Fraggle Rock Fanfic: You'll Be In My Heart

[Skeeter Muppet]

After reading all of the wonderful fanfics already posted here, I've been itching to post my own. Unfortunately the muses and the ideas didn't want to cooperate until last night, when something finally clicked (and Richard, I think I might owe you one, buddy). Right now all I've got ready is the prologue; chapter 1 will most likely follow sometime this evening.

And so fellow members of MC I give to you...

You'll Be In My Heart
(A Fraggle Rock Fanfic)

Prologue:

In the early morning hours, very few Fraggles in Fraggle Rock were up and about. After all, even a boisterous race such as they needed to sleep. But a few souls were awake, wandering here and there around the Rock and taking advantage of the space.

One such Fraggle was Cantus, leader of the Minstrels.

Cantus was used to early mornings; in fact, he and the other Minstrels enjoyed them. During the summer months it was the time of day when it was coolest, and the dew was still on the ground giving the world a glistening quality. In the winter it was cold, and sometimes snowy, but the sky glittered with morning stars before they gave way to the rising sun.

At the moment, the elder Fraggle was standing at one of the many entrances to Fraggle Rock, specifically the entrance to the Great Hall. There was very little activity there, and predictably the ones who were the busiest were the Doozers. For an instant his arms tensed as Cantus thought of raising this pipe to his lips to call the other Fraggles out, but he refrained. He wasn’t here on Minstrel business, for once. No, this errand was much more important – and private.

Beside him Cantus’ traveling companion gave him a curious look. “Is this where my uncle lives?" she asked.

“Yes, Small One," Cantus smiled. “This is Fraggle Rock. Your new home. Now, come along.”

Taking the minstrel’s hand, Tosh Fraggle allowed herself to be led into the Rock.


-Kim

[TogetherAgain]

Ooh, I'm intrigued! I really like your writing style, too. I like that Cantus almost played his pipe, and I like his reasons for not doing so, and like I said, I am VERY intrigued!

This looks great so far! MORE PLEASE!

[The Count]

You know something... It's short, yet it's sweet and effective. Me like.
Post more please!

[theprawncracker]

OOOOOOOOOOOH! I'm VERY interested! More please! :D

[BeakerSqueedom]

OOOO! *Reads* <333 It's like so welcoming!

[JEANYLASER]

me too! I want more to read.

[Java]

Ohh, I'm ready to read more.

[ReneeLouvier]

I agree whole-heartedly: I wanna read more, and soon! This is a nice piece of work, Kim!

[JEANYLASER]

Yeah! Kim i can wait to read some more.

[Fragglemuppet]

You know, I had a pretty good idea that it was Tosh, based on some hints you dropped earlier.
;)
I also love your style, and can't wait to see where you go from here!

More please!
:smirk:
:excited:

[JEANYLASER]

Yeah! More Please!

[Skeeter Muppet]

And here it is, after much longer than even I had anticipated, chapter one!

Chapter One: Someone's Waiting For You

Normally the arrival of the Minstrels in Fraggle Rock was enough to cause a stir. But it was even more surprising to the Fraggles when Cantus arrived without the other Minstrels, and unannounced as well. It didn’t take long for the whispers to start flying and for those whispers to turn into rumors that would be told and retold for days.

But Cantus seemed oblivious to the churning rumor mill as he walked through the Rock’s tunnels, his young charge following behind him. The girl, as usual, was silent, her eyes wide as they drank in the sights of the Rock. Occasionally they would stop as Tosh pointed something like a Doozer tower out to Cantus and asked about it, and the minstrel would answer. In the case of the Doozer tower Cantus had stopped and broken off a couple pieces, one for himself and one for Tosh to try.

Tosh was still nibbling on her Doozer stick when they finally reached their destination; a dwelling cave close enough to the Great Hall to be aware of what was going on, but far enough away to ensure a measure of privacy. The young female hung back a little as Cantus knocked on the cave entrance. When after several seconds there was no answer, Cantus tried knocking again. He folded his arms across his chest impatiently, tapping his foot a little.

“Cantus!” The exuberant voice called to the minstrel from further down the tunnel, in the opposite direction of where they had come. Making his way towards them was the familiar (to Cantus) shape of Fraggle Rock’s Maestro.

“Gillis!” Cantus called back, waving. As Gillis drew closer he added, “Well met, old friend!”

