9: Ultimate Vengeance & Reunion

A small group of scientists (all involving Vilthuril's imprisonment) felt that a rabbit this size would be too incorrect; like the majority of humans they felt that their species was better than the others, and they'd do anything to keep that philosophy.

"Subject #229," announced one of them "Is too big and powerful for a rabbit! It'll cause havoc across the world and the land will be matted by the corpses of squashed people!" What he meant was 'We can't allow a rabbit to have a size, strength, stamina & speed superiority to us; we'll get rid of it and humans shall keep their place in charge of the world, bwarrahahahahar!' However the others felt the same way and had a good hard think about how to deal with a giant rabbit when rifles & shotguns were no use.

There were four scientists; one was Stan (the Stan who helped set the trap), one was the bloke who persuaded the committee to use Vilthuril for cancer research (named Barney), one was the man who wanted to test shampoo on her (named Eric), and a bitchy American woman who just came along for the ride named Vicky.

The Watership rabbits continued on their journey to Basingstoke, all aware that only si days were left to meet Vilthuril and get her back to the down; as they moved on Fiver began to flare up again.

"Fiver!" Cried Hazel-rah, rushed over to him. "What is it? What do you see?" Fiver replied in a cold tone of voice.

"The showdown is coming close, that with the guns does too much boast!" This was a hard eth to grasp; Hazel-rah just thought it would be best if they quickened their pace, he relayed both Fiver's message and his idea to Bigwig & Blackberry.

"The sooner we get this over with the better." Bigwig commented, supporting Hazel-rah's idea.

"I hope we're up to the speed." Blackberry informed them, showing his ambivalence to Hazel-rah's plan. At this they continued on their way at greater speed once Fiver had come out of his trance.

As Vilthuril moved through the city of Basingstoke she began to wonder if her new size was permanent or temporary; she wanted it to be temporary because she felt the best way to live with the Watership rabbits was at regular rabbit size, she didn't want to live separately or to continue looking down at her comrades, but if it was temporary she wanted to be back at Watership Down before she started shrinking back to normal size or she'd be in hot water.

As she moved through Basingstoke, Vilthuril began to wonder the names of the other si humans who were riding on her back; she came to a tall building where her eye was level with the roof (it was the top of a Bhs store). She carefully plucked her passengers from her back and carefully placed them on top of the roof, and then she lowered her head so she could talk at equal level to them and began to speak.

Elaine just managed to get her footing on the roof when she noticed Vilthuril's lips beginning to part, this she immediately realised indicated that Vilthuril was going to speak so she stood up attentively to hear what the giant doe had to say.

"BLETH LAY U METHIL OL U SI HROW MI?" Thundered Vilthuril to Elaine, who stood there for a bit and then she turned to the others.

"She wishes to know your names." Elaine told them, they then carefully moved forward to meet Vilthuril's gaze. First up was the other woman.

"My name is Laura." She said and gingerly (due to nervousness) extended her hand up to Vilthuril.

"Mo meth lay Laura!" Elaine translated for Vilthuril, who gingerly (for fear of harming her) lifted her forepaw and gently touched Laura's (seemingly) tiny hand.

"A LAY ÉVEER NA LAN MI, LAR-RA." Vilthuril replied, then they both carefully withdrew their limbs, Laura turned back and the man came up to Vilthuril, extending his hand more enthusiastically than Laura had done.

"My name is Daniel." He told her, Elaine once again translated at which Vilthuril touched his hand with her mighty forepaw.

"A LAY ÉVEER NA LAN MI, DAN-YAL." Vilthuril told him, they withdrew their limbs and Vilthuril, very carefully, scooped them all up in her forepaw and placed them back on her back, and continued on her journey.

The amateur group, the Society for the Human Overpowering of Titans (SHOT), which comprised of Stan, Barney, Eric & Vicky; were preparing a howitzer with explosive shells to bring Vilthuril down. They had chosen a narrow pedestrianised street because they believed that a narrow street would help give them an accurate shot at her enormous chest.

"An animal's place," screeched Vicky (as that was how she always spoke), "Is out and about just going about a simple life with humans making a weekly kill to keep them in their place. No animal should have an exciting life, let alone be more powerful than a human." They had finished with the howitzer when they heard low-pitched thuds getting louder and louder.

"She's coming." Sneered Eric, he was ready to wallop her good (or, to be more accurate, bad); they all shared a common philosophy that humanity was the best, and nothing was going to stop it. The mayor of Basingstoke had made a statement that if they succeeded then that philosophy would be proved, if they failed the city would establish nature as being THE most powerful force in the universe and Basingstoke would establish an Environmental Preservation Institution of Cities (EPIC).

As Vilthuril made her way through Basingstoke, on her way back to Watership Down; Elaine, Laura & Daniel had reached an agreement whilst riding on her back. They would establish a new organization that would be called the Society for the Utopian Preservation of Enlightened Rabbits (SUPER). Then as Vilthuril rounded a corner they heard a shout, Elaine recognised it instantly, it was Stan.

"FIRE!" He shouted followed by a bang as a shell was launched at Vilthuril from a howitzer. As the shell struck her right flank she cried in pain, but it only gave a slight bruising. Elaine peered over the struck shoulder & Daniel over the other shoulder, partly to see the attackers & partly to prevent them causing any further injury. "Fire at will!" Stan cried, and they lobbed a second shell at Vilthuril (in spite of the fact that her name wasn't Will) and it struck Vilthuril's hip, this had the same effect.

She couldn't stand it any more, Vilthuril had to kill the attackers, it would make a point.

