Franklin Reed was a regular 13 year old kid who was fascinated by insects. When it came to creepy crawlers, he had no fear. His Mom suggested that he become an entomologist when he grew up. That way he could work with bugs all day.

Most of the caterpillars that Franklin would pick up were fuzzy, wuzzy, and harmless. But not this one. The moment Franklin put his hand on the caterpillar he felt a sharp jolt of pain rush through his body. Unfortunately for him the caterpillar was one of the rare species of caterpillar that would ‘sting’ if it felt threatened.

Franklin began to exhibit all of the symptoms that one experiences when they handle a toxic caterpillar. A few quills from the insect became embedded in his skin and soon Franklin broke out in a rash that itched and burned. He also developed painful blisters that formed all over his arms. Feeling woozy, Franklin would fell to the ground.

When he came to, Franklin found himself face-to-face with a giant caterpillar. Only it wasn’t the caterpillar that was large, Franklin had shrunk to the size of his furry friend.

“Gah! A caterpillar!”

“Gah! A human!” the caterpillar replied. 

“Where am I? And better yet, what am I?” a frightened Franklin asked.

“You’re in a cocoon. You’ll be safe here. It looks like the toxins from the caterpillar you touched changed you into one of us…..kinda.”

“Don’t worry” the caterpillar reassured Franklin. “Soon you’ll be going through a metamorphosis that will turn you into a beautiful butterfly. It’s a good thing. Butterflies represent hope.”

“I guess so” Franklin responded. This was all so unreal as if it were a wild dream. Franklin still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he was going to transform into a butterfly. While that sounded kinda cool what would happen next? The lifespan of a butterfly wasn’t very long.

Franklin got ready for his big transformation by hanging upside down. He slowly drifted off to sleep inside his cocoon. It was actually pretty cozy in there. When he awoke, Franklin could feel a pair of wings on his shoulder blades. He was able to control them with his mind. Now came the challenging part. Would he be able to fly? Franklin jumped outside of his cocoon and immediately began flapping wildly about. He never felt such freedom in his life.

Franklin hovered around some flowers before frolicking with his fellow butterflies. Suddenly the rest of the butterflies scattered leaving Franklin confused. A giant net swooped down on him trapping him inside. Hopefully it was just some kid who was looking to catch butterflies before releasing them back to nature.

Unfortunately it was not the innocent curiosity of a child at play. Franklin was released into a jar that would be capped with a lid that had several holes poked in it. Franklin looked around and saw dozens of jars filled with butterflies while others sat empty. He began to feel as there was something menacing about this whole setup. 

Dyson Pundalik was a self-professed Lepidopterist, a lover of butterflies. He was an avid collector of butterflies as he had several butterflies pinned behind glass on the many frames in his study. It was a common hobby that had existed for hundreds of years. But Pundalik was quite cruel when it came to his favourite pastime. You see, Pundalik would pin the butterflies while they were still alive.

Franklin was starting to feel queasy before dropping to his knees with intense stomach cramps. Terrified he shouted out in agony.

“Do not worry my friend. You are not sick. You are undergoing a second metamorphosis” a voice spoke to him.

“Who said that?” Franklin cried out.

“Over here. My name is Kei. You must seek out CIO-CIO-SAN, The Queen of Butterflies. She is the only one who can save us from the collector.”

Soon Franklin’s transformation was complete as he had grown a new pair of majestic wings. This allowed him to break free from the jar.