The training of Hickory and Marigold's learning the ways of the rabbit had been complete and the time had come for Hazel's band to liberate their friends' allies out of that deathtrap, and bring them safely to Redstone where their new lives await. Kehaar scoured the area high above with Hannah on his back as she watched Cowslip and a few of his followers eating some grass. Everything down below appeared calm and serene, but she remembered her mother's old warning: "Things aren't always as they seem." She noticed the farm close by beyond a fence, the farmer still skinning the latest victims he caught in the snares, either prepared to sell them to market or to keep for himself.

"Ohh, Cowslip's warren seems like a nice peaceful place," the mouse shuddered.

"Big Water looks peaceful too, but underneath is monsters who eat you." Kehaar recalled back to their venture to the ocean, those selfish gulls and that aggressive shark made him shiver.

Down below, Hazel and Bigwig stayed hidden within the flower garden to make sure the coast was clear, and to stay clear of the bushes for the shining wires still remained hidden until a victim or two will be caught. The two bucks brought Hickory and Marigold, along with Captain Broom, his mate Blossom, Fiver, Lily and Primrose for support. The two bucks kept ahead to check for any danger, there was nothing other than Cowslip and his loyalists silflaying.

"It looks safe enough," said Hazel.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, until I stuck my neck in a snare," Bigwig recalled, then he turned to the rest of the group, "Right, you lot remember what I said?"

"Stay clear of the bushes or the shining wires will get you," everyone said in bored union.

Bigwig smiled sheepishly in embarrassment. "Been harping on a bit, have I?"

"Even in your sleep, dear," teased Lily.

"It's Cowslip that I'm worried about." Hickory nervously stared at his former leader.

"He can't be happy we've left to set up another warren," Marigold added, while shaking her head.

"Not easy standing up to your chief, it has to be done sometimes," Captain Broom said, then got lost in his own past misadventures in his youth. "I recall a summer, seasons ago-"

Luckily, Blossom elbowed him in the shoulder as she rolled her eyes. "Not now, you old goat!"

"What? Oh!" Captain Broom was confused, until he remembered the main reason why they were here. "Quite right. Time and place and all that, eh?"

Back to business. The group followed Hazel and Bigwig across the field to the warren's entrance and in front of Cowslip. Some of the cult-worshippers stared hard at them for their uninvited presence.

Cowslip, on the other hand, did not seem bothered as he acted like the usual polite host. "Welcome neighbors, greetings all." He performed his usual dance routine which Lily remembered the first time they met. "It's so nice of you to call. When the evening-"

"Spare us the song and dance, Cowslip! We had our fill the last time we're here." Bigwig interrupted, impatiently.

"How easily good manners are brushed aside." Cowslip scorned at the lion buck's rudeness. The cult leader noticed his two traitorous minions siding with the enemies, glaring at them with great disappointment. "Hickory... Marigold... your sweet selves have been missed of late."

"You'd best get used to it, Cowslip. They're leaving for good." Hazel defended them, ready to stand and fight should it come to that. To Hickory, he said, "Fetch your friends."

As Hickory and Marigold were about to enter the warren to snatch up their comrades, Cowslip blocked the entrance to prevent them from going in. "I must protest!" the chief rabbit objected.

"SHUT IT!" Bigwig growls, tackling the old fool away from the burrow entrance. The other cultists tried to stop him, only for Lily and Primrose to interfere by swiping their claws in their faces. Hickory and Marigold took the opportunity to hurry inside.

Captain Broom looked at Bigwig, appalled by his violent behavior to attack a seemingly harmless old curly-furred rabbit who greeted them peacefully. "Really, Bigwig? No need for that sort of thing, is there?"

"He'll be lucky if I don't kill him." Bigwig's voice was soft, but there was hatred in his tone. He gave a threatening snarl at the other cultists, warning them to back off.

Fiver approached the elderly Owsla Captain to explain the details, his tone filled with disgust, "Cowslip trades the lives of his people for food from the hand of Man. He's sick. This whole place is sick."

Registering what he's been told, Captain Broom turned to scowl hatefully at the cult leader, while recalling his own experiences he witnessed in his youth. "Seen enough sickness in my day."

Even Blossom found herself despising Cowslip's sickening ways of living an easy life of gullibility and stupidity. "I can't tell who is more like Man – Woundwort or this hufsa here, what with his 'life of ease' prattling."

Just then, Hickory and Marigold returned. This time, accompanied by their friends - Gentian, Flax and Betony. Some of them a little scratched up because they had to fight the other cultists to break free of the warren's bounds and escape for good.

"This is everyone," announced Hickory.

While the good rabbits left, Cowslip attempted to reason with the fools into believing they were making a huge mistake and will only perish in the wild in exchange for freedom. "Think what you leave behind, friends. The songs of Silverweed... the sanctuary from elil... the flayrah... the beauty-"

"We're going, Cowslip!" Marigold made it perfectly clear that she and her friends are not falling for his deceit anymore.

"And where do you go?" Cowslip asked, tauntingly curious. His cold eyes landed upon Lily and hoped he could bribe her into telling him. "Perhaps you can tell me, my dear. As a fellow rabbit who once lived amongst Man-"

"Screw you!" Lily shouted, refusing to tell him of Redstone's location. "We're going someplace far away from this death trap. That's all you need to know."

No sooner had the band left the warren, Cowslip scorned furiously. No way he was going to let them off that easy for turning some of his followers against him. They have fallen for the lies of Hazel's band. Sooner or later, they would come crawling back to him when they realize how wrong they were. If not, then Cowslip would just have to conjure up a plan to capture or destroy them all. "They don't turn away from the shining wire so easily."


In Efrafa, things had not been going right for General Woundwort. It all started out like the usual. Multiple Owsla soldiers on guard either by the crooked tree or by the two chimney stacks. Slaves were forcibly escorted out to silflay, pass hraka or gathering flay-rah from the distance farm.

Two slaves in particular plotted to make their escape by climbing up the embankment besides the crooked tree, but one accidently stepped on some loose pebbles. The noise gave them away when an Owsla guard, named Red due to the color of his fur, looked up and realized what's happening.

"Runners!" he belted out a warning. Alarmed, the two slaves made a run for it. The Owsla started the pursuit with Red in full lead.

Meanwhile, venturing in the southern part of the high hills' forests, a small band of does were pushed northward by a many-scarred doe and led on by a pale dipped-ears doe with a flicker of resilience in her purple eyes.


"Flyairth-rah!" Prake called out to her chief as she hopped forward to have words with her. "My Owsla is exhausted! They won't go any further until they've had a rest."

"…We seem to be far off from Man. Very well…we'll rest here. Give the word."

Immediately, Prake gave a loud whistle, which signaled the band of warrior does to stop. She then gave two distinct clicking sounds, which made two does venture forth while the rest remained to begin the digging scrapes. Meanwhile, Flyairth found herself shade from the sun within an old rowan log. Prake immediately went to her side to keep watch and protect her chief. "I have sent two scouts forward to report on our bearings. Once they return, we'll learn of Efrafa's location."

"Excellent work, Captain."

"…But may I speak, my Matron? About your…intents? Given the information we learned about Efrafa, is it wise to approach such a place for your plans? Adding the fact that we have does with us who have yet to see real battle, we are risking good soldiers just so you can-" Her words were immediately stopped by the sight of her Matron Healer, looking directly at her eyes in a fearful stiffness as her white paw gingerly placed itself at the underside of her head.

"Do you doubt your Matron, my dear Prake? Do you carry a thought of me ill-equipped for what I have in mind?" Flyairth asked as a claw extended from her paw to lightly scratch under Prake's chin.

Prake, clearly caught off-guard by her question and forgetting her prior concerns in that instant, merely gulped in a slight tremor of this feeling. "N-no, my Matron. Never. You have never steered us from our path, and I never saw reason to doubt your command."

Flyairth's stern and cold expression slowly gave way to a gentle smile that seemed to be disarming, yet her paw never left its place under Prake's chin. "Excellent. That is why I chose you as my Captain and my champion. You are strong. Resilient. And most of all…loyal. To me, to Thinial, and to the future for all rabbit-kind. And soon, once we are finished with our affairs in Efrafa, we will see the dawning of a new age for Frith's people."

"Yes, my Matron…but…the General-"

"-Is a mere pawn, sweet Captain. A brute to get what we want. A brute that will not submit to violence or peace, but to a gentle doe's touch. Once I have him where I want him, I can easily make him do anything I wish him to whilst making him believe the idea was his own making."

