Fic: Monsters from the Past

[Slackbot]

Here's a little something that comes chronologically after Muppets from Earth, but is more properly a followup to Before Gonzo was Great.

*****

Monsters from the Past 1:
Home is Something You Needn't Deserve
By Kim McFarland​

*****

It had been a dark and stormy night inside the Muppet Theater. One of the acts in this week's show included a thunderstorm. It wasn't feasible to shower water onto the stage—not even for the Muppets! —but someone had hit on the idea of hanging tinsel-like strips of clear plastic from above. When blown gently by a fan, the glints off them from the lights above resembled rain.

Now, after the show, the Muppets were backstage and in their dressing rooms, getting ready to go back home. Beauregard, who was sweeping up, heard a tapping at the back alley door. He shouldered his push broom and opened the door. "Hello, can I help you?" he said amiably to the older Monster lady at the door.
"I hope so," she said quietly. "Would it be possible for me to speak to The Great Gonzo?"

"Oh, sure. Come with me," Bo answered, beckoning her in. He knew the policy: no fans backstage during the show, but after the show it was okay as long as there weren't many and they seemed harmless. This lady looked like someone's grandmother. If a grandmother wasn't harmless, who was?

Bo glanced around. "I don't see him. He must be in his dressing room. It's up this way." He gestured for her to follow as he went up the stairs. Gonzo's door still had an egg instead of a star. Bo rapped on the door and said "Gonzo, you have a visitor."

"Be there in a moment."

Bo glanced at the woman. She looked uneasy. He said, "No need to be nervous. Gonzo's a nice guy."

She smiled, a little stiffly. "I'm sure he is."

The door opened. Gonzo, in street clothes, looked out. "Hi," he said cheerfully.

"Hello, Gonzo. How have you been?"

That was an odd opening question for someone he didn't know. He answered, "Fine. And yourself?"

"I've been well." She paused, then said, "Gonzo... do you recognize me?"

Gonzo was about to say no, but something about her voice was vaguely familiar. He looked at her carefully. She had light green fur, a short yellow beak, and featherlike, dark green hair that was shading to gray. Fairly nondescript for a Monster. Still, he had the feeling he'd seen her somewhere. "Jog my memory. Where would I remember you from?"

"Missouri," she said in a low voice.

Missouri? He hadn't been there since... oh. A memory clicked into place, suddenly and startlingly vivid. He stared at her and went pale. Then, without saying a word he went back into his dressing room and shut the door.

The woman was startled. She had not been sure what to expect, but this wasn't it. She tapped on the door. "Gonzo? I only have one question."

"What is it?" He sounded close to panic.

"What happened to you?"

Silence. She was about to give up and leave when his door opened again. He glanced around and saw that others were looking, then said, "Come in here."

She went into his dressing room. He shut the door firmly behind himself. "What happened? What do you think happened?" he said in disbelief to his former foster mother.

"I never knew," she told him. "You were there one day and gone the next. You never said goodbye. We searched for months, but there wasn't a clue what happened to you. We thought... when you were never found, we gave up hope that you were still alive."

He looked away. Of course they hadn't found him. He had done his best to drop out of sight. He said, "You remember the train yard a mile away? I took a boxcar out of town."

"Why?"

"You were going to send me back."

Long pause. Then she said, "Why do you think that?"

"Yours was my sixth foster family! You think I hadn't memorized the signs by then? I couldn't take being chucked yet again, so I left."

"But where did you go?"

His shrug looked more like a spasm than a gesture. "I don't know. I just stuck with the train until it stopped somewhere far away. I don't remember where I got off."

"All alone? You were only fourteen-"

His eyes on the floor, he said, "Maybe. Nobody really knows how old I am, not even me."

She asked, "How did you get along afterward?"

She sounded so concerned. Bitterly he thought, too little, too late. "Eh. I managed. I kept out of trouble. Eventually I got a job here. That's all you need to know."

"We missed you," she said softly.

He burst out, "Then why were you going to send me away? What was wrong with me? Why did everyone always unhook me and throw me back?"

"Nothing was wrong with you, Gonzo. It was plain that you weren't happy with us."

