We Bought It on Monday

[WebMistressGina]

Well, hello again Muppet Central! We should really stop meeting like this!

So once again, what I wanted to do was counteracted by what my brain tells me to do. And my brain said, "Gina, chew on this image for a bit." And that image is what we have here. If you are new to this, this here be the fourth story in what I call "The Monday Series", which can all be found under the great big library of ficlets, which is thus -

http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/fanfic-library-index.35667/

You will find me under...um...me, Gina. Now, after the Count Who Shall Not Be Named and I disagreed on what stories belong in which series, I came up with this - the Monday series is currently laid out by chronological order - so events follow a time line. My original intention was story order, however you can now either read them one of two ways and here are those ways:

Story Order -
Monday Morning Meeting
Monday Dinner Date
It Happened on Monday (interlude)
This story

Or Chronologically
It Happened on Monday
Monday Morning Meeting
Monday Dinner Date
This story

With all that said, this is the sequel to It Happened on Monday, which in itself is an interlude for Monday Morning Meeting. You don't need to read MMM to read this, however you should definitely read IHM cause an important aspect of that fic is in this one. Also, you should/could read MDD before IHM as a scene in that fic is what gave me the idea for the other one.

Okay, admin stuff is done! Now on to the summary - if you HAVE read the previous story (or series), you'll remember that the breakup of the Muppets wasn't exactly pretty; Kermit the Frog made a decision one day that nearly cost them their studios and still might...

We Bought It on Monday​

​

“Are you insane?”

Kermit the Frog had to admit that, in his very long career as both a television and movie star, no one had ever asked that question of him before. In fact, usually he gave off the perception that he was at least saner than that of the people he worked and hung out with.

It was Saturday night, the day before official show time for The Muppet Show, a revised and updated version of their popular show from the 70’s; the show that basically broke the Muppets into show business in the first place. They had just released their newest movie out on DVD, but even before that, word of a new Muppet movie had garnered a ton of press and hot topic that the entire group found themselves back in the spotlight.

It was then, during one of their traditional Monday morning meetings, that they had decided the best way to capture and continue their popularity was to do another show.

And that’s where Kermit and his stage manager/personal assistant Scooter Grosse found themselves within Kermit’s studio office on the lot of Muppet Studios. The two always took time out on Saturdays to not only try to solidify the acts for the next night’s show, but also going the finances from past and present shows.

Always knowing Muppet Theatre had eyes and ears in every corner – and not just because their resident monsters seemed to be everywhere – the two would usually convene either in Kermit’s office or that of Scooter’s; both were located near the entrance of the studio lot and were next to each other. Tonight, both Muppets were in Kermit’s office, which seemed to be a shrine to their – and his – days in show business.

A rather avid musician, Kermit had several banjos hanging in his office, replicas of the ones he had either used in shows or that of the movies; his favorite – the one he had taken with him from Mississippi – had a special place within his home and heart. Several newspaper stills and articles, as well as pictures with celebrities also hung in his office, complete with desk and chair, which was where Scooter sat now.

The younger of the two, Scooter had begun his start in show business by being the go-fer during the original show run. Since then, he had risen to that of the show’s stage manager and was personal assistant to both Kermit and that of the Muppet’s leading lady, Miss Piggy. In a more personal aspect, Scooter was the nephew of the JP Grosse, who had been a huge business mogul when alive; it was Grosse who had been the owner of the theater before leasing it to the group and thus maneuvering his nephew in as a hopeful spy.

Scooter had not only found professional success as being a member of the Muppets, but he had also found personal success thanks to that association; he had left the group for a few years in order to get his college degree in film production, while also taking an internship position with then growing search engine company Google. Upon reuniting with his acting family, Scooter had also made up an appearance at the popular science and technology TED talks.

But it wasn’t the TED talks that Scooter was interested in this night. As both stage manager and administrative assistant, the younger Muppet was also a part of the financial accounting team that consisted of himself and Kermit. Usually, he was the first person to know where the group and their various projects stood financially. Looking at the books now, Scooter wasn’t sure what he saw was correct.

With the studios back under Muppet control, this had actually been the first time that he and Kermit had sat down in order to go over the books, a task they hadn’t done in over seven years. The assistant wasn’t sure what he would find, but he didn’t think he would find what he did; he had assumed that while the studios weren’t making any money, it certainly shouldn’t have been losing money.

So of course, the assistant asked his boss and friend what exactly had happened for the studios to be in borderline financial trouble, even with the help of the publicity and film.

That’s when Kermit told the younger Muppet the truth – during the turbulent time in which the group itself was falling apart, their frog leader had made a very bad decision. The project they had been working on was obviously going nowhere and while the Muppets owned and operated their own studios, they still needed to report to the people above them, those that gave out the money in which to produce said film in the first place.

When they saw the project was going nowhere, they pulled the plug on it, stating that perhaps the Muppets weren’t the star darlings of their yesteryear. At the time, Kermit was already going through enough difficulties – he and the leading lady were arguing more, he could see that his friends, his family, were drifting apart, and the one person he could always turn to was dead.

The frog wasn’t going to excuse what he did, but ultimately what he did was probably the equivalent of professional suicide – instead of notifying the group of the project’s demise, Kermit kept them coming in and working on it.

For three weeks.

It was only when several people left around the same time – Miss Piggy, the Electric Mayhem, Rowlf the Dog, the Great Gonzo, and even Scooter himself – did Kermit truly feel that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

So he let them all go.

As riveting a tale as that was, it still didn’t stop the fact that the studios had hemorrhaged money and had been ever since that decision.

“Are you insane?” Scooter hissed. While not being as big on business as his uncle, Scooter had none the less learned the ropes while he was working in the Muppet Theatre. The fact that Kermit leaned on him, especially when he was usually the only person who did all the administrative stuff, gave the teenager a sense of pride, belonging, and overall usefulness; something he had been hard-pressed to get at home.

But with that business sense came the realization that Kermit had basically gone through a ton of money for three weeks of work on a film that was never made. There were production costs, star salaries, Gonzo’s crazy stun ideas, musician pay, etc.

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t,” Kermit replied, taking a deep breath. And truthfully, he hadn’t been thinking, at least not straight obviously. Even in hindsight, he couldn’t understand why he would have done something like that. “I admit that, I wasn’t thinking at all and whatever I was thinking…it was a really bad mistake.”

“Bad mistake?” Scooter repeated, his face a mixture of anger, confusion, and overall unbelieving incredulous. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been so mad at Kermit before; actually, this particular time frame they were discussing was the first and last time – before that night – that he had ever been furious with Kermit.