"And once you have used him to his extent…?"

"In time, we will quietly dispose of him, followed by burying his loyalists in the pits they forced others to dig and bringing into our welcoming light those who suffered under Woundwort's darkness. Never forget, Prake: there is nothing in all of Frith's creation that I cannot cure, including a stone heart like the General's."


Hazel's group took the lead down a path close to the woods with their new friends sticking very close to Hickory and Marigold. The group paused when Hickory presented a small cluster of lovely violet flowers to the curious rabbits.

"Those are violets," Hickory explained, watching his friends stare at the purple flowers with confusion. The brown buck knew this as he chuckled softly, "Go ahead, you can eat the flowers. I'll tell you more about which flowers and plants that aren't safe to eat later."

Gentian decided to give it a shot. He picked one and took a bite. The violet flower had a delicious taste to it, making Gentian smile broadly.

"And see this log?" Marigold taught them how do dig when in times of building a burrow or to hide from enemies. "If you need a quick hiding place, you can dig out the soft bits and duck inside."

The other rabbits stared in amazement as the golden furred doe demonstrated her lesson by burying her claws to dig out the soft bits to create a hole. Their knowledge and training really paid off. It may take a while for their new friends to process all this information in their brains, but those rabbits were determined to avoid going back to the Warren of the Shining Wires.

"They've learned their lessons well." Fiver smiled proudly at Hickory and Marigold.

"They'll do well in Redstone," Primrose agreed, proudly.

As they continued on their way to Redstone, Lily paused when she thought she noticed a familiar face gazing at them from across the river. She shook her head, believing it was only her imagination. Except this was not her imagination playing tricks on her. The shadow of the shining wire was still on them - Cowslip. He trailed after them, keeping at a distance and himself concealed.


News of the runaways spread like wildfire. General Woundwort was not the least pleased to hear of it. He summoned for Campion to explain the details.

"The runners made it across the stone bridge," he reported. "Captains Vervain and Orchis are tracking them right now."

"We can't have this! One runner encourages the next!" Woundwort lamented, angrily. "Clamp down, Campion! CLAMP DOWN HARD!"

"Pardon me, sir, but…is that the answer?" Campion questioned, hoping that he could at least make his chief rabbit see the reason for the slaves' rebellious actions. "They're running because they're hungry and the rules are crushing them. Just a bit of freedom is all they-"

Woundwort stared at his captain, unsure if he was serious or not for questioning him. His buck teeth were exposed like a wolf's great teeth when his rage boils up. "They run because they know there's a place to run to. They believe Thlayli's warren is the Garden of Frith. If hunger wins over fear, their fear isn't strong enough, is it?" He retreated back to his burrow, but not before he harshly made his orders clear, "You have your orders: Clamp down!"

No sooner did he leave, Campion sighed in defeat before he left.


Redstone was completely renovated to its former glory that Primrose, Blossom and Captain Broom once remembered. Hickory's group got acquainted with Juniper and friends, wandering around the area a bit or silflaying. Kehaar was busy entertaining the newcomers with tales of his daring rescue to save the escapees from Efrafa. The new rabbits were already settled in comfortably in their new home. The underground tunnels had been cleaned of cobwebs and dust earlier, and some weeds had been yanked out by Dogwood's brothers to give the place a homey feel to it.

Hickory stared at Captain Broom in astonishment as the old buck told stories of his intriguing adventures in Redstone. "There I was... stoats on every side and one of them screeching like pine trees rubbing together in the wind..."

"Don't you scare him!" Blossom chided at her mate, then turned her attention back to Gentian and Flax with a sweet smile. "Now, if there's any questions you'd like to ask about the warren, don't hesitate to ask, dearies."

"We're going to be happy as spring lambs here at Redstone." Marigold watched in joyous relief over her newfound home and their breakaway of Cowslip's warren. They were free and content to live their own lives without living in fear.

"It's nice to have good neighborly rabbits not trying to kill us all the time," stated Hannah.

Little did everyone know their celebration was going to be threatened soon. Cowslip had stalked them all the way to Redstone, now knowing where they lived. He left as quickly as he came, racking his brain to come up with brutish plans to exact his revenge upon them.

"Captain Broom and I will stay awhile to show you around." Primrose decided to remain here for a few days to help the Redstone rabbits get used to their surroundings.

"And I'll hang about until your securities are up to scratch." Bigwig volunteered. "Don't want the Efrafans stumbling on you."

The word Efrafa made Hazel gasp when he remembered his secret meeting with Campion to hear of Efrafa's latest plan. He looked up at the sun, for it was beginning to set. Noon will be coming faster than he realized. "Speaking of Efrafa, I'm due to check in with Campion. I'd better be off."

"A Chief's work is never done, eh?" Bigwig grinned.

"Can I come with you?" Lily asked, hopefully. "I haven't seen Campion in a while, and I'd like to make sure if he's okay."

Nodding, Hazel did not see a problem with that. Although he'd have to ask Bigwig permission to let his mate tag along. Considering it, the lion buck agreed, but not before he sternly warned, "Stay with Hazel. Watch yourselves."

Together, Hazel and Lily left the warren with Kehaar joining them for lookout.


Vervain sniffed the ground for the runaways' scent, whilst his Owsla scoured the forest clearing for any other signs of the escapees. His eyes narrowed when he found the scent. "They're close. Stay sharp!" he warned his Owsla.

Moss's ears cocked upward when he heard a slight rustle of leaves. It came from the bush behind him. He crept closer and closer, until he noticed a rabbit's tail exposed to sight. "RUNNERS!" he yelled.

With their cover blown, the two runaway slaves made a mad dash out of the bush and rushed up the hillock. Vervain's head shot up and took charge of the chase, summoning the Owsla to resume pursuit.

Elsewhere, Cowslip was making his way back to his home warren to scheme up a plan to destroy Redstone and punish his traitorous minions. Along the way, he paused when he heard a commotion just over yonder in the woods. The escapees came out of the bushes to catch their breath. When they saw Cowslip, they hurried over to him in the hopes that he could help them escape the enemy.

"Help us!" pleaded one of the runaways. "Are you Thlayli? They're after us. Please!"

Cowslip gawked at them for mistaking him for that horrid lion buck, but before he could correct them, his eyes widened and he gasped when huge buck rabbits leapt over the bushes. Moss and his soldiers surrounded the helpless runaways. There was no escape for them this time. They had been recaptured.

Vervain cackled triumphantly. "Take them back to Efrafa!"

Two larger soldiers grabbed the runaways by the scruff of their necks and hauled them away by force. Once they had gone, Vervain noticed Cowslip for the first time and circled him with a sneer on his menacing face.

"Well, well, well..." Vervain studied this odd rabbit's large appearance and sniffed at him, "you're a fair size, aren't you? And you smell quite healthy, too."

"Be aware, friend. I am chief of my own warren," Cowslip warned him, keeping a calm mind when confronted by an aggressive stranger.

"Well, you're nothing now, friend." And with that, Vervain tackled him to the ground and commanded Moss to carry the unconscious Cowslip back to Efrafa.


Meanwhile, on the south near Efrafan borders, Orchis and four of his bucks were following tracks of their own. While they were supposed to be looking for the two runners, Orchis picked up outsider tracks. Not Thlayli's rabbits, but a large band of them. He would not return to Woundwort empty-pawed, that was for certain.

"They're close," Marjoram told his captain. "Must be digging scrapes nearby, if not a warren."

Orchis smirked eagerly at these prospects. "Right. You four, carry along the trail. Flush them out and restrain them. I'll join you lot shortly to see what we've caught for the General."

The four bucks forged on ahead, following the tracks and disappearing into the foliage. However, mere moments would pass before the faint sound of his bucks howling in pain broke through the silence. He pushed through the bushes to find no trace of rabbit…save for a huge, broken-in pit from which the cries of his bucks were emanating from. Orchis looked down to see his own soldiers squirming around like worms in the soil. Before he could even lean in, the bucks called out to their captain.

"Stay back, sir!"

"It's a trap!"

"Look out!"

Before Orchis could retort, a solid kick from behind pushed him into the pit with his soldiers. Just as he was about to look up from the pit, a burning itching sensation began to crawl over his very skin, forcing him to squirm and howl like his soldiers. Both Flyairth and Prake leaned their heads into the pit to examine their quarry.

