Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     It wasn’t long after the new Fraggle hole opened up that things began to change. Many things, in fact, had shifted over the years- the Gorgs, though not necessarily allies entirely, had become much less of a threat since their young former ruler had come to see them as actual beings, rather than simple garden pests or lower creatures to be subjugated. Similarly, the Fraggles now recognized the Doozers as their own unique species as well, with hopes and aspirations, who they relied on for not only food, but even friendship in some cases. And then, of course, there was the kindly old Silly Creature and his hairy monster, whose name they finally knew: Sprocket. Though Doc had only just learned of Gobo’s existence, he was thrilled to find out where the postcards and other knick knacks had been disappearing to, and even despite Boober’s hesitancy to enter Outer Space, the others quickly trusted him for information about the world beyond the First Room— Gobo especially was interested in seeing the places Uncle Matt had traveled to for himself (and of course, Red didn’t believe a word of it anyway.) 

   This harmony, however, only lasted for a brief period before it all came to an abrupt end. As Sprocket stared into the empty hole and pleaded for the furry creatures to return, the old man convinced himself that it had all been a dream brought on by nothing more than exhaustion and senility, and once again shunned the idea of Fraggles living behind his walls. His dog’s whimpers did nothing more than echo into the dark, winding caverns below the ground, and through the cold tunnels where nothing stirred. Though of course, he could not leave the magic- neither of them could- the magic seemed to have left them instead. 

   Down below, the Ditzies were dead, the Fraggles slept, and for the first time, the Rock was silent. 

Chapter Text

“ Do you remember what it was like to fly?”

“Fly?? I’ve never flown before!! Fraggles don’t fly, unless in dreams… everyone knows that!”

“Don’t you want to fly?”

“Well… yeah, of course! The wind in my hair… soaring to the ceiling and doing a graceful loop in mid air, coming up right before I crash into the rock! And all my friends could watch… gee, I’d love to fly!”

“ Then jump. ”

~~~~~~

~  Fraggle Rock! Fraggle Rock!

  Fraggle Rock! Fraggle Rock! ~

  There was always cause for celebration in Fraggle Rock… there was rarely a day that didn’t include streamers, cake, and of course- music. Gobo Fraggle spun through a crowd of his friends, strumming his guitar.

~  “Each day’s a party, if you hadn’t noticed…”~

~ “Confetti’s flying every single moment…”~

      Bright light shone through the massive, open caverns, jumping and sparkling off of the water in the pond as little scraps of vibrant paper exploded into the air. In the Silly Creature world this would turn into a mess, but in the caves, confetti was a delicacy made of wonderfully crispy and sweet sugar paper. The Fraggles continued through their impromptu- yet still somehow choreographed- song. To no one’s surprise, only one was hesitant to get fully involved. Boober had always been more reserved when it came to fun… he had his moments, but they were few and far between, and only a couple of his friends had ever witnessed him truly coming out of his shell.

   He sat off to the side of the pond, mildly annoyed at all the sudden noise. Even though this was a pretty regular occurrence in his daily life, it didn’t mean he was thrilled about it. His friends could have fun in their own rowdy way, and he would be there to clean up the inevitable injuries they caused. 

  “BOOBER!! Hey, Boober!!!” Of course, he knew the voice immediately. Wembley had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, and was one of the few people who actually knew him. 

  “Boober, look what I—“ He watched as the little yellow Fraggle tripped over himself and fell face first into the ground, nearly spilling the contents of the basket he was carrying. This didn’t seem to bother him though, as he was back on his feet again almost instantly, pretty unfazed for someone who had just smashed his nose into a solid rock floor. 

  “Oh— goodness, are you alright?? What’s the big rush??”

  “Yeah, I’m fine! I just wanted to show you the brizzleberries I picked!!! I thought that maybe you could—”

Boober was staring at him.

  “…Make them into a tart….?”

  “Wembley… your nose is bleeding.”

  “It is?? Oh gosh, I didn’t even notice…” He wiped his snout off and blinked down at his arm.

  “That’s kind of… a lot..”

  “Eh, scrapes do that.” Wembley laughed. 

  Boober stood and took the basket of berries, motioning for his friend to follow him to his cave. 

 “It’s not usually so much, is it?”

  “Nah! But it’s not really a big deal, is it? It’s stopping already.. see? No harm, no foul!”

  “Well, you could still get an infection if you don’t let me clean it..” They ducked into his cave and Boober dug around for the supplies he needed. 

  “Sit down and hold still, okay?” Wembley flinched a bit as he dabbed a damp cloth on his nose, then stuck a homemade bandage over the raw area. “That should do it for the time being… now about those tarts..” 

~~

  “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Boober looked up from the first batch of perfectly baked tarts he was holding and turned to his friend, whose expression he couldn’t quite place. He set the tray down and picked up a little kettle, filling it with water. 

  “Go on..”

  “Fraggles can’t fly, can we?”

  “..No, why?”

  “I dunno… I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Like, picture it!! It would be freedom!! Out there on our own, rushing through the caves with nothing to stop us-! I think flying must be what happiness feels like..”

  “You feel happy? I feel airsick…” Boober shook his head and waved his oven mitts over the hot desserts to cool them faster.

  “I guess it could be a nice idea… in theory..”

  “Well, why can’t we do it?? What’s stopping us??”

  “Gravity, for one… common sense, for another…”

  “I’ve got these friends who tell me that I could do it if I tried hard enough!! That if I just jumped, maybe I wouldn’t come back down!! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?! Just to jump and stay in the air-!”

  “—You have friends telling you to try it?!? I can’t think of a single Fraggle who would encourage you to do something so horribly reckless; not even Gobo would tell you to do that!”

  “Oh, well… gee, these friends are sort of… well, they’re in my head! But they’re really nice Fraggles! And they want to fly just as much as I do!!”

  “Wembley, dear… You know we can’t do that. And you know how jumping off of a rock to test it would end. We’ll all be puddles eventually, but I’d rather not watch you turn yourself into one first. Besides, I don’t exactly have time to carve a memorial stone this week.” He poured a mug of tea and slid a tart over to Wembley. 

  “…Hey, promise me you won’t, okay?”

  “Won’t what?” asked Wembley, who had already forgotten the conversation in light of the food.

  “Promise me you won’t try to fly, silly.”

  “Oh, yeah.. I promise! But can I still try when I’m dreaming?”

  Boober gave him a brief smile and took a sip of his own tea.  

  “Sure, just as long as you don’t fall out of your bed. I don’t want to set a broken arm either.”

~~~

  “Friends in his head… friends in his head… I hope he just means that he’s thinking. The last thing Wembley needs is his own— No, no. Don’t think about Him . Don’t invite Him in..—”

   “~ Knock knock!!~ ”

  Boober groaned and pulled his covers over his face. There was no getting out of it now. 

   “ HELLOOOOOO…. I knocked!! Twice!! It’s so rude to just ignore a guest…”

   “You aren’t a guest… you’re not even wanted in the first place. Didn’t I tell you to stop bothering me when I’m trying to sleep??”

   “ Ooohhh, you’re no fun!! So I ask you again- Knock, Knock!! ”

  “ ……Who’s there. ”

  “ Sleepless! ”

  “… Sleepless who.”

   “ Sleepless YOU! Ahahahahahaha!! It’s been too long since we’ve talked- I missed you, ya know! ”

  “ We talked last night.” 

   “ And it’s been Far Too Lonnnng!! Why don’t you ever play games with me anymore?? ”

  “ I let you out last week… I don’t owe you anything more than that. ”

  “ Ohohoho, well I beg to differ!”

   “ Then beg. ”

  “ Oh come on Boober, you’re no fun, no fun at all!! I have a new game for us, don’t you want to see what I’ve come up with? ”

  “ No. ”

  “ Not at all?? You’re not even a teensy-weensy, tiny little bit curious? ”

  “ Sidebottom, I don’t think the words exist to express just how un-curious I am about your frivolities. ”

  “ Oh, well that’s too bad!! Too bad indeed… because we’re playing tag! And yoooouuu’rree ‘it’! ”

  Boober sat up in bed like he’d been bitten by a stingbeetle, gasping for his life. He looked around and to his relief, Sidebottom was nowhere to be seen or heard. The only distraction from trying to go back to bed was the sweet smell of the tarts he had made earlier in the kitchen… and as Fraggles were particularly fond of midnight treats, he decided to have a quick snack before going to sleep again. He yawned and got up, slipping into the next room and fumbling around until he found the stored desserts, then took a bite that was well-earned from dealing with that incorrigible other side of himself. 

  He drew back almost immediately in pure revulsion as soon as it neared his mouth. The pastry itself was almost dust, and what was left of the filling was rancid and crawling with thoroughly unpleasant, squirming little bugs. Horrified, he threw it at the cave wall and tried to erase the thought of almost biting into it and the repugnant scent it had left on his hands. Of course, only he would play such a cruel trick on himself. 

  Down the hallway, Sidebottom’s high pitched giggle echoed through the tar-black caves. 

   “ Come and find us! Come and find us! And wake up if you still can! ”

Chapter Text

  Boober stood in the middle of his kitchen, frozen in thought. The last thing he wanted to do was cater to Sidebottom’s whims, but he knew from experience that he wouldn’t let him wake up until he played along. As much as he wanted to crawl back into bed and hope for the best, it would just prolong the night; everything in him hated the idea, but the only option was to move forward. 

  He cautiously peered out of the partition that separated his room from the rest of the rock, and found himself looking into a large open space that vaguely reminded him of the Great Hall that he was so familiar with. This area, however, was much more closed in, with lower ceilings and rock formations that kept it from feeling overwhelmingly exposed- something that bothered him about the Hall. He could hear the gentle sound of water lapping against stone, and above a small pond in the center of the room was the only light source: the moon, which shone through a perfectly circular hole in the top of the cave, was reflecting down into the soft waves below. Aside from that, he found himself in complete darkness, and a song began to creep into his head. 

   ~ Goin’ down the road

   Sun don’t shine…~

  He took a breath and started to sing aloud, hoping his own voice would make him feel less alone.