“Well met, indeed!” Gillis replied. The two of them shared a brotherly embrace. “What brings you to the Rock so early? We weren’t expecting you until later in the year, for the Festival of the Bells.”

The minstrel nodded. “I know. Unfortunately circumstances have required that I arrive early.” Turning to the young Fraggle beside him Cantus added, “This young lady is Tosh Fraggle. She is your sister’s daughter.”

“Zola’s little girl?” gasped the Maestro. When Cantus nodded he gushed, “Oh, look at you child! Nearly the spitting image of your mother. Welcome to Fraggle Rock! But why didn’t your mother let me know that you were coming for a visit sooner? I would have had more time to prepare.”

“Gillis.” The seriousness in Cantus’ voice stopped Gillis’ rambling cold. The look on his face told Gillis that there was no joy in this visit. “Perhaps we should go inside and discuss this further.”

Looking around, the Maestro noticed that they had begun to attract a small audience, as word had spread in the Rock that Cantus was there. He nodded. “Yes; of course.” The three Fraggles then disappeared into the Maestro’s cave.

A unison sigh of disappointment went up from the crowd of Fraggles that had been gathering as they reluctantly returned to their regular routines.

---

“Gobo, have you heard?” asked Mokey as she entered Gobo and Wembley’s cave. The two boys looked up from where they were looking over one of Gobo’s maps.

“Heard what, Mokey?” Gobo asked. Before Mokey could answer her roommate rushed in.

“Did you guys hear the news?” Red asked breathlessly. Both Wembley and Gobo shook their heads. “Cantus is back in the Rock!”

“The Minstrels are here?” Wembley asked, dumbfounded.

Red shook her head. “Nope; just Cantus.”

“But how come we didn’t hear the magic pipe?” wondered Gobo. “We should have heard it when Cantus arrived.”

“Maybe he didn’t play it,” suggested Wembley.

“Maybe he didn’t want anyone else to know he was here.”

The other four Fraggles turned to see Boober standing in the entryway to the cave. “What are you talking about, Boober?” Red demanded. “Why wouldn’t Cantus want us to know that he was visiting?”

Boober shrugged as he walked in. “Beats me. But I heard that he went into Gillis’ cave, and so far he hasn’t come out yet.”

“Ahh,” the other four Fraggles chorused. The leader of the Minstrels talking with Fraggle Rock’s Maestro wasn’t a strange idea in and of itself; after all, they were fellow musicians and it was rumored that Gillis used to be a Minstrel himself before leaving the group to become Maestro of Fraggle Rock.

“Well,” Gobo said at last “whatever’s going on, I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.”

---

While there was conversation going on in the cave of the Maestro, it was anything but music-related. After they had gotten inside Gillis had fairly demanded of Cantus why he was the one bringing Tosh to Fraggle Rock, and not his sister. Cantus, in his own calm way, helped Gillis straighten up a bit so there was room for them to sit and talk, fixed some tea and then proceeded to tell the Maestro of the death of his sister.

Gillis now sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, shell-shocked. “Zola…I can’t believe… How?” he asked, looking up at Cantus imploringly. “How did it happen?”

“I don’t know,” Cantus replied. “I only learned of her death several days ago when we returned to the Cove. No one could tell us what happened to Zola, only that she had passed. Tosh was still living alone in her family’s dwelling.”

“W-what happened to her father?” The Maestro wracked his brain, trying to remember; Zola had had a husband, hadn’t she? He only dimly remembered a male Fraggle who had been with his sister the last time he had visited his old home. But that had been so long ago…

“Gone, long before Zola died from what we gathered.” When his friend asked if Tosh’s father had also died, Cantus shook his head. “Not dead, just gone. Left the Cove one day and never came back.”

Gillis shook his head, both out of sadness and confusion. “And so you decided to bring Tosh to me.”

“You are her only family now, and a family is at its strongest when its together,” Cantus replied. The two of them looked over at Tosh, who was picking up the various pieces of sheet music that littered the floor of the Maestro’s cave and looking at them. “Besides, it’s my belief that Fraggle Rock is where she’s supposed to be.”

The other Fraggle nodded as he stood up. “You’re right. And thank you, my friend, for taking time out of your schedule to bring her here.”

“Trust me, it was my pleasure,” the Minstrel leader said. He watched as Gillis walked over to Tosh, bending down to help her pick up his papers and making small talk about what a packrat he was. The girl giggled, and Gillis laughed in return.

