Today was quite dull. Hazel felt uneasy today. He couldn't think why. Maybe the dream was still haunting him. He couldn't tell Primrose certainly not she might only start to get angry.

"Hazel-Rah?"

Hazel looked up to hear a voice in the sky. A raven.

"Friend or foe?"

"Friend but deliverer."

He flew down to Hazel and looked sad, Vervain may have been bone-headed but he was an excellent actor.

"Deliverer of what?"

"About your brother?"

Hazel's stomach stung painfully as though a stinging nettled had been speared right through him.

"Is he alright? Tell me!"

"It is with deep regret to tell you," said the raven, "that your brother has been killed by a harudadoo. He was found dead and thrown into a raging river for the beasts to have him. I'm so sorry."

The raven flew away as Hazel stood there in shock.

It is with deep regret to tell you," said the raven, "that your brother has been killed by a harudadoo. He was found dead and thrown into a raging river for the beasts to have him. I'm so sorry.

The sentence of the raven echoed through his mind.

Hazel hopped up to the edge of the hill, tears streaming form his eyes.

"FIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRR!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs, sobbing.

His scream got the attention of everyone. But he didn't stop to talk. He ran into his burrow and sealed himself up crying the whole day through, thinking of the day he first saw Fiver as a baby, cuddling him in the thunderstorm, playing games with him, educating him, running away after their mother died, meeting everyone, his vision of the death of Sandleford Warren, him keeping him company after getting his leg shot by Man, saving Leo's life, asking him about having a doe, if he did something be born a runt, sleeping with him for the last time before making this evil journey and saying goodbye.

"Goodbye, Fiver!" sobbed Hazel. "I have always loved you from your birth to your undeserved death. O'Frith! My heart has joined a thousand for my frie-for my beloved little brother has stopped running today."

"Hazel?" asked Primrose coming into the burrow. "What's happened."

"A raven told me that Fiver has been killed by a harudadoo."

Primrose gasped in shock. For some reason, it felt worse than learning that her whole family had died during her time in Efrafa.

"Poor little thing," said Primrose. "He was so young. He was a darling, sweet rabbit who deserved to live a long, full life."

"He was the only thing I ever loved before meeting you," sobbed Hazel. "I have led a terrible childhood, Primrose. Father was killed by Man's thunderstick when I was no more than a sperm starting to grow inside my mother. I was the oldest of three horrible brothers. They were monsters. They squashed bugs, tormented other animals, taunted baby birds and would always fight and bite each other. My life was a nightmare with only my mother to love but then a little baby was born shortly after and I named him Fiver, as he was the fifth out of us. I loved him dearly, I played with him, educated him, made him laugh, everything. Mother eventually died giving birth to him shortly after. So that was when my brothers put the blame on Fiver. They wanted to kill him, so we ran away and promised him a good life where it would only be the two of us. I fed him, protected him, and fought to the death if any elil got in our way. But now I've broken the promise."

"Hazel! Haaaaaaazeeeeel!"

Hannah barged into the burrow.

"I already go the news, Hannah," sniffed Hazel.

"You already know that the group is being led to a trap?"
"What?!" cried Hazel and Primrose.

"I saw it all! Me and Scree were watching Gooseberry and Stuart talking to a mysterious doe about killing Fiver and taking everyone to a place called Farskull. They said that vision Fiver had here was crated by this doe so Gooseberry could lure them all."

"But Fiver's been killed by a harudado!" said Hazel, confused.

"Who told you that?" said Hannah. "Fiver's still alive. I saw him with Snowflake before I left with Scree to find you all! No one could take down a buck Gooseberry's size except Bigwig."
"Then there's still time!" said Hazel half desperate and half angry. "Get Bigwig and Campion! We're going to find them all! Leave Gooseberry to me. If he has laid on paw on my little brother, I will scratch him and bite him and claw him until the Black Rabbit of Inle comes!"

"I'm coming with you," said Primrose.

"No, Primrose. I got you out of death twice. I don't want you getting back into it. This is between me and that monster."

"And Fiver?"

"When I get him back, I'm going to have a talk with him. I want him to promise me he will never keep his sufferings secret with me again. He's my brother and I love him more than my own life. It's my job to keep him happy. For Mother."

….

I slept outside waiting for Fiver to return. I had to. Suppose he came back injured from Gooseberry's orders. If he was injured, I'd give anything to have Blackberry with us. I felt heartache thinking of her, telling me she saw me as her nephew. I wished that she were my aunt other than Aunt Madeline. If she was m aunt who was taking care of me while my parents were in London, I'd be happier than I ever was. I loved her from the start and I loved her even more now, someone to be by my side when I was frightened, someone always there to solve a problem for me, someone to cover a cut with chewed plants.

"Aunt Blackberry," I said to myself. I felt so warm saying that. It felt wonderful. I repeated the name five or six time enjoying the warmth my heart was brewing up.

