A/N: Sorry about the wait on this.. The writers block monster isn't leaving me alone. Not to mention I've been beyond busy. One year anniversaries and best friends graduating and others coming back for the first time in over a year.. I'm losing my mind! How did I do with Fossil? He's just so hard to write..
"Aren't you glad you decided to stay here with your new friends? Isn't this just fantastic?" The long silent voice in her head decided to speak up as Molly was dragged down the street in Vince's clothes. "Look at you, stuck in someone else's clothes and body. You could have been gone by now."
"I stick out like a sore thumb Vince." Molly said under her breath, ignoring the voice, as the young man continued to pull her down the street.
"What d'you mean?" He glanced back over his shoulder.
Molly peered up at him through the enormous pair of sunglasses Vince had found for her in his room. He'd manage to cover the seaweed hair with a hat and the rest of her body was covered up by a shiny cape. "I mean I'm not exactly blending in am I."
"Just own it." He laughed then pulled her across a street. "Now I'm sure Naboo didn't check here."
Holding the hat down, she looked up at the building. "The Velvet Onion?"
"Yeah! Me an' Howard have known he owner for years." He pushed the door open and smiled. "After you."
She hesitated, then stepped into the empty club. It seemed so different then the packed, music filled club she'd been in just a few nights earlier.
"Mr. Fossil!" Vince's voice made her jump as the door slammed behind him. "You here? I gotta question!"
Music drifted from the upper level of the club, and she took a few steps toward the stairs.
"Upstairs it is then." Vince took the lead and Molly followed close behind. ""Mr. Fossil?" He tapped lightly on a slightly cracked door. The music, along with someone mumbling, were coming from inside the office.
"He's not listening Vince." Molly tugged nervously on his sleeve, which she'd taken a hold of on the way up the stairs.
"Then we just go in." He laughed, pushing open the door with a creak.
"Thought I heard you Vincey!" Bob Fossil was hunched over his desk, focusing extremely hard on something. "And friend? Who the hell are you!"
"This is Molly, she's a friend of mine. Actually that's why I'm here."
"Right right, friends. Alright well grab a chair and tell me what ya need." He grinned and motioned to a pair of chairs in front of his desk. "Molly right? Cape girl. I'll remember that better. I'm Bobby Bob Bob, the blue pony. Nice to meet ya."
She smiled despite herself. "I'll remember that no problem."
Vince clapped his hands lightly and returned focus to himself. "Look Bob, have you seen 'oward around?"
"Moon!" His face scrunched up in disgust and he spit on the floor next to his chair. However, the sudden anger faded quickly and he crossed his hands politely. "Haven't seen him anywhere, no."
Vince let out a breath. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. I'd remember seeing that stupid moustache of his any day." Suddenly he seemed distracted. "Ooh, I love this song." He began to rock back and forth in his chair.
"Please focus Mr. Fossil." Molly spoke up as the strange man in the too tight, powder blue suit turned his music up and began to gyrate against the chair he had been sitting in. "Howard's gone missing."
"Missing?"
"Yeah and one of Naboo's potions got stolen and there was this big mix up." Vince stood up in an attempt to make him focus on the situation.
"Naboo boo?" Bob began to rub his nipples, not really paying attention.
"His potion was stolen by a lake monster!" Angrily, Vince shut his music off.
Bob looked shocked for a moment. "Underwater dragon, right." He looked serious again and sank back into his chair.
"Not exactly.." Molly started, but before she could finish Vince pulled the hat and glasses from her head.
"Holy shit monkeys!" He jumped from his chair and took a karate pose behind it. "What in the name of Dixon Bainbridge is that! What did you bring into my club Vince! Your not a girl at all! Fish.. Seaweed.. Lipstick.. Eyes-"
"Fossil!" Vince took him by the shoulders. "This thing used the potion it stole from Naboo and switched bodies with my friend Molly."
"You confuse me!" Bob yelled at Molly, who was now standing by the door. "You were a girl and now you're a, well, not a girl! Or part girl, I'm not sure about this one yet!"
"I'm a girl in a fish body." She crossed her arms self consciously across her chest as Vince rolled his big blue eyes.
"Listen, you see the situation is pretty bad now, right?"
"Bad! This is worse then the time I got stuck in the ocelot pit back at the Zooniverse! And that was bad. Little fur devils." He poked a finger at Vince's chest. "But I get it, I think." He scratched his head through his think brown curls.
