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Skeeter Rock

RedPiggy

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CHAPTER ONE
Note: This takes place in my Comeback King universe, after the events of the Comeback King Saga and I’m the One that Won.

Scooter sat in the small closet-like office, surrounded by stacks of paper. He stared at his laptop and sighed. Rubbing his small eyes, he just couldn’t press another key. Nearly everyone else in the Theater had gone home after the last curtain call, and now was really the only time he could get any business done. There were taxes to file, permits to request, applications to sort ….

Skeeter knocked quietly on the open door.

“Come in,” Scooter said quietly without looking.

Skeeter hopped up on a stack of papers without rustling a single one. She stared at him. “I thought Kermit didn’t allow overtime,” she told him with a hint of a teasing tone.

Scooter smirked. “I’m the one doing the books,” he replied. “Kermit just signs the checks.”

Skeeter would have wagged a tail if she had one. “You mean you’re cheating your friend and boss?”

Scooter chuckled and glanced at her. “You can’t blackmail me, sis. I’m much better at math than both of you put together. You’d never prove I’m doing anything.”

Rowlf entered the room with a downcast expression, holding a letter. “We need to head over to the Sun Rises, Night Falls Home,” he told them quietly.

“Why?” the go-fer siblings asked simultaneously.

Rowlf handed them the letter without saying another word and left. The two read it, their mouths opening wider with each line. They soon looked at each other, nodded, and hurried out the door.

Rowlf, Scooter, Skeeter, Piggy, Kermit, Animal, and Gonzo waited outside the door in the hallway. Soon, the door opened and JP Grosse stepped out.

Scooter and Skeeter perked up. “Uncle Grosse!”

JP nodded. “She’s resting now, kids.”

Gonzo’s eyelids lowered, as did his face. “Maybe we should come back.”

JP shook his head. “No – she wants to see you. You kids gave her nothing but trouble, but she doesn’t hold that against you at all.”

Kermit, Piggy, and Animal went in first. The room was small, but decorated in pictures of the Muppets. A frayed purple cardigan hung on a rack.

The elderly frail Caucasian woman smiled as they filed in. “Now, kids – why so glum?” she asked.

“Bye bye?” Animal asked softly, on the verge of tears.

The woman laughed. “You always did get straight to the point, Animal,” she replied. “You certainly waste no words, do you?”

Piggy stared at the cardigan.

“You can keep that, if you want, Piggy,” the woman said.

“Oh, Nanny,” she replied in a quivering voice, “I could never --.”

“You’re far more sensitive than you appear. Never let go of that,” Nanny said.

Kermit placed his thin green hand on the wrinkled, mottled hand of the woman who had cared for them for several years as their parents worked long hours just to make ends meet. Why couldn’t this woman be a Muppet? It would have afforded her certain perks, like long life and near invulnerability. Heck, a Muppet could be eaten, blown up, and flattened … and come out of it none the worse for wear. Being human was like a curse, he thought to himself.

“I’m so glad your show is really taking off,” Nanny told Kermit with a smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t attend more.”

Kermit shook his head. “I’m just glad you helped make us what we are.” He gulped, wondering how best to bring it up.

“I think it’s any time now, Kermit,” she helpfully told him to spare him from asking the question.

Kermit’s eyes glistened. “Well, the rest of the gang is here too. We’ll let them get a chance to talk.”

Nanny laughed. “You Muppets are so funny – all of you can fit in here. Yes, it’s a small room – but you aren’t very big, either.”

Kermit, Piggy, and Animal went back outside as Rowlf, Scooter and Gonzo entered. Skeeter stayed outside, trembling.

Piggy frowned. “You know, Nanny wants to see you too,” Piggy chided.

Skeeter sniffled. “Don’t start, Piggy.”

Piggy’s face reddened. “You should go and apologize for leaving for so long.”

“Piggy,” Kermit said, trying to placate her.

Skeeter got right up in Piggy’s face. “And how often did you visit her on all those random photo shoots and commercials?”

Animal burst in between them, separating them. “No fight,” he told them curtly.

Rowlf, Scooter, and Gonzo all came out of the room, crying.

One glance was all it took.
 