  “ ~No one in the world is a friend of mine

   Looks like trouble, so it’s lookin’ real fine”~

  Around him, the air began to lift and grow slightly warmer, a noticeable change from the stale, cold air that seemed to fill the tunnels only moments before. A few small stars floated around him, doing their best to give him their light- and as he continued to sing, more joined them. 

  “ ~Get blue-! Da da ba da da de ba do…”~

  It wasn’t much, but the mysterious lights gave him a few feet of vision… he could work with that. He called out for Sidebottom, and was greeted with a snicker from not too far away- and though his better judgment once told him to just go back to bed, he wanted to get the circus over with as quickly as possible. The lights led him down the tunnel until they reached a tucked-away little room, where he heard a painful, raspy cough that belonged to a worryingly familiar voice.

  “H-Hello…? Is anybody at home…?” He called into the void, desperately hoping his mind was playing tricks on him and that the cave would be empty. 

  The only answer was another weak cough. He stepped closer. 

  “…If you don’t mind, I’m going to come in—”

  “… watch out.. for.. the.. ”

  He immediately lost his footing and tumbled down a set of stairs, crashing straight through an old, rotting ladder. 

  “… the stairs… ” The voice shook and groaned, and Boober raised his head as the lights caught up to him and illuminated the owner’s face. 

  “ ..Ditzies.? I haven’t.. been able to see them.. in so long… ”

  He covered his mouth as he took in the sunken, blind eyes and shriveling hands of one of his closest friends. White hair poured from the bed, nearly reaching the cold ground, and on his lap lay a dusty guitar that hadn’t seen use in many, many, many days. 

  “ Gobo ..?! What happened to you??”

  “ Whaddya mean… ‘what happened to me’? Don’t I look the same as I always do? ”

  Boober held his breath and stepped closer.

  “I think you’re sick,” he began, but was cut off.

  “ I know… you’re right.. but we all have to go sometime, eh? Don’t… worry yourself, Boober… no one could fix it… not even you..”

   He stood there in silence, not wanting to look at the sight before him. 

  “ Since you’re here… could you do me.. one last favor? ”

 “…Sure..”

 “ Will you play my guitar?”

  “…Gobo, I-”

  “ Please, Boober. ”

  His hands shook as he reached for the instrument that he’d watched Gobo play hundreds of times. He’d never been one to let anyone else touch it, except for Wembley on rare occasions; it was his prized possession, and Boober barely even knew how to begin playing it. He gently picked it up and brushed the strings, wincing as they let out a distressed hum. 

  “Any requests..?”

  “ ..Play ‘Muck and Goo’.. ”

  He took a few seconds to tune the guitar, then carefully began to sing.

   ~Give me one and give me two,

  Cover me with muck and goo

  Give me three and give me four,

  Cover me with guck and gore 

  One, two, muck and goo

  Down my sock and in my shoe…~

    He glanced over at Gobo, who had closed his eyes and was trying to hum along with him. There was a faint, peaceful smile on his face, despite the situation he was in. The Ditzies swirled around them and the air began to feel like a soft, comforting blanket. 

   ~Nine, nine, a ball of twine,

  First it’s yours and then it’s mine

 Ten, ten, and that’s the end

 So run back home and start again ~

  There was a quiet sigh, and the first time in what must have been years, the room was aglow with life. A light rose from beneath the blankets and flew into the sky to join the choir of stars. Boober looked over his shoulder and smiled sadly at the empty bed. Even in the loss of a friend, the caves would be a little brighter. He leaned back against the wall, and played the final verse. 

   ~So run back home,

  And start again.~

  He folded his arms over the guitar as his vision clouded and his eyelids grew heavy. Sidebottom could wait. 

Chapter Text

~~~~

   “Won’t you sit still? You’re awfully fidgety today!”

  “I’m sorry Mokey, you know I’m not good at being your muse or whatever you call it! I’ve got too much going on right now! How can I just sit still when I’ve got a pond to clean?”

  “Well can’t you try, dear? I want to capture your ethereal likeness before I run out of light today.”

  “What? That’s too many words..”

  “I’ll be done in ten minutes.” 

  “What was all that about ‘ethereal likeness’ then??”

  “Huh..? Oh! It’s just a lot of words to tell you that you’re pretty.”

  “I-... You really think so?”

  “How many times have I painted you this week, hm?”

~~~~

   For as long as she could remember, Red had wanted adventure, but there was always something holding her back. Every time she tried to go off on her own, she either found herself plagued by Gobo inexplicably disturbing her peace, or she’d end up psyching herself out and retreating to her cave, annoyed with herself. She rolled her eyes and shifted uncomfortably, her extremely short attention span having been tested for the better part of the day thanks to Mokey’s recent burst of inspiration. The days she had to pose for her best friend’s ‘color studies’ -or whatever she called them- were particularly excruciating, since she had to stay perfectly clean and still for hours on end. While Boober probably could’ve handled the same task just fine, it was a special kind of torture for someone as hyperactive as she was. Normally, she wouldn’t bother sitting still for more than three minutes together at the most, but for Mokey’s benefit, she endured. 

   Finally, Mokey laid down her brush mercifully and stood back to admire her work. Red immediately hopped up and stretched her fingers to the ceiling, her mind racing with thoughts of everything she’d already missed out on in the past few hours- there were cannonballs into the pond, a radish bar eating contest with herself, and approximately thirteen cartwheels that all needed doing. She sighed mournfully, noting that she’d probably have to skip her jog to the Scarlet Caverns, but she could probably finish just about everything else on her agenda if she hurried. She turned to leave, but was stopped by her best friend’s voice.

“Aren’t you going to take a look?”

  Red paused, contemplating whether or not she wanted to risk hurting her feelings or lose even more of her day to the arts, something she rarely gave much thought to. 

  “I’ll see it later, I promise. I’m really busy right now.. I have a lot I need to catch up on before the day’s over unless you want to wake up to me pumping twice as much granite in the morning.”

  “Oh! Well don’t bother troubling yourself on my account, it’s not like I put a full morning of work into making you look presentable instead of like you’d spent all day doing Trash Heap knows what and running around the Rock completely filthy! You were so covered in mud yesterday that it’s a wonder you were able to clean up so well at all-“

  “Mokey, please..” Red looked away, tail flitting anxiously at her feet. 

  “I’m not asking for an analytical essay, I just want you to see-“

  Red whipped towards her, her brooding annoyance finally starting to boil over. 

  “I’ve already missed my morning run, and I’m going to have to reschedule breaking my radish bar record if I waste any more time posing for your dumb pictures in this over-decorated, boring cave! What more do you want from me?! I can’t just stay glued in this spot for a week straight! I have things I want to do too- it’s not fair to ask me to pose for you every day!”

  She once again started for the exit. 

  “Oh, and get someone else to do it tomorrow; I’m going to scream if I have to sit here again all morning!”

  Mokey blinked slowly at her, her tail fluffing indignantly as she began to wordlessly pack up her supplies. 

  Red huffed and marched out, once again following her typical pattern of leaving a mess for herself to clean up later on. She first headed towards the pond, but then changed course for her room, where she packed a small overnight backpack and left to spend the night elsewhere, away from the risk of further confrontation or anything to do with modeling. It wasn’t the best course of action, but she wasn’t one to think ahead, especially when she was already upset- and besides, it was an unspoken Fraggle tradition to pack up and leave at any minor inconvenience. 

  She walked through the caves alone, quickly making her way to a place she’d managed to keep mostly to herself: Chasm Creek. Even Gobo hadn’t mapped the area out yet, and she intended to do her best to keep it that way.  The path she was following dipped straight through the center of the deep pit, and the lazy, winding water that gave the spot its name. She immediately dropped her backpack and dove into the cool, seemingly endless water, her hair flowing behind her as she ventured deeper into the abyss. As a little Fraggle, she’d come here whenever something was bothering her and escape. Sure, her problems would be waiting for her when she came back, but that was her issue to deal with tomorrow. She’d been coming here more often as of late- something she couldn’t quite place had her uncharacteristically unsettled, and water always made her feel better. It was her true element, and it kept her grounded in a way her friends would never be able to measure up to, even at their most well-meaning. 

  She came up for air and took several long, deep breaths before diving even further into the dark water. Her hands stretched in front of her and found something that she assumed was a root of some kind. She tugged on it to test its stability- her first mistake. The water around her trembled as rocks rained down from above, making thunderous clapping sounds as they hit the face of the water and sunk rapidly towards her. 

  It was too dark to see where exactly she was or where rocks would fall; she could only guess, and in her terror, she was already running out of oxygen. Her only choice was to swim up, but the thought was doomed before it even entered her mind. She’d only made it a few inches before she was sharply yanked back, screaming in pain and fear and losing what little precious breath she still had. One of her ribbons was pinned under a rock. She desperately tried to push it away, but it was too heavy. Her fingers fumbled as she tried to untie her bow, but the knot had tightened too far when she got caught, and besides, she couldn’t see anything she was trying to do. The fabric refused to give way as she threw her whole weight in the opposite direction, and she felt herself growing dizzier as she began to take on water. Her lungs shrieked and burned as they grew heavy, and her limbs grew tired and eventually stopped fighting as she realized that it was pointless. It would be better to accept it, even though it wasn’t in her usual nature. 

  And then she woke up. She was crumpled up in a tiny, soaking ball, vomiting and coughing up water at the same time. It felt like hours that she lay there sick and too drained to even lift her tail. She felt herself drifting off again, a warm darkness wrapping its tendrils around her and drawing her in. 

Red! Quit playin’, get up and get movin’!

She whined and curled herself up even tighter. 

RED!! You’re acting like a fraggling again. Don’t you remember? When it hurts real bad, you gotta play real good! When it hurts real bad, you gotta play real good! 

When it hurts real bad…

She opened her eyes to endless, inky darkness.

You gotta play.. 

  Crying and too weak to stand, she barely pulled herself to her hands and knees and began to drag herself along the rough cave floor. She could already feel warm, slippery blood coating her knees and making its way down her legs as she raked the skin off on the ground. 

