Chapter 34

Sam's nose wrinkled in disgust as a cloud of smog hit his face as he scouted the edge of Darkhaven. The "warren" seemed to center on the factory, with connecting valleys and crevasses radiating outwards, all filled with all kinds of trash and debris. The factory was still a little over a quarter mile away, but Sam could see many rabbits standing on the high areas between the valleys. Sentries, the teen thought. The rabbits stood side by side without speaking, almost like robots. They were arranged in a perfect grid so that there was no way to traverse the high ground without being seen. Sam's only hope was to keep to the cover of the valleys and hope to avoid any patrols.

The teen walked down the path in front of him, taking him into the first valley. He quickly ducked into a pile of tires as a pair of rabbits hopped by. Their unblinking eyes showed no signs that they has seen him. "Poor things," he said quietly to himself. "I wonder if there's anything of themselves left in there?" Shaking his head to clear the negative thoughts away, Sam continued toward the factory.

The next valley was deserted, save for a large pile of rusting refrigerators with their parts ripped out. Sam was able to get through the area without running into any other patrols, and was quickly into the next area. Soon, he came to a stop. In front of him was a straight path to the next valley, lined by piles of scrap metal. The path itself was clear, but there were two sentries on the ground level. With no other valleys accessible from his level, and the high ground closely guarded, the teen knew he had no choice but to get passed the guards.

Sam climbed onto the pile of junk, making sure he was not seen. He slowly made his way to the other end of the valley, making as little noise as he could while simultaneously hiding from the sentries above. When he got close to the end, he poked his head around a corner, and saw the two sentries standing exactly where they had when he began. Thinking quickly, the teen changed to his human form and grabbed a small chunk of metal pipe. He threw it away from himself and the passage, hoping to draw the sentries into investigating. The rabbits' ears twitched toward the sound as one, but they did not move. Sam groaned in annoyance. He tried throwing a few more items, one of which disrupted a metal barrel. The large container rolled down the hill and crashed into the middle of the path. Sam grimaced as the noise echoed throughout the area.

I've got to get past them, the teen thought urgently. If I stay here any longer, I'm going to have the entire Darkhaven owsla coming down on me. Sighing, Sam rose from his hiding place. The sentries turned as one to face him, but Sam had already fired an energy ball at the one in front. It hit him in the chest and threw him backwards into his companion. They collapsed into a pile as Sam turned back to his rabbit form and ran through the passage. He looked back to be sure the rabbits were not following him, when he ran into something hard and furry. A line of four rabbits was blocking his way, with more gathering behind them. Sam swore as the rabbits began to advance. I'll have to find another way arou-damn it! Sam tried to run back the way he had come, but he found more rabbits that way too.

Sam turned back to his human form and readied a Frith Beam, but he was tackled from behind. The teen had just enough time to blindly fire the beam before a kick to the side of his face made him lose consciousness.

Sam's eyes flickered open some time later. The first thing he saw was the factory. It was much closer than he had remembered it being when he was attacked. The next thing he noticed was that he was seeing the factory through a window frame, lined with broken pieces of glass. A quick look at his surroundings showed Sam that he was in a hollowed out car. The seats had all been torn out, as had the machinery in the dash board, leaving Sam to lie on the partially-carpeted floor. The car itself was buried under a pile of other automobiles, leaving all the windows darkened except for the back window, which faced the factory. Sam climbed slowly toward the open window, only to have a clawed hind leg meet the side of his face as soon as he poked his head out of the car. The blow made him fall back down to the front, where a sharp pain erupted from the back of his shoulder.

A rabbit emerged in the opening. "Stay where you are. Mistress Alice will be with you soon." Although his voice was still and emotionless, it lacked the power that Woundwort's or Alice's had. This rabbit was clearly just a pawn.

The teen reached behind him and pulled a long shard of glass out of his shoulder, wincing as he felt blood trickle down his back. "Where am I?" he asked angrily. "Where's Glade?"

The nameless rabbit stared at him for a long moment before responding. "Any and all questions will be directed to Mistress Alice." He quickly ducked his head out of the way as Sam sent a Frith Beam screaming through the broken window. "Use of force is strongly discouraged," he yelled, already out of sight. "Any further attempts at violence will be met with crushing retaliation, as well as the slow torture and eventual recruitment of your companion." With that, the rabbit was silent.

Although seething in frustration, Sam took the time to examine his prison more thoroughly. Each of the doors to the car was rusted shut. The two front doors had cranks to open the windows, but both were enclosed by other scrap metal. Sam could see no way out. I wonder if I can make fire hot enough to cut through the car metal, he wondered idly to himself.

