Fanfic: Fraggle Rock: The Movie

[TheRealFraggle]

Author's note: I made a slight error in chapter 16. I listed bonkleberries among Pa Gorg's "Fraggle-killing methods", but I remember now that they are not poisonous to Fraggles (except Wembley). Perhaps I was confusing them with banoony berries from the animated series.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The fire in Fraggle Rock was over. When Gobo and his friends returned to the Rock after arriving at the garden again, they found that the garden was deserted, and when they entered the Rock, they discovered that the Fraggles had returned to it. The World's Oldest Fraggle, covered in bandages to conceal the injuries he had received from being trampled on, assured Gobo and the others that the fire was over and it was safe to enter the rock again. Casualties had been low; under ten Fraggles had died, although the Doozer casualties had not been calculated yet.
Strangely, according to the World's Oldest Fraggle and other witnesses, the fire had been put out by a sudden burst of water originating from, seemingly, the hole to Outer Space, which had long been boarded up. Naturally, Gobo's mind began to swim with questions. Had Doc returned? Was the entrance to his house open again? But Gobo didn't have time to explore those questions any further, for just then, Mokey, who had been standing guard in the garden, reported that Gorgorian had arrived.
Now, the Fraggles were standing in a remote corner of the garden, hiding behind some thick shrubs while watching the brutality of a mighty Gorg battle unfold before them. Pa Gorg was dueling Gorgorian with a sword, and Junior carried one as well, but the other Gorgs appeared to be armed with guns, a type of deadly weapon that Gobo had thought was only used by Silly Creatures. Pa and Junior were wearing armor, but it didn't look sufficient enough to protect them from the blades and bullets of the enemy, especially when compared with the protective gear worn by Gorgorian's Gorgs.
Gorgorian's army may have been small, but it was highly effective and putting Pa and Junior to shame. As the Fraggles watched, Pa was sent tumbling to the ground by a powerful blow of Gorgorian's sword, only to get up again, feebly tap at Gorgorian's armor with his own sword, and immediately fall down again. When he got up, Gorgorian attempted to shove his blade up the visor of Pa's helmet; Pa only avoided a gruesome death when he was pulled aside by Junior. Junior, always quick at catching Fraggles, seemed to fighting more expertly, possibly due to his younger age and stronger physique. But even he could only last so long before he got tired out and would be knocked over by a bullet from one of the Gorgs. Luckily his armor was deflecting these, but just barely, it seemed.
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Gobo, turning to his friends. "We promised we'd help the Gorgs, didn't we?"
Gobo expected to hear a frightened response from Boober. But then he noticed that Boober wasn't even around. Perhaps he'd gotten too afraid and hidden in the deepest crevice of the Rock. That didn't matter at the moment.
Red was the first one to respond. She didn't say anything, but leaned forward and kissed Gobo on the lips. "If I die right now," she said, "find a better strategy. But if not, just try this."
With that, Red took off at a run, bounded into the battleground, and leaped onto the shoe of the nearest enemy Gorg; a swarthy, short but particularly muscular brute whose entire body was obscured save for part of his face, due to a broken visor. The Gorg didn't notice at Red at first, allowing her to crawl up one of his legs. Only when she had reached his torso did the Gorg swing at her with his sword. Just in time, Red jumped onto the blade of the sword and, from there, propelled herself into the air and landed directly on the Gorg's visor. She clamped it shut, painfully hitting the Gorg's nose. She then covered his eyes, causing him to stumble and collapse onto the ground. The next thing the Gorg knew, Pa's rusted blade was digging into his hairy body.
"RED!" screamed Gobo, assuming that she had died when the Gorg tumbled to the ground. He was immensely relieved when he saw a streak of red and orange fur flying through the air. Then he heard Red's voice in his ear, and found that she had made her way back to him and the others.
"I'm fine," said Red, panting heavily, "but that is the dumbest thing any Fraggle has ever done in the history of Fraggledom!"
"I couldn't agree more," said Gobo. "And that means it's just dumb enough to work!"
