starlightcafe | So much for my happy ending.

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So much for my happy ending.

He'd thought coming here would help. Home sure wasn't doing him any favors, with most people trying to get him and Huey to make up. So he'd come to the Other Duckburg, but he'd been venting to Unca Scrooge and he'd revealed that he'd punched Huey first. He hadn't even known that Unca Scrooge didn't know that... And while he hadn't gone right to the other end of things and sided with Huey, Louie definitely felt like Unca Scrooge wasn't on his side anymore.

He'd excused himself, some excuse about getting some soda or something, he couldn't really remember, and he'd just... Left. He couldn't be with anyone else who didn't understand. It wasn't fair. Nobody ever understood - for a while, he thought... Well. Back home, things had been getting better, but now with the whole Huey blow-up...

He just felt so alone. And Louie was really sick of feeling alone. He wanted someone to be there for him, to hug him, to care and get it... But he could hardly even admit that to himself, much less anyone else. Instead, he'd been thinking about how he just wanted to be somewhere safe where no one who was mad at him - or at least, he thought was mad at him - would find him.

He was in the park when he noticed the large hole in a rock. Sure. It wasn't like anyone would see him in there, he figured, so he crawled in and curled up on himself. After a moment of silence passing, he took in a hitched breath, which lead to a sniffle, and the next thing he knew, he was breaking down, bawling into his arms folded over his knees.

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Gobo smiled brightly, pausing his picking long enough to swing an arm around Louie's shoulders and squeeze him in tight, leaning his head against him.

"Great! Just watch me for your cue, I know you can do it!"

He started playing a more defined rhythm and, as the tempo picked up, he started 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
Three, four, guck and gore
Spin me 'round and sing some more! ♫

Hitting the bridge of the song, he smiled brightly and hopped enough ahead to be able to turn and face Louie, pointing at him with the head of the guitar.

"C'mon Louie, let's hear you sing!"

Edited 2019-09-18 01:37 (UTC)

Louie paused for a second as the singing started, taken aback by the... Unfamiliar tune? Somehow, he felt like he knew this song. It was weird.

And then Gobo gave him a cue to sing. Louie's eyes widened in surprise, and yet - well, he knew the next words. How-? It didn't matter, maybe.

♪Give me five and give me six,
Cover me with big, fat sticks.
Give me seven, give me eight.
Cover me with slime and slate.♫

His voice wavered with uncertainty - and maybe some leftover emotions from earlier coming through - during the first bit, but as he continued, he started to feel kind of excited. This was actually fun! And that reflected in his singing. Heck, it even felt like the tunnel was getting lighter, but that didn't make sense, did it?

♪Five, six and big, fat sticks,
An ice cream cone for me to lick.
Seven, eight, slime and slate,
Sing it now and don't be late!♫

He bounced along, adding his voice behind Louie's, though he let the duck take the lead. The tunnel around them seemed to glimmer, faintly at first and then brighter as Louie's singing strengthened.

"That's the way!"

He turned around 'rightway' again, popping back and forth with the tempo of the song, head and shoulders one way and tail flipping the other, absolutely overjoyed at their duet.

♪ Give me give me number nine
A bag of bones and a ball of twine
Give me give me number ten
Run back home and start again
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
Run back home and start again! ♫

With the final flourish the song ended, and Gobo let out a bubbly laugh. "Yeah, we did it! Look at the tunnel now!"

Within the song it might've been easy to miss, but now that he had acknowledged it- it was bright. The light was in several colors, mixtures of purples and greens and oranges and everything in between, glistening magically and lighting their way.

At first, Louie was just giggling. He couldn't remember the last time he'd let loose and been that silly, honestly. But then Gobo pointed out the tunnel's change, and...

"Woah." It was beautiful. So vibrant and lively... "We did that? I- How?"

"Ditzies!" He giggled, falling in step with Louie again, back to melodyless strumming on his guitar. "Little bioluminescent critters that live on music. You can't really see 'em, but you can sure see their glow!"

He quieted long enough to stare ahead of them, then winked and smiled, leaning a little closer.

"They go wherever Fraggles go. Listen."

"Wha-?" Louie started. Ditzies sounded like a made-up word... But then again, so did Fraggles, now, didn't it? And it made as much sense as anything else about this situation, he supposed. So, with a hesitant smile, he went quiet and listened.

