Hazel and Bigwig led the band through the meadow, following the golden path this necklace had created. It must have been around noon now. Hazel looked back every now and then at Fiver who kept looking down and the trinket and where he was going at the exact same time. Scrounger the ginger cat was good help to show them the thing but the strange little girl Hope Meadows held a mysterious part of this new mystery:

Only that morning after Fiver told them all of what happened, the human girl Hope Meadows found them silflaying and said the following to Fiver from her yard;

"I see the sun has summoned you and what to do. Pretty soon the moon would too."

Fiver was amazed how she knew of what happened last night. The other rabbits, who had backed away on account of a human presence, stared at Fiver.

"Good luck little rabbit," she said blowing Fiver a kiss and eyeing Hazel, she added "I hope your mummy keeps you safe."

Hazel flopped his ears and frowned.

Fiver wondered what this task for him may feature; whatever it was, he wanted to prove himself to Hawkbit. He wondered if he might be hopping strongly but Fiver purposely made bigger effort just to show his capability. He felt like sticking his tongue out to him if he was here, but he was no longer a baby and furthermore, he'd stoop just as low with that type of attitude. What would Chestnut think of such a father behaving so? Fiver wondered what kind of father Hawkbit would serve as; he was only good for sarcasm. He couldn't help himself in his frustration, these thought of Hawkbit's doubts boiled his blood so hotly, he yearned to hind kick him right into his face, knocking some sarcasm out of it. But again, violence was not him. He never scratched somebody down-putting and he was not intending to know. Fiver was Fiver and gentleness was Fiver. He remembered screaming at him back at the warren and he wanted that to be the only time he ever did it. Thinking back on it, he wondered if that made him as bad as an Efrafan with their aggressions.

Fiver tripped at these thoughts and yelped.

Everyone stopped and ran to him.

"You okay, Fiver?" asked Silverweed nudging him up?

"I'm alright," said Fiver.

"You should look where you're going, Fiver," said Hazel brushing him off. "I've been watching you all travel long. I know this is new to you that thing but you need to keep your wits about you."

"I'm sorry, Hazel," Fiver apologised. "But this thing is killing me with it's curiosity."

"Here," said Hazel lowering himself down. "You ride on my back and you can ponder as much as you want without tripping over."

Fiver clambered on his brother's back and observed the trinkets for some time.

"What do you reckon that human meant about the moon?" asked Spartina.

"I don't know," replied Fiver shaking his head. "Frith works in many ways - even with humans."

Hazel gasped and stopped.

"What?" asked Campion.

Fiver looked down at what Hazel was reacting to; a valley with a huge pond swarming with ducks stretching into a glade, a beautiful hill, picnic benches, fresh trees with fresh leaves, a hill going down a path, and bridge dividing across a think river going down a dark woodland.

"What is it Hazel?" asked Fiver.

"We'll see if I'm right," replied Hazel.

They headed down to the field and aimed for the hill, flowers blooming and a bumblebee flying about.

"Off my back, Fiver," said Hazel. "I need to know if it's still there."

Fiver clambered off and Hazel ran towards on corner of the hill. The band watched as he hopped in different directions and looking undauntedly in a new corner and centre.

"What do you suppose he's looking for?" asked Silverweed.

"Grubs?" Bigwig shrugged.

"Here!" Hazel called. "It's here! Fiver, you need to see this!"

The rest came despite him just calling Fiver. As they advanced closer to Hazel, he was descending underground, Fiver following him first.

It was very dark and dusty but Fiver could easily see. There were chambers everywhere as if - it were a warren.

"Do you know of this?" asked Fiver.

"Fiver," said Hazel amazed. "This was our warren as kittens! We were born on this very hill."

Fiver followed Hazel into a small entrance as they both brushed away cobwebs barring the way. There were very small, dead dry leaves in a bundle.

"This is the chamber where I first saw you in this world, little brother."

Fiver looked at the bed of leaves and hopped closer to it. Vague memories seemed to appear in this dark, abandoned burrow and it seemed to light up at these facts Hazel knew of.

"So," he began, "this was where Mother slept?"

"Yes," said Hazel. "I remember when I first picked you up in my paws."