The next instant, Gobo found himself running into the field as well, with Wembley at his side. The two of them quickly crawled up the body of Junior, and chose just the right moment to jump from him to a light blue Gorg, wearing only a visor but no helmet, who was swinging his rifle in preparation to shoot it. He swung it in his own face, fell backward, and was knocked unconscious when his unprotected head collided with the armor of another Gorg. As soon as he hit the ground, Junior finished him off; unfortunately, the next second Junior received a large cut on his face from Gorgorian's sword and was blinded by his own stream of blood. The next moment, Gorgorian picked him up and attempted to toss him. He grievously underestimated Junior's weight and fell to the grass with Junior on top of him. Junior gave Gorgorian a nice scar of his own, but could do nothing more before Gorgorian threw off the mighty Gorg prince and continued fighting.
Gobo and Wembley, both badly bruised, ran back to the shrub where Red and Mokey were awaiting their return. When their eyes returned to the battle, they saw Pa locked in combat with Gorgorian, while Junior had received even more cuts and was now struggling to stay on his feet.
"What are we going to do?" said Red. "We got rid of two Gorgs, but we'll never be able to bring down the rest. We might as well pack our bags and go home."
Just then, Gobo heard a voice calling out from somewhere behind him. He turned his shoulder; there, in the distance, was another Fraggle, dressed in his own ramshackle suit of armor. His face was completely concealed by his helmet, and he stood triumphantly on top of a large pumpkin that had been grown by the Gorgs.
"Help is on the way!" said the masked Fraggle. "The battle will be won!" Gobo thought the voice sounded familiar.
Just then, the Fraggle fell over, landed headlong in another pumpkin, and began to roll over to Gobo and the others. By the time he got his head out of the pumpkin, he was covered in orange, sticky innards. Then he took off his helmet. It was Uncle Traveling Matt.
"Well, there you are, Gobo," said Uncle Matt. "I was looking all over for you. It's so nice to see you after all this time,"
"Uncle Matt," said Gobo impatiently, "look. There's a battle going on over there."
"Yes, I know," said Uncle Matt, "and the Fraggles will win it."
"Why? Are you going to singlehandedly take down seven Gorgs?"
"No, but the other Fraggles will,"
"What other Fraggles?"
"Well, I'm sure you don't know what I'm talking about, but they were captured, along with myself, by one of those very Gorgs there. I have suited them up in Fraggle-sized armor and they are ready to do their all in this battle."
"How many are there?"
"Exactly twenty-three. They are coming at this very moment."
Just then, Gobo heard the sounds of many footsteps, and soon, over twenty Fraggles marched proudly up to Gobo and his uncle. Like Matt, they were clad from head to toe in Fraggle-sized armor, complete with swords the size of pocket knives, and had faces covered by their helmets. All twenty-three of the Fraggles saluted Gobo and then removed their helmets to reveal their faces. There were several among them that Gobo recognized, including Marlon, Large Marvin, Feenie, and Rumple.
The Fraggles all greeted Gobo and recited the Solemn Fraggle Oath. Then they burst into the scene of the battle, waving their swords wildly. Within minutes, the odds began to turn in favor of Pa and Junior's side. The small but effective blades of the Fraggles inflicted many stinging cuts on the enemy Gorgs, and the weight of several armored Fraggles was enough to send a Gorg falling to the ground. Only Gorgorian was expertly dodging every blow and shaking off each Fraggle who plunged at him. Within the first minute of the battle after the Fraggles entered, a third Gorg had been brought to his knees, and a blow from Junior's sword sent his head flying into the bushes. It wasn't until minutes later that the first Fraggle, an older fellow whom Gobo thought was named Morley, met his end.
By this point, Gobo thought it safe for him to leave the site of the clash for a few minutes. After letting his friends know where he was going, he quietly sneaked off in the direction of the Rock. He had noticed that Boober had been missing for a long time now, and he wanted to find him.
Gobo desperately hoped that he wound find Boober inside Fraggle Rock. After all, it would have been easy for the Fraggle to have become a casualty of the Gorgs' battle. As Gobo crept along the tunnel leading from the garden into the Great Hall, Gobo began to wonder where Boober could possibly have gone if he had not been killed.
And then, instead of entering the Great Hall as he was planning to, Gobo found himself being drawn into a different tunnel, one he hadn't ever seen before until now. Something seemed to be gleaming in the distance, and far away, he could hear the sound of music.
Finally, Gobo got close enough to see the entrance to a cave that seemed to be filled with shining green crystals. As he reached the cave, he heard something behind him.
"So," boomed a deep voice, "you have arrived".

