Author Notes - This is a special chapter, but you'll have to find out why. Though I'm sure you can probably guess.

CHAPTER EIGHT - ALL FIRED UP

Big Bubble City was just as populous and busy as the Guppies remembered it being. It was a popular place, the closest thing to a New York City or Sydney or Madrid for miles and miles around. As Brianna stood in the middle of the group and marvelled at all the sights, she couldn't help thinking of that song. All the smells, all the sights. All the noise, all the lights. On the streets all day and night!

She loved that song, for a few reasons. One, it was a fun 'West Side Story' style tune, making it stand out among the other songs. Two, and more importantly, it was one of Deema's only solos that wasn't a dance song. Which struck Brianna as a big shame. Sure, it wasn't as painful as it was for Goby since her singing voice wasn't quite as good, but still! Just that and 'So You Wanna Be a Princess'. Oh, and a whole verse in 'Cos It's Spooky'. Even the 'Puppy and the Ring' promotion, meant to provide solos to the lesser-known Guppies, only gave her a duet where Oona basically sang over her.

'Keep close, Brianna,' Zooli said. 'Big Bubble City is, well, a big place. And since you're the only one here who isn't an adult, you're our responsibility.'

'Don't worry,' Brianna said. 'I'll behave! And that's a promise.'

They swam through the city together, making sure to stay on the sidewalks as much as possible. It was a brand-new day. After how long it took them to get to the city in the first place, the group went straight to their hotel and got a good night's rest. Zooli was right - the traffic was atrocious. No doubt their search would've taken far longer if they went by car.

'So, how do we plan to look for Ms Swimmer?' Nonny asked. 'Assuming she's in the city at all, I don't think she'd be very easy to find.'

'Contrar, my good man!' Brianna said, already pulling out her phone. 'I think we have a pretty good lead. Deema isn't just a famous actress. She's also the owner of a very popular shop right in the heart of the city. A big variety store known as 'The Right Place'!' She chuckled. 'Get it?'

All four adult Guppies gave her the same look of confusion. The expression that made it abundantly clear that they did not, in fact, get it.

'Oh, right,' Brianna said. 'You wouldn't remember that. See, it used to be a thing she'd say. Well, you've certainly come to the right place! So she named her store 'The Right Place', so she could tell people that they really did come to the right place!'

'Of course,' Nonny said. 'I can remember her saying that all the time. I never imagined she would've named a store after it.'

'Even if we don't find her there, we could find someone who knows where she is. Come on!'

Since she was the only one with the map open, Brianna ended up swimming to the front of the crowd. Zooli swam right next to her. Something drove her to stay as close as possible. A natural protective instinct over a child's safety, perhaps. A child she had developed a friendship with. Not wanting the pressure of protecting a child was a large part of why she didn't want to have kids. That, and her life was too busy, she needed freedom, the horrific thought of being woken up in the middle of the night because the tyke puked into their bedsheets… And yet here she was.

The trip took them past the park in the middle of the city. The one place that was quiet, or at least would've been if it wasn't for the surrounding traffic. Where the pigeons swooped down and pecked at the crumbs littering the benches.

'I am hungry as frick,' Oona said (reminder, her language was far more foul in reality).

'Oona,' Nonny said. 'Language.'

'I'm with her,' Zooli said. 'I've eaten nothing since breakfast. I'm so hungry I could literally eat dirt.'

'Hey, look!' Goby said, pointing. 'A hotdog stand! We could get something from there.'

Zooli winced. 'Those stands aren't exactly the cleanest in the city.'

'Well, you just said you could eat dirt.'

Brianna giggled. 'He's got you there, Zoo.'

'As long as they have a vegetarian option!' Oona said.

That settled it. The search for Ms Swimmer's store came to a pause so they could have some hotdogs. And, fortunately, there were veggie options for Oona. They all ordered themselves a hotdog (a tofu dog for Oona), with their preferred condiments.

'… and one plain hotdog for the tall guy!' The lobster vendor said, handing Nonny his food.

'Thank you,' Nonny said, as politely as always.

