Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ahh, the land of Bugaria. A peaceful, prosperous place where many adventurous bugs gather. Although, it wasn’t always this way…

Lured by the promises of riches and lush fields, a young Queen visited these lands many moons ago. Together with her daughters and fellow ant servants, she established Bugaria’s proud first settlement. 

Her people were happy, the Ant Kingdom flourished… And yet, the Queen’s dream had still not been fulfilled. For she had heard of an ancient people, who safeguarded a treasure of unbelievable power. It was none other than…

The Everlasting Primordia! A magical mushroom which would grant unending youth and strength to any who ate even one of its spores! 

She searched, and searched… and searched… Alas, she never found it.

She entrusted her dream to the princess, before falling into a hard-earned sleep. Determined to succeed where her mother did not, the new Queen rallied the people together under her cause. Opening the doors of the kingdom to bugs of all shapes and kinds, she attracted ambitious and skilled adventurers! 

Her decree was loud and clear: “Find me the Everlasting Primordia, and you shall know wealth like no other bug ever has!”

With this, the Explorer’s Association was founded, with its many members searching across the kingdom for clues and treasure. Even though, to this day, the primordia has not been found. But every bug dreams of one day claiming it for themselves…

---

"Or at least, those are the stories I was told in my home land," said a golden beetle with a large club strapped to his back, interrupting his own monologue. "Although the trip here was... pretty tough, the tales of your people helped keep my spirits up!" 

"Rest assured, Bit," replied a much taller cricket, leaning on his own thin wooden sword, "they aren't just legends, but real history. This Explorer's Association, and all the explorers who risk their lives for glory, are proof of that."

“Then, Sir Ast.. Sir, uh- Asto… How is your name pronounced again?” Bit asked.

The cricket stared at him for a second. “Astotheles.”

“Ah,” continued Bit, “Then, Sir Asto-thee-lees, would you consider my earlier offer?”

Astotheles decided to ignore the continued butchering of his name. “Bit, I respect your passion, but I take missions of the highest danger. An unproven warrior is not fit to accompany my team.” 

"Unproven?!" exclaimed Bit, "Asto- Asto-the-les, I've bested many trials in the West!" 

"Or so you say. Yes, your knowledge of our culture and your passion for exploring are true, Bit, but I would ask you not to press the issue. This is not the place to cause a scene."

Before Bit could say anything else, he was interrupted by a yell from the other side of the building. "Excuse me? Say that again, to my face!" 

It had come from a bee wearing a blue cap and quiver and holding a bow, who was yelling at an unfazed mosquito in more professional clothing.

"As I said," the mosquito sighed, "we can't just let a bee sign up. Much less if you want to explore Peacock Island, place's only accessible to ants."

"What does being a bee have to do with it? You're not even an ant yourself!"

"S'just what the association's rules say. Nothing I can do about that, at least legally."

Astotheles, who had been listening to them, sighed. "So much for not causing a scene. Stay here, Bit, it is my duty to investigate."

Bit did not listen to the cricket's instruction, instead following him over to where the argument was taking place. 

"Delilah, bee, lower your voices," Astotheles commanded as he arrived. "What is the matter?"

"Am I seriously not allowed to explore, just because of what hive I came from?" yelled the bee in the blue cap.

"Shouting isn't gonna change the rules, hun," the mosquito said nonchalantly.

"This shouldn't be about my species, it should be about my skill! My name is Jay, and the hive has nothing to do with me anymore!" the capped bee declared, finally introducing herself. 

"An explorer bee?" Bit piped up.

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?" replied Jay, getting even more defensive. "Are you saying bees can't explore too? You don't even look like you're from here." 

Bit didn't have a good reply to that. He was, in fact, not from here, and he wasn't entirely sure why Jay being a bee was such a big deal. 

"Silence, please," Astotheles interrupted. "This guild of ours is no place for petty squabbles." 

Delilah sighed again. "Look, I can't give out permits freely. Especially if you don't have a partner. Teams should be a duo of explorers, y'know?" 

Jay waved at Astotheles. "This guy over here doesn't even have a partner!" 

"I am the most seasoned warrior here," Astotheles answered plainly. "I have no need for a partner." 

"That's not fair!" Jay said, her voice continuing to rise in volume.

Bit had an idea. "Hey, Jay?"

"What do you want now?" she hissed. 

"Why don't we partner up?" he offered. "We both want a permit and we don't have anyone else."

"What, do I look that desperate?" Jay sneered. "I don't even know you."

Bit decided not to comment that she did look that desperate. "I've got a promise to keep, and I can't do that if I can't explore. How bad could it be?"

Jay finally paused to think for a second. "Well... I guess it can't be as bad as staying here with these bugs. Yeah, sure, you have a deal."

Delilah snorted. "You two are crazy. You won't last a second on Peacock Island."

"How 'bout we prove you wrong?" Bit turned to her with a smug smile.

"No," Astotheles interjected. "You both seem to be mere novices ruled by your emotions. I have no doubt that if you left today you wouldn't come back."

"Sir Astotheles," said Bit, finally pronouncing it right, "although you're probably stronger than me, I still say you shouldn't underestimate me. I went through... a lot getting here in the first place." He scratched at the side of his head as he said this, drawing attention to the fact that one of his short red horns was broken, and the shell around it was discolored. 

"Yeah," Jay added, "you don't know what I went through either."

"Hmm. Very well," Astotheles replied, "I'll test you. See how strong you are, really."

"Test us?" Jay suddenly sounded nervous. "Is... that your job?"

Astotheles drew his sword at her challenge. "The Ant Queen herself has knighted me as her Royal Blade. It is my job to test any new recruits."

"Not this again," Delilah groaned. 

Bit's eyes lit up at the thought of battle, though he noticed that Jay looked cowed by this, like she hadn't actually thought about how much authority Astotheles had before now. She seemed to be slightly regretting her words, but Bit didn't really care. He was already drawing his club from its place on his back. "I accept your challenge! Jay, get ready!"

Jay shook off the regret and began to pull the bow she was carrying into position. "I'm ready, don't try to get in my way!"

The three bugs got into dueling position, Jay and Bit against one wall and Astotheles against the other. 

