D-D-D-Danger, watch behind you...

[viewfromuphere]

It was a nice night for flying. After spending most of her life told that being a Demon was something she should be ashamed of, Rapunzel still felt insecure about taking any form other than her human one - but with help from all the friends she'd been making, she was getting steadily more comfortable with who she was.

And flight was amazing, especially out here. Birchpointe was a little too smoggy and bright, especially for nighttime flying, but now? The air was clear and crisp, and the forested outskirts of Duckburg were quiet below Rapunzel. She weaved through the trees, feeling free as a- Well.

And then an odd sound, accompanied by a flash of light, caught her attention. It came from beyond the forest's edge, and Rapunzel - no longer the frightened young woman she'd once been - hurried over to check it out. It was a good thing she did, though what she saw left her feeling sickened. Unconscious bodies of unfamiliar creatures littered the ground, as men scooped them up, laughing cruelly all the while.

She managed to go unnoticed by those men as she landed by one of the creatures. A deep breath, and she focused her energy on shifting to a different form so she could make a stand - and start healing the little guys. The only problem? She didn't change. It wasn't the first time Rapunzel had been stuck, but it was certainly the worst moment for it. The next things she knew, she'd been picked up along with the creature she stood beside, apparently unnoticed in her very small current state.

And then she was thrown in a cage.

Comments

[gobetween]

"Just Fraggles doing what they do best!" Gobo flashed her a thumbs up, before putting on the speed to get to the front of the group. Already he could hear voices shouting outside.

"Don't go for the front, they'll spot us! Find some kinda back entrance!"

[viewfromuphere]

Rapunzel - having a literal bird's eye view - looked around for a better exit path. "That way!" she called upon spotting something, flying off just as gunshots could be heard through ringing through the air.

[gobetween]

The sound caused a couple of them to shriek, but Gobo just charged on ahead, following Rapunzel. The exit door was locked at first, but a five-Fraggle battering ram took care of that, and they spilled out into the pre-dawn. Once they were in cover under one of the parked work vehicles, Gobo edged out to where he could see, breathing deeply.

There was a lot of noise outside, but none of it seemed nearby. It all seemed to be coming from around the other side of the warehouse, near the front. Juju edged up on hands and knees, looking up nervously.

"Think it's our rescue?"

[viewfromuphere]

"It could be, but..." Rapunzel trailed off, nervously fidgeting. If it was Uncle Scrooge, he could be in serious trouble. Sure, he could handle himself - logically she knew that - but that didn't stop the fear. What if he'd brought some of the others with him? Daniel, or Bridge, or anyone could also be in horrible danger right now. She felt the fear starting to take hold of her once more, but this time, she fought it.

She flew out from beneath the vehicle, and over the top of the building to get a view of what was going on out front.

1/3

[moneymatters]

What she's going to see up there is plenty of trouble. A few bodies are scattered- unconscious, not dead -and there's currently one other fight going on, though it seems very one-sided.

On Scrooge's side.

The poacher took a swing and then aimed a kick, but they both went over the old duck's head as he dodged them easily enough. Grabbing the man's ankle, he pivoted his body around and, with a sharp cry, flipped the poacher up over his head and CRACK down onto the sidewalk. He released him quickly and waited to see if he'd get back up, but when he didn't Scrooge breathed a sigh of relief.

2/3

[scattered_rose]

At the same time were some other muted thumps and sounds of fighting from inside, then a bit of relative silence before Daniel came running out to meet Scrooge as he finished off the last poacher. "Uncle Scrooge!" He stopped and raised his mask onto the back of his head, waving behind him. "I found the cage, but it's busted all to hell. Wherever the Fraggles are, they aren't in the warehouse anymore."

3/3

[moneymatters]

"Bless all the heather in Scotland!" He nodded, then directed a hand. "Then you check o'er there, and I'll check over this way! Look for Rapunzel or Gobo, they're bound to be together with the rest!"

[viewfromuphere]

Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief, and while her first instinct was to go let the others know she was okay, she knew she couldn't leave the Fraggles scared and confused - they might even run further off.

So she turned around and swooped back down with the others, only to immediately be greeted with a shout from Sadie.

"Where did you go?!"

Rapunzel smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. But it is them. We're safe!" She laughed, disbelieving and breathless, as she flopped down in the dirt. "Everyone's safe."

[gobetween]

Gobo scooped her up as she landed, looking at the others. "You hear that? C'mon, let's go!"

The others rushed out ahead of him, but he stuck back a moment to look down at Rapunzel, smiling gently.

"Hey. Thank you. You were a big help tonight, and I couldn't have done it without you."

