A New World
Jackie is now annoyed, that Jade could break a clear promise was beyond him; then he remembers Jade's view on promises, she wanted to join in the action without welshing on a promise, every time she always finds a loophole in a promise. Captain Black isn't too disappointed; he has a more positive view on the matter and is happy to remind Jackie of Jade's value.
"I think our chances of success in regaining the talismans," Captain Black explains to Jackie, "Have just trebled!" Jackie sighs and retaliates.
"It is because of her value that I want her to keep out of trouble!" He tells Black. "That way she won't come to harm." Captain Black then mentions a few times when Jade's presence meant the difference between success and failure.
"If we can get back to the problem in hand!" Uncle tells the arguing pair, giving them both two-finger salutes. They turn to him and Jackie asks Uncle.
"Have they scattered through time?" Uncle pulls out his lizard and waves it around and commits his famous chant.
"Humo brako hai di hou! Humo brako hai di hou!" He continues to repeat this for a couple of minutes before returning to the others. "The talismans have not gone through time nor space!" He announces to them, they all ponder about this before Jade spots something in the wall of the vault that looks like someone's vandalised it with a scar-shaped burn.
"Hey," She cries out, "What's that on the wall?" They all turn to the burn on the wall and are puzzled; Captain Black is the first to make a suggestion, it's not a pretty one.
"A black hole?" He inquires; Uncle gives him a 'Don't be silly' look and replies.
"It is the remnant of a temporary trans-dimensional tunnel!" He concludes, this info has Jackie and Jade immediately realise what happed to the talismans; Jade is quick to explain the solution.
"UNCLE," She cries out, catching his attention, "In order for the talismans to be retrieved a posse must enter the dimension they've gone into!" Uncle nods in agreement and commences to give them the bad news.
"In order to find the dimension," He tells them, "Uncle must use a complicated locator spell to find the spell for the needed dimension." Captain Black puts his own oar in at this moment, but he has a list in his hand detailing the many times Jade made a decisive victory for them.
"This might sound unappealing and unorthodox," He told them, "But if Jade wasn't held back it'd keep a focus on the task in hand and improve the chances of success as her presence has done many times before." He hands Jackie the list and continues. "If we try to hold her back it would be time-wasting and futile!" Jade can't believe her ears, Captain Black encouraging her to join in; it's like surviving the dragon blast without the horse/dog talisman(s) to protect you. Jackie looks at the list, sighs and says.
"Well, three can be effective. Aren't you coming Captain Black?" The head of Section 13 shook his head, but Jackie turned to Uncle and asked him. "What about Tohru?" Uncle gives Jackie a stern look and sharply answers.
"No, Tohru must look after the shop!" Jackie looks about, he was going to ask for El Toro and Paco but they were unavailable, or rather El Toro was unavailable and the pair was virtually inseparable. That left only one alternative to Jade, and when Jackie thought about it, it would be better to let his tomboy niece tag along than to have Viper making advances to him during most of the expedition. There was no way of keeping Jade out of this one.
"Okay," Jackie moans, "But, Jade, must promise to make actual use of yourself!" Jade doesn't bother to find loopholes in this promise and just replies positively.
"Cross my heart and hope to die!" Jackie, Uncle and Jade then head back to 'Uncle's Rare Finds' to get ready for the expedition; for someone who isn't much good with logic Jade can instantly remember every chi spell she has cast, this makes her very confident in sticky situations.
As Hazel-rah, Dandelion, Blackberry and Holly make their way across the land Blackberry spots some parsley growing nearby; slipping away from the other three she pulls up a piece and goes back to the others. Not long afterwards Hazel-rah spots a stone.
"There, look!" He calls out, the others rush to see.
"Finally," Blackberry comments, holding the parsley in her forepaw, "We've found a stone at last!" Hazel-rah very carefully picks it up in his teeth; it is then that Holly spots something surprising about the stone.
"That stone has markings on it that look like the edge of a rabbit!" He cries out, Hazel-rah drops the stone in shock, they all look at it and see the markings; Hazel-rah turns to Blackberry and is about to ask her if she could think of why a stone would have such marking, when he notices her carrying a piece of parsley and asks a different question.