"Watch this," Jay said with shaky confidence as she notched a practice arrow with a dull tip. Despite her wavering voice, she managed to fire it straight, but Astotheles effortlessly deflected it with his own sword. His face betrayed nothing of what he was thinking. 

Now it was Bit's turn to demonstrate his abilities. He drew his club back and brought it down on Astotheles' guarding arm, who again did not show whether it even hurt or not. 

"See? We're doing great!" Bit exclaimed.

"Don't get careless, it's his turn next," Jay said to her partner.

Astotheles swung his sword at Jay, who brought her arms up in front of her to block the attack. Even blocking, she winced, and said "Feels like the Royal Blade here is trying to kill us already."

"Hmph. If you can't handle that much, you should surrender," replied Astotheles. "Go home to your hive and guard your machines." 

If Jay wasn't already angry before, she definitely was now. "Urgh. No more messing around."

"Pay him back, tenfold!" Bit yelled out excitedly. Jay smiled at that. 

"I've got a trick for that," she said, and pulled out two practice arrows from her quiver. She set them together, but fired in a way that sent one after the other. Astotheles still blocked the first one, but the second hit his cloak below his arm. A hint of being impressed showed on his face.

Bit pulled a crunchy leaf out of a pocket on the strap for his club and offered it to Jay. She took and ate it, getting some strength back in her arms. 

Astotheles struck at Jay again, and she blocked faster this time. "That didn't even hurt that time," she said, now grinning with exhilaration. 

Now it was the pair's turn again, but instead of attacking, Bit made a taunting motion with his claws. "Hey, you're only picking on her. Why don't you ever come at me?" he mocked. 

Astotheles narrowed his eyes, and swung his blade at Bit this time. He was slower at blocking than Jay was, but he still managed it. 

"Yeah, you're pretty strong, actually," Bit grit his mandibles together, rubbing his shoulder where the blade had hit him. 

Astotheles, seemingly satisfied, placed his sword back in its sheath at his side. "You pass," he said after a moment. 

Bit and Jay both stood silent for a second, stunned, before exclaiming "What?!" in unison. 

"You put up a good fight," Astotheles continued, "and I could feel your spirit in your attacks. You deserve this explorer permit. Delilah, you can give to them."

Delilah sighed and pulled out a blank yellow card in the shape of a leaf. "I know I already said no, but Astotheles is  the man in charge, so..." she mumbled as she wrote Jay and Bit's names on it. "Here you go," she said as she held it out for them to take. 

Bit grinned wide as he grabbed the permit. "I did it! Peacock Island, here we come!"

"No, not Peacock Island," Astotheles interrupted. 

"...What?" Jay and Bit said in unison again. 

"New explorers are still forbidden from that place. You'll have to take a mission somewhere else."

"Are you kidding?" Bit yelled indignantly. "After all we just did to show you our strength!" Jay winced a little at his continued arguing with the person who had just said that they could explore, but she said nothing. 

"I am not making an exception for you," Astotheles said finally. "I have my own mission to embark on, and I will not stay to argue any longer." With these last words he turned and left the building.

"Seriously?" Bit groaned again.

Jay was also irritated by this, but the adrenaline was wearing off and now she was tired from all of the arguing. "We'll start somewhere else, then."

"Well..." Delilah said, drawing out the word. The pair turned to look at her. 

"I'm definitely not supposed to tell you where the boats the Association keeps for expeditions on Metal Lake are, so I won't let you know that they're in their own little building right by the pier out to the east. You're not supposed to know that the place isn't even locked, either." 

Bit and Jay and looked at each other, then back at Delilah, and then at each other again. Delilah simply gave a little smirk and walked away to her desk.

"Well," Bit said, "I guess we're not going to listen to what she just told us." 

Chapter Text

"We should at least talk to some people first," Jay suggested, "so we look less suspicious."

"Alright," Bit agreed. "Who looks the most important around here?"

There were four bugs in the building who had been graciously ignoring Jay's outburst and the subsequent fight. Two termites in identical armor sat at a tree stump table together, and up a short flight of stairs was a brooding moth and a large orange beetle.

"Maybe we should have a lower-stakes conversation first," Jay sighed. "Like... those two." She subtly pointed at the termites.

The bee and beetle strolled over to the two termites. "So... you two...," Bit mumbled, awkwardly tapping his mandibles in an attempt to look casual. "You hear about... missions?" The one who had larger mandibles and a blue bandana turned around first.

"Oh, hey! We heard all that over there, so you're new recruits?" he asked.

Before Jay could answer, the other termite, the one wearing a green bandana, answered first. "You sure passed Astotheles' test quick! Usually the fight lasts a lot longer."

"He does that to everyone?" Bit asked.

"Yeah, this happens just about every week," the green-wearing termite replied. "Not everyone beats him! He's so strong..." He sighed slightly as he trailed off.

"Uh, alright," Jay said, now feeling slightly uncomfortable. "What do you all do when you're not, you know, exploring? Also, what are your names?"

"Oh yeah! I'm Cross, and this is Poi," the blue-wearing termite explained, gesturing to the other. "We still have our everyday business. Exploring's a big part of our life, but it's not the whole thing. We don't have a mission right now so we're just hanging out."

"If you're looking to start a mission, talk to Stratos up there," Poi added. He pointed at the orange beetle up the stairs.

"Okay, good talk, we're really busy, let's get going now," Jay said quickly. Even though she had suggested polite conversation, she still felt uncomfortable at these strange and friendly bugs, especially after they had just heard her arguing with their superior. Was it normal to challenge authority here? The idea seemed so... foreign.

As Jay and Bit got to the top of the stairs, the moth that was standing near Stratos looked up to glare at them. She didn't look threatening at all, short and with fluffy white fur, but she radiated unfriendliness. Jay was much more used to this, and the sight of the moth almost relaxed her. She wasn't here to talk to the moth, though.

"Excuse me, uh... Stratos, that's your name, yeah?" Bit asked the taller beetle.

"Yep. That's my name, alright," he replied. "You got a question?"

"Well, uh, the termites down there just said Jay and I should talk to you for an idea of where to go," said Bit.

