Caroline's POV:
"Oh, it's all right." he said as he came towards me. "It's just my uncle's stuff. He asked me to watch it while he's in Outer Space…"
"You're a Fraggle." I said, shocked to find myself face to face with him.
"You're not." he said, equally as shocked. "You're that new Silly Creature, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"Why are you holding your hands like that?" he asked.
"So you know I'm not a threat." I said.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I won't hurt you. You just startled me. How did you get here?"
I lowered my hands, & briefly explained everything that had happened up to this point, including how I had heard stories about Fraggle Rock growing up. As I talked, I bent down to pick up the papers I had knocked on the floor.
"Gobo!" A green Fraggle entered the cave, & came over to us. "Gobo! Guess what! The Minstrels are here!" The green one noticed me for the first time. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company."
"Oh! Uh, Wembley, this is…uh…"
"Caroline." I supplied for him.
"I'm Gobo, & this is my friend Wembley." A horn sounded from somewhere else in the Rock. "You should come with us to see the Minstrels. They always bring new songs with them for us to sing!"
"Ok." I said, letting my new friends lead the way. If I stayed close to them, I'm sure everything would be fine.
"Hello, Fraggles!" The lead Minstrel, whose name was Cantus according to Gobo, addressed the Fraggles that had assembled in this area that Gobo called the Great Hall. "It is an honor to share with you this day, for this day is not like other days."
"Did you bring us a new song?" called out a Fraggle towards the front, with big red pigtails.
"I have, just as I always have. But more importantly, I have brought a message from the universe."
This was met with many oohs & ahhs.
"Is Gobo Fraggle among you?"
"Here!" Gobo called from his place beside me. "I'm here!" The crowd parted to let him approach Cantus.
"The message from the universe is this: It's time to assemble the Council of the Universe!" This was met with a cheer, which then turned to confusion.
"What's the Council of the Universe?" Gobo asked.
"The Council of the Universe is a very special thing. Its purpose is to solve problems, big problems that affect the balance of all things. Anybody can serve on the Council, so long as they are willing to listen. A complete Council is not required for every problem, but a complete Council will consist of at least one Fraggle, one Gorg, one Doozer, & one Silly Creature."
"But why me?" Gobo asked.
"Do you remember when I asked you to assemble the Honk of Honks?"
"Yeah…"
"You did so by bringing together the many parts of our Universe. I'm merely asking you to do the same thing, in a different way. You must take a complete Council on a quest to find the Cave of the Council."
"Hey! We have a Silly Creature right here!" Wembley called out, giving me a gentle nudge. The crowd helped nudge me along until I was standing in front of Gobo & Cantus. To my surprise, another Silly Creature was being ushered through the crowd.
It was a very familiar looking old man & his dog.
"Doc?" I asked. "Sprocket?"
I held out my hand for Sprocket to sniff as he came over. He must have recognized me, because he started barking & wagging his tail.
"Caroline?" Doc asked, as shocked to see me as I was to see him. "Is that really you?" I nodded. "But how did you get here?"
"She's the one I was telling you about, the one who moved into the First Room." Gobo said.
"Oh, you must have fond the extra Shrinking Gummies that Sprocket & I hid there, before we moved into Fraggle Rock." Doc said. "How often have you been coming here?"
"Not often." I said. "This is my first visit."
"A reunion between old friends is a very special thing, but I'm afraid that I'll have to cut this one short." Cantus said. "There is much to do, & not much time to do it. Gobo, you must decide who will accompany you on your journey."
Doc & Sprocket shared a look. They had always been able to communicate in a way most humans & dogs couldn't.
"Well, Gobo, I had promised Mokey that I would attend her poetry reading this afternoon, & Sprocket promised the Doozers he would help clear some space in the Eastern Caverns." Doc said. "Perhaps Caroline would like the opportunity to have a proper adventure…?"
"What do you say Caroline?" Gobo asked. "Will you come with me?"
I felt the weight of his question, as all eyes turned to me. I knew my answer instantly.
"Yes!" I said, excitedly. A huge cheer went throughout the Great Hall.
"You must go to the shores of the Great Fraggle River. The Mark of the Fraggle will guide you in the right direction." Cantus said. "But remember, you must also take a Gorg & a Doozer with you."
"Hold on, aren't Gorgs the natural enemy of Fraggles?" I asked.
"Well, most Gorgs don't like us." Gobo said. "But there is one who might be willing to help us…"
You guys probably have a pretty good idea about which Gorg & Doozer will be chosen for this quest, but that's what will be coming up next. Once we finish getting the team together, we can focus on the good stuff…like an adventure through Fraggle Rock!
Please review!