Real good..

  Her voice was practically gone, but she still called out for her friends, even though she could barely manage a whisper. Surely someone had to be nearby- she’d even take Marlon at this point. Anything was better than being alone and seriously hurt, and she was more than willing by now to give up the privacy and serenity of her secret hideaway for the smallest chance of rescue. 

~Dance your cares a-way! 

Worries for another d-a-a-y!~ 

  She froze and lifted her head as high as she could manage, looking around in the dark. It was no use; the familiar voice bounced around the cavern walls and made it impossible to locate the source. Everything in her soul screamed to keep moving, but her body was fighting her, finally giving out as she slumped over on her side on the damp floor.

Oh, don’t be boring! I pulled you out; I could toss you back in, ya know!~

  A hand settled on her shoulder, strangely absent of any heat, yet not cold either- in fact, it felt like nothing at all. She was too tired and sick from the immobilizing pain and terror by now to question or care whoever- or whatever- had found her. 

You’re not even going to thank me? It could’ve been so much worse…HAH! I could’ve left you there to die. Really now, who’s to say that isn’t what happened anyway? Maybe it’s all a bad dream.. maybe it’s real.. maybe it’s the end.

  Static images flashed through her mind: her ribbons washing up on the creekshore, herself, floating forever underwater with her hair pinned under that accursed rock- eyes bulging and skin bloated with water and air begging to escape the confines of her flesh as she deteriorated. 

  And then there was Mokey, knitting her ribbons into a sweater and sobbing over her work as she wrestled with the truth that Red was never coming back. She would never apologize, never fight with Lanford again, and she would never tell her.

  Tell her what? The thought confused her. What could she possibly have to tell Mokey that she hadn’t already heard before? There was nothing she could think of, no buried secrets biding their time under her tongue.

And still, there was Mokey, sitting at the forefront of her mind. 

  “Please… take me to Fraggle Rock,” she gasped the words out, her throat unbearably dry. 

Where, Red?

The voice behind her giggled in sinister amusement. 

  “Home…… take me… home..-” 

Her eyes closed and her body finally won as she entered a long, endless sleep. 

~~~

  When she finally came to her senses, she found herself in a fraying, creaking hammock. The light in the room was extremely dim, but she could just see the floor beneath her. Her entire being ached from her ordeal, and she still felt waterlogged. It took all the strength she had left to swing her legs over the side of the hammock and look around, trying to ascertain her surroundings and if she was alone or not. 

“Hello…? Is anyone-”

Home? Yes! You are!! Look around, look around , don’t you know your own room??

“Where are you?! Please, who are you??”

Now, now, don’t ask silly questions that you already know the answer to! Don’t you know your old pal Sidebottom ? 

  He clapped her on the back, throwing her forward and straight onto the floor. She yelped and curled up again, making herself as small as possible. 

Oh, come on now, don’t be like that. It’s not ALLLL bad! 

He kneeled beside her and tapped her on the shoulder.

You’ve forgotten me again, haven’t you? All of you have, and I’ve been so lonely.. 

  Red froze. It was something in the voice- in the manner of speech- that sparked something deep in the forgotten recesses of her consciousness.

  Somewhere, nearly lost in her mind, paper laundry whirled around her, spun by the wind off the wings of Doozers flying above her head. Yes- yes, she was certain now that she’d met this Fraggle before, and she wasn’t sure that they saw eye to eye. But that was all fading now, and try as she might, she couldn’t hold on to the vague scenes she’d seen.

  She slowly unclenched her body and turned to look up at him. 

“ Boober?! ”

  He gave off a faint ethereal glow, his body shimmering like a ray of sunshine on the water at dusk. 

Close! I’m the fun side of Boober, and he keeps me on the bottom! So I call myself Sidebottom~

..Although if he starts letting me out more, a name change is in order. Don’t you think ‘Sideswitch’ has a lovely ring to it? Oh! I admit it isn’t as catchy as my current name, but what can ya do, hmm? It’s not like I’ll ever be able to call myself ‘Sidetop’- and status is important in this day and age, you know!~

  Red blinked up at him silently, too exhausted and hurting to question what in the name of the Trash Heap he was going on about. 

 “So.. Sidebottom.. where are we?”

Oh! We’re in your room, silly!~ Isn’t this what you asked for?

 “But this isn’t my room! None of this is familiar!”

  Sidebottom sighed and offered her a hand up, but she shook her head sadly. She wouldn’t be able to stand without significant help, and she knew better than to damage herself any further.

May I? We’re getting nowhere like this. 

  She paused for a moment before nodding and reaching towards him. He hooked his arms under both of hers and pulled her to her feet, then leaned down and scooped her up.

Put your arms around my neck, okay?

  “You don’t have to carry me! I can walk fine if you just help me!” 

  Her tail flicked in annoyance, the only real sign of protest she had the strength for.

Knock it off, we both know that’s not true. Besides, look at the floor.

  His glow grew stronger, illuminating the room further. Broken shards of a clay pot lay strewn about and thick, thorny branches crept along the ground while trophies and paintbrushes sat threatening to trip her; it was a veritable minefield of potential injuries. 

Boober’s the one who knows how to take care of a hurt Fraggle; I’m really no good with that kind of thing. And you’ve been through enough today already. Me, though? I can’t get hurt. And if you fell and split your face open, who would pay attention to me? 

He giggled and headed out into a low hallway, trying his best to be uncharacteristically gentle, avoiding the bumpier parts of the path. 

  “I’m not sure why you brought me there anyway.. like I said, that’s not my room. I’ve never seen it before.”

Haven’t you? Did nothing in there remind you of yourself? Of Mokey?

  Mokey. There it was again. She flicked her tail anxiously just considering the possibility that she may have died all alone, without getting to smooth things over. She wouldn’t have even known she was dead for weeks, probably, and she couldn’t bear the thought of her sitting alone in their cave, waiting on her to come back, not knowing whether or not she would or even could . And yet, there was still the distinct possibility that she might never make it back home. She was somewhere stuck in what felt like a dreamscape to her- an altered version of her own reality that only bore a passing resemblance to her daily life. 

  But in the confusion, she still saw her lifelong best friend in the center of it all. Her long hair was down, cascading over her shoulders and nearly reaching the floor, and her slim fingers delicately held her quill as if she were the most demure being in the universe. She was vaguely aware of Sidebottom chatting away somewhere above her, but she was lost in her thoughts. 

~~

“Mokey!! What are you up to?”

“Oh! I’m trying out something new- I’m going to keep an affirmation journal!”

“..An affa-what?”

Mokey smiled and scooted over in her seat, motioning for Red to join her.

“An affirmation journal. It’s basically a list of things I like about myself and truths that I forget sometimes, or goals that I have to convince myself I’ll reach. Have you ever thought of starting one, dear?”

“No, why would-.. I’m sorry. No, I haven’t. Does it really help you?”

“Of course! I write down the opposite of everything that I don’t like about myself, so I’ll believe that it’s a quality I really love. Why don’t you try it?” She smiled softly and put her quill down, locking eyes with her. 

“You can’t pretend that you’re perfect, Red. I know you too well by now to believe that you’re that vain.”

  She shook her head and returned the smile. 

“Yeah, well.. no one’s ever perfect. Believe me, I’m aware.” She leaned against her, her head resting on her shoulder. 

“I’m so tired, Mokes.. do you mind if I take a little nap?”

“Go ahead, beloved. You know I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You promise..?”

Mokey giggled and untied her pigtails, running her fingers through her fluffy hair. 

“I promise.”

~~

Reeeedd!! 

…

RED!!!!!! You have to wake up!!

Red whined and covered her eyes, shifting uncomfortably.

We’re almost there. You drifted off.. now I’m not good with medicine, but I think you should stay awake. You don’t want to be in a double coma, do you? 

“Am I already in one now?”

He only shrugged and kept moving.

“..So what I’m hearing is that I don’t want to know. Faaaantastic. 

..Where are we, anyway?”

Oh, here and there. A little bit of everywhere and nowhere at once! Isn’t it fun? 

He laughed and she could hear his tail wagging behind him by the sound of tiny bells jingling. She hadn’t gotten quite the best look at him, but from what she had seen, he’d taken every opportunity of adorning himself with ribbons, mismatched patterns, bells, and glitter- so much glitter. He was practically tracking it through the tunnels and leaving a faint, glowing trail behind him. 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an environmental hazard? I mean, look at yourself. You’d kill every Merggle alive if you ever set foot in the pond.”

Well, what do you expect me to do? Kill the dead ones? 

Red smiled a bit despite herself- in all reality, she walked into that. 

“You’d find a way. Seriously, man, don’t ever make me clean that glitter out of the pool. I’ll jump into Boober’s head and dismember you myself.” 

Oooh! Someone’s learning how to have fun!! HAH! Maybe I should convince Boober to let me out more often. I’d like to see you try. :)

He paused and looked around, his tail fluffing up, alert. 

Red, how are you feeling?

“Sick, dizzy, and admittedly pretty uneasy. Why?”

..Some thing ’s here.

“Why should that be a problem? Isn’t this your world??”

Yeah. That’s why I know it’s not something we want to meet; I didn’t bring it here.. 

“You-.. what do you mean, you didn’t bring it here?!? Did you drag me-”

  He clapped a hand over her mouth and shushed her sharply, shaking his head. He stood debating with himself for a moment before a loud rustling noise sounded behind them and he immediately tightened his grip on her and took off down the hall at full speed. 

~~~

  They ran for what felt like nearly forever to Red before he finally stopped and set her down, then fell on his knees beside her, panting and exhausted. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t get hurt,” she began, but he cut her off. 