"Oh Sammy-boy! Are you down there?"

Sam groaned. Just what I needed. "Where is Glade?" he shouted angrily up the hole. "I swear to Frith, if you hurt her…"

Alice appeared in the opening, clutching an unconscious rabbit to her chest. "Keep your knickers on, she's right here." Although her fur looked matted and dirty, Glade appeared unharmed. "You kept your end of the bargain, and I kept mine. I'm very honorable, Sammy-boy, why would you think otherwise?"

"Maybe because you're an evil, manipulative bitch?"

In a flash, Alice was holding her jagged sword to Glade's throat. She glared at Sam. "I think you need to watch your mouth. The deal was that she would be safe until you got here, but now that you are here, all bets are off. She is only useful to me as a means to keep you in line, so you better behave. Do you think you could fight against her if she was on our side?" Sam was silent. "I thought not. So here's the deal: you have two days to join our side, and let Master have you. In return, this doe and your friends will be left alone. If you don't take our offer, Master will take you for our side anyway, and your friends' lives will be forfeit."

Sam's breath caught in his throat. What do I do? There's no way Hazel and the others will be able to defeat the Black Rabbit on their own…right? Sam sighed. I have to give them the best chance I can. I'm sure that, together, Bigwig, Holly, and Campion can beat me. "…Fine."

Alice's eyes widened in surprise. "I…what did you say?"

"I said fine!" Sam snapped. The teen then lowered his head, unable to stand looking into Alice's eyes. "I really screwed this up, coming here alone. Bigwig wouldn't have gotten caught. Fiver could have seen the danger coming. Even Hawkbit or Dandelion would have been able to have my back in that fight. The least I can do for them now is to keep you out of their hair for a while longer."

Alice dropped Glade to ground with a sneer. "Well good, I'm glad you see it that way. You climb up here. Slowly. I'll give you a little cut, and then we wait. In about 30 hours, you'll be ours. Now come on!" Sam's eyes closed in shame as he began to climb. His fingers reached the top edge of the car. "That's far enough," Alice said. She reached down and placed the edge of her sword against Sam's cheek. "This'll only hurt for a second."

Suddenly, Alice's legs were kicked from under her, sending the girl off the car. Before Sam could react, Glade crawled to the opening and glared at him. "Don't you dare give up, Sam. I can't believe you would surrender that easily, after all we've fought for!"

"What else can I do?" Sam asked desperately. "You heard Alice: she's going to kill you all if I don't give myself up."

"She's lying, Sam. The worst thing you can do is give up on your friends. They believe in you. I believe in you. Don't quit on us now."

Sam smiled and set his hand gently on Glade's shoulder. "I suppose I can't say no to that. But what about you? Are you okay?"

Glade nuzzled his arm tenderly. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You just have to-" She suddenly let out a cry of pain as a plume of dark fire hit her from the side, sending her out of Sam's vision.

"Glade!" Sam was about to climb up after her when Alice appeared again.

"Two days, Sam. You have two days to make a choice, or else the slaughter begins."

Alice kicked Sam hard in the face, causing him to fall to the bottom of the car once again. The last thing Sam heard before his world faded to black was Glade's screams of pain.

It was night time before Sam awoke again. As he sat up, he gingerly felt his face where Alice had kicked him. It was warm, and very tender to the touch. He got slowly to his feet and looked upwards outside the window. The factory was still looming overhead, although the smoke from earlier appeared to have stopped.

"Glade!" he shouted desperately, "are you out there?"

The same monotone rabbit from before poked his head through the opening. "Your companion is with Mistress Alice. Have you made your decision?" The rabbit pulled his head back as Sam shot a huge cloud of fire through the opening, blowing away any remaining glass and causing the metal to melt slightly. He appeared again, unfazed by Sam's savage attack. "Your refusal is acknowledged. You still have thirty-eight hours, twelve minutes, and forty-eight seconds to make your choice."

Sam snorted in amusement. "So the Black Rabbit taught you to count? Neat trick."

"Master has given us more than you can imagine. He will share his gifts with you as well, if you only give yourself to him."

"But think about what he asks in return," Sam pleaded. "He takes away everything you are! Think about those numbers you just said; do you even understand what they mean?"

