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.

25. A Rainbow in The Heart of Darkness

/*

Author's note: Just thought I point this out, four days ago, this fic was first published!  Can you believe it?!  This story is now officially a bit more than a year old!  YAY!  CELEBRATE!  Break out the flayrah!  Break out the champagne!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Hawkbit: I never thought he'd last THIS long.

Bigwig: (sighs) Insanity and craziness knows no seasons.

Blackberry: (watches RogueFanKC dancing up a storm) He's mad, isn't he?

Holly: And you just figured this out, chap?

Anyway, I promised in the previous chapter that there were two surprises in this part!  If this does not surprise you in a good way (then boy oh boy, you guys are a tough crowd, y'know that?), then I'm all out of ideas! =)  Still, if you wish to know why I planned this surprise, you can thank the reviews made by Windwalker and Maleo for this!  That said, enjoy! ^_^

Oh yes, before I forget, there IS a picture of Justin and the Watership Down rabbits alongside him that I drew if anyone cares to see any visuals.  It is at Entei-rah's website, a good WD fan whom I've had the pleasure of meeting, not to mention a gracious person who was willing to do an fan-art section to even allow me to post up my drawing.  go to www(dot)thankustars(dot)co(dot)uk and click on the link labeled "Fanart" on the left and the drawing is under my profile, "RogueFanKC".  Enjoy the story! ^_^

*/

CHAPTER 24

                Meanwhile, all was not well for Woundwort, Prince Rainbow and his two loyal canine subjects, and of course, Elil-rah.  The entire walls and ceiling of the warren of cold stone, rock, obsidian, and dirt actually vibrated hard enough to leave large, jutting cracks in the foundation as the mysterious Elil-rah, still shrouded in darkness except for his glowing, sinister, hellish eyes, roared his wrath as Woundwort and Prince Rainbow stood by and listened.

                "HOW CAN THIS EVEN BE POSSIBLE??!!!" bellowed Elil-rah, the fury and indignity of it all causing much burning hatred within his dark soul to multiply and overwhelm his entire being, "THAT DARK CREATURE FROM THE COMICAL FIELD WAS MY GREATEST CREATION, MY BLOODRIGHT, MY MOST VALUED CHILD!!!  IT WAS THE ULTIMATE WEAPON AGAINST EL-AHRAIRAH!!!  NOT EVEN THE PRINCE OF ALL RABBITS AND THE SERVANT OF DEATH, THE BLACK RABBIT, COULD HAVE MANAGED TO FACE IT, MUCH LESS FIGHT IT!!!  HOW COULD THE CROSS-BEARER AND THE WEAK HAZEL-RAH EVEN HAVE SUCCEEDED IN DRIVING IT BACK, SEALING IT INTO THE UNBREAKABLE PRISON OF THE WARREN OF THE BLACK RABBIT OF INLE??!!!  DAMN YOU, CROSS-BEARER!!!  DAMN YOU TO HELL DEPTHS OF FIRE, BRIMSTONE, AND ETERNAL CURSES!!!  CURSE YOU, WOUNDWORT, HOW CAN YOUR OWSLA FAIL AFTER SO MANY CHANCES?!!  I GAVE YOU HORDES OF VARIOUS AND DANGEROUS CREATURES OF SATAN AND EVIL, CREATURES THAT HAVE NEVER EXISTED SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME, I HAVE GIVEN YOUR WILLING SOLDIERS WEAPONS OF GREAT AND TERRIBLE DESTRUCTIVE POWER!!!  AND YET YOU CONTINUE TO DISAPPOINT ME!!!  DESPITE THESE GIFTS, YOU AND YOUR WARRIORS COULD NOT HANDLE THE MISERABLE, WEAK, AND SMALL GROUP OF RABBITS, THE RABBITS OF WATERSHIP DOWN, SENT BY EL-AHRAIRAH TO PROTECT JUSTIN!!!"

                "My lord," Woundwort managed to say while maintaining his steady and firm gaze into Elil-rah's wrathful eyes; he would not break and cower for he prided himself to be too resilient and strong to ever be humbled like that.  He must show Elil-rah that he would never give up on his mission to destroy El-ahrairah and his legacy, and that he was not incompetent.  Prince Rainbow gave a soft chuckle as he announced in a nonchalant voice, as if he knew that all the previous attempts of the dark beast would fail and that it would ultimately depend on his intervention.

                "My lord, this has continued far enough, and this disgraceful human has soiled your influence and purification attempts for this realm far too long!  I shall go and kill the cross-bearer myself!  Do not fear, for I do not plan to return until the child, Justin, and his beloved friends of Watership Down mist the entire fields with their blood!  Elil-rah, I request for you to send me!  The child's evil, his humanity, must be removed before he reaches the warren of El-ahrairah in Fenlo!  Allow me to assassinate the young one, for I will not fail!"

                There was a contemplating silence before Elil-rah rumbled softly.

                "YOU HAVE MY BLESSINGS, PRINCE RAINBOW.  DO NOT FAIL ME."

                Without answering, Prince Rainbow swiftly turned, his cloak barely making a noise as it trailed behind his rapidly departing form as he glided softly across the floor and into the runs leading into the open.  Without the need of a command, the two dogs turned and followed their master, their heads swimming gleefully with the anticipation of tasting human flesh and blood for it was now for Justin to pay for his bold insolence with his life.

                                                                                ***

                "Can you believe it?  Can you chaps actually believe it?!!  We're so close to home!" cheered Bluebell happily as all of the Owsla from Watership Down, along with Justin who was riding on Campion's back, gazed at the hallowed fields of the meadows of Fenlo from a small ridge of rocky cliff just outside the border to the meadows of El-ahrairah as the dawn broke newborn sunlight.  From their position, Justin could see their beautiful home.  The grass was fresh, dark green, and sweet smelling with fresh dew sparkling on its tender blades everlastingly, creating a moist, succulent treat for silflay.  The grass, despite being longer that the height of Justin's ankle from the ground, was unable to cover the luscious patches of dark clover, foxtail, tender burnet, vernal grass, timothy, and yellow trefoil that were also amalgamated with the meadows.  The meadows also had picturesque pastures of wildflowers of multicolored daisies, bugle, red ragged robin, white primroses, purple orchids, thistles, nettles, buttercups, vetch, marigolds, and yellow rattle, perfectly spaced and yet clustered closely enough to make a charming scene.  And everywhere in the grass were bunches and bunches of dandelions, violets, and red clover blossoms.  Here, the grass would never die, never wither and turn brown, always fresh and soft and tasty as it had sprouted a moment ago, and the field was forever giving off soft, supple sweet aromas of variegated plants as fragrant as perfume.  Justin could then see why the rabbits and El-ahrairah loved their warren so much; it was practically heaven to them.

                "There it is, chaps, there it is," Dandelion murmured, his eyes sparkling and a tired yet blissful smile behind his whiskers, "the meadows of Fenlo.  Our home!"

                "It...it's beautiful," murmured Justin in a awestruck tone

                "Fur and paw, I'm so hungry, I could eat the entire fields!" exclaimed Pipkin happily.

                "And I'll be one to join you, you young duffer!" chortled Silver as he ruffled the smaller rabbit's head brotherly.

                "How much longer will it take before we reach El-ahrairah's warren?" Justin asked Campion.

                "In less than four days," responded the rabbit, being more chipper and excited than Justin had ever seen him behave before.

                "Come on, you duffers!" barked Bigwig brusquely, yet one could see the stern features on his face melt from the joy of being back home again, "Let us keep moving!  El-ahrairah will not get any better if we just stand around gaping like tharn, come-to-lie-down-never-to-get-our-lazy-tails-back-up-again fools!"

                As they all galloped into the fields of sweet comfort and paradise, all the rabbits chattered eagerly amongst one another with sweet anticipation of how they would enjoy the precious time they lost.

                "Frith in a barn, I cannot wait to see Violet again!" panted Speedwell with blushing cheeks as his ears perked up and his eyes had a dreamy, far-off look in his eyes.  One could practically hear the bird twittering and the angels singing harpsong around his head, and Hawkbit and Bigwig rolled their eyes at his flagrant display of longing.

                "Who's Violet, Speedwell?" Justin asked as he rode on Campion's back.

                "Violet is my doe, my mate, one whom I've had the pleasure of meeting once I entered the land beyond life," Speedwell explained, "She stopped running when a hawk attacked her, but bloody fur and paw, she is truly the loveliest doe I have ever laid eyes upon!  Once you meet her, cross-bearer, you'll grow to love her too!  She has the softest gray fur, the most delicate eyes, and a voice that threatens to knock me senseless every time I hear it!"

                "That would not take much," quipped Dandelion slyly, earning a few chuckles all around and an attempt by Speedwell to cuff the golden storyteller.

                Blackberry conceded thoughtfully and with accord, "I know what you mean, Speedwell.  I can honestly say that I am quite looking forward to seeing Flyairth again as well."

                "And Clover," Holly chimed in, his body becoming more noticeably giddy and youthfully exuberant.

                "And Vilthuril," sighed Fiver happily.

                "And Hyzenthlay," Hazel agreed with a soft look of fondness in his eyes.  The rest of the rabbits discussed other matters that had been the foremost on their glorious homecoming.

                "The hrair of you can spend time with your does!  Silver, Pipkin and I will be wallowing up to our ears with delicious food!!  Fur and paw, none of that quick, hasty nibbling that no sensible rabbit would call worthy of a meal!!  We mean the blimey good stuff from the fields of Fenlo!  Nothing else in the entire land beyond life has grass just as sweet and soft and flowers as supple and full of flavor!!" Strawberry chortled.

                Silver and Pipkin's eyes both twinkled at the thoughts of the luscious food.

                "Clover, dandelions, and sweet timothy," drooled Pipkin in a glazed, distant, dreamy voice.

                "Fresh burnet, ivy as tender as a doe's milk, clover heads full of nectar, and bushes ripe with juicy berries," drawled Silver in a singsong, occupied tone, his stomach rumbling.  The fact that both of them, a huge, mild-mannered yet courageous giant alongside a small, yet perky, gentle dwarf, were speaking in the same expression caused everyone around them to laugh, or in Bigwig and Hawkbit's cases, roll their eyes upwards in annoyance.

                "It figures it would be you three to say such stupid things," Hawkbit muttered.

                "You're just jealous that you do not even have a doe to dote on, Hawkbit, so all you can do is silflay and play with the kittens like Pipkin and Silver," shot back Speedwell light-heartedly, yet with the brutality of a fighter kicking his defeated, unconscious opponent in the ribs.  Hawkbit's eyes turned icy with murder as his face became flushed and heated.  Justin, trying to break the moment of embarrassment for Hawkbit, asked Bigwig a deliberate question.

                "Bigwig, what about you?  Don't you have a doe back at El-ahrairah's warren?"

                The fur-cropped brawny rabbit shook his head, but smiled easily enough, replying, "No, young bucko, I have no need for a doe to call as my mate, for my life will always be devoted to training the warriors and soldiers of El-ahrairah's Owsla.  Being an Owsla captain along with being a loyal friend to Hazel-rah and the rest of the Watership chaps is the entire point of my existence.  When I came to the land beyond life, El-ahrairah requested that I, alongside with Rabscuttle, help teach and instruct rabbits into being effective members of the Owsla, and as such, I found more fulfillment in that than I would ever find in a doe...though I do admit, Justin, there are times I do feel lonely for the affection of one."

                "I'm sorry," murmured Justin.  Bigwig just glanced warmly at his ward.

                "Don't be young one.  After all, I am not the only one who has decided to adopt that way of life, for Buckthorn, Campion and Silver also chose to live a life of a warrior, unattached and free, yet courageous, wild at heart, alive for adventure and excitement, young one!  To go on a journey where you place your wits and strength against the wilderness!  It is the ideal life of every rabbit blessed by Frith and El-ahrairah."  Justin pondered this before silently agreeing; after all, humans constantly dream and fantasize their own journeys of the soul and body, to be a hero or a vital part of a quest larger than anyone could ever comprehend.  After all, why else would he love the journey with the rabbits of Watership Down so much?  Despite the various attempts on his life, this entire month of foraging, fighting, and exploration was the adolescent's dream come true.

                Silver then put in encouragingly, "Besides, young cross-bearer, we are hardly ever lonely; there are times we do have the pleasure of accompanying a doe every once in a while.  Yet usually, what keeps us occupied are the long expeditions with Blackavar, Stonecrop, and Toadflax, and some of the other hlessi rabbits, to areas unknown and unexplored in the land beyond life."

                "'Unexplored'?  Here??  How big is the land beyond life?!" Justin gasped in incredulity.

                "It is infinite, never ending, countless, immeasurable..." went on Bluebell in a passionate, yet absent-minded voice.

                "Bluebell, Justin has gotten the hint," Bigwig said flatly as he cuffed Bluebell on the ear to get the jester to stop, "Even the eldest animals in the land beyond life do not are not acquainted with every single territory and region created by Frith in this realm.  It goes on everlastingly, and as such, we have made it our goal to see every single locale of this paradise, to explore what was previously unknown and concealed in mystery and namelessness.  We wish to be one of the few animals who has gone and witnessed to every single miraculous province and forest in the land beyond life!"

                Campion then added affectionately, "But of course, once this is all over, with Elil-rah and the dark sickness that is affecting El-ahrairah, we...we would be honored if you could come with us, accompany us on our journeys.  We would enjoy having you experience the hlessi life as well."

                Justin grinned at the thought.  "I'd like that.  But...why not have Pipkin come with you too?  You know how much he loves to explore, especially when he has his wings of flight."

                Pipkin's eyes sparkled, "That would be enchanting, Justin!"

                Justin then chuckled sincerely, "Then once this is all over, I'll give you your powers of flight again and let you explore the unknown areas with the others by taking to the skies."

                "Frith-rah!  I cannot wait!" cheered Pipkin, and Hawkbit then commented nastily, "Hlao-roo, do not be daft!  You're too little to ever be strong enough for a life of nomadic wandering and hlessi livelihood."

                "Oh do shut up," Pipkin shot back affectionately, like a true younger brother, at Hawkbit, and then as a postscript, Pipkin then added cruelly, "And at least I'm not the one who would be trying to make a fool of myself over that doe, Blethlin!"