“Kermit,” he continued. “You should know how much even a day of production costs total and you went ahead and continued this for three weeks!?” The sudden realization of how Tex Richman, oil baron and businessman came into now made sense. “Oh my God,” the go-fer whispered. “That’s why you took Richman’s offer.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Kermit huffed, pacing in front of the desk. “I couldn’t maintain the studios by myself and I was quite aware of just how…at that point…” Both his pace and speech paused as he stopped and looked at Scooter. “How bad is it?”

Scooter sighed, looking over the files again. “Not terribly,” he admitted. “But bad enough that we’re going to need to have a successful show every night, plus another success movie. Or four just to break even. Kermit, what’re we gonna do?”

The frog also sighed, looking his assistant in the eye. “I’ve have an idea about that,” he whispered. “It was one of the reasons I jumped at Richman’s offer. The only thing we could consider and even do…is sell the studios.”

Scooter just looked at him as though he had barged in the office intending on taking prisoners. “Now I know you’ve gone insane,” he muttered. “You want to sell the very studios that we just fought to get back?”

“I already have a buyer in mind.”

The assistant sat back in the chair, at a loss for words. Learning that the studios were in worse shape than he imagined had been one thing; learning that Kermit had been the one instrumental in that was a blow, but now, to hear that the frog had essentially gone around him and everyone else and was already in talks with selling the very place they had just reunited and fought to get back was just…devastating. “You…” he stumbled. “You were going to sell the studios and not even tell me?”

“What?” Kermit cried. “No! No, Scooter. I was going to tell you.”

“Right now!?” the redhead exclaimed. “At the very last moment?”

“Scooter,” the frog stressed, trying to get the younger Muppet to calm down. “I was going to tell you right now because I’m going to sell the studios to you.”

 

[The Count]

*Is dead with fic overload. Thank you. More please?

 

[TheWeirdoGirl]

I enjoyed the last story in this series quite a bit, and this one is off to a great start! Keep it coming!

 

[Twisted Tails]

Well, hello again Muppet Central! We should really stop meeting like this!

So once again, what I wanted to do was counteracted by what my brain tells me to do. And my brain said, "Gina, chew on this image for a bit." And that image is what we have here. If you are new to this, this here be the fourth story in what I call "The Monday Series", which can all be found under the great big library of ficlets, which is thus -

http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/fanfic-library-index.35667/

You will find me under...um...me, Gina. Now, after the Count Who Shall Not Be Named and I disagreed on what stories belong in which series, I came up with this - the Monday series is currently laid out by chronological order - so events follow a time line. My original intention was story order, however you can now either read them one of two ways and here are those ways:

Story Order -
Monday Morning Meeting
Monday Dinner Date
It Happened on Monday (interlude)
This story

Or Chronologically
It Happened on Monday
Monday Morning Meeting
Monday Dinner Date
This story

With all that said, this is the sequel to It Happened on Monday, which in itself is an interlude for Monday Morning Meeting. You don't need to read MMM to read this, however you should definitely read IHM cause an important aspect of that fic is in this one. Also, you should/could read MDD before IHM as a scene in that fic is what gave me the idea for the other one.

Okay, admin stuff is done! Now on to the summary - if you HAVE read the previous story (or series), you'll remember that the breakup of the Muppets wasn't exactly pretty; Kermit the Frog made a decision one day that nearly cost them their studios and still might...

We Bought It on Monday​

​

“Are you insane?”

Kermit the Frog had to admit that, in his very long career as both a television and movie star, no one had ever asked that question of him before. In fact, usually he gave off the perception that he was at least saner than that of the people he worked and hung out with.

It was Saturday night, the day before official show time for The Muppet Show, a revised and updated version of their popular show from the 70’s; the show that basically broke the Muppets into show business in the first place. They had just released their newest movie out on DVD, but even before that, word of a new Muppet movie had garnered a ton of press and hot topic that the entire group found themselves back in the spotlight.

It was then, during one of their traditional Monday morning meetings, that they had decided the best way to capture and continue their popularity was to do another show.

And that’s where Kermit and his stage manager/personal assistant Scooter Grosse found themselves within Kermit’s studio office on the lot of Muppet Studios. The two always took time out on Saturdays to not only try to solidify the acts for the next night’s show, but also going the finances from past and present shows.

Always knowing Muppet Theatre had eyes and ears in every corner – and not just because their resident monsters seemed to be everywhere – the two would usually convene either in Kermit’s office or that of Scooter’s; both were located near the entrance of the studio lot and were next to each other. Tonight, both Muppets were in Kermit’s office, which seemed to be a shrine to their – and his – days in show business.

A rather avid musician, Kermit had several banjos hanging in his office, replicas of the ones he had either used in shows or that of the movies; his favorite – the one he had taken with him from Mississippi – had a special place within his home and heart. Several newspaper stills and articles, as well as pictures with celebrities also hung in his office, complete with desk and chair, which was where Scooter sat now.

The younger of the two, Scooter had begun his start in show business by being the go-fer during the original show run. Since then, he had risen to that of the show’s stage manager and was personal assistant to both Kermit and that of the Muppet’s leading lady, Miss Piggy. In a more personal aspect, Scooter was the nephew of the JP Grosse, who had been a huge business mogul when alive; it was Grosse who had been the owner of the theater before leasing it to the group and thus maneuvering his nephew in as a hopeful spy.

Scooter had not only found professional success as being a member of the Muppets, but he had also found personal success thanks to that association; he had left the group for a few years in order to get his college degree in film production, while also taking an internship position with then growing search engine company Google. Upon reuniting with his acting family, Scooter had also made up an appearance at the popular science and technology TED talks.

But it wasn’t the TED talks that Scooter was interested in this night. As both stage manager and administrative assistant, the younger Muppet was also a part of the financial accounting team that consisted of himself and Kermit. Usually, he was the first person to know where the group and their various projects stood financially. Looking at the books now, Scooter wasn’t sure what he saw was correct.

With the studios back under Muppet control, this had actually been the first time that he and Kermit had sat down in order to go over the books, a task they hadn’t done in over seven years. The assistant wasn’t sure what he would find, but he didn’t think he would find what he did; he had assumed that while the studios weren’t making any money, it certainly shouldn’t have been losing money.

So of course, the assistant asked his boss and friend what exactly had happened for the studios to be in borderline financial trouble, even with the help of the publicity and film.

That’s when Kermit told the younger Muppet the truth – during the turbulent time in which the group itself was falling apart, their frog leader had made a very bad decision. The project they had been working on was obviously going nowhere and while the Muppets owned and operated their own studios, they still needed to report to the people above them, those that gave out the money in which to produce said film in the first place.

When they saw the project was going nowhere, they pulled the plug on it, stating that perhaps the Muppets weren’t the star darlings of their yesteryear. At the time, Kermit was already going through enough difficulties – he and the leading lady were arguing more, he could see that his friends, his family, were drifting apart, and the one person he could always turn to was dead.

