The Comeback King

[redBoobergurl]

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the interaction between Boober and Sarah. I'm really enjoying this and am anxious to read some more!

 

[The Count]

*Simply marvels. This is all so... So... So... Post more please!

 

[RedPiggy]

Thanks! I wanted Sarah to have a reason she was so withdrawn. I figured this was the best answer, since I don't know what happens in the unfinished manga yet. And since she's the way she is ... I figured pairing her up with Boober was pretty natural.

I plan to wrap this up next Thurs-Sat or so.

 

[The Count]

Wrap what up? This awesometastic fanfic? Nooooooo! You must keep it alive, alive for all the world to find and read and praise and improve on. Okay, the last part is meant more for you, the authoress. But please, keep it coming as there's so much to delve into here and so much overpowering my sense of loving fanfics.

Please... Post more?


*Hopes the googly eyes get to Kelly and she'll take pity posting the next segment/chapter.

 

[RedPiggy]

Like Fraggle Rock, I wanted this particular story to have a beginning, middle, and end. I have a hard enough time ending my fanfics. This is the first fic I feel confident about the ending.

If I come up with story ideas post-ending, I'll make some sequels. Promise. I already plan on writing the Legend of Sir Hubris play of Sarah's. The challenge will be getting help on music ... since I definitely don't want to do like I've done throughout the fic and just rewrite lyrics based on number of syllables!

Chapters 8 and 9 are definitely going to involve Mizumi's attack on Fraggle Rock (and its repurcussions). Ch 10 will be more of an epilogue.

Sadly, I have a final exam Tues, so no more chapters until at least Wed.

 

[RedPiggy]

Chapter 8: Lost and Found

No one can blame you,
For walking away ….

Sarah turned off the radio as she pulled into the staff parking area of the theater. She knew that crown was the solution to the Fraggles’ problem, even if she didn’t know quite why. She quickly tied up her dark brown hair, leaving several strands dangling around her face. As she fumbled with her keys to the back door, she realized she knew why she had discovered the solution. After years of trying to avoid it, she had made a wish … she had re-connected with a magical gift given to her by Jareth decades ago.

This was the first time she wasn’t repulsed by the idea.

Hundreds of Fraggles were sprawled out on the floor throughout the theater corridors, sleeping soundly. She tried to tiptoe around them. It would be dawn soon, but surely these creatures deserved to sleep in. She worked her way to the basement, when she discovered Rick working on the crown. He gasped, nearly dropping the now-shiny crown on the floor.

“Christ, Ms. Williams … you nearly gave me a heart attack. I’m an old man, y’know!” he exclaimed bitterly.

“I’m sorry,” Sarah said quietly. “I need the crown.”

Rick stared at her. “You … need … the … crown,” he repeated very slowly. “This crown? Why?”

Sarah realized telling him the truth would just sound weird. “Uh, there are some … um … production stills I need to make for some flyers.”

Rick cocked an eyebrow. “At three-thirty in the morning?”

Sarah scoffed, trying to hide her insecurity. After all, it was his crown, right? What claim could she possibly have on it? “And yet you’re messing around a closed theater this early in the morning?”

Rick chuckled. “Your boss told me to babysit that furry little firecracker and her friends … for an extra thousand.” He smirked. “Wanna try that again, toots?”

Sarah sighed, brushing strands of hair from her face. “How much do you want for it?”

Rick shook his head. “It’s a pricey family heirloom,” he replied. “I don’t think you can afford it.”

Sarah took a few steps closer, her voice slightly more stern. “A family heirloom that you keep in a theater basement?”

Rick licked his lips. “I suppose … for fifty thousand, I could tell myself that it’s for the greater good and all….”

Sarah’s eyes got so wide they threatened to pop out of her head. She even forgot to breathe. After a few seconds, she finally managed to screech, “Fifty thousand?” She shook her head, trying to get her voice under control. “You know what? Fine. Fifty ….”

A sharp high-pitched gasp interrupted her. “Nikki! How could you?” exclaimed a female voice.

Rick and Sarah turned to find Miss Piggy (whom Sarah knew only from her media work) standing in the doorway, her golden-blonde hair curling slightly at the neck, a somewhat small-for-her-size robin’s egg-colored sequined gown, lavender elbow-length gloves, and a pearl necklace hanging loosely around her thick neck.

Piggy’s eyes were widened, her mouth gaping open. She placed a gloved hand on her chest and spoke in a sing-song manner. “I couldn’t believe it!” she told “Nikki”, trying to sound as innocent and dainty as she could. “I came here looking for vous, and one of those hamster things told me you had stolen a crown!”

