A/N: I decided to put this up real quick before I could have time to tell myself "NO DON'T DO IT!" I almost didn't. But considering it's up here, turns out I did. Well... my first Horton Hears a Who fanfic... I was going to make this a one-shot... but then I decided not to. I also decided to try a different writing style, one with more sarcasm and humor laced within wherever I feel like. It's been a long time since I've felt a wiggly excitement about a story. This one gives me the GIGGLES. It'll go away one day and I'll feel embarrassed for even contemplating liking this, but for now I'm going to enjoy the ride. And I hope you do too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter One

"Hello, Thidwick," Ned McDodd chirped to his pet fish as he stepped into his office. He snatched up a can of fish food and approached the bowl containing the happy pet. He sprinkled some flakes into the water and the fish eagerly dined on the food. "Hm…" The mayor raised an eyebrow and dipped his finger into the bowl and ran it along the glass. "Wow, you're a dirty little fish, aren't you?" he mused as he flicked the bit of grime off of his finger. The fish grinned sheepishly before he continued to eat.

He started digging through his desk and pulled out a plastic baggy. "You finish up there and I'll clean that bowl for you, 'kay?" He left to fill the baggy with water as Thidwick nodded. When he came back he searched through his desk once more and pulled out a bottle of cleaning liquid. "This should heeww!" He held it his arm's length away from his nose as a rank smell emanated from it. "What the heck??" He chanced looking inside the bottle, gagging as he did so. Something horribly rot-able had somehow been spilled into the bottle, basically ruining what had once been inside.

Trying to keep the contents of his stomach down, he tossed it into the trash bin and pushed it away from himself with his foot, against the wall. He shuddered, the smell seeming to stick inside his nose.

"Guess I should get a new one, huh?" he smiled at his fish. "Don't worry. As soon as I'm done with the paperwork I'll get some more and clean your bowl right up. That shouldn't take too long, right?" He glanced at the bin carrying unread papers. There was a ridiculous amount, the stack piled high. Thidwick rolled his eyes.

Ned left the building a good while later, carrying his fish in the dirty fishbowl along with him. He figured he may as well take it home since he was going to buy more of the cleaning liquid on the way. It wouldn't be very nice to leave the fish floating around in his own filth overnight.

He approached the store and stepped inside, causing a little jingle from the group of bells above the door. He would have continued on his merry way through the small store to get what he needed if it weren't for a grumpy looking Who at the counter clearing his throat to get the mayor's attention. Without a word, he pointed to a sign next to the door. Ned had to lean backwards in order to read what was on it, considering it was really meant to be read through the window by those outside. It was a list of expected dos and don'ts for the owner's store, one such rule catching his attention quickly.

NO PETS ALLOWED

How conveniently inconvenient.

Ned gave the store owner a sheepish grin before backing outside, clutching his fish's bowl close. He hesitated for a moment outside, thinking, before he held up the bowl to eye level. "You think you'll be okay out here by yourself? I'll only be in for a minute."

Thidwick waved his fin nonchalantly and gave the mayor a smirk. Of course he could handle himself. He was a fish, and that's what fish do.

The Who smiled at this, apparently satisfied. "Good fish," he said before placing the bowl right next to the door, right where he could easily scoop it up when he would leave. He opened the door, once more causing the cheery jingle before stepping inside the grumpy Who's store.

Thidwick quickly grew bored of waiting almost as soon as the mayor left. Not because that was what fish do, but because he had a small case of ADD. What was he supposed to do while his friend was gone? His position on the ground at the moment wasn't a very ideal one for watching the other Whos as they bustled about Who-ville. The little fish sighed, his eyelids drooping as he began to daydream about nothing in particular. It was when a big, pink foot came into view, way too close to his bowl for comfort, that he was snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes traveled up to see a pink and white Who looking down at him with a look of surprise.

This person happened to be Dr. Mary Lou LaRue, the brightest mind to recently come out of Who U. She knelt down and a smile spread across her lips as she looked over the little fish. "Oh, your perfect!" she exclaimed, missing her chance to show off her lisp for her verbal introduction to this story. She picked up the bowl, startling the pet at being handled by someone other than Ned. Or Mrs. Yelp, as she sometimes looked after the fish too. She may not act nice but she really did hide a softer side of herself that she exposed to Thidwick. There was no problem in that, considering he couldn't tell anyone about it, but now I'm getting off track.

LaRue softly poked at the bowl she now held in her hands, her grin widening enough to look manic. "This must be my lucky day," she said, now allowing me to point out her lisp as her S's were pronounced like Sh's. Failing to realize that the fish might actually belong to someone in her excitement, the doctor ran off.

Right after this had happened, Mr. McDodd stepped out of the store, cleaning product in one hand while the other scooped up the fish bowl. Too bad it was no longer there, as his hand only groped at ungrabbable air. His contented look faded and his eyes widened as his eyes fell to the spot where his pet should have been waiting for him. He stared at the slightly wet but otherwise empty spot and his jaw dropped. Who the heck would take a fish? Feeling peeved, his eyes traveled along the sidewalk where splashes of water lay leaving a trail. Either the fishnapper was clumsy or Thidwick purposefully left him those to follow. Regardless, the mayor sped off to get back his fish, following the trail of breadcrumbs in the form of water.

Mary Lou giggled excitedly as she placed the fish bowl within a small dome of glass hooked up to a large, complicated looking machine. Thidwick glared angrily at her, but she did not notice. She gave the fish a little wave before closing the little glass door and practically skipped over to a podium containing a ridiculous amount of buttons, dials, and levers. She adjusted her goggles and began working, twisting, and pulling whatever needed to be twisted or pulled and knowing what each and every action on the podium would do completely from memory. The machine hummed loudly to life, bubbles flowing through translucent pipes and electricity shooting around spikes of metal. It began to vibrate and shake as it built up energy, scaring the poor fish as he frantically swam around the bowl in a futile attempt to escape.

"No worries, Fishy," the doctor called over the noise, really not one for making up names. "You'll be just fine."

The noise caused by the machine stopped the scientist from hearing the door to the room slam open, and the fact that she had her back turned to it caused her not to see this either. If either of these two factors were not there to prevent her from seeing the angry, though quickly becoming shocked, mayor at the door, this story would have turned out quite differently. Things would have been a lot less hectic, I'll tell you that. The three of them more than likely would have walked away from this unscathed, though two of them miffed and the other ashamed. But this isn't what happened. Otherwise I probably wouldn't even be telling you about this considering it really wouldn't have made much of a story. But I digress.

"Thidwick!" Ned shouted, his voice drowned out by the machine's noise. He bolted past the doctor, toward the dome of glass. The fish pressed his face against the glass of the bowl, a look of relief on his face. LaRue's eyes widened as she looked up from the blinking podium, it now giving off a warning beep as the mayor opened the glass door.

"No Mr. Mayor!" she shouted, running toward him in alarm. She didn't get far, though. The last little factor that made this story possible was the simple fact that the young woman had been in too much of a panic at the sight of the mayor interrupting the procedure in a dangerous way that she had forgotten to simply turn off the machine. There was a small explosion as the built up energy was no longer contained within the glass dome, causing it to violently lash out at the room's occupants.

Ned screamed as the energy coursed through him, his muscles tensing up to the point of nearly snapping and his fur standing on end. LaRue was knocked back and hit the podium hard, sliding to the floor and not moving. Poor Thidwick got the brunt of it, though, considering he was in a bowl of energy-happy water.

Needless to say, the abuse they received caused them all to pass out.

A/N: Well, for my first chapter and first story for Horton Hears a Who, how was it? I wince in anticipation.