"Well, I don't have any missions lined up for new recruits," Stratos answered, "but I do have something else for you." He reached under his desk and pulled out a small, red trinket. "If you ever feel like exploring is too easy for you, put this medal on. It'll make your journey more challenging, but you'll get better rewards."

"Sounds like a deal!" Bit exclaimed. "More challenging just means more fun, and extra treasure is a nice bonus."

"I don't think we should make this harder for ourselves," Jay started, but Bit was already fastening the medal to his club strap. Jay sighed and mumbled a thank-you to Stratos before turning away.

Just then, the nearby moth spoke up. "Too weak for a little extra challenge?"

Jay swiveled around to glare at her. "It's not about being weak. I just think Bit's being too eager to jump into more danger than necessary."

"What? It's not like we're not strong enough to handle it," Bit interjected. "I'm strong enough, at least."

Jay turned around again to glare at him. The moth covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. "Wow. You two are gonna make a great team," she taunted.

"I don't have time to keep arguing with you," Jay groaned. She turned around and started down the stairs. Bit blinked and looked over at the moth, who was now smiling smugly, clearly enjoying how quickly she'd gotten under Jay's skin. Whatever, it wasn't his job to stick up for her when she got offended. He left to follow the bee down the stairs and out the door.

As the pair stepped out of the Association building, among all the chaos of ant workers clearing away rocks and frustrated merchant caravans they could see a pair of bugs, a mosquito and a helmeted ladybug, standing next to a large yellow crystal. They watched as the ladybug struck the crystal with a horn on his helmet. It made a chiming noise and glowed a bit brighter for a moment.

"What are you hitting that crystal for?" Jay asked. "Are you trying to break it?"

"You must be new around here," the mosquito replied with a slight hiss to his voice. Jay was slightly taken aback by his tone, but the ladybug set his hand on the mosquito's shoulder before he could say anything else.

"Don't mind Shades, he doesn't mean any harm," the ladybug assured. "We call these save crystals around here. They record their surroundings when you hit 'em."

"And," Shades added, "the yellow ones, they heal your wounds."

"All that for hitting a rock?" Bit said incredulously. "I'm not buying it."

"Just watch, my skeptical friend," Shades said in the same hissing tone. He struck the crystal with a dagger as the ladybug had done, and now that Bit and Jay were in range of the crystal's glow, both did feel as if they had regained some lost energy.

"Huh. I guess you're right about the healing," Bit said, awkwardly scratching one of his horns.

"If I could give you one piece of advice," the ladybug continued, "Hit these whenever you can. Always useful to leave a record of your travels."

"Alright," Jay replied. "There's no harm in it, I guess. By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, I never introduced myself," said the ladybug. "My mistake. The name's Doppel. Wish you luck with wherever your mission's taking you."

"Thanks!" Bit chimed in. "We'll get going now." He and Jay turned around and began to walk away before Doppel could ask where exactly they were headed.

---

The further the two ventured into the outskirts, the less chaotic it felt - without all of the ant workers and other explorers around, the region was fairly quiet. Once they were far enough to certainly be out of earshot, Bit began to mutter to himself "Now, which way is to the pier?"

"There's a signpost right here," Jay pointed out, and Bit moved over to read it.

"It says that the pier on Metal Lake is to the east," Bit read, and then looked to the west.

Jay quirked an eyebrow at him. "The other way," she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Right. I knew that. I just wanted to make sure your sense of direction was working," Bit grumbled. Jay ignored him and started east.

It wasn't long before the pair of bugs came upon a small creature that resembled a walking mushroom on a path.

"What is that?" Bit asked. "Never seen a mushroom with feet before."

"It's just a mushling," Jay answered. "You're really never heard of one before? They're very common in this region." As she spoke, she reached into a pocket on her quiver that contained a small sketchpad.

"Nope, never heard of- what are you doing?" Bit asked again as Jay began to draw the creature in the sketchpad.

"I'm illustrating it," Jay explained. "It'll be easier to identify enemies on the road if I record what they look like."

Bit chuckled a little. "I can just remember what they look like once I've beat them up!" He drew his club from its strap and charged at the mushling before Jay could protest.

The creature startled and tried to run away when Bit struck it down. It wobbled its way upright and then attempted to charge at his leg, which Bit returned by simply kicking it. The mushling was now knocked out completely and spat out a berry that it had evidently been holding in its mouth.

“Sweet! Cash prize!” Bit exclaimed as he picked up the berry. “Do you have a pouch for these?” he asked, turning towards Jay.

Jay sighed. “I do have a berry pouch, but that wasn’t necessary. I wasn’t even done drawing it.”

“Hey, you’ll never get stronger if you never keep your skills sharp! I don’t want to be out of practice when we reach the stronger monsters,” Bit argued.

“You should practice your patience first,” Jay grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, if they're so common you can just find another to draw," Bit said with a dismissive hand wave. Jay was already starting to regret teaming up with him.

The rest of the walk to the pier was rather uneventful. Mushlings were the only thing the pair encountered on the entire walk. Jay did eventually finish a sketch, although it was referenced from several mushlings that Bit had squashed before she could draw the entire thing. She didn't bother arguing with him about it anymore, too worn out from arguing with everyone at the Association.

Eventually, the two bugs reached the shore of Metal Lake. They skirted around the actual pier that was populated by many bugs who might ask questions, and had to stumble through some tall grass before they found a structure with a large door facing the water. Sure enough, it was full of boats just big enough to comfortably fit two bugs and some traveling supplies.

"Alright, so we just... take one and drive it," said Bit, grabbing onto a boat and trying to drag it out the door.

"Do you know how to drive a boat?" Jay asked skeptically as she reluctantly helped him to push it.

"Either I'm going to learn or you're going to," Bit replied, shrugging as the boat began to touch the water.

Jay did not feel reassured by this at all, but she hadn't come this far to turn back now. She climbed into the boat, keeping her quiver on her back, while Bit sat down behind her and used his club to push the boat off the shore.

Chapter Text

For someone who had never sailed before, Bit was surprisingly good at rowing the boat with his club. That, and the motion of the boat on the water itself, helped soothe Jay's nerves a little. 

The waters were calm today, and no monsters came near the boat, although some outlines that might have been water striders could be seen in the distance. Metal Lake was full of metal debris, the origin of its name, but there was no immediate danger of anything hitting the boat and causing substantial damage to it. 