                "WHAT?!" several, including Justin and Hazel-rah, exclaimed joyously and with shocked excitement, eager to learn more about the little tidbit of gossip.  Hawkbit's face grew even redder.

                "Blethlin??  Blethlin??!  That loud-mouthed, quarrelsome doe that cuffs Hawkbit at every chance he talks to her??!!" Fiver gasped in disbelief.

                "The only doe at El-ahrairah's warren who actually nitpicks and has tussles with Hawkbit every time they start a conversation?!  The one who Hawkbit complains is an 'egotistical, pompous, vain, irritating female who is so opinionated and boisterous, not even the elil would want her as a meal'??!!" laughed Campion, his eyes and face merry with humor.

                "The doe who announces, so loudly that even rabbits underground can hear, that Hawkbit has an embarrassing, flea problem every time he passes by her?!" pestered Strawberry in an fascinated tone.

                "The doe that Hawkbit cannot go through one single day without brawling, cuffing and fighting with?!" craved Dandelion, now eager to learn more.

                "The one doe who kicked Hawkbit so hard when he insulted her, he got his head stuck in one of the openings of the runs of the warren and needed Rabscuttle and Stonecrop to dig him out??!!" guffawed Speedwell.  Hawkbit sent Pipkin a "I-am-going-to-kill-you-for-this" glare, but the diminutive rabbit paid him no mind as he giggled.

                "The very one," Pipkin confessed as Blackberry, Bluebell and Acorn joined in with him, embarrassing Hawkbit to new depths of humiliation.

                "By Frith, you duffers are lucky to not hear his lovesick mumblings of Blethlin while Hawkbit is sleeping!" hooted Acorn as he nearly stumbled, laughing, "We hear him all the time, twitching and muttering like a tharn loon, calling out Blethlin's name!!  To be honest, chaps, I daresay the doe must have had quite an effect on our sarcastic big-mouthed bloke over here!!"

                Blackberry howled with giddiness, "I guess it would be highly reasonable to say that all those cuffs and bump and scratches Blethlin had given freely to our friend has knocked him to a new stage of delusion and insanity, which is surprising in itself!  I thought he did not even have any sense to get knocked out of!"

                "Shut up," hissed Hawkbit.

                Bluebell then said, "You should at least hear him, though!  It is so hilariously embarrassing!"  With that, he altered his voice to sound like a high-pitched, unstable, mad parody of Hawkbit.  "'Oh Blethlin, I cannot stop thinking about you, from the way you throw insults at me, to the way your mouth and whiskers twitch in anger every time your paw whacks me between the ears!  I love you, Blethlin!  I love you, I love you, I love -'!"

                "I'M GOING TO KILL ALL FOUR OF YOU!!!" roared Hawkbit, and knowing that this was their cue, Pipkin, Blackberry, Bluebell, and Acorn dashed off, hooting and chortling, as a very vengeful and livid Hawkbit, roaring and cursing like a mad, witch rabbit, pursued after them, hot on their tails, as the rest of the Watership Owsla and the cross-bearer laughed to no end.

                "Get back here, you damn turncoats!!  Lord Frith will never find any of your remains once I'm finished with the lot of you!!" Hawkbit screamed.

                "Hawkbit, that is enough!" Hazel managed to say in between his chortling.

                "He started it!!!" Hawkbit, Bluebell, Blackberry, Pipkin, and Acorn shouted together in unison.

                                                                                ***

                "There they are, the damned human and his senseless protectors, the mad, delusional rabbits of Watership Down and of El-ahrairah," muttered Prince Rainbow, watching the scene in the distance from afar, unspotted and unnoticed, alongside his two loyal dogs, his servants of many years, ever since the events in "The Story of the Trial of El-ahrairah".  To his left was one, large, taller than any of the rabbits, with eyes of pure flames spewing out of his sockets, and his teeth were made of dark fragments of obsidian, beautifully carved and shaped into wicked, sadistic teeth which contrasted against his red mouth and pink tongue which had hot, puffs of vaporous steam emerging from it.  The Dog was fit, well-toned, and his vigorous body was entirely made of molten rock and magma, with a hard, blackened, thing flaky crust, fruitlessly hardened from the cool exposure to the air, representing as skin while cracks on the dog's body surface revealed the bright, searing, orange glow of lava and burning liquid coursing through his veins and fueling his anger.  On Prince Rainbow's right was the other dog, significantly smaller than his companion, yet no less ferocious.  He was completely made of a silvery, smooth, runny liquid metal, shimmering and sparkling at every little movement under the sunlight.  Every part of the dog's body, even his teeth, claws, and fur, were completely consisting of liquefied metal alloy, but the dog's eyes were amazingly pure white, devoid of pupils, and glowing with a faint aura of mystical control.  Yet what was also noticeable about the dog was the layer of cold, unbreakable ice, always eternally cold and never melting, formed over the dog's head between his short ears, like a cap.  While the silver dog looked on the scene with a stern, displeased, yet suspicious expression, the lava dog beside him was positively enraged, his body now glowing slightly brighter at the appearance of Justin, a human.  It was painful for them to see a human again; it was as if their hearts were trapped in steel cages of anger, disappointment, sadness, and bitter resentment, always and forever held and tormented with the rust of disgrace and the cool, harsh metal of sorrow and lifetimes of their destiny ending in misfortune and unfair calamity.

                "Damn him," the canine consisting of magma growled in unrestrained antagonism, "Damn him, damn the rabbits, damn this place, damn the whitecoats, damn you all!"

                "Enough, Carnage," Prince Rainbow replied strictly, "I know how you feel, and given the chance, this human will do the exact same acts of injustice, malice, and sadistic agony, torment and suffering to other animals and creatures, creatures he feels are lesser than him and have no real purpose in his plans for pestilence and death, exactly like those whitecoats had done to you and Havoc.  Elil-rah was right to send his Owsla to attempt to kill him."

                "But they all failed," the silvery-metallic dog stated in a cold, mechanical voice.

                "That they did, yet we, all three of us, are far more powerful than any of those useless, bumbling, incompetent fools, and unlike them, we will succeed, for Frith knows of our anger, our sorrow, our pain, from this human's cruelty.  You two need not to fear the cross-bearer's powers of light and hope and idiotic beliefs, for you are far more righteous and deserving of happiness and eternal reward than that...that...tyrant!  Remember, you two were no longer those victims of human savagery and cruelty, and no longer will you two need to grovel and beg for mercy, but now, now, you two are the victors, the champions over such travesties, the perfect, idyllic, supreme paradigms of wild animals, beasts that kill and wreck destruction without mercy on those who have wronged you.  I love you both as my own children, and I have felt your anguish, cried your bitter tears, have been wounded by the crimes done against you, and now...now is your redemption.  Now, our merciful lord, Elil-rah, has blessed us with the chance to right the wrongs done in opposition to your physical lives."

                "I'm not going back.  They will not take me back!  He will not take me back!" snarled the animal of lava, his eyes now blazing brighter.

                "It's a wonderful island, this is our island!  I will not let this whitecoat take this away from me as well!" barked the animal of silver, his voice now artic and aloof with disdain and hatred.

                Prince Rainbow nodded, saying, "Now Carnage, Havoc, let your wills be done!  Strike!"

                The dog with the silver essence widened his eyes slightly, and eerily, both his eyes and his cap of ice were now immersed with a unnatural, hoary luminosity, his power as cold and frosty as ice, lined with the lack of remorse and regret he would normally feel from attacking an innocent.  The other larger dog now dissolved into the ground, his body liquefying and permeating into the ground, merging with it, shaping it, moving it with his powerful will.

                The cross-bearer is now finished, Prince Rainbow thought as the ground, now obeying the command of the dog, began to quake beneath him.

                                                                                ***

                Fiver suddenly stopped short, shivering as the Owsla made their way to the top of a sizeable grassy knoll.  He could sense it, the turbulent change in the air, the ground, the mystic aura of time and space rippling disastrously with the incoming presence of Carnage's wrath.  Hazel noticed Fiver's reaction.

                "Fiver?  What's wrong?!" he asked sharply.

                "Prince Rainbow!  He's here, Hazel-rah!  Prince Rainbow is here, and he is coming for Justin!  Danger, something powerful, is approaching!!"  All the rabbits stopped at this statement, and yet before Bigwig, Holly, and Hazel could even attempt to map out a cunning strategy of defense, the ground started to rumble and wobble violently, as if the very soil beneath their feet was nothing more than a thin sheet of fabric, threatening to tear and rip from being jerked and pulled in all directions, making it very difficult for the Watership soldiers to maintain their balance as the floor coursed and jumped with small waves of turmoil.

                "Frith in a hole!  This is even more powerful than the ability of seismokinesis Justin had blessed me with!" exclaimed Strawberry in awful surprise as a small jerk forced him to stumble into Dandelion and Blackberry.

                Dandelion cried out urgently as he looked up, "O Frith and Inle and all that is of the Black Rabbit and El-ahrairah, LOOK!!"  All the rabbits and the cross-bearer glanced up to see what was truly a frightening, menacing, sight.  A huge surge of rock, stone and soil, was slowly, yet dauntingly starting to peak and form from the once peaceful field of the meadows of Fenlo, now becoming seriously ravaged by the colossal tidal wave of earth that was building up in speed, mass, and intensity as it streaked unbelievably quickly towards the group.  No plot of land was safe in the disaster's path, for immediately, grass, plants, and fields were torn and hacked to bits, only to be merged and amalgamated with the unnatural force of destruction, adding inadvertently to its awesome strength.  What made the scene more terrifying was that at the same time, black clouds of the darkest tones appeared out of nowhere, spreading uncontrollably and speedily at an unreal velocity, erasing and blacking out the pale blue sky and the quiet, warm sun in mere seconds.  Soon, before any of the rabbits could comprehend it, the entire fields of Fenlo were plunged into darkness, the entire heavens above now engulfed with an abnormal, hazy, reddish night with the sky in shades of dark pink mixed harmoniously with opaque black and night, the sun now eclipsed by a sea of demonic colors, similar to a rainy, torrential sky being lit by the crimson of a hunter's blood moon.  And the groundswell of deadly mud was advancing closer and closer, its crest now high enough to tower over several Ilips.

                "O embleer Frith, it's growing bigger and bigger!!" shrieked Acorn as he stared at the threat with wide eyes of desolate incredulity.

                "Justin!" Campion shouted urgently, and the adolescent grabbed his cross.

                "Time freeze!!!" he shouted, but to his horror, it would not work, exactly like it did before at the Black Rabbit's warren, glowing softly, but being uncooperative and unresponsive to Justin's commands and desperate pleas for miraculous intervention and power.

                "It's not working!  I can't use my powers!  My cross won't work!!  None of my powers are working!!" wailed Justin, nearly screeching over the rumble of the earth as the upsurge was now close enough to overshadow the rabbits.

                "Quickly, run the other way!" Holly ordered.

                "We can't, old chap!  LOOK!!!" screamed Bluebell as he pointed behind them.  To their dismay, there was another wave of rock coming towards them from behind.  Now they were completely and overwhelmingly surrounded as both upwellings of dirt and rock enclosed the hilltop.  The dirt-slides then heaved mightily before they toppled over the cross-bearer and his companions.  None of the rabbits had time to even run, and it was impossible that they would all be able to come out unscathed for not even El-ahrairah himself would have been able to avoid the avalanche of doom with his gift of Runner.

                "Oh no!!  We're too late!!  There's no way out!!  We've been cut off!!" squealed Blackberry.

                "Embleer Frith, there is too much for us to handle!!" Hawkbit gasped.

                Thinking fast, during those few precious seconds before they were completely cut off, Hazel and Bigwig, in a final act of nobility and love, grabbed Justin roughly by the arms, jerking him off the back of Campion.

                "JUSTIN, GO!!!" they hollered and with a heavy shove, both Hazel and Bigwig, with all their strengths, threw Justin over the very edge of the hill and as far as they could.  Yelping in fright and surprise, the teenager rolled and tumbled at an accelerated rate down the slopes of the grassy mount before rolling to a dazed, shaky stop several yards away from the base of the hill, miraculously far enough to avoid the landslide.  Bruised and dazed, Justin managed to lift up his head to see, to his woe, the fleeting scene of the rabbits, his treasured friends from Watership Down, become overwhelmed by the massive inundation.

                "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" squealed the rabbits in terrified anguish as, with a potent crash of rumbling thunder and pandemonium, the two waves of dirt and soil completely covered the entire hill with a suffocating, impenetrable blanket of dirt, stone, rock, and debris, cutting them off from view.  Thundering, the massive spillage fell and permeated through every possible crevice and crack, every unoccupied space, rolling, leaking, and breaking into a makeshift shroud of oblivion.  Once the mud and soil and settled into place, there was only a huge mound of piled soil and stone obscuring the hill and silence that greeted the young, terrified Justin.  Quiet, still, tormenting, silence all save from the whimpering coming out of Justin's shocked body, shivering in the darkness as he replayed the horrified scene in his head, the looks of terror, of fright, of their doomed fate threatening to cause the teenager to go tharn.  From the fall, Justin received an ugly gash close to his hairline on his forehead that was now slowly dribbling towards his eyebrows, and Justin's mouth had traces of sand and pebbles, yet he was very much alive, incoherent, but alive.  Several tense, unspoken minutes passed by before Justin, his body numb but burning from the exertion, half-stumbled, half ran towards the mammoth, sickening sepulcher, hoping he could see his friends come out of the dirt, digging and fighting through, like the heroes they always were.  Yet, there was nothing.  No sounds of digging, no apparent indication that they were able to make their way out of the tomb, and all Justin could realize, with numbing grief, that Hazel and the rest of the rabbits were trapped and there was no way Justin could help them.  Justin ran up the hill, his feet threatening to slide from the unstable slopes of dirt and soil that were slipping past his feet, hoping he could find any signs of life from the mountain of dirt.  Unfortunately, there were none, and Justin had no idea where to look.  The entire mass of earth that buried the Watership rabbits alive was as large as a mesa, and it would take a man about an hour to just travel over it.  Frantic, Justin rashly grabbed his cross, nearly in tears.

                "Please, teleport them out!  Teleport Hazel and the rest of the rabbits out of the dirt!"  The cross remained still and silent.

                "Please!!"  Nothing.

