Author Notes - I've made a lot of writing decisions over the course of this story, some of which you're yet to see, that I feel have been a little... 'risky'. The path I went down with Molly is certainly one of them. I don't think it's the biggest 'risky decision' I've made (that one is yet to come), but it definitely takes second place. Just a warning: this is probably the most brutal chapter yet.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - IT'S ME, MOLLY

'WAKE UP, EVERYONE!'

Brianna usually wasn't much of a morning person. But she was so excited to meet her favourite Guppy that she practically leapt out of bed! Which was a problem, because she was in a portable bed and sharing a guest room with the other female guests.

'WE'RE GONNA SEE MOLLY TODAY!' She shouted.

Zooli groaned, burying her face in her pillow. 'Oh my cod, Bri… can you just shut up!'

'Nope! We got important things to do.'

Zooli groaned again, much louder this time. 'See, this is why I never had children!'

Oona, who was far more used to dealing with loud children, had a much nicer awakening. She just stretched her bones and sat up. When she saw Zooli with her face down in the pillow, she giggled.

'Come on, Zoo,' She said. 'Time to get up. Surely you're used to getting up early, so you can film those early-rising animals.'

'I'm not used to being woken up by a child screaming,' Zooli remarked.

Lucky for her, Brianna didn't stay in the room for very long. Not so lucky for the boys, however, as that was the very next place Brianna went: the guest bedroom where the boys were sleeping. She knocked on the door as loudly as she could.

'WAKE UP, BOYS!' She yelled. 'We gotta get ready so we can see Molly!'

Gil was so used to being woken up by a loud alarm that he hardly reacted at all. He practically jumped out of bed, looking around for his firefighting uniform. It took him a few seconds to remember that he wasn't on duty. Goby and Nonny, on the other fin, did not wake up so gracefully.

'AH!' Nonny shouted, jolting awake. 'W-What was that?'

Goby grunted, failing to fight back a yawn. 'It's just Brianna. Don't worry.'

As soon as Brianna was sure the boys were awake, she rushed over to the room belonging to the owner of this penthouse suite - Ms Swimmer herself. But before she could knock on the door, it opened.

'Good morning, world!' Deema announced. 'And all who inhabit it!'

Brianna was shocked. Deema was still in her pyjamas, but somehow managed to look no different than she did during the day. Aside from a slight tired look in her bright blue eyes. Even her hair was all done up, making Brianna more suspicious than ever over how the hell she kept it styled like that.

'Woah!' She said. 'You're up and ready… already?'

'Gotta be,' Deema said. 'When you're both a CEO and a famous actress, you get used to getting up and ready early in the morning. Back in the day, they'd feed ya pills to make sure you slept and woke up at the right times.'

'H-How do you keep your hair up like that? I always thought you needed a lot of hair gel and, like, an hour to get it styled. But it's all done up already!'

Deema chuckled. 'Yeah, I get that question a lot. It always gets asked at least once an interview. The answer? This baby is like this naturally.'

Brianna's jaw dropped. 'No way.'

'Oh yeah! It actually causes a lot of problems for the hair department, because my hair is always fighting to get back into this iconic style. So they have to use really tough hairbands, or the band snaps and suddenly I don't have a ponytail anymore.'

The mental image of Deema's hair suddenly springing back into place made Brianna chuckle. During her times on the forums, she had seen plenty of fans back in the day theorising that Deema's hairstyle was just naturally like that. Brianna had never imagined those people would be right.

'We'll be going to see Molly today,' Deema said. 'Right after everyone's woken up and had breakfast. But remember. Keep your expectations low. Maybe Molly hates just me and only me, but I saw her get really mad at a guy for spilling her coffee once.'

'Maybe she's just stressed,' Brianna said. 'Being a world famous singer can't be easy. I mean, you were kind of huffy with us when we first met too!'

'True, true. But it sounds like you're getting your hopes a little too high. Tone it down.'

'Oh, right. Yeah.'

After all this time, Deema still remembered where Molly lived. In another big apartment, elsewhere in Big Bubble City. And that's exactly where the group was heading. Deema could easily pull a few strings to ensure that they made it to Molly.