Red Fraggle, her fiery hair down against her back, and wearing a pink robe, appeared beside Piggy and jabbed her with an elbow, her face frowning. “We are Fraggles, not hamsters, lady,” she snapped, glaring up at the pig’s face.

“Whatever, kid,” Piggy growled, not looking at her. She maintained her glare at Nikki. “I thought you promised moi you were different!” She started to growl again. “I’m not goin’ back to the slammer just because you can’t keep your klepto meathooks off someone else’s property!”

Sarah gawked at the stagehand. “You stole this crown?”

The old man ignored her. He smiled warmly, trying to sweet-talk his way out of this situation. “Piggy,” he started in the most suave voice he could muster at his age, “those Caribbean cruises don’t pay for themselves, my dear.” He pointed at the crown. “I was fashioning this myself! I was gonna sell it on eBay and use the money to get us some VIP tickets to a swank European concert!” He pouted through his smirk. “I only want the best for you, my dear.”

Red shoved her way past Piggy, jabbing a finger angrily at the male Silly Creature. “You stole that crown! That was Junior’s!”

“Prove it!” Rick/Nikki retorted tauntingly.

Piggy lowered her head. “I … I believe you, Red,” she stated mournfully. “Nikki has a teensy-weensy little problem with risk-taking behavior.” She roared, “He knows it’s a risk to upset moi!” Piggy nodded at the crown. “You two return this crown to its rightful owner, s’il vous plait,” she continued with her normal melodious tone. Like flipping a coin, her voice changed back to a snarl. “I’ll deal with him.”

“Now, Piggy, my beautiful basket of bacon,” Nikki began as Sarah and Red grabbed the crown and took off for the Fraggle hole upstairs on the backstage wall. They could hear some yelling and crashing as they reached the hole which was very large, though Sarah would have to bend her head a little.

They ran through the tunnel, lit without lights somehow, Sarah noted. Red led the way as Sarah carried the awkward crown. Red yelled back as she ran, “Hey, you want me to carry that?”

Sarah panted a little. “No, it’s okay. It’s as big as you!”

Red groaned. “Please! I pump granite every morning!” She dodged into a tunnel to the right. “It can’t be that heavy!”

Sarah remembered dashing away from the Cleaners, who operated a large drill-like device in the bowels of the Labyrinth. Middle age wasn’t helping her at all, she noted to herself. Time to renew that gym membership…. She ducked to avoid a stalactite. “The back wall of the … crap … theater is only five feet thick! How does this tunnel keep going?”

Red paused as they came to a room with multiple tunnels, shrugging. “I dunno,” she replied absent-mindedly. “Magic, I guess.”

Sarah chuckled. “Ah.” She noticed Red seemed indecisive. “Are we lost?”

Red put her hands on her hips. “Of course I’m not lost! I’m not Gobo’s Uncle Matt!” she replied, annoyed. “I’m trying to think of tunnels that you can fit into without scraping your head on the ceiling!” She finally bounded toward a wide tunnel on the left. “Don’t worry … it shouldn’t take more than an hour to reach the Gorg’s garden.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Junior Gorg awoke in his bed, feeling very stuffy. He wished there were a way to move the stale air of the castle. It gave him permanent sinus trouble. He sat up on the edge of his bed, removed his radish-printed pajama shirt, and began to rummage around his nightstand for his usual khaki jacket. When he closed a drawer and looked up, he noticed two figures cloaked in brown robes, one slightly taller than the other. Both were around six feet, thought Junior. The taller one pulled back its hood, revealing a dark-skinned female with sea-green shoulder-length hair and matching gown. She let the robe fall gracefully to the top of the nightstand on which she stood. Her head was adorned with broken knick-knacks. Her face beamed, a gentle smile caressing her features. The other one removed its hood, revealing a more male look, with feathered blond hair that also reached to his shoulders. His features were more chiseled, his eyes marked with strong black liner. He wore a stern expression. Both, however, congratulated him on his five-hundredth birthday.

Junior could not help but gawk at his visitors. “Wh – what do you want fwom me?” he asked in a whisper, so as not to awaken his parents, who slept a few rooms down.

The blond-haired one spoke with a smooth deep voice. “The safety of the universe is at risk. We have come to fulfill the prophecies.”

Junior sighed, wiggling his feet and rubbing his hands together. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said reluctantly. “I gotta take my wightful place as King of da Universe or my Fwaggle fwiends could all die.” Junior pointed at each of them, asking them who they were.