That answer shocked Gonzo. She continued gently, "We could tell that you didn't want to live with us. We hoped that you would eventually warm to us, but you never did. We couldn't keep you if you were unhappy. We hoped that you would find a family that would be better for you."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You were going to throw me back for my own good. You and five other families. Talk about killing someone with kindness."

"I'm sorry..."

"Yeah. Me too. And none of you ever said anything to me about it. Didn't anyone think of asking me what I wanted?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

"Yeah." He could feel years' worth of bitterness rising to the surface, and he told himself to speak carefully. Keep control. He was not a child any longer; she had no claim on him. He took a deep breath and said, "If you'd asked, I'd have told you that what I wanted most was a last name."

She paused, surprised. "You already had one."

"Frackle? That was just a label they stuck on me. They thought I look like a Frackle, so I must be one. Hah. What I wanted most was for someone to give me a real last name. Make me part of their lives, not just a guest passing through." He tried to laugh; it sounded like a cough. "It took a while, but eventually I did get the name I wanted."

"Someone adopted you?"

"No." He gestured at a framed playbill. It was cheaply printed, and had yellowed with age.

She read it. It was for the grand opening of The Muppet Show. Juliet Prowse was the headline, followed by a list of names, most of them familiar. She looked carefully to see if there was anything she was missing, then said, "I don't understand."

"I didn't want them to bill me as Gonzo Frackle. I hated that name. I told them, just call me Gonzo. Someone thought that was too plain, I guess, and billed me as 'Gonzo the Great' because it sounded better. I kind of liked that, and it stuck. So I changed my name to 'Gonzo The Great'. Why not?"

"'The Great' is your last name?" she said.

"Middle and last, yeah." He considered not completing the story—his personal life was none of her business! —but decided to go on nevertheless. "It was, anyway. I changed it again last month. I got married."

She had noticed the nest next to the desk. "To Camilla?" she guessed.

"Yes. She gave me her last name. I was happy being Gonzo The Great... but it's even better being Gonzo Orphington."

"Congratulations."

He wasn't about to tell her about their daughter, Billie. They had kept her existence out of the news to protect her from scrutiny, and he saw no reason to confide in this woman.

He said nothing more. He did not look at her. He had not looked her in the face since he first recognized her. He was visibly tense, as if her mere presence was painful to him. She said, "Gonzo... I'm sorry I upset you. And I understand. I hope you and Camilla are very happy together." She walked to the door. When he said nothing, she turned the handle.

"I understand too," he said, barely above a whisper.

She looked back. He met her eyes for a moment, then looked away. She said "Goodbye." He waved back halfheartedly, and she left.

**

When, soon afterward, Camilla came to the dressing room door she was surprised to find it locked. She pecked on the door. A moment later the lock clicked and the door opened.

She entered. Gonzo was behind the door, and he looked terrible. "Gonzo?"

He shut the door and locked it again. "I'll be okay in a minute."

She doubted that. What happened?

"Someone came to see me. My last foster mother." His voice cracked, and he put his hand over his mouth.

He had only spoken to her once about his childhood, and although he had included few details, just the way he had talked about it told her clearly what a sad time it had been. This visit had brought that back to the surface.

Camilla was not a good talker, but talking was not what he needed. She put her wings around him. He embraced her tightly and pressed his head to what, for a hen, passed for a shoulder. He was trembling. When he started making soft gasping sounds and she felt tears drip onto her feathers she reached up and stroked the back of his head with her wing.

**

They stayed together in the dressing room until Gonzo cried himself out. Partway through Scooter had come to call them to the bus, and Camilla had shooed him away, with great effort making him understand that they would return to the boarding house on their own.

After Gonzo calmed himself he was embarrassed. "I thought all that was long behind me. But just seeing her, hearing her voice... mostly hearing her voice... it brought it all back. I remembered everything so clearly. Like it just happened."

Gently she stroked his cheek with her wing feathers.

"You know what's worst?" he whispered. "She said they were going to send me back because I wasn't happy with them. But I never trusted them because I knew they'd just reject me like every other family did. If only I'd known!"

She clucked sympathetically to him. Looking upward, he took several deep breaths, then continued, "Funny... I hardly ever cried back then. Sometimes I felt terrible, but I didn't cry about it. Why now?"