"Blackberry, why are you carrying a piece of parsley?" Blackberry feels slightly embarrassed, and then she remembers why.
"I would like to see if it had any healing properties!" She told him, Hazel-rah nods in acceptance and picks up the stone again.
Later on Dandelion spots another stone near the barn at the farm, making sure there's no trouble about he indicates to the others to follow him; he then indicates the stone.
"Curious," Hazel-rah comments, "This one has markings on it, too!" Blackberry looks at it and adds more info to Hazel-rah's comment.
"And," She says, "These markings seem to make a sort of snake outline!" Hazel-rah confirms this and turns to the others.
"I think," He tells them, "That two should be enough for now; let's get these two stones back to Watership Down and see what Captain Broom has to say one the matter." Dandelion picks up the new stone and they all turn to head back for the down; then Holly pipes up.
"Let's hope he keeps it brief!" Hazel-rah does his best to avoid laughing, whenever he speaks during this journey he always puts the stone he's carrying under his paw beforehand; if he laughed aloud not only would it catch the attention of elil, but he would drop and probably forget the stone.
Back at the down Hazel-rah and Dandelion put their stones down in the middle of the Honeycomb; Captain Broom looks at the stones with interest.
"Do you understand them?" Hazel-rah asks the old soldier; Captain Broom looks at him and cheerfully replies.
"Nope, sorry Hazel; but these aren't the stones that men use to build with." Hazel-rah stares at him for a while before turning to Blackberry.
"Do you have any idea what men would use these stones for?" He asks her; she looks up from the parsley, hesitates for a while and finally says.
"Well, in Cowslip's warren they used stones to make outlines that were supposed to tell a story. I think men used to make indents in stones for the same reason." Dandelion looks at her in shock.
"Used to?" He inquires; she sighs and replies.
"Well you don't see many of these, do you?" Indicating the stones; Hazel-rah and Dandelion look at the stones, then back at Blackberry shaking their heads. Just then Fiver comes in and stares at the stones.
"These stones are one of a kind!" He says mystically; Bigwig looks at him with uncertainty.
"Then how come there are two of them?" He asks the young veheer; Fiver looks at Bigwig and replies.
"There is only one," He picks up the rabbit stone in his forepaw, "Of these; and there's only one," He picks up the snake stone and puts down the rabbit stone, "Of these." Bigwig then nods his head; Hazel-rah is now looking at Blackberry with intrigue.
"Anything about the parsley?" He asks her; she turns to him again.
"I think," She replies, "There's something more to this parsley with me than meets the eye." Fiver takes her to one side and makes a suggestion to her.
"Blackberry, that parsley might have some supernatural quality; if you can harness that quality who knows what you could be capable of!" Blackberry nods and asks him.
"Could you help me to find this source of power?" Fiver nods in agreement and takes her outside to commence this action.
At Uncle's Rare Finds Uncle is mixing up a locator spell with Tohru fetching him the ingredients; a whole array of exotic items go into the cauldron as Uncle waves his lizard and blowfish around. Eventually a bookmark emerges glowing green; Uncle proudly takes the bookmark in hand and scans the bookshelves to find the book with the required spell in.
Jade pulls out a book at random, Uncle sees this and is about to tell her off, but just as he's about to open his mouth the bookmark begins to glow brilliantly, the un-gripped end pointing at the book Jade is holding. Uncle calms down and Jade puts the book on the table and begins to turn over each page, the both of them check the bookmark to see which page it favours. Eventually it is at full stimulus at the 259th page; Uncle immediately prepares to mix the spell on that page whilst Jade goes to tell Jackie and then to start packing.
"Jackie!" She cries out, entering the lounge, Jackie looks up from his archaeology magazine and replies.
"What is it, Jade?" She is all excited and speaks fairly quickly, but slow enough for Jackie to understand her.
"Uncle's found the spell!" She tells him and rushes upstairs to start packing; Jackie slowly progresses to pack up his and Uncle's things, he is particularly focused on Uncle's baggage, knowing that Uncle will require several magic items for the trip.