Do you ever quit?? ..I saved you twice.. today. I could have left you to die both times. Is that what you want?? To never see any of them again?! Because it’s sure starting to seem like that's what you’re asking for, and I would be thrilled to arrange it if so-

“Do I quit?! Where do you get off complaining about my attitude when you fragglenapped me into some Trash-Heap-forsaken alternate dream dimension where I may or may not be dead on the outside! And you have the damn nerve to act like I’m unreasonable?! Oooh, as soon as I get my strength back I’m going to come over there and snap your tail and all your stupid little bells clean off! You’re lucky I haven’t smashed your nose in already, you two-faced son of a b- ”

Red. 

He’d stopped listening long ago and was staring straight behind them. 

We’re in a dead end.

  There was a noise unlike anything either of them had heard before: the sound of a thousand disembodied voices wailing in despair and pain, audibly writhing in wretched agony. They saw a figure, hunched, with no real discernible shape. It was moving towards them at a terrible speed and the smell of rot and putrefaction hit their noses almost as soon as they could see its vague form. 

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her towards him, rougher than he meant to. She seethed and glared up at him, her anger barely masking her fear of whatever else was approaching. 

You have to wake up now. Please, you still have time. 

“ Will I wake up?!”

You will, you will!! I promise!! Just go! 

“But what about you?!”

I always find a way! You’re mortal, remember? And I don’t exist- at least not how you do! I’m telling you, you have to wake up! Do it for me! Wake!!! Up!!!!!

He shook her by the shoulders until she felt ready to spew again.

Wake up!! Wake up wake up wake upwakeupwakeupwakeup!!!

  The last thing she heard before her vision went completely black was a short, sharp scream, and she was semi-aware that he’d let go of her. She was falling, further and faster until she landed on the hard rocks with a thud. 

~~

“Red?? Oh, please say something!! You have to wake up, you just have to! Please..”

  Red rolled over onto her side, coughing and spluttering up lungfuls of water. She dragged herself to her knees and sat heaving until she could finally turn around. Mokey sat behind her, tears in her eyes as she waited to see if she was going to be alright. 

“Where….. where are we…?”

Mokey smiled gently and wiped the water from her eyes. 

“Fraggle Rock.”

“..Mokey?”

“Yes, Red?”

“…I want to go home.”

Chapter Text

~ Follow the song of your heart

Follow it into the sky ~

Mokey walked dreamily through the Gorg’s garden, passing by towering flowers and weaving through long, overgrown grass on the outskirts of the castle. She sang softly to herself in a high, lilting voice, her mind occupied with the fresh air and sunlight- a treat after an unusually cold winter. 

~ Never be frightened in thunder and lightning 

Follow it way up high

Follow it way up high  ~

She paused to watch the Tree Creatures as they admired the massive egg that took up their carefully crafted nest and smiled to herself, a vague memory of a dream tugging at the corner of her mind. It was so distant, but somewhere she was sure she’d dreamt of Wembley raising a baby Tree Creature years ago- it had been a pain mostly, but when he needed help, their friend group had banded together to support him. Of course, it was an absurd thought, but the sheer ridiculous nature of it made her laugh. 

Spring. It was when the Rock awoke from its long slumber to bring joy back to the rest of the world. It being the center of the universe, it only made sense that the rest of the world was unable to move on until the Great Bell rang and the Rock began to turn again. New Fragglings were hatched, and other older Fraggles paired off- friendships changing to something new after years of already sharing their lives. She moved on, reflecting on the fact that her best friends were beginning to reach that age. Would anything change between any of them? She’d given it a fleeting thought from time to time, but had never seriously considered that the dynamic they’d held for most of their lives might begin to shift sooner rather than later. Her tail swished behind her anxiously as she moved towards a high stone wall and began to scale it. She reached the top and swung her legs over the side, perching carefully on the edge. 

“Madame-”

“YOU are in the presence ooooof…”

“The ALL-KNOWING…”

“Trash Heap! Nyyyyyyehhhh! ”

The two rats waved their tails smugly at having intercepted her before she could spoil their oracle’s signature rise to glory from the seemingly unremarkable pile of garbage and junk on the ground.

“Ah! Hello, little one! My, my, you’re looking alive as ever- as you should on a day so beautiful… Now tell me, what brings you all the way to visit me today? Surely something must be on your mind, dear, am I right? Of course, of course I am!”

Mokey dipped her head slightly in respect and leaned forward, crossing her legs in front of herself. 

“..Madame Heap, I think… I think I’m lost. I don’t know what’s wrong with me exactly, but I feel.. wrong. Out of place… but if I’m not right where I am now, then where am I supposed to be?”

The Trash Heap crossed her arms across her chest and laughed softly. 

“Do you feel this way all the time, Mokey? Or is it just because it’s spring again?”

“See, that’s the thing; it’s…confusing. Everything is supposed to change in spring, and I’m afraid that it won’t. Or that it will, and I’m not sure which would be worse. Things were always so simple when I was young…”

“When you were young?”

“Yes, when I wasn’t.. whoever I am now. Before I realized that existence is complex. There’s so many things I could’ve been… that I should’ve been… and yet, I’m here. I’m myself, but I don’t know that this is the self I wanted to be. I used- I used to think that maybe I’d be a great artist one day. That maybe my work could be displayed in the center of the Great Cavern, and I would be… proud of myself.”

She sighed and looked down at her feet.

“I don’t think I like who I’m becoming.”

“Nyyeh! Listen to you, carryin’ on about ‘posed to and whatnot! You think you’re old? HAH!”

“Yeah, if you wanna see old , look at the Gorgs! You know how long they been around?”

“Days!! Decades!! Centuries, even!”

“And do they look like they got it all figured? Please, not one of them could find their nose if it lived right on their face!”

“-Gungie, that’s where their nose has always lived-“

“-I know that! I’m makin’ an analogue or analysis or analogogie or somethin’ like it! You know, when you say one thing is like another so’s that-”

“Boys, boys! Settle down!” Madame Heap narrowed her eyes at them in irritation. 

“Have you considered that you only feel like you’re running out of time because you’re putting off the things you love? You’re procrastinating on yourself, little Fraggle.”

“..And what is there to do about it? What if I don’t even know what ‘self’ I’m pushing away?”

“What if you listen to what’s really bothering you? Nothing will change unless you let it, and everything will shift the more you want it to stay, dear.”

“So to find change, I have to wait for it?”

“It’ll be here when you stop looking and start living.” She yawned and began to sink back into the earth, signaling that she’d doled out all the wisdom she was likely to give. She never really gave the real answer; she preferred to let the Fraggles find the truth on their own.

“…Thank you, Madame Heap. Do you think-”

“ The Trash Heap has spoken! Nyyyyeeeehhh ! ”

~~~

“Red! Red, darling, are you home?”

“What is it, Mokey?” 

“Oh!! There you are!! If you aren’t busy, could I ask a favor of you?”

“Sure, I guess I can spare some time before cleaning the pond again. What’s up?”

“I just want to do a quick, candid sketch of you. Nothing too in-depth, just something to practice with. Would you mind terribly if I made you my muse?”

“..I mean, go for it, but I do need to be gone in fifteen minutes. That water won’t clear itself up!”

Mokey pulled out her sketchbook and immediately got to work, penciling in her rough form before going back over with smoother lines, doing her best to remain faithful to her shape. 

“Hey, do you think things are going to change soon?” She kept her head down, her fingers working quickly over the page. 

“What do you mean? I don’t know what exactly there would be to change in the first place.”

“Well, I mean.. do you think you’d always want to live with me? I know I get on your nerves, and I wouldn’t want you to feel forced into staying in this cave if you wanted to live on your own-”

“Why would I want to-”

“-Or with someone else.”

Red glanced at her, confused. 

“You’re my best friend, who else would I share a cave with?”

“..Gobo’s your best friend too.”

“..And??? He isn’t you, be real. Besides, we’d kill each other! Honestly, Mokes, I have no idea what you’re worried about; I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon- or at all, really. It’d be a pain in the baloobius to move all of this out anyway.”

“I guess so. You could if you really wanted to, although I’d miss you terribly. I was just thinking that maybe you’d want to share a cave with someone.. the way Uncle Matt and the Storyteller do..”

“..And you think I’d do that with Gobo ??”

Red gaped at her, horrified. 

“I mean- I was just considering the options- Wembley and Boober aren’t exactly on the market, but I’m not sure if they’ve realized that yet.” She laughed, her tail wagging slightly. 

“-Yeah, whatever they’ve got going on sure is… something. But at least they’re equally oblivious.” She smiled and sat up, much to Mokey’s disappointment. 

“Listen, I don’t know what’s bothering you, but it’s all gonna be fine, okay? I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going anywhere, probably. Nothing has to be lost.”

“Nothing can be gained, either.”

“..Yeah.. okay, Vincent Van Fraggle, maybe you just need a nice radish sandwich and a nap. If you take a nap now, I’ll make you the sandwich when I get back. Deal?”

Mokey paused for a moment before nodding.

“Deal.”

~~~~~~~~~

~I’m always here, I’m never there

I’m never, ever, anywhere~

“-Hey, Gobo,” Wembley paused, looking up from his drums. 

“Are we ever really anywhere anyway?”

Gobo didn’t respond, his gaze fixated on a tiny crack in the wall. 

Wembley sighed and began to tap out the rhythm again.

~But when I go from here to there

My ‘here’ comes with me everywhere

‘Til ‘there’ is ‘here’

And here is where I’ve been. ~

“Gobo,” he piped up again, but still got no response. He set his drums to the side and crossed the room to his best friend, laying his hand softly on his shoulder. 

“I’m going to go see Red; please come with me.”

Gobo peeled his eyes away from the wall and turned to look at him, his face red and puffy. 

“I don’t think I’ll be any help, Wembley. I don’t have the right words for Mokey- for anyone, really.”

“It’s not really about the words, it’s about being there for her! She’s our best friend, you should be around.”

“I can’t stand to see her so… empty. Red should be pulling off some dumb, dangerous stunt somewhere, not just lying there like that- lifeless. I don’t want to keep imagining her dead-“

“But she isn’t , and you know she’d be in here night and day despite herself if you were hurt.”

Wembley shook his head and picked up his backpack, stuffing a few necessities into it before heading towards the cave door. He turned and looked back, his fingers toying anxiously at the straps. 