The other chambers Hazel shunned saying they belonged to the three other brothers but he took Fiver to the final one in the middle, very small however so they had to squeeze in. It was a bare chamber but very wide for a child small enough to fir through the entrance.

"This was where I slept," said Hazel. "It's all flowing back in. Almost every night I would find you sleeping next to me. That's how attached you were to me, Fiver."

"Wow," said Fiver gently. He found himself hugging his brother thinking of everything he said.

They returned to the entrance where the others were waiting for them; Silverweed looked at a butterfly on the stem of a flower, Spartina sitting with Bigwig and Campion waiting for the brothers.

"What were you two doing?" said Campion.

"Exploring our old birthplace," explained Hazel. "You lot rest, me and Fiver will go down to the ducks."

Fiver and Hazel ran to the edge of the huge pond and rested there on their fronts.

"You always loved watching the ducks," said Hazel. "It would be nice to relive everything once more."

Fiver's heart was filled with emotions today. This must have been the happiest times of his life to know where he was born and how he and Hazel lived. But then, pain began to well in his heart.

Hazel eyed him.

Fiver suddenly a tingle and began to shake

"Fiver?" asked Hazel "are you alright?"

Father-new mourns loss of youth, he must compete to know the truth

Only family must commit, to help find faith or counterfeit

Fiver gasped and dropped, Hazel catching him.

"Must be the sign of the task," said Fiver. "It must be set here do you suppose?"

"The golden path is nowhere to be seen," Hazel pointed out.

Before Fiver could agree, the necklace glowed to the point where he and Hazel covered their eyes with their ears. the name a voice from nowhere, a voice that only seemed to exist form the likes of Ela-Rah.

Follow, follow, follow! Follow the beam! Follow the trail! Follow the path and prove your weakness transformed to strength! Follow, follow follow!

They released their ears to see where the voice was but covered their eyes with them again due to the brightness of the light. They made out at that point that it came from the trinket. Its beam was pointing down at the river. Fiver guessed what it meant.

"It wants us to go underwater."

Hazel nodded helpfully.

"I'll inform the others. Stay here Fiver. Don't go without me."

Hazel hopped over to the others still doing what they did when they emerged from their birth den. Campion was now bathing in the sun ray.

Fiver was pondering about the idea of going underwater. The task wasn't mastering to breath underwater surely?

Hazel returned promptly.

"Ready, little brother?"

Fiver nodded.

They both held their breath strongly jumped into the water, a cool temperature appreciate for the hot weather. The water revealed weeds and little fish every where. The brothers followed the golden beam into a hole at the bottom of the bank. They swam through the tunnel and found themselves in a wide pool where surface at the top was offered.

The two brothers released their breath and swam up to the shore gasping for air.

They climbed out of the water and shook themselves dry.

"For the start of a task that was rather refreshing," remarked Hazel.

After they had dried themselves, they looked straight to see a burrow leading to a green glow.

"Stay close to me," instructed Hazel to Fiver.

Pressing in contact, each other's sides, they stealthily ascended to the light. Further and further until they reached the cause of it; they were in a circular room swarming with fireflies. Up above, the ceiling never ended.

"Very curious," said Fiver. "What's this got to do with the task?"

"There's another passage," Hazel pointed out. He nodded at another hole and they ascended towards it. As they were about to enter, smoke erupted and a face of a rabbit filled it.

Both brothers screamed in shock.

The face was of Great Aunt Larkspur. She smiled hungrily and she faded away as did the smoke.

Fiver gulped. "For Chestnut."

"Very brave and dedicated," said Hazel patting Fiver's back.

They hopped down the passage. It seemed to go on for a good while. It was very dark but light was supported by the golden necklace.

"I don't like this, Hazel," said Fiver. "This reminds me of when you, me and Hawkbit were trapped in the underground caverns."

"This gives me the willies too," agreed Hazel.

"The sooner we get this done, the bet - ARRRRRRRGHHH!"

"WHOAAAAAAAA!"

Fiver found himself sliding down a huge hole, wind blowing in his face and after a second, he fell face first into a heap of mud. Just as he got up, Hazel landed splattering more mud on him.