Eventually Uncle completes the trans-dimensional spell and throws the mixture onto the living room wall, creating a large turquoise portal. Jackie and Tohru enter with Jackie's and Uncle's baggage; Jade enthusiastically follows with her backpack on her back. Uncle turns to Tohru.
"Do not attempt any spells whilst we're away!" He tells the sumo. "Other spells can cause closure of the portal!" Tohru acknowledges this before showing his concern.
"Will you be able to get them," Indicating Jackie and Jade, "Back along with yourself, Sensei?" Uncle looks at Tohru with confidence.
"The portal," He tells Tohru, "Will be narrow whilst we're away, but it'll be easy for us to return!" They all make their goodbyes and the Uncle, Jackie and Jade enter the portal in search of the talismans.
In the Honeycomb Hazel-rah ponders over the significance of the stones, always trying to make sense of the markings; he then notices something bizarre happening on the wall of the Honeycomb, a great greenish-blue circle forming there. He rushes outside to get Fiver, who has Blackberry sitting with her hind legs crossed and holding the parsley over her lap, she is trying to find a spiritual significance in the parsley. Hazel-rah gets Fiver to one side.
"Something unusual has just happened in the Honeycomb!" He tells him, Fiver stares at him with a look of shock.
"What?" Fiver asks him. "What?" Hazel-rah found it difficult to describe so he just said.
"Come and see for yourself!" They then hear an unusual chant emitting from Blackberry.
"Hlamo brakka hrom de hi!" She chants with her eyes closed. "Hlamo brakka hrom de hi!" Fiver rushes to her and gives her a light slap round the cheek; she starts up and stands up facing Fiver. "I did it!" She cries triumphantly. "I actually did it!" Fiver nods before commencing.
"Something out of the ordinary has happened in the Honeycomb! Hazel wants us to have a look!" Blackberry nods her head and, to the surprise of all three of them, puts her parsley away in a pocket that wasn't there! They then all go down to the Honeycomb to see this circle. Blackberry and Fiver sniff at the edges for a few minutes before returning to Hazel-rah.
"It is a run into another world!" Fiver tells him, giving Hazel-rah a real shock. "I think it is safe to explore!" Hazel-rah soon recovers from the shock before replying.
"What reason is there to explore this… tunnel?" Blackberry pipes up to answer this question.
"There was no smell when we first sniffed it;" She tells him, "But then we got a whiff of garlic! Someone or something is coming down the tunnel!" Hazel-rah looks a bit concerned but takes a sniff of the tunnel himself; he finds not only the distinguished scent of garlic but something else as well.
"A man is coming down this tunnel," He tells them, "If there's any trouble we'll know how to deal with it." It is soon confirmed that Hazel-rah, Fiver and Blackberry are going to check it out. "If I don't return within two days," Hazel-rah tells Primrose, "You shall be the new chief rabbit!" Primrose nods with sadness that she might lose him; and then Hazel-rah, Fiver and Blackberry enter the tunnel, leaving the warren.
As Uncle, Jackie and Jade wander through the tunnel they all wonder where it leads to; Uncle has warned them that it leads to a world where humans are not the main species, but they are unsure of what to find. Uncle anticipates a world of ambulatory alligators and Jackie is expecting a world of intelligent horses; Jade doesn't care what kind of a world it is as long as it's not one of fish!
Hazel-rah, Fiver and Blackberry wander down the tunnel, wondering what sort of a man is coming down the other end. Hazel-rah hopes this man is vegetarian, Fiver thinks it's a female, Blackberry hopes it's one she can understand.
Then the Chans and the Watership trio meet in the middle of the tunnel; the shock is astonishing, they wonder about each other and they all unintentionally commence to sing Kula Shaker's song 'Govinda' in the following context.
Blackberry: Aaahhhhhhhhhhhh!
Jade: Whooaaaaaaaa!
Blackberry: Whaaaaaaat!
Jackie: Govinda the jaian jaia, gopalen jaian jaia; golanga munga honei! Govinda the jaian jaia.