“Please don’t make me argue with you about it…”

Gobo drew in a long, shaky breath before slipping out of bed and joining him. 

“Fine. But don’t expect me to stay long. I… I can’t, okay? I just can’t.”

Wembley nodded and linked their pinkies, squeezing gently as they made their way through the twisting tunnels.

~~

“Mokey…!” 

Wembley knocked on the side of the cave entrance before peeking in, looking around. 

Mokey was lying passed out on her bed, her hair flowing around her in a delicate pool of soft blues and greens. She looked like a fallen angel, the gentleness of her features contrasting with the tear streaks that had dried on her cheeks. She started as soon as Wembley knocked, sitting up and immediately turning towards Red with cautious hope reflecting in her eyes. 

She stifled a sob at the sight of her still lying in her hammock, motionless except for the pained rise and fall of her chest. 

“Oh, Mokey.. I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude…”

Mokey shrugged and turned back to him and Gobo. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here, aren’t you? Come in.”

“We brought you some food.. I toasted you a radish sandwich. I know I’m not Boober, so I don’t always know what’s best for a Fraggle, but I want you to eat it.”

She shook her head. 

“I’m not hungry, but thank you.”

“When’s the last time you actually ate?”

She didn’t respond and instead looked back at Red, wiping the dried tears from her face.

“Yeah, like we’re taking that as an answer,” Gobo stepped in and sat beside her. 

“..I’m selfish and it killed my best friend. I don’t deserve to eat.”

Wembley and Gobo both stopped cold, looking at her in shock. 

“Mokey, you’re not-”

“Yes, yes I am. If I hadn’t been so worried about myself and what I want out of life, we would never have fought. I should’ve paid more attention to how she felt; she clearly was sick of me smothering her all the time, and now I don’t even know if I’ll get to apologize. You don’t understand…

You can’t understand- neither of you can, and no matter how much you try to tell me that you do, it isn’t going to make a difference. You both know that, right?”

Wembley reached into his bag and pulled out the sandwich he’d brought, unwrapping it and pushing it into her hands before moving to stand by Red. He gazed at her silently before looking towards the floor instead, his tail drooping sadly. 

Gobo kept his eyes fixed on Mokey, purposely avoiding catching any glimpse of the hammock. He let out a deep sigh before speaking, leaning towards her so their shoulders were touching as a small sigh of comfort. 

“Yeah. I know, and I’m sorry. We can’t know how you feel exactly, but we’re all hurting over her. I’m sorry that you can’t forgive yourself, but you didn’t kill anyone. She’ll wake up- you know how competitive she is; she’d pick a fight with death itself and come out on top.”

Wembley turned back towards her and forced a smile. 

“Red always wins. And you deserve to take care of yourself. But you aren’t alone, okay? And Red would forgive you, you know she would.”

Mokey didn’t respond, she just sat staring at the sandwich in her hands. Several long moments of silence passed before she leaned back against Gobo and slowly took a small bite.

“..Mushroom butter?”

“Yeah, of course. Nothing’s better.”

“…thank you.”

Chapter Text

You and I, we’re not the same. You realize that, right? You don’t even look like me. 

Mokey sat on the edge of the Fraggle pond late at night, dangling her feet in the water. Her reflection was talking to her again; it was never very kind, but she felt there was always an undertone of truth, even if it all came out harsher than she’d appreciate.

Something was wrong with her, she’d known it herself for a while. In all honesty, she’d never felt exactly right in her own body. The self she saw in her reflection looked more like a distant relative than anything, but something deep in her soul recognized the same softness in the eyes, the same look of longing for something she couldn’t- or wouldn’t- quite articulate for fear of rejection, or irreversible change, or something like that. Neither of them were really quite sure. This happened often enough too, the passive aggressive conversations between her selves where nothing was ever really solved. 

“I don’t know what you want from me,” she began, trying her best to choose her words carefully lest she upset her other self even further. 

“I don’t even know who you are. You’re me, but not exactly. And I know we’ve been over this, but I still don’t get it. It’s not like I chose to be who I am. I know I’m not quite right, but you don’t have to be on my baloobius about it day and night.”

 The least you could do is cut your hair. Neon blue isn’t really our color, but I could live with that if it weren’t in that awful ponytail. 

“Okay, okay. If I cut it like yours, will you leave me alone? Please??”

It’s a pity we can’t do much about your nose. I’m not sure why in the Rock they made it so… bulky. 

“And?? I can’t fix that! I’ve always hated my nose; you really don’t need to get started on that again. I’m well aware it’s shark-like. And I know you hate the dress, though that’s the least of your worries. Let’s see, what else? My fur is too fuschia for your liking, and you’d much rather it be toned down like you are. Anything else?”

You’re too high-strung; you act like a radish dust addict. Radishes vomiting rainbows… seriously? Those are your ‘mystical visions’? You make me sick. 

You make us all sick. 

Her reflection paused and studied her through the water for a few moments, a frown threatening to spoil her elegant features. Gradually her expression began to shift, as if unwinding the thread of a carefully crafted plan. 

Do you want to see who you were meant to be? Why you feel this way? What secrets lie under your skin?

“…What’s it going to cost?”

Nothing much, only your ignorance.

“Show me.”

A delicate hand reached up out of the water and curled its fingers around her wrist. Her reflection smiled at her- not exactly a friendly look, moreso a veiled threat than anything else- and pulled her into the depths. 

~~~

Ah! There you are!! 

Mokey blinked herself awake, her head throbbing and her vision fuzzy. 

“Where.. where am I?”

You’re in our room, silly! You said you wanted me to show you everything. What’s wrong with you- what’s wrong with everyone . You know, very few Fraggles are really who they were supposed to be. Everyone’s a little bit wrong, so to speak. 

Mokey sat up and rubbed her temples, trying to find some sort of grasp on reality. As her vision began to clear, she gazed around the room. Across from her sat a life-sized doll of the Fraggle she usually saw in her reflection, and beside it, stood the strange Fraggle herself. Her fur was aglow with starlight and her presence was almost uncanny, as if she were from another place entirely. Her hair moved around her face as if there were a breeze, but the air in the caves was still for the moment. 

“You…made a doll of yourself?”

Oh! My goodness, please pardon my rudeness. This is Rags! I made her to be a sacrificial princess for the Gorgs once. She served her purpose well, without complaining, and I couldn’t exactly just leave her all alone in the garden, now could I? So I went back and I brought her home! How do you like her? 

“She’s.. she’s very well made.”

I did quite a pretty job on her, didn’t I? 

The starlit Fraggle laced her fingers with the doll’s knitted hands and hummed to herself quietly, turning towards Mokey. 

You like to dance, don’t you?

“Well yes, but find me a Fraggle who doesn’t-”

Boober.

“Fair point, at least something is consistent between… whatever this place is relative to home. But yes, of course I like to dance. You’d know, wouldn’t you?”

Her odd twin smiled and moved to stand in front of her, stretching out her hands towards her. Mokey hesitated before taking them, slowly getting to her feet before her reflection. 

I think I’ll teach you the same dance I taught her , she nodded to the limp doll staring at them.

Let me lead, alright? 

She continued humming until she found the right note and began a sort of waltz around the room, Mokey following behind her cautiously. 

~ You’re made of rags

And scraps and tags

And no one thinks you’re real ~

Her reflection put her arm around her waist, drawing her closer towards her own opaque body. 

~ But when you go they’ll never know

The loneliness I feel

Dance with me, my ragtime queen

Before I set you free ~

She linked the fingers of their other hands together, returning to humming again for a moment before locking eyes with her.

~ On lonely days you’ll know the ways

That you

Are just like me  ~

Her mirror self stopped dancing and stared into her eyes for a few seconds as if searching for something deep within her. 

Do you understand?

“Understand what?” Mokey whispered nervously, her fingers trembling ever so slightly.

It’s not your fault you’re the way you were made, but I can’t help grieving for myself when I’ve been so lost. It’s so difficult to be a memory. 

She squeezed her hands and smiled sadly, letting her go and pulling away from the almost suffocating closeness they’d been sharing. 

All I want is to be myself again. 

“How can I help, exactly? I don’t know what you expect of me.”

The starry Fraggle paused, considering. 

You could tell me how our friends are, for instance. How’s Gobo? Mine is.. well, he’s gone. That’s all there is to it. 

“Gobo? He’s.. he’s not great. Everything with Red has really thrown him off course, and I don’t think anything short of her waking up again unharmed will fix that. He’s a changed Fraggle right now- quiet, melancholy… totally uncharacteristic of him, I know. I don’t think he knows how to act without her, or maybe it’s just that he doesn’t know how to work through tragedy. And Wembley, bless his heart-”

Her reflection’s face went dark instantly upon hearing his name; her expression was unreadable but the word clearly brought her great discomfort.

“…And Boober,” she skipped past any real mention of Wembley after seeing the other’s unhappy look.

“Boober’s doing his best. He’s Red’s only hope right now. He’s in and out almost constantly; he’s watching her at the moment so that I can have a minute away to ground myself, which is what I was supposed to be doing before I caught myself up in all of this. Red-…”

Her face crumpled in on itself as she fought back tears. The other Mokey sighed and turned to Rags, busting herself with smoothing out her smock. 

I can’t help with her. She got hurt a few times while she was with me, but never like this. 

Mokey looked up, wiping her eyes.

“While she was with you..? 

-..Wait a minute, what did you mean about ‘your Gobo’? What do you mean, he’s gone??”

..Mokey, you know this is all more than just your reflection or a dream, right?

“I’m sorry, I don’t-”

I’m you; you’re me. Don’t you get what I’ve been trying to say this entire time? We each live in our own timeline with different versions of our friends. Your Gobo, although he’s in a depression, is alive and well. Mine became one with the Ditzies- doesn’t that make any sense to you? He’s dead, and Red- my Red, has been with you since your timeline began. You have her now. 

“So.. so this is all a separate universe from mine? And Red is from here? Not from Fraggle Rock?”

This is Fraggle Rock! The original timeline all happened here, forty years before you were even thought of! None of this is real . It was supposed to end with us; we befriended the Silly Creature, and we discovered that we were the magic itself. The magic should never have been tampered with; you were never really supposed to exist. Red should have stayed with me. And Boober- my Boober’s gone too. I suspect that something similar is going on with him as well. I don’t know for sure, but I’m almost certain that he’s the one in your dimension. 

“And Wembley…?”

… don’t ever mention his name again. It’s… it’s too awful. 

“I want to know everything that’s going on here! I have to! Please, I need answers!”

No, no you don’t! You want nothing to do with any of this! He’s better off forgotten. It’s.. kinder that way. 

Her reflection frowned and moved towards the cave exit.

I think you should leave now. 

“But we were finally getting somewhere! Something’s wrong with Boober and Red, right?”

No, Boober and Red are the only ones who stayed themselves when your universe opened up! Everyone else is wrong. Magic is a delicate balance, Mokey- you cannot leave it, but you can disrespect it, although you shouldn’t. You, your timeline, and everything you know… none of it was ever meant to be. Anyone who knew anything about magic would’ve known that. And I’m sorry you’re suffering for it. 

…

You have no idea what it’s like to rot in a museum, do you?

Mokey began to open her mouth to respond, but was cut off. 

 -No, don’t bother answering. You wanted to know everything, right? Let me show you.

Close your eyes for me. 

Mokey paused, eyeing her warily before doing as she was told.