                "Please!!"  Justin's screaming became piercing, sharp, and desolate.  Nothing happened, and as a result, the human teenager's screams of panic and fear now turned to curses of rage and blame.

                "Please!!" Justin hollered through his angry tears, now on his hands and knees and pounding the ground in extreme frustration with one fist, "Please!!  Please!!!  Work, damn you!!  Work!!  Teleport them!!  Levitate them!!  Turn back time!!  Astral project them out of the ground!!  Do something!!  ANYTHING!!!  Just save them!!!  Please!!  WORK, DAMN IT!!!"  This went on for several moments before Justin gave up, and sobbing, he curled into a fetal position, rocking himself slightly while sitting on his rear, whimpering to himself sorrowfully and with heart-wrenching angst, "No...no, I don't believe this!  I can't do this!  Please Hazel, please Bigwig, please everyone, I can't do this!  I need you guys so much!  I...I don't want to be alone!"

                At this, the teenager, now shattered and defeated, just broke down and started crying, his blubbering echoing slightly through the meadows.  A voice rang out, cold, cruel, and callous.,

                "Such a coward."

                Alarmed, Justin stared up at the very top of the titanic mound of dirt, only to realize that he was staring directly into the face of Prince Rainbow himself, the messenger of Lord Frith, the god of all rabbits, once good and kind, though on several occasions annoyed with El-ahrairah's antics.  Except this time, Justin was staring directly into the face of the servant of Elil-rah, now twisted from the darkness and depravity of the dark beast.  Prince Rainbow was a tall, malicious, and very foreboding figure that sent shivers of terror down Justin's spine.  He wore a black cloak, buttoned at the neckline by a silver medallion bearing the letter "E", with a simply border of midnight blue around the clothing's edges, but the cloak was not made out of any physical material.  It was vaporous, ethereal, and wraithlike, shimmering and fading into discreet wisps of mist and air.  Prince Rainbow's face was covered by a hood, his face completely and mysteriously hidden, oppressive, sinister, and unseen, and through the blackness of the hood, Justin could only make out the hellish eyes, crimson red and smoldering against the endless chasm of darkness covering Prince Rainbow's face.  It was scary, not knowing the true appearance of your oppressor, yet Justin's fear soon melted into anger as he saw the dogs appear next to Prince Rainbow as the wicked servant mocked Justin again.

                "I saw how you abandoned your so-called friends," Prince Rainbow abused, his deep, bass voice being hollow and flat with disdain, seeing the human creature as nothing but pure evil, an evil that must be eliminated, "And you claim that you truly cared about them.  I can honestly say that El-ahrairah is rightly the Prince of all Fools, thinking that you, Justin, are a pure, innocent, noble creature when in fact, you are just like all other human, arrogant, cruel, selfish, and gutlessly despicable."

                "Shut up!" Justin yelled, now more furious than he had ever been before, "SHUT UP!!  YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!!  BRING THEM BACK!!!  BRING MY FRIENDS BACK!!!"

                Prince Rainbow gave a low chuckle, as if he was dubious of the cross-bearer's abilities and actually found the scene of a puny, sniveling human now making demands amusing.  Justin grew even more angry.  Now, for once in his life, he wanted to deliberately hurt Prince Rainbow and his dogs, he wanted to make them pay for what they did, he wanted to strike back and lash out in anger, no longer willing to just swallow the abuse and hurt.  He wanted vengeance; he wanted to kill.  In his anger, to his surprise, the golden bearerang, the swift, deadly golden boomerang, now appeared in his hands as the cross, sensing his emotions of rage and hate.  Justin drew his arm back, ready to send it directly into Prince Rainbow's heart.

                "BRING THEM BACK!!!" the teenager roared, but before he could release the weapon, Prince Rainbow's voice rang out, sure, strongly, and brief.

                "STOP!"  Justin froze, and the dog on Prince Rainbow's left, which amazingly looked as if it was made of lava and molten stone, burning and radiating like a hound from the deepest, fiery depths of hell and brimstone, let loose a disembodied, demonic howl.  There was crackle, an faint eruption behind Prince Rainbow, and to the boy's shocked surprise, a column of tightly packed dirt and rock began forming and erecting itself out of the hill, steadily growing and shaping into a demented totem pole.  To the human teenager's repulsion, demonic faces of dogs, oddly misshapen to look like monsters from hell, materialized from the earth, with their wide mouths littered with teeth, pointed ears similar to demon horns, and narrowed slits of eager, brutal bloodshed representing their sinful eyes.  As soon as the column grew over several stories and was as wide and thick as the largest redwood tree, numerous claws, paws, and hands made of soil and mud formed and extracted themselves out of the column, bringing out a multitude of limp objects.  Justin's breath then died in his throat as his breath came out in a whimpered, choking gasp.

                It was the Owsla of Watership Down, all of them.  Hazel-rah, Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry, Dandelion, Hawkbit, Speedwell, Holly, Pipkin, Strawberry, Acorn, Buckthorn, Bluebell, Silver and Campion, all of them unconscious from the crushing weight of the avalanche, limp, dirty, and lifeless, as the stone paws held them tightly by their torsos, imprisoning them and placing them in a gruesome display, strung like puppets on the column of stone dog heads.  They were all alive, yet in grave danger.

                "Havoc, awaken the cross-bearer's friends," Prince Rainbow ordered, and with a nod, the metallic canine widened his eyes, allowing the blank, white gleam of purgatory to shine once again.  To Justin's terror, each of the stone heads on the column also had their eyes turn blank with the blinding white illumination, and in a flash, a surge of colorless, burning lightning emerged out of each of the dogs' eyes, intense and powerful, before coursing through all fifteen bodies of the rabbit soldiers, ribbons of painful electricity streamed through their flesh and skin, immediately jolting them back to consciousness with a rude, excruciating, cruel alarm.

                "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" screamed all the rabbits as one, the burning sensations channeling through every cell, every fiber of their bodies, sending every one of their nerves to heightened, new awareness for torment and suffering.  The brutal blitz of lightning was burning the rabbits' bodies, smoldering them, causing wafts of black smoke to emerge from their flesh and leaving huge, ugly, bleeding welts and burns.

                "STOP!!!  STOP IT!!!"  Justin lost all restraint as he screamed to the heavens above.  The dog with the glacial cap then, as to humor the teenager, calmed down, and the lightning faded away, and left the rabbits, awake, but barely sensible as they panted, trying to gasp for precious air and relieve their pain and they looked down at the scene in front of them, realizing their predicament, yet too heavily injured and weakened to do anything about it.

                Prince Rainbow then sadistically chuckled, "Oh dear, does this scene displease you so much?  Maybe then I should change it to your liking.  Carnage."  The dog formed from molten rock now had his eyes glowing, streams of fire shooting and curving out of his eye sockets and into their air like wild snakes.  Immediately, the creatures of rock that were attached to the column responded in obedience.  Bluebell, Buckthorn, and Campion suddenly felt the rocks holding them prisoner shift slowly, painfully, squeezing their bodies so hard, several of their ribs snapped and Buckthorn's lung was severely punctured from a fragment of broken bone, forcing his airway to collapse and the stolid rabbit weakly gurgled in air as his mouth filled with crimson blood.

                "Augh!  It hurts!  It hurts!!" shrieked Bluebell.

                Campion was writhing and jerking violently, trying to get out of the crushing grip the stone dogs were inflicting on his body, "Stop it!  Frith and Inle, stop it!!!"

                The dog then inflicted more punishment on several other rabbits on the column of dirt, and to their horror, Fiver, Pipkin, Silver, and strawberry felt themselves being pulled inwards forcefully.

                "What in the name of -?!!" choked Silver, but that was all he was able to blurt out before he, Strawberry, Pipkin, and Fiver were completely dragged back into the column of earth, back again into the tightly packed prison, cut off from any light and air, as the earth enclosed all around them.  Justin could faintly hear the muffled screams of the rabbits from underneath the suffocating gravel, could barely see the faint vibrations as Strawberry and Fiver thrashed and bucked, trying to fight their way through the surface for several precious breaths of air.  Pipkin was faintly crying, and Silver was trying his best to remain clam despite the claustrophobic environments.  However, it would simply be a matter of minutes before they would be rendered unconscious again.

                Carnage, the lava hellhound, then smirked at Justin's pale, shocked face, sneering, "Do you know how long it takes fro a creature to perish if their supply of air is completely cut off from them?  Do you know how long it takes for a rabbit to die if they are buried alive, suffocating and desperate for freedom, except like fools, every time they struggle, they use up what precious life they have left, bringing them closer and closer to their demise?  The watering of their eyes, a simple layer of fire develops in their lungs and windpipe, choking them, and their heads actually begin to swim and throb excruciatingly, as if one was striking their skulls with a metal weapon.  Of course, they cannot perish...but I just simply enjoy observing you watch on helplessly as your beloved friends suffer."  With that, Fiver, Silver, Pipkin, and Strawberry were thrust out of the stone and soil pillar, the rabbits frothing at the mouths and their eyes rolling with nausea as they gasped in precious air, coughing and sputtering.  Justin, though relieved that they were now done with the torture, just turned back to Prince Rainbow, terrified and at a loss for words.

                "Afraid, are you, you despicable coward?  You should be, for Elil-rah has made it so that not even Strawberry's seismokinesis or your special abilities over my loyal servants, the Dogs of War."  Prince Rainbow then indicated to the two canine abominations with a simple nod of his head, and the two dogs snarled menacingly at Justin.

                "The smaller one is called Havoc.  His power is to not only spread hatred and dissention in any creature he touches, but he also has the ability to manipulate the fates of chance so that his victims will always meet misfortune and bad luck.  If there is even the slimmest chance of a situation to go wrong, if there is even a hint of a possibility that a well-executed plan shall fail, if there exists the vulnerability of Achilles, then Havoc shall influence the outcome to end in collapse, bringing whomever he wishes to unpleasant fortune.  Which is the main reason why your cross will not help the rabbits, you fool!  Havoc's magic allows him to even hinder the abilities of your jewel, making you helpless!"

                Justin's blood turned blue with cold at this statement.  Prince Rainbow then turned to the larger dog made of molten lava.

                "This is another one of my precious children, Carnage," he resumed, "He has the ability to meld with the earth and rock, becoming one with it, molding and controlling it as easily as if they were all simply extensions of his own body, as easily as acorns falling off an oak tree.  He is far more powerful than the power of seismokinesis you yourself had blessed to your friend, Strawberry, cross-bearer.  So as you can see, with the Dogs of War at my side, you are truly powerless!"

                Prince Rainbow then sneered at the frail, petrified Justin as he added, "And of course, the glorious Elil-rah has also sanctified my loyalty and allegiance to his cause!  You are not the only one blessed with great and destructive powers of apocalyptic proportions, you foolish boy!  You are now lost, cross-bearer!  Without your senseless, meaningless friends to protect you and act as your personal army, you are truly done for, alone, weak, helpless, and sickeningly needy, and nothing more than a frightened child who is barely capable of anything impressive and heroic in his life!  And I shall be the magnificent messenger of truth to demonstrate this to all of the land beyond life!  And I shall first start by killing your friends, your only companions, your worthless, zealous traitorous protectors, the mighty rabbits of El-ahrairah's Owsla and of Watership Down!"

                Justin whose voice chords were stuck together with revulsion and whose throat was parched, dry, finally found his ability to speak as his anger flushed out.

                "Even if you hurt them, I can still heal them with my cross!" shot back Justin feverishly.

                Prince Rainbow laughed as he repeated himself again, emphasizing his point, "Did you not hear me clearly enough, young cross-bearer?  I said I would kill your friends, not hurt them.  No power, not even your cross, would be able to bring them back once I exhibited my power and banish them forever from this haven, a haven they have lost the right to be sheltered in for their crimes against Frith himself!"

                "You're lying!" shouted Justin, his throat hoarse and tightening, but there was a very cold inkling of suspicion in the back of his mind.

                Prince Rainbow now was in front of Justin by no more than several yards, magically appearing in front of him faster than the eye could blink.  His red eyes glittered dangerously as he muttered in a low, final tone, "Do not call me a liar, you young fool.  I have punished creatures for far less than that."

                Justin felt his hands shake as his lings started to constrict his breathing, the muscles in his body tightening with angry apprehension, and to control himself, the adolescent gripped his elbows painfully with opposite hands as he fought to keep his voice level, "It can't be true.  It isn't true.  Hazel and the other rabbits told me that this is the land beyond life, a place where all animals go to when they died, sort of like the afterlife.  They can be hurt, but no one can ever die again once they enter this place because they're spirits, they're souls and you can't hurt them if they've already died.  You're lying, this is a trick, it can't be true."

                "Am I?" mocked Prince Rainbow.  A sound from up above caused him to turn his glance upwards, and Justin and the dogs followed suit.  It was a lark, a dark-yellow bird with an ivory-colored beak and feet, black eyes and black tips at the ends of its wings and tail feathers, passing by naively in the sky, chirping and flying.  Though he could not see it, the human adolescent could have sworn Prince Rainbow smiled, his tone of voice now revoltingly delighted as he laughed to yourself, "At last, a perfect example."

                With that, Prince Rainbow's cloak commenced to shimmering in a strange, blue aura, the unnatural power of his magic now being released onto the unknowing, innocent lark.  The being's eyes were now pointed directly at the bird, shining with the same unholy, emerald luminosity.  Up above, to the horror and surprise of both Justin and the imprisoned Watership soldiers, the lark let out a strangled cry, its singing perishing and rotting in its very throat as it too, began to shine in Prince Rainbow's evil power.  With a flash, the bird froze, similar to the effects of Justin's time-freeze, before it began fading away, draining in color and becoming transparent, sickly, and ghastly white against the dark sky until it disappeared, vanished in thin air, leaving nothing except traces of white ashes and dust in its wake.  Justin was taken aback, staggered, and looked as if he was about to be sick right then and there.  The rabbits of El-ahrairah were also appalled and horrified to the points of the deepest revulsion and disconcerting fear.  Prince Rainbow had heartlessly and pitilessly obliterated and wiped out a spirit in the land beyond life, a realm of peace and eternal life where no force, not even the Black Rabbit, could be able to callously extract a dead soul, a peaceful animal spirit that had deserved to spend eternity in celestial bliss, from the land beyond life and banish it to the realms of the other-worldly.