The frog wasn’t going to excuse what he did, but ultimately what he did was probably the equivalent of professional suicide – instead of notifying the group of the project’s demise, Kermit kept them coming in and working on it.

For three weeks.

It was only when several people left around the same time – Miss Piggy, the Electric Mayhem, Rowlf the Dog, the Great Gonzo, and even Scooter himself – did Kermit truly feel that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

So he let them all go.

As riveting a tale as that was, it still didn’t stop the fact that the studios had hemorrhaged money and had been ever since that decision.

“Are you insane?” Scooter hissed. While not being as big on business as his uncle, Scooter had none the less learned the ropes while he was working in the Muppet Theatre. The fact that Kermit leaned on him, especially when he was usually the only person who did all the administrative stuff, gave the teenager a sense of pride, belonging, and overall usefulness; something he had been hard-pressed to get at home.

But with that business sense came the realization that Kermit had basically gone through a ton of money for three weeks of work on a film that was never made. There were production costs, star salaries, Gonzo’s crazy stun ideas, musician pay, etc.

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t,” Kermit replied, taking a deep breath. And truthfully, he hadn’t been thinking, at least not straight obviously. Even in hindsight, he couldn’t understand why he would have done something like that. “I admit that, I wasn’t thinking at all and whatever I was thinking…it was a really bad mistake.”

“Bad mistake?” Scooter repeated, his face a mixture of anger, confusion, and overall unbelieving incredulous. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been so mad at Kermit before; actually, this particular time frame they were discussing was the first and last time – before that night – that he had ever been furious with Kermit.

“Kermit,” he continued. “You should know how much even a day of production costs total and you went ahead and continued this for three weeks!?” The sudden realization of how Tex Richman, oil baron and businessman came into now made sense. “Oh my God,” the go-fer whispered. “That’s why you took Richman’s offer.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Kermit huffed, pacing in front of the desk. “I couldn’t maintain the studios by myself and I was quite aware of just how…at that point…” Both his pace and speech paused as he stopped and looked at Scooter. “How bad is it?”

Scooter sighed, looking over the files again. “Not terribly,” he admitted. “But bad enough that we’re going to need to have a successful show every night, plus another success movie. Or four just to break even. Kermit, what’re we gonna do?”

The frog also sighed, looking his assistant in the eye. “I’ve have an idea about that,” he whispered. “It was one of the reasons I jumped at Richman’s offer. The only thing we could consider and even do…is sell the studios.”

Scooter just looked at him as though he had barged in the office intending on taking prisoners. “Now I know you’ve gone insane,” he muttered. “You want to sell the very studios that we just fought to get back?”

“I already have a buyer in mind.”

The assistant sat back in the chair, at a loss for words. Learning that the studios were in worse shape than he imagined had been one thing; learning that Kermit had been the one instrumental in that was a blow, but now, to hear that the frog had essentially gone around him and everyone else and was already in talks with selling the very place they had just reunited and fought to get back was just…devastating. “You…” he stumbled. “You were going to sell the studios and not even tell me?”

“What?” Kermit cried. “No! No, Scooter. I was going to tell you.”

“Right now!?” the redhead exclaimed. “At the very last moment?”

“Scooter,” the frog stressed, trying to get the younger Muppet to calm down. “I was going to tell you right now because I’m going to sell the studios to you.”

Holy Cow! Gina? Woiw! I want to find out why Kermoit would want to sell the Muppet Studios to Scooter?

 

[WebMistressGina]

A little short intermission here as I totally forgot to do this. So, I normally don't do soundtracks when I'm writing something, but every once in a while I happen a song that I think fits a story. In a really weird coincidental way, I was listening to my Muppet play list on the way home one day and two of the songs I thought reflected the group happen to play one after another. I just happened to be thinking about this entire series at the time and then went, "hey! Those work!"

There are only two songs, but here are there videos and why I think they work here.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Why it Works - the song overall is about someone who used to rule, made a mistake, and was overthrown/cast out (my interpretation). Originally, I thought this was a good Kermit song based on the 2011 movie - the Muppets were popular, Kermit was riding high as both a Muppet member and former Sesame Street reporter, the Muppets broke up, and then Kermit was kinda left drifting.

In terms of the Monday series, I was really hyper focused on the lyrics -

I used to rule the world,
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to know

That opening line explains how the group was high on life and then it all imploded. Kermit's sleeping alone (Piggy has left) and he's pretty much a street sweeper instead of the star he was. I think this fits in perfectly with It Happened on Monday.

Another line I really liked was -

Shattered windows and the sounds of drums,
People couldn't believe that I'd become

This I think is important in this fic right here, when Kermit tells the others what happened seven years ago.

Lastly, I think the chorus is particularly strong to reflect Kermit's views on those closest to him -

Be my mirror, my sword, and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

My mind immediately thought of Gonzo, Piggy, and Fozzie, especially in this series I've created. Gonzo's the mirror, as he seems to be telling Kermit things he hasn't seen or avoided; Piggy has always been his sword, as she is the first one to physically defend him (or oppose him), and Fozzie is his shield, always standing up for him, even when he's in the wrong.

The next song is -

Foo Fighters - Walking After You

(Above has lyrics)
This song was actually slated to appear in another story, but the concept of the song and what I had in mind made sense to place in this fic too. The acoustic version is the one I own and the one I like much better; definitely ties in the Monday series, especially the original two fics Monday Morning Meeting and Monday Dinner Date.

To envision it the way I do - Kermit has the first verse, Piggy has the second; the coda in the bridge is split between them, with Piggy Kermit first, then Kermit Piggy, then both. So as an example -

1st verse (Kermit) - Tonight I'm tangled in my blanket of clouds....

2nd verse (Piggy) - If you'd accept surrender...

Chorus coda (Kermit) - Another heart is cracked
Piggy - in two
Both - I'm on your back (second reverse, with Piggy first, then Kermit)

The idea was taken from the Foo Fighters video (the quicker version), with two lovers (?) being separated by a pane of glass/walls, etc. My idea was having Kermit and Piggy separated by a pane of glass before walking off separately at the end (yes, this scene will make an appearance in another fic)

So listen to these to get them in your head and continue reading!

 

[WebMistressGina]

II.

Sunday nights were pandemonium. Always. Show time at the Muppet Theatre was usually crazy, with the acts that were supposed to be performing, along with the acts that wanted to perform, and those who felt that their acts couldn’t wait to the next week.

And in the middle of this was a lone frog.

Kermit had taken this unofficial position of leader rather reluctantly; he wasn’t a leader, but for some unknown reason, people seemed to think that he was the frog in charge and with that came a great deal of responsibility. He actually found himself to be the ringleader of this motely band of misfits, leading them through the fire that was show business.