~~~~

When she opened them again, she was lying on a table, staring at her own body lying about her in pieces. Her fur was the paler pink of her mirror self, and she could see the faint outlines of something moving at the edge of her vision. A pair of hands came towards her- those of a Silly Creature- and she reflexively screamed, but no sound came out. In fact, she was completely unable to move at all. She felt stiff and heavy, and her dismembered segments refused to respond to her increasingly desperate thoughts. She was lifted through the air and carefully examined, fingers poking and prodding at her features and into her eyes before she was finally placed back down again. 

She sat there staring forward as the Silly Creature stitched one of her arms in place. She felt every single sharp jab of the needle as it pierced through the felt, every tug of the thread as it was tightened. Out of the corner of her eye, another Creature picked up the empty shell of her torso, taking a seam ripper along one side of it and tearing her fur off. Underneath was nothing but old glue and crumbling, yellow foam. This Creature, a man, pulled the foam out and crushed it in his palm, the dust floating down to the table below. She could see wires now that had been hidden before- something resembling the shape of a skeleton, but not exactly.

It felt like every part of her being was on fire. She felt like her insides were actively being torn open and shredded, and she was completely helpless, unable to even scream or cry about it. She could only sit there in abject horror as snaps were pierced through her legs and arms, and glue that was so potent she thought she was suffocating was run along the new foam of her chest. If she had been unfortunate enough to be made with lungs, they would’ve burst in pain.

Then it was over. She shut her eyes and when she opened them again, she was reassembled and standing up, yet still unable to move. She stared out through a thick pane of glass at Silly Creatures who came up to gaze at her, their eyes searching over every inch of her stitching and felt. Some of them were carrying tiny dolls of her and her friends, and others were even dressed to match them. It was strange, seeing creatures she’d never once met wearing her clothes and dyeing their hair to look like her. One pair of creatures in particular were dressed as her and Red, and she caught sight of them holding hands as they watched her. 

Out of her peripheral vision, she could see her friends standing at her side. Further back through the glass sat the hairy monster from the end of the tunnel, motionless as well. Her arms were heavy from the pose she held, and her cheeks burned with the smile she had been forced into carrying. 

Were the others alive too? Could they also feel the dozens of eyes on them, inspecting them and remarking on how ‘well preserved’ they all were? She had no way of knowing or asking. She could only hope that they weren’t going through the same monotonous torture that she was. 

As she stood there, she felt years slip by. Her insides began to deteriorate again, and her cheeks sagged as time continued to move on. Less and less Silly Creatures came to look at her, and finally, she was removed from the exhibit altogether. 

She found herself being placed gently in a lined wooden box. All she could do was watch as the kid was sealed above her and she was carried off to some unknown location. Time wasn’t a factor in this particular prison; she had no way of knowing when or if she’d ever come out again, or how long she’d been stuck there. She only knew that she was lonely, and that she missed Red.

Have you seen enough yet? A familiar voice broke through the monotony, but she was unable to answer. 

Very well. 

In a flash, she was back in her bed, in her room. She glanced around, shaking, as she took in everything exactly as she remembered it. Red still lay in the corner, breathing painfully as she slept.

Mokey walked over to her and picked up her limp hand, lacing fingers with her as she’d seen the Silly Creatures do. She really was beautiful, she admitted to herself, as she looked down at her lovingly. 

Just then, the beads at their cave entrance rattled, and Boober came in holding a pot of soup. 

“Oh, Mokey! You’re back, thank goodness! I was getting so worried that you’d fallen into the pond, or been eaten by a poison cackler, or… or had run off forever, or something like that. I’m glad to see you’re safe.” He offered her a genuine smile and set the soup down, dishing up two bowls.

”Her pulse isn’t racing as hard anymore, but I still don’t like the sound of her lungs. I can’t really say for sure, Mokey.. I’m sorry.” Boober shook his head and dropped his stethoscope into his bag, then took out a poultice, dipping it in a warm cup of tea before pressing it to Red’s chest.

She was limp in her hammock, her chest struggling to rise and fall with every breath. The room was quiet aside from her labored wheezing as everything in her fought to stay with them.

“…She’s lucky, you know. Being such a strong swimmer, and all that. A weaker Fraggle would’ve been gone before you even had a chance to look for them,” he paused, glancing at Mokey. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, face down in her hands.

“It’s my fault.. I-.. I should’ve been gentler. If I hadn’t lashed out, she wouldn’t have run off and gotten hurt,” she whispered, barely audible.
“I should’ve been kinder.”

He sat beside her quietly, their shoulders barely touching.

“Listen, Mokey-”

“To what?? Are you going to tell me that it isn’t my fault?? That I ‘couldn’t possibly have known’ I would kill my best friend because I was selfish?? Because I couldn’t control my temper?? Is that what you want to say? Because I swear to the Trash Heap that’s the last thing I want to hear; I know I caused this. At least let me mourn knowing that.”

He flinched, but didn’t pull away.

“..I’m not going to get involved with that right now; no one will be better off for it. But what I wanted to say- at least, what I’d like to tell you- is that I think it isn’t completely hopeless. Red’s a fighter, we know that. Anyone else would’ve given up by now, but not her. Somewhere in there she knows that she has to come back again to clean the pond again. That she has to come back for us. For you.”

“For me? Why in the Rock would she come back for me after all of this?”

Boober gave her a slight, sad smile.
“You’re her best friend, aren’t you?”

“I have a question for you,” she turned towards him, frowning.

“Anything at all, Mokey. Although I don’t know if I’ll have the answers you want.”

“No…no, what I want to know is- I mean, I don’t know how to put this exactly, but…

You’re not from here , are you?”

“…It’s a complicated question.”

“Answer it. Who are you really, and how long have you known that none of what we know as reality exists?”

Boober sighed deeply and pushed one of the bowls towards her, motioning for her to sit down. 

“Are you sure you want to know?”

Chapter Text

 Gobo had never been one to showcase his emotions. He was a Fraggle who tended to rely on instinct- and occasionally logic- but he rarely made a conscious decision based on his feelings. That’s not to say that they didn’t influence his actions, just that he wasn’t typically aware of it when they did. Emotions and “following your heart”, something Mokey often told him to do, were for Fraggles who didn’t have the benefit of being raised by his magnanimous Uncle Traveling Matt, who had taught him that feelings could, and should often be overlooked in favor of inflating his own ego. 

  And inflate it he did. He was insufferable for a non-zero number of the Rock’s residents, although he had no idea and certainly no one would ever tell him. As far as he knew, he was hot stuff, and an absolute lady killer. And kill them he must have, as not a single one of them actually found him palatable enough to consider dating. He was handsome, at least that he was correct about, but any woman who got close enough to him could see a pop-up book of red flags and arrogance that usually sent them running for the hills. 

  It wasn’t exactly his fault. He was too hardheaded to listen to anyone else about the value of self-improvement, or the basics of not annoying women to death. Red refused to try and help him out of fear that he might consider it some level of flirting, and Mokey had tried, but had come to the conclusion that he was better off figuring out these valuable lessons for himself in his own due time. Wembley at least didn’t seem to notice or care about his flaws; they’d been thick as thieves their entire lives, and he didn’t see anything ever changing that.

  In all honesty, he wasn’t a bad sort of Fraggle, only somewhat misguided, and he had a good heart inside it all. That was probably what Wembley saw in him: a Fraggle who tried his best to love his friends. Their bond was special, and Gobo trusted Wembley to tag alongside him forever. Of course, he’d always be the leader, but there’d be no point in leading if there was no one to follow. And what was leadership without a little competition? 

  Maybe that was his problem. From the time they were Fragglings, Red had been his biggest competitor. Yes, they were best friends, but they’d always had a sort of push-and-pull relationship, especially when it came to who was the de facto head of the friend group. They fought often enough- anyone who knew them knew to stay out of their quarrels- but despite it all, had remained close. 

  And now she was gone. Not dead, gone, but absent. For the first time in his life, Gobo was at a loss for words; the most he could manage was staring at the wall for hours at a time- if he tried his hardest, he’d get a few words out when it was absolutely necessary, but it was as if his mouth had been sealed shut. Maybe it was because he was hurting. Maybe it was because without her, he had nothing to say. No one, not even him, really knew the answer. He felt bad for not visiting her, but he couldn’t bear to see her lying there suffering. She was losing weight now, and her thinning frame was a reminder that she wasn’t getting any better- that she might not ever recover. 