The rabbit closed his eyes and did not answer. When his eyes opened again, they were pitch black. "Your words ring hollow, Messenger. You seek to appeal to this rabbit's sense of…humanity, for lack of a better word, but you toil in vain. Anything in here that could be reasoned with has long since died."

"You…" Sam growled, barely able to contain his anger. He began to build up energy for a Frith Beam when the Black Rabbit interrupted.

"Why waste your energy? You could not hit my slaves before, why could you hit them under my direct control?" The rabbit closed its eyes for a moment while an annoyed look crossed its face."It appears I have a few loose ends to tie up. I suggest you make your decision quickly, Messenger." With that, the darkness faded from the rabbit's eyes. It pulled its head away, leaving Sam alone again.

The rest of the night went without issue, and Sam managed to get a few uninterrupted hours of sleep. A rumbling in the teen's stomach woke him just as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. The teen slowly got to his feet and clutched his aching stomach. He had not had a chance to eat since meeting the stag, and that was more than a day ago. Sam's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a tapping to his side. Looking towards the source of the sound, Sam was surprised to see a doe scratching at the window.

I think that's the first doe I've seen here, Sam thought. Why would the Black Rabbit send her down here instead of just talking from the hole like everyone else? Confident in his abilities to deal with one rabbit if she proved to be hostile, Sam turned to his human form and turned the crank to lower the window. The doe backed away nervously as the window sank completely into the door. With the window out of the way, Sam was able to get a clear look at her. Her fir was dirty and matted, but appeared to be dark brown. The doe was lanky, and rather thin.

"You…really do exist."

Sam was surprised at the strength of the voice housed in such a slender body. He was even more surprised at the doe's apparent free will. "You're not a slave of the Black Rabbit?" She shook her head while still maintaining a cautious distance. Sam sighed in relief. "That's great news. I'm Sam, sometimes known as Sunflower. What's your name?"

"I am Spartina, and I know of you, Messenger. Come with me, quickly."

She immediately turned and moved down a passage that was hidden in the darkness. Sam cast a quick glance at the opening above him before following Spartina. The doe led the way through a makeshift tunnel weaved in and out of numerous cars with varying degrees of rust. The tunnel eventually led into the ground, away from the pile of machinery.

"What are these tunnels?" Sam asked as he followed Spartina deeper. The tunnel was the same style as the burrows at Watership Down. "Did you make all these?"

"Quiet," Spartina said, cocking her ears to listen. Sam listened, but did not hear anything. He was about to ask what Spartina was listening for when she continued in a whisper, "Keep quiet, this place is not safe. You can ask your questions in a moment." Although he could not hear anything, Sam nodded silently.

The pair continued following the tunnel deeper and deeper into the earth. Eventually, they came to a small cave, about the size of one of the burrows back on Watership Down. In the burrow was a collection of fabric, presumably ripped from the various cars around Darkhaven, that functioned as bedding. In the corner there was a small stockpile of vegetables and others plants. "It's safe. The Black Rabbit can't get us here. You can talk now."

"I don't even know where to begin," Sam said in awe. "I guess…thank you, for breaking me out. I'm going to be honest: I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up, Spartina."

"You would have succumbed to the Black Rabbit, I imagine," she replied. "You're only lucky I had to replenish my food supply, or I might not have heard the chatter about you in time."

Now Sam was curious. "What chatter? The rabbits in this place don't talk to each other at all. And how did you find me anyway? What's up with these tunnels of yours? How are you living here, but not under the Black Rabbit's control? I'm grateful to you for helping me, but you can't blame me for being a little suspicious."

Spartina stared at Sam appraisingly before she replied. "No, I can't. Suspicion is what has kept me alive in this place." She gestured to the pile of food. "Eat. You're going to need your strength."

"But don't you-"

"I'll be fine," she said forcefully. "Eat." Sam examined the food, but could not find anything noticeably wrong with it. While he ate, Spartina talked.

"It was…close to two seasons ago, just at the end of winter, when Darkhaven attacked my warren. They came at night. My owsla was overwhelmed before I knew what had happened. I woke to the sounds of fighting in my warren. And the screams of my friends as the owsla was slaughtered." Spartina closed her eyes at the painful memory. "There was a bolt hole in my burrow; my captain of owsla insisted. I was able to get in there and collapse the entrance before the Darkhaveners got to me. I stayed there for the rest of the attack, listening to them round up my rabbits, and take them. By the time I dug my way out, everyone was either gone, or dead."

"I'm so sorry," Sam said with pain in his voice. "If only I'd-"

Spartina cut him off with a glare. "You didn't, though. You weren't around, and we had to face them alone."

