4th Water

Episode 4.3 - The Missing

Disclaimers:

The Watership Down series belongs to Alltime and Decode Entertainment. The original characters were the work of Richard Adams, however, many of the characters in the series were changed, and these belong to Alltime/Decode. I am just borrowing the characters for this fansite, and I mean no-one any harm by this. I am in no way connected with any of the companies mentioned above.

This is supposed to be a fanfic fourth series, continuing on from my Virtual 3rd series, rather than continuing from the official series 3. It is in no way supposed to detract from the official third series. When I originally planned out my third series, I never knew of the existance of the official one. As it has never, and doesn't look as though it ever will be, aired in the UK, I decided to write an alternative series, continuing on from where series 2 (The Homecoming) left off. By the time I started 4th Water, I had an idea of what happens in some of the official third series, hence some of it (but not all) has been planned to try and avoid sounding too similar.

All characters are completely fictitious and any resemblance to any persons either living or dead is purely coincidental. If anyone has any problems with this episode, they are advised to contact the webmaster on [email protected].

 

Writer's notes:

Hmm... a bit of a change of pace this week. For the first time since about episode 10 in the last series, I'm (kind of) dropping away from the main storyline with Efrafa, to explore a different adventure. Well, it had to happen sometime, didn't it.

Of course, the way I'm about to start this probably makes that incredibly difficult to believe, but never mind. =;)


Efrafa, just outside the main entrance

Campion emerged from Efrafa's entrance. He looked across the Efrafan valley through the great treeroots covering the opening. Little time had passed since he'd assumed leadership of the warren, yet already the legacy of Woundwort had begun to crumble. The rabbits at silflay looked different. For the first time in as long as he could remember, their eyes almost gleamed. It was a scene of peace and tranquility.... one which was about to be interrupted.

"Move along, now! Silflay time is over!", shouted Vervain, stamping his foot down on a patch of clover which one of the former slaves, a young buck, was nibbling at

Having become accustomed over the seasons to the iron rule of the Owsla officers, the young buck instinctively stepped back, before hesitating.

"Well, what are you waiting for?", snarled Vervain

"C...Captain Moss s...said we didn't need to ask. H...He said we can go out f..freely to silflay.", stuttered the buck

"Well, I didn't say that. So when I tell you to get back underground, you get back underground. Clear!", shouted Vervain

The buck didn't move, instead shivering with fear. It was a scene which brought flooding back the echoes of Woundwort's rule. Seeing his lack of movement, Vervain raised his front paws

"I'll teach you a lesson in humility!", he started, before being interrupted by another voice

"Vervain!", shouted Campion from behind him

"C...Campion-rah!", squeaked Vervain, his voice changing to one of disgust as he rolled over the Rah suffix

Campion nodded to the buck, without saying a word. At that the young buck quickly hopped away to silflay elsewhere.

"Just what do you think you're doing?", asked Campion

"I... I was...er... just making sure everything was running as expected.", replied Vervain

"Vervain, you are no longer an Owsla officer. You have no authority to tell anyone what to do anymore, understand.", shouted Campion

Vervain grumbled before replying

"After all the times I saved your life Campion, this is how you repay me!", he scowled

Campion wasn't sure whether to burst out in anger or laughter at the comment. In the end, he did neither, deciding to finish the conversation there and then

"If you don't like it, then why don't you leave? There's a whole world out there for you.", he finished, heading back towards Efrafa's entrance

As he left he could hear Vervain cursing and muttering to himself, however chose to ignore it.

"Campion, sir.", started Moss, appearing from the side with two other owsla officers

"Ah, welcome back Captain Moss. Anything to report?", he asked

"Hazel and the others have returned safely to the Down, sir. No problems with elil along the way.", replied Moss

"And the does that went. How are they doing?", asked Campion

"They seem to be happy at the Down, sir. Bigwig says it'll take them some time to adjust though.", replied Moss

"That just leaves one thing then...", sighed Campion

He paused before turning to point towards Vervain again

"Him! What are we going to do with him?", he finished, pointing at the former captain, who by now was shouting at a rock to relieve his frustation. Despite the fact that it was obviously an inanimate object, Vervain still kept occasionally jumping back with paranoia, almost as though he expected it to spring into life and bite him on the nose

*************

Outside, on Watership Down

Bigwig stood with Fiver at the entrance to Watership Down. They watched as two does, the sun shining on their short brown fur, peacefully silflayed. At that moment, Gooseberry joined them.