"If you thought that your rabbits could overtake mine…then your General has yet to teach you a thing or two on strategy," Prake called out to the Efrafans suffering from their mysterious ailment.

"Stinging nettles, good bucks. Armed with tiny barbs coated with a powerful irritant, it can be an advantageous means to those who know how to use it to its extent," Flyairth addressed. "Though, naturally…it is of greater advantage to know how to treat it upon exposure."

While the soldiers were too busy clawing and biting their itches, Orchis managed to balance between attempting to relieve his itching and hearing these strange rabbits. "Nnnn…and is this your attempt…at torture?"

"Not at all. We knew we needed to find Efrafans so they could take us to their warren, but without the risk of becoming prisoners ourselves. Demonstrating our skills seemed most prudent, and so…" Flyairth explained.

"You're saying that you purposely led us here to prove that? Hmmm…and what is that you want?" Orchis implored while continuing to scratch and bite.

"An exchange: treatment against the nettles, in return for an audience with the General, to talk of an alliance. Agree, and I will throw down the herbs to counter the nettles' toxins, as well as a way out. Refuse…well, if you keep clawing and gnawing at each other like this, you'll only open yourselves to infection by all sorts of disease, thus leaving you all to a potentially slow and painful demise. A cruel ending, yes…but then, Efrafans are known for their cruelty, are they not?"

Orchis felt every instinct telling him not to accept this ill-devised offer, but upon being reminded of the incessant itching, along with that of his bucks, and the fact that Efrafa had no healing herbs to deal with their condition… "Who, may I ask…nnn…would I be introducing to…to the General?"

"…Flyairth-rah…Matron Healer and chief rabbit of Thinial," the pale doe replied in a calm tone as the bucks continued to squirm right below her paws.


"We should get this run cleared," Bigwig suggested, looking at a heavy thorny rose bush blocking a tunnel buried for who knows how long.

"I don't know. Roses are very lovely to look at. Besides, they could be a nice addition to the warren." Dogwood thought the red roses blended in really well with the huge red stones all around them, hence the name of the warren. Even though he could not see, he knew beauty when he sensed it.

"True, but we can't risk danger to the warren if elil come stalking about..." Bigwig added, "especially if the inhabitants decide to have kittens."

All of a sudden, Fiver's eyes widened when a vision grasped his mind. "Three enemies unite to spread the fight... the evil is times three for the trouble that is to be..."

Some of the rabbits stopped at what they were doing, staring at the runt if he had either gone mad or if there was something wrong with him. Only Bigwig and his comrades who knew Fiver very well were fully aware of what this meant.

"It's all right, Hickory," Bigwig assured the worried brown buck. "He has these funny turns. Sees the future and all." He looked at Fiver, a bit worried himself, though he dared not show it. "What's this one mean? Hazel isn't headed for trouble, is he? And what about Lily and Kehaar? Are they all right?"

"No... I don't think so... but..." Fiver stopped shivering and took a few deep breaths to ease his nerve, "I don't know what it means."

"Just like all your visions. Clear as mud." Bigwig grumbled, wishing his visions did not have confusing rhymes and how Fiver could have just told him what it really means. "Which three enemies unite?"


If only Bigwig had known the answer to his question. Three enemies with a mutual hatred for Watership Down, only three rabbits fit that description. Those three rabbits in question would meet soon enough. Back in Efrafa, Cowslip had regained consciousness when Moss smacked his face to awaken him. The cult leader gazed at his surroundings in curious amazement. His eyes enlarged at his first sight of the massive chief rabbit who ruled this warren - General Woundwort.

"Put them on the digging squad, half rations." Woundwort explained the punishment of the runaways to his Owsla. "Explain their fate should they run again."

The Owsla nodded obediently and forcibly shoved the dismayed runaways out of the chamber. After the matter was dealt with, Woundwort turned to stare at this new buck whom his Owsla had brought to him. He smelled very healthy and appeared round yet strong in size.

"Fresh stock, General Woundwort! Claims he's chief of his own warren," Vervain explained.

"Really? Are all the rabbits in your warren like you?" Woundwort asked, checking him over.

Cowslip shook his head, keeping that casual frown on his face. "In size, yes. In cunning, oh no."

"A lesson in humility seems in order. A slave squad, I think." The General nodded, giving the signal to drag Cowslip away.

However, the cult leader had immediately come up with a plan in mind to save his own skin. If this gigantic rabbit was an enemy of Hazel's warren, this could be his chance at getting revenge against those fools and his betrayers. Although he had no idea why the General often referred to Hazel's band as Thlayli's when that impetuous lion buck was not chief rabbit, who knows what else Cowslip had in mind for his little game when he thought how foolish the General was. "That wouldn't suit me at all, nor would it benefit you, General. I understand you seek Thlayli and his companions. I can deliver them to you."

"Bah! It's obvious he's lying!" Sainfoin scoffed, disbelieving what he deemed nonsense.

Instead, the cultist's words caught Woundwort's attention. His mismatched eyes widened once the wheels in his head started turning. Looking at this strange newcomer, he sensed a hint of hatred in his eyes for Thlayli and his warren. If he's an enemy, perhaps he might be of some use to him. "Hold!" he ordered his Owsla to let him go. "Your name?"

"Cowslip, General," he introduced himself.

The General approached him with a devious smirk on his lips. "It appears we have things to talk about…Cowslip."

Suddenly, Orchis hopped on into the gathering chamber with an occasional scratch of his hind paw. "I should not hope I am not intruding, General…but I have brought some rabbits who-"

The General and the other rabbits turned to the arriving Captain and his rabbits. "You're too late, Orchis. Vervain and his patrol found the runaways," the General told Orchis. "And he's brought someone who might be able to assist us in finding Thlayli's warren at last."

"Well…that's funny…because I too brought in a few rabbits. Rabbits with intimate knowledge of the enemy. And furthermore-" Before Orchis could continue, he was thwacked against the back of his head by a certain scarred doe, pushing him on the ground. "Do be quiet, you. You talk too much as it is…"

The doe in question and her chief rabbit entered the grand chamber. From these two rabbits were different impressions of Efrafa. Prake, having seen the treatment of whatever does remained in this warren, openly scowled with hatred at how the bucks are treating them, even giving any guard that looks at her lewdly a proper death gaze. As for Flyairth, her thoughts were the same as Prake's, though her expressions have not betrayed her inner thoughts. However, once she finally saw the General, her hidden displeasure was masked by an expression feigning personal interest in the General, drawing on her natural feminine wiles.

"Fearful and mighty General…I am Flyairth, Matron Healer and chief of my warren Thinial." She turned her head towards Prake. "My trusted captain and loyal champion, Prake." She turned her head back to Woundwort before slowly bowing before him. "And it is a grand honor to finally meet the conqueror they call Woundwort."

"Flattery will not excuse this intrusion, doe." He turned his head back towards Orchis and his bucks, still trying to deal with the minor effects of their affliction. "That being said…how did you manage to defeat a squadron of fighters?"

"It took very little," Prake remarked sardonically. "False tracks to indicate scrapes, a pitfall trap, and a few pawfuls of stinging nettles. But mostly…I believe your bucks were either too proud or too stupid to consider does being a threat to them."

Most of the present Captains and lower officers took offense at Prake's words, especially Sainfoin who had half a mind to confront the impudent doe. However, Woundwort's reaction was quite the opposite. "If my trained soldiers couldn't handle taking on an army of does like the one you claim to hold…then perhaps they need further discipline so that they don't underestimate their foes next time. So…why have you come here, Flyairth?"

The elder doe merely gave a light smirk as she addressed the General. "Why, to work towards an alliance between Efrafa and Thinial. With your warren's warriors and my warren's healers…we can become quite the formidable foe, you and I, my General."

While Vervain was amused by how easily Orchis and his Patrol were outthought by these newcomers, he had strong doubts of their ability to assist. "General Woundwort has little time to deal with new alliances, especially with outsiders like yourself," he remarked suspiciously as he encroached towards the does. "The last time we invited an outsider into Efrafa, the bulk of our warren's rabbits were stolen away by Thlayli and his band! What's to say you're not here to do the same…doe?"

