Chapter Text
It had been a difficult few weeks for Gonzo the Great.
The nightmares, the consuming feeling of loneliness, being ridiculed by his friends, getting kidnapped by government agents, almost being experimented on, and longing for his alien family so he wouldn’t be alone forever.
Needless to say, the blue whatever was completely exhausted.
Overall, Gonzo was very happy with his choice. The Muppets have always accepted him in their strange but loving group, and he would always be proud to be one of them.
Kermit, Rizzo, Fozzie, Camilla, Pepe, even Miss Piggy, and all the rest of the Muppets loved him unconditionally for who he was, despite being different.
After all, being different was a key part of the Muppets.
But sometimes the blue whatever did wonder what his life would be like if he chose to go with his alien family.
If he had parents to take care of him, check in on him, and make sure his stunts weren’t too over the top.
Although Kermit usually does that for him anyways.
But still, what if he had siblings to joke with, play pranks with, and stand up for him?
Fozzie, Rizzo, Pepe, and Miss Piggy all came to mind.
Maybe he could have met a very special alien, someone who was kind and beautiful like Camilla?
The more Gonzo thought about the what-ifs, the more he felt like the luckiest whatever in the whole world for finding a perfectly loving, bizarre family.
Which is all Gonzo could ask for.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what his alien family really thought of him staying on earth instead of joining them in space.
And during one particularly conflicted cold night, Gonzo saw them again.
In a dream.
—
Dreaming of space wasn't ever uncommon for Gonzo. Even before he knew of his alien family, before he knew the Muppets, when he was all alone, he would dream about space.
Trying to find his place.
It was as beautiful as it had always been. The stars shimmered with wonder and beauty, and the vastness of it was truly enchanting.
Space often brought Gonzo a sense of security and peace, but something felt off this time.
The immense cosmos felt colder than usual, and the normally bright galaxy colors were monotone, almost grey even.
As the blue whatever floated through space, he looked around for answers to why the gloomy shift in the normally magical atmosphere. Until a familiar voice called to him.
"Hello, little brother."
Gonzo turned around to see his alien family, gathered close together in an almost triangular formation with bright lights shining behind them.
"Oh! Hey guys, great to see you all again!" Gonzo said cheerfully as he tried to float up to where they were.
"It is most righteous to see you again as well, little brother," The leader alien said as the other aliens uttered words of agreement. "To what do we owe this unexpected visit?"
"Well, I suppose I was a bit curious about what my life could have been like if I left Earth to go with you, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I already had everything I ever could have needed with my friends, the Muppets." Gonzo explained his recent thoughts, but his alien family's expressions noticeably shifted at the mention of his friends. Suddenly, it was like there was an invisible wall in space, keeping Gonzo from floating up to his alien family and leaving him below them. Both physically and mentally in that moment.
Feeling insecure, Gonzo tried to ease the slight tension. "Um...I am very grateful for you all still. After all, you came all that way to find me, and I will always appreciate it."
His earnest words didn't seem to change anything, unfortunately, but then the leader alien chuckled briefly, breaking the awkward silence.
"Don't fret, little brother. We had simply assumed that those lowly earth creatures you call the Muppets were not fulfilling your days as well as we could, but apparently they miraculously are. How enjoyable for you, little brother!"
The other aliens all laughed after their leader's words, but Gonzo felt his face burn.
He was no stranger to being laughed at, but he couldn't deny how much it still stung in certain moments.
"Oh, well, uh, no...they are... What do you mean? Do you all really think they don't make me happy?" Gonzo inquired, desperate to understand the joke he clearly was not in on.
"Our apologies if that displeases you, little brother. We merely observed how they mistreated you and presumed they wouldn't change their ways even with your eagerness to please them. You see, it's amusing to us, Gonzo. How hard you have to try to get them to enjoy your presence and how you wouldn't have to even try with us."
The aliens were all still quite entertained by this, but the blue whatever was not finding any humor in this situation.
"But...that... That's not true! T-they don't mistreat m-me! They love me, I-I'm one of them..." Gonzo hated himself for stuttering.
"Calm yourself, little brother. It is not your fault for trying to seek love from lesser earth creatures. They are incredibly self-centered by nature, as we observed. The green slimy one always tries to prevent you from following your birthright of daring acts of bravery, the foolish brown thing always subjects you to torturous words for its own amusement, and that tiny disgusting critter you share a living space with tricked you for its own selfish wants, like that groovy jacuzzi" The leader alien said, in a matter-of-fact manner, as the other aliens nodded around him. "Let this be a lesson to you, little brother. What you already have may not always be the best life for you."
Gonzo was truly at a loss for words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The condescending and hurtful words being said about his closest friends were making his skin crawl, and how confident his alien family sounded was incredibly jarring to the blue whatever. They sounded so sure, as if they were expecting Gonzo to nod and agree with them.
All the mixed emotions Gonzo had been struggling with the past few weeks all came to a head in that moment, and his overwhelming frustration won out. How dare they? How dare they talk about his friends like that? They don't know them, don't know what the Muppets have been through together. What gives them the right to lecture him? They're not Kermit-
Gonzo stopped his frantic thinking at that thought. These people, these strangers, Gonzo knew of them for less than 42 hours, and they had the audacity to treat him like this and act superior to his friends.
The blue whatever's fists clenched and shook slightly as he took a stand.
“No,” Gonzo snapped, forcefully. “I don’t understand. I have gone my whole life without knowing you even existed! You don't know everything about me! What gives you the right to treat me like that?”
“We are your family-” The leader alien started, eyes narrowed and his formerly warm demeanor gone.
