How I Spent My Summer Vacation (A Muppet Fic)

[Ruahnna]

Aww...c'mon, guys. Stop picking on Wayne.

Even though it's so easy. And so fun. And so predictable--oh, well, go ahead if you must. Wanda will be there to patch him up and shove him back onstage!

 

[LipsGF4Life]

Whens the next one?

 

[charlietheowl]

I'm about 80 percent done with the next installment (had a really productive writing session last night), so it should be posted by Friday at the latest.

 

[LipsGF4Life]

Thats Kool!

 

[charlietheowl]

In this installment, look for guest appearances by two additional characters along with Nigel.

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"Nigel! Nigel!"

"Yes, Thog?"

"Can you check the mail before you leave? I'd go outside, but I've sprained my ankle and the doctor said I shouldn't put any weight on it for a week at least."

"Sure, no problem. But I told you that trying to walk on that balance beam was a bad idea, your balance has never been that great."

"But I thought it would make a good act!"

Nigel walked outside, shaking his head. It took 21 of them to carry Thog to the flatbed truck which they used to bring him to the hospital that day. Perhaps gymnastics should have been left to the chickens.

He slowly walked down the driveway, whistling a tune to himself. It was shaping up to be a nice day; he spent the morning working with Robin on his violin lessons (he was turning out to be quite the player), then had a nice lunch with everyone at the house, and now he was going to head off to the dry cleaner's to pick up his conductor suits. All 24 of them (one for each episode of the season). It was important to look sharp. The conductor of the Muppet Orchestra was an important role.

"Hmm. Three credit card bills for Piggy, a copy of The Fashionable Chicken for Camilla, a Ranger Rick for Robin, and-"

Nigel was interrupted by a strange character stumbling out of the bushes next to the mailbox.

"My word! I think those branches might have put a hole in my socks! Thank goodness Boober and Mokey made me an extra pair before I left. Now-"

The character looked at Nigel and his jaw dropped. Perhaps an awestruck fan, Nigel thought as he got a good look at the creature. Looks like a big Indiana Jones fan as well, judging by that ridiculous hat and the khaki outfit. But where's his shirt? Weird. It's not that hot out.

The creature finally broke the silence.

"Well, I cannot believe it! This is a first on my travels of Outer Space."

"Outer Space? Isn't that up, you know, in the sky?"

"Don't be silly! No one can travel up to the sky, it's simply too hard to climb up there. But back to the matter at hand, this is truly a momentous moment, the first time I have ever encountered a Fraggle while out on my sojourns."

"A Fraggle? What's that?" Nigel was taken aback. "I'm a practicing Catholic, if we're talking about religion."

"Oh no! You must have amnesia! You can't remember the Fraggles! Perhaps that is how you ended up in Outer Space, alone and helpless."

"What are you talking about?"

"My name is Traveling Matt Fraggle, and I live in Fraggle Rock. I travel through Outer Space, documenting the lives of the silly creatures for my nephew Gobo."

"My name is Nigel, and I live in California. I conduct the Muppet orchestra. Nice to meet you."

"You must be related to Gillis Fraggle! He conducts the Fraggle choir, does an excellent job. You should hear their rendition of Muck And Goo. Truly heartwarming!"

"I don't know a Gillis Fraggle."

"Are you sure? You have his eyes." Matt leaned up close next to Nigel, making him uncomfortable. "Maybe you are his child separated at birth."

"I'm sorry Matt, but that's simply not the case. My parents are Sebastian and Lucinda Templeton, and I'm from Nantucket, Massachusetts, not Fraggle Rock."

"Hmm. Appears your case of amnesia is pretty deep. Maybe a trip back to the rock will help your case. Some nice radishes, a dip in the pond, some Doozer sticks."

Nigel stuck his tongue out. "Radishes! Yicch! They are about the worst tasting vegetable in the world. I'd rather eat the Swedish Chef's meat loaf than gnaw on a radish."

Matt put his hand over his chest and leaned backwards. "Oh what has happened to you! A Fraggle with no memory of home, and a dislike of radishes! What a sad case, a truly sad case."

"Look, let me show you something, just hold on a second." Nigel fished through his wallet until he took out a small card. "This is my driver's license. Look."

Matt slowly read the card. "Nigel Kennedy Templeton, resident of Los Angeles, height 2 feet 1 inch, weight-"

"We don't need to be discussing everything here, give me that license back."

"But you simply must be a Fraggle! The similarities are uncanny. The eyes on the top of the head, the messy hair, the bright colored skin."