It wasn't long before the pair in the boat noticed a small island, much smaller than the one they were sailing to. It had nothing but a little hut and some oddly shaped plants on it. Jay squinted to see further and noticed that there was another bug there, too.

"Should we investigate that?" she asked, turning around to Bit. He hadn't noticed the small island before, but he nodded and replied "Probably should."

He steered the boat over to the isle, and as they got closer both could see that the bug on the island was a very tall fly, puzzling over some rocks around his hut. He glanced up as the pair on the boat approached and waved to them.

"Hello, sailors! Could you spare a moment to help me?" the fly called out.

Jay looked over at Bit and saw he was not eager to take any sort of detour.

"There's no harm in this one stop," she reasoned. "Just steer the boat over to him." Bit made the closest thing to a frown that a beetle's face possibly could, but he listened and began to push the boat towards the island. As the vessel touched the shore, the problem became more apparent: a pile of rocks was blocking the entrance to a small structure that was behind the main hut.

"Ah, good sailors! My name is Fry. Can you see my trouble?" the fly asked. "Very late, waves have been coming from that distant island. Peacock Island, yes? Do you know about there?" Jay and Bit only had time to look at each other awkwardly before he continued. "It doesn't matter. What matters is those waves have washed these troublesome rocks onto my land! Now the door to my shed is blocked and I cannot get in! Can you help me to move them?" 

"Sure thing!" Bit cheered. Before Fry could say anything else, he swung his club at a rock on top of the pile and batted it clear into the water. 

"Wonderful!" Fry exclaimed. "I would be much grateful if you could move all the rest."

Bit's annoyance at the detour went away completely at the opportunity to whack things with his club. He made a game out of seeing how far the rocks would fly into the water when he hit them, yelling out a score each time. Jay's own skills had no use in removing stones, so there was nothing she could do other than lean against the wall of the hut and tiredly watch Bit and his play.

"Wonderful!" Fry exclaimed again after the last rock was gone. "Thank you very much, kind sailor! You may be on your merry way now, but take these for your trouble." He ducked into the shed for a moment, and emerged with two red berries in his hands. He handed them to Bit, who gave an eager you're-welcome as he stuffed them into his pocket. 

Jay was already back in the boat as Bit strolled down to it. She waved at Fry but said nothing as Bit pushed off the shore and began steering towards Peacock Island again. 

"You're quiet now," Bit observed as he rowed. 

Jay didn't really think about whether she should speak before she did. "I feel like you're not taking this mission seriously."

"What?" Bit sounded surprised, and stopped rowing to turn around and face the bee. "I'm taking this very seriously!"

"You were just hitting things with your club and acting like it's a game," Jay protested.

"What's wrong with having a little fun?" Bit asked, sounding strangely sincere. "I'm not hurting anyone."

"You're not yet, but..." Jay struggled for words for a moment. "You're also making the mission harder, with that medal you're wearing, and you kept brushing me off when I told you to slow down. You're not taking me seriously."

"I'm just trying to be an active explorer," Bit argued. "We'll never find the artifact if you try to stop me from doing anything."

"The only thing I'm trying to stop you from is getting us killed!"

"I'm not going to get us killed! I don't know how much experience you have with fighting, since you won't even attack anything, but I have plenty of it. We're going to be fine." With that, Bit turned away from Jay and continued rowing. 

She hugged her knees and resolved to watch the water in silence for the rest of the ride.

---

"Looks like we're here," Bit announced as the boat finally touched down on the shores of Peacock Island. The sun had started to set shortly before they landed and it was going to be totally dark soon. In the fading light, the pair of bugs could see the outline of the tall mountain in the center of the island, and the waterfall cascading from its peak. 

"Are we going to stop and rest for the night?" Jay asked, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Only if you want to," Bit replied. "I'm ready to explore this mountain already!" He climbed out of the boat and began to tie it down to the closest of the scraggly bushes dotting the beach. 

"I don't want to sleep out in the open," Jay said with a touch of nervousness. "We should at least find something to go over our heads." 

"Fine by me," Bit shrugged. 

The two began to pace the length of the beach, but the other side of the island appeared to be blocked off by large walls of rock on both sides of the waterfall. It might have been possible to climb over to get to the other side, but neither of them wanted to do that when they were already tired from the trip there. Bit wouldn't admit that, but it was more obvious than he liked it to be that he was exhausted from rowing all day. 

"Maybe we should just take turns watching for monsters," Jay suggested. There probably weren't monsters on the outside of the mountain, but she preferred this to having both of them vulnerable to even a hypothetical attack. She yawned and sat down, leaning against a rock. Before Bit could say anything, she had already fallen asleep, leaving him to take the first watch.

Bit sighed, sat down, and looked around. Maybe there was something he could occupy himself with until it was his turn to sleep. Maybe he could...

Bit fell asleep.

---

The pair were awoken by a violent rumbling beneath their feet. Jay’s eyes snapped open, and she tried to stand up, but before she could regain her footing Bit tried to steady himself by grabbing onto her arm. This brought both of them crashing down to the sand, Jay rubbing her arm and Bit rubbing his head.

The tremor stopped quickly. Both bugs were thoroughly awake now, despite how fast they had woken up. Jay looked up just in time to see the waves that the quaking had stirred, but not fast enough to do anything about the wave that crashed down right where their boat was.

“No, no no no no-” she started, climbing back to her feet, but as the wave receded she could plainly see that it had dislodged the bush the boat was tied to and was now dragging both away and out into the water.

Jay couldn’t find any words to articulate her distress. The team’s only way to leave the island was gone. Bit had now stood up and was staring in disbelief at the spot where the boat had been. Neither of them said anything for a long moment. 

After a long pause, Bit spoke up. 

“I guess the only thing left to do is start exploring already,” he said slowly, not wanting to make Jay any more upset than she clearly already was.

Jay took another long moment to reply. “You’re right,” she finally answered. “Let’s get going.”

“There might be something behind the waterfall,” Bit offered.

“What makes you think that?” Jay said as she turned toward the cascade.

"Just call it a hunch,” Bit replied. “I know a thing or two about finding secrets in places like that.”