“You might be my family…” Gonzo interrupted, his voice low and serious, “But you are not the people that have always been there for me.”
All the aliens gasped and looked more than a little heartbroken and simultaneously angry, but Gonzo couldn’t find it within himself to care as his vision was going blurry with tears.
Why was he crying?
He was frustrated.
He was so very frustrated, tired, angry, miserable, and upset, and all he wanted was his family.
His real family.
The Muppets always knew how to make him feel better. Make him laugh. Make him feel like he belonged.
Not these strangers.
“M-my friends have always been there for me,” Gonzo said, wiping away his tears quickly, which proved to be fruitless as a sob broke out of his mouth, much to his dismay. “You...not you. You’re not...y-you weren’t the ones... You weren’t t-there!” Another sob, more tears that he couldn’t wipe away. Why couldn’t he just say what he so desperately wanted to say?
“Little brother.” The leader said firmly, stepping toward him, but Gonzo backed away sharply. He was so tired of people not listening to him. Not believing him, not hearing him.
His friends, the Muppets, had finally heard him. They believed him.
Gonzo wanted these people to listen to him too. To try to understand him, like his friends did.
“No!” Gonzo shouted because he doesn’t know how to articulate anything at this point. “Just-just please listen to me!”
He tried to take a shaky breath. “Kermit-he doesn't...he just wants me to be safe. He’s always, a-always been there for me and the others, he does every-everything he can for us, for me! Fozzie...h-his jokes might be terrible, but.... he lives to make us all laugh and s-smile, even if it's through a bad pun. And Rizzo, h-he's my best friend. Sure, he p-played a trick on me, but he also risked his life to save mine.... so many times. Because he loves me, they all do! And I love them! I just-” He took a few deep, shuddering breaths and tried to ignore the aliens in front of him, who were whispering amongst themselves, casting cold, judgmental gazes down at him.
That didn't matter to him. He needed to say this. He had to explain it.
“T-they have always a-accepted me, treated m-me well, and they gave me a home, a c-career and a family. You all...none of you did any of that. They did." The blue whatever spoke, trying his hardest to get them to understand him. "Please, I do really appreciate how much effort you made to come to Earth, but I’ve only met you all once...and I can’t....you can’t-"
Gonzo started stumbling over his words again. He took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. “I'm sorry...but you are strangers. You have no right to speak to me like that. Or talk about my friends like that. I...I don’t know you.”
The aliens gasped once again, all looking shocked and not pleased in the slightest.
“But I can give you a chance. I want to know you. I really do,” Gonzo said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. “But you will not replace the Muppets. You won’t. You can’t. No one ever can.”
For a few tense moments, everything was silent. Gonzo sucked in a breath as he watched his alien family's faces, trying to see their reactions. Most of the aliens were staring down at him with looks of disgust and dismay, but Gonzo kept his eyes fixated on the leader. Said alien had been looking down, seemingly deep in thought. Hope filled Gonzo's chest; maybe he understood him. But when the leader finally directed his attention to Gonzo again, his eyes were narrowed with abhorrence and disappointment. Gonzo felt smaller than he'd ever felt in his life as he shrank under that withering gaze.
"Well, Gonzo. If you are choosing to be that foolish and nonsensical, we have no choice but to teach you a lesson. We shall show you the fate you will soon be in if you stay on your current ignorant and selfish path."
"Wait, what do you mean? I-"
Gonzo was cut off by a sudden, powerful force, pushing him back and downwards through space. Noticing that his alien family was slowly turning away, he realized they were going to subject him to his worst fear.
"N-No, wait! D-don't leave me here. Please!"
He was dragged by the strong force, literally kicking and screaming, down further into the darkness of space than he'd ever been. He suddenly hit a halt in the darkest area and winced at the sharp jostle in his neck.
“Ugh....No!”
Gonzo screamed in panic as the light from his alien family faded, leaving Gonzo all alone, floating in the cold, suffocating, pitch-black shadows of space.
“Wait!"
But it was too late.
They were gone; he was alone.
Deserted, abandoned, forsaken, and completely terrified.
“Please, I’ll be good, I promise! Just please don’t leave me alone!”
Gonzo screamed and pleaded for however long, trying to move and find something to help him. Anything. Or somebody to help him.
No one came.
It felt like an eternity.
Eventually he stopped, his voice so strained and little blue body absolutely trembling.
"No..." Gonzo pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face against them. The fabric was quickly soaked through with tears.
"Please," he whispered.
He didn't know who he was begging for.
He couldn’t scream, his voice was too raw, but he could still sob harshly.
Gonzo wailed, wrapping his arms around himself, gripping them so tight his fingernails drew blood.
Tears, hot and heavy, streamed down his blue furry cheeks. He was absolutely exhausted, his head and throat hurt so much. The tears kept coming, the painful words from his alien family rang through his head. Brought back many memories, made him doubt if the Muppets really loved him. The dark void of space was filling with tears, and soon he was up to his big nose in salty water, but it still didn’t stop. The pain in the little blue whatever's heart felt like a sledgehammer was slamming against it as the agonizing memories grew louder and louder.
“Ugly!”
"What a waste of space!"
“Worthless!”
“You ruin everything!”
"Mutant!"
“You can’t do anything right!”
"Pathetic!"
"Stupid little creature!"
"Freak!"
The water rose over his head, and the world went blurry. The tears kept coming, even underwater. Gonzo held his breath for as long as he could, but it was a fruitless endeavor. Soon bubbles flew up from his mouth as his little lungs were quickly filled with the water thick as oil; he was dying.
All alone.
“GONZO!”
—
He felt a soft but firm force crash into his face, and with a sharp gasp, his eyes snapped open.