 

[TheRealFraggle]

Author's note: I noticed another error in my story. In chapter 20, I mentioned Pa Gorg packing his royal crown along with his other possessions when the Gorgs prepare to flee the castle. However, at the end of "The Gorg Who Would Be King", Junior threw it in the air, it landed in Outer Space (SOMEHOW) and Doc found it. I'll try to explain the plot hole: maybe Pa had a spare crown or something that he's been pretending is the real one ever since he re-established the Gorg monarchy.
By the way: In case you're wondering, Gobo's wrong - Sprocket DID abandon Doc to go and live in Fraggle Rock permanently, though he did frequently check up on his owner before he died. However, Doc, who thought Sprocket had died, assumed he was hallucinating. Hence why, in the first chapter, it says (from Jerry's point of view) that Sprocket died before Doc.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

A tall, white-robed figure slowly stepped out of the cave and approached Gobo. It was Cantus, the leader of the Minstrels. In his hands, he was holding his magic pipe, which had been the source of the music. Right now, the pipe was playing the song it had created for Gobo twenty years ago, the first time in his lifetime that the Minstrels had returned to Fraggle Rock.
"Uh, Cantus," Gobo said awkwardly, not knowing how to explain himself. "I didn't expect to meet you here,"
"Silence." Cantus put his finger to his lips. "What you seek, you shall find in the Gleaming Cavern."
"Well, alright," said Gobo. "But I'm not sure if you know what it is that I need to do..."
"Do not bother with explanations. Go. Inside this cave you will find something forgotten... yet familiar."
With that, Cantus began to play the first song Gobo had ever heard him play, "Let Me Be Your Song". Then he slowly walked away.
Although he wasn't sure what Cantus had meant, Gobo decided to take his advice. Slowly, he stepped into the Gleaming Cavern. The ground felt cold under his feet, and was very quiet; he could hear each footstep loudly sounding against the stone. Every wall of the cave was covered in rows of green, glowing crystals, which shone so brightly that his eyes stung, and he could hardly see. However, the cave was large, and as he walked through it, the crystals grew less and less, until finally, he arrived at an area where they could only be found on the ceiling.
Gobo listened. It still seemed dead quiet, but if he listened closely, he could hear something, a mysterious something that he wasn't even sure was there to begin with. Though he may have been imagining the sound, it sounded pleasant; it almost had a slight musical quality to it. Gobo remembered Cantus telling him, many years ago, that he could find his song by listening to the sounds of the Rock. And now, it seemed as though he was indeed hearing his song, the one that Cantus's pipe had played at the medley so long ago: Da-da-da-dee, da-da-da-da-da-dee...
And then, quite suddenly, the sound changed. It certainly wasn't musical anymore, but it sure was familiar. A series of loud barks sounded in the formerly quiet cave, seeming to echo off the crystal-encrusted walls. Then something large and black bounded into the room and began pawing and licking Gobo. It was Sprocket, the hideous beast from Outer Space!
Gobo couldn't believe it. Sprocket, the creature (called a "dog", if he remembered correctly) who had belonged to his good friend Doc, was still alive after all these years. But how? Gobo remembered Doc telling him that dog's didn't live nearly as long as Fraggles or Silly Creatures, never more than fifteen years. And that had been fifteen years ago. But there was no point questioning it. There was no doubt there was magic in these caves.
Gobo bent down and wrapped the dog in a warm hug. He felt extremely fortunate to be reuniting with Sprocket all these years. It was hard to believe that once, he had considered Sprocket a threat, and dreaded having to sneak past him when he would retrieve postcards from his Uncle Matt.
Sprocket certainly looked older; his fur, once a very dark grey, had grown noticeably lighter, and he walked slower now. Even his barks sounded less lively than before. But there was no denying that Sprocket still had the same twinkle in his eye that he'd had all those years ago. He gave Gobo a knowing look that made it clear he remembered all the adventures the two had had in the good old days.
And then, something occurred to Gobo. He didn't know how long Sprocket had been living in these caves, but he did know that, as much as he may have loved Fraggle Rock, there was nothing Sprocket loved more than his owner, Doc. He never would have abandoned him to go live in a life-prolonging cave full of green crystals. And that could only mean one thing...
"Your owner, Sprocket?" Gobo asked. "Doc? Is he... gone?"
Sprocket leaned his head down sadly and uttered a quiet whimper. Gobo understood perfectly: Doc had died.
Gobo sighed. He was surprised that the mangy old dog had somehow outlived his owner. Doc had been 63 years old when Gobo met him, but Gobo had heard that Silly Creatures could live as long as 100. If Doc had died five years ago when the hole in his house had become boarded up, he would have fallen far short of that mark.
Gobo wiped a tear from his eye. But Sprocket didn't look sad anymore. At the moment, he was excitedly pointing with one paw to something in the distance: the exit from the cave. Then he began running out of the cave and along the tunnel leading back to the garden. Gobo reluctantly followed him, but by the time he caught up with Sprocket, the dog was happily sticking his head out of the hole leading right into the garden... the area where the battle was occurring.
"No!" Gobo called out, and tried to pull the dog back. But Sprocket turned around and gave Gobo a look that made it clear he wanted to go.
Sprocket leaped out of the hole and ran into the garden. For a while he leaped and frolicked around in the grass, seeming for all the world like a puppy again. But then he caught sight of the battle unfolding before his eyes. He stopped in his tracks and simply watched.