Jay was skeptical, but she saw no other options. She shuffled over the mountain and tried to look through the water, but it was falling so hard it appeared an opaque white instead of a clear flow.

“I don’t see anythi-” Jay was interrupted by Bit shoving the end of his club into the waterfall, causing a short gap to be visible through the water. The entrance to what appeared to be a cave could now be clearly seen.

“Told you I knew a thing or two about finding secrets!” Bit said cheerfully as he started to put his feet down in the river. He slid into the water and found himself completely up to his neck. “Oh. It’s deeper than I thought it would be.”

“Maybe you’re just short,” Jay commented without any hint of humor. 

Bit scowled at her. “Why don’t you jump in?” Jay climbed down after him, and still more of her body was above the water line. Bit grumbled at this.

The two covered their heads as they waded under the waterfall. The now soaked pair climbed up into the entrance of the cave they had discovered and found a surprisingly green scene before them, contrasting the empty beach they had just been standing on. Vines and leaves crowded the walls and floor, making it hard to traverse the cave without tripping. Fortunately, it appeared to be a straight walk through, with no forks in the path.

It wasn’t long until the team reached what appeared to be a dead end. The vines had grown thinner, showing that they had reached the wall at the end of the tunnel. The only thing on the wall besides the greenery was a piece of wood with a message written on it. The two bugs stepped forward and read:

"Leave this place, for beyond this point lies great danger. We have already lost one of our own to this wretched island."

“Yikes,” Bit muttered. “Sorry, whoever wrote this, but we can’t turn back now even if we wanted to. We gotta keep going and find the artifact, so nobody else will get stuck here.” He added in an even lower voice, “I will do this for them.”

Jay frowned. “That means there’s a way forward, even if we can’t see it yet,” she noted, and began to look around the cluttered cave floor. “Oh, look at this.”

She pointed at the floor, which she had just noticed had a stone plate sunken into it and two stone buttons on either side. “Maybe if we press the buttons, the plate will open up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bit replied. He moved over to stand on one of the buttons as Jay stood on the other. Nothing seemed to happen for a long moment.

“Hm. That didn’t work-” Jay started. She was interrupted by another tremor shaking the cave. Bit yelled out to duck and covered his head, which Jay quickly followed, but nothing fell except a single mushroom from the ceiling.

Bit lifted his head and stared at the mushroom. “That’s weird. Where did that come from?” He and Jay both stepped on the stone plate to examine it, but before either could make any observation, the stone plate opened up beneath their feet like a trapdoor and they both fell deeper into the cavern.

Chapter Text

Jay coughed out the dust that the fall had kicked up and dragged herself to her feet. Bit lay on the ground groaning for a moment longer before finally standing up. 

"Urrgggh," Bit continued to groan as he regained his footing. "I think my shell is broken."

Jay looked over his elytra for a second. "You're fine," she said at last. "At least the plants on the floor dulled the impact. It does still hurt, though."

"I guess we found a way to go," Bit grumbled. He began to look around the cavern they'd fallen into, which was much more spacious than the tunnel leading here, and almost immediately noticed a large stone door behind them. "Oh. There's a door. We're going in there, I guess."

"Is there a way to open it?" Jay asked. 

"I don't know about that," Bit admitted. There was no visible handle anywhere on the door, but there was a small pedestal next to it with a hole on top. "Maybe we put something in this hole and it works like a key?"

"We'll have to find the key first," Jay pointed out. "Let's look in the other direction."

The other direction was shrouded in vines, but they were easily pushed aside. After just a few steps, however, Jay and Bit found something even more puzzling than the stone door: laying on the ground was... what looked like another bug. A moth. She was wrapped heavily in bandages that made it difficult to tell anything else about her, but she didn't appear to be moving. 

"Uh..." Bit started, staring down at the unmoving figure. "Are you okay?" he softly asked, not really expecting an answer. 

"I don't think she's alive, Bit," whispered Jay. This sobering find shook her greatly, but she tried her best to remain composed. "This is probably a fallen explorer. Let's have a moment of silence."

As the two stood quietly, their silence was interrupted by the sound of... snoring?

It was. The moth on the ground had begun to snore while the other two grieved for her.

"She's alive?!" Bit yelled out. 

"Wait- but that- how is that possible?" Jay asked, bewildered. "Oh no. We need to get her out if there's a way to save her."

"I think I can carry her," Bit offered. He attempted to lift the bandaged moth onto his shoulders and stumbled under her weight. "Oof, she's heavier than she looks. Is she full of rocks or something?"

"This isn't the time to joke around," Jay argued. Before Bit could reply, the pair was interrupted by another surprise - the sound of an animal roar coming from deeper in the cave. 

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it," Bit groaned. "I hope you're finally gonna use those arrows, I can't carry someone and fight at the same time."

There was no time to argue about who would fight. Just as Jay readied her bow, the beast that made the noise stepped into view: a spider, larger than all of them, with fearsome red eyes and the pattern of a monstrous face on its back. 

Jay glanced over at Bit, who had adjusted to carrying both the moth and his club, and spoke quickly. "We have no chance of beating this thing. I'll stun it and you run." Bit nodded quickly as the spider drew near. He wanted to protest that he could beat it if his hands were free, but even he knew this wasn't the time.

Just as it drew its front legs back to lunge at them, Jay let an arrow loose that hit the monster directly in one of its eyes. It roared in pain and began to bat its legs at its face, and Bit took off sprinting past it and further into the cave. Jay fired another arrow at the spider, which hit a joint in one of its legs, enraging it even more. She dashed past the beast and followed Bit down the tunnel.

The team of bugs passed a nest of cobwebs and a stretch of trampled foliage, and came across a spot where the tunnel greatly narrowed. They quickly ducked into the tighter part of the cave, and Bit set the bandaged moth down on the floor, knowing this crevice was too small for the spider to squeeze into. 

They only had a moment to breathe before the spider tried to shove its head into the hole they had entered through, but now that Bit’s hands were free he took his club and smacked it over the monster’s head. That was enough to convince it that this prey was not worth the effort, and it gave another low roar before drawing back toward its nest.