'Just follow me!' She said, marching them through the streets. 'We'll be there in no time at all.'

'Let's not delay!' Brianna said. 'Not for anything!'

It was easier said than done with a super famous actress leading them around. Every few seconds, it seems, they had to stop so Deema could sign something. Or be a part of someone's selfie. Or, once, record a little message for someone's daughter's birthday. And Deema would always honour her tradition of saying 'yes' to simple requests. All except to some random dude who thought it was perfectly okay to ask if he could kiss her.

But all-in-all, they managed to make it to the next skyscraper without much issue. Except for one moment where a lady's strong perfume made Deema sneeze, and that made half the damn city give out increasingly loud 'bless you's to her. You'd think they were competing to see which one Deema would say 'thanks' to, but she ignored them and moved on.

'Wow,' Goby remarked. 'You weren't exaggerating. These people really don't leave you alone.'

'Yep,' Deema said. 'It's all a very deep and interesting message about how being a celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be, blah blah blah. Hey, look! We're here!'

They had arrived at another skyscraper, much like the one that Deema lived in. Except this one was even taller.

'Let me do the talking,' Deema said. 'I'm the one with all the–'

'Let's go!' Brianna shouted.

The little girl ignored her and zoomed through the revolving door without her, or anyone else for that matter. She dashed over to the reception desk, where a shark was filing her teeth. Was, because Brianna came swimming at her so fast that she almost fell off her seat in surprise.

'Oh, hello!' She said, chuckling. 'You gave me a fright. What do you-?'

'WE WANNA TALK TO MOLLY!' Brianna yelled.

The other Guppies swam into the building after her, Zooli looking rather embarrassed. The shark lady, named 'Shelly' on her tag, frowned.

'Fraid I can't do that, kid,' She said. 'Yeah, Molly is in today, but I can't just grant anyone permission to go into her- Oh, hi, Deema!'

Deema swam to the front of the crowd and gently pushed Brianna aside. Out of the seven Guppies that made up the team, including Brianna, she was the only one with any real influence. She leaned over the counter, as if trying to woo Shelly. It didn't quite work.

'We're here to see Ms Andersfin,' She said. 'Can you do that?'

'Oh, I'm not sure,' Shelly replied. 'Molly isn't super busy right now, but you know what she's like.'

Deema sighed, and slammed a few dollar notes onto the counter. Shelly swiped them up with a big, toothy smile.

'Well do, Ms Swimmer!' She said. 'I'll call her up right now.'

She whipped out her shellphone and gave Ms Andersfin a call. It took some time for the call to be answered on the other end of the line.

'Yes, I know you don't like interruptions, but-' Shelly said. 'Now, that language isn't necessary. Ms Swimmer is here- don't you hang up on me! She's brought some friends. They want to see you. Who? Uh, a guy with goggles. That lady you see in all those cool wildlife documentaries. Some muscled-out guy with a scar on his face- what? … Yeah, he has blue hair. Oh, that's wonderful!'

The call ended right then and there, without even so much of a goodbye. Even Shelly seemed quite shocked with how abruptly it ended.

'Ms Andersfin says you're welcome to visit her!' She said. 'Just don't touch anything and be quiet.'

'Hooray!' Brianna cheered, before she remembered herself. 'Oh, I mean… hooray. We're going to-! We're going to see Molly.'

'I think this could be fun!' Oona said. 'After all, we haven't seen her in forever. And it will be so cool to finally have the whole team back together!'

'Back together again,' Deema said. 'It doesn't feel right unless you say the whole thing. I just wish I knew why. Oh, right! Time to…' She sighed. 'Meet Molly again.'

Molly, much like Deema, had a big apartment at the top of the building. But the decorations inside weren't nearly as flashy. More-or-less what Brianna expected. Didn't make it any less amazing! Especially considering who the owner of the room was.

'Okay, so,' Deema said, as everyone left the elevator cart. 'You need to be quiet, calm, and-'

'MOLLY!' Brianna shouted.