She clucked softly, It's safe to cry now.

He paused and thought about that. Then he said, "Yeah," and hugged her tightly again.

**

When Gonzo had pulled himself together they left the dressing room. The backstage area was dark and quiet. The other Muppets had left in the bus for the boarding house long ago. Gonzo was about to pick up the telephone receiver to call a cab when he heard a sound from the stage. He looked out and saw Beauregard going over the stage with a push broom. "Bo?"

Beauregard looked up. "Oh, hello, Gonzo. Are you ready to go home?"

"Uh, yeah. You didn't have to wait up," Gonzo said, surprised.

"Oh, no problem. It’s hard to get the stage clean sometimes after a Muppet Labs act. I finally got all the ash and bits of burnt rubber up!"

The janitor seemed genuinely pleased with himself. Gonzo couldn't imagine being so happy about cleaning up, but he knew that there were also some who did not enjoy taking part in dangerous stunts. It took all kinds, and The Muppets certainly had all kinds. Gonzo looked at the stage, and it really was smooth and shiny. "Great job, Bo."

"Thanks!" Bo set the push broom and a set of scrapers and cloths in a small closet and wiped his hands on a small towel.

They went out to the back, where Bo had parked the small, old car that he often used to run errands for the theater. They all got in, and Bo said, "I hope it's okay to drop you off at the lobby."

Gonzo and Camilla laughed, and Beauregard grinned.

**

When they arrived, the looks the other Muppets gave them said clearly that there had been speculation as to why they were so late getting home, and also that it was completely wrong. He'd let it be, though. He'd rather let them think that he and Camilla had been honeymooning rather than admit he'd been bawling his eyes out over something that happened decades ago.

The other hens had been watching over Billie. As he picked his daughter up Gonzo thought that, as much as he wished otherwise, his past did matter. It was part of what shaped him. He had tacitly denied it for years. But it was over with, and it could never hurt him again. And, Gonzo knew, his daughter would never feel like he had. She would never wonder where her place was in the world. As long as he was alive, she would always know that she was loved.

*****

Gonzo, Camilla, Scooter, and Beauregard are copyright © The Muppets Studio, LLC and are used without permission but with much respect and affection. Billie and Brian are copyright © Kim McFarland. This story is copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.

 

[Lil0Vampy]

Very, very nice! I never cease to be wow'd be your writing!

 

[Slackbot]

Very, very nice! I never cease to be wow'd be your writing!

Heh, thanks.

I just reread this--for the sixth time; I put all my stories thorugh multiple drafts--and it looks like it ought to be a subplot for a regular story rather than a standalone. If I had a bigger story to put it in I'd ask a mod to X this, but I don't have anything epic planned. MfE kinda took it out of me. 8^p

And on a completely unrelated note, I'd love to hear The Electric Mayhem play Max 300. Animal could do it justice, with Lips and Janice in to add the occasional bits of melody. (Please tell me someone else is familiar with this song...)

 

[Slackbot]

Monsters from the Past 2
by Kim McFarland​

*****

It was a dark and stormy Monday night. Well, actually it wasn't. It was warm and a little humid, but it was a Monday.

Tonight's show was the last of this week's set. There had been no disasters onstage or backstage. Most would consider that a plus, but for the Muppets that was a hint that they weren't trying hard enough.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Gonzo's role in this show was fairly small. Blow an electrified trumpet, play a minor part in an ensemble sketch, and sing in the chorus, all during the first act. He was free the entire second act. Camilla's part was even smaller: she was a background character in the ensemble sketch. Billie was back in the boarding house in the care of her feathery godmothers. As the only chick hatched by any of their number in quite a long time, she would never suffer from lack of attention.

Gonzo and Camilla took advantage of the downtime during the second act to spend some time together in the privacy of their dressing room. They kept an eye on the clock, however, and were back out in plenty of time for the bows and other end-of-show business. As long as they made their cues, nobody teased them too much about their disappearances.

After the curtain closed, the cast hauled most of the props and scenery back out of the way. Pops, the stage doorman called out from his cage, "Gonzo!"