Bit sat down and took a deep breath. Now that the immediate danger was gone, he looked pleased at the excited chase. “I’ve been waiting for some action like that!” he cheered, and Jay frowned at him.

“I don’t understand how you think that was fun,” she groaned. “But it doesn’t matter. We should make sure this moth is okay.”

As if on cue, the bandaged moth suddenly coughed and began to stir. Jay and Bit looked at each other, wondering if they should help her up, when she began to stand on her own. Her eyes opened, showing that they were large and clouded and appeared to glow slightly in the dark of the cave. She looked up at her rescuers and froze, before pulling down the bandages around her mouth and attempting to speak. 

"...Mjaj? Ajeukx, yrdiuf. ...Ghsiaoenbx?" was all that came out of her mouth. Jay and Bit shared a surprised look, and Bit cleared his throat.

"Um... hello? Are you alright? You sound like I shook you too hard," he said in the softest tone he could manage. 

The moth stared at him for a second before making the same strange noises. Jay decided to try talking this time.

"Do you understand us? Do you even speak Bugnish?" she tried, and the moth seemed to suddenly understand her surroundings and shook her head slowly. 

"Muse can hear the two," she answered finally. Jay and Bit startled at the change as she continued. "Where... is she? Where is the spider?"

Jay and Bit took turns relaying what just happened, and told the moth their names. The moth, who was apparently named Muse, quietly listened as she unwrapped the rest of the bandages stuck to her, revealing green fur and gray wings with yellow patterns. She took a deep breath when they were finished.

"It seems... Muse owes her life to Jay and Bit. She is grateful," she said at last.

"Eh, no big deal," Bit said lightheartedly. Jay glared at him, although she was secretly glad to lighten the mood. "It sucks that we're trapped though."

"Were you exploring this island too?" Jay asked.

"Somewhat... a scouting mission," replied Muse.

"You're lucky to be alive," Bit interrupted. "Did you have the same luck finding the artifact? That's what you're here for, right?"

"The artifact..." Muse's voice somehow became even lower. "If it's here, it is ahead. Muse did not reach it."

“Well, if we work together, we should have the best chance of finding both the artifact and the exit,” Jay said. She decided to leave out the part about their boat being lost, not wanting to overwhelm Muse. 

Muse looked around the cave, and back at the other two bugs. “Muse has little choice. She will accompany the pair.”

“Can you fight?” Jay asked.

“...Muse is not one for combat,” she answered.

“You seriously came into this place without knowing how to fight?” Bit asked rhetorically, going back to his usual snappy tone. 

“Uh. Make sure you stay behind us, then,” Jay said awkwardly. “So we can protect you.”

Muse responded by simply nodding and shuffling to be behind the other two. She was taller than both of them, and her curly antennae brushed against the ceiling of the small cave. 

“We’ve spent too much time here,” Bit said. “Let’s look for the exit already.” He turned around and began down the tunnel, away from the larger cave they had just come from.

---

The tunnel soon opened up into a shockingly large cavern with the start of an earthen staircase at the far end of it. Between the entrance and the exit were sections of raised earth that were easy enough to traverse, but between the solid platforms were steep drops that gave way to an abyss which seemed to have a fiery glow emanating from the bottom. The overgrowth on all of the walls reflected the orange light that reached it, giving the room a menacing aura about it, even though it was not hard to avoid falling off the ledges. Muse needed some help getting over the gaps, as so far she had been slowly shuffling around and found it difficult to actually jump. All three bugs decided to attribute this to the fatigue of having been unconscious in a cave for a while. 

As the team traversed the large cavern, a strange creature walked directly in front of them. It looked like a small ant with bandaged limbs, but it had a huge blue crystal piercing through the top of its head. The strangest thing was that it did not look as if it had been impaled, but rather that the crystal was growing through its exoskeleton.

“Eugh, what is that thing?” Bit asked, shuddering. The ant-like creature had not noticed the team before, but it heard Bit’s voice and turned around. It hissed and scurried away, across several other platforms and into a far corner of the room. 

“That is a mummified ant,” Muse answered. “The crystal grows from where its brain should be.”

“How do you know that?” Jay said, turning towards Muse in confusion.

Muse stopped for a second. “Muse does not know,” she replied quietly. Jay decided to leave it at that, because while they were talking, Bit had taken off after the ant.

After some cautious hopping between platforms, Jay and Muse caught up to Bit, who was prodding his club at the tiny mummified ant. It was holding a shiny object in its hands and seemed intent on defending it from the beetle. 

"Bit, leave that thing alone," Jay scolded.

"Look! It's holding a crystal berry!" Bit argued. "Do you know how much those sell for?" The ant was, indeed, holding a very expensive crystal berry. "Hand it over already!" Bit yelled at it, which did not encourage the creature to do that at all. Finally, Bit's very limited patience ran out, and he thunked the ant on the head with his club. It cried out, dropped the berry, and scurried away again.

As Bit gladly picked up the shining fruit, Jay looked over to see a look of horror on Muse's face. Seeing the tiny ant be hurt had clearly upset her. 

"Look at what you've done, Bit," Jay said in an even more annoyed tone. "You hurt Muse when you hurt that... mummy ant thing."

"It's... fine," Muse muttered. "Muse will be fine. Keep moving." She turned away from the other two and began following the platforms towards the staircase. Jay continued to glare at Bit as they followed her, and he at least had the grace to look a little ashamed. 

As the trio approached the staircase, they found that the gap between the last platform and the exit to the cavern was too large to jump across.

“What do we do now?” Bit wondered aloud. All three of them began to look around, and he spotted an odd device hanging from the ceiling. “Hey, look up there. That might be some sort of switch.”

“Only one way to find out. I’ll hit it and see what happens,” Jay replied, notching an arrow and pointing it at the device. She fired, it hit, and suddenly another platform seemed to rise up out of the abyss and appear before them. 

“Is this place magic, or what?” Bit asked incredulously. He, being cautious for once, tapped his club against the new platform to see if it was stable ground. It seemed fine, so the team crossed it. 