Hazel Jackie: Govinda the jyan gya, gopalen jyan gya; golonga munguh hunni! Govinda the jyan gya.
Hazel: Goko mul lan 'Chan' a Khan nou!
Fiver: O rah! Govinda the gyan gy-ya, gopulen gyan gy-ya; gulan na mun ga hoon ni! Govinda the gyan gy-ya.
Fiver Jade: Govinda the jyan gya, gopalen jyan gya; golonga munguh hunni! Govinda the jyan gya. Nash shing ga day gaia mush ing ga bed!
Fiver: Nas ting ga behhh!
Jade Blackberry: Nash shing ga day gaia mush ing ga bed!
Fiver: Nas ting ga behhh!
Jade Blackberry: Nash shing ga day gaia mush ing ga bed!
Fiver: Aowwww!
Blackberry whips out her parsley stick, Uncle whips out his lizard and they begin to dance.
Blackberry (seeing the lizard)Ahhhhh!
Uncle (dancing)Govinda the jaian jaia, gopalen jaian jaia; golanga munga honei! Govinda the jaian jaia.
Blackberry Uncle: Govinda the jyan gya, gopalen jyan gya; golonga munguh hunni! Govinda the jyan gya.
Blackberry Jade (softly) Ohhhh!
Uncle: Go la go la go la ha lei!
Blackberry Jade (softly) Ohhhh!
Uncle: Go lo par dar ra ha rei!
Blackberry Jade (softly) Ohhhh!
Uncle: Go la par dai ra hei no!
Blackberry Jade (softly) Ohhhh!
Fiver: Hey!
Blackberry: Ahhhhh!
Jackie: Govdinaou!
After a slight reviving after the shock from both sides once they've finished the song they get a good look at one another; both the Chans and the Watership trio see elements of themselves in each other. Hazel-rah finds his love of peace in Jackie and his leadership qualities in Uncle; Fiver finds his mysticism in Uncle and some less direct elements of his mysticism in Jade; whilst Blackberry finds her attitude in Jade and some of her intellect in Jackie. Then Jade begins to speak actual understandable words.
"I don't believe we've met!" She comments sarcastically, Hazel-rah sighs in that he can now see elements of Hawkbit in this young man.
"Man kitten," He announces, "Perhaps we can introduce ourselves properly and just accept that we can understand one another!" Jade feels insulted, being called something like that so she gives him a bit of feedback on human society.
"Listen," She tells him, "The general term for our species is 'human'; the adult male is a man, the adult female is a woman, the young male is a boy and that which I am, a young female, is a girl." Jackie sighs and adds to the comment.
"Or, in your case, tomboy!" He tells Jade, she glares at him; the Watership trio look at each other with uncertainty before Blackberry makes a comment.
"Your species of human is somewhat different to what I know!" She tells the Chans. "Your skin is so more… yellowy than what I'm used to!" Hazel-rah reminds Blackberry of the plural.
"We are, Blackberry, we are!" Blackberry embarrassingly nods at this fact, and then Jackie makes a reply to this fact.
"I-It's all to do with where in the world your ancestors come from!" He tells them; they just stare at him.
"Ancestors?" Blackberry inquires with intrigue; Jade tries to help out again.
"Those who were around long before you were born but have made a contribution to your existence!" Fiver thinks about this and understands; Hazel-rah and Blackberry think about how different rabbits have different fur colours before they understand.
"Perhaps we could just introduce ourselves." Hazel-rah suggests; Uncle pipes up now.
"It would save time!" He announces; the Watership trio stare at him due to the oddity in his voice, an accent unbeknownst to them.
"Okay," Hazel-rah replies, "My name is Hazel, I have a title as chief that makes me Hazel-rah, but I find more reassuring if I'm just called Hazel!" Jade is the next to speak.
"The name's Chan, Jade Chan!" The Watership trio think a while before realising this means she has two names; first Jade, then Chan. "Just call me Jade!" She continues, Fiver is the next to make a debut.