Gobo did the same. He stood next to the dog and watched as Pa Gorg continued his duel with Gorgorian. There were now only four enemy Gorgs left standing, including Gorgorian - three had evidently been brought down by the armored Fraggles. Unfortunately, the Fraggle victims, lying sprawled out on the grass, amounted to a much higher number. Gobo counted nine dead Fraggles, though luckily it seemed that Uncle Traveling Matt was not among them. Meanwhile, Pa was looking to be exhausted and somewhat wounded, while Junior was doing far better, though he was focusing on fighting the other Gorgs rather than Gorgorian.
And then, Sprocket began walking again. He led Gobo directly to the spot where one of the deceased Fraggles was lying, in a small pool of blood. Gobo lifted up the helmet, worried that he would see one of his friends' faces underneath. But he did not recognize this Fraggle. It wasn't until he looked into Sprocket's eyes that he realized that wasn't why Sprocket had brought him here.
And then he understood. After taking off the Fraggle's helmet, he lifted its limp and lifeless body out of the suit of armor, and laid it to rest softly on the grass. Then, slowly, and with shaking hands, he put on the armor himself, and took the deceased comrade's bloodstained sword in his own hands.
Sprocket barked at Gobo again, and gave him another look. Gobo understood once more. He lifted one leg over Sprocket's body and sat himself on top of the large dog, like he had heard that Silly Creatures sometimes did with horses. He had ridden on Sprocket before, many years ago when he had gone on an exploring trip with the dog and a Doozer named Wrench. That expedition had nearly ended in tragedy, and it seemed that this adventure really would. But all the same, he would do anything for a friend. And Pa Gorg, like Sprocket, was a friend to him.
As soon as Gobo was perched on his back, Sprocket broke into a run and dove directly into the battlefield. Then, evidently zeroing out Gorgorian as the main enemy of Pa and Junior, he propelled himself upwards and leaped directly onto Gorgorian's face.
Although the mighty Gorg avoided toppling to the ground as some of his fellows had done when jumped on by Fraggles, he began to claw desperately at his face, in an attempt to grab hold of Sprocket and throw him to the ground. But Sprocket fought hard, and clung to Gorgorian's face as tightly as he could. Gorgorian grunted and began swinging his sword blindly around, where it came closing to penetrating an unprotected area on Pa Gorg's stomach, but was countered with Junior's own blade. And then, Gobo noticed that Gorgorian also had an unprotected area, on his neck. He took out his sword and prepared to drive it in.
Gorgorian was too quick for him. He was evidently aware that his face had not only a dog but a Fraggle clinging to it, and he swatted away Gobo's sword with the arm that was not holding his own sword. But Gobo did not drop his blade, and scratched his forehead with it. Gorgorian uttered a shrill cry of pain and began to sway. Sprocket let go with one of his paws and let loose a mighty punch that finally sent Gorgorian falling over backwards... but not before he picked up the dog and threw him in the direction of the Gorgs. By this point Gobo had jumped off Sprocket's back, however. Sure that he was about to give his life in battle, he briefly looked behind him, in the direction of the Rock, and uttered the single word "Goodbye". Then, he plunged his blade deep into Gorgorian's neck.
The blade was small, and Gorgorian's skin thick. At first, Gobo thought his attempt hadn't worked at all. Then the Gorg gurgled, choked, and coughed up a large glob of blood. He croaked something that sounded like "Gorgus", reached for his sword as if to finish off Gobo, then closed his eyes and died.
Immediately, Pa Gorg, weak as he was, began to be filled with life again. Although he cast a sad look at Gorgorian's body, as though regretting the death of his enemy, it was clear that he was filled with hope again now that his main rifle was gone. He quickly picked up his sword and lumbered over to the remaining three Gorgs. Between him, Junior, and the Fraggles, it looked like the battle was as good as won.
But Gobo was done fighting. Although not injured, he felt sick and awful. Taking someone's life, however evil, felt like the worst thing he had ever done. Gobo took off his helmet and threw it into the battlefield. Then he marched away, still wearing his armor. At the moment, he was less concerned about the battle and more about the fate of his friends. Especially Sprocket.
Just then, Gobo heard barking sounds, and saw Sprocket following him away from the battle scene. He was overjoyed to see that his friend, without whom he never would have been able to kill Gorgorian. But then he noticed that Sprocket was leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Gobo looked on with horror as the sheepdog slowly marched towards him. When he got closer, Gobo saw that Sprocket had a large, open wound in his chest, where a Gorgish bullet had entered his body. Sprocket curled up to Gobo and looked him in the face. He uttered a brief series of barks that communicated the deep and everlasting friendship between them. Then, the dog pressed his head against Gobo's, and closed his eyes. Sprocket fell to the ground. Gobo knew right away that his friend was no longer with him.
For the first time he could remember, a flood of tears poured out of Gobo's eyes. With anger, he ripped off his suit of armor, and continued to bawl as he lifted Sprocket's body up and hugged it tightly, staining his clothes with canine blood. Too many lives that been lost in this battle. It needed to stop now.
Gobo wandered around the garden, unsure of where his feet were taking him. Just then, he bumped into Wembley, Red, and Mokey.
"What happened?" said Wembley. "Where've you been all this time?"
"Fighting," said Gobo laconically. After a long pause, he continued. "Gorgorian is dead." Another pause, longer than the first. Tears began to flow again. "And so is the hairy creature".
By now, it was no longer Gobo who was crying. Though none of the Fraggles had known Sprocket as well as him, they all mourned him as a friend and a fallen ally. Within a minute, there was not a dry eye among the four Fraggles.
Then, Gobo realized that Sprocket might not have been the only friend lost in the battle. There was no sign of Boober anywhere. Unless, of course, he had been in the pile of fallen Fraggles all along.