"I will admit, we do look a bit alike. But I'm sorry, I've never heard of this Fraggle Rock before. Unless it's in Massachusetts, I've never been there. Is it like Plymouth Rock?"

Matt seemed lost in thought.

"Matt?"

"By golly! I know how to see if you are truly a Fraggle."

"Oh boy."

Matt took his backpack off his back and began wildly fishing through it, throwing postcards, socks, scarves, and blankets all over the sidewalk until he finally pulled a small set of what appeared to be a flute out of the mess.

"Ah-ha!"

"That's a nice flute. Do you play?

Matt harrumphed towards Nigel. "Do I play? Of course I play. All Fraggles are innately musical. Listen."

Matt placed the flute up to his lips and began playing a pretty, midtempo tune. Looks like he's had some training, Nigel thought to himself. That song does sound familiar though.

Combing through the songbooks in his head, Nigel began whistling along with Matt, who didn't notice at first, but kept playing, eyes nearly closed, swaying to the music. Eventually he stopped playing, but Nigel continued on. Matt smiled, placed his flute in his pocket, and walked over to Nigel.

"See! I told you!"

"Told me what? Good rendition of Big Noise from Winnetka there."

"What? That was A Radish For All Seasons. But that's not the point! The point is-" Matt put his arm around Nigel- "you, sir, are a Fraggle."

"But I told you-"

"No non-Fraggle could pick up a tune like that without hearing it before. Fraggles are true musicians, and you are a true musician, so then you are a Fraggle. I must record this for posterity." Matt fished through his backpack again, finally getting out a pencil and postcard.

"Who's that going to?"

"My nephew Gobo. He's going to follow in my footsteps to travel through Outer Space someday. He simply must learn that I met a Fraggle today."

"Sounds interesting. Now, Matt, I really must be going, I promised my friend I would bring in the mail for him."

Matt tossed the postcard aside and ran after Nigel. "But you can't leave! You must come back to Fraggle Rock with me and see everyone. Then we can cure your amnesia. A good moss pack and a couple of radish poultices should do the trick."

"Yicch. If I don't want to eat a radish, what makes you think I want to spread it on my body? Now I really must be going, Matt, but it was nice to meet you. You're welcome to come inside and rest up if you would like, though we don't have any radishes as far as I know."

Matt shook his head and sighed. "Well, if you're not going to come with me, then I really have to be on my way. There are many other sights left to encounter on my journeys. If I ever see you again, I'll let you know how everyone is doing. Maybe you'll remember the next time I see you."

"Thanks, Matt. Good luck!"

"Goodbye Nigel!"

"Watch out for those cars Matt! Don't cross the street yet."

Matt ran into the street, darting between cars before tumbling into a bush across the street. He got up, dusted himself off, adjusted his hat, and walked off down the sidewalk until he turned the corner and moved out of sight.

Nigel laughed to himself. I wonder who Matt really is. This Fraggle Rock sounds like quite the place. Wonder if anyone at the house has heard of it?

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Coming up "next": Sam the Eagle versus the Los Angeles International Airport (spoiler: Sam loses ).

 

[Twisted Tails]

Uncle Traveling Matt? Oh brother! This snippet made my day! He meets a silly Muppet creature. Bwhahahahaha! He is as crazy as Gobo! I hope Mokey didn't hear what I just said, but boy this is silly (laughs)!

 

[LipsGF4Life]

Cool! Can't wait to see em'!

 

[newsmanfan]

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hee hee hee hee hee...and now I have that awesome whistle-and-string-bass tune that Nigel did with Floyd running through my head, though I don't recall the name of it. (Hey! Nigel and Walter should have a whistle-off!!)

Very cute. And Nigel does look rather Fragglish...though so do more than a few Whatnots...the frog moves in mysterious ways.

Sam! ooh boy! *gets out leftover sparklers and flags*
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[Slackbot]

I'm finally starting to get caught up on my reading, starting with the three most recent chapters of this series. And very enjoyable ones they are. Dr. Teeth sounds just right. I could just see him rambling polysyllabically while the poor guy tried to ask for directions. And I'm glad that someone finally tackled the all-important question of whether Nigel was a Fraggle or not. When Matt spoke of putting him to the test, I was afraid he was gonna check for a tail. Thankfully, Matt chose another very important characteristic.

All in all, good stuff. Thank you for posting these, and I look forward to reading more.

 

[charlietheowl]

Thank you guys! I really appreciate your kind comments. I thought of mentioning Nigel's lack of a tail in the story, but thought it would be a little grim to have Matt try and imagine what had happened to it.