Author Notes - Despite the title of this chapter, this is not the end of the story. There's still at least 3-4 chapters planned. I'm in for the long haul now!

CHAPTER SEVEN - IT COMES TO AN END

The party had ended. Not because it was time to go home or because their parents arrived to pick them up. It was only because the Guppies were beginning to fall asleep from all the partying. So, Mr Grouper set up a few makeshift beds on the floor for each of them.

Funnily enough, Nonny was the first one to go to sleep. As the main star of the celebration, he had partied particularly hard for his standards. It had him drained in hours. The others kept celebrating, as per his request, until they fell asleep one by one.

Goby was the first to go after him. Then Molly, Zooli, even Gil and Bubble Puppy. Deema, surprisingly, didn't end up outlasting everyone. She came close, but Oona just barely beat her by a few minutes.

'They're even more adorable when they're sleeping,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'Aren't they?'

Mr Grouper chuckled; his old friend would've never said something like that before he met the Guppies.

'They really are,' He said. 'If this ends up being the last time I see them all together like this, then… well, that would be just fine.'

'They're never going to forget you,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'I'm telling you, you're gonna be the first person they call when big things happen. Mr Grouper, I made it into college. Mr Grouper, I'm a parent now. It won't always be happy, though. One day, you'll get something like... my grandparents aren't with me anymore.'

'And I'll be there for it, no matter how good or bad the news might be. I'd be happy to help them through any bad times they might be going through.'

'Wow. You are so much better than any of my teachers ever were. Especially that one lady who kept hitting me with a ruler.'

'I still can't believe schools used to do that. What were they even trying to accomplish?'

Mr Grumpfish shrugged. 'It made me hate her, for whatever that's worth.'

It didn't take much longer before the Guppies' parents arrived. Nonny's father Leo, ever the overprotective one, swooped in long before the others showed up, carrying his little boy out as slowly and as carefully as he could.

'Thanks for taking such good care of my son,' He whispered to the fish. 'I was always worried no one would bother trying to teach him, but you did that and so much more.'

'Of course,' Mr Grouper said. 'If a teacher can't teach a kid, it's on the teacher. Not the child.'

It took a while after Leo left for anyone else to show up. Next was Gil's mother Fiona and his big brother Dorson. Gil was awoken by their movement, but only partially. He murmured half-formed sentences, saying that he wanted to stay, while he was carried out.

Deema's mother and father weren't too far behind. Diane was doing the usual: breaking down into tears at the mere thought of her daughter getting older. Like she did on Deema's first day of school. And when her tooth fell out. And- Daryl had to do the heavylifting, trying to relax his wife. After all, she was now pregnant with their second child. Mr Grouper couldn't wait to hear that call from Deema.

Molly's mother, Madison, arrived to pick her up. Mia was already fast asleep at home, after spending a whole day learning how to swim. Marty had to stay at home to watch her, much to his annoyance. They both loved their daughters, of course, but two little girls could be such a hassle sometimes.

When it was Goby's turn, it was in fact his older sisters - Tetra and Minnow - who came by. Minnow was old enough to be home by herself for a few hours at a time now, and it was a responsibility she took by bossing her little sister around.

They were followed almost immediately by Oona's mothers Kagami and Sakura, and her brother Kian. No matter what, they always stuck together. The tragedies of their past always loomed over them, but they never let that get in their way of Little Oona's life.

'Welp, looks like it's time for me to head off,' Mr Grumpfish said, looking over the empty classroom. 'My niece will be visiting tomorrow, and she'll tease me for weeks if the place isn't cleaned up by the time she gets there.'

'Wouldn't want to keep you!' Mr Grouper said. 'It's been wonderful, having you here to celebrate this wonderful day.'

'I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It's still kind of sad to think about, though. Imagining this classroom without those seven kids, and their little puppy, running around everywhere. Those kids were special.'

'Indeed they were. … Well, I hope to see you again soon, Leonard.'

'I hope the same thing too, Harold. Goodbye!'

'Bye-bye!'

Once Mr Grumpfish headed home, it left Mr Grouper all alone in the empty classroom. A silent empty classroom. The only thing he could hear, aside from his own breathing, was the quiet popping of bubble streams outside.