Brianna knew she shouldn't have done that. But how could she not? Her greatest hero was standing right there. There was no mistaking it. The woman in front of her had the same pink hair in a ponytail. The same fish-shaped tattoo under the eye. It was her. The most important person in Brianna's life. So it was no surprise that the first thing Brianna did was rush over and give her hero a great big hug.

'I've finally met you, Molly!' She cried.

And what was Ms Andersfin's response to this?

'Get the hell off me!' She shouted, shoving Brianna away.

Despite the rather unpleasant greeting, Brianna wasn't too perturbed. After all, not everyone liked to be hugged without warning. She merely backed up, staring up at her hero with wide, sparkly eyes.

'Who the hell are you anyway?' Molly demanded. 'And how'd you get in?'

'I'm Brianna!' The little girl replied, brimming with excitement. 'And I'm your biggest fan!'

Molly cocked an eyebrow. 'Uh huh. Like all my other million or so 'biggest fans'. Right.'

'No, no, you don't understand. I-'

Molly swam right past her, like she didn't even exist, and swam up to Deema instead. Like the rest of the group didn't exist either.

'You brought these guys here,' Molly said. 'Didn't you?'

'Hello to you, too,' Deema remarked. 'And yes. They insisted. They wanted to get the whole band back together at last.'

'Band? What band?'

'The Bubble Guppies!' Oona said.

'You gotta remember, at least a little,' Zooli said. 'That band's the whole reason why you have a singing career at all!'

Molly glanced at them, boredom written all over her face. Like the smiles coming her way weren't there at all. The only person who her eyes stopped on, even if only for a moment, was Gil. Who couldn't look her in the eye.

'Right,' Molly said. 'That band.'

'Do you remember us?' Nonny asked.

'You guys? Absolutely not. But the band? Yeah, I remember that. Only because I still get people asking me about it. Yelling at me about how I'm from that stupid band.'

Brianna gasped. 'Stupid? That band is not stupid. It was actually the best dang band in the-!'

'Brianna,' Zooli said. 'Stop.'

Zooli pushed Brianna aside, and stood between Molly and the rest of the group. Molly's cynical expression hadn't changed once. The kind of look that said 'you are such an idiot' and very little else. It did not give Zooli much hope that this convo would end well. But push on she did.

'If you remember the band,' She said. 'You have to remember us too, right?'

'Nah, not really,' Molly said. 'I mean, who are you?'

'Zoo-'

'Yeah, that was a rhetorical question. I remember being in a band, but I don't remember anything about the people in it. Why would I bother trying to remember a bunch of complete nobodies?'

Multiple Guppies in the crowd gasped. Zooli didn't have it in her to do it. Gil turned his head away. Deema just sighed. But Brianna's entire world seemed to shatter. All it took was a single sentence for it all to come crashing down.

'Nobodies?!' Oona cried, fuming. 'What the frick does that mean?'

'Oona,' Nonny said. 'L-Language.'

'Don't tell me not to swear when that jerk over there just called us complete freaking nobodies!'

Brianna, summoning all that remained of her courage, approached Molly slowly. Like she was approaching a wild animal.

'Y-You can't be serious,' She said. 'M-Molly would never say something like that about her friends. She would never call her closest friends just a bunch of nobodies!'

Molly groaned. 'Kid, that was way before you were even born. Back when I was just a stupid kid who wasn't aware of her own potential yet. But when I sang on stage with Stylee way back when, that's when it really hit me. I had potential. But not in a band. They weren't on stage with me. It was just me and Stylee. I'm not meant to be in a band full of people with no relevance. I'm meant to be an artist who shines entirely on her own!'

Brianna lost her words. After six Guppies - after all this time - the whole plan was falling apart right at the end. But not only was it falling apart so close to the finish line, it was falling apart with Molly.

'B-But…' She stammered. 'You… you're supposed to come back to the band. J-Just one more time.'

'I'm sorry,' Molly said. 'Did you really think you could get me to do that? Of course you'd get the other guys along for your dumb little ride. But thinking that I would bother is the most absurdly idealistic thing I can imagine. Who do you think you are anyway?'

'Your biggest fan, of course!'