Backstage at the Muppet Theatre could be more dangerous than that of being out and on stage; performers were running back and forth, fighting with each other, insulting each other, and of course sometimes preventing the scheduled acts from getting on stage themselves. So far, things were going to plan – already Kermit had to put out the fire that started thanks to the Swedish Chef’s shrimp flambé, called in an ambulance when one of the Flying Zucchini Brother went head first through the wall, and had – hopefully - stopped a revolt within the rat union.

“Piggy’s looking for you.”

Kermit nodded, knowing instinctively that Scooter had appeared at his elbow, just as he always had done. “How’s it looking?” he asked.

“Well, so far we haven’t burned down, we haven’t been sued, and no one had died,” the assistant replied. “That’s as good of night as ever.”

That was something. “Piggy say what she wanted?”

Scooter shook his head.

“You didn’t tell her about…”

“No.”

“Oh,” Kermit said. “Cause you know, you usually tell Piggy everything.”

“As do you,” the former go-fer replied. “Though I’d certainly be surprised if she was even aware of this…”

The frog shushed him, just as the dancing Fenellis walked by, coming off stage from their performance. “Keep an eye on everything, will you?

“I always do.”

Kermit nodded once again, taking his leave and heading upstairs to the upper floor dressing rooms. Usually reserved for that show’s guest star, Piggy had declared one of the rooms to be hers, as she was a rising star within the troupe and she needed to have a dressing room that reflected that status. She had even ordered her own star with her name on it, a sign that still hung on the door.

Knocking on her door, he waited for her familiar cue to come in, which is when he poked his head around the door. “Piggy?”

“Entre, Mon Cher.”

Thinking quickly, he tried to remember if he had done anything to make Piggy mad at him, but nothing came to him immediately. Walking through, he closed the door softly before turning to face her. Miss Piggy sat at the vanity that she had placed within the dressing room, allowing her to get ready for the day, afternoon, and night, as well as the theatre’s shows.

“You wanted to see me?”

Spinning from viewing herself in the mirror, Piggy turned to gaze at her frog. “Yes,” she said, holding out a gloved hand to him. Waiting for him to take it, she squeezed it and said, “Hi.”

“Hi.”

One look at the frog and the diva was convinced that something was wrong. “Okay, what is it?” she asked.

“What?”

“What?” she asked, smiling at him, blue eyes shining up at him. “You’re obviously feeling down. You’ve got that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“You’ve got that glazed over look,” Piggy began, listing off what made him so very see-through. “You’re pouting and you’ve got the temperament of a badger. I’d say that something was wrong.”

“I have a look?” Kermit asked. “I hadn’t realized.”

“You have a variety of looks.”

“Apparently so.”

“So,” Piggy insisted, pulling on his hand. “Really. What is it?”

The frog shook his head, embarrassed that he could be so transparent. “Business stuff,” he said.

“Uh huh.”

“I…I can’t tell you,” he said. Seeing the look she shot him, he immediately backtracked and said, “I mean, it makes no sense to tell you when…well I have to tell everyone else anyway.”

Piggy cocked her head to the side in a suspicious confusion. That certainly didn’t sound like anything that could be happy, nor did the tone of voice sound like her Kermit. “Kermit, what is it?”

He was silent for a moment before sighing, “I…I did something really stupid,” he whispered.

“Stupid how?”

“Just…” he paused again, by giving her hand a squeeze. “It ranks right up here with me letting you walk out my life. Twice.”

She gave him a small smile. “One and a half,” she replied. “I came back the second time.”

“Yes,” he whispered. “But for a while, I didn’t think you would.”

A knock on the door caused Piggy to once again call out, however her eyes never left the face of the frog in crisis. Scooter poked his head around the door, pausing when he saw the two of them. “Um…” he stuttered. “You’re on in ten, Piggy. Don’t be late.” And as quickly as he appeared, he was gone to take care of whatever madness was going on in the background.

“Did he just tell me to not be late?”

Kermit chuckled, nervously, sending a quick glare at the door. Scooter was starting to tread the line a little haphazardly for his tastes. “He’s…he’s under a lot of stress.” At her look, he quickly said, “Don’t ask.”

“Well,” the diva sighed, standing. “I believe that is my cue.”

There were times that Kermit hated being short, or rather shorter than that of everyone around him. When he was back home with his family, he was of course a relative height, equal to that of his brothers and sisters; he of course towered over that his little nieces and nephews and at this point, he was taller than his mother and father.

Here with the Muppets, he was slightly shorter than that of his co-workers and co-stars. Piggy, especially, was a head taller than he was and at times he did feel that sting of inferiority in the fact that his girlfriend was taller than him. However, at most times, such as when she would drop an affectionate kiss on his forehead or when they cuddled together, that he never thought about their height differences.

“When exactly are you planning on telling us this big secret of yours?”

“Tomorrow,” Kermit whispered, watching as she got herself together one last time. “I was hoping to invite the guys over for lunch.”

Turning, the pig gave him an incredulous stare. “You could have warned me,” she said. “We’ll have to get a caterer and on short notice…”

“What’re you talking about?” he asked. “You want to get a caterer for six people?”

“Six people?”

“I’m…I’m moving the usual meeting to lunch.”

Nodding, Piggy went past her frog and towards the door, however she did stop before opening it, turning back to him. “Six people?” she asked. “Our meeting usually has seven people.”

“Right,” the frog chuckled. “I’m…I’m not planning on asking Doc to join us. Just…just us.”

It took a moment for Piggy to realize and understand what Kermit was telling her. The very fact that Dr. Teeth, the leader and keyboardist of the Electric Mayhem, wasn’t going to be invited to this meeting, especially when he was usually at every one of their Monday meetings, began to set off warning bells.

‘Just us’ usually referred to those that the media loved to call ‘the fab five’ or the ‘founding five’ – that was, the first five of them who had met in various different ways before deciding to start a television show together.

The diva went to say something, when she heard the customary five minute warning knock from Scooter, stopping her. “Let’s…have pizza then,” she threw out, finding something to say than what she really thought she ought to. Nodding to Kermit, she opened the door and left, making her way down to the stage for her number.

The time it took for her to get from her dressing room to that of the stage was usually spent reviewing over lines and marks for the performance she was going to do to; tonight however her mind was on whatever secret Kermit couldn’t share with her now and that needed to be shared with only a small amount of Muppet members.

She could, of course, try to finagle it out of him when they got home, but she wasn’t sure that was the right course of action. As she reached the standby area, she shook off whatever foreboding feeling she was getting and got her game face on. She’d worry about it later.

[hr]

Another Sunday night and another end to the craziness that was the Muppet Show. A fairly successful show, if Kermit did say so himself. There was something about a live performance that always seemed to rejuvenate him, all of them really; maybe they were much too nostalgic for their own good – live performances were sometimes left to those on Broadway and the like, but Kermit liked the ability to perform for people, right there, up front where they could see him.