'Good thing you guys showed up when you did! I was just about to take my break.'

With that, the hotdog vendor threw off his apron and walked away, heading straight for the bathroom. He was, unfortunately, unaware of exactly where he had tossed his apron. And so were the Guppies, who were already swimming away to sit on a bench together so they could have their cheap but tasty lunch.

'Oona, no,' Zooli said. 'Don't even think about feeding the pigeons. If you do, they're not going to leave us alone.'

'I know,' Oona said. 'But look at it! It looks like a little puppy dog.'

'Oona, no!'

While Zooli tried desperately to stop Oona from feeding a bunch of pigeons that had been watching them, Brianna sat there and enjoyed the company. Goby chatted between bites, while Nonny mostly just sat there and nodded. It may not have seemed like it, but Nonny was listening to every word.

'So!' Brianna said, already finished with her meal. 'We eat these delicious hotdogs, let them settle so we don't give ourselves cramps, maybe take some bathroom trips, and then it's back on the road!'

'Good plan,' Goby said. 'But for now, we eat.'

At least, that was the plan. Nonny was just about to eat the final bite of his hotdog when he smelled something off. Something so harsh that it turned him off his meal. He turned around to find where that odour was coming from, trying to identify it himself, when a citizen walking by provided the answer for him.

'FIRE!' The woman shouted, running off. 'THERE'S A FIRE IN THE PARK!'

Zooli almost choked on her last bite. 'F-Fire?!'

Indeed, there was a fire. Right there in the park! Yes, of course you can have a fire underwater. Why wouldn't you? The hotdog vendor had carelessly thrown his apron onto the very spot where the hotdogs were cooked. It caught on fire and was quickly spreading to the rest of the cart. Worse yet, the apron's strap hung down and touched the grass. The very dry grass. The second that fire ended up spreading to the grass…

'Well, don't just sit there!' Oona said, getting to her tail fins. 'LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!'

The other Guppies weren't going to argue with this helpful piece of advice, and rushed out of the park as quickly as they could. Nonny already had his phone out, ready to call the fire department. But many other citizens were already on the case.

'This isn't how I thought our trip to Big Bubble City was going to end!' Zooli shouted.

'But at least it isn't boring!' Brianna yelled.

'Let's just hope the firefighters get here on time!' Goby said.

The fire was growing by the second. Any moment now, it would spread to the grass and set the whole park ablaze. The people around them were screaming, but one thing could be heard above them. None other than the roaring siren of a fire truck!

'They're here!' A lady in the crowd yelled.

The citizens cheered as a fire truck came barrelling down through the streets, caring none for the traffic or street lights. Its siren blared. A sign of salvation! It parked right in front of the fire, with its crew already hopping out. The fire chief left his seat first, his status obvious by the big '1' on his firefighting helmet.

'Quick, team!' He ordered. 'Get the hose right away!'

'Aye, sir!' A firefighter shark said.

She did just as her boss ordered and grabbed the hose. A few crabs helped her hold it while a snail stood at the tap. The chief hoisted the end of the hose and aimed it directly at the stand.

'Not too much pressure, Flint!' He said. 'And go!'

The snail (apparently named 'Flint'), turned on the hose. Water gushed from the end of it with alarming pressure. Enough pressure to knock the hotdog cart over. The liquid smothered the flame in seconds, reducing it to smoke in less than a minute. But, just to be safe, the chief made sure the surrounding area was soaked.

'Alright!' He said. 'That's enough. Turn it off!'

The water was turned off, and soon all that was coming out of the tap was a couple of drops. Once the crowd was certain the danger was over, they all cheered for their firefighting heroes.

'No need to thank me,' The chief said, not dropping that serious expression once. 'Just doing our job.'

The adult Guppies were relieved that the danger had been averted. Nonny was even checking his heart rate, just to make sure that it was calming down. But one Guppy had barely paid attention to the fire. Her focus was aimed elsewhere as soon as the chief stepped out of the fire truck. And that was because the fire chief was very familiar to her.

'Gil?!' She cried. 'Is that YOU?!'