Cantus smiled and nodded to himself; yes, this was exactly where Tosh was supposed to be.


-Kim

[redBoobergurl]

Kim, this is AWESOME! I agree with the others, you have a unique story telling style and I love that you're featuring characters other than the Fraggle Five! I can't wait to read more!

[The Count]

Wow... That was very moving... Zola, Gillis's sister, is that a Faffner Hall reference? Loved this first installment Kim, please post more!

[Skeeter Muppet]

Wow... That was very moving... Zola, Gillis's sister, is that a Faffner Hall reference? Loved this first installment Kim, please post more!


*shifty eyes* Mayyybe... ;)

Don't worry, I'm working on chapter 2. Hopefully that won't take so long to get up as chapter 1 did. *crosses fingers that she won't have to sub tomorrow*

-Kim

[Muppet Newsgirl]

So Gillis is now both an uncle and an adoptive father...I really like how this one's shaping up, Kim. Do continue! (and if you do have to sub today, pray that the kids won't be too rough on you)

[Java]

Oh, I'm so intrigued. I hope that if you have to sub, it won't be bad and stifle the creative juices you have running.

[The Count]

*Quietly waiting for more of this nice story to be posted.

[Skeeter Muppet]

Chapter Two: Welcome

It really didn’t surprise Gillis that Cantus left without saying goodbye. In fact, he hadn’t even heard his friend leave; he’d just looked up from his conversation with Tosh to notice that the Minstrel was gone.

“How come he left without saying anything?" asked Tosh. Despite their familial relation she was still a little nervous around her newfound uncle.

Gillis shrugged. “That’s just Cantus’ way sometimes, to leave quietly when he’s no longer needed," he answered. “Besides, he did come here without much fanfare. He probably wanted to leave without drawing a lot of attention as well.”

“Oh.” Tosh looked at the small bunch of papers in her hand, then back at Gillis. “So…what do we do now?"

“Hmm.” The Maestro put a finger to his chin in thought. “Well, why don’t I take you on a tour of the rest of the Rock? I can tell you all about your new home, and you can meet some of the others that live here! How does that sound?"

She nodded amicably. “Okay.”

---

The pair ended up retracing the route that Cantus had taken in bringing Tosh to the Maestro’s cave. This time they went slower, Gillis taking the time to point out to his niece some things that Cantus might have missed, like Chimney Cavern or Echo Hole.

It wasn’t until they reached the Great Hall that the two of them were ambushed.

“So, what’s the big secret?" Red Fraggle demanded as she popped up from out of nowhere. Gillis gave a yelp and jumped back, startled.

“What secret?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

Red sighed. “You know, the one you and Cantus were talking about today! Lemme guess; it had something to do with the Festival of Bells, right?"

“No!" Gillis’ harsh tone caused Red’s eyes to widen in surprise. “No," he answered again, more gently. “Cantus’ visit wasn’t music-related. He needed to speak to me about a personal matter…and a private one.”

“Oh.” Red sagged, deflated.

“Red, that was rude," admonished Mokey as she and the three boys walked up. “You didn’t even say hello!" The pigtailed Fraggle cringed and muttered an apology.

Boober, in the meantime, found himself focusing on the pink Fraggle standing by Gillis. He couldn’t remember having seen her in the Rock before. She was wearing a simple dress of grayish-blue, and her green hair kind of stood up on end. She was looking around the Great Hall as if seeing it for the first time. “Uh, hi," he greeted her. Boober cleared his throat; why was he so nervous all of a sudden? “I’m Boober.”

The girl Fraggle smiled. “I’m Tosh. Hi.”

“You’re, uh, not from around here are you?" asked Boober.

Tosh shook her head. “I’m from the Cove. It’s a little village near the sea.”

“The sea?" the cap-wearing Fraggle echoed. “You mean, like open water and inhabited by all sorts of nasty creatures and who knows what else?" Tosh glared angrily at Boober. An argument might have ensued right there and then, had Gillis not noticed the two talking and interrupted.

“Ah, I see you’ve met my niece!" he exclaimed.

As the other four Fraggles introduced themselves to Tosh Gobo remarked, “I didn’t know you had a niece, Gillis.”

“Cantus brought her here with him this morning," the Maestro explained. “Tosh is going to be living in Fraggle Rock from now on, with me.”

