AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you TheRanger101 for the review :) Campion sure doesn't have it easy...I'll try to keep him more in-character in future chapters though.

Chapter 57: Be Positive and Amazing.

"His fluffy tail and posteriror [sic] had already been sucked under by the mess he would drown in. Sidling up to him, Fungi closely watched his last moments. Just before his little wet nose and gasping mouth went under, he used his last breath to shriek, "Mother!"

-Titania, Finian

The smell was horrible, as the rotten body of Buckthorn attracted all nearby insects. A squirrel was carefully examining it, before running back to her two friends.

-"He's dead," she said sadly. "Been this way for most of the day, it looks like."

-"This is sad," the hedgehog said. "These rabbits clearly have been through a lot, and now one more of them has died."

-"Any idea how it happened, Crackers?" the second squirrel asked, wrapping her tail around the hedgehog.

-"It's really weird. If it was a predator, it would have eaten him, but the whole body is still there. Whoever killed him, didn't do so for food."

Not wanting to stay close to the corpse longer than necessary, the three friends retreated back to Rosie's den.

-"But if he wasn't killed for food, why was he killed?" Tumbler asked. "It's almost as if whoever is responsible did it...just because they could. Just for the sick fun of it."

-"It would take a really twisted mind to do something so horrible," Rosie said. "And how do we know they won't strike again?"

-"We should warn the other rabbits before it's too late!" Tumbler said.

-"Let's go then," Crackers replied. "Hopefully we won't find any more bodies underground."

Underground, there were no other bodies, everyone was still alive. Toadflax was pacing back and forth in front of all the other rabbits, who were neatly lined up.

-"So, Tindra, you openly admit to going above ground during the night," he said.

-"I told you, I was passing hraka. Go outside and see for yourself."

-"I did, but how do I know that the hraka is yours? That it's from last night?"

-"Use your nose, you idiot," Acorn mumbled. Unfortunately for him, Toadflax had heard the remark.

-"Of course I used my nose," he replied. "What made you think I didn't? Either way, it proves that Tindra was at the scene of the crime last night. If anything, this makes her look even more suspicious."

-"Look, do we even know for sure that one of us is responsible?" Flesca asked. "I'm a light sleeper, I would have heard if someone went above ground."

-"But you didn't hear me going above ground to pass hraka," Tindra pointed out.

-"Let's try something else," Speedwell suggested. "Whoever killed Buckthorn must have gotten blood on their claws."

-"And cleaned it off afterwards, obviously," Flesca said.

-"They could have removed most of it, but not all of it."

-"Except it rained a few days ago," Toadflax pointed out. "There are plenty of nearby puddles that the killer could have used to clean their paws afterwards more efficiently than with the tongue, removing even the slightest traces of blood. Now will you please stop wasting my time with your foolish ideas? I'm trying to lead the investigation here!"

-"I find it weird how you're the one leading the investigation," Acorn suddenly said. "Who decided to put you in charge? So far you've just been shouting random illogical accusations, and you won't let us express our own theories. For all we know, maybe YOU killed Buckthorn and now you're trying to frame someone else."

Everyone looked at Acorn, shocked at his sudden outburst. While nearly everyone agreed with what he had just said, none of them had been brave enough to stand up to the bully in charge. Toadflax, meanwhile, was visibly angry.

-"How dare you..."

It looked like he was about to strike Acorn, when suddenly...

-"Rabbits!"

Everyone turned their heads to look at the great burrow's entrance, where two squirrels and a hedgehog were standing.

-"Your friend was killed during the night," the hedgehog continued.

-"You might want to be careful, with a murderer on the loose," Tumbler added. "We don't want any more of you to die."

-"What are you doing here?" Toadflax said, as he hopped over to the creatures. "Only rabbits are allowed underground."

-"Since when? I never heard this rule before..."

-"We just wanted to warn..."

-"We're aware," Toadflax continued, "and in the middle of something important right now. So go away! Shoo! Out!"

-"Come, Rosie," Tumbler whispered, "let's go. If they won't listen, there's not much we can do."

As Rosie and Tumbler made their way back above ground, Crackers stared in anger at Toadflax, before slapping him across the face with her tail.

-"NOBODY TALKS TO MY FRIENDS LIKE THAT OKAY!?"

Toadflax rolled his eyes, and it looked like he was about to hop back to the other rabbits. At the last moment, however, he kicked the squirrel with his hind legs.

Crackers remained in the air for several moments before she crashed in the grass a short distance from the warren.

-"Ow."

-"What happened to you?" Rosie asked, as she helped the squirrel get up.

-"That big jerk kicked me when I told him what I truly thought. I know he said that only rabbits were allowed underground, but what kind of messed-up rule is that anyway?"

-"That really wasn't nice at all," Tumbler said. "The next time he comes back above ground, I'll make him apologize to you."

-"Thanks, but I don't want you getting hurt too."

-"I don't think all the rabbits are like the one who talked to us," Rosie said. "From what I saw, they're all afraid of him. And after what he did to you, Crackers, I can't say I blame them. We should help them overthrow him."