There were of course many times in which putting on a live show could be disastrous. Technical difficulties, missed cues, missed lines, anything and everything that could go wrong would; but sometimes that could also be the most exciting part about doing a live show.

He had been so worried when presented with the prospect that he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. The decision to sell the studios to Tex Richman had been done out of a need to not only preserve what they had built together, but what they had at one moment in time. He had been at a very vulnerable place when Richman had come to him, requesting to turn the Muppet Studios into a museum; Kermit had jumped at the chance.

He could admit to himself now that he had been holding on to a lot of stuff, stuff that he probably should’ve let go if he really wanted to move on. In getting the gang back together, he had seen that many of them had moved on with their lives – Gonzo, Scooter, Piggy – while he still held on to paintings, the piano, the house…

Hadn’t Gonzo warned him, the night he had said goodbye, that he would be in a house surrounded by memories?

“I would rather have memories than nothing at all.”

He had said that and had meant it. Memories were loads better than facing the reality that he had a hand in driving everyone away; truthfully, he could face the memories better than facing them with nothing.

“Good set, guys,” he replied, watching as the Mayhem went past them on their way home. “Oh hey, Doc,” he continued, stopping the band leader before he left. “Just wanted to let you know that there won’t be a meeting tomorrow morning.”

“I am grievously upset to hear that,” the band leader remarked. “I mark those meetings as the highlight of my week.”

Kermit rolled his eyes. While he may not have understood half of what the exuberant gentleman said, he had always liked him and enjoyed his jovial manner. “I’m sure it is,” he replied, deadpanned. “What ever will you do with yourself?”

“Kermit, my main frog,” Dr. Teeth chuckled. “Sometimes fun, or trouble, find me. I just need to make myself available.”

“I don’t doubt it. See ya later, Doc.”

Kermit watched as the troupe began to clear out, stopping those he needed to speak to into staying for an extra few minutes. As the backstage began to clear out, the rats started to get to work on cleaning the floors, and the janitor Beauregard began making his janitorial rounds, Kermit gathered those closest to him.

Fozzie Bear, the Great Gonzo, and Rowlf the Dog had stayed, though staying later after the show was not an uncommon sight for the three. Many times, they headed out to their favorite local bar for a drink or they went somewhere to rid themselves of the excess energy that only doing a live performance could incite.

“Hey guys,” Kermit said, nodding as Scooter and Piggy came to join them. “Listen, uh…no meeting tomorrow morning, but…I do need to speak with you all regarding something.”

“Okay,” Gonzo shrugged. “I’m in.”

“Everything okay, Kermit?” asked Rowlf. Knowing Kermit the longest out of all of them, the dog could usually tell if the frog was agitated. He had been serrentiously watching him all night and he had noticed Kermit was fidgety and a bit anxious; it didn’t help that Scooter seemed a bit more irritable than he was on a normal basis.

At the moment, the look that the two of them shared clued the dog that something else was going on. The frog nodded. “Yeah, Rowlf,” he said. “I just…I have to tell you something.”

“Why not tell us now?” Fozzie asked. “That way we don’t have to wait until tomorrow.”

“You know the walls have ears, Fozzie,” Piggy replied. The bear of course couldn’t help but look around, seemingly imaging thousands of little eyes and ears staring at them from the walls and listening to everyone of their words.

“Not literally,” the diva sighed.

“It’s better if it’s not said here, Fozzie,” Kermit said. “So lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Kermit,” the stunt-weirdo said. “We’ll be there.”

 

[The Count]

Okay, first of all, sorry for not reading until now.
Secondly, typos and stuff aside... Good chapter. The relationships are coming together tighter and so's the story development. Little nods back to the movie like selling the studios and keeping the house full of memories are lovely reminders of the frog's plight. And then you throw in an almost frog/pig moment in the diva's dressing room, interrupted by the nuisance of her having to go perform her act for the night. Add to that the little quirks of funniness like Fozzie imagining the myriad of ears and eyes on the theater walls... Plus Beauregard and the rats setting to work... Even the Mayhem filing out at the end of another show... This was a true treat to find.

Thanks, and please post more.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Bueno. I am very sleepy, but I thought I'd get you all the next segment here. Not completely beta'd, but you know I'll go back and fix stuff. Or rather, I'll fix it and then make Ed fix it here. Yeah.


III.

Monday mornings for the Muppets were usually spent recovering from the night before. The excitement of performing could be a little too much for some, while others continued to roll on the energy and vibes of the show and went out to get rid of that energy. Most of the Muppets usually didn’t set aside time for anything on a Monday, however for seven people, Mondays usually meant the morning meeting.

The Monday morning meeting had been a tradition for as long as people remembered it to be; at this point in time, no one remembered how the meetings got started or who was even at the very first meeting, but it would ultimately come down to just seven. These meetings were designed in order to go over the show from the last night, while planning for the next show that following week; sometimes they would discuss financials, where they stood for any more items or any productions that were coming up.

There was no official staff or board that met during these meetings, but over time the same regulars were known to sit in. Kermit and Scooter of course, as director and assistant, were always at every meeting and it was customary for Piggy to be there as well, along with Fozzie, Gonzo, and Rowlf.

On this particular Monday morning, there was no meeting – well as far as any other Muppet was concerned, there was no meeting – but in reality, a more intimate type of session had been planned. Kermit planned to reveal a secret he had only told one other person and at that time, it looked as though the group wouldn’t be together any more anyway, so he felt no guilt in sharing what he had.

But with their recent reunion, Kermit had been found out in the worst way – by his assistant and co-accountant. Perhaps he knew one day that his secret would be learned, which would explain the small kernel of relief he felt in the fact that this would soon be out, at least to the people that mattered the most to him. Overall, however, he had a mounting feeling of dread at the prospect; he already knew that they would be so very disappointed in him, he knew it.

Kermit couldn’t remember the last time he had disappointed people, especially these people. That wasn’t true; he had disappointed them, several of them all at once. He couldn’t exactly explain his behavior; a combination of things perhaps, he didn’t know, but the important thing was the fact that he had disappointed them, even if they hadn’t come out and said it. He hated disappointing people, especially when he could keep it from happening. As much as he may have complained about being a leader to people, the truth was if he knew people depended on him, he would do his best to do right by them, even if he was reluctant to do so.

How he had become the leader of the Muppets, he didn’t know; he just had an idea and a direction and everyone seemed to think he knew what he was doing. He didn’t and he thought somewhere deep down, they knew that, but they trusted him; trusted him to lead them through the fires, the successes, and the failures and he had done that. To the best of his abilities, but even Kermit knew he couldn’t be great all the time; he never thought he was.

