Kenny and Kehaar were making their way to Efrafa to rescue their missing friends. Right now, they were passing the farm where Stan and Kyle had been attacked by Bob the dog.

When they neared the house, the vicious dog came bounding out the gate again. He pounced on Kenny and tore his chest open.

There were no other rabbits around, so Kehaar realized he would have to be the one to say it: "Oh my gud! You haf killed Kenny! You bastard!"

Bob made a lunge at Kehaar but the seagull flew out of his reach and took refuge in a nearby tree. Realizing he couldn't get at the bird, Bob turned around and trotted back inside.

Kehaar flew back down to the ground. He stood over Kenny's body sadly.

But after only a few minutes, Kenny got back up again! "How do you keep coming back to life like dat?" Kehaar squawked.

"I dunno," said Kenny. "But we don't have any time to waste. We've gotta keep movin'. Let's get outta here before the dog comes back."

Kehaar saw that Kenny now had a scar on his stomach where the dog had wounded him. A scar shaped like a question mark.

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Later that afternoon, at Efrafa, it was the appointed time for the Right Flank Mark to come outside and silflay. Stan and Kyle found a patch of clover, but they couldn't really enjoy it. They were too depressed. The other rabbits in the Mark seemed cheerless and dispirited too. Only Captain Bugloss was in a good mood.

"If'n ye need ter pass hraka, now's the time ter do it," he told Stan and Kyle. "But make sure ye bury it afterwards. We don't want elil comin' in here an' smellin' yer shit. Then they'd know there's a bunch o' rabbits livin' here. Our survival depends on secrecy, at least until the day when the rabbits rise up an' take possession o' this entire planet."

Stan wondered where these rabbits had gotten their grandiose ideas about conquering the world. Rabbits didn't ordinarily have thoughts like that.

"An' don't think ye'll get away wi' just leavin' yer hraka on the ground," Bugloss went on. "Directly arter we all go underground agin, the General will send a Hraka Sentry up to inspect this site an' make sure no one left their droppin's behind."

"I'd hate to have that job," Kyle muttered.

Just then General Woundwort came up. "Bugloss, how are the new recruits shapin' up?"

"Oh, they haven't been givin' me any more trouble," Bugloss said cheerfully. "I think they've learned their lesson right enough."

"Good, good…" Woundwort began, but his voice trailed off as he glimpsed the figure of a strange rabbit approaching in the distance. "Wait, who's this?"

Bugloss squinted. "Dunno."

As the new arrival got closer, Stan thought he seemed familiar. He had a feeling he'd seen this rabbit before, but he wasn't sure where. The new rabbit had his ears pulled back into a ponytail that was tied up with a strand of grass, and he had a scar on his chest that looked like a question mark.

"Who are you?" Woundwort demanded.

"My name is Mysterion, sir," the stranger replied in a gravelly voice. Kenny had decided he should give the Efrafan rabbits a fake name.

"Wot are ye doin' here?" said Woundwort.

"I've heard about this warren of yours and I want to join it."

Woundowrt was puzzled. "Ye say ye want to join Efrafa?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? What's so odd about that?"

"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" said Woundwort. "Well, wot can ye do? D'yer have any useful skills?" Mysterion said, "I can run and fight and spoil a story telling it. I used to be an officer in a Owsla, far away from here, but I got bored. The other rabbits in my warren always wanted to run away whenever danger threatened. I couldn't stand it. I wanted to fight, but I couldn't fight on my own. Then I learned about you and how you were forming a group of rabbits into an army. 'He's a hardass, just like me,' I said to myself."

"But how did ye learn about Efrafa?" Woundwort wanted to know. "I wasn't aware any outsiders knew about us."

Mysterion smiled mysteriously. "Oh, a little bird told me."

"Bloody birds!" Woundwort swore. "They're the one creature I can't kill, since they can fly away from me! Wot about you? Have you ever killed anythin'?" This was a question he asked of all newcomers.

Mysterion chuckled. "Have I ever killed anything? Listen, matey, I've fought foxes, battered badgers, whipped weasels, and strangled stoats. I'm prepared to take on anything except an elephant, cause elephants are the biggest animals in the world, except for whales."

"Whales don't count," said Woundwort. "They're only fishes."

Kyle could not keep silent upon hearing this piece of stupidity. "Whales aren't fish! They're mammals!"

Woundwort rounded on him. "Camels? 'Course whales ain't camels! Camels have humps!"

"I didn't say they were camels, I said they were mammals," Kyle said.

"Pah! They swim in the sea, an' that's good enough fer me. I say they're fish, an' if ye wanna argue about it, you'll get another damn good beating!" Woundwort turned back to Mysterion. "Now, yew talk a good game, but how do I know that you fight as good as you blabbermouth?"

Suddenly a shadow fell over the sky. Kehaar the seagull was swooping overhead. Some of the more timid rabbits like Blackavar fell on their faces at the sight of this enormous bird, which made Woundwort furious. "Get up!" he barked. "Birds aren't dangerous!"

"I'll take care of this featherbag, sir," said Kenny. This was all part of the plan he and Kehaar had hatched on the way here.

Woundwort grinned evilly. "All right. That'll be yer test. If ye beat 'im, ye can join us."

No sooner had he said those words than Kehaar swooped down upon Kenny and pinned him to the ground. He started pecking at Kenny's face with his beak. "Ow! Ow!" Kenny cried. "Kehaar, you're supposed to let me win, remember?" he whispered.

"Oh, right," Kehaar whispered back. He had gotten too caught up in his role, but now he remembered the plan. Abruptly he fell over backwards as if he had been punched.

Kenny got back up and pretended to fight Kehaar, but he wasn't even really touching him. Instead, the bird was flinging himself about as if an invisible person were attacking him.

Woundwort was impressed. "Wow! Yer beatin' up that bird wi'out even layin' a paw on 'im! Okay, Mysterion, yore in! I'll put yer in the Near Hind Mark under Captain Chevril."

Kehaar took off into the sky and vanished from sight. The rabbits all headed back underground.

Late that night, Stan and Kyle were sleeping in the barracks with the rest of their Mark when Kenny sneaked in and woke them up.

"Mysterion?" Stan mumbled. "What are you doing?"

Kenny put a paw to his lips, shushing him. "I'm not really Mysterion," he whispered. "I'm Kenny."

"Of course!" exclaimed Kyle. "I thought I recognized you, but I've never seen you with your ears pulled back like that before."

"Gotta be quiet," Kenny whispered. "We don't want anyone to hear us."

"Where'd you get that scar on your chest?" Stan whispered.

"A dog attacked me. It's nothing."

Stan and Kyle exchanged dark looks. "I think I know the dog you're talking about," Stan said.

"Is Ike with you?" Kenny asked.

"No, we never found him," Kyle said. "We still have no idea if he's even alive."

Kenny nodded somberly. "All right. Well, Kehaar and I have a plan to get the two of you out of here, at least."

Stan's eyes widened. "Really? What is it?"

"Can't tell you right now. I've gotta get back to my own room before anyone catches me. I just wanted to let you know I was here. Good night."

"Good night," they replied as Kenny tiptoed out of the room.