Epilogue

Sunflower's eyes opened slowly. Just like everything else he did these days. He looked to his side, and smiled to see his mate there, still asleep. The old rabbit thanked Frith for every day the pair spent together. He laid his head back down, content to sleep in their burrow for a few more hours, when he suddenly felt the air get a bit colder.

"Hello, Sam."

Sunflower flinched. He knew that voice. It still occasionally haunted his nightmares, even now. But it was only a momentary fright. Things were good again, what need did he have to be afraid? The old rabbit chuckled. "Frith above, I haven't been called by that name in at least ten years."

The Black Rabbit moved to sit in front of him, a gentle smile on his face. "I imagine not. You never told anyone else about it, if I remember correctly. The only ones that know would be…you, Glade, Pipkin, Snowdrop, and Blackavar."

Sunflower chuckled. "I don't know if I should be honored or frightened that you know us so well. But I know you don't appear to anyone without a reason. I suppose it's time to go? I've lived an amazing life, I'm ready."

"You know, I never got to properly thank you for freeing me from my anger. I thought it best to simply stay away, and let you live in peace. Frith knows my face is the last you'd ever want to see again. But after all this time, I've finally found the proper way to repay you. Oh, you may wish to wake your mate for this."

"'Any who lay their eyes on the Black Rabbit, must with him go,'" Sam quoted. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not."

The Black Rabbit shook his head. "I've been at this job for centuries, and never before have I seen a pair of rabbits with such devotion to each other. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, depending on how you look at it, that devotion has a long reach. When I take you, she will follow soon after, no matter what you say to try and stop her. If it's all the same to YOU, I think it would be more merciful to allow you to travel together, as you have all your lives. Part one of my gift, if you consider it such."

After a moment of deliberation, Sunflower nodded and nuzzled his mate. With a yawn and a stretch of her limbs, Glade awoke. "Is something the matter, Sunflower? I don't remember the last time you were awake this ear-" She broke off with a gasp as she saw the Black Rabbit sharing the burrow with them. "Oh," she finished weakly.

Sunflower nuzzled her gently. "Sorry hun."

"I apologize for this abruptness, Glade." He explained about coming for Sunflower. And for her as well, if she chose. "So my gift to you, Sam, is time. You and Glade will have one day to say goodbye to your friends."

Sunflower and Glade looked at each other in shock. Sunflower was the first to gather his wits enough to speak. "Is...that allowed? I thought death wasn't allowed to bend for anything."

"And usually I'm not, but you are a special case. After what you did for me, this is the least I could do." His story told, he turned to leave. "This opportunity has never been given before, and never will be again. I suggest you take advantage." A puff of black smoke, and he was gone.

Glade leaned her head against Sunflower's shoulder. "So this is it."

He nodded. "Our final adventure together. Well, on this side anyway." They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. "So, what do you think?"

"We can't," Glade replied immediately. "I can't. I couldn't face our daughters and tell them the Black Rabbit is coming for us. What if they tried to stop us? What if they tried to follow?"

Sunflower nodded wordlessly. She was right, of course. It was a nice thought, but there was a reason no one was given a chance like this. It was simply…unnatural. He nuzzled Glade again. "Let's go." The pair stood, and made their way out of the warren. The sun was barely over the horizon, so they were the only ones awake. They made their way to the edge of the down, and looked back. Tears built in Sunflower's eyes as he remembered everything he and his friends had been through.

He wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.

"Sunflower! Glade? Where are you going so early?"

The old rabbit's ears fell when he heard the familiar voice. "I was hoping we would be able to avoid them by going this way."

"You and Bigwig taught them too well."

The pair turned to see Pipkin and Snowdrop hopping towards them. The two were getting on in years as well, but their years spent as co-captains of owsla after Bigwig's retirement had kept them healthy. The two mates liked to do early morning patrols themselves, since they rarely seemed to have time alone together during the day. They quickly caught up to Sam and Glade.

"Good morning you two," Pipkin said pleasantly. "You're up early, what's the occasion?" He saw the serious looks on their faces. "What's wrong?"

Sunflower looked to Glade before answering. "The Black Rabbit came to our burrow this morning. He said…he said it was time."

"What?!"

Sunflower explained to the pair the Black Rabbit's gift. And how they had intended to refuse. "I'm sorry," Sunflower finished. "We just didn't think we could take it."