"Who are these two new rabbits?", he asked

"Harebell and Honeysuckle.", replied Fiver

"I take it they're from Efrafa then?", asked Gooseberry

"Yes. Now that Primrose and Blackberry aren't around any more, Campion thought we should bring some new does back to the Down.", replied Bigwig

"Seems nobody tells me anything these days.", he sighed, the sight of the new does and the talk of Primrose having secretly caused the stinging memories of his own mate Violet and the events at Sandleford to resurface

Fiver was about to speak, no doubt sensing Gooseberry's sadness, and planning to cheer him up, when the three were interrupted by the appearance of Hawkbit

"Oh no! He's at it again.", sighed Bigwig, shaking his head, as Hawkbit began to creep towards Honeysuckle

"We think he likes her.", Fiver whispered to Gooseberry

They watched as Hawkbit began talking to her. Within a matter of a few seconds, there was an almighty whack heard, as she cuffed Hawkbit round the ears.

"Trouble is, she doesn't like him.", whispered Bigwig

Hawkbit stood nursing his left ear, trying in vain to see if it were damaged.

"You okay, Hawkbit?", asked Fiver, as the 3 bucks joined him. It was uncharacteristic of Fiver to snigger at another rabbit's misfortune, however in the case of Hawkbit, even he had trouble holding back the laughter

"er... of course I am. Why do you ask?", snorted Hawkbit, hastily trying to make the nursing appear like grooming

"You never learn my lad, do you!", continued Bigwig

"er... I don't have time to stand around chatting lads. Things to do.", finished Hawkbit, trying to hurriedly distance himself from the others. His movement seemed somewhat off balance. It was clear to Fiver and Bigwig the rabbit was limping, and doing an appalling job of hiding the fact.

"That was from the last time.", whispered Fiver to Gooseberry

The three bucks began to head back lightheartedly towards the entrance to the Down. They were, however, totally unaware of the 2 pairs of eyes watching them from afar, following their every move meticulously.

*************

Later that afternoon

Frith continued to beam down upon the kittens, as they scurried across the Down, chasing one another cheerfully. Hazel looked at them, their exuberance reminding him so much of their Mother. He chuckled to himself as Gillia tripped and rolled across the grass, flattening an untouched patch of clover, before landing in front of Dandelion, who had just appeared from the edge of the Down.

"'ere! Steady on!", he squeaked. Gillia giggled, as Dandelion feigned fear creeping past her.

"Back from Nuthanger already?", asked Hazel

"When Tabatha started grooming herself in the middle of the cabbages, it somehow lost it's charm.", started Dandelion

"But at least we managed to get some flayrah, eh.", he continued

The two bucks paused, each waiting for the other to speak. Eventually Hazel broke the silence

"Well, what?", he started

"You mean you haven't seen Harebell yet?", asked Dandelion

"No, I haven't seen her since fuléao.", replied Hazel

"She left before me with all the flayrah I'd managed to grab. She was supposed to be bringing it back to the Down, while I tried to get some more.", replied Dandelion

"You mean to tell me you let a rabbit who doesn't know her way around too well go off on her own?", shouted Hazel

"Hey, I didn't have much choice. Since leaving Efrafa, these rabbits have become determined to assert themselves. I couldn't stop her!", argued Dandelion

Hazel sighed. He had thought the fall of Woundwort might finally have allowed him some well-earned peace, but alas it was proving not to be.

"We'd best send out Kehaar to see if he can find her.", he finished

*************

Early Evening

The sky glowed a magnificent orangey-red, as Frith lay low in the sky. It was a flurry of emotion, indicating to those watching a simultaneous mixture of serenity and anger. Even Kehaar seemed to glow, as he swiftly descended back towards the Down, soon colliding with the soft grass and sending beetles scurrying for cover.