They had now reached the base of the staircase, and right as they were about to start climbing, an odd sort of fruit that was growing in the doorway suddenly flipped upside down, opened an eyeball, and began to crawl on its leaves as if they were legs. Jay and Bit both stood still for a moment, curiously watching the walking fruit, when Muse, acting on an instinct she didn’t know she had, swung a hand at the moving plant. A vine right in front of the strange creature suddenly appeared from the ground, sprouted a flower, and burst pollen into its eye, immediately putting it to sleep. 

Now Jay and Bit were too surprised at her to do anything for a second. After that second had passed, they both yelled out at the same time.

"What the- What did you just do?" Bit cried out.

"Did you just make that plant grow?!" Jay yelled.

Muse looked at the sleeping fruit creature, and then back at the other two, and then stared in confusion at her own hands. "This is new." 

"What, you just now learned to make vines grow out of nowhere?" Bit exclaimed.

"Muse... thinks so?" Muse answered, sounding so very confused. "She could not do this before."

"Magic isn't something you see every day," Jay stated. "I thought there was only about a dozen sorcerers in history."

"Are you like, famous or something?" Bit asked, tilting his head to the side. "How come I haven't heard of you before?"

Muse seemed too bewildered by... everything to answer that. She stuttered and waved her hands around uselessly for a moment before realizing that the fruit creature was waking up. It looked angry about being put to sleep.

"Can we talk later?" Jay snapped. "That thing's about to attack us again." She turned to Muse. "Can you fight now, with the plant magic?"

"Muse will try," she answered as the angry creature approached. 

Bit went in first, swinging his club at the fruit creature. Jay followed up by shooting an arrow at it, which pierced it and caused it to leak juice. It hissed and reared on its leaves, spitting juice from what might have been a mouth. The juice splattered onto Jay, and she yelled as though it burned her. 

The creature then turned towards Muse, but before it could attack again, she used her newly discovered magic to take a root from under the ground and make it burst out, impaling the fruit creature. It let out one last hiss before falling to the ground, having lost too much of its corrosive juice to live. 

“That magic isn’t a joke,” Jay muttered and then began to preen the juice out of her fur. 

“Muse is rather impressed, herself,” Muse replied.

“If you really couldn’t do it before, this island’s hiding more secrets than I thought,” Jay said as she got the last of the juice out.

"Seriously, are you famous?" Bit said. "Should I ask for an autograph?" 

"Um... Muse does not think she is famous," Muse muttered. "She does not even remember having this magic before now. If she did, the spider would not have caught her."

"I think we should just focus on getting out of here," Jay sighed. "We can think harder about this when we're actually safe."

"Very well," Muse replied. "If Jay or Bit needs Muse to move the foliage, she will."

"Yeah, I guess that autograph can wait," Bit joked again. "Onward! To the artifact!" 

Chapter Text

The new trio continued deeper into the caverns, beginning their ascent up the earthen staircase, which seemed to twist upwards in a spiral. It also seemed like it was going on forever, leaving the bugs climbing it to wonder how deep underground they really were. At least it had a hand rail.

Bit's endlessly jovial mood was actually starting to run out now, quickly replaced with complaining about the length of the climb. 

"Who even built this staircase?" he asked rhetorically. "Did someone live on this island?"

"I'd assumed so just based on the big doors we saw," Jay replied. "Maybe the Roaches used to live here."

Muse suddenly perked up at the mention of the Roaches. "Oh yes. Muse remembers now. Why she was here... something to do with the Roaches. Although she cannot remember in full detail. Where are they now?"

Jay paused for a moment. "I... I think they're gone? Not just from the island, but in general," she answered cautiously. She didn't fully know the story here, only that the Roaches were old and important somehow, and nobody had seen one in ages. 

Muse stopped her slow climbing to process this. "Gone? How could they be gone? Muse saw one just... just..." She might have been about to say "yesterday" or "last week", but she trailed off as she realized she did not actually know how long it was.

"It hasn't been that long since they disappeared," Bit added. "I don't know exactly, but I heard it was a pretty recent thing." 

"This is depressing to talk about," Jay sighed. "Can we just keep moving?"

"That cannot be right..." Muse muttered, but left it at that.

Thankfully, the staircase was not as infinite as it seemed. Eventually the trio reached the top, where Muse let go of the hand rail and immediately crashed to the ground unceremoniously. The other two startled and tried to check her over while she lay groaning.

"Are you, um, alright?" Bit asked again, in the same uncharacteristically soft tone as before. 

"Muse... is fine..." she mumbled into the dirt. "She just needs rest... hard to move her limbs..."

"Yeesh... if we'd known it was this hard for you to walk, I'd have carried you again," Bit replied in a bit of an awkward but strangely sincere tone, like he actually would have tried to carry the unusually heavy moth up an entire flight of stairs. 

"Not needed..." Muse continued to mumble, although now she was starting to pick herself up. She wobbled as she got on her feet, threatening to just fall over again.

"Maybe you could use plants to stabilize you somehow?" Jay offered. "Like... make more hand rails. Actually, I guess that wouldn't work unless you stay near a wall the entire time."

Muse went quiet as she did when she was thinking. Then, without warning, a woody vine burst out from the ground right by her paws. She held out one hand and looked at it expectantly as it moved like it had a mind of its own, and it wrapped around her wrist, straightened the rest of itself out, and snapped cleanly at the base. 

Muse set the end of the vine down in the dirt and leaned on it. It was solid and sturdy now, and Muse took a few cautious steps using it like a cane. A hint of satisfaction showed on her still mostly-neutral face, and she said at last "Much better. She can continue now."

The next leg of the journey was much easier now that they weren't climbing a staircase and Muse had assistance walking. The energy of the area did seem to get more oppressive, somehow. Gaps between the floor and the walls had opened up, illuminating the tunnel with the same ominous orange glow as the earlier cavern, and the greenery overhead was getting thicker and thicker. 

But eventually, it did end, and with another one of those strange stone doors. This one, however, was not nearly as large as the one below, and it was already slightly open. At least there was no difficulty getting through here. 

It opened up into a relatively small room with smoother, less natural looking walls than before, with a doorway-like opening on one of them. Instead of fiery underground lighting, it was illuminated with sunlight filtering through the opening in the wall. From here it could be plainly seen that the trio had reached the top of the mountain, as a river flowed from a decorative fountain shaped vaguely like a roach, through the middle of the room and under a short bridge, becoming the cascade that flowed down the outside of the mountain and into the surrounding lake. However, none of that was what caught their attention.