This Monday morning was spent fretting about how he was going to bring up this whole affair in the first place. He had told Gonzo long ago and Scooter had stumbled upon it by accident; Piggy he knew was aware something was wrong and he figured Rowlf did too; maybe he just come out and say it…

“Still fretting, baby?”

Kermit looked up to see the very diva come through the kitchen and begin making herself a cup of coffee. The house they shared in Beverly Hills had been a tomb when he had lived there alone; even with his own disparaging feelings about their relationship, Kermit had been happy living with Piggy, even to the point that several times the idea of making this relationship a definite permanent relationship.

And then he had gone and spouted off at the mouth and whatever dreams he had wanted with her were gone.

This second chance he had been given, he didn’t want to waste and he had vowed that he wasn’t going to let her go again. “What makes you think I’m fretting, baby?” he retorted, reaching for the cup she handed him. So lost in his own thoughts, he had started making coffee, but hadn’t even bothered to pour himself a cup.

“You’ve got that look.”

“Fresh,” he quipped. “I bet you say that to all the frogs you meet.”

“Only the handsome ones.”

Kermit couldn’t hide his grin at that. Their relationship, once tumultuous, argumentative, and heady, seemed to come full circle this time around. Maybe they were older, wiser, who knew, but he was glad for it. Oh, they still had their fights from time to time, but they weren’t as bad as they had been and they had learned from their time before on how their loose lips could sink their love ship.

Sitting at the rounded booth table in their kitchen, the two could enjoy their moments in silence should they wish, without any of the tension that could be held between them.

“Still not gonna tell me this big secret of yours?” she asked.

Again, Kermit grinned at her. He always loved this side of Piggy; the playful, flirty side that wasn’t hindered by her putting on the ‘Miss Piggy’ act. In the past, she had worn that armor around her full time, making sure that she had her professional façade in place for every occasion, even when she with him. Not always though; there were times when they could just be Kermit and Piggy, two mismatched crazy kids in love.

“You can’t wait three hours?” he asked, teasingly.

“Kermie,” she replied. “You know I am a very impatient woman.”

“Which of course is quite surprising,” he retorted. “Seeing as you normally have impeccable control.”

Raising an eyebrow, Piggy turned her baby blues full force on him. “Are we still having the same conversation?”

“We were discussing your inability to wait,” he said, picking up his cup to take a sip. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, naughty girl.” He took her smirk as an approval of the line. “Have I mentioned how much I’ve missed you? Missed this?”

“Once or twice.”

She could tell by the way the conversation seemed to go from flirty to serious that Kermit was still bothered by whatever this meeting would entail. “Kermit,” she whispered, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze. “How bad of a secret is this?”

He looked away for a moment before turning back. Holding back from what he should say and not stopping what he shouldn’t was how he lost her in the first place and he wasn’t sure he could go through that again. “It’s pretty bad.”

“Bad…between us?”

“No,” Kermit insisted, sitting up a little on the bench. “No, Piggy, I…” Suddenly, Kermit could almost see the way this whole could appear to someone who didn’t have any idea what was really going on. Did Piggy really think…? And immediately, he knew that some part of her may wonder if that thought was even possible.

“You know this house?” he asked, hoping to waylay her fears.

“I’m vaguely familiar with it, yes.”

“This is our house,” he whispered. “Yours and mine, okay? Not mine and…ours. And…and I certainly never…because I’m not the kind of frog who…I’m a one pig frog, Piggy.”

“I’ve noticed,” she said, smiling.

“And…and…I certainly don’t have any tadpoles out there,” Kermit continued, vaguely aware that now he was just rambling incoherently. “I mean, with my name on them. I mean…I…I am not the father of any baby figs, if that’s what you’re thinking because any figs I have are with you!” Thankfully, the frog’s brain kicked in it with a resounding slap to that of the inside of his head, causing him to wince.

Well, the minor secret was out, between them at least; certainly she had to be aware that he was all in now, that he wanted – had always wanted – the same thing she did. For her part, Piggy sat there, mouth slightly agape; granted, she was quite used to getting Kermit so flustered he started rambling about everything and anything all at once, but there were few times, far and between, in which he admitted some inner aspect of his feelings for her.

This had been the second time since her return that he had admitted the prospect of having children with her. “I’m going to file that little tidbit away for a later date,” she replied, causing Kermit to nod.

“Probably would be for the best, right.”

[hr]

Scooter Grosse could say he was a lot of things. Above all, he was a total nerd and geek; he had loved everything technology and science since he was a kid, which he was sure formed some sort of contention between his uncle and himself. JP was very much a businessman and he was open to using things that would help in achieving a higher position within the business world and as long as he was his nephew’s guardian, that’s what he would teach the boy.

However, Scooter wasn’t interested in the business world. As any teenager, he had no interest in what his uncle wanted for him, but what he wanted for himself, and – at that age – Scooter was fairly sure he wanted to do something in technology or science, he just wasn’t sure which. It was only when his uncle basically forced him to go down to the Muppet Theatre that the teenager’s ideas and dreams came to fruition.

The Muppet had of course been a fan of television shows and had liked movies, but he had never seen anything in live theater or even been in a theater before that starting day, but as soon as he saw it, he had ideas and big ones at that. Learning that the performances were going to be recorded for the TV crowd had him thinking of ways to make it seamless, no breaks other than commercials and the idea of putting together the video feeds was intriguing.

And that was how the one time go-fer began his career as a member of the Muppet Show.

Since then, Scooter had literally grown up in the business, so to speak, learning as he went and becoming a valuable asset within the company. Soon, his idea of going into technology and science turned to learning the technology and science behind making television shows and movies, the very thing he had learned by rout while working on their show and their movies.

Along the way, Scooter had gone from go-fer to assistant, his eager attitude at proving himself to Kermit and the others lending itself to helping out in mid-crisis when he could. Granted, some of those crisis’s he was actively involved in and that meant spending more time trying to hide said crisis from Kermit rather than preventing it. Being an assistant to the de facto director and producer meant that Scooter had to learn five different jobs or rather, learn the five or so different jobs that Kermit was unable to juggle by himself.

Finances had never been in Scooter’s vocab until he took on the task of trying to manage all the incoming and outgoing money of the theater and then the actual studios. Luckily, Scooter also enjoyed math, which made the accounting aspects not as daunting as they seemed; despite always being depicted as down and out and broke in their films, Muppet Studios was doing very well, even without the added exposure from Kermit or Piggy or Fozzie or Rowlf or Gonzo or the Mayhem.

They were riding high and they had the money to do it. It meant everything was bigger, grander, and more expensive. It was only when they started the backslide did the finances take a hit, until ultimately the course they had taken led them to this.