Fozzie, who had seen Gonzo go to the other side of the theater, said, "He's backstage left."

"Tell him there's a lady here to see him."

"Okay."

Fozzie crossed the stage and glanced around. Gonzo was nowhere to be seen. "Gonzo?"

"Up here."

Gonzo was up on the catwalk. Fozzie didn't think to ask why; Gonzo probably had an inspiration or something. "Pops says you've got a lady visitor."

Gonzo paused, then said, "Who? Did you see her?"

"He didn't say. She's a Monster, I think. Are you expecting someone?"

"Um, never mind."

Gonzo grabbed one of the ropes and rappelled down the wall. He nearly landed on Rizzo, who scuttled out of the way at the last moment. "Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry."

Gonzo crossed the stage, becoming tenser with every step. Who could be here to see him? It had only been a few days since his former foster mother had visited him, and he still felt awful about that. Why would she come back? What more was there for either of them to say? Briefly he considered sending someone to say he wasn't available. But, no, that would be cowardly. He wasn't going to hide from his past.

He nerved himself for the worst before turning the corner to Pops' cage. When he saw his visitor—a small woman with short tan fur and neatly-brushed brown hair—he stared for a moment in shock.

She said, "So you do remember me."

"Are you kidding?" he exclaimed.

**

Camilla, who had not been helping clean up the theater due to her lack of hands, was waiting in the dressing room when Gonzo came in, leading an unfamiliar female Monster. From his expression, she guessed this was not another of his former foster parents. He shut the door and said, "Camilla, this is Catherine Monster. She helped me get off the streets back when. Catherine, this is Camilla, chicken actress extraordinaire and the love of my life."

Catherine smiled warmly, without a hint of surprise, and held out a hand to Camilla. "I'm pleased to meet you. And please call me Cathy."

Camilla offered a wing, and the two shook hands, more or less. He told Cathy, "I sure am glad to see you. I was kinda worried when they told me a Monster woman was here to see me. My last foster mother came here a few days ago, and that didn't go well." Camilla clucked sympathetically, and he put an arm around her.

"I can imagine," Cathy answered. Once Gonzo had come to trust her he had opened up about his past, and she had been sadly unsurprised to find out that he was yet another one who had slipped through the cracks of the foster care system. She had seen all too many of them, people who had either run away as children or, discharged at the age of eighteen without any life skills or family to back them up, ended up on the street.

"Say... did she contact you?" he asked.

Very seriously she answered, "We would not tell her or anyone else about you or any of our other clients without a subpoena."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"That's all right. Gonzo, I came to see you because I was in this city, and, well, I've kept tabs on you. I suppose it's silly, but I guess I'm a bit of a fan."

"Really," Gonzo said, surprised, then turned to Camilla. "How about that? I finally got one."

A little embarrassed, Cathy said, "I like to think of you as our success story. It makes me happy to see you doing so well. And I had to thank you both for fighting for your rights in court. The precedent that set will benefit us all!"

"Oh, that." He scratched the back of his head. "I can't take the credit for that. Without Miss Piggy's lawyers and Sam's translations and everyone's moral support we wouldn't have gotten anywhere. As for being a success story..." He took out his wallet and fished out a photo. "That's our little girl. Her name is Billie. She was hatched last month."

"Oh?" Cathy said, surprised, as she looked at a green, fluffy chick with a parrotlike beak. "She's lovely! I didn't know about her."

"We've been keeping her a secret. Considering all the noise the tabloids made over me marrying Camilla, we didn't want them to find out we had a baby too. They'd pick on her just for existing! I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself."

She handed the photo back. "I'm good at keeping secrets, Gonzo."

"Yeah, I know. Wouldn't have told you about Billie if I didn't trust you with mine." He put the photo back, then said, "What brings you to town? Another rescue?"

"Actually, no. I'm no longer a case worker; I'm overseeing the outreach efforts. We're having a charity show here in a few weeks. It's less a fundraiser than an effort to raise awareness. Not a lot of people realize that there's a real problem, and that it can be solved, one person at a time."

"Yeah," he said, nodding thoughtfully.

"And since I was here already, I would have felt foolish if I didn't see one of the Muppets' shows and say hello."