As Fiver helped him up, he heard a familiar voice;

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Chestnut!" gasped Fiver. "Chestnut! Daddy's coming!"

He rushed to the next entrance as quickly as he could for the mud was slowing him down.

"Fiver, wait!" called Hazel after him.

"It's a single passage, Hazel!" Fiver called back excitedly. "You can find me easily!"

Fiver turned a corner and found himself in yet another chamber. There was a light of steps going up to something at the far top. There in view was a small kitten.

"Prince Winter!" cried Fiver happily. "Hold on! Daddy's coming to get you!"

As he hopped up the first few steps, he heard faded laughter; similar to that of his many feared elil; Woundwort, Darklunn, Larkspur and Gooseberry.

Hazel arrived to view the seven around him.

"Great Frith," he remarked. "What is this place?"

"Look Hazel!" said Fiver pouting to the stairs and Chestnut. "Every time I step on these -"

He demonstrated and heard the laughing of his nightmares.

Hazel looked at him as thought nothing happened.

"What?"

"Didn't you hear that laughing?"

"No."

"Listen carefully."

Fiver jumped onto the first flight and the laughter erupted scaring the runt back down to the bottom.

"I cannot hear anything," said Hazel. He hopped up to the steps and heard voices of his own.

We'll find you, Hazel! You will die! Your brother will be eaten! HIs blood will be drank!

Hazel gasped and ran back down.

"Did you hear that?" asked Hazel worriedly. "voices threatening to kill me and torture you."

"No," said Fiver. "I heard nothing of the sort."

"Daddy!" wailed Chestnut, tears streaming.

"I won't be long, sweetheart!" called Fiver who turned to Hazel. "So we can hear things we can't hear?"

"My guess is that our deepest fears are invisible to others but only we can hear them?" suggested Hazel.

"You're probably right," said Fiver. "So I must face my nightmares to save my son."

He looked up at Chestnut at the very top whimpering and Hazel placed a paw on his shoulder.

"You can do it."

Fiver shot to the steps and ran all the way up, ignoring the wicked laughter and threats. Not real, not real, he thought to himself as he charged up to the very top where Chestnut held his arms out ready to hug Daddy. As Fiver leapt for him, the kitten vanished.

"Chestnut!" cried Fiver. "Chestnut! Where are you?"

Hazel watched below as the rock his brother was straining on began to take the form of a familiar face. A black rabbit very skinny and smiling evilly.

"Chillblack!" gasped Hazel.

"HELP!" screamed Fiver. "HELP, HAZEL!"

Hazel ran up the steps ignoring the threatening voices that repeated over and over. He reached the very top and grabbed his brother and they made their way down the steps as the head cackled.

"YOU ESCAPE DEATH TWICE BUT NOT A THIRD OF MY CONJURES!" shrieked the head of Chillblack.

With that, she drew her breath and blew fire all around the chamber.

Fiver turned to see a rock with a smaller one balanced on top of it.

"NO SMALL RUNT IS ENOUGH TO FREE MY SOUL!"

Fiver ran to it, Hazel crying "What are you doing?"

Fiver ran to the rock and lay on his back, the huge face of Chillblack roaring at him. In the fight aim, Fiver shot his right foot at the rock and it zoomed straight into the face of Chillblack.

Flames exploded form the face as she creamed in pain.

Hazel looked to the corner and saw another hole.

"This way, Fiver!" shouted Hazel. "Quick!"

The two brother shot through the hole and followed it. They ran desperately as if in pursuit of the Black Rabbit and they found themselves sliding. The slide went on for a few seconds when suddenly, light shone in their eyes and they landed on their fronts at the bank of the pond.

"Hazel! Fiver!"

Campion ran towards them in concern.

"We looked and you two were gone! Bigiwg! Spartina! Silverweed! They are both here!"

Bigwig, Spartina and Silverweed ran to the scene.

"Where the Frith did you hop off to?" said Bigwig in a concerned manner.

"I don't think you'd you'd believe us if we told you," replied Fiver.

They told them all of the secret passage, the figment of Chestnut, the disembodied voices of fear that only could hear when that very rabbit hopped up the steps and the giant face of Chillblack.