Sam was startled at the accusation in her voice. "Spartina, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were being attacked like that. You have to believe me, I would have come to help if I had known."

The doe sighed. "I know," she said with resignation. "Just…keep eating. And don't interrupt again. This is hard enough to tell." Sam nodded as she continued with her story.

"I followed them, after I got out of the warren. They were easy to track, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't manage to catch up to them. It was only later that I learned about the Black Rabbit's influence over them. The Darkhaven rabbits were able to travel without rest, and they killed any of my rabbits that could not keep the pace. I followed them to this area, but they had already gone passed the sentries, so I had to stop. It took me three days to find a hole in their guard so I could get in. By that time…the Black Rabbit already had everyone that made it under his control. The does he captured were turned into breeders, birthing rabbits for his army. The bucks went straight to owsla. I managed to catch one of the does of my warren alone, and I tried to talk to her. I was hoping that I might be able to free her, but she attacked me. I escaped, but I…had to kill her to do it."

Spartina's eyes were glistening with tears, but she managed to keep speaking. "After that, I ran. Just found a pile of those things out there, and hid. I found a tunnel like the one we came through, and that led me here. It was that first night that I heard him. The Black Rabbit attacked my mind, and tried to take me like all the others. In my sorrow, I didn't think I would be able to resist him, but his attack waned over time. That's one of the reasons I'm still here. The Black Rabbit knows where I am at all times, but apparently he doesn't think I'm worth dealing with. But at the same time, he won't let me escape. Any time I try and leave, I find hrair rabbits waiting outside my escape route. So I've been here. Disrupting as much as I can, and stealing their food to survive." Spartina waited for Sam to say something, but he just sat there. She sighed. "You can talk now."

There were a number of questions running through Sam's head, but one issue in particular grabbed his attention. "You said that the Black Rabbit has tried to attack you before, but you fought him off? How did you resist him?"

She chuckled sadly. "I never said I resisted him, I just said his attack wore off. You can't escape him here. This is his domain; he's like a fog that permanently hangs over this area. He's been in my head since the first day. That's what I meant when I said I heard chatter about you. I hear it when he gives orders to his troops. I just…managed to keep him at bay. Somehow."

Sam got to his feet. "Well we're going to have to do something about that, aren't we?"

Spartina backed away as Sam walked closer. "What are you doing? Get away from me!"

"Calm down, Spartina," Sam said, his hands glowing yellow. "I know a way to free you from the Black Rabbit without hurting you. You just have to trust me." Seeing the doe freeze, but not make any attempt to escape, Sam closed on her. He pressed his hands gently against her temples and focused. Sam felt something pushing against the energy flowing into Spartina, but it was no match for the power of Frith.

Spartina took in a gasping breath as small shudders wracked her body. When the shaking died down, the doe shook her head and looked at Sam in amazement. "You…you really did it. I can't feel the Black Rabbit anymore!"

Sam lowered his hands and smiled. "It's not a problem. I'm pretty used to-"

He was cut off as Spartina threw her front paws around him in a tight hug. "Thank you," she said, crying openly. "Thank you so much." Her eyes snapped open as she realized what she was doing. Spartina backed away from Sam quickly and cleared her throat. "That…didn't happen."

"Of course not," Sam said with a chuckle. "You should be fine from now on. We had some problems with the Black Rabbit invading minds back on Watership Down, but I was able to protect everyone the same way I protected you. The Black Rabbit won't be able to get in your head anymore."

"That's perfect," Spartina replied with an odd look in her eyes. "I was going to just point you on your way, and then use the distraction of your attack to escape. But if I'm immune to the Black Rabbit's possession…"

Sam held up a hand to stop her. "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, Spartina, but I think I'd still prefer it if you left. The reason I came here on my own is because I didn't want any of my friends to get hurt. And that hasn't changed. You've been here long enough; you've more than earned your freedom."

"But on the other paw, I'm now in the unique position of being able to get revenge for the hell the Black Rabbit has put me through these past few seasons. I can finally make up for all the friends I had to watch die. Either you take me with you, or I'm not showing you the safe route there."

Sam ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You realize this will be impossibly dangerous, right?" Spartina nodded. "The Black Rabbit will likely put everything he has in my way." She nodded again. Sam sighed. "Fine. I guess I don't really have a choice. If I were to get caught again, I don't think the Black Rabbit would give me another chance to escape. Lead the way."

