a special gift from Mother Nature."
Yet, not one of these gifts compare to that
which has been lent to them by Man.
At the time of our story, [F] the Firefly was only
young, and not yet able to make her tail glow brightly,
like the older Fireflies.
A mischievous Cockroach, found her in the throes of
childish jealousy, and offered his own stolen gift to
her, as a prank - the mighty Matchstick, fresh
from the carelessness of those taller than they.
[F]'s interest was, predictably, piqued, and the ensuing
accident left the Kingdom of Insects in ruin.
But King [C] was a forgiving ruler (the other child
notwithstanding; exiled the very next morning to
where not even the grass reached.) He told [F] that
she had been punished quite enough by circumstance,
all she would be responsible for was warning the
younger Insects against playing with deadly things
such as fire.
[F] knew she had escaped far more dire consequences,
so hastily she accepted.
As the days marched on, injuries healed, buildings
were rebuilt, and the kingdom was restored to its
former glory. Even [F] finally got to light up the night
with all the other Fireflies, just as she had always
dreamed. She finally felt important, like she was a
contributing part of their prosperity.
Clearly, King [C] saw her that way too; and invited
her to a very special royal meeting, just for her.
He spoke in his booming, yet gentle voice.
"Greetings, my dear [F]. I expect you have kept up
with teaching all the young larvae?
"Of course! You can count on me, I promise."
However, she had no idea just how much the king
would go on to count on her for. He went on to tell
her something very frightening: that the once-
peaceful Insects were now under threat of the
forces of the Kingdom of Animals.
The Birds, the Rodents, the Reptiles, all of them had
began to push their territory too close for comfort -
and as they were now, the Insects simply would be
unprepared for an attack. "It's quite unlikely, but..."
But what could [F] possibly do? While she had grown
since the incident that lead to her infamy, she was
still just a girl. The adults were surely equipped to
fight back if it came to it, right? The Bees had
their stingers, the Ants had their bites, but all poor
[F] had was a bright little light.
So why had she been called upon?
"[F], I bestow on you a great responsibility.
You understand the risk fire holds better than anyone,
don't you?"
Doesn't she?
King [C]'s kind stare bore a hole into her. "Should you
ever happen across a Matchbox again, please bring it to
my attention and my attention alone. It may sound
contrary to what us grown-ups have told you before, but
I urge that it stays between you and me."
The implications of the king's words filled [F] with shock.
"You aren't planning to use fire against the Kingdom of
Animals, are you? There's no defense against fire, it just
wouldn't be fair!
"Oh, no, of course not, young one."
He gave her a reassuring ruffle on the head as he clarified.
"Think of it like how you advise your peers, or how some
of us Insects wear colorful patterns to warn away
predators. If our invaders were to be informed of
what could happen, then they would certainly turn tail
before anyone got hurt.
In fact, everyone would be happy! Our kingdom would be
left alone, and they would learn to be cautious around
dangerous Human objects. If even a girl as smart as you
didn't know..."
Something about this still didn't sit right with [F], but she
was not old and wise like the king, and the reminder of her
own prior foolishness made her shy. So she nodded,
pinkie promised, and went off on her merry way.
It would be fine, right? What were the odds of another
Matchbox turning up, anyway?
just her luck.
[F] couldn't believe her eyes when, no more than a week
later, she spotted an orange light flickering on the
horizon. Fearing the worst, that the forest had caught
fire again, she recklessly snuck through the brush to find
out just what was afoot. Though it hadn't been what she
thought...
Before her was an altercation between King [C] himself,
and some manner of creature from the Animal Kingdom.
(A Shrew, she recalled.) And in the king's grasp was -
what else - a lit Match, yet precisely angled not to catch
anything.
"As long as you keep out of our grasses and skies, you
will never have to face the brunt of Humanity's sin."
King [C]'s voice struck a cold chord it never had before.
She could only watch the confrontation with
bated breath.
Thankfully, the Shrew appeared to understand the weight
of his words. "You drive a hard bargain, you know.
Though I question the integrity in threatening a
lowly scout vermin with such force!" It gave a shrill,
joyless laugh. "Don't worry, noble king. I've heard you
loud and CLEAR. I will return to my kingdom with your
terms... but don't be surprised if this ends differently
than you've planned."
As soon as the Shrew skittered off, King [C] blew out the
fire with a powerful beat of his wings. And [F]'s approach
would follow, unable to help but stumble out in
amazement. "Wow! You were right, it really worked!"
And nobody had to get hurt!
Funnily enough, she actually gave the old king a startle.
"Good heavens, [F], how long have you been out here?
That could have gotten very dangerous."
"I was only there for a minute, I swear!" It was not a lie,
however she still felt quite nervous. Thankfully,
King [C] was not angry. "I suppose it is a good thing you
have now seen for yourself. While we may appear to be
safe and sound now, I can't put faith in that fickle
Shrew's words. We may have to simply hope for the best."
