Chapter 18
**Author's Note**
Whew! Not only did I manage to rewrite what I lost, but I also managed to get two chapters done.
So there WILL be a new chapter next week. Guaranteed.
Now on to the story...
The Fraggle From Outer Space
Chapter 18
“Wembley, this is the start of a new way of life for me.”
Boober was hard at work finishing up the cleaning in his room, and Wembley was hard at work helping him, which mostly involved holding anything Boober handed to him and stacked up in his arms. It had taken them a couple days to fully remove all trace of his burst of rage.
“A new way of life?”
“That's right, Wembley. I wake up, do some laundry, make myself a meal, go for a walk and go to bed.”
“Uh, Boober. That doesn't sound like a new way of life to me. It sounds just like your old one.”
“Yes, but the difference is that I've given myself a new motto: Stay away from girls.”
“Uh... ALL girls, Boober?”
“That's right. All of them. I never want to see a single girl for as long as I live.”
“But, Boober...... Aren't half the fraggles in Fraggle Rock girls?”
He paused and looked at his confused greenish-yellow friend.
“Therein lies the snag in my new lifestyle.”
(Boober)
You can't live with 'em.
You can't live without 'em.
There's something irresistible-ish about 'em.
You grin and bear it cuz the nights are long.
I hope that something better comes along.
“Aw, come on, Boober. You can't do this to yourself forever. I mean I miss Goldie, too, you know? She was a really neat fraggle.”
“You don't understand, Wembley. You couldn't possibly understand. There isn't a single fraggle in the entire Rock who could understand what I'm going through right now.”
“Well, maybe not, but I do know one thing.”
(Wembley)
It's no good complaining
And pointless to holler.
(Boober)
If she's a beauty she'll get under your collar.
And then she'll leave you with an old sad song.
(Both)
I hope that something better comes along.
(Wembley)
Hey, I don't mean to plead here,
But at least you still have me here.
We're buddies through thick and thin.
(Boober)
Look, I know you're only trying,
But there's no use in denying.
I wish I could hide from all this hurting inside.
“Well, I don't know much about this sort of thing, Boober, but I do know that it's not good for you to stay like this. You need to try and feel happy again.”
“That's a lot easier said than done, Wembley.”
“What do you mean?”
(Boober)
As much as I'd like to,
I can't seem to do it.
(Wembley)
That's why I'm here, so I can
Help you get through it.
(Boober)
How could a love so right have gone so wrong?
I hope that something better...
(Wembley)
I hope that something better...
(Both)
I hope that something better comes alooooooooong.
At song's end, they were done cleaning, and the room was back as it used to be before the mess was made. Boober let out a sad sigh.
“Is there anything I can do, Boober? Anything at all. Just name it.”
“I don't know, Wembley. I don't think I know anything anymore.”
Wembley noticed a beat up brown paper bag still lying on the table and picked it up.
“Hey, you forgot to get rid of this old bag. Wow, I can't believe you've kept it this long. Look at all these holes it's got now.”
“DON'T TOUCH THAT!” Boober shrieked as he snatched the bag away from a frozen and very confused Wembley.
Boober gritted his teeth and growled as he clutched the bag in his hands, making Wembley step slowly backwards away from him.
“I-I-I'm sorry, Boober. I didn't know it meant that much to you.”
“It means EVERYTHING to me!”
“Uh, Boober, don't you think you're being just a little bit silly about all this?”
“No! This is the only thing she left behind! It's all I have left of her! If I lose this, I lose everything!”
“Well, you know what? Fine then! Be that way! I was just trying to help my best friend feel better, and this is the thanks I get? Getting my head bitten off over a silly little bag? Well, I've had it, Boober! Just go ahead and.. and sit around and-and... and be miserable all day! I quit!”
And with that, the greenish-yellow fraggle with the banana tree print shirt stormed out of the room and down the tunnel to his own room.
Boober seethed for a moment after Wembley left. After he finally realized what had happened, he gasped and then let out a frustrated groan, feeling guilty about having just lashed out at one of his closest friends.
“Oh, what is the matter with me?”
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(A Little Later...)
“Well, I don't know about you,” said Red, “But I think he's being a big baby.”
“You shouldn't be so hard on poor Boober,” said Mokey, “I mean after all, he did just lose the one dearest to his heart. He must be going through so much pain and turmoil right now.”
“Maybe so,” said Gobo, “But that doesn't mean he should go taking it out on the rest of us. Wembley, will you sit down and quit pacing?”
Red and Mokey were hanging out with Gobo in his room while he lie on his bed strumming seemingly random melodies on his guitar. Wembley had just stomped in a few minutes ago and started pacing in circles around the room.
“I'm sorry, Gobo, but I can't stand it. If I don't try and help him, I don't feel good, but if I DO try to help him, he'll yell at me and I STILL won't feel good.”
“Hey, we're all worried about 'im, too, eh. But right now what Boober needs is space.”
“If they'd sung the Song of the Forever Promise like they were supposed to,” Red added, “He wouldn't be having this problem. She'd have to stay with him no matter what.”
“Yeah, what she said,” Wembley agreed. “Then Goldie wouldn't have left, and Boober would still be happy.”