Scooter still couldn’t believe what Kermit had done. Kermit had been an inspiration for him; for all those people who looked up to the frog, the younger Muppet was right there with them. Kermit had been everything from boss to friend to father figure rolled into one and Scooter didn’t think he respected anyone more than he respect Kermit. So to discover that the frog had nearly let the studios just decline without thought had literally hurt, physically hurt.

Oh, he had felt this way before. Years ago, when Piggy had announced she was leaving, he had immediately put all the blame on Kermit and he could sadly admit that for the first time ever, he actively hated Kermit the Frog. He tried to push the feelings he had off, but the conclusion he had reached was something he knew stemmed from him being the new kid on the block and having various Muppets take him under their wing.

Kermit and Piggy’s break up had felt like a literal punch to the gut and in his mind, he had chosen sides to ultimately ‘live’ with Piggy in the case the two split the group for custody. Now, of course he felt horrible about it, but he couldn’t help it. He might not have been a teenager at the time, but the whole thing made him feel five years old and still being afraid of thunder and the boogeyman; and through it all, he always had someone to protect him.

And when they split, when the group split, he lost that. And then Scooter grew up. He was still Scooter Grosse, but during those times when he had been in a business meeting, he was now Andrew Grosse, youngest intern at Google and resident nerd on anything. In fact, for a long time at Google, he was Andrew Grosse, because Scooter Grosse was another time and another life ago.

The drive to Kermit and Piggy’s home was a short one, relative to where he was renting a cozy little townhome sublet. He knew the route like the back of his hand and knew the layout of the house as though it was his own; and the host and hostess of the house had encouraged him and the others to think of it that way. Their holiday parties and get togethers were always fun, filled with good times, good food – usually – and good music; a party full of performers was always guaranteed to be a fun affair.

But for Scooter, that house was more than just parties. He had a key and to his knowledge, only Fozzie had the other, not that the bear ever used it; their house was a meeting place. While the others had been old enough to hang out at their favorite bar, Scooter was not, so many of their gatherings took place in that kitchen or on the patio – script reads, idea sessions, or even just family dinners – all happened around that table that shouldn’t have been able to fit six people, but somehow did. He hadn’t been to the house in quite some time, not since Piggy had taken her stuff and moved out; he hadn’t felt the need to visit the frog, even when they were only a few short hours from each other.

The former go-fer had been mad, childishly so, and that anger had kept him away until the group had gotten back together to save their studio.

 

[The Count]

*Feels perfectly sated with this chapter. That right there shows you're very adeptitude at learning from the forum's fic masters.

Loose lips sink their love ship.
Cute, cute phrase.
File that little tidbit away for a later date.
Moi certainly will use that info, frog.
Only Andrew Grosse and Fozzie Bear had the keys to the house.
That's endearing, and even more to think revers the gathering table as such.

*Leaves big fluffy choc chip muffin for Gina.
Bravo, more please when you can post it.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Scooter had no trouble getting through the steel gate, pulling up to the driveway, next to that of an old brown Studebaker that he recognized as being Fozzie’s. Getting out of the car, Scooter hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should bring in his laptop or tablet to this thing. He would need to go over some of the details he was sure, but even in his heart he knew he had that info memorized.

Steeling himself for what he thought would be a very long and painful meeting, he left the driver’s side of his car and headed to the front door. Finding that the door wasn’t locked, Scooter made his way in, hearing the sounds of at least three other people in the kitchen.

“Scooter!”

Fozzie Bear greeted the page with a large smile, though Scooter could probably count the number of times he hadn’t seen Fozzie smile on one hand. The bear stood at the kitchen table, while Kermit and Piggy were sitting to the left of him on one side of the rounded booth.

“Ahoy ahoy,” was his greeting, sending a half smile at both the pig and frog. He didn’t particularly want to be there, especially knowing the reason and he wasn’t looking forward to the plan that he and Kermit had finally come up with. Bottom line, Scooter wasn’t happy with this, but like Kermit, he would do everything in his power to keep Muppet Studios in the family.

“Piggy ordered pizza!” the bear exclaimed, his childlike enthusiasm failing to charm the assistant as it usually did.

“Yummy.”

The very way Scooter had said it clearly indicated he wasn’t as excited as the bear was and clearly wished to be somewhere else. Well, Kermit couldn’t have his bad mood or attitude cause this meeting to go worse than it already would; regardless of how he felt, Scooter was acting childish and he would need him to act his age if they were going to follow through with this.

So he decided to put a stop to it.

“Andrew,” he said, sternly. “Stop it.”

The command immediately did two things – first, it caused Scooter to reign in his mood, but only slightly and second, it caused Fozzie to share a look with Piggy, confirming that they both thought something odd going on. Kermit never, ever called Scooter by his first name; normally, he didn’t have to. Kermit had just a presence that Scooter would ultimately know when the frog needed something urgently, was distressed about something, or even mad at him about something. It was something that everyone just instinctively knew about Kermit.

The topic was tabled for the moment when the group heard the doorbell. “That’s probably the pizza,” Kermit said, hopping up quickly and heading for the door. The three watched him go, though only one of them seemed to stare longer than the others.

Fozzie took a seat next to Piggy before making room for Scooter to sit on the edge. “Everything okay, Scooter?” he asked, once the three were seated.

“Yeah, Fozzie,” the assistant whispered. “Everything’s fine. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing today…except maybe putting my head in an oven.” The last part was muttered, but his companions easily heard him.

Upon coming back with a large pizza, Kermit was also being followed by Rowlf and Gonzo, who had both arrived just as the pizza boy was driving away. Lunch was the same affair that it usually was when these particular six people got together, however there seemed to be a new level of unease, tension, and all around suspicion that clouded the group.

Conversations seemed forced, jokes were laughed at in a matter that showed the listener hadn’t even heard the joke before laughing. Finally, Rowlf could take no more. “Alright Kermit,” he said. “You’ve invited us here, you’ve fed us, now what’s this big secret that only the five of us need to know?”

The frog chuckled humorlessly. “Straight to the point, as always, Rowlf,” he replied. Sliding out of his seat, he stood at the table, overlooking the others. “Do you guys remember that film we were working on a few years ago? Right before we split up?”

“Oh yeah,” the dog laughed. “That action film we were gonna do. What was it called?”

“Muppet Melodrama,” Gonzo supplied, his tone and look serious. He was starting to get an idea what this whole meeting was about it and like Scooter, he wasn’t liking it.

“Oh yeah!” Fozzie exclaimed. “I remember that! Man, that was a pretty awesome movie.”

“Yeah,” Kermit continued. “Um...about that. See, I uh…what happened was this. The studio heads, above us you know, they uh…they kinda shut down the movie.”

Three out of five occupants at the table looked at each before looking at Kermit. “Sure,” Piggy replied, a bit confused. “We knew that.”

“There’s more.”

