Ok, next update! This is the last update you're gonna get for a while as I'm off to Italy for two weeks! So I'm gonna be doing a mass update of all my stories before I go.

Noel fiddled nervously with the cushion he was holding. "Um…Howard?"

"Hmm?" Howard said, glancing at him before returning his gaze to his Global Explorer magazine.

"I just…I am so, so sorry."

"What for?"

"Everything!"

"It's fine Noel. I already told you that."

"Yeah, but it isn't! I don't feel fine, I feel like shit."

It was 2 days since Noel had realised the Boosh world was real, and he'd spent a lot of the time either sitting in silence or apologising. Howard thought he preferred it when he'd thought they were all figments of his imagination.

"Stop apologising, sir, or I'll come at ya like a nun sandwich."

Noel grinned weakly and Howard smiled. That had been what he was aiming for.

"Sorry. I'm being a bit of a twat, aren't I?"

"Well…"

"Just a bit, yeah." Naboo said, walking into the room, followed by Bollo.

"Hello Noel."

"H-hey, Bollo!" Noel said nervously. Howard suppressed a grin. Of all the things Noel could be scared of in this world, all the dangers they might face; and he was scared of an asthmatic gorilla who wouldn't hurt a fly.

Unless it was bothering Vince of course.

"Bollo making pie. You two eating dinner?" Bollo asked, gazing at Howard and Noel.

"Yeah, cheers Bollo." Howard replied.

"I just can't believe what I was planning to do to you guys!"

"What were you going to do?"

"Um...well…I was sort of thinking of splitting you and Vince apart in the movie." Noel said with an apologetic smile.

Naboo looked up sharply. "What?!"

"I was gonna fix them again!" Noel went on hurriedly. "I think I'd have about a million girls after my blood if I didn't."

Naboo waved his hand impatiently. "No. what were you gonna do?"

"Um…I dunno. Some sort of fight or something? And then, y'know, have one of those 'one year later' sort of things…"

"You were going to split us up for a year?!" Howard exclaimed.

"It was only a first draft! We probably wouldn't have done it!"

"But you might have…" Naboo began. Then he stilled. "You might have done." he repeated, almost to himself. "That's it!" he jumped up and ran out of the room.

"You gonna tell us where you're going, or…?" the door slammed shut. "Guess not." Howard turned back to Noel. "So tell me more about this potential script…"

Vince grinned uncertainly at Mike as Julian led him into the room. Discovering that Vince wasn't Noel had hit the young man fairly hard. He was still perfectly nice to Vince; but he could sense a change in the young man's demeanour. Plus he hadn't really spoken to Vince other than to say hello and offer him things.

"Hi, Vince."

"Alright Mike?"

"So…is it alright if I pop home for a bit?" asked Julian, glancing at the two men.

"Yeah, fine." Mike answered. As soon as the door closed, he turned awkwardly to Vince. "So…"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Vince told him, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"What's it like? The Boosh world? Is it…is it the same?"

Vince shrugged. "I guess. Seems pretty much the same."

"Right."

Vince could see the worry in the other man's eyes. "I'm sure he's fine you know. The Hitcher and stuff, that's a…fairly rare occurrence, we don't usually have people trying to kill us."

"Good to know." Mike sighed. "I just don't understand how this could have happened. I've always believed we were alone, you know? And now I find that not only is there other universes out there with life, but one of them was created by my brother!"

Vince looked interested. "So…isn't there life on other planets here then?"

"Nope. Not that we know of, anyway."

"Oh. Weird."

Vince fiddled with his fingernails. He could tell there was more stuff Mike wanted to ask, stuff not connected to aliens, so he waited for the younger man to speak."

"Vince?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you and Howard…?" Mike looked round as the doorbell rang. He glanced at Vince. "Julian, d'you reckon?"

"Doesn't he have a key?"

"Oh yeah." Mike bit his lip, thinking. He was hesitant about opening the door with Vince here. Then again, what if it was important? He sighed and stood up. "I'll get that. You stay here." He instructed. He walked out into the hallway and opened the door.

As soon as he saw who was standing there he wished he hadn't. "Mum! What…what're you doing here?"

Naboo ran quickly up the stairs to the flat, heart pounding in his rib-cage. He burst in. "Howard! Noel!"

"What?" Howard asked grumpily from the sofa. It was about 4 am and he was trying to sleep.

"I think I might know what's going on!"

"What?!" Howard was fully awake now.

"Yeah! Where's Noel?"

Howard went and roused the younger man from bed. He emerged looking sleepy, with his hair at odd angles. "Whusgoingon?" he muttered blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"I might know what's happened."

Noel blinked at him stupidly for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Wow! What happened? Can I get home?"

"One step at a time." he grinned at them both excitedly. "It's your fault!"

"What? How is it my fault?!" Noel asked indignantly.

"You were gonna break up Howard and Vince."

"I told you; I was gonna fix them!"

"Yeah, but after how long? A year, you said."

"So?"

"So; that wouldn't be such a big deal in a film. One scene could be today, the next one year's time. But our timeline would run properly. It would actually be a year."

"I repeat my earlier comment: so?"

Naboo sighed. "Ok, here's where it gets a bit sketchy. I think that the longer it gets from when our two universes collided…"

"When we created the Mighty Boosh?"

"Yeah. The longer it gets from then, the less control you have over us. Like; the zoo episodes you were saying about were all exactly like it happened. But the later episodes weren't, understand?"

"Well…"

"Think of it as like…a piece of chewing gum being split in half. The further you pull the two pieces apart, the thinner the stringy bit in the middle is, yes?"

"I don't see…"

"What's the Mighty Boosh about?" Naboo asked suddenly.

"Well…Howard and Vince." Noel said, confused. He had no idea where this was going.

"Exactly. This universe exists around Howard and Vince."

Howard let out a small noise, halfway between a laugh and a cough. "Bloody hell, you're telling me the universe actually does revolve around Vince?"

"It revolves around both of you. As a unit." He looked at Noel. "But you wanted to change that, break them apart for a year. Only, a year is a long time."

"So he'd have less control over us?" Howard asked, understanding beginning to seep into his mind.

"Exactly." Naboo nodded. "What if, in that year, we went almost beyond their control? What if the reconciliation never happened? Howard and Vince stayed apart?"

"I don't see why that made me switch with Vince though!" Noel argued.

"Our universe exists around Howard and Vince being together. So what would happen to our universe if they weren't?"

There was a moments silence as Naboo's words sunk in. Howard frowned. "Hold on, you're telling me that Vince and I have to be together forever or the universe ends?!"

"Well, not really. As long as we're still partially connected to Noel's world. I think there will come a time when we exist in our own right and aren't affected by them anymore. But whilst we are…"

"Howard and Vince not being together would cause a paradox." Noel realised suddenly. Naboo nodded sagely.

"Exactly. I think the only reason Vince crossed into your world is because you being here upset the balance. I think this happened because you were endangering our universe. So it brought you here to show you it was real in the hopes that you wouldn't."

"That implies the universe is sentient and can think for itself."

"Who says it can't? The moon does."

"Fair enough."

"So…what happens now?" Howard asked.

Naboo smiled, although he looked slightly anxious. "Well, if I'm right and we do now know the cause…we can fix it. We can send Noel home."

Reviews are loved! (Especially as they'll cheer me up after having to come home from my holiday lol).