 

[TheRealFraggle]

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

With Gorgorian dead, Pa, Junior, and the armored Fraggles made quick work of the remaining Gorgs, who had been so shocked by Gorgorian's death that their fighting skills had seemed to deteriorate over the last few minutes. The battle went on for less than ten minutes after Gorgorian fell, with Pa and Junior each killing one of the three Gorgs left. The final Gorg left standing - a short, stocky, but very muscular and menacing fighter with brown skin and hair like Junior - proved slightly tougher, and managed to knock Pa's sword out of his hand. He shot at both Pa and Junior with his rifle, though only hitting their armor, and even picked up Gorgorian's sword, with which he engaged Junior in a brief duel. Just then, three Fraggles leaped on top of him and easily killed him - the finishing blow was delivered by a short but hyperactive and energetic Fraggle who had been bouncing from one area of the battlefield to the next since before Gorgorian died.
Finally, the battle was over. There were now nine Gorg corpses sprawled out on the ground outside the castle. Pa, Junior, and Ma were still alive and not gravely injured, and Gobo saw that his Uncle Traveling Matt, helmet off, waving to him amidst a crowd of Fraggles who were staring at the bodies of the Gorgs. Likewise, Wembley, Mokey, and Red were still huddled around Gobo, watching every episode of the battle play out. But Sprocket had died fighting, Boober had gone missing, and ten Fraggles in all had died bringing down the Gorg army. Gobo wasn't underestimating when he said that the Battle of the Garden was the worst thing ever to happen to Fraggle Rock, or Fraggles in general.
Meanwhile, Pa Gorg surveyed the battleground with glazed eyes, looking as though he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Finally, he turned and spoke to Junior, putting his hand on his son's shoulder.
"That's the first real battle I've seen since I was a boy, son. This is how the rest of the Gorgs died. I was there watching when most of our race fell nearly 800 years ago. I hoped I'd never have to see something like this again." Pa drew a deep breath.
"It's okay, Pa," Junior said, trying to console his father. But Pa blinked back tears and kept speaking.
"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you," said Junior. "You were right all along. We should have ended the monarchy fifteen years ago like we said. But I didn't want to. I didn't want to give up on the last remaining memory I had of the glory days. I was wrong, son."
"I'm sorry too, Pa," replied Junior. "I could have been a better son to you too."
"We could all have been better. But it's too late now. There are only three Gorgs alive now in the whole world. That's all we are; the last remnants of an extinct species. And that's okay. I don't have to hide from that."
Pa and Junior adverted their eyes from the pile of Gorg corpses littering the ground and turned instead to the place where the surviving Fraggle fighters were standing, absentmindedly taking off their armor. They all looked shell-shocked; Fraggles had never had to do anything this terrible before. Standing at the front of the group were Uncle Traveling Matt, and the Fraggle who had killed the last Gorg.
Gobo and his friends went to join the other Fraggles. Uncle Matt embraced Gobo in a warm hug.
"I'm so glad to see you, Gobo," he said. "You've truly proven yourself the bravest Fraggle of all."
"We'll never forget that it was you who won the Battle of the Gorgs," said Red.
But Gobo didn't agree. "It wasn't just me. I could never have done it without Sprocket. Or any of you."
The Fraggles all embraced each other, crying tears of sorrow and happiness. Gobo and Red, in particular, engaged a knowing look between themselves. Then they kissed. It was the sweetest moment Gobo could remember.
Just then, the Fraggle standing at the front of the group - the one who had ended the battle - took off his helmet. Though they could see him from behind, the Fraggles all thought he looked very familiar.
"Boober?" Gobo said, stunned.
"Boober's not here," replied the Fraggle.
"Then who are you?"
"I'm his other side." The blue Fraggle sighed and turned around, showing that he had uncovered his eyes. "But he keeps me at the bottom".

