder.  Justin nervously opened his eyes, and to his shocked surprise, it was Shardik, looking down at Justin blankly and with fatigue, but nonviolently.  All around the field, the animals and forests were all encased with sunlight, held in place for God knew how long under the frozen positions of the time-freeze.  Even the King of Yesterday had the utmost look of rage and anger on his face, but to Justin's puzzlement, the King of Tomorrow was lying on his side on the grass, slightly injured but outraged and surprised, as if something knocked him down.  As Hazel and the rest of the rabbits looked on at the massive bear, Justin understood what had just happened seconds ago.  Shardik, despite earning himself a lifetime of ignominy and disgrace, struck down his king and ripped the cross off the stag's neck, allowing Justin the chance to time-freeze the field before it was too late.  Shardik was trembling with dishonor, as if he still regretted his action of defiance and decision to save Justin's life.  Before Justin could speak, Shardik held a paw.

"You best be helping your rabbit friends get their Sense of Smell back quickly, young Justin."  Justin nodded as he prayed again, and in an instant, fifteen white orbs of light and mist emerged out of the frozen body of the King of Yesterday only to once again return home to the bodies of the Watership soldiers.  The rabbits could now smell again, much to their elated joy, infusing their sense with the longing, tantalizing smells of the world.

"Ah, that's better," sighed Blackberry, as Justin said to Shardik, "I'm sorry, Shardik, for what you had to do to save me, what you had to give up.  If...if you want, you're free to come with us to El-ahrairah's warren where it'll be safe and no one will persecute or judge you."

Hawkbit opened his mouth to object, but Silver and Acorn, seeing this, hurriedly clamped their paws over his mouth, stifling him.  Shardik saw this and gave a half-hearted chuckle.  He said simply, "My place is somewhere else, young one."

"Shardik?"

"What now, young one?"

"Thank you."  Shardik didn't answer, but he blinked easily enough.

With that, he went on all fours and headed south, away from his home, his position, his familiarity, as he ambled sadly and solely from the last place he thought was his refuge.  He remembered Fiver's words during his feverish sleep, "Betrayal, danger, a fight to the death of one's self.  The battle will be both won and lost."

It couldn't have been more true, Shardik thought sadly as he left his hate, his bitterness, his identity, his past dead self, to linger behind as a poignant memory as he traveled south where he knew nothing of his fate, once again, a wanderer at the mercy of Frith's plan for his life.  He just hoped it would be more gratifying, merciful, and filled with happiness than his physical life, but Justin had no doubt it probably would.

                                                                ***

"Uh...Fiver?" Hawkbit asked sheepishly as he stood in front of Fiver and Justin as they both sat next to a stream of sparkling water later that evening.  Immediately, once they were all healed, everyone fled as speedily as they could north, away from the Land of Yesterday and the Land of Tomorrow, unwilling to see how irate the animals would be once the time-freeze wore off.  Now, after such a hurried travel and a good distance, they were all resting and ready to sleep.  Fiver and Justin looked at Hawkbit curiously.

"About...about what I said before, and after seeing how your second sight helped save Justin when we were all helpless due to losing our Sense of Smell...I was wrong.  I'm sorry.  Can you...can you forgive me?"

Fiver nodded, but he added with a mischievous wink, "I daresay you're just doing this so that the others won't cuff you for opening your big mouth one too many times?"

Hawkbit blushed, but replied hastily, embarrassed, "Well...partly that, but I was also sorry to see how much I hurt you with what I said earlier.  I mean, by the Black Rabbit, you're my friend."

Justin chimed in, smiling, "Well, apology accepted, but I think you're going to still be hurting, Hawkbit."  Hawkbit looked at him, bewildered, so Justin pointed behind him.  The blackish rabbit turned around to see Acorn, Campion, Buckthorn, Holly, Speedwell, Bigwig, and Dandelion grinning impishly and wickedly.

"Eep!" Hawkbit blurted out in dread, and he managed to dash away with the seven rabbits in hot pursuit, still keen on giving Hawkbit a good cuffing for speaking so brashly and insensitively.  Despite the yelps of the loudmouth as the group finally caught up with him, Fiver managed to ask Justin, "So, why did you break your promise to me while we were in the Web of Thorns?  By Frith and Inle, I was stunned to see you could still muster enough willpower and courage to stand up and fight against Shardik!"

Justin smiled grimly.  "I guess because I had faith everything would turn out OK, and that no matter what, I would always prefer it if I died trying to save someone rather than someone sacrificing themselves for my sake.  I've already had one important sacrifice of love in my life.  I don't need another, especially since I still think, hope, that no matter what, if we look hard enough...well, there would be a way to save and help everyone without sacrificing anyone, without leaving anyone behind.  And I wasn't willing to leave you behind, especially since I know how much that would hurt Hazel.  And myself, for that matter."  Fiver's eyes twinkled a bit under the clear, starry sky as they both watched the stream and the beautiful night sky as the heard the sounds of the brawl continuing.

"Owch!!  Will you quit it?!!  Ouch!  Ow!! Ow! Ow!!"

"Oh be quiet, Hawkbit!  It's only a little bruising!" laughed Dandelion.

"C'mon, you foul-mouthed, flea-infested, smarmy miscreant!" roared Bigwig, "You've been asking this for some time now, and as your fellow friends, we're only so glad to oblige!"

"Maybe I should help Hazel stop this," murmured Justin worriedly.

Fiver said, "Actually, I daresay it would be best if we let Hawkbit enjoy this moment a little longer, for his sake."

Justin turned to the small rabbit in surprise, giggling.  "Since when do you have such an evil streak?"

Fiver chuckled, "Oh, let us say that Hawkbit's mouth has had somewhat of an influence on me."

"Very funny, Fiver!" Hawkbit managed to protest acidly over the sounds of paws good-naturedly cuffing his head.

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Next: DANDELION in "This Rhyme Goes to Show It! Dandelion's a Poet!"

Until then, review please!  Any flames or hate mail shall go under the same after as Hawkbit whenever he annoys someone! =)

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