Spartina nodded and turned down one of the tunnels, Sam following behind her. As they walked, the dirt floor gave way to stone. Sam figured they were walking through a discharge pipe, although it appeared to be out of use. The pair walked in silence for a while, before sunlight began to intrude upon the darkness of the run. Soon, they emerged from the pipe, about fifty yards away from the factory. The path was lined with piles of tires, but was otherwise clear.

When she saw this, Spartina stopped and looked at the path with suspicion. "Something isn't right here," she said. "The Black Rabbit always has this route guarded."

Sam moved in front of her and continued down the path. "He's trying to draw me in. You can still go back. This isn't going to be pretty."

"I told you already," Spartina said, catching up to Sam, "I'm coming."

"Are you really this stupid?" Sam and Spartina froze as Alice stepped onto the path. The pair looked behind them as a group of large rabbits jumped down from the top of the pipe, blocking off their escape route. "You were pretty safe in those tunnels, Sammy-boy. We could have packed them full of our rabbits, all aiming to kill you. But there would only be room for…three at a time to fight you? Now you and I both know you could fight off groups of three rabbits all day long, but now you're out here." Alice raised her arms in the air and rabbits began to emerge from the tires surrounding the path. "You're out in the open, and we can bring our entire owsla down on you."

Sam stood back to back with Spartina. Just at a glance, he counted at least two hundred rabbits, consisting of bucks, does, and even some kittens. He sighed. "Still glad you came?" he asked Spartina.

"Shut up," she growled back.

"Where's Glade?" Sam shouted to Alice.

A large rabbit approached Alice from off the path. He carried an unconscious Glade on his back, and threw her roughly to the ground at Alice's feet, before joining the others around Spartina and Sam. "She's still here. Happy? But really now, shouldn't you be worried about the couple hundred rabbits standing around you?" Alice yawned and took a seat on the ground. "Tell you what, get through them, then we'll talk."

"Wonderful," Sam said with a sigh. "Got any plans, Spartina?" No answer. "Spartina?" Sam looked behind him and saw the doe on the ground, shaking her head in pain. The teen knelt down and set his hand on her neck, hoping to calm her down. She was very warm to the touch.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. They were pure white. She spoke in a soft, but firm voice. "My children are crying. Their souls cry out to me in pain, but they are beyond my reach. Do your duty, Messenger. Remove these bastardizations of life from their misery." With that, she collapsed.

Sam stood and looked at all the rabbits around him. Some were strong bucks that were obviously part of the owsla, does in various degrees of pregnancy, and there were even kittens younger than the junior owsla. All of them were glaring at Sam with murder in their eyes. Do I really have to kill all these rabbits? Sam wondered in disbelief. Tears began building in Sam's eyes. This isn't fair! They didn't do anything wrong! Sam's eyes drifted over to Alice. And Glade. Seeing her lying there, Sam's resolve hardened. I'll save you, Glade, Sam thought as his hands began to glow, I promised. Sam pushed, and a Frith Beam erupted from his palms. With a grunt of effort, Sam began to turn in a circle, keeping the beam flowing from his hands. It shot into the crowd of rabbits, cutting through them effortlessly. Sam completed his circle, and sank to the ground in exhaustion. When he looked around, where before there were rabbits, sat only piles of dust.

"I'm sorry," Sam said as he slowly got to his feet. "I'm so very sorry. I'll avenge you, I swear." He looked over to Alice, who was rising out of a defensive stance, having blocked Sam's Frith Beam.

"That was pretty impressive," Alice said, sweeping some dust off of her shoulder. "Hell, I think you've killed more rabbits than I have with that move. And that's saying something." She smirked as she began walking closer towards Sam. "I've very proud of-" She broke off to dodge the green energy ball Sam flung at her.

"Shut up," Sam said quietly. "I…don't want to listen to your voice anymore. I'm sorry, but I'm going to kill you."

Just then, Sam heard coughing behind him. He looked over to see Spartina holding a paw to her head as she slowly got to her feet. "Why should you feel sorry about killing that thing," Spartina said with hatred in her voice. "It's not like it's real."

Sam was taken aback. "I…don't understand. What do you mean?"

Spartina glared at Alice. "You didn't think she was a real human, did you? The Black Rabbit created her to fight you. I overheard it while the Black Rabbit was trying to break into my mind."

Sam slowly turned back to Alice, who simply shrugged. "You're the one who thought I was real. I just didn't see any reason to set you straight." She began to laugh. "You should have seen yourself: 'oh no, I have to kill a little girl, boo hoo!' Priceless." Alice's smirk turned to confusion as Sam began to laugh. For once, she appeared speechless. "That's…not the reaction I was expecting."