Staring at the sea of devastated Fraggles, Junior Gorg remembered something. "Fraggles!" he called out to the group. "Before you go, there's something - er, someone - I forgot to return to you."
Junior walked away, and disappeared behind the castle. He returned a few minutes later, carrying a wheelbarrow which he wheeled over to the Fraggles. Inside was Marjory the Trash Heap. She wasn't quite as good as new... but she was alive.
Gobo was the first to speak. "M-madame Trash Heap," he stammered, searching for words. "You've returned,"
"But of course, little Fraggles," Marjory responded. She sounded a little different, but only a little. "I never really went away."
"Where were you? We needed you all this time."
"No. You needed yourselves. And that's exactly what you found. There's wisdom inside all of us, you know. Even the Gorgs."
"Well, thank you for all your help. Everything you've done for us... it means a lot."
"I know. But before you go, perhaps you don't understand the one bit of advice I did give you. You will speak to the humans."
Gobo gasped. "How did you know about my dream?"
"Know about it? I gave you that dream. And when the Trash Heap appears to you in a dream, you listen."
"Yes, Madame Trash Heap," said Gobo. "I know."
Just then, Wembley chipped in. "There's just one thing," he said. "Where are...?"
But he didn't need to finish his sentence. At that very moment, Philo and Gunge stuck their heads out of the top of the wheelbarrow.
"We were here the whole time!" said Philo.
"Yeah," replied Gunge, "who do you think wrote that note that you found in the garden?"
"Yeah, trash heaps can't write notes. They ain't got no fingers."
Gobo began to smile again. The battle taken a great toll on the Fraggles, but they still had themselves, their home, and their friends. And the Gorgs, Marjory, and Philo and Gunge were certainly friends.
Noticing the look on Gobo's face, the other Fraggles began to smile too. Soon, they were almost laughing.
"I'm glad to see that you're all looking on the bright side," said Boober - Sidebottom. "I'm great at that."
At the end of the day, though, Gobo took nothing to heart more than the Trash Heap's message to him. He would talk to the humans. Now that Doc was gone, he needed to meet some new Silly Creatures.

 