This time, four out of five occupants at the table turned to look at Gonzo’s casual statement; even Kermit sent a glare his way.

“See…” he stumbled. “They kinda…they kinda shut it down…about…three weeks before everyone left.”

“What?”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means, Fozzie,” Gonzo stated, looking at the comic. “That Kermit had all of us come in to work, for three weeks, on a movie that was no longer in production.”

The very implications of what Kermit had said, along with Gonzo’s very condensed version of it, stunned everyone at the table who hadn’t been aware of what the frog had done.

“Are you kidding?” Rowlf asked. “Kermit, what the hey?”

“What were you thinking?” asked Piggy.

“I wasn’t, okay?” Kermit explained. He knew this wasn’t going to be good and he was somewhat happy to discover that, in predicting disaster, he was pretty good at it. “I was not thinking and whatever I was thinking, doesn’t matter now. It was stupid, I fully admit that. I know it was stupid.”

Piggy rounded on Gonzo, the flash of baby blues trained on the blue weirdo like a heat seeking missile trained on a day spa. “You knew about this?”

“It had already happened!” Gonzo defended. “What was I supposed to do?”

“So…” Fozzie began, taking his signature hat off and worrying it in his hands, a sure sign that he was agitated. “So what does that mean exactly? We still keep the studio, right? I mean, we just did a movie and a bunch of publicity for it. That counts for something, right?”

As was becoming a reoccurring them with the two, Kermit and Scooter exchanged a look that was neither helpful nor that of a hindrance.

“Kermit,” Piggy began, her tone suggesting that this was hardly a time for joking or teasing. “Please, please tell me you didn’t bankrupt our studios.”

“Not that time I didn’t.” And immediately Kermit knew that was probably the worst thing he could have said at the moment.

“That time!?” Gonzo exclaimed. While he may have been privy to what Kermit had done before he left, he had no idea what the frog had done while they were all gone.

“How many other times are there?” Rowlf questioned.

“We’re not bankrupted, okay?” Scooter interjected. A part of him felt the uncontrollable need to defend Kermit in all of this; after all, once they got past this backstory, the truth of the matter would need to come out and he would shoulder as much blame as the frog.

“So we’re okay then?” Fozzie asked.

The hesitancy in which Scooter – or Kermit – responded, or rather didn’t respond, gave the group the clue they were looking for. “We’re not bankrupt,” the assistant repeated. “But…we are kinda in trouble.”

“Oh well then,” the performance artist said, sarcastically. “Story of our lives; we’re always in some kind of trouble. How much trouble are we in this time?”

“Listen, there...” Kermit began before sighing. They weren’t going to like this, not that they had enjoyed this conversation so far. “There was really only one option that I…”

“We,” Scooter interrupted.

“I,” Kermit corrected. If he was going down, he was going down alone. “Could think of. Something that would ensure that Muppet Studios would keep going and that could…take care of that…unfortunate incident that I created.”

“Which was?” Rowlf asked.

Kermit took a deep breath and just let it out. “Sell the studio.”

To say that you could have heard a pin drop in the room is unnecessary because you would’ve been able to hear a pin being dropped, a grasshopper playing the world’s smallest violin, as well as an ant having his teeth drilled.

Rowlf, who had been lunging back against the booth’s interior now sat up and leaned forward. “You sold Muppet Studios?” he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

Rowlf had an even calmer exterior than that of Kermit, able to actively handle the madness that could sometimes sweep the frog up with it. He was definitely what you would call a slow boil – it took an extreme amount of events or issues to cause the dog to get angry at anything.

The heat was currently on.

Gonzo was also a slow boil kind of personality. Usually the leader in the calamity that went on within the group, there were very, very few times in which Gonzo had ever been truly angry. Oh, he could get annoyed easily, especially when things didn’t go his way, but it was extremely rare when he’d be mad at someone.

That someone had increasingly been Kermit and for several years at that. Now, Gonzo loved the frog, loved him like a brother, but even siblings can push the limit of love and like siblings, the two had angered each other throughout the years. The last few years, their contention revolved around Piggy; both had feelings for her, but Gonzo had bowed out and his feelings had changed mostly to that of annoying frienemy to the diva.

But even with that, a part of Gonzo would never and could never forgive Kermit for pushing the pig out of his life more times than Gonzo had shot himself out of a canon.

“The same studios,” the daredevil said slowly. “That we all got back together for and spent all of our time trying to save? Those studios?”

Kermit gulped. He had already been on the receiving end of a right hook from Gonzo fairly recently and he did not want to go through that again, especially when the weirdo had the presence of mind to mention that it could have been much worse; the frog hadn’t known or even been aware just how many people had aligned themselves in either Team Kermit or Team Piggy whenever the two of them got into a tussle.

Gonzo had told him, in no uncertain terms, that the punch he received was the more lenient sentence. Nervously glancing at Rowlf, he could see why that was.

“Are you telling me that the two of you went ahead and sold our studios without either bothering to tell us!?”

Piggy, by contrast, was very quick to anger. And she did so with deadly accuracy. No one ever wanted to be on her bad side and those that were caught, soon learned to regret it. With the exception of Scooter, every male in that room had been on the receiving end of one of her karate chops and if they were lucky – like Fozzie – they learned to never to do whatever it was they did again.

Sometimes, they didn’t learn their lesson – in the case of Kermit and Gonzo – and had to be reminded, repeatedly, why they should never get on her bad side.

“We’re telling you now,” Scooter replied, gulping. He was all too aware of what Piggy could do to him and with his close proximity to her, he didn’t want to find out. Those baby blues that had been staring daggers at Kermit one moment ago were now trained on him as soon as he dared to open his mouth.

And it didn’t matter that Fozzie was the only thing that stood between him and her, because knowing Piggy, she’d just cut through the bear as she made a beeline to him.

Within seconds, the quartet was arguing over the very merits of betrayal and lying and a bunch of other stuff that Kermit never thought he’d ever hear his friends say about him. And it was only going to get worse.

“Would you all like to know who I sold the studios to?” he shouted.

“Does it even matter?” Fozzie lamented. He couldn’t believe it! Kermit, his friend, his brother, his frog had done the unthinkable; it didn’t matter who the studios belonged to now, it certainly wasn’t them. And as heartbroken as Fozzie felt, all he could think about was having to go back to Reno and performing with…those other guys again.

“Well Frog,” Piggy huffed. “Go on. Who did you brilliantly and deviously sell our studios to? The Warners? Or the mouse with the big ears? What idiot did you manage to con into buying our studios from underneath you?”

“Me.”

Four heads and eight eyes turned and stared at the red head who sat at the end of the bench. Truth be told, Scooter was just a tad bit insulted by Piggy’s words, but he knew she wasn’t exactly mad at him. Well, not yet anyway.

“Kermit sold the studios to me.”