"LAN THUM A LAY ZAYN NA ZYHL MES!" She thundered, hoping to intimidate the kes humans (it's closest English translation would be 'Prepare to die'), they loaded a desthile shell. Vilthuril lifted her giant forepaw and raised it over them.

The des humans that were operating the howitzer aimed at her heart, released the safety catch and were about to fire. They didn't manage to fire as Vilthuril was too quick for them; her forepaw had descended on them, all that was left was the wreckage of the howitzer and the now dead, splattered bodies of Barney, Eric & Vicky. Stan immediately ran off once this had happened.

Vilthuril licked any bits of human that had got stuck to the underside of her forepaw and continued.

The Watership rabbits were now entering the outskirts of Basingstoke, they hoped to find Vilthuril as soon as possible. Fiver had told them that she'd be hard to miss, so they kept an eye out.

Then they heard deep thuds that were getting louder & louder, Bigwig braced himself at the idea that this would be followed by the ground shaking, Blackberry sat down to figure out the cause of the thuds. Only Fiver & Hazel-rah seemed to understand what was causing them.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Hazel-rah told Bigwig & Blackberry, "She'll be here soon." Then Blackberry remembered Fiver's omen, he was anticipating her to be as big as a hrududu (lorry). Bigwig smiled, anticipating her to be as big as a bungalow (although he wouldn't call it that) with blood-stained forepaws.

And then they saw her, all except Fiver gasped, even Hazel-rah thought she wouldn't be as big as she was. She was bigger than the farmhouse at Nuthanger Farm (which was how big Hazel-rah anticipated); she then spotted the kes of them. She ethile gasped, then she got as close to a natural smile as she could, and kimthile she moved forward slightly and went on her haunches.

"NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN HAZEL-RAH," She thundered, "SORRY ABOUT ALL THIS, IT CAN BE QUITE TRICKY SOMETIMES." Hazel-rah rubbed his ears for a while because he was taken unawares of the volume of her voice. He then looked straight up into her eyes and replied in a shout (anticipating his normal volume to be too feeble for her to comprehend).

"We Came As Soon As We Could, VILthuril!" He called up to her; she decided to let them meet her human followers.

"I MANAGED TO CATCH SOME HUMANS," She told them, "THEY'VE MADE A VAO DECISION TO RECOGNISE THE POTENTIAL IN RABBITS! THEY'RE RIDING ON MY BACK AND ETH OF THEM CAN SPEAK SOME LAPINE." At this Hazel-rah, Blackberry & Bigwig jumped back in shock; that she had some humans riding on her back that respected her (rather than feared her) was a really shocking concept. Fiver of course wasn't too surprised; he was used to surreal events.

"May we meet them?" He asked his colossal companion, at which she smiled again.

"CERTAINLY." She told them, stretching out her forepaw for her passengers to use as a slide down to ground level.

Elaine was now aware that Vilthuril had met some of her lagomorphic comrades, she was amazed at the extreme variants in the Lapine tongue, and then Vilthuril turned her head to her.

"AI TRING NA SAI MES DES." Vilthuril told them, Elaine nodded and translated for the other two.

"She says there are some rabbits who'd like to meet us." At this they carefully made their way across Vilthuril's back and slid down her leg, which finished in a soft landing on her forepaw. Then they climbed off her forepaw and came face to face with Vilthuril's normal-sized rabbit friends. Vilthuril made introduction.

"ELÉN, KOTHEN-RAH; KOTHEN-RAH, ELÉN. ELÉN, HRAIROO; HRAIROO, ELÉN. ELÉN, THLAYLI; THLAYLI, ELÉN. ELÉN, BREKENNION; BREKENNION ELÉN." She thundered as she introduced Elaine to the Watership rabbits. "LAR-RA, KOTHEN-RAH; KOTHEN-RAH, LAR-RA. LAR-RA, HRAIROO; HRAIROO, LAR-RA. LAR-RA, THLAYLI; THLAYLI, LAR-RA. LAR-RA, BREKENNION; BREKENNION, LAR-RA." And she continued in that manner with Daniel (Dan-yel as she pronounced). Hazel-rah then hopped up to Elaine and gave her his forepaw.

"Vao na sai mi, Elén." He told her, she placed his forepaw in his hand and shook it.

"A lay – vao ven ma – ven lan mi." She told him, she then gazed in wonder at his forepaw, with amazement that she was once held in one. She then let go of his forepaw and met his eyes, which were staring at her in astonishment.

"Mi meth Naylte!" He told her, she smiled and replied.

"Roo!" She then continued. "Vilthuril laynt val ma – na lan u meth – tafo." Hazel-rah made a positive facial expression and replied.

"Vao-nyt!"

After a while Vilthuril piped up again (voice that is, not growth).

"A BRAL ON KOI NA ZAYN IL U HLIEN YEN." At hearing this, the Watership all replied.

"Vahl, on drao." Then Elaine looked up to Vilthuril with a pathetic look in her eye and asked her.

"Veth on dayn?" Vilthuril smiled and replied.

"VAHL, AN MES DRAO ZAYN OL BLAIR A LAY BLETH A LAYNT SISI!" Elaine agreed, and then she, Laura & Daniel were scooped up in her forepaw and placed on her back again. "MUL MES TRING NA LAY THAF MA?" She asked the Watership rabbits, Hazel-rah replied.

"On mul nahl tring na bray mi hlaf, zoth vahl." The other three agreed to this, interested in the experience. So Vilthuril scooped them up, also, and placed them on her back with Elaine & company.