The female nodded toward the male. He replied, “You know me as Sir Hubris, former King of the Universe.”

Junior stood up, grabbed the male in his large brown furry hand, and shook his head. “Uh-uh … da Fwaggles twied that on me alweady many ye-uhs ago. Nice twy, Gobo.”

“Sir Hubris” frowned. “Do I look like a Fraggle, you overgrown buffoon?”

Junior stared at the being in his hand. He didn’t feel like a Fraggle. Junior gasped, nearly dropping the Legend, and flung him back onto the nightstand. Junior fell to the ground, bowing repeatedly, sobbing uncontrollably. “Suh Hubwis! It weally is you!” he cried in a full-fledged panic. “I – I – I would give you da cwown you gave my ancestuhs … but … but,” he stammered, his heart racing, “… but I thwew it away! I nevah found out where it went, neither! And now you’re gonna tell me and my family we have to go wandah da universe forevah!” He blubbered still.

Junior noticed a small hand on his quivering chin. He looked up, his eyes crossing at the sight of the female, she was so close. She laughed cheerfully, with a tinge of sympathy. “Dear Junior Gorg,” she began, her voice silky and calming, “even a lost heart can be found again … why not your crown?” She looked up at the nightstand where “Sir Hubris” clutched his torso from the aching he felt. He stood up and rolled his eyes.

Lummox, he thought to himself. Sighing, he replied, “Since I cannot fulfill the legend and take back what was mine, the legend is negated.”

“Wh – what does that mean?” asked Junior, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“It means,” Sir Hubris noted irritatingly, “that the legend foretold I would return to take your crown. Since you have no crown, the legend no longer has any meaning. It must be started anew.” He pointed to Junior’s bedroom door. “Go to your family and celebrate your birthday. For later this morn … you will yet again be King.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Wander McMooch sighed, leaning against the tremendous gate that led to the Gorg property as the sun rose above the horizon. He had inflated himself to almost six-and-a-half feet high, since he knew he would be visited by Mizumi’s daughter, Drumlin. He had only seen her when she was a young child, before his banishment. He wore a shaggy red coat with a leopard-print collar and a pink broad-rimmed hat with a couple of feathers in a wide white band.

The ground started to vibrate in short intervals. He looked to the right and saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, when he looked to his left, he spied an obese brunette woman stomping toward him. Small puddles disappeared as she walked past them. She seemed to grow marginally larger each time. Wander gulped as she approached, taking a couple of steps back.

“You’re bigger than I remember,” gargled Drumlin.

Wander retorted, “You aren’t exactly petite either, sweetie.”

Drumlin frowned and grabbed Wander by the throat. He could feel himself shrink as she drained him of moisture. She let go after he had reduced in size by a foot or so. She laughed maliciously. “Is the Oracle dead already? Or am I gonna have to do it myself?”

Wander gasped for breath. His whole body ached from the sudden loss of moisture. He tightened his coat around him. He hoped he could get through this conversation without dying. He bowed. “Milady, the Trash Heap is just far too powerful for me,” he whined. “Perhaps I could show you where she is. Far on the other side of the Gorg property lies the Oracle, beloved by … ugh … Fraggles and Gorgs alike. She’s behind a great tree by their well.”

Drumlin nodded, called him a filthy coward, and went with him across the Gorg front lawn, where they could hear singing and dancing inside the tremendously huge Gorg castle. As they approached the great tree, Drumlin chuckled eerily. “I hope this goes by quickly … I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”

Wander asked absent-mindedly, “Oh? What did you bring with you?”

Drumlin smiled, licking her lips. “Bufonidae burritos,” she replied, rubbing her ample tummy.

Wander shivered uncontrollably for a moment. They rounded the tree … to find a large pile of dark mud. Wander jerked back in surprise, shaking his head vigorously. “Nonononono,” he stuttered, “she should be here! She can’t move on her own!” He zoomed back and forth around the space, searching high and low. “Even Philo and Gunge can’t move her! This is absolutely impossible!”

Drumlin adjusted her patched-together blouse, shrugging. She stooped down to the pile of mud, inspecting it. “And you’re sure she can’t teleport?”

Wander moved back a foot or two. “No – at least, not herself, anyways,” he replied, quivering.

Drumlin stroked her chin. “Gorgs probably did something with her. Perhaps they were warned …?” She glared at McMooch, who felt as though he were about to faint. “I’ll see if there are any clues here … before you’re punished for your idiotic failure.” She reached toward the top of the pile of mud, absorbed most of the moisture in it, leaving behind a dried pile of dust, which blew away in a sudden breeze. She stood up, engorged with moisture, and noted satisfactorily, “Hm, berries, fruit, and some chocolate cake, I think.”