Brianna abandoned all logic and social rules, and charged right across the park. Zooli was the only one who noticed her dashing away and tried her best to follow her. Unfortunately, Brianna was already at the chief's tail fins.

'I can't believe it!' She said. 'You are totally Gil!'

There was no way this fire chief wasn't Gil. He had the same spiky blue hair and camo tail. Yes, he had sharp stubble all over his chin, and there was an impressive scar over his right eye. But it couldn't be anyone else. Brianna was so used to Gil's silliness and friendly attitude from the promotional videos that she expected a fun greeting. What else would Gil supply? But that wasn't quite what she got.

'What are you doing here?!' He demanded.

Brianna flinched. Gil - it still couldn't be anyone else - looked down at her with a terrifying expression. That kind of look that everyone's least favourite teacher would give to a student they didn't like.

'The fire may be out,' He said. 'But this is still a strictly no-citizen zone!'

'B-But Gil,' Brianna stammered. 'I-'

'I don't know how you know my name, but I don't care. Get away from this spot until we leave!'

Brianna was so shocked by his serious attitude that she forgot to swim away. Luckily, Zooli had caught up by this point.

'I am so sorry, Sir,' She said. 'But she-'

'Is she your kid?' Gil asked, cocking an eyebrow.

'No, but I'm taking full responsibility for her. Please, don't get mad at her. She was just excited to see you.'

Gil stared them down. He wasn't quite as tall as Zooli, but he made up for it by having muscles for days. His arms were so thick and tough that he could probably punch through wood. To say the least, it was somewhat unnerving. Especially for Brianna, who was so used to him being a silly little child who couldn't hurt a fly.

'Oh, give them a break, Gil!' The firefighter lady said, grinning. 'The kid just got excited, that's all. It's not like she ran onto the scene while the fire was still blazing. Cool off a little!'

Gil rolled his eyes and sighed. 'Alright, I'll let you off. Don't do this again.'

'I won't!' Brianna said. 'I promise.'

'Now, I have to ask. How do you know my name? I've never seen you guys around here.'

Brianna brimmed with excitement. All this time, she was looking for Deema, and Gil was now standing right there in front of her! She hardly knew where to begin.

'I'm a huge fan of the band you used to be a part of!' She said.

Gil blinked at her. '... The what?'

Here it was again. A Guppy seemingly struggling to remember the 'good old days'. By now, Brianna expected a response like this.

'You know, the band!' She said. 'Where you would sing songs together with your friends. Molly, and Deema, and-'

'Wait, Molly?' Gil said. 'Oh. Right. That band. The Bubble Guppies.'

'See? You remember! Wasn't it great? And this lady right here was part of the band too!'

Gil turned his attention to Zooli, who smiled and waved nervously. Judging by that incredulous look on his face, he didn't recognise her at all.

'Look, kid,' He said, talking to Brianna again.

'My name is Br-'

'Great to see that there are still people who liked that band. Seriously, it was a great time. But that was a long time ago, kid. I've got more important things to worry about.'

'But don't you want you-?'

Gil did not want for her to finish her request, and turned right around to get back into his truck. Probably to drive back to the fire station and wait for another call. Brianna opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say. But someone did.

'Gil, wait!'

And that someone was Goby.

Author Notes - Typically in Bubble Guppies fanfics that depict the Guppies as adults, their personalities don't really change much. There's nothing wrong with this. And it makes sense, really. The whole point of writing Bubble Guppies fanfics is to see more stories starring our favourite Guppies, which isn't nearly as fun if their personalities are all out of whack. But at the same time, I think it would be interesting if their older versions really did have differing personalities. After all, it's been a lot of years. People change.

So in this story, while most of the Guppies are as we remember them, Gil is most certainly not. It will be a lot more clear in the next chapter, but our 'turbo-charged boy' is no longer the jumpy and silly kid we knew and loved. Now, he's a lot more serious, no longer jumpy, and a bit of jerk. But only a bit. Don't worry. He's still that sweet kid deep down. It's just that he's grown up, and that sometimes comes with a massive personality change.