Comet decided to stay with them, to protect Blue from any other attack.
There was rustling in the bushes and he expected wild rabbits, instead he saw what looked like valley rabbits.
“We can’t let you go, hare.” One growled. Comet was taken off guard as one suddenly lunged at him, aiming for his neck. He gasped and used his pendant to create a bright light followed by his high pitch squeal. They backed away, frustrated, trying to get close to him.
“Go away, I don’t want to fight you rebels. I’m protecting my friends.”
“One of your so called friends got one of our allies executed by the Magia.” Said the mysterious rabbit, glaring at Blue.
“Who are you?”
“I am Cricket, unofficial leader of the so called rebel group. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about us.”
“Actually, not really, all I know is that you hate how the Magia runs the colonies and honestly, I think I’m starting to agree with you.”
They looked at each other sceptically. “Really? Or is this just a hare trick?”
“I am starting to think they are not as wise or benevolent as they portray themselves to be.”
“Then you would be willing to join us then? In destroying them all and the leaders of the colonies.”
“Why the leaders of the colonies as well?”
“It’s obvious, without them, the Magia could never have gotten power in the valley. They need to pay for not stopping them.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to do that.” Said Comet, trying to get more distance from them.
“If you don’t want to destroy them, then you are still brainwashed.” He snarled.
Then he saw rabbits circling around his other side, they were approaching Blue and Bone.
To divert their attention, he bolted through the underbrush and the rebels gave chase. Comet kept going until he reached the main fray of the battle, where the rebels quickly found themselves outnumbered.
Cricket gave Comet one last furious look before dashing back into the bushes, heading into the fields. Comet didn’t think any of the fighting rabbits here had even made it to the thicket but he didn’t have time to worry about that.
He raced back through the bushes and roused Blue around, relieved to see he was still alive. He gathered what leaves and grasses he could see and tried his best to cover Blue’s injuries.
He had to get Blue out of here before the rebels or wild rabbits came again. Poor Bone would have to stay here but he covered his body with some leaves and sticks, to protect it from predators.
He remembered briefly seeing Mossy and Stones dead bodies as they were taken out of their cage. He was in a separate cage to them so he didn’t see what happened. They hadn’t been feeling that well that afternoon and in the morning, they were dead.
Seeing Bone now filled him with the same terrible cold emptiness he had felt then.
“Come on, Blue. It’s getting late, we have to go.” Said Comet quietly.
Blue nodded and allowed Comet to help support his weight as they made the long journey back down the valley.
When they got there, they found themselves joining a large crowd, made up of survivors and worried family members. SilverSkull was there, badly injured but was trying to take control of the situation and work out who was here and who was missing.
Once Blue was safely with the other survivors being treated by Ruby’s makeshift healing team, Comet’s sadness turned to anger. Janu and the Magia were nowhere to be seen.
Would they admit they had no regard for the lives of the Silver Colony rabbits, and viewed them all as potential traitors.
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He was almost glad he didn’t see them, if he had, he would have caused a lot of trouble by accusing them. He went to Orion’s, the only place that was quiet and calm right now.
He found Orion, he had a sympathetic knowing look in his eyes. They said nothing to each other and Comet tried lying down to sleep but his mind was full of terrifying imagery.
“I can’t sleep.” He sighed, coming to Orion.
“We could train, it might take your mind off things… I’m very sorry that you experienced such loss.”
“Bone was one of the rabbits who died… it was all the Magia’s fault. They wanted this to happen.”
“I know… and because of my mistakes and cowardice, the valley has suffered, you have a chance to fix that error and end the Magia’s control. If you create the Master-Medallion, every rabbit would have the power of fortune themselves.”
“You said they would need to be initiated.”
“Yes, by you, you’ve already been initiated.”
“By that gross plant stuff.”
“Yes but as a hare, you were able to use all the resources, rabbits from the valley will only be able to use the one from the colony they are tied to.” He explained.
That gave him some hope at least, but it was too late for the ones who had died. He wondered where their spirits were now.
“I feel like Bone died for nothing, the rebels are still out there and the wild rabbits came back. I don’t think the Magia will even apologise for what they’ve done. They don’t care.”