“Oh," the five Fraggles chorused. Gobo added, with an understanding glance at Tosh, “If you ever want to talk, feel free to stop by mine and Wembley’s cave, okay?"

“Okay.” Tosh nodded. Boober sent Gobo a glare of his own, though the effect was ruined by the hair over his eyes.

“Well, it’s been very nice chatting with you, but we must be on our way," Gillis said. “I’m taking Tosh on a tour of Fraggle Rock.”

“Oh! Well, have a nice time," said Mokey as the Fraggle Five began to walk away. “Welcome to Fraggle Rock, Tosh.”

“Thanks," Tosh replied. She watched the five of them walk away, gaze lingering on Boober, until her uncle nudged her and the tour continued.

---

“Well, Tosh seemed nice," Mokey commented as she and her friends made their way down to Fraggle Pond. The others nodded their agreement.

Red looked at Boober out of the corner of her eye and grinned devilishly. “I thought she was pretty nice, didn’t you Boober?"

“Yeah, she was cute- nice! I meant nice!" the cap-wearing Fraggle yelped as soon as he realized his faux pas. As Red laughed he groaned, wishing that the floor would just open up and swallow him. Sure, it’d mean a rock-quake of epic proportions but he didn’t really care.

“Someone’s got a crush," the pig-tailed Fraggle sing-songed. “So, gonna invite her to your cave for some tea? Do your laundry together?"

Mokey put a hand on Boober’s shoulder, glaring over at her roommate. “Don’t listen to her, Boober. If you want to spend time with Tosh then that’s your business.”

With a grunt Boober tore himself away from Mokey’s touch. “Oh, I do not have a crush on Tosh, and I don’t want to invite her to my cave! Not until she’s lived here for a while, anyway; who knows what kind of germs she’s brought with her from the sea?" Still muttering that he didn’t have a crush on the new Fraggle, Boober went down a side tunnel and headed in the direction of his cave.

The others watched him go in silence. Then, Red spoke up.

“So, who’s up for a dip in the pool?"

---

Chin in her hand, Tosh sighed. She had reached a dangerous point in any young Fraggle’s life.

She was bored.

After finishing their tour of Fraggle Rock, which included meeting such illustrious Fraggles as Convincing John, the Storyteller and the World’s Oldest Fraggle, Tosh and Gillis had returned to the Maestro’s cave. Almost immediately Gillis had sat down at his table, pulled out a blank piece of paper (how he found one in the mess was beyond Tosh) and started scribbling things down. Tosh watched him write for a couple minutes before quietly asking what he was doing – and being bluntly told not to bother him.

That had been nearly half an hour ago.

Sighing again, Tosh looked over at her uncle. He was still writing, and sometimes would stare off into space humming or singing quietly to himself. She wondered if Gillis realized she was even there.

She thought about the Great Hall, and the pool there and all the young Fraggles that liked to hang around it. Maybe she could take a walk down there and go swimming. It had been a while since she had been swimming.

“Uncle Gillis, I’m going to go down to the pond," Tosh said as she stood up from her seat. Gillis gave no indication that he had heard her. Shrugging, Tosh turned around and left the cave. She could probably be back before her uncle even noticed she was gone.

---

“There!"Gillis triumphantly added one last marking to his paper before pulling it back and admiring it. “Tosh, would you like to…” His voice trailed off as he looked around his cave, and realized that his niece was nowhere in the room. “Tosh?" He got up from the table and looked around the cave again, in case she was hiding. When there was no sign of her there, he hurried out of his cave and looked both ways down the trail to see if he could spot her.

Nothing.

“Oh dear, oh dear," the Maestro murmured to himself. He chose one path and began to walk down it, looking around and calling. “Tosh! Tosh, where are you? Tosh?"

---

Tosh Fraggle was scared.

It hadn’t taken her long after leaving her uncle’s cave to realize that she had made a wrong turn somewhere. And in trying to get back to his cave, she had made another wrong turn. It had taken Tosh about four more wrong turns to realize something.

She was lost.


-Kim

[redBoobergurl]

Wonderful chapter! I like learning more about Tosh's background and I absolutely loved Boober's reaction to her! But now she's lost! This is not good, must read more!

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Uh-oh...and those tunnels aren't a good place to get lost in.