-"Might be easier said than done," Tumbler replied. "But if we can get to talk to the others while he's absent, we might have a chance."

The three creatures returned to Rosie's den, with Crackers dancing the whole way. However, her movements weren't as fluid as those she had demonstrated to Rosie and Tumbler the previous day.

-"That kick hurt my right-hind paw," she said. "There's supposed to be a contest tomorrow night, and there's no way I'll be able to perform all my moves in this state."

-"Could you perhaps alter your moves so you don't put too much strain on that paw?" Tumbler suggested.

-"You must rest the paw," Rosie added. "And maybe try some herbs to take the pain away."

-"It's worth looking into. Would you want to come with me tomorrow night, to watch me and the others perform?"

-"That would be snazz!" Tumbler said.

-"It sure would," Rosie said.

-"It's going to be great to have you two. I hope I won't disappoint you..."

-"Nonono you won't, you're a great dancer!"

Meanwhile underground, the interrogation continued.

-"Was that really necessary?" Tindra asked. "I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

-"Now where were we?" Toadflax said, clearly avoiding the doe's question. "Oh yes, the killer washed their claws in a puddle after they were done. There are several puddles around the warren, though, so we need to find out which one was used."

-"How do you intend to do that?" Flesca asked.

-"I'm going to need a volunteer to drink from all the puddles, and see if they can taste the blood in the water."

-"Of course he wouldn't do it himself," Tindra mumbled.

-"What does blood taste like anyway?" Acorn added.

-"And how will that help us figure out who is the murderer?" Speedwell said.

-"We check the nearby pawprints, to see who was near the puddle recently. No two rabbits have the same pawprints, so it should be easy to identify."

-"Except that by going near the puddle, we'll be adding more prints," Acorn pointed out. "Come on, admit it, you have no idea what you're doing."

As he made his way out of Darkhaven with the others, Blueberry stopped. Based on Woundwort's outburst earlier, the one-eyed rabbit appeared to be in a really nasty mood, and Blueberry would rather stay away. Besides, he still thought that the execution of Silverweed was an overly harsh punishment, and wanted nothing to do with it. Therefore, he simply lied down near the edge of the pit.

Suddenly, he was startled by a long, thin object that found itself wrapped around his abdomen, and he was flipped on his back.

-"Hey! What the..."

-"Got you..." Another rabbit approached Blueberry, and stared at him with a look of surprise on his face. "You're a bunny?"

-"Of course I'm a bunny! What did you think I was?"

-"Oops." The rabbit untangled Blueberry. As the kitten got up, he got a closer look at the stranger. He had mostly brown fur, but with black ears. He was wearing a necklace, and also had several twigs and other small objects attached to his hind legs.

-"I thought you were a bat, with all this fog," the stranger said.

-"No harm done." Blueberry cleaned his fur. "What's your name?"

-"My name's Acacia, and I'm from the desert! What's your name?"

-"I'm Blueberry. The desert? That's far away, what brings you here?"

-"I travel a lot, searching for villains so I can capture them and bring them to the proper authorities."

-"So you're a bounty hunter?"

-"You could call it that."

-"That's a pretty dangerous task. You're very brave to be doing this."

-"It is rather dangerous at times. But I have do it to be able to bring flayrah to my friend Nicole."

-"Oooh, romance! Is she the one who gave you that necklace?"

-"What? No! She's more like a sister to me than a girlfriend. And no, the necklace belongs to another friend of mine. He's been very busy recently, learning all about becoming a water-rabbit. I'm keeping it for him in his absence.

-"A water-rabbit? You mean a sailor, or a swimmer?"

-"He seemed sad the last time I saw him." Acacia lowered his head. "He's lonely. He really doesn't have many friends, and he's also been searching for a girlfriend."

-"More romance! Speaking of which, I met someone a while back..."

Acacia, however, appeared to no longer be paying attention; there was something further away that had caught his attention. He made a few cautious steps, before suddenly throwing the same long thin object he had used on Blueberry earlier. This time, it collided with a bat in the sky, bringing it down to the ground, tied up so that it couldn't escape.

-"NOW I got you!"

-"What do you have against that bat?" Blueberry asked.

-"It killed the parents of a mouse friend of mind. Why it didn't stick with insects, I don't know, but I intend to bring it to the appropriate authorities so they can deal with it."

-"The mouse police? Really?" Blueberry was clearly not convinced.

-"Not just mice, but also other small woodland creatures like rats and hedgehogs. Many species are working together to protect themselves."

-"Didn't know that."

-"Well, now that I captured the bat, I should probably go. Nice meeting you, Blueberry! By the way, are there any villains you know of, that you would want me to take care of?"

-"No, not that I can think of..."

-"All right then. See you later!"

With that, Acacia hopped away, dragging the bat behind him. The bat was clearly unhappy about this, and squeaked furiously.

Blueberry, meanwhile continued to stare at Acacia as he faded away into the fog. After he was gone, he suddenly remembered Vervain. Acacia had offered to take care of any "villains" he might be dealing with, but the bearded rabbit had temporarily escaped his mind.

"Oh well, I'll just have to take care of him myself if necessary..."