“You're both forgetting one very important thing.”
Red and Wembley looked to Mokey in confusion, wondering what she could've meant.
“Don't you remember how Goldie was before she left?” she continued, “She looked so sad. I don't think she wanted to leave either.”
“So it'd be safe to say that she's probably just as miserable as he is right now,” said Gobo. “Wherever she is.”
“Exactly,” said Mokey. “It's going to be hard for both of them. When two fraggles fall in love, and they're meant to be together, they form a strong bond that allows them to sing together, even when they're far apart. If that happens to Boober, then I'm afraid there won't be any comfort for him.”
There was a long and awkward pause after that. The four fraggles let out various sighs and groans as they thought of what to say next. Then an idea struck Gobo as he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his uncle's latest postcard.
“Hey, maybe this'll help lighten the mood a bit,” he said and then began to read the postcard, “Dear Nephew Gobo, How's Goldie doing? I hope her time in Fraggle Rock has been enjoyable so far.”
The four of them frowned. Gobo shook his head and looked back down to the postcard.
“I've been having quite a time here in Outer Space lately. Why, just the other day, I...”
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Why, just the other day, I found myself wandering a most peculiar series of caves. It was a very cold cave with some of the most peculiar rock formations I've ever seen.
Traveling Matt Fraggle was a fraggle of tan fur and white hair and mustache, sporting full hiking garb and an explorer's helmet. He wandered lost in the seemingly endless cooler of a dairy packaging plant, filled with several pallets of various boxes all filled with different dairy products.
With my keen sense of direction, I had no trouble at all finding someone to guide me through to safety.
“Oof!” he grunted as he bumped right into a large remote-controlled forklift.
“Oh! Begging your pardon, sir,” he said to the forklift as he got up and brushed himself off. “I'm terribly sorry. I seem to have lost my way. You wouldn't per chance happen to know of a way out of here, would you?”
The forklift began to beep as it began to move in reverse.
The creature spoke a strange language, but I managed to get the basic idea of what he was saying.
The forklift turned around and began to make its way down one of the rows of pallets.
“Ah, thank you, good sir.”
Matt followed the forklift down several rows until it stopped and turned to one of the pallets.
But before the creature would help me, he wanted me to first help him. Naturally, being the good-hearted fraggle I am, I could not refuse my service to him. And let me tell you, Nephew, that this creature bore remarkable strength. It lifted the very rock formation right off of the ground. An astonishing sight, if I do say.
The forklift then slipped its forked pronged beneath the pallet and hoisted it a few feet into the air.
As it turned out, the poor creature had lost his treasure beneath one of the rock formations and could not retrieve it himself. So, of course, I took it upon myself to retrieve it for him.
He ducked down beneath the pallet and picked up an empty plastic milk jug that had been crushed under the pallet. He crawled back out and showed the forklift what he had found.
“Did you lose this?” he asked the lifeless forklift.
The forklift again began to beep as it backed out of the slot, carrying the pallet it had just picked up.
He was very thankful. He even allowed me to ride him. I'd made a new friend.
The forklift had turned so that the seat inside was revealed. Matt climbed up and sat on it, placing the crushed jug on the floor by the controls.
The forklift carried its cargo all the way to a large door at the end of the cooler.
The creature brought me to a strange rectangular door. It had ridges and was the same shiny color as the walls of the cave. Then the door opened and revealed my ticket to freedom. It was a magic cave that would transport me somewhere else. I had seen these caves several times before. They are very cold inside, and they almost always provide food for the journey. I wish I could somehow find a way to control where it went so I could bring it to Fraggle Rock and show it to you.
What was beyond the door was the inside of a truck trailer, already filled with most of the shipment it was to carry. The pallet the forklift was carrying was the last one.
The forklift climbed inside and dropped the pallet. Matt jumped off and waved to his new friend.
“Thank you very much, my friend,” he said.
The forklift beeped again as it began to back out of the trailer. When it was all the way back out of the trailer, the door shut again, locking Traveling Matt inside the trailer.
It was apparent that my new friend was sad to see me go. I think he might've been lonely living in his cave all alone. But such is life, Nephew. Friends come and friends go. Life goes on, and so must we.
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“I will write to you again soon. Love, Your Uncle Traveling Matt.”
“Gobo, that was no help at all,” said Red.
“But what is says rings very true,” said Mokey, “Life goes on, and so must we.”
“Well, that's easy enough for us, Mokey,” said Wembley, “But somebody should try and say that to Boober.”
“He'll figure it out on his own, Wembley,” Gobo said, “Eventually anyway. Like I said, what he needs right now is space.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” asked Wembley, “I mean, nobody's ever NOT sung the Song of the Forever Promise after falling in love before. What if he stays like this forever?”
“As difficult as it is to see him like this,” said Mokey, “Gobo's right. He needs space. If we try anything it will only make matters worse for him.”
“And for us,” Wembley added. “Especially if he and Goldie sing together, even though they're not.”
“Right,” said Gobo, “Let's just let him be for now. If he wants our help, he'll come and ask for it.”
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Song Credits:
- I Hope That Something Better Comes Along—from The Muppet Movie, partially rewritten
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