Before Prake could attack Vervain just as he could do the same to her chief, Flyairth raised her paw to stay her captain's anger to address. "Forgive me, but I don't believe I made myself clear. I did not come here only to offer my warren's services to Efrafa. I came here because I too wish vengeance on the very same rabbits who stole many a good doe from Thinial. Drawing them from the safety of my home to risk starvation, disease, and death. And to prove my resolve…I have exclusive information on how their warren operates."

The captains were in shock. No one in Efrafa were as close to figuring out how Thlayli's warren operated, except when the two kits Pipkin and Aubretia were captives. This piqued the General's interest. "Really?...And how did you come by this information, Flyairth?"

"Initially, I wanted to make an alliance with them in the hopes of being able to assist them with my experience. But instead, they scorned my visions of the future and chose to infect those of lesser resolve…including my own daughter…with their ideology. They are a sickness of the mind that MUST be wiped from this world. And you, my General…you may very well be the cure for such a sickness in this weary world."

General examined her words and voice for a moment to further examine any sign of possible treachery…but her hatred is as genuine and as deep as his was. "And you're right to assume that, my dear…I will hear you out…but only after we capture Thlayli and his outsiders with the aid of Cowslip and his information."

Flyairth turned to glance at the large buck, raising an eyebrow as she sensed a familiar aura around him. The presence, she felt was somewhat like her own. But she also sensed another feeling about Cowslip. A familiar scent…of Man?! Her eyes lightly furrowed at the realization of this rabbit. He was raised at the hand of her sworn enemy.


Night had fallen in the woods. Once or twice, Kehaar poked his out of the brambles and bushes to check if there are no elil in sight, before moving to the next hiding spot. He made it to the center of the clearing and peered inside a small opening within the message tree, as they called it. Campion's message stone stood where it had been placed. But no sign of the Efrafan warrior anywhere. Kehaar left to report back to Hazel and Lily.

The two rabbits waited patiently for the gull's return. Eerie wolf howls made them cautious, praying neither one of them met those vicious creatures or their great teeth. Just then, Kehaar came back coughing and spluttering when he emerged from the brambles to make his report.

"Message stone still there." Kehaar tried not to fall over, standing on his tiptoes, only to lose balance and collapse. "Campion not coming, look like."

"Do you think Woundwort found out that he's been spying for us?" Lily worried, partly hoping this was not true.

"Campion can look after himself. We can wait a bit longer," insisted Hazel.

"For once, maybe Woundwort not plotting bad stuff, eh?" Standing back on his webbed feet, Kehaar shook a leaf off his foot to go watch out for Campion.

"Huh! Wouldn't that be a change?" Hazel pondered with a slight sarcasm, as if the infamous General could do something like that.


While Woundwort would deal with Cowslip, Flyairth was allowed to return to her does, informing them of the update in their negotiations while leaving Prake behind as her own eye and ears in Efrafa, especially to this Cowslip. Right now, Woundwort had given Cowslip of tour of his warren after the cultist explained his side of the story as to why he despised Thlayli and his allies to much, except to leaving out a few details of the shining wires. Woundwort told his tale of how Thlayli intercepted his warren by going undercover to steal his slaves, all does, and escaped on boat. Vervain and Sainfoin lingered close to them, very intrigued by Cowslip's story. But they had no idea that two rabbits were following them. Campion had secretly followed them, keeping himself hidden in the shadowed corners. He listened very closely and watched as the two enemies chatted amongst each other. But unknown to Campion…he was not alone, as Prake was listening in silently.

Pausing at one burrow, Cowslip noticed two frightened rabbits huddling themselves against the wall of their prison. Their poor state made him frown disapprovingly. "Your people seem to be in poor health."

"The weaker they are, the less chance of rebellion," Woundwort stated with a cruel smirk.

"Happy is my warren. Mindless, stupid and content my people. My lies are truth. Ha, they believe it all." Cowslip boasted, chuckling at the idiocy of how he runs his warren.

"Sniveling coward!" Campion's expression darkened as he whispered scornly, having come to loathe Cowslip immediately.

"Could use a few like him round here, eh sir?" Vervain suggested. "If they're all his size, we'd get twice the work out of them."

The General thought it over for a second and smiled once he gave his approval. "Any objections to giving us a few of your subjects, Cowslip?"

"Some of yours for some of mine. Ha, a joyful idea," Cowslip agreed, before he turned to leave and stopped to look over his shoulder. "Assuming I'm free to go home?"

"Absolutely. Anything for the rabbit who hands me Thlayli and his outsiders."

Sainfoin was still not entirely trusting of Cowslip, so he pressed on for more information about the cult leader's former minions' new warren. "Perhaps a few more details about this Redstone Warren before he leaves, sir... just to make sure he speaks the truth?"

Cowslip sighed when he could see how Sainfoin was not an easy buck to bait, so he described to them the full details of the warren's location. "It lies beyond the high hills, setting sunward, near Man's water trail."

This pleased Woundwort very much. If he gets his claws on Redstone Warren, a chance of finding Thlayli's warren might come soon after. But he could not let this fellow chief rabbit's information go to waste and offered him a reward. "Splendid, Cowslip. Splendid. Stay the night. We'll have a feast."

Campion gasped in quiet horror. Quick as a wink, he took another tunnel to get above ground and warn Hazel about what he heard. Fortunately, Prake was not noticed as the buck ran past. If only he had remained behind a little longer, he would have heard more, which was what Prake heard.

"I would love to, but I urge you to attack Redstone without delay," Cowslip advised hurriedly. "Thlayli and his band are there now."

At this, Woundwort's mismatched eyes narrowed dangerously. "WHAT?! How can this piece of information be kept from me when I needed it?" the General scowled infuriatingly at Cowslip. "When were you planning on telling me this, Cowslip?"

"When we reached an agreement on my fate... which we have. Haven't we?" Cowslip chuckled slyly with a creepy grin.

Without a moment to lose, the General gave out orders to his Owsla officers, "Vervain! Find Campion, call our Owsla together. Sainfoin, you follow Flyairth's tracks back to their scrapes and deliver a message to her and her Owsla. 'We attack Redstone at dawn'." As the two officers left to give out the orders, Woundwort turned back to the large rabbit. "As for you, Cowslip…after Thlayli's blood is on my paws, I will discuss the matter of exchanging subjects with your warren. But understand one thing."

"And what, pray tell, would that be, good General?"

The General gave Cowslip a threatening leer which did not faze the cultist in the slightest. "Withhold any further information from me…and you will regret it. Dearly."

Cowslip merely gave a light smirk as he replied, "Consider your little warning understood. Now…if you don't mind, I wish to have a brief look around on my own. The dreariness of this place will help further my fondness for home." With that, Cowslip turned away and hopped off, leaving the General both impressed by Cowslip's lack of fear and disturbed by his manner. So unrabbitlike, he thought before turning to the other direction, unaware that another rabbit was following Cowslip's trail.

Once almost outside the lone tunnel, Cowslip stopped before giving a subtle grin. "If you intend to kill me, good doe, I would advise you that you are a rat in a clowder of cats. One wrong move, and you would die along with me."

A slight growl was heard as Prake came into the light towards the entrance. "If I had stayed behind to kill you, you would have been dead before you even made the deal with Woundwort. And you should be dead, Man-lover."

A soft chuckle emitted from Cowslip as he turned to face the doe. "'Man-lover,' you say? And how exactly am I, an ally of Man?"

"You bear his scent, don't you? Yes, we noticed it, as did my chief. She also knows of you and your crimes, trading the many to save yourself. The flayrah, the lack of elil, the song and dance. All ill-gotten gains from your deal with our greatest enemy."

"And you believe this makes me…evil?"

"I do."

"All leaders must be pragmatic when it comes to survival for the many. Is a mother rabbit evil for abandoning the runt of the litter to favor the stronger kits?"

"Mothers don't abandon their kits that easily! Besides, that's only when they have no choice."

"That is the same for my people. We have no reasonable choice. Under Man's protection we see more chance of seeing tomorrow than we would in the wild. And besides…what right have you to call my leadership evil, when your chief is clearly guilty of the same?"

Prake widened her eyes a bit as the strange chief mentioned that. How could he know anything about Flyairth?

"I once knew a rabbit who escaped from a terrible warren. He escaped with life and limb to avoid a wrongful execution. His only crime was showing mercy to an infirmed buck. When he arrived at my warren, I showed him much-deserved peace, before he too would stop running as payment for the life he was privileged to live. Though he never talked much of his warren, he mentioned one name. The name of a chief rabbit who slaughtered the innocent few, even mere babes, to preserve the many. That name…is Flyairth."