"Any sign of her, Kehaar?", asked Hazel, trying to keep the worry hidden deep beneath his short brown fur

"Is no sign, Hayzel. I fly over wood... but Kehaar see no bunny anywhere. No nothing!", he continued

Hazel sighed, before respectfully thanking Kehaar

"I don't see why everyone's so worried. She's probably ran off back to Efrafa. Can't trust any of them!", came Hawkbit's voice, as he jumped into the middle of the conversation, his contribution as unwelcome as usual

"Not likely!", butted in Bigwig, appearing over the Down with Gooseberry

"I've seen Campion. She hasn't gone back there, and none of his patrols have seen any trace of her.", he continued

"Do you think the elil got her?", spoke Dandelion miserably. The light brown buck ears hung low. Despite Hazel having apologised to him, he now blamed himself wholeheartedly for her disappearance.

At that point Bigwig hesitated. Sensing his cautiousness, Hazel pressed him further

"There's something else isn't there?", he asked

"I'm not sure Hazel. No elil, but I thought I picked up the scent of another rabbit. Someone I didn't recognise but...", started Bigwig, before sighing

"But I don't know for certain. One minute it was there, the next it was gone.", he finished

Hazel paused before turning to Fiver.

"Any guidance little brother?", he asked

Fiver sighed, and strained his eyes as though he were trying to focus on an object in front of him

"I can't see anything clearly Hazel, but it doesn't feel like something bad has happened. At least not yet.", he replied

"Hazel!", shouted Pipkin, stumbling out of the entrance to the warren

"Yes, what is it?", replied Hazel

Pipkin stood to attention, as though trying to impress Hazel with his work

"I checked all the burrows as asked.", he started, before his ears fell

"I take it you didn't find her.", sighed Hazel. He already knew the answer, for indoors was one of the first places everyone had searched. He secretly knew to himself that the only reason Pipkin had been sent to check was to keep him indoors so he wouldn't be in the way of Bigwig and the others.

"It's worse than that Hazel. I... I can't find Honeysuckle or Clover either.", he finished

"What!", shouted Bigwig

"Oh wonderful. Th..", started Hawkbit. He didn't get any further before the stinging pain of Bigwig's paw coming into contact with his left ear was felt

"Bigwig, Take us to where it was you thought you sensed someone.", finished Hazel, waiting for the Owsla captain to lead on

*************

In the cover of woodland

It was late evening by the time they all arrived at a small clearing in the woodland. The brambles on the ground twisted round the tree roots which protruded above the soil, and disappeared into the distance as a tangled mess. It could have created a myriad of hiding places, thought Hazel to himself.

Bigwig sniffed about frantically, hoping to find something so that he couldn't be blamed for having led everyone on a fruitless endeavour. Gooseberry and Dandelion soon joined in, albeit somewhat more methodical in their approach than the owsla captain.

Hazel, who had seperated himself from the group, looked up through the gap in the trees at the sky. By now the reds had faded into a dark purple, and the first stars of the night had begun to twinkle. It was a peaceful sky, broken only by Kehaar occasionally flashing past.

"You're thinking again, aren't you?", asked Fiver, joining him

"Yes, I'm trying to figure this all out.", Hazel started, before sighing

"What if Hawkbit's right?", he continued

"Well that would be a first!", replied Fiver

"What if we didn't make the Efrafans feel welcome. What if we drove them away.", continued Hazel

"How could anyone have done that Hazel? They've haven't been here long enough yet.", replied Fiver

"Well, I'm led to believe Hawkbit didn't exactly make Honeysuckle particularly happy.", sighed Hazel

"She was happier than anyone. I got the impression she enjoys hitting him.", pointed out Fiver

"Besides, none of this would explain Clover leaving too.", he continued

"Hmm, I suppose. After all, she was certainly happy here!", spoke Hazel, the words trailing off slowly as an obvious fact suddenly dawned on him.

"Bigwig! Bigwig!", he shouted running back across to the others

"What's all the fuss about?", replied Bigwig, his nose emerging from a thorn bush

"Where's Bluebella?", he continued

"She's back at the Down.", replied Bigwig

"Who else is there?", he continued

"Hawkbit and Blackavar. What's this all about Hazel?", he continued

"The does Bigwig, someone's only after the does.", he replied

Hazel shouted to attract Kehaar's attention, whilst Bigwig stood still, stunned. Like the others, he'd been so busy thinking it was just the stubborness of the former Efrafans that was to blame, that he hadn't stopped to consider the obvious.