                "I can't believe it," quivered Hazel, white in the face and his entire body now cold with remorse and sorrow for the poor fate of the lark.

                "It cannot be true.  It simply cannot!" wailed Pipkin softly, weeping at the untimely, unnecessary "death" of a fellow creature, a cherished animal of Frith's creation.

                "Impossible!" breathed Holly hoarsely, "Not even El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle have such power!  This is ridiculous!  It is a trick, a mere illusion!  Do not listen to him Justin!"

                "I assure you, you old, withered crone, that this is, indeed, real, and not a simple, degrading trick!" Prince Rainbow said in an annoyed voice before turning his attention to Justin, "I had simply banished the animal to limbo, the realm of the Unknown, a place where it will have no feelings, no conscious awareness, nothing.  For that is what the Unknown is, it is a third power, an area of gray in between the blackness of death and the light of life, a place of the nonexistent.  And the limbo is not as unfamiliar as you think, you wretch!  do you not remember the incantation you and the storyteller, Dandelion, have recited to vanquish the rabbit soldier, King Fur-Rocious?  That display of power also sent the loyal soldier of Elil-rah to limbo, a place where he was forced to endure an endless sea of nothingness, of unbearable, quiet, silent, bare infinity!  Elil-rah, with his glorious power and will, had been able to extract King fur-Rocious out of harm's way, but as a token, he blessed me with the ability to send any creature I chose into the Unknown limbo, the realm of the lost, the realm where there is no heaven, no hell, just nothing!  I had just performed my work on the lark, and now, I shall perform it on the rabbits of Watership Down."

                "No, don't!" cried Justin, wringing his hands.

                "Do not listen to him, Justin!!" yelled Hazel in distress, "Frith in a barn, just run!  Run!!  He shall kill you if you do not!!"

                Justin was just frozen to the spot, unable to move, nor was he willing to, like an animal caught unmoving in the path of an incoming car, staring fixatedly at the headlights.  Prince Rainbow, however, just glared at Hazel before replying to Justin.

                "I dare not attack you, Justin," Prince Rainbow stated darkly as he glared at the wide-eyed, trembling adolescent before him, "even with Havoc's magic bestowed upon him by Elil-rah himself, your cross had properties of protection and power that not even the Dark Lord could ever break through for it grew stronger and stronger, surpassing his expectations, for every moment you were under the guardianship of the cursed rabbits, the despicable, troublemaking rabbits of Watership Down, sent by their Prince of all Fools, El-ahrairah.  In spite of everything, I dare not openly engage in battle with you, you young fool and neither shall I risk the well being of my loyal servants, for I do not wish them to be plagued and mislead by your evil intentions and illusions of corruption like you have done to your rabbit soldiers."

                "How dare you say such things?!" squealed Campion intensely, and in quick response, the rabbit screamed in agony as Carnage manipulated the dirt claws holding Campion by the waist to tighten their grip mercilessly, nearly crushing the poor rabbit.  Prince Rainbow continued regardless.

                "As you can see, you pathetic excuse for a human, you have lost this battle.  Your journey is now over!  You dare to attack me, and you risk in provoking me to send each and every one of the Watership rabbits to limbo, exactly like I have done with the lark.  If you continue to journey to the warren of El-ahrairah anyway, you will slowly die on the inside, overcome by your grief and isolation, until you become mad with lunacy and your power, now no longer strengthened by the love these dismal rabbits have showered you with before, will diminish bit by bit until you become so weak, it allows Elil-rah's weakest forces to finish you off with a simple blow.  Not to mention El-ahrairah and the others will banish you from their warren once they find that you disgracefully left their companions and trusted fellow rabbits to die just to save your own skin.  No rabbit would ever wish to protect such a sniveling, weak, useless human who cared for only himself, like so many others before him.  I always have known that the cross-bearer would be no different from all other cruel, selfish, and insensitive wretches that have ruthlessly and thoughtlessly wrecked chaos and disrepair upon thousand and thousands of animals, and now, I have proven the truth, the real truth!  You are truly the one curse that would destroy the land beyond life, and as such, you must be stopped, Justin, by any means necessary.  Even if I have to kill every single rabbit in the land beyond the living, I know Frith would heartily approve of such actions once the mendacities of the cross-bearer no longer clouds his judgment!"

                "You're crazy!!  Frith and El-ahrairah aren't the ones wrong!  Elil-rah is the one who would destroy you and every single creature in the land beyond life!  Hazel said El-ahrairah said so himself and you know it's the truth!!  All of this chaos happened way before I even got here!" protested Justin ardently.

                Prince Rainbow then had a sickening smile on his face.  "You sad, delusional fool, you have no idea about the real truth behind you and Elil-rah, do you?"

                Justin then became wooden, unable to express any emotion through his confusion.  "What...what are you talking about??"

                "Did it ever occur to your small, feeble mind on why Elil-rah only wishes to attack and vanquish El-ahrairah and his legacy, but not the legacy of other animals?" Prince Rainbow asked snidely, and upon seeing the blank, pained expression on Justin's face, he continued, "Think and remember well, Justin.  Out of every animal that you have encountered in the land beyond life, from the animals in the Lands of Yesterday and Tomorrow to the animals of Elil-rah's Owsla such as the rats, Nekas the snake, the weasels, and yes, even fellow rabbits such as the Efrafans, none of them were ever mistreated and wiped out by Elil-rah's power.  Yes, they were disciplined, but none of them were the target of Elil-rah's quest for purification such as El-ahrairah and your miserable fellowship.  Did you ever wonder why?  After all, you have a right to know, seeing as how you are closer to Elil-rah than you and the rest of the rabbits think."

                Justin did not say anything, but to his horror, his brain was betraying his consciousness, aptly willing to take in the biased information Prince Rainbow was willing to tell him.  To his relief, though it was unbelievably cruel as well, Prince Rainbow deliberately diverged from that as the rabbits, as best as they could, muttered questionably amongst themselves.

                "What in Frith's name is he talking about?!" Bluebell whispered to Hazel and Holly.

                "He's lying.  The bloody chap is lying.  There could be no other possible explanation," hissed Hawkbit in rage.  Hazel, however, with a sinking pit in his stomach, was not as convinced.

                Prince Rainbow then bragged with an annoying superior tone of voice, madly laughing fit to burst, "Admit it, young Justin!  You were never meant for the true greatness and power that the legends of past forgotten have told about!  You were nothing back in your world, and now, you will be nothing in this world!!  Admit it, you fool!  Without the cross, without your precious rabbit friends of Watership Down, you are simply the poor, bullied, whimpering Justin who is so delicate and meager that he cannot defend himself against his own kind nor his own father!  Without El-ahrairah's blessing, without Frith's blessing, without anyone to protect and support your weak ego, you are as despicable and inadequate and worthless as El-ahrairah and every single one of his cunning, thieving children!  So what will be your choice, you brat?!  Do you wish to watch as I kill the Watership rabbits, one by one, before your very eyes as you realize you can do nothing to prevent me, or...do you wish to make your way on your own to El-ahrairah's warren, betraying the very protectors who have sworn to care after you, becoming a disappointment once again to those who ever gave a damn about your well-being, once again, becoming the most hated creature in the land beyond life?  So what shall it be, you wretch?  You wish to abandon your friends or watch them die?"

                "Neither."  It was barely louder than a whisper, almost close to a wail or a sob, but the sight of the bearerang vanishing crystal cross dropping to into the dead grass and clover with a small plop spoke volumes.

                Silence, shocked silence, filled the entire field, and it was so unexpected, so nerve-wracking, so tormenting that to even relive the scene would have caused any of the rabbits of the Watership Owsla to go tharn with frost and bewilderment.  Havoc and Carnage themselves appeared slightly taken aback, and Prince Rainbow himself was now frozen in surprise, complete and total surprise, as even his vaporous cloak remained still in the dead air as he looked at Justin underneath the shadows hiding his face beneath the hood.  This was completely unexpected.  Prince Rainbow, in his wildest imaginations, had in no way expected the young boy to rip the cross, the one and only thing that could save himself and El-ahrairah, off his neck and let it drop to the ground, leaving him entirely vulnerable.  A minute of traumatized hush passed by before Justin lifted his head with a grim, crying look on his face.

                "You win, Prince Rainbow.  You win, but please, please, let my friends go.  You can kill me and take away my cross, but let Hazel and the others go on their way back to El-ahrairah's warren in Fenlo.  You...you have my word: if you let Hazel and the other rabbits from Watership Down free, I'll surrender the cross and...and I'll let you kill me.  I'll let you take my life for theirs.  But, please, please, don't hurt them!!"

                Justin softly begged that last sentence in unbearable sorrow, and in response, the rabbit soldiers of El-ahrairah, while still imprisoned in the column of dirt, hollered back with all of their might, pleading and screaming.

                "Justin!!  No, you mustn't!!!  It is not worth the risk!!!" yelled Acorn with a terrified expression of dread on his face.

                Fiver then squealed, "How could you?!  How could you??!!  You have no right to bargain away El-ahrairah's life away like that!!  You cannot do such a thing!!  O embleer Frith, please Justin!!"

                "If you surrender the cross, I swear I'll never have any respect for you as long as I live!!!" screamed Hawkbit as he glared at Justin with his most severe frown, but the teenager could hear the desperation of pleading in the cantankerous rabbit's voice, could see the tears of worry and consternation sparkling in his eyes.  Hawkbit, deep in his heart, did not mean that.

                Holly then wearily pleaded, "Don't, young one, don't!!  Otherwise, we will all die in vain and so will El-ahrairah!!"

                Justin just bowed his head and did not answer, unwilling to let his friends see the conflict he was wrestling with as of this moment.

                "Why?  Why??" sobbed Dandelion mournfully, his mind so consumed with shocked loss, it was the only word the buck was able to utter.

                "You coward!  You sentimental idiot!!  Fight him!  Run!  Do something, damn it, do anything!  Please!!!" roared Bigwig, his eyes glassy and wide, almost oddly appearing like Fiver, now actually, for the first time ever since this journey began, welling with tears.

                "Justin!!  Please!!  I do not wish to see you get killed!!" begged Pipkin, wailing piteously.

                Strawberry now lost his usual calm and reserved composure as he bellowed, "Justin, for the love of Frith and all that he has created, do not throw your life away!!!  Think about El-ahrairah!!  Embleer Frith, don't do it!!!"

                Buckthorn, who was still weak and enervated and had very little air left in his lungs, was not even able to speak, but the sad, pitying, hurt look he cast at Justin through his blue, solemn eyes was explanatory enough...and heartbreaking.

                Campion then pleaded, whimpering and sobbing, "Young one, please, this is not the time to be noble!  You must go on!  I...I cannot bear losing you!!  Please, young one!!"

                Silver managed to wheeze out feebly, "Justin, can you not see you will be working directly into Elil-rah's paws?  This is not a path even El-ahrairah would wish for you to take.  Justin, my friend, do not let him use us against you.  Please, leave."

                Justin just kept his head down, quivering, but stubbornly remaining steadfast.

                Blackberry then, hoping to infuriate the human into abandoning them, screamed out heatedly, "You idiot!!  You fool!!  This is NOT rational!!  You're just acting based on your own emotions, just like what happened back with Nekas!!  If you do this to me again, I won't EVER forgive you!!!"

                Bluebell then begged wearily, "Justin, please, will you just go?!  El-ahrairah needs you!!  We, on the other hand, do not."

                "Bucko, please, listen to us rabbits!" Speedwell choked, shuddering hard at trying not to sob, "You think you cannot carry onwards without us, but do you realize how much more it would hurt us if we lost you?!  If we came back to El-ahrairah empty-handed with no way to cure him?!  We would be far more devastated than a thousand fold from what you would feel!"

                Hazel then said, "Cross-bearer, young one, Justin, our friend, please, run as fast as you can back to El-ahrairah's warren in Fenlo.  You can not surrender the cross, not even for us!"

                Justin then snapped as his heart spoke the truth he harbored in his soul for all these days and night he spent with the Watership rabbits, "I WON'T!!!  I WON'T LEAVE YOU!!!  JUST SHUT UP!!!  PLEASE!!!"

                Everyone, including Prince Rainbow, Carnage and Havoc, was stunned at the intensity of Justin's fervent voice, and just stared at the teenager who was now trembling with fear and exertion.

                "I...I'm sorry, but I can't, I can't do what you're asking me to do," Justin sniffed, trying his best to hold back his crying, as he addressed to the rabbits, "Without my friends, I can't go on, I don't have the heart to even live.  You guys are the only family I have, the only family who ever cared for me, looked out for me, who ever gave a damn about my well being and risked everything just to protect me.  Do you want me to just forget that?  Because I can't.  I...I know I can beat Prince Rainbow."  (At this, Prince Rainbow was taken aback)  "But...but I can't risk it...because I can't bear letting you guys get hurt.  I just can't bear that.  You want me to go?  Go where?  I...I wouldn't have the heart to go on, and I probably wouldn't even want to live.  Because if I let you guys die, I would be all alone, just like before, and I can't go through that again.  Because I know Frith and God didn't send me here, in the land beyond life, putting me under your guardianship and love, just to watch you guys die for me.  I don't want anyone to die for me...and if you guys aren't going to live through this, then...then I don't want to live either!"  At this final part of his confession, Justin now let loose the dam of endless tears, sorrow, and pain flood out, the boy now crying freely as he kept his head down and his teeth gritted, fearful of how Prince Rainbow and his dogs were going to kill him.  Up above, all the rabbits of Watership Down, including Bigwig, were crying silently as well, their faces streaked with tears.  and then, to everyone's surprise...a miracle happened.

                "Let them go, Carnage."

                "WHAT??!!!" bellowed out Carnage and Havoc in outrage.  Justin then looked at Prince Rainbow, flabbergasted.

                "I said let them go," Prince Rainbow ordered softly, still looking at the cross-bearer.  With an obedient, yet conflicted and struggling, nod, Carnage lowered his head, and immediately, the earthen pilaster crumbled slowly, freeing the rabbits and easing them gently onto the ground.  Justin, now abandoning all caution, hurriedly and frantically ran up the dirt, past Prince Rainbow and the Dogs of War, and towards the rabbits.  Carnage growled as he was about to maul the adolescent, but Prince Rainbow shook his head warningly.  The hellhound of lava and molten rock begrudgingly obeyed.  Hazel, as the other rabbits struggled to stand up on their hind feet, managed to look at the ashen-faced human child in front of him, shaking and traumatized.