  The truth was, he had never been taught how to process his feelings. Anything difficult, he’d been taught to brush off, the way his uncle often incidentally pushed him aside. He’d been left alone often as a little one, before he met his friends. Matt had always been off on some grand adventure that Gobo would only get in the way of, so he spent his youngest years pouring over maps and pretending that he was big enough- and important enough- to follow in his uncle’s footsteps. His earliest memories were soft and fuzzy, but he was always looking up at Matt, reaching out and asking him to pick him up. To hold him. However, he rarely did, and maybe it was because Matt himself had never really been held as a child- and he turned out far above average, of course- but he didn’t see the need to coddle his small nephew. He showed his love in other ways: he’d always bring back a shiny pebble or some kind of treat or trinket for him, but Gobo was still only a Fraggling, and he was missing out on the love that he needed to learn to emotionally regulate himself. 

  Wembley was doing his best to keep him normal. He tried to pretend that he wasn’t scared- his blind sense of optimism had become a defense mechanism to keep himself from crashing as well. Someone had to stay positive, and Mokey was a lost cause in that department. Boober was far too busy keeping Red alive to take on the burden of fielding everyone else’s emotions; in all honesty, he was barely holding himself together as it was. So the responsibility of keeping the group’s morale up fell to Wembley, who could realistically only do so much. 

  He wandered a little absentmindedly down the tunnel to Boober’s cave. He’d offered to help him cook, and even though he wasn’t the best at it, Boober appreciated the company more than ever. 

  “Boooooooooober! Are y’home??” He peeked into the softly lit cave, his tail wagging as he caught sight of his best friend. 

  “Oh! Wembley! Good, you’re here. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.” Boober smiled at him as he entered and set down the tray he was carrying. 

  “Are you ready to meal prep? I’m going to take something for everyone today. I know Mokey probably hasn’t had the energy to eat, and Gobo- when’s the last time you saw him eat an actual meal?”

  “Oh geez, probably at least a week. He hasn’t really done much of anything since the accident, y’know. He’s just… out of it. And that’s okay!! I can’t blame him.. honestly, looking at Red scares me too.” He sighed and began to chop the vegetables that Boober had set in front of him. 

  “Yeah, me too. Her lungs sounded a little better today, but I just don’t know. -Hey, hey, cut away from yourself; I know you know that. And if you can, try to make the pieces a little more even- like this.” Boober moved next to him and placed his hand over Wembley’s on the knife, guiding him through the parsnips in one smooth motion. 

  “See? It makes them easier to cook when they’re uniform. I don’t want to have half be raw while the other half burns, you know?” He turned to look at him and smiled, his heartbeat catching in his chest as he noted how close their faces were. 

  Wembley was staring back at him, his tail flitting at his feet. 

  “Y-yeah, I gotcha. Uh, anything else I should know?”

  “..Maybe keep your elbows closer to your body. It, ah, gives you more control over how you cut.” He drew away as Wembley nodded, both of them looking away nervously. 

  “Yanno, Boober.. no one’s asked you if you’re okay, have they?”

  “No, not really, but I think I’m handling it as well as I can. I’ve spent my entire life preparing for a crisis; I just expected it to happen to myself instead. All things considered though, I think I’m okay. I’ve been better, but I don’t think I’m as bad off as Gobo or Mokey. How about you? Has anyone checked in on how you’re doing?”

  “I’m doing alright!! You know how I am! It’s my job to keep everybody happy, right? So I’m doing my best!”

  “No, your job is to be the siren for the volunteer fire department. You can’t put the entire responsibility of everyone’s feelings on your shoulders, you know.”

  “Yeah, I guess so, but it’s not like I have much of a choice, is it? If I break down, who’s going to help you cook? Who will look out for Gobo and make sure he gets out of bed at least once a day? You don’t have enough hands to carry around all the food and medicine you’ve been delivering to Mokey and Red, so I have to be here! I want to be here.”

  “I do need you. All of us do, you’re right, and I’m sorry that it’s all falling on you like this. Have you had any time at all to take your mind off things lately?”

  “Not really, but I need to stay alert anyway; I want to help as much as I can. The more I’m around for you, the more time you can spend fixing Red. We have to get her back, we just have to! ..We will get her back, I’m sure of it. I’m gonna focus on the positive like Mokey always told me.”

  “Well.. if you’d like, after food deliveries, you could have dinner with me here. We’ll have to wait a little while, since I promised Mokey that I’d sit with Red for a bit while she goes out, but I can’t imagine she’ll be back too late. I think it’d be nice if we just talked for a while, maybe about something other than Red. We should both try to get our minds off of it all for a time.”

  Wembley agreed and the two set off to finish cooking, Boober still keeping a watchful eye on his knife skills and teaching him how to sauté. Once they had finished and packaged up the meals, Wembley went to take Gobo his dinner, and Boober made his way to Mokey and Red’s.

~~~

  “Boober!! I’m back!”

  There was no response.

  “ Boober!! I’m here, just like you asked-”

  Wembley looked around, his tail drooping as he noted that he was alone. It wasn’t like Boober to forget, but maybe he’d upset him somehow. As he turned to go, he noticed an almost ancient guitar that was nearly identical to Gobo’s leaning on the corner by his bed. He crept over and eyed it, afraid to actually touch it out of fear that it might completely crumble. 

  “Huh.. I wonder where-” He knelt beside it and pondered for a moment before reaching out to pick it up. He lifted it as gently as he could and sat on the ground with his legs crossed, holding it in his lap. The strings were fraying and the wood had begun to rot, but he couldn’t get over the strong sense of familiarity he felt while looking at it. It truly was an exact copy of Gobo’s guitar, and yet it was clearly much older and worn down. He ran his finger along the body of the instrument and sat back to wait. Boober would be there any minute; he could just ask him about it then.

~~~

  Hours passed, and Wembley had long drifted off before Boober finally returned, looking weary. He looked at him asleep on the floor and frowned, shaking his head. He hadn’t meant to be gone nearly so long, but it had been unavoidable. Mokey had wanted answers, and he of course had to give them, no matter how uncomfortable it was, or how angry it made her. 

  It wasn’t exactly that he’d been lying to them; he’d only just begun to suspect that something was wrong with their reality, and that he may not even be a part of it at all. Since his strange dream some nights ago- from which he’d woken up with the guitar he found in the other Gobo’s room- he’d been having increasing episodes of disorientation and deja vu in doing the most mundane tasks. Everything he’d ever accomplished or thought, he’d done it before. He was having distant visions of memories that had been completely buried, yet we’re still plausible and specific enough that he did believe they’d happened, even if in another world. Who could make up the idea that he would’ve moved to his own cave filled with killer flowers that almost bored the entire friend group to death with the equivalent of forgetfulness tear gas? Or how he saved Cotterpin Doozer from a giant, Doozer-eating blob that loves jokes? No, these things had to be real, and that meant only one thing; he’d lived another life in another universe before this one, and he’d somehow been pulled into the wrong world. 

  Of course that isn’t the kind of thing you tell your friend group when one of your best friends is dying.

  He wandered around fixing up dinner, then went to wake Wembley up, putting his hand on his shoulder and shaking him gently. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, looking up at him sleepily.

  “I thought you’d forgotten about me..”

  “I could never forget about you. I’m sorry that I was gone so long, though.. Mokey and I had to have a hard talk about something. But it’s all okay now, and dinner is ready.”

 Wembley perked up at the mention of dinner and stood up, laying the guitar on the bed and immediately forgetting about it in favor of his growling stomach. He hopped up on a stool and watched as Boober slid his food over to him, then immediately dug in. Boober sat beside him and watched for a moment before eating his own meal. 

  “..Hey Boober?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Do you remember the day we met?”

  “Yeah, of course. Although we were pretty little Fragglings back then..” Boober smiled to himself as he cut into his soufflé. 

  “You nearly snapped my baloobius.”

  “Ah! And I’ve apologized so many times, but I still feel bad! I didn’t mean to!!” 

  Boober laughed softly and poked his shoulder. 

“And I‘ve told you every time that I forgive you, haven’t I? It is funny in hindsight.”

  “How was I supposed to know you were sitting right under that boulder? It’s not like I could see over it! And you were too small for me to see you there! Besides, I was too little and clumsy to know much better at that point anyway..”

  “Yeah, you were adorable. Although you drove me nuts with that manic energy of yours. But that’s why you and Red were such good friends- you both bounced around nonstop until you got big enough that the World’s Oldest Fraggle had to step in and give you both a talking-to about how to behave in public spaces.” Boober chuckled to himself and looked at his friend. 

  “But you mellowed out at some point. And I stopped having to patch you up every day.”

  “And my scars finally healed! Although I do miss when I had that much energy. It was so much fun, it’s a shame you didn’t get to experience it!”

  “I think I’m better off without it, but I saw plenty of it from you two. But I will say that I miss it being that way sometimes.. especially now. I’d rather deal with bloody noses and broken fingers any day than what happened to Red.”

  “I thought you said we weren’t going to talk about it..”

  “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just the main thing on my mind.

-Hey, Wembles- it’s getting pretty late. What if you stay here tonight? You can leave early in the morning to check on Gobo if you want.”

  “I guess I could stay.. I’d feel bad about Gobo, but maybe he needs the alone time…”

  “Good, that’s settled then, as long as you don’t mind sharing a bed.”

  Boober had never been a Fraggle to share his personal space with anyone else, but Wembley was an exception. Something about their friendship was different in a way that he couldn’t quite place, and he found that he didn’t mind whenever Wembley decided to tag along with whatever activity he was up to. In fact, more often than not, he enjoyed his company, and he found that from time to time, he actually missed him when he wasn’t around. 

  They finished dinner and Boober began fluffing up his pillows and grabbing an extra blanket for Wembley. They’d shared a room before, but never a bed, since Boober was usually so adamant about preventing his space from being invaded. However, recent circumstances had them each on edge more than they were willing to admit, and both secretly welcomed the idea of having someone else to cuddle up against. Having someone near was comforting, especially when they both felt so separated from the rest of their friends. Fraggles were, after all, pack animals. It was extremely unusual for any Fraggle to spend their lives completely alone; most of them weren’t built for that. Boober was an outlier in that regard; he welcomed the idea of drudgery and loneliness, but even he still needed some kind of connection to the rest of the world. 

