Thanks RedPiggy!
Here's the final chapter, enjoy!
Chapter 4
After spending a good hour at the bus station pacing back and forth in an internal debate, Fozzie finally made up his mind to seek out the strange frog who had kept a picture of the two of them in his wallet. He needed to return the stolen item to this…Kermit, and hopefully get some answers about the mystery surrounding him.
“Kermittt!” The bear yelled as he dashed back into the alley where he had last seen him, having an odd sense of déjà vu as he hollered the frog’s name. Disappointed when he saw the area behind the club was empty, and realized that it had been silly to expect the odd duo to still be there after all that time. “Oh, what am I going to do?”
He looked down at his feet in defeat, and then brightened up when he noticed the footprints imprinted beneath him. Thank goodness no fresh snow had fallen and covered them up; maybe he’d be able to catch up with the frog after all!
Fozzie kept his eyes glued to the ground, following the tracks so intensely that he failed to pay attention to his surroundings. Walking right into…
“Oomph!”
“Whoooaaa!”
“Watch where you’re walking, buddy!” Someone yelled; it was a dangerous growl from an otherwise sweet sounding voice.
The bear shook his head and looked up at the person he ran into, startled to see a female pig towering over him. “Um, uh, oh dear…”
Piggy rolled her eyes at the bumbling comedian, and then gave an annoyed sigh before reaching out a hand to help him up. “Come on Yogi…”
“Aaah, why thank youuu!” Fozzie replied enthusiastically, happily taking her hand and hauling himself back up onto his feet. He brushed himself off thoroughly before returning his attention back to her, watching as she resumed her duties of taking out the trash for pick-up in a few hours. “Hey, uh, you wouldn’t have happened to see a frog around here recently? Goes by the name of Kermit?”
Miss Piggy froze on the spot, then dropped the trash can and glared once more at the bear. “You know that guy?”
“Not really, no.” He confessed as he pulled out the wallet. “He lost this, and I’m just trying to return it to him. Kind of had a couple of questions for him too, actually…”
“You and me both…” The pig grumbled, noticing a photograph in the snow between the two of them. “Hey, hey what’s this?”
Fozzie watched her pick it up, and joined her as she stared at the image dumbfounded. “Hey…you’re in the picture too! You wouldn’t happen to know the bear in that picture, would you? He looks just like me; I’m trying to figure out if he’s some distant relative who I’ve never met or something.”
“I don’t know who that is!” Piggy said in a trembling voice, staring at her own image standing next to the handsome frog she had met earlier that evening. “Why am I in this picture? I just met Kermit tonight…”
“Wow, you too? That’s really weird.” The bear commented, glancing at her in surprise before looking back at the three of them, and the others, in the picture. There was a smaller frog in Kermit’s arms while a teenager with glasses, a rock band, two scientists, an attractive singer, and some rats all stood smiling behind them and their unknown fourth companion who was standing happily at the bear’s side.
Fozzie had no idea what species the fourth person was, but did think he looked vaguely familiar. So did everyone else in the picture for that matter, he was sure he had seen them all passing by in the city at some point over the years. “This…is really weird.”
“You’re telling me.” Piggy replied flatly, transfixed on herself and Kermit in the picture. He had made a point of saying he knew her…so why didn’t she know him, and why was she in a picture with him and a bunch of people she’d never met? “Is there an address in his wallet?”
“Yeah…but that doesn’t make any sense either!” The comedian replied, pulling it open to show the woman. “See what’s listed? That old place was torn down years ago, and nothing new has been built on it yet.”
“That’s…very odd…”
Fozzie nodded his head in agreement. “Tell me about it! I was hoping he was here or you had a clue of where he went to next, I wanted to ask him about all this.”
“I’ve got no idea.” Piggy replied, crossing her arms. “But I want answers too, why don’t we look for him together?”
They both looked down at the snow again, seeing where the tracks lead next. Then, without hesitation, they followed the flipper-print path. Groaning in defeat when they reached the mall where the tracks ended.
“If he went in there, we may never be able to find him!” Fozzie moaned, putting his head in his hands.
“It’s closing up now, you dope! He probably went out one of the other exits.” Miss Piggy said in a matter-of-fact tone, shaking her head at her companion’s antics. “Come on; let’s go to the next exit. For all we know, he might be leaving as we speak!”