The only sound now was of their footsteps as they continued down the tunnel, which seemed to not only be getting brighter, but wider. Then- there was something else. Some distant... noise? No- Music. Gobo, grinning lightly, picked up the rhythm on his guitar, making it seem all the more real.

"Music's everywhere, friend. It's in you, it's in me, it's in the rocks, and it's in the air!"

Their pathway widened and seemed to drop off rather suddenly, a cavern past them. Unable to stop a laugh, Gobo stopped at the lip of the path and turned aside so Louie could see past.

"After all, this is somethin' I know a lot about. It's what we Fraggles do!"

"What do you mea- Oh!"

Louie gasped as he got his first sight of Fraggle Rock. Not that he knew where he was, but the Great Hall spread out ahead of them. For an underground cavern, it was a surprisingly open space... Though thoroughly populated.

It was so alive. There was even plantlife creeping up charmingly around the rock walls, and smaller, mint-green creatures working on constructions built of odd clear rods. They seemed dutifully focused, and Louie found himself far more interested in the rest of the expanse of space. There was a pool of water in the center of it all, which Fraggles jumped into with cries of "Whoopee!", and there was a river leading off of it, flowing into the distance. Fraggles were as present as music and laughter, down there in the colorfully-lit Hall. They were playing and dancing among rock formations, as brightly-colored as the light from the Ditzies.

"Gobo, is this your home?" Louie breathed, his eyes not leaving the Great Hall.

"Hey, I promised didn't I?" He smiled, still playing his guitar, and led Louie down further into the expansive cavern. The first entrance was a skid, leading to the flatter floor a couple feet down.

♪ Dance your cares away
Worry's for another day!
Let the music play
Down in Fraggle Rock ♫

As they walked, a few Fraggles noted Louie, though with open curiosity rather than anything remotely hostile, and a few cried out Gobo's name, but most joined in on a second round through that same chorus. Even the little builders got in on it, though their lyrics- ♪ Work your cares away, dancing's for another day ♫ -got a soft snicker and a gentle, musical ribbing of "Let the Fraggles play!" from Gobo. They'd reached near the pool at that point, and he glanced up at the furry color all around them.

"This is Louie! He's a friend of mine from Outer Space! Take good care'a him, eh?"

That caused some cheering, and then one more round-

♪ Dance your cares away
Worry's for another day!
Let the music play
Down in Fraggle Rock
Down in Fraggle Rock ♫

He smiled alongside at Louie-

♪Down in Fraggle Rock!♫

Louie hadn't been planning on singing again, but with all the fun and music around, it had just sort of come out, and he couldn't bring himself to regret it. He did look a little flushed around the top of his beak, though, as he addressed the Fraggles with a little wave. "Hey, guys."

"Gobo!"

A blur of purple and gray-blue came through the crowd, and a (relatively) taller Fraggle grabbed Gobo in a hug, swinging him from side to side as she raised him off his feet. Mokey's smile was overjoyed as she set her friend down. "Gobo, how we've missed you here - we've all loved getting your postcards, even Red!" she giggled, then ran a hand along the side of Gobo's face as she looked up at Louie. "And you brought a friend! Oh, he's very colorful. Hello, Louie. Any friend of Gobo's is a friend of mine - of all of ours." She went on to make some introductions, pointing around the room as she did so after indicating herself. "We're Mokey, Wembley, Boober, and Red."

He looked up at the voice, having just enough time to register it was Mokey before she hit him at full force. The whorl was exhilerating, and he found himself laughing as he looked up at her.

"I've missed you guys too! I can't wait to catch up," he added, pausing enough to greet the others when Mokey introduced them. Then he paused and turned.

"Oh! But we should get Louie settled in first!" Gobo half-turned, resting a hand on Mokey's shoulder. "Wanna help? He's only stayin' for a little while, but what kinda Fraggle would I be if I didn't make him feel at home while he's here, eh?"

"Of course!" Mokey agreed, nodding as she turned her attention back to Gobo. "We must make sure he has just as much fun here in Fraggle Rock as all the rest of us do, everyday." A cheery little sound, and she took Louie by the hand. "You're going to have a very good time!"

Louie couldn't help noticing how touchy-feely they were being with each other, especially Mokey with Gobo. It might have just been how Fraggles were, he couldn't say for sure, but he certainly wondered...