"Blimey!" reacted Bigwig.

"Very harrowing," remarked Silverweed shivering.

"A Necklace of Wisdom, a poisoned potion, three golden trinkets, what next?" responded Spartina.

"Very curious," said Campion. "But in any case we're really glad you got out alive."

Fiver and Hazel smiled in relief about this fact when suddenly, the necklace glowed again, only this time the glow was being sucked into the now moon-white gem.

They decided to worry about it later. The path was nowhere to continue so they felt it best to wait for a sign or perhaps a vision from Fiver. The others resumed what they did earlier on as the tow brothers remained at the lake.

That night, everyone made their way to Hazel and Fiver's burrow. Silverweed and Campion slept in a separate compartment, but Bigwig and Spartina shared one.

Hazel and Fiver were in their own chamber from their childhood.

Fiver became more family with the homely smell, Hazel's stories of their three not-so kind brothers and their mother, yet there whole meadow served as the most beautiful playground enough to be mistaken for Frith's Meadow. But the warmth so melted into ache and loss.

Hazel was looking at the imprint of their paws they made on the walls and compared his huge paw to his once tiny paw.

"Hey, Fiver I found our own paw prints. Come and se-"

Fiver was sitting there, his paws up straight and his ears drooping.

Hazel hopped over and sat next to him.

"What's the matter, little brother?" he asked.

"Why do we grow up, Hazel? Why do we have to leave our childhood?

"Life is life," he replied understanding his brother's grief.

"The future though," said Fiver. "The future when everyone eventually leaves. I'm younger. When I'm old everyone will most likely be gone."

"No we won't," said Hazel. "We live in each other's hearts."

"But you're my only loving brother," Fiver croaked. "When your time comes I'll be alone. Just me and others at my age. My values all gone."

Fiver began to sob heavily as Hazel held him closely, soothing him by by nuzzling his head.

"I know I'm crying constantly, Hazel," said Fiver. "But I'm so emotional and angry these days. This beautiful place, you and me left, soon you gone before me. I'll be alone from our family tree!"

Hazel comforted his brother. He felt that feeling before. He had to deal with it alone but his little brother would be comforted the way he deserved

"I know your feelings, Fiver," said Hazel soothing him. "But bear in mind, you now have Snowflake and Chestnut. Pipkin will be there with you as well - even Leo and Silverweed. I promise when my time comes, you will never be alone because I will be right by your side even invisible. Very soon your time will come and we'll always be together in eternity."

"But I want to be the same age as you," said Fiver uncontrollably. "That way I can die along with you. I'd hate to be in this world without you."

"But think what you would leave behind," said Hazel patiently. "Your mate, your baby. My children might even need you."

Fiver gulped and sniffed as he dried his tears with his ears.

"You're still young," said Hazel. "Your hormones are playing about but I promise it will clear up eventually. And if anything should happen, you won't be alone ever because I will be with you every day."

Hazel gave him a lick on the forehead.

"Just not in my private times," Fiver softly joked.

Hazel softly pushed Fiver's head backward chuckling. "I'll keep to one side. But remember this, little brother. Our bodies are removable to our souls and our souls are removable to the afterlife but memories are ours to keep until the day arrives. What do I always say to you?"

"We go on like our ancestors did before us."

Hazel nodded proudly and nuzzled his brother who was now calm and had stopped crying.

"Come and see this," he said.

He showed Fiver two paw prints, one bigger and one smaller. Fiver compared his obvious print with his now bigger paw and Hazel did the same.

"And this serves as another piece of immortality, Fiver. Death takes us away but it cannot take away our own creations."

Soon Hazel was resting on his front as Fiver rested against Hazel's side, burrowing his face through the hole that divided from his brother's upper arm to the ground and there he rested against his brother's face. While his trouble's still haunted him, he worked hard trying to think that he must keep smiling until departure soon comes. With his chin resting under Hazel's paw, he felt he had contacted to the prints they had made in childhood. While he would soon have to be detached form it, that wall was the only weapon to keep them as children forever. But then there was the issue of being in this world for Chestnut. He needed Fiver and Fiver needed him. He wished Chestnut a gentle goodnight, praying Frith would hold him safe.