"She never killed innocents. She only killed-"

"The sick, yes? The weak, the infirmed, the soft-hearted who believe those infected can be saved rather than be executed? You believe I paid for the life of my warren in blood? Well, so has yours. She is no different from I, except for one thing. Your chief lives in grand delusions, believing herself to be a savior. I do not. I know what I do and what I pay…but rather than deny it or delude myself, I accept the truth willingly. Aside from that little difference, Flyairth and I are the same." As Cowslip spoke further, Prake could feel the bile in her throat building as Cowslip spouted sheer blasphemy of her chief. "Now…why are you really here? If not to kill me, then for what purpose?"

"I should kill you now…but I must obey my chief. She wants you…to kill Woundwort."

Cowslip raised an eyebrow with slight intrigue before giving another chuckle. "Kill the General? Such an amusing thought. How could someone like myself even end such a mighty warrior?"

"With your warren. The Man's snares. My chief wants the General as a trusted ally, just long enough to deal with our shared foe: Hazel-rah. And yes, I know you lied about Bigwig being chief, as did mine. But once he and his blasphemers are dead…"

"You wish me to bring the General to my warren and deliver him to Frith personally?"

"Pretty much."

"So…your chief wishes to use the General as her pawn…before disposing of him once his purpose has run its course? Such treachery and deceit…how interesting," Cowslip pondered "It is a shame that we are but opposing leaders. In another life, Flyairth and I could have made quite the pair to rule our people, with lies made truth."

Prake felt an internal disgust at the though of a Man-loving rabbit standing at her chief's side. "And what, pray tell, would I receive for my role in her little game?"

"Once the General is disposed of, and we gathered the strong warriors to join her cause, you may have whatever rabbits remains for your warren."

"The weak and the sick, I presume? Hmmmm…fair enough. Tell your chief I agree to her terms…for the moment."

Growling deeply, Prake hopped out to follow her leader's track to report this news, while Cowslip summarized what had occurred so far. "Playing three leaders against each other, before leaving myself to take the one who lives? It would seem things are becoming…interesting."


A shooting star zoomed across the dark sky before it vanished from sight as the rabbits gazed at a clear, beautiful, nighttime sky. Everyone made a silent wish upon the shooting star, yet nobody told each other what their wishes are or those wishes might not come true. The other rabbits in the warren had gone to sleep in their new burrows.

"Be a grand idea to bring your babies back to Redstone, eh Primrose?" Captain Broom suggested. "Show them your home warren?"

"When they're old enough, Captain Broom," agreed Primrose.

"Aye, have a few crickets to spin them. Do you recall that time a wicked fox led a pack of wolves right down on us? Heh. And there's me, ears down around my hind legs thinking I'm done for."

"Oh, you like to gloat about your Owsla days, don't you?" Blossom playfully teased her mate.

While everyone chuckled heartily, Fiver sensed another vision approaching. However, this one was unlike any vision he had ever received. The stars in the sky began to dance and twirl around, creating the huge shape of a rabbit's face. It was a rabbit with a fearsome face shown when one was close to death. A rabbit known by all as the...

"Nooooo! A warning comes from the lone and the brave... the one who will save us is the one we can't save..." Fiver moaned like he was in extreme pain, collapsing on all fours to the ground.

His screams startled his friends close to him, staring at him in horror. This woke up the inhabitants inside the warren. Hickory, Marigold, Juniper and Dogwood came rushing out to see what the matter is. Others grumbled in annoyance at the wakeup call at this late hour.

"What's happened?" Hickory asked.

"Is he hurt? Is he sick?" Dogwood questioned, examining Fiver to make sure he's all right.

"What is it, Fiver? What did you see?" Bigwig demanded.

Snapping out of it, Fiver gasped as he got back up with his face paled with fear. "The Black Rabbit of Inlé is coming for one of us."

"Which one of us?" asked Primrose, looking distraught.

"I don't know... I just... don't know..."

"I hope to Frith it's not Hazel or Lily," Bigwig mumbled in distress, feeling a chill rush through his fur. "Then again, who is the lone and the brave one we can't save?"


In the woods, Campion reached the clearing safely to speak with Hazel. He did not see him anywhere, checked on the message stone if anybody touched or stolen it. The stone still remained where he last left it. His ears did not move when he felt a shadow loom over him. Campion turned one narrowed eye to glance over his shoulder. The Owsla warrior whirled round and leapt on his alleged attacker.

"Campion, it's me!" Hazel protested to identify himself, just as the larger buck's paws pinned him down on the ground.

Slightly vexed, Campion stated sharply, "Never sneak up on a Captain of Owsla!" He got off to let the chief rabbit stand up.

"I'll bare that in mind from now on." Hazel was a little irked himself.

"H-H-Hi, C-Campion..." Though her face was cheerful, Lily's voice was a bit shaken by Campion's sudden pounce and her smile a bit twisted.

The Owsla Captain nodded respectfully at her and acknowledged Kehaar, whom looked stunned by what recently happened. Brushing the matter off, Campion got straight to the point as he reported what the General was up to, "I just come from Efrafa. Woundwort has formed an alliance with an enemy of yours: Cowslip."

"Oh, crap!" Lily's jaw dropped.

"It's bad." Kehaar looked distraught, gazing over at Hazel's uneasy expression.

"And he's received the presence of another enemy of yours. Flyairth, I think?"

"It's really bad."

"Cowslip is leading them to a place called Redstone. Woundwort's going to attack, and I'm to guess Flyairth's rabbits will join them," Campion continued on.

"It's worse."

"But they won't start until morning, so you'll have time to get everyone clear."

"YEAH! IT'S..." Kehaar stopped shouting, lowering his voice when he knew how rude it was, "...good."

"Primrose is at Redstone," Hazel remembered, and fully aware of the brown buck's fondness of his ex-girlfriend.

This made Campion's eyes widened, making him very anxious. "Then get her out." And the chief rabbit took off with Lily in a flash. "Good luck."

However, Lily ceased in her steps when she overheard Campion let out a gloomy sigh. "Be right there, Hazel!" she called, before turning back to the depressed Owsla Captain. Campion's mood had become miserable so suddenly. He hung his head and his back hunched over. Lily knew something was wrong.

Even this did not go unnoticed by Kehaar as the gull asked gently, "You okay, Captain Campion?"

"I'll be fine," replied Campion.

"Hey, you want to live with us now?" Kehaar offered politely. "All alone in Efrafa is very sad."

"I've never felt so alone, Kehaar. I'm an alien in my own warren." Campion looked at him stoically before he glanced away with a solemn frown.

Lily sat companionably beside him, placing a gentle paw on his own. "Well, if you're that lonely in Efrafa, why don't you come live with us? You'd be happy at our warren."

But Campion refused the offer, no matter how tempting it sounded. He needed to stay in Efrafa, where his loyalty to Woundwort still lingers in his tormented soul. "I appreciate your invitation, but I can never leave Efrafa. You need someone to warn you of Woundwort's plans." He grunted, slashing his claws at tree's bark. "Ugh! Why does everything have to be so damn difficult?! WHY?!"

"It's this war that's made everything horrid. At times like this, I wish I was at my old home at the farm," Lily sighed dismally, none the least startled by his outburst. "But then again, I never would have met Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and the others. Hopefully, when this war ends, you'll always be welcome in our warren."

Her words did not have much effect on Campion, even though Lily tried to comfort him as best she could.

To lighten up the mood, Kehaar decided to tell Campion of his adventures at the big water. "I'll catch up with Hazel later. Would you like to hear about Big Water?"

Campion chuckled, intrigued to hear of the gull's homeland. He could use some cheering up. "I'd like that very much."

Unfortunately, Kehaar could only describe it as nothing else but water. Sighing, Lily told her tale of the Big Water to the Owsla Captain. She narrated the details of their stowaway in the farmer's truck, wandering around in the funfair, meeting Hyacinth the pig, riding a bus to the Big Water, the gulls were haughty bastards, the puffins treated them with kindness, the rabbits' first time on a sandy beach, their narrow escape from the tide and a massive shark.

Campion listened intently, deeply impressed. Kehaar, on the other hand, groaned with envy at the doe's better description of the Big Water. Finishing her tale, Campion bid them goodbye and retreated back to Efrafa. Lily watched him depart before she left, her heart aching for Campion's loneliness.