I then saw somebody come up towards us. It was Fiver. I was so happy Gooseberry didn't kill him. But there was something different. When I first suspected it, I wondered if it was Hazel because he looked just as tall. No. It was Fiver.

"Fiver!" I gasped. "What happened?"

"A miracle!" said Fiver. "A doe with a magic potion turned me into a non-runt."

I looked at him astounded.

"Something wrong?"

"Kind of," I said.

"I had to," said Fiver knowing why I wasn't happy.

"What will Hazel think? What will Snowflake think?"

"They don't know my longing to be like them," said Fiver. "But now I'm so happy. I know you might not like this change but at least be happy for me."

"You're right," I said calmly. "I should."

Everyone had the same reaction when they first laid eyes on him. But Snowflake kept quiet. Curiously, Gooseberry was behaving very peacefully towards him saying stuff like having high chances for a doe and not having to worry anymore. He made an order that we leave at nightfall. We soon noticed that Hannah and Scree had been missing and that Stuart had been tagging with Gooseberry for most of the time. I found it peculiar how the would get along.

Night fell as we sratered the journey, Fiver being very proud of his new form and Snowlfake being unsure still of how to react. Soon after a half hour, we came to a huge black factory, ferocious flames coming from the chimneys and men yelling and working hard. Looking the factory was like look at a horrible nightmare you would be trapped in forever.

"Not very promising to make ones dreams come true for a vision to say," remarked Hawkbit.

"Is this what you saw in your vision Fiver?...Fiver?"

I turned to him when he didn't respond. He had painful expression of his face and his paws were clenched to his belly.

"I feel sick!" he wretched. With those words, he collapsed.

"Fiver!" I cried. We all went to his aid.

"My belly!" cried Fiver. "My head! Urrrrrggggh!"

"Shhh, shhh," comforted Snowflake, soothing his belly.

"It hurts, Snowflake! It hurts! I need Blackberry!"

Fiver was starting to cry hard from the pain.

"HEEEEEEELP!" screamed Pipkin. "HEEEEEEEEEELP!"

"Take my paw," I said to Fiver. "Hold it tight. Everything will be fine!"

Everyone was panicking except Gooseberry who looked very cool in the face with a smug expression.

"What are you so content about?" I shouted. "Fiver's ill!"

"Like I do not know!" said Gooseberry.

"The task is complete," said a voice behind me.

The doe from my nightmare!

"You!" I cried almost letting go of Fiver's paw. "You were in my dream!"

"Frightening aren't they?" she cackled.

"It her!" groaned Fiver. "She gave me the potion."

"Poison it has now become," she laughed.

"Sweet reunion," said Vervain as he appeared.

"Vervain!" I yelled. "You were the hawk! If only you had burned with Darklunn! Wait until the others find out about this."

"They most certainly will not," said Vervain. "When we planned this poison plan, Chillblack turned me into a raven to bring news to Hazel that Fiver had been killed by a hrudaddo and thrown into the river. At this very moment he is mourning the loss of his brother which shall come true soon."

"Vervain!" I cried angrily. "You sick, deceitful bast-"

He smacked me on the face, tutting sarcastically.

"Naughty, naughty," he sung. "Profanity won't change anything of what's to happen. Neither will it save an of you."

"Bite him Stuart!" I snapped. "Stuart?"

Stuart was on Goosevberr's head smiling evilly.

"You idiot, Leo! To think I'd be so harmless I could be a pet. I did everthing to rid Hannah so I could be the only mouse in this world."

"Most cliché, evil plot ever!" I said. "You're such a rookie!"

"When the full moon rises," continued Chillblack, "you'll be no more, Runt. I brought the vision into your mind to come all the way here so I could get whomever I wanted. Some of your friends for good measure so Watership Down would lack protectors, and the thief who stole the necklace."

"What do you know of the Necklace of Wisdom?" I said.

"Darklunn and I had always said one of us would find it. With him gone, I am the only one left to get it. Where is it?"

"Somewhere you'll never find it. If you wanted to get it, you'd have to make a frog jump of a hop to the sky to find it!"

"Never mind that," said Gooseberry as he grabbed. "You'll soon be mine, Snowflake. You will be mine."

"I won't!" she said calmly but crossly.

"You will, Black Doe!"

"NEVER!" she screamed. "I WILL NEVER BE YOUR DOE!"

And she scratched his face the exact same way he did hers only stronger. Blood oozed from him, and his eyes blazed a furnace within.

"Arrest them, Chillblack."

Chillblack conjoured some skeleton-ish cloud paws that dragged us into a hole under the factory and I was forced to let go of Fiver.

"I want my big brother!" he yelled in agony.

"Hazel thinks your dead which shall soon be true." smiled Gooseberry. "It will be better for him. He has been embarrassed to be your big brother ever since you were born. You will all die soon, the moment this runt is gone. He was one I had always hated."

"He's not a runt, Gooseberry!" I roared at the top of my voice as we were being dragged away by the cloud paws. "YOU ARE!"