He tried to remember happier times before The Awakening. When he and his fellow Jim Henson creations had simply been puppets. Puppets who starred in a children's television show. Even then they had all possessed a crude self-awareness, though faint and almost distant. But then came The Awakening. Every single member of Sesame Street "awoke" one morning to discover themselves very much alive and surrounded by a real-life version of their television set. The buildings had no false fronts; no sound crews lurked behind walls. No puppet masters guided The Streeters (as they would later decide to call themselves), and the humans who had coexisted as part of the television program were gone as well. No Maria, no Gordon. The Streeters were alone.
After the initial hysteria passed, the Streeters began to explore. They discovered that their "city" contained a fully-stocked grocery store, which was good because they needed to eat. Elmo helped them all discover another interesting fact that day - they could bleed, which he discovered by falling off a window ledge. Though his skin appeared to be covered by a terry-cloth-like fur, the scratch on his face indeed bled.
Oscar smiled wryly to himself as he thought of those first few days of life. None of the Streeters knew why or how they had been brought to life. But with life came a strange curiosity. Before the first day was done, they had explored out to the edges of their city, which they discovered sat beside a large lake. As day turned to night, they also discovered they had electricity, though no power plant could be found. That night brought with it another shock: lights burned on the opposite side of the lake as well. Excitement, marbled with small currents of trepidation, rippled through the city. Who would it prove to be? The Electric Company? The Teletubbies?
They shouldn't have been surprised by the answer. Of course it was the Muppets. Who else could it have been? On the north end of Sesame Street's lakeside sat a set of docks with five motor boats, each boat large enough to hold around ten Streeters. At sunrise on Day 2, one boat left the docks headed east, with a mission to make contact with the camp on the opposite shore. Oscar was on that boat, sitting in the middle, finally free to move beyond his trash can. At the bow of the small craft, Harry Monster stood triumphantly, his blue fur rippling in the breeze. Oscar remembered thinking at the time how regal Harry had looked, his eyes locked on his target, a small smile across his lips. That determination is undoubtedly what led to Harry's being elected the first mayor of Sesame Street one short week later. For ten years he led all government (what little there was) for Sesame Street. But it wasn't an election that ended Harry's time in office. It was the blade of Kermit's dagger.
Kermit the Frog. Once a part of the Sesame Street television show, but now its greatest enemy. Whereas he once reported news to the Sesame Street faithful, he now populated the majority of the gossip which served as news for the battered Streeters. His actions, his rantings, his latest methods of attack - they filled the waking thoughts and torturous nightmares of the Streeters. With his deceptively friendly voice and his humorous mannerisms, Kermit seemed the least likely of all the newly-born Hensonians to turn to dictatorship. That was what made his betrayal all the worse.
Awash in reverie, Oscar didn't hear the approach of his second-in-command, Colonel Grover. The sound of Grover's gravely, Yoda-like voice snapped Oscar from his thoughts. "Sir," the blue Streeter said politely, "the council awaits. You have to speak , or surrender will surely prevail." Grover looked out towards the Muppets' campfires. He knew that if Muppetown prevailed in the war, he would be killed for no better reason than the man who designed him gave him blue fur. Kermit had decreed blue creatures the enemies of proper Hensonians, and he promised to kill every last blue alive, ridding the world of their evil. It ain't easy being green? Grover thought. Try being blue, asshole.
"I know, Grover. But even if we convince the officers to stay in the fight, will it be enough? What are the Muppets' numbers?" Oscar rubbed his forehead, trying to quell the tension headache that had been bothering him for... well, five years now. Since the Blue Incident, the heralding of what became The War.
"The Count puts their numbers around five hundred strong," Grover said with a sigh.
Oscar laughed softly. "And we both know he's right. If he said there were four million of them, I'd take his word for it. He's frighteningly accurate." Grover nodded solemnly. Not surprisingly, the Count lived up to his name. When troops approached, he was an invaluable intelligence source.
Grover paused a moment in deference to his commander. Without a moment's hesitation, Grover would sacrifice his life to save General Oscar. After the murder of Mayor Harry, Oscar had been the voice of reason who encouraged his fellow Streeters to fight the Muppets in their quest for blood. Had it not been for Oscar's leadership, Sesame Street would have fallen. And with it, freedom.
Oscar stared once more at the enemy. For the briefest moment, he allowed himself to believe he saw a face flicker amongst their fires. The face was one he knew painfully well - that of his beloved wife, now many years gone. Prairie Dawn, who had died at the hands of Scooter, Kermit's personal assassin, during the Bunsen Campaign. Oscar thought of the early days after The Awakening, when he and Prairie had fallen in love. That thought led inevitably to the image of their child, also killed by Scooter's blade. Too much death....
But there wasn't time for such indulgence. Oscar stepped away from the wall. With a grim determination he looked over to his trusted friend and fellow warrior. "Let's go," he said and began walking towards headquarters. With Grover in tow, Oscar strode defiantly, stopping to speak with groups of soldiers as he did.
With thoughts of his slain wife and child assaulting his senses, Oscar allowed himself the luxury of directing a piercing thought towards his greatest enemy. One he was sure no one but himself would hear, but he felt better for thinking it. I hope you can hear me, Kermit. Your days are numbered. With the Henson as my witness, your days are numbered.
And deep within the Earth, the Fraggles watched the war with hungry eyes, waiting for their time to come.
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