"I am known as Fiver!" He tells the Chans, Jade can't help but snigger at this.
"You're named after some money?" She chuckles, Fiver just stares at her.
"I don't know what money is," He tells her, "But I'm not named after it; Fiver's just a nickname, what most call me; my given name is Hrairoo!" Jade gasps at this.
"Try saying that with a sore throat!" She comments, Jackie waves his arm to get her to pipe down.
"Well," He starts, "My name is Jackie Chan." Hazel-rah can't help but ask a question about this.
"Do you all have a second name, which is Chan?" They all nod their heads and Jade once again tries to explain.
"We're family, you know!" She tells him. "All human families have the same last name!" Hazel-rah has trouble understanding the regular human slang; it was obvious that he didn't know they were a family.
"Well," Blackberry tells the Chans, "My name is Blackberry!" Then Jade notices a pattern emerging.
"Are rabbits normally named after plants?" She asks them, Hazel-rah nods his head and replies.
"Unless they have a distinguishing feature, then they are given a name that has a certain meaning the original language of rabbits, this language being Lapine! For example Fiver's real name is a combination of Hrair, which means 'a lot', and –roo, which means 'small'." Jade then realises something; she turns to Fiver.
"So you were the runt of the litter." She comments, Fiver just nods.
"Ahem." Uncle says, so Jade just goes ahead with his request.
"He," Indicating Uncle, "Doesn't like to introduce himself; so allow me to introduce Uncle Chan!" Hazel-rah looks extra puzzled now.
"'Uncle'," He inquires, "That is an odd name!" Jade acknowledges this and answers.
"Well we, at least 'I', don't know his real name, we just call him 'Uncle'; even he calls himself 'Uncle'!" They all nod at this; then Blackberry asks the question they should've asked.
"What are you three coming to our world for?" This is a hard one for the Chans; although they know why they're going into this dimension, but Jackie and Uncle want to create a cover story, Jade would've told the truth but she knew how Jackie would react if she began, so she did not bother. But then Fiver gave Jade a look that was not of romance, happiness, sadness or anger; this caught her full attention.
"You are seeking magical stones that you have lost!" He tells her, them actually but he can't use his look on three at once. One thing noticeable is that Jackie is only a hair's breadth taller than Hazel-rah, Jade is only one inch shorter than Fiver, and Uncle is only one inch taller than Blackberry, who is one and a fifth inches shorter than Hazel-rah, Fiver being half the size of Hazel-rah. Jade feels a strange feeling that didn't come over her before, even in the most frightening situations; the hairs on her back standing on end! Never, not when she was tackling a hideous mountain demon, not when she confronted a super-powered Shendu, not when she was fighting Daolon Wong, not even when she fought against a hideous ogre; had she felt this way. "Don't deny it!" Fiver whispers; Jackie and Uncle sigh and reply.
"Are you telepathic?" Fiver shakes his head and replies.
"No, just very insightful!" They all confirm this before Jade makes a question for the Watership trio.
"Are you all family?" Hazel-rah is quick to answer this.
"No," He tells her, "Only Fiver and I are brothers; Blackberry's a friend of ours!" Then Fiver starts up again.
"We'll help you regain these stone, but you must help us, too!" Jackie thinks this is fair; he is a strong believer in karma and thinks something for nothing spells trouble.
"What is it that we must do?" He asks him; Fiver is quick to reply.
"We are at war with a warren, or more specifically, the warren's chief; he is a murderer, a liar, a big-head and an absolute dictator!" Fiver answers; Jade thinks she knows what coming next. "We would like you to help us fight this half-rabbit; he is very difficult to deal with as he is not only ruthless, but he's also very strong." Jade now asks her own question.
"Why do you call him a half-rabbit?" Hazel-rah decides to fill-in on this one.
"Because he's too harsh, bloodthirsty, pompous and selfish to be considered a true rabbit!" This is confirmed and now Uncle makes a comment.
"With the talismans," He announces, "Your success in this war is certain!" The Watership trio look at him with surprise.
"What kind of a human," Blackberry asks him, "Is a talliz-man?" Jade shakes her head and answers the question.