"I'm glad you did," Gonzo said sincerely. "What kind of show will it be?"

"The usual kind of thing. Whatever we can use to get people to come so we can spread the message."

"Can I help?"

She paused a moment, then told him, "Gonzo, I didn't come here to ask for your help. I really did just want to say hello. But I will not say no if you have time to be in the show."

"I mean it," he said earnestly. "I wanna help. You—the TMI—are the reason I'm here instead of sleeping on park benches. Nobody should ever have to live like that. You do good work."

"Then I accept," she said, pleased.

"Cool!"

Someone rapped on the dressing room door. Scooter called, "We're about to leave. You two staying late again?"

"No, we're coming," Gonzo answered. He told Cathy, "We gotta go. Um, can I have your number?"

She handed him a business card. "That's my cell phone number."

He put the card in his wallet. "Thanks. I don't have a cell phone. They break too easily. I'll call you tomorrow. Say, will you be free tomorrow evening?"

"Probably. Why?"

"Maybe you can come over and visit," he said, opening the door.

"I'd like that," she said.

**

They walked down the stairs and out the alley. The other Muppets were boarding the psychedelically-painted bus. Catherine stared at it. Gonzo said, "Yeah, it's for real."

"Wow," she managed.

"You should see it in the sunlight. If you stand too close you'll get dizzy. I'll call you tomorrow."

"All right. Thank you."

Catherine left for the theater parking lot, and Gonzo and Camilla boarded the bus. There weren't two seats together for them, so she sat on his lap. Rowlf, who was sitting next to an empty seat, said "Here, swap with me."

"Nah, this is comfy," Gonzo said with a grin, and put his arms around the hen. She leaned back against him.

The bus started up. Fozzie, in the seat in front of them, turned around and asked, "Who was that visiting you?"

"An old friend," Gonzo replied.

Camilla suggested, Maybe some of the others would help her too.

I was thinking the same thing, he clucked back.

Rowlf, who could not understand chicken speak and thus misunderstood the subject of the private conversation, said, "Sheesh, you two."

*****

All characters except Catherine Monster are copyright © The Muppets Studio, LLC and are used without permission but with much respect and affection. This story is copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.

 

[Lil0Vampy]

*giggle* Oh Rowlf! What a fabulous chapter to wake up to! Lookin forward to the next one!

 

[The Count]

That was a rully good backstory. Plus, it helped calm me down after the anger from having to boot so many spambots this afternoon.
It shows the respect/love you have for Gonzo when you can create something that helps explain his origins in much better a Gonzoish manner than anything we've had before.
Thanks for posting and hope to read more from you in the future.

 

[Slackbot]

Lil0Vampy: Thanks. Actually, these are the only chapters I have planned for this little arc. I felt a little bad about not giving Gonzo any closure on that part of his life, so I wrote these to correct that issue. However, there's a possibility I may write another series in which these scenes will be embedded as part of a larger arc. We'll see if my ideas pan out.

The Count: Glad I could brighten your day. I've been a community moderator myself, so I know how aggravating it can be to have to deal with spammers. They're like roaches; seems you can never get rid of 'em all.

And, yeah, I think you'll be reading more from me in the near future. How much will you pay me not to have Piggy sing "The Garden of Love"?

 

[Lil0Vampy]

*nods* I figured, I meant more your writing in general. Sorry for any confusion!

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Those 2 chapters were great! But you're stopping here? It seems as if you've just introduced a major plot point what with the benefit show. As always, I love Gonzo, and have even gotten to like his wife and daughter a bit more, but I love the other muppets' involvement!

:embarrassment:

 

[Slackbot]

I intended these to be simple little slices of life to close a chapter of Gonzo's life. The benefit show happened between my fingers and the keyboard when I decided Cathy needed a reason to be in town other than the show. Didn't want her to come across as stalker-ish.

However, I have been working on an outline for another serial-type story, and if it jells these scenes will be part of it. I'll have to rewrite 'em a little to move them a year into the future and tie in with events more specific than a generic show. I was gonna write in a certain fave of mine as a guest star, but someone else recently had the same idea, so rather than clash I've got to write in someone different. Poopie.