I think Gillis needs a few pointers on being a good surrogate parent. He's a brilliant musician and composer and all that, and he means well for Tosh, but...

Keep up the good work, Kim!

[Java]

What a wonderful chapter! And poor Tosh... lost in the tunnels of Fraggle Rock!

I can't wait for more.

[theprawncracker]

Oh I love this so much, Kim! It's fantastic writing, and incredibly gripping! Everyone's in perfect character! More please! :D

[The Count]

*Quietly agrees with everyone and asks for more please.

[FraggleRockRock]

Terrific story! More soon pleeeeeeeeese!

[The Count]

So um... Can we get some more elder of the library candles' three?

[Skeeter Muppet]

Chapter Three: Found and Lost

“All right, everybody, stand back! What I’m about to try has never been attempted before by any Fraggle!”

The Fraggles gathered at Fraggle Pond scooted away several paces. Red stood on one of the high rock platforms, arms stretched out at her sides. It was worth noting that she was also backwards.

Gobo sat on the shore, safely away from the splash zone. Beside him was Mokey, quietly sketching the young explorer in his moment of repose. “If Boober were here, he’d say that one of these days Red’s going to get herself killed diving from up that high,” Gobo commented, shaking his head.

“I wonder what made him go off in a huff like that?” the artist wondered. Gobo shrugged in response. Their friend wasn’t like other Fraggles; who knew why Boober did half of the things he did?

“Maybe he was offended by Red saying that he had a crush on Tosh,” he suggested, looking back over at their friend. She had yet to make her dive, whatever it was supposed to be.

“I can’t imagine why,” said Mokey. “Tosh seems like a nice Fraggle. Maybe a little shy, but that’s because she’s new to the Rock.” Gobo nodded in agreement.

The pair fell silent, Gobo looking out over the pond and Mokey sketching him. They both looked up when they heard a distant voice calling someone’s name; it was Gillis, and he looked like he’d been worked into a panic as he entered the Great Hall.

“What’s wrong, Gillis?” asked Gobo as the Maestro hurried by them.

Gillis stopped, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by a familiar “YAHOO!” from the diving area of the pond. Everyone turned to see Red diving backwards off the ledge, turning three somersaults in the air before finishing with a cannonball into the water. The resulting splash soaked quite a few Fraggles…including Gillis.

“Sorry, Gillis,” apologized Red as she paddled to the shore.

The Maestro coughed, shaking his head to get some of the water out of his hair (and causing the surrounding Fraggles to duck so they wouldn’t get hit by the drops). “New dive?” he asked rhetorically.

“Yeah!” Red beamed proudly. “What’d you think?”

“Splashing,” Gillis deadpanned.

“What’s the matter, Gillis?” asked Mokey. “You looked like you were in a big hurry just a minute ago.”

“Oh! Oh, it’s terrible!” he fretted. “Tosh is missing!”

“Missing? Well, what happened?” Gobo asked.

“I’m not sure; I was busy working on a song that had popped into my head after we returned home,” the musician replied. “When I finally looked up, she was gone. I’m afraid she might be lost somewhere.”

“These tunnels can be pretty confusing, even to someone who’s lived here a while,” Gobo remarked. His words didn’t exactly make Gillis feel better.

Mokey set aside her sketchbook and stood up, pulling her shawl around her. “Do you want us to help you look for her?”

“If you could, I’d greatly appreciate it,” Gillis answered. By this time a slightly larger crowd of Fraggles had gathered around, and Gobo wasted no time in organizing a search.

---

Meanwhile, the object of the search was still wandering the tunnels of the Rock. There were so many twists and turns that Tosh feared she was a long way from her uncle’s cavern. A small part of her feared that she wasn’t even in the Rock anymore.

But, as she wandered, Tosh couldn’t help but look around at the caves themselves. All of the tunnels were surprisingly well-lit, though she couldn’t see a light source. Various forms of plant life grew out from cracks and holes and other spaces in or between the rocks, completely unlike what Tosh was used to seeing at Fraggle Cove.

She was so wrapped up in checking out her surroundings, that Tosh didn’t notice the other Fraggle in the tunnel until she was right on top of her.

“Hey!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Tosh quickly jumped back a couple steps, startled. “I didn’t see you.”

“Yeah, I kinda noticed,” replied the other Fraggle dryly. She was around Tosh’s age, tan-colored with light purple hair. A white ribbon was tied around the crown of her head to keep her hair pulled out of her face. “I’m Mimzy.”