"A talisman is not a type of human; it is a magical stone!" Then Hazel-rah perks up and makes a comment.
"You'll have to stay with us," He tells him, "During this time, but it won't be very comfortable for you; it's not natural!" Jade retaliates at this.
"I'm sure we'll get used to it!" She tells him; Hazel-rah shakes his head.
"Your bodies are not built for a rabbit's life!" Jade gives him an 'unless' look and replies.
"Find the Monkey talisman and we won't have that worry!" Uncle adds to this comment.
"Or," He tells the trio, "We'll have to become handi-capable!" Hazel-rah is dumbfounded by these two words.
"Monkey?" He asks. "Handi-capable? What are you talking about?" Jade is ready to reply.
"A monkey," She tells him, "Is kinda like a cross between a human and a tree-climbing animal with fur! 'Handi-capable' is Uncle's term for someone who isn't naturally adapted to a lifestyle, but is able to live that lifestyle; or someone who is absent of a sense, but can carry on with a normal life with the improvement of their other senses!" Hazel-rah then indicates for them all to follow him back to the warren.
At arriving at the warren Hazel-rah, Fiver and Blackberry find only Primrose in the Honeycomb; she is shocked to find three relatively short humans following them. They make their greetings, then Jade notices something on the floor; she goes to pick it up.
"You've already found the Snake talisman!" She tells them; Hazel-rah then spots something else.
"There was another in here," He comments with concern, "With markings on it that looked like a rabbit. Where's it gone?" Jade gasps, Jackie replies.
"If someone's taken it," He tells the rabbits, "They could be far, far away by now; with that talisman they can run faster than a speeding bullet!" Blackberry looks at him.
"What the inlé is a bullet?" She asks him, Jade fills in on this.
"A bullet," She tells her, "Is a black stone that comes out of a gun!" Then Hazel-rah immediately understands, thinking how fast a bullet can go he gasps with astonishment. But they show the Chans around the warren and hen they go out and enjoy the view. Then Primrose gets hit in the head with a stone; she picks it up, but doesn't realise it's the Rabbit talisman, she then looks to Hawkbit who is looking scornfully at her.
"Now you know how it feels!" He calls after her, her anger makes her grip the talisman and goes after him and beats him up, after which she and all the other Watership rabbits, except Hawkbit, gasp. She chased and walloped him in a manner of seconds; Jade goes up to her, holds out her hand says.
"We've found it again! Hand it over!" Primrose looks at the stone and sees the markings, she then hands it to Jade who zips into the Honeycomb, puts down next to the Snake talisman and then casually walks out again. Fiver pulls her aside.
"What does each of the talismans do?" He asks her in a haunting tone.
"Well," She replies, "The Rat talisman makes stone that look like living things come alive. The Ox talisman, the ox being a term for cow or bull, makes the bearer gain strength exceeding that of the natural maximum. The Tiger talisman, the tiger is a sort of very large cat, separates someone's good from someone's bad making two of that person." Fiver makes a comment here.
"That's about as useful as a gull with no wings!" Jade continues, smirking in understanding, even wondering why they bothered to try and get that talisman.
"The Rabbit talisman, as you've just seen, can make the bearer travel so fast that s/he could overtake someone's own voice. The Dragon talisman, the dragon is a non-existent beast that can breathe fire, can make things spontaneously combust, that is go up in a burst of fire. The Snake talisman renders the bearer invisible. The Horse talisman heals all disease and physical injury that an individual has received; it also works on shaped stones. The Sheep talisman enables the bearer to astral project, which is to make the soul leave the body without the body dying. The Monkey talisman can make any living thing turn into any other living thing; on stones it only makes the stone into the shape of a living thing, not an actual living thing. The Rooster talisman, the rooster is a male chicken, makes things float in air, or levitate. The Dog talisman prevents the bearer from dying. Finally the Pig talisman makes the bearer send beams of heat from the eyes." Fiver is amazed at this; such power that could causes chaos if it fell into the wrong paws. It looked like the Chans would be here for quite a while.