Sometimes The Sky Calls...

[Libba Yuki]

...I honestly didn't mean to take so long with the update *looks at all of her abandoned fanfics guiltily* I'll be better about it, I promise!

I'll try to put up another chapter tonight after I get home from work...

I'm such a liar, and I'm very sorry for that. I got hit by a writer's block with all of my stories, and took a hiatus on fanfic work for a while to let my creative juices get going again. It worked, and I'm back in the game!

Here's:

Chapter 2

Fozzie watched uneasily, a feeling shared by many of his co-workers, as Gonzo practiced the act he intended on performing for the show later on that week. It was daring and dangerous; just the way the alien liked it, and when he landed gracefully with a proud “tada!” everyone let out a sigh of relief. Relief that was surprisingly drowned out by a chorus of loud screeches and squeals at the back of the theater….

“Oh man, who let the stalkers in?” Clifford asked in a mixture of annoyance and amusement, momentarily glaring at the enthusiastic crowd before returning to his repairs. He chuckled quietly when he caught sight of Sweetums from out of the corner of his eye, as the large monster lumbered over to the mob hollering his disapproval at their appearance.

The furry comedian glanced over at the group that had managed to sneak into the theater, and then sought out the object of their affection. He watched as the lone weirdo waved back at the crowd with a sheepish grin, while an unfamiliar feeling bubbled within him.

Gonzo caught sight of his friend watching him and approached with a weary smile on his face, looking unusually tired. “Wow…they really like me, huh?”

The bear thought of his own hard work, stewed over the alien’s newfound popularity, and felt the unknown emotion push itself harder and harder to the surface.

“I suppose so...” Fozzie huffed, doing his best to ignore his cast mate and focus on the flash cards with his jokes scrawled on them. “I’m kind of busy right now.”

Taken back by the uncharacteristic sharpness in his friend’s tone, Gonzo simply nodded with a look of hurt confusion on his face. Then; after a moment, the former one-of-a-kind-freak turned and walked away with a slight sulk in his shoulders. He noticed his own weariness before dismissing it as lack of sleep from the excitement of the night before. “Yeah sure…Catch you later then.”

“Uh huh, later…”

Shame crept into Fozzie as he regretfully watched his friend leave, and he could practically see the tiny green-eyed monster sitting on his shoulder holding a giant sign with the word “JEALOUS!” typed in big bold letters. He was about to call out to the weirdo, and apologize for his behavior, but was interrupted by Clifford and shoved onstage for his own rehearsal. “I’ll say I’m sorry when I see him later…”

Gonzo went backstage and made his way up the old creaky stairs. Entering his dressing room quietly, and observing the various things he had lying all over the place, cheerfulness lit up his eyes as he approached his desk. He smiled lovingly down at the framed picture of his beloved, picking up the photo as he sat down. “Hey there, chicky-babe…I can’t wait to see you when you come home in a few days, so much stuff’s been happening around here lately that I can’t wait to tell you about!”

Camilla had been gone for two weeks while visiting relatives, and Gonzo had missed her terribly. Now more than ever after the emotional rollercoaster ride he had been through within the last 48 hours. It would be wonderful to see her again, and tell her his fantastic tales. Even though he was sure he had made the news because of all this, and she had probably already heard about it; he’d tell her anyway and woo her with the recollection. As his eyes drooped sleepily, he smiled at the thought of his reunion with his girlfriend.

“…-rry Robin, it looks like I’m going to be tied up here late tonight after all. Are there any after-school activities today?...”

Gonzo shook off his irksome weariness at the sound of his friend’s voice, and put down the picture before leaving his room to stand on the balcony. Looking over to observe the frog as he spoke on the phone to his nephew, and waiting to see what the child’s response was.

“No, huh? I guess that means there won’t be a late bus…” Kermit continued after hearing the smaller frog’s answer. “Scooter’s taking one of his night classes at the college, so he can’t…”

The weirdo approached the amphibian, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention. “I’m all finished here for tonight, Kerm. I can pick up Robin for you; I was about to head home anyway.”

“Oh, hey thanks Gonzo!” Was the grateful reply as the fatherly frog got back on the phone to inform the child of the plan. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours, kiddo. Love you too. Bye.”