At that moment, Kehaar crashed back down to the ground, throwing Hannah into the thorn bush in the process

"What wrong Hayzel?", he shouted, hopping nervously from one foot to the other

"Yeah, this had better be good.", grumbled Hannah, standing up, and pulling a thorn out of her side

"Get back to The Down as fast as you can. If you see any strange rabbits around, stop them!", shouted Hazel, as Hannah climbed back onto the bird

Without hesitating, Kehaar took off, the downdraft scattering the leaves.

"And by strange, we don't mean Hawkbit!", shouted Gooseberry after him, picking up on the obvious joke everyone else had missed

"Come on, let's get back there ourselves!", shouted Bigwig, jumping straight into the thorn bush without looking where he was going. He could instantly feel his mistake, however not wanting to appear weak in front of the others, he gritted his teeth before continuing to run.

*************

Soon, back at Watership Down

Hawkbit crashed brutally against The Great Beech, the shockwave sending the tree's beautiful green leaves, albeit now shimmering silver in the moonlight, showering down upon him.

A light buck sniggered, as he looked around him. Two other bucks were holding a struggling Bluebella captive, whilst the remaining two had Blackavar pinned to the ground.

"This is this warren's last line of defence. Two bucks, one an injured weakling, and the other who couldn't fight to save his life.", sniggered the buck

"You won't get away with this!", shouted Blackavar, the strong accent in his voice shining through.

"Let's get her back with the rest!", shouted the leader, disregarding what was said

"What are we going to do with these two, Wintercress?", asked a smaller dark-brown buck

The leader paused to think, before replying

"Strike them down. We'll let the Black Rabbit finish them off.", he decided

The brown buck nodded in agreement, before the two of them raised a front paw. They were about to deliver a crushing blow, when Kehaar suddenly appeared from nowhere and attacked. As he screeched and flapped his wings wildly, the rabbits instinctively dived to the ground.

"Frith above, what is that thing?", shouted Wintercress, as Kehaar lifted back into the night sky

"It's some kind of mad gull!", shouted the other buck

"He's circling round again.", came a third voice

"Let's get out of here. Grab her, and we'll go!", shouted Wintercress, already heading for the edge of the Down

"You aren't going anywhere, mate!", shouted Bigwig, blocking his path

The seering anger in Bigwig's eyes was all too apparent as he stood his ground, his grey fur almost glistening in the moonlight. Having spent some time watching the rabbits on the Down, Wintercress could instantly identify Bigwig as being the warren's captain of Owsla; a rabbit who certainly had more fighting prowess than both Hawkbit and Blackavar put together. He turned to take an alternative route, only to find his way blocked by other Watership rabbits. They were surrounded.

"What now? Do we fight?", whispered the brown buck

Wintercress sighed. Despite his earlier taunts of the two Watership bucks, he knew his own rabbits weren't much better. They could only win a fight when outnumbering the enemy, a situation clearly not evident here.

"Get 'em lads!", shouted Bigwig angrilly, charging forwards

"Wait Bigwig!", shouted Hazel, causing the Owsla captain to skid across the grass

"What is it now, Hazel?", he groaned

"Let's give him a chance to explain himself first.", decided Hazel

A spark appeared in Wintercress' eye at this statement. Although he was no brilliant fighter, he knew he could spin stories long enough to create a trail to the centre of the world. It was one of his favourite boasts back home to tell everyone of how once, when cornered by a fox, he'd told it such a heart-wrenching tale, he'd had it gathering food for him by the end of the night. Of course, no one had ever worked out whether that in itself was another of his stories.

"Well...", snarled Bigwig impatiently

Wintercress paused before beginning to speak

"Last Moon, a raiding party from a warren called Efrafa came.", he started

Wintercress knew that most rabbits in the area had heard of Efrafa. He also knew that very few rabbits knew any true facts about it, hence he felt safe with what he was saying.

"The Rah and his Owsla killed lots of the bucks. It was terrible. There was blood everywhere. Some of the dead were still young and should have had seasons ahead of them.", he started, before pausing for dramatic effect

"Well, then they moved on to the kittens. They must have some problem with Does at that warren, for rather than killing them, he arranged a deal. He said that if we brought more does back by the moon today, he would let the young live. They'd already had to watch their fathers brutally killed, while their mothers were taken away to that dreadful warren. We didn't want to do this, but if you'd seen the terrified expression in those youngsters eyes, you would understand why we had no choice.", he sniffed

Secretly he was impressed. It wasn't one of his best stories ever, but for something devised on the spur of the moment, he thought it would more than suffice. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realise just what the Watership rabbits knew about Efrafa.