But it wasn't important- at least, not just now - and his smirk soon melted into a genuine smile. "Thanks, I'm thinking I will. Although I didn't even know I was coming here. I definitely want to stay, but I should probably let someone up on the surface know."

It was strange, but his troubles with those people were - well, not forgotten, but they didn't seem so big and bad, with all the distance, and all the positivity around him.

"Oh shoot, that's right! Yeah this was kind of an impromptu trip." He snickered, but did at least seem a little abashed. "Guess I just barrelled on through like I always do."

Turning to Louie, he smiled. "We'll send a message up to your uncle straight away. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan," Louie said, smiling. "Hey, you know..." He fumbled around in the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out his phone, holding it up before he paused. "...Oh. Is it okay? If I take a picture, I mean. I think I know some people who'll be really curious when I tell them about this place."

For just a moment he looked concerned, but it was gone as soon as it was there in the first place, and might just be explained by his next words. "Sorry, forgot what a photo was for a second there!" He laughed, then nodded. "Yeah, take all the pictures you want- oh and hey!"

Turning lightly again, he placed a hand on Mokey's arm to indicate her. "Mokey's the best painter I know. I bet she can make you something really special as an extra souvenir."

A proud but warm smile spread across Mokey's face at the compliment. "Why, thank you, Gobo," she said, before nodding to Louie. "I would be happy to paint you something. In fact, I was just writing a poem the other day that gave me an idea for something truly unique. Yes, that's what it will have to be."

Louie chuckled. "Sure. Uh, thanks, Mokey," he added, before he took to snapping a few pictures on his phone's camera. Once that was done, he glanced back to Gobo with an amused smile.

"You guys have a pretty cool place down here, you know."

"Oh yeah, defiitely! You'll have the time of your life down at Fraggle Rock. Hey, why don't I give you a little tour on the way back? Show you the different sights!"

"Sure, sounds fun," Louie said, and soon they were off, Gobo pointing out things of note.

Eventually, night fell - at least, Louie assumed it did, it was hard to be sure underground - and he'd headed for what had apparently been Gobo's room when he'd stayed at Fraggle Rock regularly. A while had passed, and though Wembley was snoozing away, Louie found it hard to sleep... Not exactly in a bad way, at all, nor in an overly-excited way. There was a lot he'd seen that day, and so many new faces, and now his mind was trying to catch up with it all.... Yet the sense of peace he felt was persistent.

Edited 2019-09-19 17:23 (UTC)

Gobo had taken Louie around to all his favorite spots, and even introduced him to other Fraggles of his extended friend group (and Marlon). In the past, perhaps, Fraggles might've been afraid at such a strange Silly Creature in their midst, but times had changed, and they were all too happy to include him along- as Mokey had said, any friend of Gobo's seemed a friend of theirs.

But time wore on and soon it was time for sleep. For Gobo, the only place Louie could be was his old bed, it was only hospitable. Sure, it begged the question where HE was gonna sleep, but he'd figure that out later. At the moment, there was something on his mind, so after bidding his friend goodnight (and a whispered one to Wembley, who was zonked out the moment his head hit the pillow, it seemed), he wandered back out into the tunnels. Even the Ditzies were starting to turn in, so he carried a lantern with him that cast a gentle, orangeish glow over the rocks, and easily let him see who he was looking for, sitting in a secluded part of the Rock.

"Hey, Mokey!" His voice was cheery but quiet, mindful of the sleeping population around them. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

A little late-night meditation had been Mokey's intent, but catching up with a friend was a far sweeter treat. She smiled at Gobo and patted the ground beside her with a nod, inviting him to talk away.

She had missed him terribly, yet... Not sadly. She knew, from the postcards she so loved receiving, that he was having a wonderful time in Outer Space. And really, as long as he was happy, so was she. Besides, she had the rest of their friends, even if none of them were... Quite like Gobo.

His smile brightened at the invitation, and he sat down gladly. And though he knew the floor was open to speak, he didn't go through. Not quite yet. For a moment, everything was peaceful, and quiet, and it seemed like they were the only Fraggles in the whole of Fraggle Rock.

That... was a nice thought, in its own right.

"It's been really nice seeing you again, today."

Mokey gave a little hum of contentment at that, but waited a little longer before talking. She just wanted to enjoy it. Seeing and hearing Gobo again after so long.

"It's been really nice to have you back today," she responded after a moment. She leaned against him a little.

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