While [F] had her fair share of questions (for starters,
where did he find the Match?) she wasn't sure how to
ask them. It wasn't worth the trouble of dwelling on
anyway. [F] was confident the Shrew learned his lesson
(whatever that was. He must have been sent to scope
out Insect territory for an invasion. It was the only
idea that made sense.)
After all, who with any sense would bet their chances
on a force like that?
Right?
Her answer came sooner than expected.
The very next morning, everyone heard the terrible news:
King [C] had been badly injured. When she came to visit,
he was all bandaged up - especially his arm, which would
take much longer to heal. He could not protect them.
But as the king's unofficial confident, this was not the end
of the story. "I knew the Kingdom of Animals was not to
be trusted! They've found the Matchbox on our grounds,
and they plan to torch our peaceful kingdom tomorrow!"
[F] fretted. "What are we to do? We don't stand a chance!
...Wait! I've got it! Let's make an evacuation plan!"
The king shook his head. "I'm afraid our enemy is ruthless.
They would surely follow us to the ends of the Earth if
it meant they could stamp us out." She didn't want to
believe it, but King [C]'s condition told all.
...
"Can you do something brave for me?"
"You are the only one who truly understands."
"We must fight fire with fire."
...
She does not remember the rationale which made her go
through with it. The self-delusions of a child, perhaps.
She barely even remembers the sight of the blaze, now,
only the repercussions. The woods were no longer a place
of peace, but a battleground she now frontlined. It had
been many years since of this back and forth.
Like her fire, [F] had grown, but the person she was
before had been snuffed out like a sad little spark.
She'd become a vessel for violence. By now, the secret had
spread to an ugly fact of life for the Insect Kingdom. Stay
hush about the fire. It was no longer the old days, where
knowing was half the battle. All took comfort in not
understanding how or why. And she preferred it that way.
So she could sleep in the sanctity of being alone, whenever
she embarked on excursions to Human lands to retrieve
their Forbidden Fruit.
At least, that was the routine she numbed to. Anything
that forced her to think about it further, she shoved from
her mind.
Too bad she couldn't very well hide from an external
reminder. [F] never expected to be greeted with any
familiar faces from the Animal Kingdom, much less a
certain Shrew she had assumed dead so far back.
"So this is where you make the magic happen, eh?"
He looked heavily worse for wear, though she couldn't tell
how much had directly been a result of her.
"Stay where you are. I am armed; you are not. No Matches
will fall into Animal hands.
Leave quietly and keep your secret, or never leave this
place at all."
Some fragment of her didn't want to do this.
"Kill me, then, if you have no qualms! I'm weak, it should be
no problem for someone like yourself. Then again. I'm
not so weak that I couldn't follow you this way, so who's
to say?"
"Are you trying to provoke me? Damned idiot."
"Can't a fool enjoy taking the piss before being taken out?
Either way, I would like to go out knowing I have
rattled you to the core. So, I ask: do you know why your
king REALLY started this war?"
She did not answer.
"We were starved and weak. Just as I am now! We never
encroached on your insects. Have you ever even stopped
to consider you weren't the only ones? I'd imagine you are
in the present day. Our forest can't handle more of this."
"Anyhow, he saw the opening and took it. It's that simple.
He knew he had firepower we didn't, and...
Hey, don't look so surprised! You've known the whole damn
time nobody else knew where to find Matches."
If it makes you so angry, why don't you go take
it up with him? Eh, your choice.
After all, it's no harm done to you, right?"
She did know the truth.
But she also knew it was too late.
Yet, the strange power rising in her from
this indignation...
In a blaze she couldn't recognize herself in, [F]
stormed all the way back to her kingdom of lies.
The one she called home.
And she faced [C] with all the fury she'd ignored.
She cared not for whatever justifications he came up with,
none of the kind words he tried using to placate her.
It was all in one antenna, out the other.
An odd rainbow light overtook her, something she
intuitively knew was the culmination of her rage.
The fire lighting the Match she held in her hand bent
to her will, lighting the miserable castle ablaze.
Fight fire with fire, as they say.
He looked her in the eyes, as everything burned
around him.
"You have ruined this, you know."
"It was always worth ruining."
She sees she's accidentally blocked off the way out.
It's a fitting end, if nothing else.
But she hears a voice call to her; one she's never
heard before.
"it doesnt have to end like this
folow me. i can help you!"
She looked forward through the flames, and saw a Cat.
Though one was an Animal and one was an Insect,
they held something in common that went beyond
flesh and blood.
A Mary Sue, like you.
And yet, a different light took Failsafe before
she could ever know freedom.
A paw that never reached,
parallel lines that
never crossed.