                "Justin?" Hazel asked softly, unsure what to do.

                Justin could only just look up to the Chief Rabbit, his face white with shock and still wet with the emotions of loss and fright, knowing it was close, so close, that he lost the only beings he ever cared about.  Justin could barely see the concerned look on the buck's face as his vision was nearly blurred with tears. Trembling, yet still maintaining a rigid posture, Justin's voice quivered, breaking, "I...I could have...could have...lost all of y-you...a-and...I...I would h-have been...all alone...a-again...and...and...oh my God...I...could h-have killed...oh God...I...I would have been lost again..."

                It was clear that Justin was close to having a nervous breakdown, that he was having trouble not succumbing to his grief, and Hazel, brokenhearted, did the only thing he could think of.

                "Justin, come here," he whispered softly with arms wide open and calm, sympathetic eyes.

                Hazel then let the broken teenager come into his paws, let the young adolescent bury his face into his tunic and torso, taking in the precious touch and smell of his fur, as Hazel firmly, comfortingly, embraced the cross-bearer as Justin kept sobbing.

                "I nearly lost you...I nearly lost all of you," he managed to choke out hoarsely.

                Hazel just nuzzled Justin's soft, clammy hair, whispering protectively, "Shush, it's all right young one.  It's all right, all is well now, so there is no need to dwell on the horrors of the alternative possibilities.  Just go ahead cry, young one.  All of us are still here with you, it is all over."

                As Justin kept crying piteously with all the rabbits, his only family who endured everything to love him, to protect him, to care for him, gathered around, hugging their friend gently, Havoc and Carnage just dumbly stared at the group with troubled eyes and bitter confusion.

                Havoc, though he did not realize it, had tears spilling from his red eyes, now full of sorrow and memory of his past, "He...the cross-bearer...he...loves them.  He...he truly loves them.  Like...like my master did..."

                Havoc flashed back to his past, physical life of hardship...

                "Stay!  Stay!!  No, dammit!!" yelled the man as he tore into the road to stop his dog.

                There was a screech of rubber futilely trying to maintain a death grip on the black pavement as the smell of burning smoke wafted in the air as the car vainly tried to brake before the unavoidable, sickening thud of death, with the onlookers and crowd screaming and staring in shock as Havoc just helplessly and regretfully looked at the body of his human master, lying dead on the road, blood pooling around his gray suit.

                One man yelled furiously as he pointed at Havoc, "It was the terrier!  It was 'is fault!!  The dog killed him!!"

                "Master," sobbed Havoc, "Please...I'm sorry!  Please, wake up!  Please!!  I didn't mean to!!  Please, don't die!!  Please!!!"  Yet as the pound came to drag him away, his master's eyes continued to remain soullessly open, glazed and lifeless, staring at Havoc with a mixture of dismay and blame for a mistake, a mistake that would forever haunt the dog for the rest of his life.

                Havoc, at the intensity of these memories flooding back into his awareness, began sobbing and whining harder.  Carnage just venomously scowled at Justin, but he dared not attack, not after Prince Rainbow himself had ordered for both of them to stop.

                Prince Rainbow just stood there dumbly as he slowly advanced towards the group until he was no more than a couple of feet away from them.  The rabbits, as they turned to face him, could sense that there was no burning power, no dark forces clouding his mind, and even the glowing orbs under his black hood were now radiating less harshly, his disbelief and confusion now making his heart softer and softer despite the acidic, corrosive clouds of mistrust, ruthlessness, and cruelty.

                Prince Rainbow, at a loss of words, could only stammer, his well-expressed speech now coming out in hesitant jumbles of sentence fragments, "You...you could have simply abandoned them.  You...could have simply...left them behind...and yet...you stayed.  You...stayed, you remained and refused to run.  Why?  You were even willing...to give up the cross...to sacrifice your own life...your power...the one thing that would save their Prince...and instead, you chose to die with those rabbits?  You are a man, a being that would never in its right mind associate with lesser animals.  Why in Frith's name did you do it?"

                Justin, still being held by Hazel, said then truthfully and sincerely, "Because they mean a lot to me, because they are my family, the only people who truly love me, and that's something I never had.  I can never abandon people...and animals...I love."

                At this, the cross, lying on the ground, forgotten in the dirt, now, feeling the powerful, compelling emotions of love and trust, had finally overcame the magic of Havoc's abilities and blazed in a fury of pure, soothing, sunlight of the grandest gold, yellow, and orange, erasing the destruction ravaged on the meadows by Carnage and melting the dark sky, once again turning it to a bright, blue, sunny day.  In an instant, all the rabbits were healed from their wounds they had received as the light diminished.  To everyone's surprise, Prince Rainbow was now gone, vanished, nowhere to be seen, and his Dogs of War, Carnage and Havoc, were no longer strange, monstrous beasts, but now appeared like ordinary canines created by nature.  The dog that used to be Carnage, in fear, looked around wildly.

                "Master?!  MASTER??!!  Where are you?!!  Damn you, cross-bearer?!  What have you done to our master?!  Tell me what you have done with him, or so help me, I'll kill you!!!"

                "Enough," rang a calm voice all around them, echoing in the grassy fields.  Buckthorn recognized the voice.

                "Prince Rainbow?!" the rabbit gasped, as everyone else attentively listened, taking in what the spiritual messenger was wishing to tell them.  Now, Prince Rainbow's voice was no longer abrasive and discordant, but composed, peaceful, judicious, and fair.

                "Cross-bearer, do not fear the fact that I am no longer, for not you nor the rabbits can see my form as of yet," Prince Rainbow's voice declared, "That previous form you all have just witnessed, along with the forms of my two loyal dog protégés, were twisted identities made by Elil-rah.  Using his corruption and deception and lies and darkness, he cursed us by shrouding our hearts in darkness and mistrust and wrath, in his plan to rule over the land beyond life and to extinguish El-ahrairah's legacy.  Please, rabbits and children of El-ahrairah and Watership Down, please Justin, cross-bearer and chosen of Frith and El-ahrairah's will, please, forgive me and my weakness.  I have mocked you, wronged you all, tortured you, and attempted to humiliate and discredit you in your demises when in fact...I was the one who was wrong.  And despite it all, your cross healed myself and my dogs, freed us from the heaviness in our souls and hearts, broke Elil-rah's power and control over our minds and actions, and had brought us peace and revealed to us our true forms, our forms created by Frith.  Frith and El-ahrairah were right; you, Justin, truly are the one who was meant to be with El-ahrairah and his children and the one who truly meant to bear the cross of light and love.  Please, forgive me."

                Justin nodded, confused, but grateful that everything turned out all right.  The cross then levitated, to everyone's astonishment, directly to Justin before, as if invisible hands were at work, the silver, metal chain looped around and fasted itself to the adolescent's neck.  Now Justin's cross was back in his possession.  Prince Rainbow then spoke before his voice faded away.

                "Justin, rabbits of Watership Down, you all must go!!  Go and return to El-ahrairah!!  Now!!  It is of the utmost urgency that you heal the Prince of all Rabbits!!  Elil-rah knows you and your band are close, and dangerous as he is, he shall try everything in his power to prevent that!!  You all must not delay!!  I shall not be with you, for I will go directly back to Frith and request for his help and aid in this danger that threatens to envelop this world!!  But you hrair rabbits will not be alone!!  My dogs will accompany you and add to your ranks, protecting you from Elil-rah's menaces and dangers."

                "What?!" bellowed the former Carnage in shock.

                "Master, please do not leave us!!  You promised!!" the former Havoc started crying in distress.  Yet Prince Rainbow's voice was warm and loving as he replied, "Please, you must follow and protect the young human and his rabbit companions, escorting them back to the warren of their Prince.  Please, do not quarrel.  Our land, our home is in grave jeopardy, and you must be brave and bold and help in whatever ways you can in assisting the cross-bearer.  I love you both, and I will return to you, I promise.  But please, you both must obey this order.  will you two do this, for me?"

                The dogs, though miserable and conflicted, nodded despondently and gloomily.  Prince Rainbow's voice faded in the distance as he pronounced to Justin, "Justin, take care and do not worry, for my dogs shall protect you.  please help and love them, as I have, for I know you will care for them too.  Farewell cross-bearer, and please, do take care of Rowf and Snitter, my true charges."  With that, Prince Rainbow was gone, but Justin's jaw then dropped.

                Click.  Justin swore he could have heard his mind echo that onomatopoeia as his eyes widened so much, the whites could have been seen surrounding his brown pupils as he slowly turned to the two guardian dogs of Prince Rainbow.

                "It...can't be," Justin whispered to himself as the dogs, now free from Elil-rah's power, no longer looked at him with rage and ruthless savageness, but with grim, mistrusting faces of pain, watering eyes full of past sins committed against them that were too awful to print in words, and hurt, sadness, and inured anguish.  But he knew he had heard Prince Rainbow say their names clearly, and now, he took a closer, scrutinizing look at the two canines.  The one previously known as Havoc was now a small, white terrier, as big as Hawkbit, but not much bigger than Justin himself, with large blotchy areas of brown covering his body, even one spot over the dog's right eye.  And gruesomely enough, there was a large incision on the top of the dog's head close to his right ear, as if made by a sharp scalpel, offhandedly stitched with black thread and now, the wound was healing irregularly with bugles of pink, tender flesh, devoid of any fur, as the teenager could see some areas of the dog's white skull still uncovered by the skin.  His companion, once Carnage, next to him was apparently a large, Black Labrador, as gargantuan as Bigwig, with fur as black as obsidian and gleaming, yet his fur and muzzle were oddly contrasted with dark-gray hair, and the dog's eyes were dark brown, though dangerously gleaming with caginess.  Yet his face registered a haunted look of torture, of regret, or fatigue and a life of uneasiness, one that would never leave him.  Justin then knew.  He knew.

                "You're...you're Snitter and Rowf, the Plague Dogs," the adolescent whispered.  Snitter and Rowf were the two main characters of Richard Adam's "The Plague Dogs", a heart-wrenching story about two animal test subjects who were subjected to inhumane scientific experiments all in the name of medical research in England, with Rowf assessed to multiple drownings underwater in order to learn how long could he tolerate staying afloat.  Snitter was put through brain surgery (thus the surgical mark on his head), having the scientists trying to confuse the dog's sense of subjectivity and objectivity in his neural functions.  Luckily, the two were able to escape and managed to live out into the wild, scourging for food and getting back with their primal instincts thanks to the help of a fox called the Tod, who agreed to teach them how to live on their wits and cunning.  However, the government research facility did not wish to compromise the time and money spent on gaining data from their sadistic experiments of the animals, so they spread the fabrication that Snitter and Rowf were carrying the bubonic plague, the Black Death, and in fear of a widespread outbreak, all of England, including the military, chased them down and caused them to search for "The Isle of Dogs", an island Snitter believed that all dogs go to when they die, like heaven, by jumping to the sea.  However, what confused Justin was the in the book, Snitter was reunited with the crippled master and he, a journalist, Snitter, and Rowf all decided to live happily ever after on the island as a family.  So...why were Rowf and Snitter so scared and bitter?

                Rowf's eyes grew into malicious slits of opprobrium as he snarled, "It wasn't us that's got the Plague, you insensitive bastard!"

                Bigwig, Strawberry, Holly and Campion were immediately in front of Rowf's darkened face in a flash, completely irascible and full of offensive rage.

                Holly growled huskily, emphasizing each word lucidly, "If you ever insult the cross-bearer like that again, you will answer to us four, that I promise you."

                "Holly, it's all right, leave him alone," Justin pleaded quietly, and incensed, the four Watership warriors recoiled back begrudgingly.  Justin silently and white in his clammy face, his heart beating with confused anxiety, slowly walked to both Snitter and Rowf.  Warily, Buckthorn and Bluebell stood up, ready to escort the teenager in case there was trouble.  Snitter, upon seeing the powerful human approach directly at him lost his previous animalistic facade and started sobbing in dread, his body trembling, expecting punishment for trying to kill the boy.  Rowf, thinking the same thing, immediately barged in between his adored companion and Justin, snarling and threatening to bite with his massive jaws, snarling with murderous menace, "You dare to touch Snitter and I will rip your throat out, human!"

                That was apparently the wrong thing to say for immediately, with a flash of golden light, Bigwig was now transformed into a snarling black dog the size of an Ilip and now he towered over the form of Rowf as Bigwig, Buckthorn, Bluebell, Campion, Holly, Hawkbit, and Acorn glared at him with equal harshness.

                "Wrong choice of words, embleer dog.  If you so much as even think it, we will rip your throat out," rumbled Bigwig in a low, hazardous voice.

                Pipkin then addressed to Rowf with mollifying eyes, "Please, Carnage...er, Rowf...er...whichever name you prefer, please, trust Justin.  He would never hurt Snitter or any other creature here in the land beyond life, he's the cross-bearer and our friend.  Trust him.  He's not evil."

                Silver then added, "The young one is simply trying to help you two.  He wishes to heal your wounds, not inflict pain and punishment.  Let him be, let him help you."

                "I would rather die again, you delusional, treacherous fool!" howled Rowf as he braced his hind feet and dug his claws into the grass and soil, twitching uncontrollably.

                "Rowf, please, let me help you!  Let me help Snitter!" pleaded Justin.

                "I do not want your sort of help, you bastard!  I do not want anything to do with you or with any human!  You're all the same!  You blame messes and disasters on us rather than taking responsibilities for your own damn actions, you enjoy inflicting pain and suffering on lesser beings, not giving a care on how much it hurts or how barbaric it is simply because you love the feeling of being superior, you love the illusion of control over animals, and because, simply...you can!  You have no idea what Snitter and I have gone through, so how the hell do you think we would react?!!  Get away from me!!"

                "We would hardly have a problem with that, Rowf," snapped Hawkbit scathingly, "but need I remind you, you dim-witted furball, that Prince Rainbow has ordered you and Snitter to stand by with us and protect the cross-bearer?  As you can so plainly see, we can't leave the both of you, not that I would not leap at the slightest chance."