[viewfromuphere]

She smiled, with another sigh of relief, and nodded. "Thanks, Gobo," she murmured, resting her head against his arm. "That means a lot."

1/2

[gobetween]

His smile sweetened, and he held her close and carefully as he worked his way out from under the car and jogged off to meet the rest.

2/2

[moneymatters]

Already surrounded by the small group of Fraggles, both Scrooge and Daniel looked up as the stragglers appeared, and Scrooge broke away first.

"Gobo! Rapunzel! Oh I'm glad to see you both safe!"

[viewfromuphere]

"Likewise," Rapunzel breathed, hopping out of Gobo's arms and onto her feet. She smiled over at Gobo, then looked up at Scrooge. "I think you should give him a two-crop raise," she giggled. With the fear behind her, she was starting to feel light. Happy. So grateful to have met the amazing Fraggles, and so lucky to have friends - a family - who cared about her so much.

1/2

[moneymatters]

Scrooge laughed softly, giving Gobo a bit of a scruffle, then bending down for Rapunzel to hop into his palm, where he transferred her over to Daniel.

"Daniel, anyone else around?"

2/2

[scattered_rose]

He took Rapunzel gratefully, giving her a little kiss on the top of her head. At Scrooge's question he lifted his head and turned some, stepping a bit away while he sniffed the air long and hard. A bit of a flinch and a head shake, and he brushed his nose with his free hand. "No, just these guys. Let's clean these up, turn everyone in, and go home."

[viewfromuphere]

Rapunzel smiled brightly at the kiss, and glanced up at Daniel. "Thank you for coming," she whispered, before giving a decisive nod- and then glancing curiously down at the Fraggles.

"Where is home for all of you?"

1/2

[gobetween]

"Some of the further outer reaches of Fraggle Rock," Douglas answered. "Nowhere near where Gobo's from, but we can manage alright."

Gobo glanced at him and smiled and nodded, then looked up when he noticed Scrooge giving him an odd look. "What is it?"

2/2

[moneymatters]

On the Fraggle's last movement he'd noticed something flash, peeking out from his tucked up shirt collar. When Gobo acknowledged him he reached out, pulling out a small tag attached to what he now saw was a collar.

"This is certainly new." He quirked an eyebrow, and flipped the music note-emblazened tag over to read the back. "'Perdita.' Well, I suppose I'd better give her a call. I don't know if she knows you're missing, but she'll want tae know you're safe."

[viewfromuphere]

Rapunzel blinked curiously at the mention of a "Fraggle Rock", but getting in touch with Gobo's... Friend? It didn't seem like Gobo would have an owner, though that was very much a collar... Anyway, that was definitely a bigger priority. She nodded her agreement.

[moneymatters]

With that decision made, Scrooge bundled Rapunzel and the Fraggles into his waiting car. Daniel stayed behind to meet the authorities and get everything cleaned up, a Sentinel a better candidate for that than Scrooge would be, though he promised Rapunzel he'd be back at the Manor as soon as he could manage.

Once at the Manor, the other Fraggles departed down a garden hole with smiles and waves and a promise to visit the Great Hall sometime (and vice versa on Gobo's part). Rapunzel, once her magic relaxed and let her transform back, was tasked with current company over Gobo, and then Scrooge went on to make the phonecall.

[logdates]

Why was the phone ringing? It was Perdita's first thought when she stirred at the sound. Grumbling to herself, she stumbled out of bed and into the kitchen, and yanked the phone out of its cradle.

"Who is this, and do you own a clock?"

[moneymatters]

The first thing she's going to hear is a snort, though it's hard to tell if it's offense or amusement, and then a very Scottish voice.

"I'm goin' to assume this is in fact Perdita. Gobo's owner?"

There's an indistinct, but sharp noise of some kind in the background, then the Scottish leaned away a moment. "Well you can enlighten me on the details later, but it'll do for now." He cleared his throat, then turned back to the phone. "I'm Scrooge McDuck. He's fine now, but Gobo was involved in a little trouble earlier, and I thought it best to alert you."

[logdates]

"Something like that," Perdita replied with grumpy dryness to her tone. But then... Oh wow. Scrooge McDuck. How did Gobo know the richest duck in the world?

But even that thought was fleeting as Scrooge spoke on. "What?! He'd better be fine, McDuck! What the heck happened?"

[moneymatters]

"Well, as best I can understand it, some men scooped him and some other Fraggles up with intent to sell them." He's pretty sure he can guess to whom, but he'll leave that out for now. "A friend with them was able to alert me to the peril, and then I picked up a Sentinel I know and tracked the hideout down, though the Fraggles had gotten themselves out by the time we found them."

[logdates]

On the other end of the line, there was a sharp inhale, and then silence.

Finally, "Let me talk to him."