A wave of dizziness washed over the alien as his friend was finishing up on the phone, and he grabbed at the frog’s shoulder to steady himself. Alarmed and tired; he silently tried to catch his breath, confused.

“Are you okay?”

He looked up at the question, grateful that the spell had passed, and noticed the concerned way Kermit was staring at him. He was aware that others had stopped and observed it as well, and quickly presented a smile to displace their worries. “The way I was standing made my foot fall asleep; I didn’t want to topple over.”

After shaking one of his feet to get rid of the pins and needles he had just lied about, Gonzo widened his smile in an effort to reassure those who had been watching him and then went back up to his dressing room to retrieve his coat. Bumping into Rizzo as his best friend was walking by his room, and going out the back door with the rat without another word.

Confusion mingled with concern as the frog watched the two leave, suspecting that his friend had just lied to him about something. The others who had observed the incident were soon going about their own businesses, quickly forgetting the whole thing and focusing on their own tasks once more. Kermit himself reluctantly resumed his own work; while a nagging voice in the back of his mind worried that something was very wrong…


* * * * * * * * * * * *


Robin gleefully hopped up the stairs when the trio arrived at the large house they called home, excitedly chatting about his day at school. “Me and Elmo, and Ernestine, and Brad, and a whole bunch of other kids went to the museum today. It was so neat; we saw all kinds of cool stuff! Like the dinosaurs, and the room with the constellations, and…”

Rizzo groaned at the child’s chatter, eagerly pushing his way into the house when Gonzo unlocked the door and making a beeline towards the kitchen. The alien, meanwhile, patiently listened to story about the field trip as he ushered the child up the stairs and to the little frog’s room. Sweating a little, but thinking nothing of it.

“Wow, Robin! That does sound really cool,” He said enthusiastically. Leaning against the doorway and panting slightly, watching as Robin unpacked his small backpack and began doing his homework. “You’ll have to tell your Uncle Kermit all about it when he comes home in a couple of hours, okay?”

“Oh, you betcha I will!”

“Hey, Gonzo!” Rizzo yelled from downstairs, sounding slightly amused. “Ya got a visitor down ‘ere!”

The weirdo frowned, wondering who it was. “I’ll be down in a sec!” He yelled out the door, before turning his attention back to the little boy. “You give me a holler if you need help with that homework, okay buddy?”

The little frog smiled, “Sure!”

With that, the alien left Robin alone and headed back downstairs. Surprised by who he saw waiting for him in the living room. “Agent Rentro?

“Oh no, no, no!” The bear corrected him happily, waving sheepishly like he was in the presence of a celebrity. “You don’t have to be so formal, Mr. Gonzo sir. You can call me by my first name, Bobo!”

Gonzo tilted his head to the side, “Bobo?”

“Yup!”

“That’s, uh, quite a unique name you’ve got there.” He offered awkwardly, something that went unnoticed by his guest. “So, what are you doing in town? Did C.O.V.N.E.T send you here?”

“Hm?” The bear mumbled in a slightly distracted tone, looking away from the photos on the fireplace mantle he had been glancing at. “Oh, no, no, no, no! Nothing like that, I can assure you. I actually got let go by the government when they fired Ed, there were no other assistant jobs available unfortunately.”

“Oh gee,” Gonzo murmured in an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Aw, don’t worry about it.” Bobo exclaimed cheerfully, clearly unbothered by his dilemma. “They were a little too stuffy for my tastes anyway, not the kind of job for me really.”

“Aren’t you worried about being out of work?” The weirdo asked. He couldn’t help feeling a little guilty about the whole thing.

“I’m sure I’ll figure out something.”

“Hey,” Rizzo piped up teasingly as he poked his head through the kitchen door. “Maybe he could be your bodyguard.”

Bobo grinned, apparently liking the idea.

“Sweetums has his hands full now dat you’ve got d’ose groupies of yours, maybe you’re numba one fan here can help out with dat.”

Gonzo mulled over it, remembering how hard it had been to sneak out of the theater without the crowd noticing he was leaving. “That’s actually not a bad idea; I’ll have to ask Kermit about it though.”