                Rowf just stubbornly kept silent, the sweat of confusion, hurt, and trepidation now beading on his glossy black pelt as Hawkbit received a loud, painful cuff from Acorn and Speedwell, whom were next to the rabbit.  Justin then stepped forward again, and enraged, Rowf's teeth flashed, nearly coming close to severing Justin's fingers by no more than an inch.  Buckthorn and Campion stood up at high speed, and Rowf, undeterred then prepared for another attack, snarling, "Come any closer to Snitter, and I'll tear your throat out!  I...I don't care what Prince Rainbow says: we will never go with you, with any of you!  We will never trust -"

                Yet, to Rowf's disappointed betrayal, Snitter hesitantly came forward, past Rowf's protective, brotherly attention, and he was whimpering as thousands of mental images of pain and restlessness and misery threatened to bring him to his stomach, making him to weak to even walk.  Snitter's eyes were shining and wet, but he managed to continue until he was face to face with Justin's concerned eyes.  Rowf was immediately terrified and outraged.

                "Snitter!!  What in the name of all beasts are you doing?!  Get away from him!!!"

                Snitter was now crying softly as he asked softly, hesitantly, "You...you aren't like other humans, are you?"

                Justin's eyes crinkled a bit in sympathy and pity.  "I...I guess I am human, but...I'm not like the 'whitecoats' and the soldiers that chased you long ago."

                Snitter's eyes were now streaming; Justin reminded him so much of his dead, kind master.  He whispered mournfully and with grieving respect, "My master never used to do anything to me."

                Rowf was now beside himself as he practically yowled, "Snitter, shut up!  Do not say anything!  Don't say anything about your master!!  You're dead now!  He's dead now!!  You have a new life!!"

                Snitter continued, not listening to Rowf, his voice threatening to break into sobs, "He...he was always kind to me, loved me, never once hurt me because he was angry or...or because he wanted to.  He...he was different, and...and I...I killed him!"  Snitter now bent his head down low as he let his tears of pain, pain from the never-ending aching of his eternal, bleeding wounds.  "I...I killed him, I killed him!  I destroyed him!  I destroyed everything!!  It all comes from me, out of my head!!  Everything bad comes out of my head!!  Don't you see, cross-bearer?!!  Not even dying stopped it.  It's my fault...it's all my fault.  I truly deserved to be called Havoc because that is what I cause to whomever is around me."

                This last part of Snitter's confession ended with a low, choked whimper, the dog now finished wailing as he kept crying silently to himself, and Justin then compassionately laid his hand gently on Snitter's head and softly caressed his matted fur.

                "It wasn't your fault, Snitter," Justin whispered simply, at a loss for words.

                Snitter then looked at Justin with a wild, desperate look in his eye, whimpering, "Can you...can you really heal me?  Can you help me?!  Please!  I...I can't live with the guilt, with the pain, with the memories any longer!"

                "I...I can try, but I can honestly say, I've never healed emotional wounds before," confessed Justin helplessly.  Snitter however nodded his consent, and Justin then gently placed his hands on Snitter's head, his smooth, warm, gentle yet firm fingers slowly stroking his head wound and his face, soothing the dog slightly as both the teenager and the Plague dog started to glow.

                "NO!!!  GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" yelled Rowf as he frantically leapt directly at Justin and Snitter, but on cue, Bigwig, still in the form of a dog, effortlessly pinned the Black Labrador down with one hefty paw placed firmly and painlessly on the dog's stomach.  Rowf furiously struggled and writhed as Holly, Campion, Bluebell and Acorn helped to hold Rowf down to the ground and to mollify the canine.

                "Stop, please stop!   You're not making things jolly easier for yourself, chap!" cried Acorn as he put all of his weight on Rowf's powerful, thrashing paw.

                Rowf was inconsolable and still frightened, barking, "Let me go!  You embleer rabbits, LET ME GO!!!  Can you not see?!!  The human is going to hurt Snitter!!!  He's going to harm my friend, he's casting an evil spell!!!  I have to stop him!!  Let me go!!!"

                "Rowf, please, listen to the truth!!" snapped Holly sternly, "Justin is not like that!!  He's not casting an evil spell!!  He's trying to help Snitter and help you as well!!  He is trying to heal the both of you!!!"

                "Let me go, damn you!!!" howled Rowf as he continued to thrash about and move violently.  Meanwhile, Snitter and Justin did not hear the sounds of the fighting; they were only soft whispers of the wind as the teenager and the dog, now both immersed with healing light, were, in their minds, reliving the horrific experiences Snitter could remember, the dark, agonizing events of his past locked in a impenetrable region of his brain, locked and untouched yet ready to break what was left of Snitter's sanity and peace of mind with its continuous outpouring of torment and angst.  Justin could see everything that Snitter remembered as the steel cage around Snitter's heart tightened excruciatingly, causing the dog to whimper.  Justin saw Snitter's master getting killed from trying to protect Snitter from an incoming car.  He saw Snitter going through terrible brain surgery by the scientists at the research facility where he and Rowf were imprisoned.  He saw Snitter's glances at the dead animals who were unable to continue living through the gruesome experiments the whitecoats inflicted upon them, each animal holed in a separate, barren cell with meager amounts of hay and straw, barely enough for warmth, as they died with pained, glassy, cold expressions on their frozen faces.  He saw Rowf and Snitter slowly succumbing to starvation and malnutrition as they traveled through the cold, rocky mountains.  He saw the Snitter accidentally kill the farmer by pressing his foot non-intentionally against the gun the man had absent-mindedly left on the ground.  He saw Rowf and Snitter valiantly trying to escape the hunting dogs and the soldiers and the whitecoats chasing them into the sea, after watching the Tod become gruesomely killed by the soldiers' dogs.  And finally...he saw Rowf and Snitter drown in the sea, overcome by fatigue and weakness, as they futilely swam as far out as they could, trying to reach the Isle of the Dogs before the cold, icy water enveloped them to a world of peace and nothingness.

                With a bright flash, the light from Snitter and Justin disappeared and Justin just stood there, staring at Snitter with a mixture of pity, shock, and sadness.  What Justin saw, in the last vision, never happened in the story he remembered.  The wound, the surgical scar Snitter received from his physical life, was now gone, vanished, and the dog now had a fully healed cap of fur and skin.  The remnant of Snitter's past in the research facility was gone, erased, as if it had never existed before in the first place.  And to Snitter's dawning joy, he felt...free, liberated, and no longer burdened by the harsh memories of the guilt and despair and sorrow.  The lock of the steel cage was now broken, allowing the full power of Justin's light to blaze over every single dark crevice of the dog's heart and mind.  Snitter then knew that the boy was not lying.  Certainly, the memories of his past were still in his head, and they would always be, but Justin helped Snitter overcome his remorse and sadness and shame, things that were never meant for any animal to carry on as punishment, things that no creature should have ever endured in the first place.  And that was all Snitter really wished for; he did not need power and dominance and vengeance for crimes done against him and Rowf, but he simply needed...closure and healing.  He then curiously noticed that Justin was now crying softly, still dumbfounded by the atrocities Snitter and Rowf went though.  The adolescent did not even realize that there were tears of outrage and shameful grief running down his face until he felt Snitter reach over and lick them off with his warm, scratchy tongue, his breath now affectionate and his eyes now soft and tranquil.  As Snitter nuzzled the teenager's neck, the human cross-bearer numbly brought a trembling hand to Snitter's face.

                "I'm sorry," Justin whispered hoarsely.

                "Don't be," Snitter replied delicately as he sniffed and licked Justin's bleeding forehead tenderly, the blood now dried after Prince Rainbow's attack on the cross-bearer and the rabbits of Watership Down.  Bigwig, seeing how Snitter was now no longer a threat to Justin, warily, but gently, released Rowf from his hold, and the other rabbits, realizing how irate the Labrador would be once he had his paws free.  Rowf, in a heated instant, erupted to his feet, throwing curses and homicidal looks at the Owsla before his eyes rested on Snitter and Justin.  Rowf's eyes immediately turned bitter with snow and fire and betrayal as he frothed at the mouth at the sight of Justin.

                "YOU!" he sputtered, roaring, "You ruined everything!!  This is all your fault!!"  The mad dog was now wrathful and boiling enough to kill, but before he could even get close, to everyone's surprise, even to Rowf's, Snitter immediately and protectively got in between Rowf and Justin, blocking his companion and sole friend from attacking the teenage cross-bearer.  Snitter was smaller than Rowf and was outweighed by more than a great deal, but Rowf was stunned at the sudden change in his friend, his only and trusted friend he had ever cared for in his entire life, just stood there, frozen at the scene.

                "Rowf, if you wish to hurt the cross-bearer, then you must go through me first," Snitter said softly, without hate, yet his words were strong enough to cause Rowf to shudder with disbelief and hurt, hurt at the sight that his one and only comrade was against him.

                "Snitter, let me through.  Let me kill him.  This world and land would be better off without him," Rowf warned lowly and precariously, his fur now bristling and his teeth shining with saliva as his brown eyes narrowed in a sinister way.  The other rabbits immediately started to move to help Snitter, but Hazel, Blackberry, Fiver and Strawberry all stopped them from advancing.

                "Frith and Inle, what are you three doing?!  We have to stop Rowf!" whispered Speedwell fiercely.

                "This is the only way Justin can help Rowf see the truth, Speedwell," Blackberry said softly and distantly, as if he knew something the others could not comprehend.

                "By killing him?!" demanded Buckthorn crossly.

                "Rowf will not kill Justin," Fiver averred staunchly, yet softly and matter-of-factly.

                "Well then, forgive me, Fiver, if I fail to show any faith in your judgment at this time," Bigwig sneered rudely.

                Meanwhile, Rowf was now furiously berating Snitter as he stood there steadfastly, unwavering and firm, in front of Justin.

                "Damn you, Snitter, let me through!" roared Rowf.

                "I cannot do that, Rowf.  You would be making a mistake, a mistake that you would never be able to live with.  Please, trust the cross-bearer.  Trust Justin."

                "He brainwashed you, made you his slave!" spat out Rowf in contempt, not caring to see the pained expression emerging on Snitter's face, "How can you be so blind?!  You abandoned me!!  After everything we have gone through, after everything we have seen and faced from the evils of the whitecoats, after we swore we would always be close for each other, how could you?!!  HOW COULD YOU??!!"

                "He did no such thing, Rowf.  I still recall every single atrocity and despicable act done against us...but he boy, the young one, he's not like the whitecoats."

                "Get away from me!  You...you betrayed me!!  How could you?!"  Rowf was now sobbing piteously in rage and offense, like an angry child as the cage was now pressing tightly enough against his heart to spew forth blood of malice and despair.

                "Rowf..." Snitter began, but the black dog cut him off maliciously.

                "You still side with the cross-bearer, even after you knew what we endured, what I endured?!  You never knew how much I was afraid, of how much I was hurt and how I never had a master like you to begin with because no one ever wanted me!!  I was always abandoned, and I never had a human ever show compassion and love to me!!  Not that I should have expected it!!  Every damn time, men had done nothing but inflict pain and misery on me, and why?!  WHY??!!!  WHY, DAMN IT??!!!  What did I ever do to deserve it?!  And now, you've abandoned me, you forsaken my friendship, our bond, the one thing that only kept my sanity and gave me the little hope I had to continue on with my existence!!  Damn it, Snitter, WHY?!!  You have no idea how much it hurts, and no one even cares!!!"  At this, Rowf was weeping and bawling uncontrollably.  Snitter made a move to comfort his friend, but Rowf jumped back, as if he was burned by red-hot metal.

                "Get away from me, you...you...traitor!" he blubbered brutally and spitefully, "I don't need you!!  I don't need Prince Rainbow!!  I don't need a master, I don't need a friend, I don't need anyone!!!  No one cares about myself, and I don't give a damn about anyone else!!"  Rowf then made an abrupt rotation about into the opposite direction but to his incensed frustration, he saw Justin standing before the Labrador quietly and timidly.  Rowf felt his primal instincts turn downright viciously lethal as he bared his teeth for the attack.  Fearfully, Snitter and the rest of the rabbits were about to rush in and tackle the black dog, but Justin held up a hand and said strongly, "Don't."

                "Are you mad, Justin?!" bellowed Buckthorn in extreme worry, "He'll kill you!"

                Fiver then had a glazed look in his eyes before he whispered softly, yet so intently that every rabbit and even Snitter could hear him clearly and audibly, "Let him be.  It is the only way Rowf can realize the truth about Justin."

                "WHAT?!" chorused the rabbits, except Hazel, Blackberry, Strawberry, and Pipkin, angrily and with outraged disbelief.  Yet a stern look from Hazel reminded all of the Watership Owsla that Fiver usually was never wrong so the others had no choice but to silently fume and begrudgingly stay on the sidelines, though Campion, Holly, Bigwig, Speedwell, Dandelion, Buckthorn and Silver were all on their hind legs, tense and coiled as tightly, wound springs, ready to dash.  Meanwhile, Rowf was clearly no fool; he would not dare kill Justin now, not with Snitter and the other rabbits closely watching him like beady-eyed hawks, not with Prince Rainbow's orders to stay and escort the human alongside the Watership soldiers, but he could barely contain his anger and fury at seeing the cross-bearer standing in front of him, blocking his path and, in Rowf's point of view, wearing a mock, false face of concerned worry on his face.  Rowf snarled but the teenager did not back away.  It was unclear what Rowf would do in a single moment of pure hatred and vehemence.

                "Get away from me, cross-bearer," Rowf snarled with loathing abhorrence.

                "Rowf, please, I can help you.  Don't leave," Justin implored sensitively.

                Rowf's eyes now grew as dark and soulless as his fur as he now had an icy, homicidal gleam as he gritted his teeth so hard, they painfully grinded against one another in sharp, jabbing pulsation  "The only thing I want from you is your death, you little, meddlesome pest!"

                "Rowf, please, let me help you," repeated Justin, his heart beating fast against his chest, which was constricted with apprehension at the dog who towered over him by at least a foot.

                "Get the hell away from me!  Why would a human like you care?!"

                "I care," Justin said.  Rowf nearly let his jaw drop in shock, and though the words felt sincere, non-judgmental, the defensive walls of denial and self-righteous hostility from his trapped soul in the steel cage immediately emerged in response.

                "You're lying," Rowf managed to whisper hoarsely as his body quivered with antagonism and frustration of his past, threatening to break him, "You're lying, cross-bearer!  You don't care!  You don't care about anything except yourself!  Why would you bother?!  No human would ever care about a dog like me unless they wish for something in return!  They abandoned me, Prince Rainbow abandoned me, and now even Snitter abandoned me!"