[TheRealFraggle]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jerry walked out of the building where he worked and stepped into his car, parked outside. He slowly got into the red vehicle, sat down, and began to drive. He lived in a small town, and as such, the drive from work to his house was not long. When he briefly stopped at a red light, Jerry glanced upwards, and noticed a thick layer of clouds blanketing the sky. Immediately, Jerry remembered what had happened the last time that a storm came to his usually sunny desert town.
Luckily, the fire inside his house hadn't done any permanent damage, except inside the workshop, where he had lost several belongings and the walls still bore permanent scorches from the flames. Water damage from the firemen's hoses had chipped away at parts of the floor, and the large hole in the wall, which he had boarded up upon first moving to the house, was now open again, the fire having burned through the boards. The room would require serious renovations before it looked the way it did before. Luckily, the fire hadn't spread outside of the house, and himself and his dog had been uninjured. All the same, Jerry was still a little frightened by the incident, which had happened just a week previously.
The red light turned green, and Jerry hit the gas pedal and sped along the road again. It would only be a few minutes before he reached home once more. But suddenly, Jerry heard a ringing noise. Someone was calling him on his mobile phone, which he kept in the car holder next to him.
Jerry quickly pulled over by the side of the road. Then he grabbed the phone and glanced at the call display. The number wasn't familiar; it was probably a telemarketer or a wrong number. All the same, he decided to answer.
"Hello? This is Jerry Crystal."
"Jerome Crystal Jr.?" responded the man on the other end. Jerry didn't recognize the caller's voice.
"Yeah, who is this?"
The man paused. "I'm - I'm an old friend of your father's."
"Excuse me?" said Jerry, surprised. He couldn't remember any friends of his father's except for Ned Shimmelfinney, who still lived next door. And the caller sounded nothing like him. "What's your name?"
"I'm, uh..." Another long pause. "It doesn't matter. There's something I want to talk to you about. I'm outside your house."
"Look, who is this?" asked Jerry, growing frustrated. "And what do you want?"
"It's hard to say over the, uh..." Silence again. "Uh, the telephone!" he said at last. "Just meet me out here soon."
Jerry, very unsure of what was happening, hung up and placed the phone beside him again. As he got back on the road and began to drive again, he wondered about the strange call he had received. A friend of his father's was standing outside his house wanting to speak to him, but couldn't even say what his name was?
When Jerry finally arrived at his house and drove into the driveway, it became clear that no one was standing outside his house. He looked around the entire house for a few minutes, but the only living creature nearby was his dog, Sprocket II, who was running around on the porch. Satisfied that the call was a simple mistake, Jerry opened the door to his house and walked inside.
Immediately, he saw something that made his blood run cold. On the table in the living room was a note, written in large capital letters to fill an entire piece of paper. "THIS WAY", accompanied by a large red arrow pointing forward, to the sofa at the other end of the room.
After picking up the note and absentmindedly turning it over and over in his hands, Jerry loudly called out "Is anyone here?"
That was when the scariest thing of all happened. Although he could see no one in the room, a voice answered "Yes." It seemed to be coming from behind the sofa.
As Jerry apprehensively began to walk toward the sofa, the voice spoke again. Jerry could tell that it was the voice of the person who had called him on his phone. "Hey, wait," said the voice. "Don't come running over here. Let me explain myself."
"What is going on here? Who is in this room?"
"Just me," said the voice, "and a few friends."
With that, Jerry watched in horror as a strange creature jumped from behind the sofa and landed in front of Jerry. It was about two feet tall, covered in fur, and had orange skin and purple hair. Jerry uttered a scream and fell backwards onto the floor. "WHAT ARE YOU?" he shouted.
"I'm a Fraggle," replied the small creature. "And my name is Gobo,"
Jerry gasped in shock and tried to form words. Finally, he spat out "My father told you about us."
The creature laughed. "You certainly look like you've never seen a Fraggle before."
Jerry struggled to speak again. "I-I never thought you things were real. I thought my dad was just... crazy. But he was right. There are... Fraggles in my **** house!" Then he burst into tears.
The small creature turned around and spoke to the sofa. "I don't think he likes me very much," he said.
"There are more of you, aren't there?" said Jerry. "This whole house is crawling with creatures."
With that, four more of the same creatures - Fraggles - leaped out from behind the sofa. Two of them appeared to be female; one was yellow and had orange hair in large pigtails; another was taller than the others and had purple skin and blue hair. One of the creatures was light green with yellow hair, while the last one appeared to have no eyes at all, though they might have been hidden under the hat he wore. The creatures all wore clothing, and despite their animal-like nature, they seemed strangely human.
"Who are you?" he said at last, staring at the group of Fraggles.
"Well, as I said before," said the orange-and-purple one, "my name's Gobo. And these are Red, Wembley, Boober, and Mokey."
"How many of there are you?" said Jerry, while staring intently at his sofa.
"Well, there's no more of us behind there," said Gobo, "if that's what you mean. But there are thousands of us down in Fraggle Rock."
"Which is right beneath your house," added the green-and-yellow one, Wembley. "Well, parts of it."
"So you mean to say," said Jerry, "that there really are little creatures living under my house."
"Well, obviously," said the yellow-and-orange female Fraggle.
"And my father knew you, right?"
"Yes, he was a good friend to us Fraggles," replied Gobo.
Jerry sighed. "All those years, and I never believed him." Jerry began to march around the room in circles. "So why are you talking to me now?" he asked finally.
"Well," said Gobo, "we Fraggles feel that we've been hiding long enough. Things would have been a lot easier if we hadn't been hiding all these years. So now, it's time that we make ourselves known, at least to you."
Jerry took a deep breath. "I agree. Now, tell me more about Fraggles".
"Do you think Silly Creatures have a lot of germs?" asked Boober, nervously turning to Gobo.