On the other side of the bridge was a pedestal, and on it was a shining red mask with crystals set in the eyes. It radiated a powerful energy like nothing any of the three had felt before.

"Is this... the artifact?" Jay wondered aloud as the team approached it. "It looks like some kind of mask."

"It feels kinda funny in here," Bit observed. "Like it's got a special aura."

Muse approached the artifact and reached out to touch it, but before she made contact, she jerked her hand back and stumbled, nearly falling again if it wasn't for her cane. 

"Sueska? Mijrelf ytrik..." she said in that strange language she had used before. Jay and Bit startled and moved to help her stand up straight. 

"Are you okay?" Jay asked as Muse regained her footing. 

"Yes..." she gasped. "Muse is fine. The artifact... it has very strong magic. It caused a strong reaction."

"I guess that means it's real," Bit said. "I call dibs if Muse can't touch it anyway."

"You can't just call dibs on an artifact," Jay huffed. "It's supposed to go to the Ant Queen." Muse muttered something about the Queen that the others didn't really hear.

"Yeah, whatever," Bit shrugged and then reached out to take the mask. It didn't hurt him to touch it, but when he tried to pull it off the pedestal, the mountain began to shake. 

"Was- was it a trap!?" Jay yelled out.

"How do we get down?" Bit yelled in reply. He was answered by a familiar roar.

The shaking slowed down enough for the bugs to turn around and see a pair of spider legs grabbing onto the edge of the opening in the wall. The monstrously large spider that had chased them earlier climbed into view, moving to block the hallway that the team had come from. It let out another roar, rearing its legs, ready to strike. 

"YOU!" Bit exclaimed, grabbing for his club on his back.

"Seriously? The spider, right now?" Jay hissed. "This is the worst possible timing!"

"No one can change the timing," Muse stated with a strange calmness. A creeping vine on the wall suddenly lashed out and struck the spider in the face. "They can only fight. Defeating the spider is the only way out." 

"Last time we saw it we had to run!" Jay argued.

"I'm not running away again," Bit snapped. "And we have Muse with us. We're stronger now!"

The spider hissed, rubbing a pedipalp over where it had been slapped. It raised its abdomen up, baring the vicious face pattern in a threatening display. 

"Alright," Jay said finally, swallowing her fear. "Let's take it out, before this whole mountain falls down."

The spider leaped at Bit first, who countered by swinging his club upwards and right into its chin. It shrieked and stumbled backwards, but recovered and lunged again, biting down on Bit's arm as he tried to block. Bit yelled out, and Jay answered by firing an arrow into the joint between the spider's head and abdomen. It let go of Bit and turned to Jay, hissing furiously.

Before the spider could attack Jay, Muse summoned a root from below them and used it to grab onto the beast's leg. It roared again, trying to pull itself loose, and Jay took the opportunity to fire another arrow that hit the spider in the face. It jerked backwards, freeing itself from the root's grasp, and swung a different leg at Jay, knocking her down.

Jay tried to scramble away, but the spider was advancing quickly. She put an arm up to block its fangs, but before it could bite her, Bit yelled out from the other side of the room.

"Hey! You, with the creepy face!" he called, and the spider seemed aware that this was addressed to it. It turned and bared its fangs, about to leap towards Bit, when Muse pulled another root from the ground that pierced the spider's abdomen. It let out a pained cry and pulled back, yet not quite retreating. 

Suddenly it stuck two of its hind legs straight up and made a weird, almost musical hissing sound. Before anyone had time to wonder what it was doing, the signal was answered by one of those curious fruit creatures from before crawling in from the hallway leading up to the artifact room. 

"It's got friends?!" Bit exclaimed, before readying his club to strike again. Jay fired an arrow at the walking fruit to draw its attention, and it turned to spit its acidic juice at her when Bit came up from behind and thunked it. The creature held up against his club about as well as any other fruit would, squashed almost completely flat. 

Jay and Bit looked up at each other and smiled. They had finally realized their efficiency working together. They didn't have any time to celebrate, though, as they heard the spider's roar again and turned to see it had cornered Muse against the artifact's pedestal. 

Before either of them could rush to help, the monster bared its fangs and lunged at Muse. She only had a split second to react. In that short time she realized there were vines above her, and used her magic to pull every vine at once. 

Every vine at once was a lot of vines, and they had kept much of the integrity of the cave’s ceiling. The removal of the vines from their supporting positions, combined with the shaking of the mountain, caused everything immediately above the spider to collapse. It had less than a moment to regret this attempted meal before it was crushed under a fall of dirt and stone.

The three bugs stood silent for a long moment before Muse stood up and nudged the pile of dirt with her foot.

“Muse took care of it.”

Jay and Bit stood there, still stunned, for another second. Then Bit clutched his stomach and began to laugh. 

"We did it! We really did it!" he cheered in between bouts of laughter. "We've won!"

"Yeah, we really did," Jay agreed, nodding her head.

Muse took a deep breath. "The artifact should be free to take now. Muse is... still wary to touch it, though."

"Alright, I'll get it," Jay said, moving around the pile of dirt and stone burying the spider to grab the mask off its pedestal. This time, she actually managed to remove it and held it admiringly in her hands for a moment, but after just a few seconds the shaking began again. 

"Agck! We forgot about the tremors!" Bit yelled out, reaching to grab at the wall. Suddenly, the water flowing from the fountain began to increase, so much that the fountain began to crack from the pressure it was holding back. 

The trio of bugs had barely any time to reach for each other before the fountain exploded in a shower of rocks and the water cascading from it ran so fast and wide that it swept the three up and out of the collapsing cave.

---

The adventurous duo, Jay and Bit, sailed out to Peacock Island for their team's first exploration mission. A place known for having consumed any previous explorer that dared to enter. Even so, the team stuck together, and were surprised with a new friend, Muse.

Together, they found one of the fabled artifacts that the Ant Queen had been looking for. Triggering a trap, they defeated the vicious spider before being swept away. 

What will happen to this trio who met due to chance? Will they stick together in their journey? Little do they know that their adventure is just beginning...

End of Chapter One.