Wander nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Yes! Junior Gorg is celebrating his birthday today! They must have hidden her in their kitchen!”

She listened for the continued sounds of partying. “Well, let’s go pay them a visit, shall we?” She turned and wobbled off toward the castle. However, a few feet around the tree, Drumlin groaned, rubbing her belly. Wander kept a safe distance from her, out of sight. He could hear her cough violently. The sound of dripping made him come just close enough to see her sweating heavily. She gargled up water from her throat. She glanced at him with hatred out the corners of her eyes.

McMooch cackled. “Don’t you remember why I was banished, you fat frelling fae?” he taunted. “I poisoned the lake water underneath your Mommy’s castle! You’ve just absorbed about thirty pounds of water laced with concentrated greaseberry juice. It’s the slickest stuff in the universe!” He laughed maniacally. “Soon you’ll just fall apart from the inside out!” He continued to laugh as she gurgled and gargled and died, spilling into a veritable pool of water.

Wander decided it was time to high-tail it out of there. He started to zoom away in the opposite direction, toward the entry to Fraggle Rock, when he was stopped mid-zoom by a dark-skinned woman, who smirked triumphantly. “Are we ready to head back to the Trash Kingdom, Wander?” she asked.

“Are you certain Mizumi can’t find me there?” he pleaded. “She’ll kill me for what I’ve done!” He bows, shaking. “You know, I never really wanted to kill your daughter, right? I mean, we had our little disagreements … but I swear I could never harm Marjory!”

The Queen of Trash patted McMooch on his head, smiling sympathetically. “Wander McMooch … you are an immoral toad tossed away like garbage from your own home,” she told him. “But in my kingdom I can breathe life into anything thrown away … so long as they are treasured by someone. I have no doubts I can re-purpose even you.” She teleported them both to her kingdom; far away from the Gorgs, the Fraggles, and Moraine.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

In the main room of the Gorg castle, the three Gorgs sang songs, with many creatures from deep within Fraggle Rock (who now stayed with the Gorgs) providing backup:

Once there’s Ma and once there’s Pa,
Sang of love forever….
Junior plays and Junior sways…
Hey! He’s so clever!

Pa slapped his son on his back, nearly bowling him over onto various Doozers and other creatures, laughing. He sang the next two lines:

Five-hundred – it’s not long at all!
The rest … just get better!

Then, the whole group sang:

Out the door, five hundred more!
Sing! Altogether!
Sing! Altogether!

Just as they finished singing, they heard a scream from low in the wall. Red came running out of a hole in the wall, followed by a female Silly Creature … with the …

… with the …

… crown ….

The three Gorgs gasped … and so did Sarah, who was completely unprepared for the size of these beings. She bent her neck back to see them. She gulped, feeling her knees tremble. They soon heard a rustling sound, as a tiny bird fluttered in onto the Gorg’s dining table, transformed into “Sir Hubris”, and bowed.

“Suh Huwis!” Junior exclaimed.

Pa and Ma nearly fell backwards in shock. “Sir Hubris?”

“Jareth,” Sarah gasped.

Jareth smirked, avoiding Sarah’s presence. “You’ll forgive me if I make this quick. Time is short.” He inhaled deeply. “Millennia ago, a Gorg was made King of the Universe. At the time, I promised to return to the land of Gorgs to take back what was mine.”

Pa and Ma clutched each others’ hands, terrified of the news to come. For the legend foretold that Hubris would run them from their home.

Jareth continued with a hurried voice. “Yet, as fate would have it, the kingship was rejected. Having broken the spell, Junior Gorg, you have set your fate upon an unknown path. If you wish, I shall crown you King of the Universe. It will be your task to rule the Universe as you see fit, for good or ill. Junior Gorg, what say you?”

All eyes turned to Junior. You could hear a pin drop, despite how many creatures were present.

Junior bowed his head, shuffling his feet nervously. He bit his lower lip.

“You can do it, Junior!” Sarah belted out unexpectedly. Her voice was filled with certainty and passion. “You can’t have ‘no’ for an answer! From everything I’ve heard about you … I know you can be a great Gorg king!”

“Weally?” Junior asked, awe-inspired that a strange being would just offer that out of the blue. He nodded. “I, Junior Gorg, humbly accept the cwown fwom Suh Hubwis, so I can pwotect the cweatures I have come to love and wespect!” As he finished proclaiming his acceptance, the crown vanished from Sarah’s hands and appeared on top of Junior’s head, sparkling with a newly-polished sheen.