"But you…you can't just leave!" Pipkin cried out. Sunflower allowed a small smile to creep onto his face. No matter how old he got, Pipkin always had a hint of his old childishness.

"I'm sorry, Pipkin, but Glade was right. I couldn't stand to say goodbye to everyone. To really say goodbye. Even the two of you just-" Sam's voice broke as tears started to form in his eyes.

Pipkin ran to the old rabbit and embraced him. "Sunflower…Sam…I…"

"Call me Sunflower, Pipkin. I made my choice long ago."

Tears stained Sunflower's shoulder as Pipkin struggled to speak. "You've been a part of my life since before I was a season cycle old. You've always been there, I just can't…I can't imagine you gone. What will I say to Lily and the others? They're going to be so sad you didn't say goodbye to them."

"They're the ones we couldn't bear to face," Glade responded. "I know it's a lot to ask, but could you give them our love? It'll hurt, but they'll be alright."

"Of course we can," Snowdrop said, moving to hug Sunflower when Pipkin moved over to Glade. "I'm going to miss you, Uncle Sunflower. Say hello to Gillia for us, will you?"

Sunflower nodded. "I will. I'm sure she'll be happy to know her siblings didn't forget about her after…"

"For the last time, it was not your fault," Glade said, nuzzling her mate. "That hrududu came out of nowhere."

"But-"

"We aren't here to reopen old wounds," Pipkin interrupted. "I just...are you sure there's nothing we can do? Can't you even take advantage of the day the Black Rabbit gave you?"

Sunflower shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Pipkin. But we just can't. It would be too hard. I love you guys. Take care."

Pipkin saluted Sunflower as he and Glade turned back down the hill. "It was an honor to know you, Sunflower. I'm sure I'll see you soon enough."

"Hopefully not too soon," Sunflower shot back. "Ready to go?" he asked Glade.

"I'm ready."

Glade and Sunflower walked slowly down the hill, supporting each other in their old age. The Black Rabbit awaited them at the base of the hill with a bemused smile on his face.

"Done so soon?"

"We couldn't do it," Sunflower admitted. "It isn't going to change anything. Our time has passed, and we're leaving the warren in good paws. Are you ready, Glade?"

She nodded. "I've always followed you everywhere, whether you wanted me to or not. That's not changing now."

"We're ready."

The Black Rabbit nodded. "Then come."

The Black Rabbit turned away from the down, and began to walk. Sunflower and Glade followed, feeling lighter and stronger than they had in a long time. They wandered away from Watership Down, leaving a warren of beauty and peace in their wake.

Sainte atha ma u Hrair, kan zyhlante hray a vahra ma hyaones

Important: The story is NOT DONE YET! I still have a few bonus chapters in the works. Just a few scenes that I think would be fun to explore, but that don't necessarily fit that well into the main story. They will be posted after the epilogue, so don't worry about having to find a separate side-stories thing.

A/N: It's finally done. This has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever had the pleasure of doing. And a lot of that has come from you, the readers. I honestly didn't think this story would get all that much attention, but your overwhelming response made it easy to see I made the right choice in taking up writing. I have a few people in particular I would like to thank:

For The Kingdom was my beta reader through almost the entire project. I was very lucky to have found someone whose style of correcting and assistance meshed so well with my own writing style. I was definitely not the easiest person to work with some times. I remember one particular period where I hadn't sent her anything for a month and a half, but then sent her four chapters in the span of a week. Had I not had her help, this story would have been a lot worse.

Sharks Potter is definitely my most prolific reviewer, and that really means a lot to me. His kind words were always nice after posting a chapter. I feel I would be remiss if I did not mention that he also wrote a Watership Down fanfiction called Watership Down: The New World. Although I cannot point out the exact places where it inspired me, I know my story would not look the same had I not read his. It is a fantastic read, but set aside some time if you decide to read it, it's long. But still well worth the read!

Journalist793 was my very first reviewer! Now this may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but when you post a story that you feel certain is going to be ignored, and the first review it gets is so kind and bubbly, well that just makes your day. She took an undetermined leave of absence from fanfiction a little after my story went up, so I don't know if she'll ever read this. But if she does, she should be aware that she went a long way towards the continuation of the story.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the other reviewers, and the silent readers. I don't think I would have been able to write all this if I hadn't gotten any feedback from anyone. I value all my reviewers, and I always tried to answer each review, even if it was to say thank you. And on that note:

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read my story!
-kamikazitwinkie