"That's because you don't get it," Sam said, trying to catch his breath. "This whole time, I've been worried about killing you. This actually kept me up at night. But now I learn that you're not a real person? That there's no reason to keep you alive? That's the best news I've heard all day! And believe you me," Sam stood, his hands glowing green, "I've been ready for this for a long time." His hands glowed brighter. "You know, I had a lot of time while I was walking here, and after Vervain beat me, I figured I needed to find a new fighting style. Going weaponless wasn't really doing it for me, so I figured this little trick out." Sam threw his arms out to his sides, and pushed his energy. A sword formed in each hand, made entirely out of energy.

"Cool," Alice replied. She brought her own sword up and pointed it at Sam. "This will be fun."

Without further warning, Alice charged at Sam. She swiped at Sam's face, but blocked with one of his swords. He stabbed with the other one, and caught Alice in the shoulder. She staggered, and Sam followed by hitting the side of her face with the hilt of his sword. Alice took a blind slash at Sam. He dodged, and sent a stream of fire down his sword at her.

Alice managed to dodge most of the fire by jumping backwards. "How are you so strong?" she asked. "You've never been able to keep up with me before."

"I've held back before," Sam replied, moving closer to her. "I didn't want to kill an innocent girl, no matter what she had done. But now that I know you're just a soulless thing, I have no more reason to try at save you." Sam slashed at Alice, who blocked the blow with his sword. The teen brought his other sword around and hit Alice's hand, knocking her sword away. Banishing his swords, Sam punched Alice in the face, sending her flying into a pile of tires. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. For everything you've done to me, and to my friends, it's time to pay. This is for the junior owsla, and Scree." Each name was accompanied by another punch to the face, all powered by his green power. "And this one is for Strawberry, and Fiver, and Silverweed, and Hazel and Bigwig." At this point, Alice's face was black and blue, and she could barely stand. He summoned one of his swords again. "And this one? This is for Glade." With no further warning, he stabbed Alice through the stomach, and pumped his Frith Beam through the sword. Her face contorted into a mask of agony as white tendrils worked their way up her body. With a scream of pain, Alice disintegrated.

Sam dropped to his knees. Finally. She's finally gone. Now I just have one last…Glade! Suddenly remembering, Sam ran over to his friend. She was still unconscious, and there was a large patch of her fir that was burned from Alice's fire attack, but she appeared to be healthy otherwise. A quick pass with his Frith Beam relieved any fears that she was possessed. Sam shook her shoulder, but the doe was unresponsive.

Spartina walked up to the pair. "The Black Rabbit put her to sleep, most likely. I've seen him do it to other prisoners. It's nothing harmful; she'll wake up a few days after it happens. Which I imagine would be pretty soon." The doe shook on her legs. "Anyway, we aren't done here. There's still the Black Rabbit left."

"I know," Sam said with a sigh. "But Spartina, I want you to take Glade and go." Seeing the doe about to interrupt, Sam continued quickly, "Whatever happened to you back there really weakened you. Look at yourself, you're having a hard time walking, and you expect to be able to go toe to toe with the Black Rabbit? No way. Please, Spartina, I don't want you or Glade to get hurt."

Spartina glared at Sam, but she did not answer. She knew he was right. "If I do this, you better promise me you'll win. I want revenge for my warren."

"I'll do all I can," Sam reassured. "I intend to make him pay for all the innocents he has hurt. Please, take Glade and go back to Watership Down." He picked Glade up and laid her across Spartina's back. "Leave Darkhaven, and follow the path of dead plants. That will take you back to Watership Down. Just tell the rabbits there that I sent you, and you should have no problem getting in. Be careful."

She gave Sam a long look. "Thank you, Messenger, for everything. When I first heard about you, I wasn't sure a human would be able to do any good. But…I can see it now. I can really see you winning this. Good luck." With that, she turned and began walking slowly away from the factory.

Sam sighed and turned back to the factory. Thanks, Spartina, I think I'm going to need it.

A/N: I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in so long! But on the plus side, the rest of chapters from here until the end of the story are done and in the hands of my beta reader, so it should be relatively fast from here on out. While she is doing that, I will be working on making the entire story flow better. The observant among you may realize that some of the beginning chapters have gotten actual names. That will be a way to track my progress. By the time the last chapter is up, the story will be complete!

Thanks everyone!