The Count

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Hmm, this reminds me of bits and pieces from Sara's Sadie's Stories. Only question I have is, where's :embarrassed:? He seemed absent. Good schtuff, I'm intrigued to see/read how this develops.
More please? :halo:
 

ReneeLouvier

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Hmm, this reminds me of bits and pieces from Sara's Sadie's Stories. Only question I have is, where's :embarrassed:? He seemed absent. Good schtuff, I'm intrigued to see/read how this develops.
More please? :halo:
Took the words right out of my mouth, Ed! It really does, wonderful story! Please post more!
 

redBoobergurl

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I love it when people visit the MB verse! Please post more, sad as it may be!
 

RedPiggy

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I don't think I've read Sadie's Stories, though after I posted it (before I got sick), I realized that someone might make a connection with what I've heard about it (remember, in the Comeback Universe, the go-fer parents are already dead).

On the other hand, I KNEW I was forgetting someone, LOL. I just couldn't remember this morning. Oh well.

This chapter was gonna go on a bit longer, but I was running late for work (not that it apparently matters, since I got sick and had to go home again). We were gonna see the second group's conversation as well. However, I think I like the idea of learning later what happened.

I was never really 100% satisfied with how I ended Skeeter's story arc in Act 2 of Comeback. Just giving her a boyfriend she had to learn to accept didn't seem enough to me. However, I couldn't think of how to continue her storyline. Now I do. She's already begun to accept certain things in life, like her similarity to Piggy and how not to judge a book by its cover. With this scene I've wanted to write in quite awhile, now she has some other things she needs to get over. :big_grin:
 

Fragglemuppet

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Ooh, I love this story so far! Hmmm, I've got a feeling things are about to get tense for Skeeter and Piggy, though yay for Animal for breaking it up the last time.
:halo: Can't wait to read more!
 

RedPiggy

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CHAPTER TWO

Skeeter looked around. There he was, sitting on the bench in Central Park. She walked over to him and sat down beside him as he twirled his polka-dot tie slowly in his brown furry fingers.

Fozzie didn’t even look at her. He didn’t even talk. Skeeter just sat there, following his gaze to the sidewalk. If he wanted to talk, he would.

Her sympathy, though, was interrupted by a rush of fury.

Why on earth did Piggy give her a hard time about visiting Nanny in her final moments? No one … no one … said a word when Fozzie simply left the Theater without a word. Piggy could be unbelievably cruel, but even she wasn’t such an ice princess to berate the bear.

Suddenly, Fozzie looked at her, his eyes moist and bloodshot. “Are you sure I did the right thing?” he asked plaintively.

Skeeter swung her feet slowly, nodding. “I couldn’t take it either, Fozzie,” she admitted. “I went there, but I never went through the door.”

Fozzie stared at her. “Don’t you feel guilty?”

Skeeter shrugged. “I don’t know. Could I have acted any other way?” She glanced at Fozzie, her lip trembling. “Everyone hated me for leaving when we were younger --.”

“That’s not true,” Fozzie interrupted, putting an arm around her. “You wanted to follow your dream.”

Skeeter started to sniffle. “But … but … everyone always resents Piggy when she goes off on another random media blitz….”

Fozzie smirked tenderly. “Skeeter … Piggy leaves so she can’t deal with the hard decisions. On the other hand, you left to follow your calling. Others might tease you about it, but you two are completely different.”

Skeeter started to cry. Fozzie hugged her tighter. “I never said good-bye,” she whimpered.

Fozzie nodded, leaning against her. He inhaled as he was about to speak.

Skeeter put a finger to his lips. “I know that song was really appropriate when the gang split up, but let’s not turn this into some stupid musical, if you don’t mind.”

Fozzie chuckled briefly. “I wasn’t going to sing, Skeeter.” He ran his fingers through her thick red hair. “I was only going to tell you that … that … your heart said it, even if your lips didn’t.”

Skeeter started to pull away, now looking more depressed than Fozzie. “You can’t hear a heart, Fozzie. All I had to do was walk through the door and tell her I loved her.” She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “I’ve done somersaults and double-twists in the air … and I couldn’t even manage walking through a simple door.”