Back in Efrafa, General Woundwort and Cowslip sat on the embankment, looking down on a huge army of soldiers all ready to obey commands. The slaves were forced back into their burrows for the night, along with some officers ordered to stay behind and keep watch. Ragwort was to be left in charge until his brother's return. Woundwort watched his captains stand to attention in line, ready for orders. The only one missing was Campion, and this really disturbed him. This was not like Campion to be so late. But fortunately, some good news came as Woundwort saw a small army of does approaching the warren. At first, the Efrafan bucks appeared to have no reaction to this aside from a lone chuckle at the thought of does fighting. That chuckle came from a large buck with more brawn than brain, which was immediately responded with a strong THWACK! of a paw from one of the doe soldiers, silencing him and establishing a sense of fear as they stepped back to give Flyairth's army room.

The chief rabbit herself and her champion climbed up the embankment to stand alongside the General and Cowslip. Cowslip gave the pale doe a subtle glance of understanding, which Flyairth reluctantly returned before turning back to the General himself.

"You wish to prove yourself worthy of an alliance with Efrafa?" Woundwort smirked. "Show the strength of your does in battle. Destroy Thlayli and all his outsiders stand for. Do this…and I will welcome you as my trusted counsel."

This offer pleased Flyairth while rousing the envy and suspicion of Vervain and Orchis. Efrafa had not had a doe in its council since Snowdrop betrayed the General to help the does.

"I wish only to serve the one who shares my vision of a pure world. A clean world. A world ruled with an iron paw," Flyairth remarks with a bow. "And my does will serve you well for the coming of a new age for all rabbitkind…"

As Woundwort had become accustomed to this doe treating him like Frith, at the moment Sainfoin returned, looking tired. "I've looked everywhere, sir. But there's no sign of Campion." His face grew fearful. "Maybe he went out on patrol and got attacked by a fox or if the enemy warren got him?"

Woundwort stared at him with a neutral expression, then rolled his eyes at the sergeant's worries. He growled angrily at his best Owsla Captain's strange absence. He knew Campion could take care of himself, but he definitely had some explaining to do when he gets back. "Stop ranting, you idiot!" He then addressed the young Corporal. "Moss! When Captain Campion returns, place him under arrest for dereliction of duty."

"Yes, sir." Moss bowed respectively and hopped off to his post.

Once he had gone, Woundwort approached the edge of the embankment and stood up on his hind legs to bellow out his command, "MOVE OUT!"

The Owslas charged forward in another direction and stampeded out of the warren, led by General Woundwort and Flyairth and with Cowslip showing the way. Ragwort watched the armies vanish from sight by the view of the chimney stack, he departed down the spiral stairwell and decided to turn in early for the night.

Around that time, Campion had finally returned to Efrafa and hopefully report to the General with a cover story. He noticed how oddly quiet it looked. Not a slave in sight, not that many officers on guard, save for a few who dozed off. Campion figured something was up, so he moved carefully past a guard to get into the warren. But just as he rounded the corner, the brown buck's heart gave a start when Moss and Avens blocked his path.

"Captain, sir... it's my sad duty to place you under arrest." Moss stated as remorse filled his voice, but he knew he had to do his duty.

"On what charge?" Campion demanded. He had no time for this, he was in a hurry. "Never mind. I'll ask the General myself." The brown buck brushed past the two bucks for the General's quarters.

"He's gone, sir. Leading a war party," Moss explained. "They strike Redstone at dawn."

Campion halted in his tracks, mortified and worried. "Primrose!" he gasped softly, fearing for his old girlfriend's safety. And if Hazel's band or the new Redstone inhabitants died at dawn, he would never forgive himself. With a strong determination, Campion whirled round to face the bucks and to repeat the cover story he practiced. "I've just returned from scout with important news for General Woundwort. I'm going after him." The brown buck tried to back the way he came, but Moss and Avens stood in his way.

"I'm sorry, sir. It'll have to wait until he gets back." Moss refused to budge an inch. "And don't bother telling Ragwort either. He's gone to his quarters and asked not to be disturbed."

"Moss, it's me you're talking to."

"And I wish it wasn't, Campion." The green buck's expression hardened.

Campion's features frowned softly. He closed his eyes for a moment, probably deducing the consequences of his actions in his mind, but it's a risk he's willing to make. He charged pass both officers and headed straight for the exit.

"Oh, why'd you go and do that, sir?" Moss shook his head, shocked and angered by his captain's defiance. "Runner! RUNNER!" he called out to alert the guards, awakening them from their sleeping on the job, just as Campion raced out of Efrafa as fast as he could go to warn his friends at Redstone of the coming danger.


In the woods, Cowslip was making the most of his revenge plot enjoyable when he led the armies, down the path he had taken to find Redstone. However, he stopped in a clearing when they grew closer to a familiar path he knew well. The rest of the army had to stop as well to catch their breath.

"Follow the moon path and you'll find Redstone Warren," he instructed. "From there…the rest should be simple to manage yourselves."

"I thought you'd want to be in on the attack." Woundwort raised an eyebrow at the cultist's refusal to stay long.

"I'm a plotter, General. Not a fighter. My weary bones cry for home. Good hunting to you all." And with a secret smirk on his lips, Cowslip headed for home.

"There's something wrong with that rabbit," Woundwort wondered.

"Perhaps, my General, but he has been true to his word so far," Vervain said. "My scouts have caught the scent of Cowslip's tracks heading toward the direction he mentioned, along with a few others. There's a warren nearby. Redstone, perhaps..."

"Then we best get on with it."

A faint cry of a gull sounded through the night air, which Vervain caught first and no one else, eliciting a gasp from him. "Did you hear that, sir? It sounded like the outsiders' gull."

Before the General could make his remark at Vervain's observation, he was beaten to the punch when Prake immediately pushed the sniveling Captain on the ground. "Who cares about a gull? You should be more focused on finding Redstone, you miserable, toad-sucking son of a-" Before she could continue, a paw from Flyairth stiffened her nerve and return her to stoic diligence.

"That gull haunts you, Captain Vervain. Get over it!" the General warned before he pushed his Owsla to travel down the moon path on Cowslip's instructions, Flyairth and her army following behind.


Hazel took the path that would take him back to Redstone, running as fast as could through the forest to reach the warren and warn everybody of the oncoming danger. Except he had no idea of another danger on his tail. Golden eyes illuminated the shadows high above, focusing a hard stare at the unsuspecting rabbit.

"Where are you, Hazel?" Lily had finally arrived when she emerged from some bushes, though her voice startled Hazel briefly.

"Don't scare me like that," he scolded. "And why didn't you come sooner? Bigwig said you're to stay close."

"I'm sorry. It's Campion, he's lonely and unhappy in Efrafa. Kehaar and I suggested he come live with us, but he refused, so I told him about our adventures at the beach."

Hazel considered the matter of Campion living with them very deeply, until his thoughts came to an abrupt end when a dark shadow cast over them and then came an eerie hoot. A large owl descended down on them. Hazel and Lily cried out, ducked to avoid being caught in those sharp talons. The owl screeched, circling round to make another attempt to snatch one of them.

Thinking fast, Hazel and Lily ran for cover and dove into the brambles for safety, barely feeling those talons brush at the fur on their tails. The nocturnal bird of prey refused to give up easily. He perched on a nearby tree branch, glaring hungrily at the bush where his prey hid.

Hazel's face peeked out to see if the bird of prey left, but he groaned aggravatedly, "Lovely. Just lovely."

Lily laid down to catch her breath, exhausted from their escape. "What do we do now?"

Luck was on their side when good old Kehaar came to the rescue. The gull's voice was distant, but the rabbits knew he was trying to call out to them, searching for them. When he grew closer, Hazel's voice was half whisper and half shout to get the bird's attention, "We're here in the brambles!"

The seagull crash landed in the shrubbery, making Hazel and Lily flinch. He was not hurt when he came over, just his usual perfect landing.

"I thought you were in big rush to warn the Redstone bun-" Kehaar's sentence got cut off when Hazel shushed him.

The chief rabbit nodded up at the tree. Kehaar looked up to see the stubborn owl perched on that branch, still waiting for one of the rabbits to make a move.

"Ah, fat owl will not bother me," the gull said.

"Well, he bothers us a bit!" Hazel growled.

"We need to get out of here!" Lily fretted.