'Yeah, I get a lot of people who say that. People who go so far as to get tattoos of my face in places I don't want to know about. You're no different than any of them, kid.'

'But… But… you helped me out through the tough parts of my life!'

'And that's a story I've heard a few dozen times before too.'

'But-!'

Zooli grabbed Brianna by the shoulders and pulled her away, like a mother trying to keep her child away from danger.

'Alright, that's it!' Oona said. 'Do you realise that you wouldn't even be a super famous singer without us? We helped you become a singer. It was because of us that the world got to hear your amazing singing voice. If we weren't around, you'd be 'nobodies' like the rest of us.'

'I've done just fine without you for over twenty years now,' Molly said. 'I certainly don't need you now.'

'This is no way to treat your old friends,' Goby said. 'You want nothing to do with us? Fine. But calling us 'nobodies' like we did nothing for you is taking it a step too far. Why are you being like this? You were such a sweet kid.'

'I grew up. Like you all should've done years ago.'

Oona spun right around. 'Alright, that's it. I'm leaving. This whole endeavour was pointless.'

She pressed the elevator button with far more force than would've been necessary, tapping her fist against the wall in impatience. Nonny gave Molly a brief glare before joining his girlfriend's side.

'We stopped being friends long ago,' He said. 'And I have no interest in being friends with someone like you.'

'Good, we agree on something,' Molly said. 'Now, get out of here, please.'

That was the most disingenuous 'please' Brianna had ever heard in her life. One by one, the other Guppies turned around and headed for the elevator. As soon as the door opened up, they all swam inside. Zooli stood in the doorway, making sure the elevator doors didn't close until everyone was ready.

'Deema was right about you,' She said. 'You've changed.'

Molly scoffed. 'Of course Deema would tell you something like that.'

Gil didn't say a word. He just swam into the elevator without even giving Molly a glance. His face scrunched up in an emotion Brianna couldn't identify.

'Just remember, Molly,' Deema said, crossing her arms. 'Between you and me, there's only one woman who is known for being nice and friendly to her fans. I thought you'd at least be nice to your friends, but I should've known better.'

Brianna could see tiny drops of water, thicker than the water around them, gathering in the corners of Deema's eyes. Deema fought back her tears and swam into the elevator alongside everyone else. Everyone, except Brianna. She stood in place, staring up at Molly in horror.

Could this really be what Molly was now?

'No!' She cried. 'This can't be real. This can not be real! The real Molly isn't like this. She's sweet. She's friendly. She's a fin-tastic leader who would do anything for her friends. There's no way she could grow up to be this… this… jerk!'

Molly yanked her by the wrist and began to drag her towards the elevator.

'Stop living in denial, kiddo,' She said. 'You know I'm that same kid, as much as I'd hate to admit it. I grew up. Most of my friends didn't. Face facts, kid. I'm not that wimpy little girl who was all sunshine and rainbows or whatever the hell you thought I was. Now get the hell out of my apartment before I call security on you.'

Brianna felt the water gathering in the back of her eyes. Her breath hitched. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, the tears began to fall. They trickled down her cheeks and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

'NO!' She yelled. 'P-Please, you can't-!'

'Shut up, kid,' Molly said.

Zooli had had enough, pulling Brianna away and out of Molly's grasp. She gave Molly the mother of all death stares and took Brianna with her.

'I remember,' Zooli said. 'When I looked up to a famous singer. A sweet little girl who was there for me when her fanbase hated me. I didn't know until today that the little girl I used to know was dead.'

The elevator doors closed. There was nothing that Brianna could do but wail.

Author Notes - So, I said that this story was inspired by the 2011 The Muppets movie. A movie about a long-time Muppets fan trying to get the Muppets back together. I watched it and thought, 'wow, this would really suit the Bubble Guppies'. A major plot point in that movie is that while most of the Muppets are willing and even excited to come back together for another show, Miss Piggy is not. Partially because she's made a good career for herself, but mostly because her and Kermit have had a massive falling out.

Molly's part of the story was inspired by this, though it wasn't done in quite the same way. I debated heavily with myself over whether or not I wanted Molly to change her mind and come back to the band. And what did I end up choosing? Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out. :)