Just as they were about to march off to the next mall exit, the doors opened up, and a strange creature walked out. He had a very relieved and relaxed look on his face; unusual, especially considering it was obvious by his torn and tattered clothes and his frightfully skinny body that he was homeless. His cheerful mood couldn’t find the fact that he was tired and starving.
Both Fozzie and Piggy did a double-take at the sight of him. He was the same...thing that was in the photograph next to them and Kermit!
The bear managed to snap out of his surprise first, and stepped forward towards the whatever. “Um, excuse me.”
Gonzo stopped his cheerful humming, and turned his attention to the pig and bear that had approached him. “Yeah?”
“Have you seen this frog?” Miss Piggy asked as she snatched the photograph from her partner’s hand, and shoved it into the creature’s face.
“Oh, hey yeah…that’s Kermit!”
“You know him?” Fozzie asked, staring at the weirdo hopefully.
“Well…kind of, but not really. We just met tonight, to be honest.” The blue thing admit; his tone held a fondness to it when he spoke of the stranger who, in a way, had saved his life just moments before. “He’s a great guy…he’s still in the mall if you’re trying to catch him.”
“Oh, oh, Kermie!” Miss Piggy squealed as she roughly pushed past Gonzo, barreling through the double doors with the bear and the thing in hot pursuit. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at what she saw next, and the gasp of shock from Fozzie as he stood behind her let her know she hadn’t imagined it.
One second, Kermit was standing next to a man who was dressed like he came from Hello Dolly…and then, the next thing they knew, the two of them disappeared into thin air.
“Cool!” Gonzo exclaimed with excitement, his eyes widening with wonder while the other two came to terms with what they had just seen. “He’s from a different dimension or something, that’s neat!”
Piggy exchanged a look with the bear as he moved closer, both unsure of what to think of the weirdo’s remark. Then deciding that his suggestion might not be too much of a stretch after all; considering the circumstances. “This has been a long night…”
Fozzie simply nodded his head, looking back at the homeless stranger before glancing back at the photograph in his hand. Could it be that the three of them, along with the other strangers in the picture and Kermit, were all friends? His thoughts were broken when his Trackfone rang. He was quick to answer it as Piggy took the picture from his paw. “Hello?”
While the lady pig stared lovingly at the image of herself with the mysterious frog, the bear’s face morphed from one of confusion to a thrilled expression. “Ma? You’re okay? Aw, that’s great. I am so glad that it was a false alarm and nothing serious after all! Are you still planning on coming up, because the car is broken and I don’t have any spare money to take a trip up there myself…”
Gonzo observed the two, both lost in their own little worlds, and smiled contently before putting on his backpack once more. After a moment, watching as the bear got off his phone excitedly; he turned and slowly began to walk away. Weak…but determined to make it through another day and find a way to live his dreams like Kermit said he could.
“Is your mother alright?” Piggy asked, honestly curious to know.
“Aw yeah, she’s swell! This is so great; I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am!” The comedian declared, grinning happily at her. It took him a moment to notice that something was missing, and he looked down the street to see the homeless being walking away. “Hey!”
Gonzo turned, surprised, and looked back at the bear. “Um…yeah?”
“Do you have someplace to stay?” Fozzie asked him with concern, looking over the creature’s exhausted face and starved looking figure. “I’ve got plenty of room at my place; you’re welcome to stay there with me, I don’t mind!”
“Not until after you boys come back to my apartment and have some milk and cookies…” Miss Piggy insisted, surprising both of them. “After all, it’s not everyday you make two new friends. And tonight is Christmas Eve!”
It was Gonzo’s turn to be dumbfounded, and he couldn’t help the tears that began to brim his eyes at the acts of kindness that the three strangers he had met this evening had showed him. For the first time in years he had a place to stay, something to eat,…friends. “Yeah…sure, I’d love to.”
The trio slowly walked away in the light coating of snow that covered the city sidewalks, making their way back to Miss Piggy’s apartment. Each of them thinking fondly of the strange frog that had suddenly appeared and disappeared from their lives…
Meanwhile, in a different reality, Kermit the frog gleefully burst through the doors of the Muppet Theater and gave a warm and exceptionally thrilled welcome to all his friends and loved ones awaiting him inside. Fully understanding how different the world could have been without him and that everyone truly matters!
The End
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