Fozzie sat up straight and looked at her strangely. “What was I supposed to do? Go in there and tell knock-knock jokes? Maybe give her tomato soup? I say, ‘Knock, knock’. She asks, ‘Who’s there?’. I tell her, ‘St. Peter, Wokka Wokka, Wokka.’” He elbowed her gently. “That really doesn’t sound appropriate, right?”

Skeeter couldn’t help but laugh. She wiped away her tears and smiled at him. “Nanny always knew you were more than just some bad jokes, Fozzie. You were always the sensitive one.”

Fozzie shook his head. “No – Gonzo was the sensitive one,” he corrected. “I couldn’t even claim to be some weird thing no one could even describe. I was just a plain bear without any talent aside from getting friends.”

Skeeter smirked. “At least you’re still part of the group. It took an act of God to get me to even be acknowledged.” She had a thought. “Fozzie? Why do you do the things you do? Your entire career is based on two old stiffs laughing at you and your friendship with Kermit and Gonzo.”

Fozzie smiled and leaned back. “Way before Rizzo and Pepe tried to cash in on things, I realized long ago that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Skeeter glanced at him quizzically. “What does that mean?”

Fozzie laughed. “Statler and Waldorf have been part of the act for ages,” he revealed. “I wanted participants who wouldn’t just laugh at me out of pity. I do the set up and they do the punch lines. Just like you an’ Scooter were helped along by JP Grosse, those two old guys have kept my head above water for as long as I can remember.” He glanced at her warmly. “You can’t be afraid to get help when you need it,” he told her.

Later, Skeeter stared at the back wall of the empty Theater.

Kermit walked over to her. “Are you coming to the funeral?”

Skeeter nodded thoughtlessly.

“It’s in an hour,” he offered.

Skeeter nodded again.

Kermit sighed briefly. “The Muppaphones ate your pajamas,” he stated.

Skeeter nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Kermit couldn’t help but smile. He patted her on the back. Following her gaze, he stared at the huge crack in the wall. He glanced at her briefly, then back at the crack. Sweetums had offered to help patch it up, but Kermit had politely declined. He thought it not only brought visual interest, but it also reminded him that if a door closes, sometimes a huge gaping hole in the wall opens. Life was truly one of opportunity. All you had to do was take it.

He had seen that look before.

They had been friends for ages, starting when they were younger. While the first movie they ever made implied they met as adults, the truth was actually that it was more like a reunion to face a common dream. When he rediscovered his old friends, they seemed so … so … resigned. It was when he reminded them of his wish that they’d work together to make people happy … a goal he had started while living in a small neighborhood in New York City … that the peculiar little glint appeared in their eyes. Piggy’s was most noticeable, of course, but there was a little spark in all of them. His friends over on Sesame Street proved that one could be happy working all sorts of menial jobs, but it was the promise of being something more that made them happy. It wasn’t that working at some lame burger stand wasn’t fulfilling, but it was that you put your own meaning to it and made it grow into something more. Grover had a resumé longer than anyone’s … but he was part of Kermit’s inspiration. After all, no matter what kind of stupid job he had, he worked it with enthusiasm and vigor. He was convinced that children should learn not to gripe about the less “stellar” jobs. Every job could mean something if you saw it that way. It was all about one’s point of view.

Kermit admired that.

Skeeter stood there on the empty stage, only realizing several minutes afterward that Kermit had left. She glanced at her watch. If anything, she should at least attend the funeral. She turned and started walking to the backstage area. The sounds of crunching startled her. Twisting around, she saw a lavender obese creature with puffy eyes and scraggly brown hair. He wore a simple brown robe, which was covered in cracker crumbs.

He waved. “Do you mind if I stay with you for awhile?” he asked in a high voice. “Feeny’s fumigigating our cave.”

Skeeter gawked at him for several seconds before smiling. She reached out to him, smiling warmly. “Marvin? You’re just the guy I needed to see. Follow me.”
 

Lil0Vampy

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FFF. *fails* Arg! The sadness! The tomato soup! THE PAJAMA EATING MUPPAPHONES! *falls over* OwO mooooar?
 

The Count

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Beautiful sentiments in both the Skeeter and Fozzie, and then Skeeter and Kermit segments. Post more when you can.
 
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