The room where children used to swim around joyfully was now empty. The air was no longer filled with their laughter or singing. The objects scattered around stood perfectly still, unable to move without curious little Guppies around to play with them.

It was a ghost town.

No more Molly to sing him songs. No more Gil to show him optimism. No more Goby to tell him imaginative stories. No more Deema to make him laugh. No more Oona to make him feel better. No more Nonny or Zooli to teach him new things.

And no more times would he be told that he 'certainly came to the right place'.

'Well, Harold. This… this is it…'

His voice shattered the silence and echoed in the empty building. Hearing his own voice coming back to him was the final straw. The final reminder that it was all over now, and now he had to wait for a new batch of students who wouldn't be anything like the Bubble Guppies.

The Guppies had finally left. One of them, possibly for good. Now that he was the only one left in the building, Harold - as he would now be called until the next class arrived - didn't have to wait any longer.

He swam into his office - for the last time for months - and wept.

Nonny woke up the next day in his bedroom, waking up a little later than he usually did. He slowly lifted his head up and placed his glasses on, feeling fatigue in every bone. Evidently, he had partied so hard that his body still hadn't recovered from it. And he didn't regret a single moment of it.

His tired eyes glanced over at his digital clock. Even his glasses couldn't clear up the morning fog in his brain. The moment he realised what time it was, he gasped: it was long after school was supposed to start. He was halfway out of bed before he remembered that there wasn't a school to be late to anymore. At least, not until he enrolled in Fishington's grade school.

Fishington… The move would be happening soon. His father said that he wanted to move quickly, so Nonny had plenty of time to settle into Fishington before he attended school there. Which unfortunately meant he only had a day or two in Bubbletucky after school ended. Not that Nonny minded, since his father checked with him first to make sure it was a good idea.

It didn't take long at all before Leo peeked his head through the open door, giving his son a smile.

'Good morning, kiddo,' He said, quietly.

He ducked out of the room without another word, before quickly returning with a bowl of cereal balanced on a stable-table. It was a sign that he wanted to treat his younger son today, giving him breakfast in bed instead of at the kitchen table. The only times he did this was when Nonny was sick or had been upset the day before.

Nonny didn't say anything as he sat up to eat, because he didn't need to. Leo already knew how much his son appreciated the little things like this.

'You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow,' Leo said, sweetly and gently. 'We'll drive around the town before we leave for Fishington. There's plenty of time to do almost whatever you want. Wanna have a relaxing day at home today?'

Nonny swallowed a spoonful of cereal and nodded.

'Alright, son,' Leo said, giving him a kiss on the forehead. 'I know this is going to be difficult for you. So we'll take the next few days nice and slowly. Yell if you need anything.'

Leo gave him another quick forehead kiss and left the room, leaving the door open just a little. It left Nonny by himself in a calming and quiet room, where he could eat his cereal in peace. The only thing he could hear outside of his near-silent room was his pet chihuahua, Perrita, who was barking wildly. Probably at a squirrel or something.

There was another voice just outside his yard, a voice he could just barely hear.

'Calm down, Perrita! You know me. I'm Oona!'

Nonny's eyes snapped wide, and he almost choked on his cereal. Oona was coming to visit him today?! Yes, it was his last day in Bubbletucky, but he never told anyone exactly when they were making the move. Oona was always the one exception to his social-free break days, but why today?!

He continued eating his cereal, hoping that she was just passing by. That hope was dashed when she heard a knock on the front door, followed by that door being opened.

'Oh, Oona, it's you!' His mother Allison said. 'What brings you here?'

Nonny gulped as quietly as he could so he could listen to the response.

'Nonny's moving soon, right?' Oona asked. 'I wanna spend the day with him. But only if he wants me to!'

Allison chuckled. 'You know, you probably could've just called us.'

'I know. But I was already swimming by, so I thought I might as well.'

'Well, it all depends. You'll have to check with him to make sure that he wants that.'

'Yes!' Nonny said. 'I do.'

His voice was too quiet to reach all the way to the front door, and he grimaced. He wasn't quite sure why he expected her to hear him in the first place.