"Good!" Vince said happily.
"I'll keep an eye out for Moon for ya." He set his hands on his hips and nodded his head. "But don't think I can do your jobs for you! I'm a pretty busy man you know! I gotta business to run here!"
"Yeah I know. We've got another gig comin' up don't we?" Vince asked absentmindedly as he worked to re-cover Molly with the hat and glasses.
"I don't know. I don't write these things down. Besides, reading is evil. Why would I put myself up to something like that Vincey?"
"That should just about do it." He mumbled to himself, before turning back to Fossil. "Well let us know if you see Howard around, yeah? Bye Mr. Fossil."
"Bye Vincey and friend? Who the hell are you!" The strange man seemed to completely forget the previous conversation.
"I'm Molly. We just had that talk about Howard?" She was baffled, as Vince pulled her out of the office by the hand.
"He's a bit of a simpleton. Best to just leave it alone."
"Oh I see." She nodded. "Hey I've got an idea! We could go see if Gregg left anything in my hotel room. We might find a clue or something."
"Good one Molly. Lets go check it out."
With that they disappeared out onto the streets, heading towards Molly's hotel room to search for any traces of Old Gregg. As they disappeared around a corner, the very mustached man they had been looking for was only a few blocks away having a not unpleasant afternoon. He had been talking almost nonstop to a girl who didn't seem to mind his endless jazz stories. Though there was something unsettling about the way she stared at him. All the time they'd been out, even while they were walking, her wide eyes had never left his face.
"Er.. Where exactly are we going?" Howard said as he realized he'd been lost in thought for quite a while and they had ended up in a shadowy alleyway.
"This'll work just fine." She grinned, a strange glint in her eyes.
He cleared his throat nervously. Something was off, something he'd been ignoring all day. "Work for what?"
"Ya promised me Howard. Promised we'd be together forever. Don't ya remember?"
"I really don't know what your talking about." In actuality he had a pretty good idea what she was talking about and he took a few nervous steps back.
"Mmhm. 'Course ya don't. Ya broke my heart after ya broke your promise."
"Now just hold on a second." His back bumped against the brick wall of the alleyway as the girl, who wasn't really his friend at all, closed in on him.
"I been holdin' on. Almost a year now. You're lucky my funk came back to me Howard, or I'd be madder then mad."
"You've got it all wrong Gregg, lets not be rash now." He laughed nervously.
"I ain't got no rash." The fish man in the girl's body poked a finger into his chest. "We're goin' back to Gregg's place now. We'll give this another try. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to do you like I done Curley Jefferson."
"I'm not going anywhere sir!" Howard protested. "I don't love you. Do we really need to go through this again? Vince'll be looking for me and you for that matter. He thinks your Molly. We need to get you back to Naboo and into your own body-"
"No!" He took hold of Howard's wrist with surprising strength. "I'm done bein' nice to ya Howard. No one's ever gotten away from me. You must love me exactly as I love you."
Howard narrowed his gaze, noticing the change in the merman's voice. "What have you done with Molly?"
"She's back at Old Gregg's place, which is where you and I are goin' now." He emphasized this with a sharp tug on Howard's arm.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me."
"Not kidding at all. You either come on your own or I employ certain tactics to make you come whether you want to or not."
Howard struggled to break Gregg's grip on his wrist. "What sort of tactics exactly? Let go will you!"
A strange grin spread over his captor's face. "Didn't only steal one potion from your little shaman friend, did I? No. I'll knock you out, brainwash you and then you'll love me."
This situation couldn't get any worse, there was just now way. Howard doubted he could get away, not with Gregg in the possession of some mystery potions. His only option was to go along with this for now. He laughed and tried to relax, plastering a very fake smile onto his lips. "You got me Gregg. Figured me and my games out again, yes sir."
"Games?"
"That's right. Just playin' some more love games. Lets get back to your place, yeah? Do some water colors, drink some Bailey's, what do you say?"
Warily, Gregg nodded. "Fine." His hand slipped into Howard's and he pulled him out to the road. "But you won't be lucky like last time, no sir."
Trying to not appear outwardly terrified, Howard followed the fish man who'd possessed his newest friend down the sidewalk. He hoped Molly was alright wherever she was. He hoped that Vince would notice he'd been gone for a while and ask Naboo to help find him. Everything's going to be fine, he told himself, and he hoped everything really would be.