“You can make sure he didn’t die for nothing. I know you can change the valley for the better. Now, as I said before, we should start our training again.”
“But I failed the trial, the rebels are still there.” He said.
“You survived and more so, you defended Blue and helped him see his brother again before he died. You used your powers in difficult situations and in creative ways. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Comet wasn’t quiet sure if that was true but he accepted the compliment. “What are you going to teach me?”
“A little bit of everything.” He said.
“Woah, that’s a bit sudden.”
“We don’t have much time, after what happened this morning, I’m convinced the Magia will have no choice but to recreate the Master-Medallion and they could send you away at any moment. You need to be prepared.”
“Well I think we should start with the more offensive resources like iron and copper.”
“I think we should start with porcelain and gold.”
“Are they powerful?”
“Oh yes, just not in the way you’re thinking off. Porcelain especially, possesses the power to manipulate and see memories from anything.”
“Even living creatures?”
“Oh yes, it can and is an easily abused power. It's only weakness is diamond, it’s good to remember that.”
“I will.” Said Comet. He definitely didn’t want his memory read.
“The way to use porcelain is similar to Gold, the power of illusions and emotions. I would show you but I don’t have any gold here, Gold Colony hasn’t traded with Silver Colony for many years.” Orion explained. “Anyway, are you ready to dive into the past?”
Orion’s enthusiasm couldn’t help but make Comet feel a little better. “I guess so. But what if I can't do it?"
"You get to know the basics and then you can learn while creating the Master-Medallion," Assured Orion. He gave Comet a porcelain stone. “Now, focus on this key. Feel its form and energy. You need a strong will to be able to use porcelain.”
Comet closed his eyes, feeling the cool touch of the porcelain stone with one paw and the key with the other. He took a deep breath and reached out with his senses. The key began to glow faintly, and images flickered in Comet's mind… a human hand, the key falling from it and landing into a gutter.”
“I see something, it’s fuzzy though.” Comet said.
"Old memories are always fuzzy, now keep going.”
The memory shifted, and Comet saw the key being swept away, eventually into the river flowing through the valley where a blurry image of a rabbit appeared to find it on the riverbed and take it.
"I wonder if the owner misses the key.”
“Maybe he did, but then we gave it a new purpose.” Said Orion. “Now, I’d love to focus on just teaching you porcelain but, I think it’s time to move onto Iron, the power of heat and fire. In a way, copper and iron are used in a similar way.”
Comet wasn’t entirely sure how exactly they would use iron in this cave without hurting themselves until he saw Orion drag out a large terracotta pot, filled with dry plants.
“Inside, is an Iron stone. Copper and Iron are the only two resources that require you to have a pendant to use, otherwise the power will hurt you too.” He said, then added an Iron pendant to Orion’s necklace.
"Concentrate on the iron's energy, the raw power of heat and fire," Orion instructed. "Imagine the energy flowing from the metal into the kindling."
After a moment of hesitation, he willed the iron's power to ignite. A small spark leapt from the iron to the plants, and in an instant, they were ablaze, the fire illuminating the room.
"Excellent! Now, control it," said Orion, seeing the fire getting larger.
But as Comet tried to, the flames grew wilder, some managing to escape the dish. As Comet’s panic grew, the iron responded by making the fire bigger. It got dangerously close to the ceiling of the cave.
"Orion!" Comet shouted. Orion was already prepared, and smothered the flames with water then pressed his paw to his copper pendant. The fire completely ceased and steam rose.
“This is why you always have a copper stone next to an iron one, so that if iron gets out of control, you can use copper to redirect its energy.” He explained.
“I’m really sorry, I almost burnt down your cave.”
“It’s alright, I should have given you more time to focus and calm your mind, Iron feeds on your energy.” He explained.
They spent the rest of the afternoon training, Orion doing his best to stuff as much knowledge into Comet’s head as possible. As the sun began to set, Comet was given the assignment to meditate on what he’d learnt to today, instead, he fell into a deep sleep.
Orion was relieved to see he had found some peace.