“My name’s Tosh,” she answered. “Hi.”

Mimzy asked, “You’ve gotta be new, right?”

“How’d you guess?” asked Tosh.

Mimzy shrugged, then pulled the sleeve of her white sweater back up over her shoulder. “Usually only baby Fraggles or creatures who haven’t been in the Rock before are that fascinated by the ditzies.”

“Oh. What, uh, what’s a ditzy?”

“They’re what makes the light in the Rock,” answered Tosh’s new companion. “If it weren’t for them, Fraggle Rock would be dark and we’d all be asleep right now.”

Tosh looked up at the ceiling of the cave again, as though trying to catch a glimpse of the creatures that lit up Fraggle Rock. “Wow.”

---

Water splashed and sloshed in the washtub as Boober scrubbed at his socks with an almost savage intensity. Normally doing the laundry was very therapeutic; all it took was a few pairs of socks and maybe a shirt or two for Boober to start feeling like his old self again.

But not this time.

The cap-wearing Fraggle sighed as he dunked the socks into the water again. Why was this bothering him so much? he wondered. Red teased him all the time about his habits and such. He was used to it. Most of the time he just ignored her. So why in the Rock did he overreact to her implications that he had a crush on Tosh?

Especially since there is no crush, Boober said to himself. Sure, she seemed like a nice Fraggle. And I wouldn’t mind having her stop by for tea or something. B-but she lived by the sea, by open water! Who knows what kind of germs she could bring in here? Who knows what she’s brought into the Rock with her? Still, she was kinda cute…

As his inner debate rambled on, Boober gradually became aware of a slight commotion going on outside of his cave. Quickly he pulled the socks out of the washtub and clipped them onto the clothesline to dry before going to see what was happening.

“What’s going on?” Boober’s sudden appearance caused Mokey and Wembley to jump in surprise. “Sorry. Did something happen?”

“Yes. Oh, Boober, it’s terrible,” answered Mokey. “Tosh is missing!”

“She is? Well, what happened?”

“Gillis was on another one of his song-writing binges,” said Wembley. “Tosh must have gotten bored and left their cave, and wound up getting lost in the tunnels somewhere.”

“I know you’re probably busy, but do you think you could help us look?” asked Mokey. “The more Fraggles we have searching for her, the quicker she’ll get found.”

In response, Boober zipped back into his cave. When he zipped back out, he was holding his first aid kit in one hand. “What are we waiting for?” he asked his friends as he started to hustle down one of the corridors. “Tosh could be in serious trouble and need our help! We’ve got to find her!”

“Right, uh, right behind you!” called Wembley as he and Mokey followed.

---

“So, what are you going to do with all of this moss?”

After Tosh had explained her situation to Mimzy, the other Fraggle had agreed to show Tosh the way back to the Maestro’s cave. That was, as soon as she was finished with her job, which was gathering moss.

“I give most of it to a friend of mine,” Mimzy answered. “I’ll have to introduce you to Lou sometime; I think you’ll like her.”

“Okay,” agreed Tosh. “I’d like that.”

The two of them stopped at the entrance to a cave, which Mimzy identified as her own. “You can come in if you want,” the purple-haired Fraggle invited. Tosh hesitated a few seconds before following her companion into the cave.

It was fairly spacious and well lit, with flowering vines along the walls adding splashes of color. As Tosh looked around, Mimzy set her basket on a protruding ledge and began taking out the moss, sorting it into two different piles.

“Does someone else live with you?” asked Tosh as she took note of the two bunks, one low and one high, in the cave walls.

“Nope; I live by myself,” answered Mimzy. “Always have.”

“Doesn’t that get lonely?” wondered the plum-colored Fraggle.

Mimzy shrugged. “Sure, sometimes. But on the other hand I’ve got more room to hang moss, and for my Fraggle Pebble collection.” Pushing aside a loose rock on the floor, Mimzy pulled a bag out of the hole in the wall it was covering. Inside of the bag were dozens of pebbles: small ones, big ones, blue ones, gray ones with streaks of purple in them…even some that sparkled.

“Wow,” breathed Tosh. “Those are pretty. I-I used to collect shells back home, at the Cove. But none of them were as pretty as these. What do you do with them?”