The crowd of creatures broke into loud applause, cheering and whooping wildly. When the noise died down, Jareth turned to Sarah and Red, his face filled with worry. “Return to New York,” he told them. “Do not stay in Fraggle Rock. Mizumi is on her way … she is … upset.”

“What about Madame Heap?” Red bellowed so that Jareth could hear her. “I’m not leaving if she’s not safe!”

“Madame Heap is in danger?” Junior asked, his eyes wide. Why didn’t he know this?

Jareth shook his head. “She and her companions have been taken to safety to the Trash Kingdom. Go!” he barked. “You each have your parts to play! You have played them well … now leave, before it’s too late!” He noticed Sarah’s disappointed expression. He smiled warmly. “Sarah … protect the Fraggles. I cannot protect them from here. We need you.”

 

[The Count]

And we need this story! So who was the female spirit accompanying Jareth/Sir Huberus? The Queen of Trash... From Grouchland? Whoa, now that's a curve ball. Loved Piggy's cameo. Red and Sarah tracing through the Fragglian caverns... Drumlin's death... Wander's escape... Weeeeee! *Bounces.
Post more please.

 

[RedPiggy]

I haven't seen Grouchland ... I was just perusing the internet, trying to learn about Oscar (which is why, in a previous chapter, the worm is supposed to be Slimey ... to foreshadow where I was going with Wander's whole plot). I came upon Grouchland by accident and discovered the Queen of Trash. Since, according to behind-the-scenes stuff, Marjory was originally supposed to by a SS character ... I figured she should hail from the Grouch/Trash lands (well, I'm still on the fence about it ... I think perhaps Marjory was always the Gorg Trash Heap, but the Power of the Queen brought her to life when Philo and Gunge showed up). So, really, this character was a happy accident.

I wanted Red to meet Sarah, because Sarah's conversation with Boober was important while she was all EMO (LOL), whereas pairing with Red would help her once she settled on the decision to help the Fraggles, since Red is more of a take-charge Fraggle.

And speaking of Red, if/when I do a sequel, I really want to her to have more scenes with Piggy ... since I assume that Red is strong from all her athletics ... and could easily match Piggy's strength. I would imagine it like the movie I just saw, Forbidden Kingdom, where you have the Jade Emperor being all nasty and the Monkey King is just sort of playing around. Since Fraggles are basically non-violent (though Red does have her aggressive side as well), I could see "monkey-style" being how she fights Piggy. Also, I don't think Piggy trains very much. Look how easily she tires out during workouts both in the Muppet Show and in her funny vlog on Muppets.com. I think her strength comes from her bulk, not any specific training. Since Red does a lot of sports and training, she's at a definite advantage.

I was SO afraid Drumlin's death might come off a little ... morbid. However, it's basically how Sen. Kelly died in X-Men, so I just tried to get through it without going through a lot of details. I just figured a water-elemental like the inhabitants of Moraine would be particularly susceptible to water pollution.

I have Wander leaving for the Trash Kingdom because, from the little I know of Grouchland, the Queen tries to see the beauty in everything. Only Wander could kill Drumlin, in the fine tradition of letting bad guys destroy each other so the heroes don't have to lift a finger. However, I felt that it wouldn't be a FR tale if Wander didn't have at least an implied chance at rehabilitation.

EDIT: And 2 happy points if you know what bufonidae means!

 

[The Count]

Ah... Bufonidae, frog or toadlike? Which is why Jon Stewart was asking if he'd get high if he licked Kermit...

Though I have it in my library, I haven't watched Elmo in Grouchland yet.
Everything you write in this story is simply fascinating.

Piggy got better exercising style in her Aerobique album, you should listen or it on MCR.
Where was it said Madam Marjerie was meant to be an SST character?

Villains doing away with other villains. Like my champion of darkness the Undertaker once said a decade ago when hosting a series of creep-filled movies onSci-Fi/USA... "When the battle of two evils takes place, hope that the lesser evil wins. But even if the lesser evil does win, it's still evil."
Yes, I know... Chilling.

Please post more.

 

[RedPiggy]

Re: Marjory ... Gah! I can't believe I no longer have that info! I think it was mentioned either in one of the inserts to the DVD boxsets of FR or one of the commentaries. She was rejected in favor of, of course, Oscar.

I didn't know there was a Piggy aerobics album. LOL.

I'm not particularly fond of Elmo. However, the summaries make it sound like an SS version of Labyrinth ... which intrigues me greatly.