                "I'm not lying, Rowf.  I do care, because I don't want you to live like that, to think that all humans are bad, because you're still hurting.  I know how it feels, Rowf!  And no creature, not even Woundwort, deserves something like that."  He paused.  "It wasn't your fault, Rowf."

                "Shut up, you!  You don't know anything!" hissed the dog, but Justin could see the tears watering his disturbed eyes of what went before.

                "It's not your fault.  You were scared, starving, tired.  There was no other way for you to look out for yourself and for Snitter."

                "Shut up," Rowf whispered dangerously.

                "You love Snitter, I know.  That...that was why you kept journeying and trying to escape the whitecoats, that was why you were so willing to let the Tod follow you and teach you how to survive in the wild, that was why you went along with Prince Rainbow...because you didn't want to risk the only other creature who was the closest thing you had to a family.  You didn't want to lose him."

                "Shut up!"  Rowf was now crying harder, but he kept his jaw firm, unwilling to let his choking sobs come out.

                "I don't blame you for hating men.  You...you have every right."

                "Shut up!!" Rowf nearly screamed, reaching his breaking point.

                "Rowf, I can't leave you alone!  I want to help you, to heal you!  I really do!  I care!  I really care!!  I'm not like the whitecoats, I'm not like the soldiers, I'm not like the farmers!  I care."

                "SHUT UP!!!"

                "Rowf, I care!"

                "If you do not keep that wearisome trap of yours shut, I'll -!!!"

                "Rowf, please, let me heal you!  If you don't and if you leave us and abandon Snitter and Prince Rainbow's orders, you'll be no better off than when the whitecoats chased after you!  Can't you see we're trying to help you?  Snitter isn't abandoning you!  You're abandoning Snitter!"

                That was the final straw; Rowf was done in.  Before Justin could even finish the sentence, the Labrador made a sudden lunge and there was an instant of blood followed by a soft yet excruciating cry of pain from Justin.  Snitter was thunderstruck, and the Owsla of El-ahrairah and Watership Down screamed and roared in a cacophony of raging gall and upset gasping.

                "JUSTIN!"

                Bigwig was about to rip Rowf apart, but Hazel, though his eyes glazed with trepidation and his sweaty fur quivering with the icy terror and anxiety, ordered severely, "Bigwig!  Stand down!"  Bigwig actually paused, contemplating on ignoring his Chief Rabbit, as Hazel's authority was on the tense line of this outcome, but with a discordant heart and will, Bigwig unenthusiastically stood still, reverting back to his rabbit form as his dog appearance disappeared along with his willingness to battle.  The other rabbits were rigid at the scene.  Justin was lying on the grass on his side, yet he still managed to awkwardly twist his upper body by propping himself with one arm on the ground so that the adolescent was facing the angry dog.  Not that he would have been able to move anyway for Rowf now had Justin's other arm trapped in his mouth in a lethal grip, his chops completely swallowing Justin's hand and half of his forearm, and already, the angry canine's teeth drew blood which steadily coursed down Justin's appendage.  Neither Rowf nor Justin were moving during the standoff, both remaining as still as statues, yet it would not take long before the situation grew much worse.  Justin, wincing, did his best not to holler in agony as the Labrador's teeth sank into his flesh and the increasing pressure was threatening to sever off the teenager's entire forearm.

                "Rowf, please stop it!" pleaded Snitter in a fraught intonation.

                Yet the Labrador was now too mesmerized by the thought, the sickening, morbid delight, of hurting a human, of causing and dishing out pain, and he stubbornly gnawed harder.  There was a faint crack, and Justin yelped.  His left arm was now broken, chewed in two and snapping under the immense pressure of Rowf's teeth, and he could feel all sensory feeling of his hand and fingers leave his body, only to be replaced by searing fire while pieces of his fractured bone, blood, and torn flesh all mixed together in a cauldron of agonizing, burning ordeal.

                "Stop!" screamed Bluebell, whimpering at the sight as he nervously scuffled his feet in the ground and held his paws to his ears in horrified repulsion.

                "You monster!" screamed Speedwell alongside the rabbit jester, his face now an ashen gray underneath his white fur.  Rowf's eyes now sparkled in delight, seeing the look of frightened, strained torture on the young boy's face.

                The dog growled thickly while still maintaining his locked jaws on Justin's arm, unbeknownst to both Justin and Rowf that the crystal cross around Justin's neck was starting to react to the canine's anger and need for vengeance, "This was for what you and your kind did to me and Snitter, you bas-"

                Rowf stopped as he felt the sudden warmth from the sunlight radiating and engulfing himself and his victim, both of them shadowed by the auras that were surrounding them, embracing them.  Because Rowf was still gripping Justin with his mouth, it allowed the cross' healing light, the same one that helped Snitter, to directly hit him into the darkest, deepest, most profound areas in his heart and blemished, scarred soul.  The Plague Dog's eyes grew wide with surprise as both he and the cross-bearer saw a torrid of images exhibit in their consciousnesses.

                Justin saw Rowf's most cherished yet disturbing memories:

                Rowf and Snitter were trying to swim for their lives, as far and fast as they could away from the shore of soldiers and government officials that were angrily shooting at them from the beach and rocky coastline.  The water around them splashed and spattered from a considerable amount of bullets, yet none of them struck the two dogs.  Unfortunately, their very last of their strength disappeared amongst the cold ice of the salty sea.

                Snitter was crying as he confessed helplessly, "Getting tired...can't seem to...Anymore."

                "Keep going," Rowf gasped stubbornly, though he knew, deep in his heart, it wouldn't be much longer, the cold now painfully solidifying the very marrow in his brittle bones, "Try...please, Snitter."

                Snitter's head was sinking lower and lower amongst the small, gentle waves, caressing his flushed face.  "Can't swim anymore, Rowf."

                Rowf, frantic, said the first thing that came to his mind, hoping to get his brother's mind off the cold, the despair, the reality of their lives sinking in, "We must be...near the island.  C'mon Snitter!  Our island!  Our island!"

                "There isn't any island, Rowf," Snitter whined dejectedly, despondency and miserable hopelessness, as if he realized everything was nothing more than a cruel, twisted joke.  Rowf angrily snapped back, gasping between choking gulps of water, unwilling to let his friend lose hope.

                "There is...there...can't you see it?!  Our...island.  Just stay with me...I'll get you...there."

                Snitter managed to whimper with much love and longing before he disappeared under the ocean's surface, "Rowf...please...(cough)...don't leave...me...please."

                "I won't, Snitter.  I...won't Snit-" but that was the past Rowf was able to choke before his lungs filled forcefully with water, and he had no choice but to let the cold and ocean swallow him into the over of the wintry, unforgivable sea and the last thing Rowf was able to see before the darkness enclosed around him was Snitter's limp body sinking gently amongst the current.  There was then a flash of light before Rowf lost consciousness.  The next thing he knew, he and Snitter were amongst a dry, grassy, clean field of soft moss as warm sun and air welcomed their battered, starving and dripping bodies as the salt around their eyes started to crust around their eyes.  Rowf, limping and weary, nudged Snitter's barely conscious form with his warm nose before a figure approached in front of the two dogs.  Rowf was about to fight based on his instinct, but strangely enough, he could not sense any danger from this stranger, not like he had before from the whitecoats.  Snitter then managed to open his weak eyes, his eyelids fluttering open like a moth's wings.

                "Are...are we dead?" he asked to no one in particular.  The figure just smiled sadly.

                "Where...where are we?" Rowf demanded with great unease.

                "This is the Isle of Dogs, your island, your home, your haven, you poor beasts," replied the figure soothingly, stroking Snitter's frail and tender head with a hand as soft as the summer breeze.  Rowf could barely make out the stranger's outline for there was such a flurry of glorious light and color illuminating from his cloak, dimming his vision and causing his eyes to water with confusion...and growing respite.

                "Who...who are you?  Are...are you a human?  A whitecoat?!" he inquired, mistrustful.

                Prince Rainbow shook his head as his warmth, his light, his concern and love for the two Plague Dogs shone over all three of them in the fields of the land beyond life, his heart pained at the fact that both of them would live with such painful reminders of their past, physical lives for the rest of their existence.  "No, I am not a human...but I will be willing to be your master, a kind, loving one at that, and I will never leave your sides nor hurt you in any way...if you can trust me."

                Snitter sobbed with joy as he turned to Snitter, "Oh!  Oh!  It's so jolly good to be dead!  Our island, our island!  We're home, Rowf!  We're home!  Snitter's a good dog!  Come to think of it, Rowf's a good dog too!  Oh, it's so good to be dead!"

                Rowf just gave a tired smile.

                Rowf also saw Justin's past flash before his mind:

                Justin was crying in the hallways of his high school as the bullies and other students around him threw him scoffs, glares, mocking, degrading jokes, and some literally spat at him, as the teenager tried to pick up what was left of his "Watership Down" novel on the stone ground.

                Hugging his knees, Justin just wept and wept quietly in his bedroom on his sleeping bag lying on the dusty carpet.  His father, after divorcing his mother, no longer had much money to spend on other things besides food, insurance, mortgage, and utilities, so all the teenager had, much to Rowf's shock, was a plain, moth-eaten sleeping bag, a ratty, wooden desk salvaged from a yard sale, and several tattered, worn out books.  It was almost like Rowf and Snitter's cells back in the research facilities.  Then Rowf noticed the bruised on Justin's arms and face from where his own father beat him.

                Justin was now crying again, hurt and lonely, as he sat on the lap of Sneezewort while Lousewort and Holly comforted the boy.  It was shortly after the other Watership rabbits left Justin because Greenweed, disguised as the human, Damien, was declared as the new cross-bearer.  Rowf heard Justin bawl, "That was what Hazel and other rabbits said, that was what my mother said, and that was probably what God said too!  I can't trust anybody now, and no one cares how much I hurt, how much I just need someone right now, and the only reason Holly stayed with me was because of default since he's too injured to do anything else but wait with me!  The minute he gets all better again, he'll leave me too!"

                Bluebell, though heavily injured after diving in front of the cross-bearer to prevent Mallow from killing the young human with his lance, managed to quip compassionately, brotherly, at Justin, "What are you crying for??  C'mon, young one, keep a stiff upper lip!  Had to do something to protect the cross-bearer, you know!  Besides, this is just a flesh wound, I'll be up and ready before you know it!  You know I can't die here in the land beyond life."

                Justin was hugging the rabbit called Hawkbit in the desert as the others battled vainly against Blood Whitetail, the fox, while the Wolfen Gale released its uncontrolled fury amongst the dunes of sand and dirt, threatening to destroy them all.  Hawkbit cried, "Ow!  By Frith, be careful of my neck you duffer!  I've got plenty of wounds from battling the Wolfen Gale for you, so watch it!!"  Despite the scolding from the other rabbits nearby, Rowf saw Justin just smile and hug his protector even closer, and chuckling, Hawkbit just nuzzled his snout into Justin's dusty hair.

                Rowf then saw the aftermath of Buckthorn's battle with Hufsa:

                "Justin, look at me," Buckthorn said softly, compassionately, and Justin glanced into his light blue eyes.

                "Justin, it had to be done.  If I didn't do it, he would have killed you and tortured the rest of us, without a thought of guilt, remorse, or mercy.  It had to be done.  Do you understand?"

                "I understand, Buckthorn, and I...owe you my life.  You...you injured someone, a living creature, for my sake, and...and I know that can't be easy," Justin said softly.

                Buckthorn managed to stutter nervously, "Are you afraid of me now...because of this?  Because of what I did?"

                To Rowf's surprise, the teenager did not meet the rabbit with repulsion, but instead, simply gave the warrior a soft, reassuring hug, whispering, "I'll never be afraid of you, Buckthorn, for I'll always trust you, for you're my friend."

                The images vanished, and so did the light.  It was plainly evident, the way the Watership Owsla could sense that there was no longer any more animosity radiating from the black Labrador's presence, that he too, was healed just like Snitter had been.  Rowf's jaw went slack, and left weak, Justin slumped on his back, feeling his arm being released faintly from the canine's hard, sticky mouth.

                "JUSTIN!!!" the Lapine warriors spoke in unison as they rushed forward, no longer able to stand by and watch quietly.  Campion and Bluebell managed to prop up Justin as Blackberry grimly sniffed and licked the blood off Justin's left arm.  The flesh was badly torn, ripped, but thankfully, not seriously sufficient to cause severe blood loss, but it was also evident that the bone was fractured, not enough for the appendage to bend at awful angles, but bad enough.

                Campion was nearly sobbing as he and Bluebell licked Justin's face and forehead, whispering urgently, "Justin, wake!  Wake, please!  Come back to us, young chap!"  A groan emerged from Justin's throat as the young adolescent regained consciousness, and the rabbits exhaled in short-lived relief.  Snitter walked up to Rowf, who was trembling, and understanding how painful it was to allow Justin to heal him, Snitter brought his nose over to Rowf's face and licked his muzzle affectionately.  Rowf buried his head into Snitter's fur, their faces gently caressing and touching each other gently, affectionately, devotedly, fondly.

                "I...I'm sorry, Snitter, about...about what I said earlier..." choked back Rowf.

                "It's all right," Snitter whispered gently, cutting him off.  Meanwhile, Speedwell, Bigwig, Dandelion, Silver, Buckthorn, Acorn, Holly, and Hawkbit were furious.  They advanced towards Rowf with boiling, burning hellfire and murderous, fatal rage coursing through their bodies, yet Justin managed to yell out, "Don't hurt him!  Please!  Rowf didn't know any better!"

                They stopped, hesitating yet livid, and Snitter and Rowf, along with Campion, Bluebell, Hazel, Fiver, Pipkin, Strawberry, and Blackberry, stared dumbly at the human cross-bearer, weak, injured, yet still with a determined look on his sweaty face, gasping faintly from the strain.

                "If you won't do it for Hazel, then please, do it for my sake!  Please!  Don't attack Rowf and Snitter!  It wasn't their fault!  Please, just forgive him!  Just let it go!"