"I talk to him. But first, cover your ears." Kehaar warned the rabbits to shield their long ears, before flying upward to confront the owl and shouted in the most offensive foul language the rabbits never heard before. "YOU SMELLY FAT MOUSE-EATING BASTARD! LOOK SOMEPLACE ELSE, BLINKY! GO HIDE IN A BARN, SKINNY-BEAKED, HOOTER-HEAD! YARR!" His loud voice and constant pecking at his flat head caused the owl to screech angrily, but instead of fighting, the owl retreated back to wherever he came from.

Hazel and Lily left their hiding spot, gawking speechlessly at the gull for screaming profanity.

"See? I talked to him." Kehaar shrugged like his taking care of the problem was no big deal.

"You certainly did." Hazel chuckled, then he turned to lecture mode. "Just don't ever talk like that in front of the children if it happens."

Gazing up at the moon, Lily realized how late it had gotten and they might not reach the warren in time to warn everybody of the invasion. "We're going to be late."

"We'll be fine if we make fast tracks," assured Hazel. "We should make it to Redstone by dawn."


Up ahead, Campion was in a hurry toward Redstone to warn the others. He stopped when he heard a familiar deep voice give command to an army. Racing over the hill came General Woundwort and his army of Owsla, Flyairth and her does following from behind. They were going in the same path as he was, heading straight for Redstone.

"Woundwort..." Campion gasped, and ran faster than El-ahrairah to find the warren.

At Redstone Warren, Bigwig stood guard outside for lookout. He worried for Hazel and Lily, wondering if they would ever make it back safely. Sometimes he prayed for Frith to watch over them or wished he never let Lily leave the warren. A little movement reached his ears, looking over to see Primrose emerge from a tunnel, her expression equal to his own.

"Can't sleep, Primrose?" he asked.

"Not after Fiver's vision," she admitted, "I close my eyes and there's the Black Rabbit of Inlé... coming for one of us."

"He comes for all of us, sooner or later. No point worrying about it." No sooner did Bigwig speak, his eyes widened when he saw the last rabbit that he never expected to show up come rushing into view at great haste. The Efrafan warrior was panting tiredly, though relieved to have made it in time. "Campion, you're a bit far off your patch."

"Woundwort…an army…they're on their way... get everyone out, quickly!" Campion exclaimed between breaths.

Bigwig did not bother to question why or how the General knew of Redstone, but he wasted no time evacuate everyone out of the warren before the raid would take place. "Everyone up! Move it!" he shouted, using his best Owsla voice to awaken the sleeping beauties.

"Campion, you're risking your life for us again," said Primrose, stunned by his sacrifice.

"…For you, Primrose." Campion reminded her solemnly.

Every rabbit inside the warren woke up with a start, hearing an enemy raid was going to invade them. Nobody complained about being woken up so late this time. Their lives are at stake. Captain Broom and Blossom were the last to saunter out of the tunnel, shocked at what they heard.

"What's the big hoo-ha now?" Hannah questioned, waking up from her slumber inside a tiny hole she built.

"Listen up you lot, we're moving out. We got to cover up any signs we were here. Gentian and Flax, get rid of our tracks over there. Hickory and Dogwood, the side burrow. Marigold and the rest, over here." Bigwig sternly gave his orders to clear of any signs of evidence the warren was inhabited and the rabbits carried out their assigned tasks.

"It won't work, Bigwig. We can't get rid of every trace. Woundwort will know there have been rabbits here," Campion stated.

"He'll hunt us down," added Primrose.

Captain Broom frowned at the young Owsla buck, refusing to abandon his old home to an enemy invasion. "I'm not having my old warren wiped out for a second time."

"That's what we're trying to avoid," reminded Bigwig.

"Tried to avoid a badger one time. Big brute, clumsy as a stork he was. Bad breath, too." Captain Broom got off track in his story telling, much to his mate's irritation.

"This is not the time nor the place, you oaf!" Blossom chided, as she aided Dogwood's brothers and Juniper's friends out of the tunnel and herded them to the forest.

"C'mon, we got too much to do!" Bigwig left to help the others cover or clear ever track, mark, sign or scent they could find before dawn.

Captain Broom was committed to stay behind to defend his old home, as his expression grew determined not let another disaster destroy the warren. "No, I won't let Redstone fall again. I'll be short-eared if I do."

Blossom knew exactly what he was thinking. Instead of talking him out of it, the elderly doe made the ultimate decision to stay behind with her mate. "If you're staying, then I'm staying." He opened his mouth to protest, only to have clamped shut by her paw. "We have been through a lot together growing up. If you die now at the paws of this dictating General, then I die with you."

Staring at his mate in amazement, Captain Broom smiled proudly as he could not have asked for a better mate than her.


Dawn came sooner than anyone expected. Everyone evacuated Redstone, most of them sad to leave their new home. Although Bigwig said it might be temporary cause they needed to throw Woundwort off their trail. Up on the hilltop overlooking Redstone warren, General Woundwort had finally arrived, accompanied by Flyairth and their combined Owslas.

"Sloppy security. Must all be asleep down there," the General commented to Vervain, scanning the area to see no rabbits on guard, but assumed nothing important for their enemies are going to die soon. "ATTACK!" At his command, every buck and doe charged forward.

Somewhere further away from the warren, Bigwig (with Hannah on his back) escorted the Redstone inhabitants to hop through a shallow river to dampen their scent and head upstream for safety.

"Come on, move! Move!" Bigwig commanded urgently, watching the last rabbit made it through. His breath caught in his throat when he realizes two rabbits are missing. "Where's Captain Broom and Blossom?"

Campion looked around, whilst Fiver had no clue to where the old rabbits are as he replied, "They were right behind me."

"Oh no. Fuddled old fools!" Bigwig growled in silent frustration when he deduced where the old couple had gone - back to Redstone warren. Broom did say he would not let his old warren fall again, and if he was foolhardy enough to stay behind and fight, then he truly was a fool. Even Blossom was no better. "We better find them." Bigwig leapt out of the river, hoping to find those old rabbits and give them a piece of his mind.

Back at Redstone warren, Hazel and Lily and Kehaar concealed themselves within the bushes when they had arrived too late, forced to watch helplessly as the newly complete warren was searched and ransacked by both Owslas. However, they were surprised and relieved to see no one had been killed or captured. At one point, they had to duck down and not be seen by an Efrafan soldier.

After all their searching, both the Efrafa and Thinial Owslas came up with nothing. They scoured the area for signs of tracks, scent, marks or signs to no avail. Woundwort and Flyairth waited impatiently for a report, which came at last when Vervain returned.

"Empty, sir. But there's been someone here recently," reported Vervain.

The General growled softly at this, but before he could decide on anything else, a cry of shock made his ears stand up straight. Prake came rushing out from underneath one of the giant red stones, a shade of red on her face.

"I can't believe what I just saw!" Prake's eyes were so wide anyone would think they'd burst, and his pupils had shrunk to the size of dots.

"What is it?!" demanded Flyairth.

An elderly female voice chided at the Owsla warrior before that said owner of the voice emerged out of the tunnel. It was Blossom, looking very angry and offended. "Do you mind?! What gives you the right to walk in on two mates expressing their love? Have you no respect for privacy, you ripe end of a pig's ass?!"

Apparently, Prake had walked in on Captain Broom and Blossom mating in a moment of passion at the wrong time. She had never felt so embarrassed or appalled to see such a mating ritual in his life. This made the Efrafan captains snicker quietly at her brief humiliation, before a quick death stare from the scarred doe silenced their sniggers with a wave of fear.

"Bless my tail, visitors! Do my blurry old eyes deceive me? Good to lay eyes on another rabbit at last." Not long after, Captain Broom joined her to greet the enemies.

Hazel and Lily gasped fearfully when they saw the two old rabbits had come out of hiding to endanger themselves so carelessly and recklessly. "It's Captain Broom and Blossom! What are they doing?" he questioned frightfully, and Lily shrugged because she had no clue though she was equally concerned as he is.

Vervain approached the two elderly rabbits, staring suspiciously at them. "Identify yourselves!"

"Captain Broom, retired. And Blossom, my mate," the elderly buck introduced himself, and then added the last part of with sadness and grief. "Alas…we have been alone all these seasons since the Great Sickness here at Redstone."

Every rabbit present gasped in horror.