"Efrafa fell just recently. General Woundwort isn't there anymore. There is no way he could possibly have led an attack on any warren.", replied Hazel calmly

Wintercress' inner praise soon turned to inner shouting. He should have picked a warren further away than that, one that they couldn't have known too much about...

"Kill them!", shouted Bigwig

"Alright, alright! I made that up!", shouted Wintercress

He had hoped to avoid the truth, but to risk telling another lie would probably result in them being killed. He sighed, before beginning to speak again

"We're wanderers from far away. Man came and destroyed our warren. We were the only ones to escape.", he started

"We managed to start a new warren some distance from here. It's a nice place, and we're all happy there but...", he continued before pausing again

"...but we have no does. After this generation, we'll be wiped out.", he finished

"So, you thought you'd help yourself around here.", growled Bigwig

"We didn't want to. We tried the diplomatic approach with that warren called Efrafa.", joined in one of the other bucks

Wintercress sighed before continuing

"We lost one of ours on that mission. Their sentries took him underground, and he was never seen again. We were lucky not to have been caught ourselves.", he spoke

"But what use is kidnapping Does from here. If you take them against their will, they'll be so miserable that they could never produce a litter. The same thing happened in Efrafa.", replied Hazel

"We know that, and were hoping we could deal with the problem when it arose. We're sorry, but what other choice did we have?", replied Wintercress

"You could always have asked. I'm sure someone would have been happy to come.", replied Hazel

"We watched this warren. We know there aren't many rabbits here to start with.", pointed out Wintercress

"Yes, but there are plenty at Efrafa. In fact, the place is still overcrowded. I'm sure if I speak with Campion, he'd help.", started Hazel, before Bigwig pulled him to one side

"You're not going to help them, surely?", he whispered to them

"Why not?", replied Hazel

"They lied to us, Hazel. We can't trust them. They aren't honest like us.", he whispered

"They are exactly like us Bigwig.", started Hazel

Bigwig flicked his eyes back and forth between Hazel and Wintercress. He could see no resemblance.

"We came here after our warren was destroyed, and we found the same problems.", continued Hazel

"Yes, but Frith helped us. If he wanted them to live, he'd have helped them too.", pointed out Bigwig

"Frith doesn't always look out for good rabbits Bigwig.", sighed Hazel. It was a secret reference to Primrose, and Bigwig knew it.

"We have to help each other. We're all rabbits Bigwig. They obviously know of Efrafa, and can you honestly say you wouldn't have done the same in the circumstances?", asked Hazel

Bigwig paused, comtemplating the question. Wintercress had tried in vain to hear what was being said between the two.

"We'll help you, but only on one condition.", started Hazel, turning back to face him

"Anything!!", replied Wintercress

"You bring Harebell, Honeysuckle and Clover back first.", finished Hazel

Wintercress looked apprehensive

"See, they won't co-operate!", snarled Bigwig

"No... it's just...", started Wintercress before pausing

"...do you think you could come and find Honeysuckle yourself. We're still recovering from the bruising she gave us the last time. That one's deadly!", he finished

As he struggled to his feet, Hawkbit cringed, knowing exactly how they felt. Hazel nodded

"Then it's agreed. We'll go first thing in the morning. You can stay the night here.", he finished

As the rabbits began to move towards the entrance to the warren, Bigwig muttered to Hazel. The captain had that distrustful look in his eye, and Hazel knew it.

"Just in case, I'll keep an eye on them.", he whispered

"Somehow, I don't think that'll be necessary.", finished Hazel

With that, they disappeared into the warren run, leaving the Down calm and peaceful once more under the twinkling night sky, the silence broken only by the occasional hooting of an owl in the distance, and the sound of a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves. If there were a safer place for a rabbit to spend the night, Hazel did not know of it.

THE END


Well, It's finally done. Sorry it was a week later than planned, but that harddrive problem wasn't my fault. At least I didn't end up having to start it again from scratch, which certainly makes me glad. The next episode should be in a fortnight's time as usual.

Thoughts and Opinions always welcome =:) - Guestbook / email

 

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