 

[TheRealFraggle]

Author's note: Time for the final chapter, everybody!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

A crowd of Fraggles stood outside the hole leading into Jerry's house. Wembley, Red, Mokey, Boober, and Uncle Traveling Matt were at the front of the large group. They all had tears in their eyes.
Gobo stood before them all, carrying a suitcase in his hand. "Well, this is it, everybody," he said at last, shaking the hands of each of his friends in turn. "I'm leaving now."
"Why do you have to go?" asked Red, who was crying the hardest of all. "Fraggle Rock is your home."
"Well," said Gobo, "I feel that there should always be one of us out there in Outer Space, exploring the unknown. My Uncle Traveling Matt did that for years, and now it's my turn."
"And he's going to find more incredible things out there than we could ever imagine," piped up Traveling Matt, beaming from ear to ear.
"But why can't we come with you?" asked Red.
"I don't know, Red. I think I've come to realize that most Silly Creatures aren't very excepting of us Fraggles. They've never seen us before, and so they get frightened. If there's a whole bunch of us out there, it'll be harder for us to find, and the Silly Creatures will notice us. They might even start chasing after us to find out what we are. It would be like the Gorgs all over again,"
Everybody was crying harder than ever. "We'll all miss you, Gobo," said Wembley. "I'll remember every cave we ever explored together."
"Don't forget to write," said Boober. The shock of being inside Jerry's house and seeing a germ-covered Silly Creature up close had long since cured him of being Sidebottom.
"Of course I won't," said Gobo. "Every week, you just head up here and you'll find a postcard waiting for you. You won't even have to sneak past an enormous hairy creature like I did for all those years."
Gobo began to cry now too. Perhaps it was the memory of the hairy creature, or maybe it was because he didn't know how long it would be before he saw home again.
With that, Gobo hugged all of his friends. Before departing, he gave Red a long, sweet kiss. Then he turned and walked through the hole without a word.
Mokey tried to comfort Red, who loudly blew her nose on a corner of her friend's robe. Boober walked into a dark corner and began to silently weep.

As Gobo marched through the living room of the house, he bid farewell to Jerry.
"Goodbye," he said. "It's time for me to go and explore your world. Thanks for teaching me so much about Sill - about humans."
Even Jerry was surprised to see the small, furry creature leaving his house. "Well, thanks for teaching me about Fraggles. It makes me happy to know that my father was right about you."
As Gobo turned to walk out of the door to Jerry's house, he gave one last look at the large hole in the wall behind him. "See you," he said at last. "Don't be surprised if some of my friends pop in now and again. I'm sure they'll be very interested in speaking with a human."
With that, Gobo passed through the pet door that Jerry had installed for his dog. "Sprocket" barked at Gobo, but he wasn't afraid. The hairy creatures were all alike, really. They were just interested at the sight of Fraggles. Nothing to be afraid of.

In the Gorgs' garden, Junior stood outside the castle and surveyed the sunset, which cast a lovely pink glow over the evening sky. Finally, for the first time in his life, he could live free of the burdens that came from being prince, or king, of the universe. Now he could just be Junior Gorg. Maybe there were still other Gorgs out there, and he would meet them someday. But if not, he was content to live with the knowledge that his family was carrying on the legacy of the Gorgs in the best way they could. By not trying to reclaim the glory of the past, but just accepting themselves for who they really were. Three farmers in a rundown castle who grew radishes all day. Nothing more to it.
But that was enough.

Down in Fraggle Rock, the Doozers hoisted up scaffolding made of their trademark sticks, anxious to rebuild towers that had been destroyed in the fires. The rumblebugs hummed, the Inkspots sang, and the Fraggles bounced from place to place, as they always did. It was a beautiful day, the perfect moment for a small Fraggle to make his way into the world for the first time.

THE END

PS. - For all of you out there who can't get enough of my terrible stories, my next Fraggle fic will be up here in a few days. Like this page once and I won't kill off any more beloved characters in that one.