"The... the Great Sickness..." Vervain whispered, aware of how fatal this disease was.

"Stay away! Keep back!" Flyairth ordered timidly, being the most paranoid and fearful of this disease.

"Sad to see a whole warren go. Haven't spoken to a rabbit since then, other than my dear mate." Captain Broom took a step closer, explaining the lonely life he and his mate were forced to endure after the loss of loved ones. "Will you be staying then? There's lots of room now. Used to be a fine place, mind you. I could tell you stories, oh I could-"

"Plague warren! Pull back! RETREAT! PULL BACK!" Woundwort panicked, ordering his soldiers to lividly retreat back to the hilltop, leading everyone away from this diseased-infected warren.

The second the army had gone, Captain Broom and Blossom exchanged playful smirks. They had been faking their sick disillusioned minds to scare the enemies off, and it worked like a charm.

"Hmm, seems no one's got time for my stories." Captain Broom chuckled, watching those cowardly fools run lividly like mad hares.

"And Bluebell was right," Blossom added, studying the General's huge, gruesome, masculine appearance with a slight awe mixed with fear. "THAT is the biggest rabbit I've ever seen."

Safely at a distance away from the infected warren, Woundwort grew outraged. One explanation said it all - he had been stupidly deceived. "Cowslip lied to me! He knew this warren was diseased!"

"He did say he was a plotter and not a fighter," Vervain reminded him.

"He'll fight now, then he'll die. We're going after Cowslip!"

"You can go after him…but my Owsla and I are leaving! Prake, give the word," Flyairth scorned in sheer disgust and fear while Prake led the Thinial does away from Redstone. "I'm not going to risk my rabbits with catching the Great Sickness! You and your lot can do as you please, but stay away from me and my warren!"

Orchis, not having seen this side of Flyairth, smirked at this. "What about the joining of our two warrens to bring down Thlayli and his outsiders?"

"I will not risk my vengeance just to bring plague into both our warrens! We'll return in six round moons to discuss an alliance further! We have to clear ourselves of disease before it settles!" Flyairth lashed out before following after her Owsla.

Vervain was perplexed by the doe's behavior. "Unmoving towards our Owsla…calm in the face of you, General…and yet she squeals at the prospect of plague like a kit facing a cat. Hmmph! Some leader."

"Never mind her, Vervain. We have pressing matters with Cowslip." Woundwort told Vervain before addressing his Owsla. "You'll taste battle by dusk, my warriors!" He commanded, and headed into the forest down the path to where Cowslip's warren is, having been told of its location by the cult leader himself.

Once the coast was clear, Hazel and Lily left their hiding spot and hopped over to Captain Broom and Blossom, as both rabbits laughed at their victory. Kehaar came soon after, landing on a giant red stone. They had seen and heard everything, very impressed by the elder couple's play acting.

"That was brilliant, Captain Broom! You and Blossom bluffed two entire armies!" Hazel praised.

"I was Captain of Owsla, old boy." The old buck smiled cheekily.

"You really had us worried when we saw what you were doing," added Lily.

"No need to worry, dearie. Broom and I have done things like this long before any of you came in the world," giggled Blossom.

At the same time, Bigwig, Hannah, Fiver and Campion had arrived on the scene. They all looked surprised to see nobody got hurt. Bigwig had thrown his arms around Lily, relieved and glad to see her back. She returned the embrace before parting.

"Are you all right?" the lion buck implored.

"Where are the General and Flyairth?" Campion inquired with an equal tone of worry.

"I'm fine. We all are. Flyairth's run away with her tail between her legs," Lily reassured her mate by patting his paws. "And as for Woundwort…well, now he's Cowslip's problem."

Those words made a slight devilish grin spread across Bigwig's lips. "Lovely. Let's see how Woundwort fares against the shining wires."

"What wires? What are you on about?" Campion demanded, curiously suspicious.

"Snares." Fiver explained. "Cowslip's warren has snares all around it. He trades those caught in them in exchange for food and protection at the hand of Man."

Hannah burst into a fit of giggles, just imagining the sight of that tyrannical General caught in a snare and suffocating himself to death. "Woundwort may get in, but with luck…he won't come out."

Instead of being glad, a wave of panic crossed Campion's features. He may be betraying his chief, but he still displayed concern for him. "No! I've got to warn him!" The Owsla warrior left in a flash to stop his chief from walking right into a suicidal warren.

"Campion, are you mad?!" Bigwig tried to stop him, but he was too late.

"Stay here. I'll go after him." After telling them this, Hazel hurried after Campion in his attempt to stop him.


By the time Cowslip had gotten back to his warren, he felt an odd sense of someone watching him. He sniffed the air and his wicked smile broadened, for he knew who had come. General Woundwort were here, and most likely his army too. But Cowslip did not fret himself. With the Efrafans being here, the shining wires would take them and his warren would live a day longer. A day less for one means a day more for his people. Perhaps even longer if the entire army became snared.

The cult leader hopped inside a burrow, just as Red emerged from the flower garden. He found rabbit tracks taking him to the brambles where he carelessly went in, thinking either Cowslip or one of his cult members was in hiding. In that sudden instant, something snapped and Red's voice cried out in pain and agony. This alarmed the nearby Efrafan Owsla, fearing some elil may be present.

"What's happening?" demanded Woundwort.

No other sound from Red. He had succumbed to the strangulation of the shining wire. Unfortunately, nobody knew of this.

"I-I don't know, sir..." Vervain shuddered, trying not to go tharn. "M-Maybe it's haunted."

Orchis rolled his eyes at his brother's stupid belief in the supernatural. "Don't be an idiot! It's gotta be an ambush!"

Deciding to take matters into his own paws, Woundwort ventured forward to deal with Cowslip personally. Just as he was about to enter the shrubbery when he heard a familiar voice shouting.

"GENERAL, NO!" It was Campion, who tackled the General away from the bush. The massive rabbit glared at him in disbelief for such an act, even Campion was stunned himself for what he did. But he pulled back the bush to reveal the shining wire tied to the metal nail. "Shining wires... snares, sir! They're everywhere. This whole place is a deathtrap for Man. Cowslip probably knows about this."

Woundwort gasped in shocked when he saw the black copper wire gleaming dimly in the sunlight. "Retreat! Everyone back!" He ordered, and the entire party avoided the brambles at all costs.

All except for Red. His corpse was discovered by Sainfoin when he found him lying dead on a patch of earth with that snare looped round his neck. The Owsla stared in horror, then lowered their heads sadly.

"Funny how you turned up now, Campion?" Vervain glared suspiciously, interrogating him. "Where were you last night? How did you know where to find us and how did you know about the snares?"

"Well, Campion?" Woundwort questioned, demanding an explanation. "Let's hear it."

There was no excuse on Campion's part, as he remained quiet while looking at his chief with a desperate plea in his eyes.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Orchis accused. "Arrest him! I'll make him answer, General! One way or another!" he cackled that infamous cruel laugh of his, whilst the Owsla surrounded the poor brown buck.

Behind the brambles, Hazel's face paled at the fate of Captain Campion. He rushed back to his warren or else he would get caught.

From the burrow's entrance, Cowslip silently watched the Efrafans departing. On the inside, he fumed at how the General had managed to slip out of the shining wire's grasp. On the outside, it did not bother him much. There would always be another day for when Woundwort's time will come to be snared. "Come back soon, General. The shining wire is always happy to welcome you."


Once everyone was taken back to Redstone, Hazel's band dejectedly returned to Watership Down with a heavy heart - distressed over Campion's arrest when Hazel told them the news. The sun had begun to set, creating a golden bask of orange and yellow. Except dark clouds surrounded the glowing ball of light, signaling an oncoming storm. Outside the warren, Hazel and Primrose discussed the situation with each other.

"What's going to happen to Campion?" Primrose asked, worriedly.

"I don't know." Hazel had no plan whatsoever.

Recalling what Fiver said in his vision, Primrose quoted his words, "'A warning comes from the lone and the brave. The one who will save us is the one we can't save.' What if the Black Rabbit of Inlé is coming for Campion?"

"We... We'll find a way to save him," Hazel replied, with less confidence.

"No can stop the Black Rabbit, Hazel." Primrose knew such a task will be impossible, nobody can stop death from coming when that someone's time has come. "No one…"

Thunder and lightning exploded in sky above, like Mother Nature appeared to be warning them of a foreshadowing doom and destruction upon the warren.