The rat chuckled, surprised that his joking suggestion had been taken seriously. After resisting a laugh at the comical look that he noticed on the large bear’s face, he went back into the kitchen to finish the sandwich he had been making. Looking forward to devouring the enormous amount of food he had managed to stuff in between the two slices of bread.

Bobo, meanwhile, couldn’t contain his excitement. “Thank you, I would really appreciate that.”

A fresh wave of dizziness swept over the alien as the bear continued to express his gratitude, and he once again had to grab a hold of something to steady himself.

“Hey, are you alright?” The former agent asked, concern beating down his cheerfulness.

After taking a moment to catch his breath and allow the dizziness to pass, Gonzo gave his new friend a reassuring look. “It’s nothing to worry about, I’m just a little worn out from all the wacky excitement lately.”

Bobo nodded, deciding that was an acceptable answer. “You should probably get some rest then, huh? And here I am pestering you when you haven’t had a chance to relax for the last two days!”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Gonzo protested. “It was nice of you to stop by, really.”

The bear smiled as he picked up his folded uniform, which he had put down on the arm of one of the chairs, and made his way to the front door. “I think I’ll head out now, give you some peace. I need to head down to the office tonight anyway; I’ve got to hand in my badge and uniform and will need to clean out my desk while I’m at it.”

“Okay, well thanks for stopping by.” The alien said with a wavy goodbye.

“No problemo.” Bobo replied, waving back. “See you later!”

Rizzo came back out into the living room, trying very hard to balance the two plates of sandwiches in his hands. “Yup, whatever,” He muttered under his breath as the bear left and closed the door behind him. “Here’s some suppa, Gonzo. I figured you were probably hungry too.”

“Hey, thanks.”

“Gonzo?” Robin yelled from the top of the stairs. “Could you help me with this question?”

“No problem, little guy.” Gonzo replied. He put down the sandwich and stood up…only to fall limply to the floor seconds later, as his vision dropped backward into a see of darkness.


* * * * * * * * * * * *

Former Agent Bobo Rentro was busy at work cleaning out his desk when General Luft walked over to him, it wasn’t until the old man coughed irritably that the bear looked up and took notice of his superior. “Hello there, sir. How nice of you to drop by, you’re going to miss me huh?”

The General shifted on his feet, annoyance clearly painted on his features, and hoped to get his farewell speech over with quickly. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, son. I can assure you that we will help you find a new job as soon as possible.”

“That’s really nice of you, but I may have already found a new job.” The bear informed him, returning to his work. “I think I’m better suited for it to tell you the truth.”

Luft blinked in surprise at the remark, since he hadn’t expected such a reply. It wasn’t long before curiosity got the better of him, and he spoke up. “What kind of job is it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all.” Bobo said as he worked, double checking to make sure he had cleared everything out. “I might become a bodyguard at the Muppet Theater!”

“He’s right, he would be better suited for that…” The old man thought with a small amused grin. It slipped off his face when he recalled who worked at the theater in question. “Doesn’t the alien perform there?”

“Gonzo? Yeah, he sure does.” The former agent replied. “He’s got quite a fan base now, a whole crowd that follows him around. I think the stress is starting to get to him though, if you know what I mean.”

The General frowned; he didn’t know what the bear was getting at. “How so?”

“Poor fella’s exhausted, so much so that I think it’s starting to make him sick!”

Alarm bells began to ring in the Luft’s mind at the comment. “Sick?”

Bobo nodded, oblivious to the worried look that had crossed the old man’s face. “He seemed unusually tired when I went to visit him earlier, pretty flushed too. I’m sure once he gets some sleep he’ll…”

“Guard!” General Luft barked out as a young officer approached, “Put former Agent Rentro here in quarantine and inform Dr. Van Neuter that we may have an epidemic on our hands!”

“Hey, wait a sec!” The bear began to protest as he was dragged away. Realizing, a little too late, the red flags he had just raised.

The General ignored the yells and snatched the phone on the desk, quickly dialing a number. Impatiently waiting for the person on the other end to pick up, frowning when someone finally did answer. “Get down to Hensonville, now!”