                "Embleer furball," cursed Hawkbit to himself as the rabbits backed off, still cross and irate.  Snitter looked remorseful for his part, but Rowf was still mulish, stubbornly sanctimonious in thinking that he was still the victim.  He just glared at Justin, barking, "What are you crying for, human?!  You do not need to draw pity and sympathy towards yourself!  Just heal yourself, damn it!  I'm sorry I wounded you, but it is not as if you cannot simply renew your flesh and make it whole again!"

                Justin's face blanched slightly before he gingerly held his arm and stared at the ground.  Pipkin then begged insistently.

                "Please Justin, heal yourself!  Use the cross to nurse your paw back to health!  You have the power, and it won't help El-ahrairah if you remain hurt and wounded!"

                "I...I can't," Justin confessed helplessly, "It...it doesn't work that way."

                The Owsla of El-ahrairah, minus Hazel, and Rowf and Snitter thought they had heard wrong, but the sad, glum look on Justin's face caused their blood to chill.  His calmness fading, Blackberry managed to sputter, "You...you cannot??  Cross-bearer...surely you must be joking...are you??"

                "Justin?" gasped Campion, growing sick to his stomach, but Hazel, in a subdued, tired, yet sorrowful voice, answered plainly.

                "Rowf, there...there is a limitation to Justin's powers as the cross-bearer.  He...he knew for quite some time, but he did not tell any of us nor did he confide in me until after the escape from the warren of the Black Rabbit of Inle.  The cross-bearer can use his power to heal other people...but he cannot use it to heal his own wounds."

                "No," Rowf whispered, turning pale.

                "WHAT?!" shouted Dandelion, Fiver, Pipkin, and Acorn together.

                "Hazel-rah?!" gasped Holly in shock.

                "Justin, please tell me this cannot be the truth!" Strawberry exclaimed, angered, but Justin did not answer, and Strawberry then noticed the other marks on Justin's furless body.  The gash on his forehead, blackened now with age, from the time he and Silver were caught in an avalanche made from Scry-rah and his horde of dangerous hawks.  The teenager's elbows were grimy and had ugly, hideous scratches from King Darzin's claws when the lion tried to ambush him in the forest.  The scrape on his shoulder Justin received from a thorn when Hufsa made his prison grow, trying to impale the boy, was now covered with a crusty blood patch, but obviously apparent that it was never doctored and cared for.  And through a small tear in the boy's clothing, the rabbit also noticed the bruises on Justin's chest when Shardik the bear slammed his paw during the battle at the trial in the Land of Tomorrow, not to mention that there was still a red, bruised ring around Justin's neck, slightly turning back to a dark tone, as a reminder of Cowslip's snare collar he tried to imprison the cross-bearer with.  Strawberry felt nauseous; Hazel was telling the truth, or else Justin would have healed his wounds inflicting his body long ago.  Which made his bleeding and broken arm much more serious than ever.

                Buckthorn was heatedly yelling at Hazel's face, "You're lying, Hazel-rah!  You must be!  It isn't true!  What about when Hufsa stabbed Justin with his sword and turned him to stone?!!  Embleer fur and paw, what about then?!  Justin managed to come out of that alive!"

                Blackberry then gasped as he realized a fact.  "No, that was different, Buckthorn!  The only reason the fatal wound disappeared was because you used the blade, the golden sword given to you from the cross, to break the spell of stone on Hazel and Justin, and it was probably enough to undo Hufsa's magic given to him from Elil-rah, but it was not because Justin used the healing light of Frith from the cross!  O Frith and Inle, it's true!  It is true!"

                "Damn you, Hazel-rah, why did you not tell us?!  We had a bloody right to know!" Bigwig roared, and it seemed almost as if he was going to strike his leader and Chief rabbit directly in the face.  Hazel, though tired, managed to look at Bigwig, unfazed, directly into the eye.

                "Justin made me swear to secrecy.  He thought, and I agreed with him, that if the rest of you knew, you would not be able to keep your mind on the mission, that you would be too worried over his sake to fight, to remain vigilant over our mission, and that we would all treat him as if he were a weak, feeble, incompetent invalid.  He did not wish for that, Thlayli."

                "Justin how could you not tell us?!" cried Silver as he tenderly grasped the teenager's face with his huge paws and forced Justin to look into his heartbroken, pained eyes, already blaming himself for not doing more to protect the cross-bearer, "By the tail of El-ahrairah, young one, you should have let us known!  Yes, we would have been worried and overbearing for you, but we would have done it because be care too much about you!  Now look, you're badly hurt, wounded, and we can do little for it!"

                "I'll be all right, Silver," Justin muttered lamely.

                Bluebell's voice was slightly sour as he glared at the cross-bearer unceremoniously.  " 'All right'?!  'All right'??!!  Frith in a barn and Frith on your tharn head, bucko!  Young chap, I've heard better and more convincing fibs from kittens caught playing hooky from Owsla training at Watership Down."

                Justin decided not to reply; it wouldn't do him any good to make the rabbits even more frustrated with him from rude comebacks.  He then noticed Rowf was then approaching towards him slowly in a steady gait with Snitter alongside him.  The other members of the Watership Owsla stopped arguing and fretting instantly.  Speedwell and Acorn immediately jumped in front, blocking Rowf's path towards the cross-bearer, snarling.

                "Get away from him!" snarled Speedwell, his eyes now as dangerously slit as a cat, full of scrutinizing malice, "Frith in a hole, you've hurt Justin enough with your self-righteous hatred, you wretch!  Take one step closer and I'll scratch your nose to shreds!"

                Fiver announced in a tired voice, "Speedwell, let Rowf be; he had a right to be angry, albeit an irresponsible one, and to lash out at Justin like that."

                Rowf did not bother to comment on what he thought on Fiver and Speedwell's take on the matter (and perhaps for the better as well since what he thought would have surely provoked the rabbits to attack him).  He just continued glaring resentfully and sullenly at the teenager who was carefully being held by Campion and Bluebell.  Rowf then finally, if not against his will, spoke his contrition (though Justin was quick to wryly notice that the dog used the term very, very loosely).

                "Cross-bearer, what you did for me and Snitter still does not change the fact that I still greatly loathe and mistrust humans...and you will never be an exception."

                "You certainly have such a nice way of saying 'thank you'," snapped Acorn crossly at the dog, "By all rights, Justin should send you to limbo for what you had done to him!"  Justin, however, nodded sadly.

                "I didn't expect it any other way, Rowf," he stated forlornly.

                The Black Labrador's muzzle twitched slightly.  "You could have simply forced Snitter and I to submit to your influence and authority, you could have treated us no better than slaves...and you certainly could have used your power to subdue me before you heal me, thus not putting yourself at any risk.  So....why in the name of all beasts did you behave like such an idiot, like such a fool?"

                Justin actually hesitated, a bit bewildered himself before he answered, "If I did that, then I would be no better than the whitecoats.  You and Snitter have already been put through too much violence...and me using my powers would have made things worse.  You would have been less likely to trust us, and to tell you the truth, if I wanted you to help me, it would be because...because I want you guys to be willing to help, to do it because you don't feel obligated.  I mean, if I forced you and Snitter to obey me, then...then I'd be exactly like Elil-rah."  Rowf's eyes eased slightly in their hardness.

                "Frankly, I see no difference between the both of you," cheeked the Labrador none too gently, tacitly.

                "Watch your tongue, embleer dog!!" snarled Dandelion, Bigwig, Holly, and Campion at once in unison.  Justin sighed; he wasn't going to get anywhere with Rowf.

                "Rowf...you and Snitter...if you guys don't want to, you don't have to obey Prince Rainbow's orders..." stammered Justin nervously but Rowf cut the adolescent off irately.

                "I am not a heartless brute...or a bloody ingrate, cross-bearer."

                "He bloody well could have fooled me," Hawkbit muttered snidely to Dandelion surreptitiously.  Rowf made no indication that he had heard, though his eyes were struggling not to flash with annoyance at Hawkbit's rudeness.  Rowf continued coldly, "Unlike others, I owe Prince Rainbow for welcoming Snitter and I in the land beyond life, for giving both of us a second chance after such a bane existence of appeasing to the short-sighted, silly, trivial needs of men, and though I will continually detest your bloody presence here...I will not forget what you, Justin, have done for us on this day.  Regardless, I will fulfill Prince Rainbow's orders to accompany you and the rest of the Watership Owsla."

                Justin nodded as he weakly stood up, and with some help, Snitter, feeling sorry for Justin's condition and partly guilty, managed to prop Justin on his back.  Yet before the Watership Owsla and the Plague Dogs could continue, Justin sadly stared at the scattered ashes on the field, the tragic remains of the harmless lark that Prince Rainbow sent to limbo.  With his uninjured hand, Justin managed to lightly touch his cross with two fingers, and with a blaze of gold, the ashes rose in the air, swirling and converging into one another until the lark was healed and made whole again, fresh, renewed, and resurrected.  With several baffled blinks of its eyes, the lark brushed its wings and flew like a shot into the air.

                Pipkin was perplexed, mystified.  "How...how was that possible, Justin?  Prince Rainbow said that not even your cross could retrieve trapped souls from the realms of the Unknown."

                No one, not even Blackberry and Strawberry, could think up of a suitable answer, but then Snitter then offered naively, "I suppose not all things happen they way people wish for them to, young rabbit.  Just have faith and be grateful in had happened."

                Everyone left it at that, but then Snitter, walking slowly as to not painfully cause Justin's body to jolt and bump against his throbbing, broken arm, whined to Justin, "Cross-bearer?"

                "Yeah?"

                "Are...are you our master now?" Snitter asked hesitantly, and Justin smiled sadly at both Snitter and Rowf.

                "No, I am not your master.  I'm your friend," the cross-bearer corrected compassionately, calmly, and convincingly.  The iron cages of human cruelty had finally disintegrated to dust and useless bits of memory as the lark joyfully, guilelessly, sang a sweet melody as it flew above the new fellowship of eighteen.

                                                                                ***

                Never before had Woundwort, after looking at the scene with absolute indignation, seen Elil-rah stay so silent, so calculating, so devious.  The Efrafan leader and war-riddled rabbit had expected the dark deity to scream, rage, and lose his temper once again, but this time, Elil-rah's red eyes were now actually slightly gleeful, crinkled a bit as he stared at the figure of the teenage male traveling slowly with the Plague Dogs and the rabbits of Watership Down.

                "My Lord, why are you so pleased?!" Woundwort demanded angrily, "Justin, the cross-bearer, has once again escaped our attempts to destroy him, and now, even your power of control over Prince Rainbow and his dogs has been broken by that damned human!!  Now nothing shall be able to stop them from approaching the warren of El-ahrairah and healing their Prince!!"

                Elil-rah answered with a sickening, fixated tone of expression, "I MUST CONFESS, WOUNDWORT, I WAS QUITE DISAPPOINTED AND EXUBERANTLY IRATE AT THE YOUNG BOY'S CURSED RUN OF LUCK AND BLESSINGS, YET NOW, I SEE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY – AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MY PLANS OF RULE, POWER, AND DOMINATION OVER THIS LAND AND TO COMPLETELY ERADICATE EL-AHRAIRAH AND HIS BRETHREN.  THE BOY HAS FAR MORE POWER THAN I HAD ANITCIPATED, BUT IT COULD SURELY BE ALL THE MORE FRUITFUL FOR ME IF I HAD HIS CROSS IN MY POSSESSION.  SUCH POWER, SUCH BEAUTY, SUCH MIGHT AND VIGOR AND AUTHORITY OF ALL!  WOUNDWORT, I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU AND FOR THE REMAINING SOLDIERS OF OUR OWSLA...NOT TO MENTION YOU WILL FINALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO SHOW YOURSELF IN BATTLE AND RELINQUISH YOUR HATRED AND FURY AT THE INJUSTICE DONE TO YOU ON JUSTIN."

                Woundwort's smile grew as his eye twitched in an abhorrent manner.  "As you wish, my Lord."

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Author's note: Oh, before I forget: I do not, in any way, own the Plague Dogs or any references to the 1982 animated film.  They are the property of Richard Adams and Martin Rosen.

YEP, so that was the surprise!  If you guys really loved this chapter, read and review, and yes, constructive and positive criticisms and suggestions are always welcome!

Windwalker and Maleo, to tell you two the truth, I was not really planning to bring in the Plague Dogs at all, but then I watched the VHS version of the film (also made by Martin Rosen who was the director of the film WD, what a coincidence!) and I can honestly say I cried at the end when the film was over.  That ending was so sad and Snitter and Rowf did not deserve such a fate! WAH!

Dandelion: You are such a baby!

Hey, you'd cry too if you like animals and saw the film!  Seriously, afterwards, I felt they both needed a happy ending and yes, I know in the book, Snitter and Rowf had a happy ending, but this needed to be written to offer some consolation for their fate on the video!  So yes, keeping your reviews in mind, I decided to take this branch of the plot.  See?  It does pay to review because I do listen!  I treasure every one of my reviews (except flamers of course in which case I send Bigwig, Campion, Silver, and Holly to beat them up! =) ).  Oh yes, a special thanks for Georgina Mabee and her "The Plague Dogs" website which actually had many quotes from the film that I was able to use for quick reference.  Her site is www(dot)plaguedogs(dot)homestead(dot)com.  Thank you Georgi, a true Plague Dog fan! =)

Oh, on a final note, Blethlin is not my character; she is a doe created by fellow WD fanfic author, Pipkin3, in the story WD story "Brindle 3" so in no way do I own her (an interesting WD author; go read some of his/her fics).  Pipkin3, I will draw Floxwood warren eventually, once I have the time.  I know you wanted a Blethlin chapter in my story, but I couldn't do it, but, I thought this might be a pleasant surprise, not to mention a chance to show her "good" qualities! ^_~

Next: The Cross-Bearer, CAPTURED!

The rabbits of Watership Down finally reach the warren of El-ahrairah, and Justin discovers a few more holes and mysteries that only further confuse the secret of the cross-bearer.  Unfortunately, Elil-rah is not finished by a long shot!  What will he do?  Is Justin ever safe?  What will happen at the warren?  Will the Watership rabbits be enough to stop them?  Find out in the next chapter and yes, many enemies make a brutal comeback!  BWA-HAHAHAHA!

Silver: He's scaring me.

Buckthorn: Out of all the possible fans, we had to get one who is a complete lunatic.

Until then in two weeks, read and review! =)

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