“Trade them with other Fraggles, or give them as gifts. Here.” Mimzy dug her hand into her pouch and pulled out a pebble that was light purple with some shiny silver flecks in it. “I want you to have this. You can start your own collection.”

“Really? You mean it?” Tosh’s eyes widened. Mimzy nodded.

“Sure. C’mon, we’d better get you back home before your uncle organizes a search party or something.”

---

Down in Great Hall, Gillis was anxiously pacing. So far Tosh hadn’t been in any of the areas that the search parties had searched, and this was making him more worried by the minute. He couldn’t stop himself from contemplating all of the ‘what-ifs’, like “what if she hurt herself?” or “what if she wandered out of Fraggle Rock?” The only thing Gillis knew for certain is that if anything happened to Tosh, he would never forgive himself.

The sound of voices entering the Hall caused him to look up, and he almost felt his heart stop. It was Mimzy, the young purple-haired moss gatherer. And walking beside her, chatting like they were old friends, was Tosh.

“Tosh!” Gillis rushed up to the duo and embraced his niece tightly. Other Fraggles, many of them ones who had been searching for the girl, gathered round at the reunion. “Oh, dear girl, you had me so worried! What happened; where were you?”

“I left because I-I thought you were mad at me for something, and I got lost,” Tosh explained meekly. “Then I ran into Mimzy and she showed me the way back. I…I’m sorry, Uncle Gillis.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right. I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Gillis said. “Unfortunately I tend to…block everything else out when I’m working on a song. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’m just glad that you’re safe.”

“See?” piped up Mimzy. “Told you everything would be okay.” Tosh looked over at her friend and nodded.

Gillis put an arm around Tosh’s shoulders. “Come, now, let’s go back home. I’ll fix us some supper, and you can tell me everything you saw. All right?”

“Okay.” All around them, the other Fraggles were passing the word along that the missing Fraggle had been found. Mimzy called goodbye to Tosh as she and her uncle left. “Uncle Gillis? Would it be okay if I went to see Mimzy sometime?”

“Of course, but I don’t want you going alone until you know your way around the Rock better.” Tosh nodded. “And please, don’t ever scare me like that again, hmm?”

“Okay, Uncle Gillis. I promise.”


Illustration: Mimzy Fraggle (http://ladyiapetus.deviantart.com/art/Meet-Mimzy-64823015)

-Kim

[The Count]

Wow! Thanks for the update Kim. Absolutely loved everything... How you have this inner knowledge of how the characters should act and be and everything. Nice addition, I kind of wanna see how Mimsy grows in her own in this story. So is that... Oh yes, hush, you'll LMK.
Great to have some more of this Fragglish fanfic as we celebrate the release of its third season... More please!

[Java]

I'm so happy Tosh found someone to befriend so that she doesn't feel all alone anymore!

What a great update but I'm still anxiously awaiting more when you get the chance!

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Well done, Kim - glad to see Tosh and Gillis found each other again. And Mimzy seems like an interesting character.

Keep up the good work!

[redBoobergurl]

Kim, great chapter! Even better though was the picture of Mimzy! I loved it! You're a great artist! And I just love her character too, she's got spark! Can't wait to read more of this wonderful tale!

[Skeeter Muppet]

Kim, great chapter! Even better though was the picture of Mimzy! I loved it! You're a great artist! And I just love her character too, she's got spark! Can't wait to read more of this wonderful tale!

Thanks! Took me a while to work on that picture, too, and I'm still not quite happy with the way her hair came out. My hope is that as I keep working on it, I might be able to sketch out some scenes to go along with the story eventually.

-Kim

[FraggleRockRock]

"'New dive?' he asked rhetorically.

'Yeah!' Red beamed proudly. 'What’d you think?'

'Splashing,' Gillis deadpanned."


HA! That made me laugh!

Great story! Just in time to coincide with the fraggle fever that's overtaking me! Whoopie!:excited:

[The Count]

So um Kim... Could we have more story please? If there is more that is?

[Java]

So um Kim... Could we have more story please? If there is more that is?

I agree! More please.

[FraggleRockRock]

Let's have a bit more story soon so that I can shout "Whoopie!" and actually have a good reason!:excited:

Whoopie!

[The Count]

Um hi. If you dont mind... Could we plese get an update to this nice Fraggle tale? Thank you.

[Gold Demona]

Wow! I really enjoyed this story.
You did an awesome job of writing it. ^_^