  Wembley crawled into bed as Boober blew out his lamps, and the two settled in under the covers. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they were both comfortable. 

  “~Hey, Boober..?~” Wembley whispered, turning around to face him.

  “~What is it?~”

  “~I’m scared.~

  “~Of what?~”

  “~I’m scared that if we lose Red, we’ll lose Gobo too. He’s never going to be the same if she doesn’t come back.~” Wembley began to sniffle, his big eyes welling up with tears.

  “~Oh, Wembley..~” Boober took his hand and linked their fingers together, wiping his tears away with his free hand.

  “~It’ll all be okay. Like you said, it has to be. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it is. For all of us.~”

  Wembley nodded and squeezed his hand, rubbing his thumb against his fingers in an attempt to self-soothe. 

  “~I believe ya. Red’ll be fine, and Gobo will snap out of it once she wakes up. Yeah, that has to be how it goes.~ He yawned and snuggled closer to Boober, his head more or less resting on his chest.

  “~G’night, Boober..”

  Boober hesitated for a moment before gently running his fingers through the other’s hair, instinctively pulling him even nearer towards himself.

  “~Goodnight.~

  A few minutes passed, and Wembley’s breathing evened out as he sunk into a deep sleep. Boober was still petting his hair and staring up at the ceiling, pondering. 

  “~Wembles, can I tell you a secret?~”

  There was no response, but that was exactly what he was hoping for. Boober took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around Wembley’s shoulders.

  “~I’m scared of losing you too.~”

~~~

Morning came, and the two parted ways for the time being: Wembley to check on Gobo, and Boober to collect his dinnerware from Red and Mokey. They left with the promise to meet back up again that evening to prepare food for the next day. 

~~~

  A singular yellow Fraggle stood on top of a fallen, flimsy tree and gazed into the abyss below him. He picked up a pebble and studied the blue and white marbling as he rolled it between his fingers, contemplating. The rock was porous and rough against his skin, and its texture reminded him of a faded memory that he couldn’t quite place. 

  He could fly; he was certain of it. The fact that no Fraggle had flown before didn’t matter- if he wanted it enough, it would happen. Of course, he had promised Boober, and he wasn’t one to break a promise… but wouldn’t he be so surprised when he saw him soaring through the air -carefree as a tree creature- that he’d forgive him? Then again, he may just be so upset that he’d never speak to him again, and then what would he do? 

  He tossed the pebble above his head and caught it again, taking one last longing look down the yawning chasm of the Reverb Well before carefully scurrying off the branch and back to solid ground. Flying could wait another day, or at least until he was back in his dreams- day or night. He made his way back to the rock, making up a cheerful song as he went.

~If I were Wemblin’ west, I’d take the friend I like best

So we could wemble, wemble, wemble, side by side 

If we were Wemblin’ south, we’d stick our feet in our mouth

So we could wemble, wemble, wemble, as we ride~ 

  He entered the Hall and ducked into a cave just on the outskirts of all the fun. Boober looked up as he entered, his tail wagging softly. 

“Wembley!! Oh good, you’re here. You can help me carry my rutabaga stew up to Mokey and Red’s cave.”

“How is she..?”

Boober sighed and fidgeted with his scarf.

“It’s not good.. she still hasn’t woken up and her fever won’t break. I’ve been in and out of there all day and I don’t know what else I can do for her,” he paused and thought for a few moments, carefully choosing his next words.

“I’m not sure- ..I don’t know that she’s going to wake up again. Or if she does, I can’t be sure she’ll be.. the same.” He moved about his kitchen, bundling up food and poultices. 

“..What do you mean by that?”

“Well, Wembley.. sometimes when a Fraggle breathes in too much water- or not enough air- it makes them.. sort of like one of Mokey’s canvases before she paints it. They’re there , but nothing is happening, you know?”

Wembley stared at him blankly.

“She just might be different- quiet, permanently. But still alive.”

“Red? Quiet? ” He shook his head.

“She’d never be okay with that!”

“I know, but I don’t think she’d have much of an idea either way. She’s been out for almost too long.”

“No! No.. she’s just really tired! Exhausted. She’ll be fine by tomorrow!! She just needs the sleep!”

Boober’s tail flitted at his feet as he handed him a bag and took another for himself. 

“Yeah, maybe.

…

Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it anymore. What did you do today?” 

“Oh!! I went down to the Reverb Well! I sat on the branch and looked aaaaaaaalllllllllllll the way down, and I thought!! Well, maybe not very much, I only really had one thought, and it kept bouncing around in my head so much that I kept losing it! So now I don’t even remember what it was- so it must not’ve been important, right? Anyway, there I was…”

  They started out into the passageway, Wembley chattering on and on about his afternoon. He’d get halfway through telling it before remembering some crucial detail he’d forgotten to include earlier, and then he’d start all over. Boober didn’t mind, though. He was glad to have something to take his mind off of Red for the first time in a while, and if he were being honest with himself, he could happily spend the rest of his life listening to Wembley ramble on beside him. 

  It hadn’t always been this way; when they were young, he’d been annoyed by Wembley’s seemingly insatiable urge to chitter and bounce off the walls at all hours of the day. It was probably why he and Red had gotten along so well at that age- both were so hyperactive that they turned the Hall into a constant warzone of pure, unbridled Fraggling energy. Both of them had mellowed out somewhat by now, but Boober would never forget how many dislocated elbows and shoulders he’d popped back into place over the years… how many scrapes and bruises he’d patched up. Even though he’d seemed annoyed, he was always more worried than anything, and at this point, he’d be thrilled if all he had to fuss over were silly little scratches that wouldn’t make any difference in a few days. 

  This, though? This was a different beast entirely. Sidebottom had been strangely silent, not even showing up to haunt him since Red’s accident. His best explanation was that he was using so much mental energy that Sidebottom was essentially nullified, but he had an uneasy feeling that there was a different underlying reason that he couldn’t put his finger on. Sure, he and Red didn’t always get along perfectly, but they were still close friends, and he was the only one in the Rock who had any idea how to begin to care for her injuries, which meant that if she didn’t wake up, it would be his fault, and his alone. 

“So then I thought -just for the fun of it- that I might just-” Wembley paused and suddenly went silent, realizing he would be better off keeping this particular line of thinking to himself.

“You thought what?”

“Oh! Hah! I totally forgot! Don’t you hate it when that happens?? You’re in the middle of saying something and poof! It’s just gone!! But it doesn’t really matter anyway, we’re heeeeeereee!!”

His tail wagged anxiously, but he did his best to hide it behind himself.

“… OH!!! ”

Wembley jumped so suddenly that he nearly dropped the soup he’d been balancing. Boober stuck his tail out just in time to steady it and glanced at him, mildly irritated.

“What??”

“I thought of something!! A way to make Red better!!! Here, here, take this— meet me with everyone back at the Reverb Well in an hour, okay?”

Boober took the second bag and the extra soup, barely able to balance it all as Wembley hastily shoved it at him and scurried off.

“Sorry!! Sorry!!!!! I’ll make it up to you, I promise!!”

With that, he disappeared down the hallway, tail waving wildly behind him. 

~~~

~~~

“Dance your pants a-way!

Worries will be here to stay!

If you spend your day

Down at Boober Rock!”

  Memories shook Boober as he and the rest of the group shuttled Red between them to the Reverb Well. He vaguely remembered her bounding into the room, grinning widely as she delivered her own -somewhat insulting- version of their classic mantra. He’d been absolutely indignant at the time, but now he’d give anything to hear it again. He looked down at her in the cart they’d turned into a makeshift bed. Her eyes had fluttered open a few times, but they’d been hazy and unfocused. Everyone had been hyper alert about making sure the dressings on her chest had stayed warm, and of course he’d taken great care himself every day to clean and care for the rest of her wounds. Her knees would likely show their scars for many, many days. He didn’t know how she’d take that, if she ever found out. She wasn’t one to be vain- more than likely, she’d consider them as war wounds of a sort to show off around the Rock. He smiled a bit to himself, thinking of her tenacity and how she’d never been in a situation that she couldn’t find her own way out of. He hoped this time would prove to be the same. 

  Wembley was waiting for them in the center of the branch bridge, his legs swinging precariously over the side. He kicked his feet as he watched them approach, clearly giddy with whatever idea he’d cooked up.

  Boober frowned and started towards him, their previous conversation suddenly at the forefront of his mind. 

“Aw, let him do whatever he wants, Boober! You know he’d never do anything too dangerous,”

Gobo put his hand on Boober’s shoulder and smiled down at him. “I’ll bet you a radish bar that he’s going to balance a pickle on his nose, eh Wembley?”

Come on, come on!! You can do it. 

Wembley grinned back at him. 

“Even better!!! I’m going to give Red the performance of a lifetime!! Then she’ll have to wake up, right? She’d never let anyone overshadow her!” He laughed and jumped up, hooking his toes over the edge of the bridge. 

Don’t you want to show off for your friends? To impress Boober?

“Wembles, honey- where are you going with this? I’m not sure I like how close you are to the edge-“

To bring Red back?

“Oh gosh, I’ll be fine!! I promise I know exactly what I’m doing!!!!”

Don’t be a coward, Wembley. 

“Gobo, please , go get him. He told me last week that he wants to fly and—”

“Fly? What do you mean, fly?

  ..Oh Trash Heap, he’s really going to-”

Jump.

Mercifully for everyone watching, the fall was so far that they could barely hear the sickening thud and silence that followed from the bottom of the chasm. 

~~~

  Wembley lay face-down on the completely smooth cave floor, his eyes spinning around and around. Suddenly, he was weightless- floating through the air as he’d always dreamed. The rock was above him, yet strangely, not below him. His eyes rolled from side to side and took in the foreign sights of wooden cross beams holding up the tunnels that he’d always called home and bright, scorching lights from high in the air, further up than he could tell at the moment. 

  As far as he was concerned, he’d made it. He was flying.