'Oh, wait, is he even awake?' Oona asked. 'He partied pretty hard yesterday.'

'You've just caught him!' Allison replied. 'He woke up about ten minutes ago. I think he's still eating breakfast in his room, so be careful.'

'I will!'

Nonny had just enough time to finish off his meal and put the bowl aside when the door creaked open slowly. When he saw those friendly brown eyes looking at him, his heart skipped a beat.

'H-Hello, Oona,' He said. 'I, uh, heard everything you were saying.'

Oona giggled, pushing the door open all the way. 'Of course you did! Your ears are really good. So, do you want to-'

'Yes! … Yes, I do. It would be nice.'

Her smile grew. 'Oh, really? That's great! I wasn't sure if you wanted to, since you'd want to rest today, but I'm happy that you do! … Do you wanna do anything, or do you just wanna stay home?'

Nonny thought about this question for a moment. 'I think I'd rather stay at home. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.'

'That's okay with me!'

She sat down at the edge of his bed, looking at him for a moment before looking around the room instead. His walls were covered in dinosaur posters, and many figurines of the prehistoric lizards were scattered around his room in perfect lines. It was so different from Deema's room, another Oona had visited regularly, which was a lot messier than this.

'I like your room,' Oona said.

'You've said that before,' Nonny said. 'My room hardly changes.'

'I know, but this is gonna be the last time I see it. Your new room won't be the same.'

'I'll try to put everything in the same place.'

'Yeah, but it won't feel the same way anymore. Will it?'

'... No. No it won't.'

Nonny dragged himself out of bed and out of his pyjama shirt, throwing the piece of fabric onto the bed. It was the messiest thing in the whole room, and for once he didn't feel like cleaning it up. Today wasn't a day for doing any work.

'Have you been to Fishington before?' Oona asked.

'Once or twice, to visit my half-brother,' Nonny replied. 'It's a nice town. A lot bigger than Bubbletucky, though. My father made sure to choose a house in a quiet part of the neighbourhood, but it's still gonna be really busy. There's a lot of cool places there, and their zoo is a lot bigger than ours.'

Oona's face lit up. 'Fishington has a zoo? And it's even bigger than ours? Oh, I would love to go there!'

'You and the others can visit me sometimes, while I visit Bubbletucky too. It's a very different kind of town, but it's still nice.'

'Do they have any dinosaur museums there?'

'Not about dinosaurs. But they have a museum about the town's history. I went there with Nick once. It's really interesting.'

'Well, if Bubbletucky is the only town around with a dinosaur themed museum, then you have a good reason to visit! Other than us, of course.'

Hearing her sweet voice, and listening to her being so invested in just about everything he was saying, reminded Nonny of how much she was going to miss her. He'd never tell the rest of his friends, but he was going to miss her most of all. Easily.

'Hey, Nonny,' Oona said. 'I had an idea. People can videochat and phone each other, right?'

'Yes.'

'Then we can exchange numbers! So I can call you whenever you're not visiting! … But I know you don't like unexpected phone calls. Maybe we can work out a good time. That way, I can even invite some of our friends too! Not just the Bubble Guppies, but any friends you'd make in Fishington too.'

'... I don't know if I'll be making any new friends. That might be too hard.'

Oona laughed. 'Nonny, you're a member of a beloved children's band. Everyone's gonna know you!'

Nonny shook his head. 'Friends and fans aren't the same thing.'

'True, but people still love you! And anyway, I wouldn't be happy if we were the only friends you ever made. You're an awesome kid! You deserve more friends than just us.'

Nonny's stomach churned at the thought of making new friends all over again. Making friends with the original five Guppies was hard enough, and Zooli was only easy because the others were there. To make new friends in a new neighbourhood, without the Bubble Guppies there to back him up…

'I know you're nervous, Nonny,' Oona said, taking his head. 'Anyone would be. It's going to be tough, but you might be the greatest person in the world!'

'I, uh, wouldn't say that,' Nonny said. 'Let's… start off humble.'

'Oh, alright. You're a pretty nice kid. Just be you, and you'll make some friends. Don't feel like you're letting us go or anything like that. I don't want you to be lonely.'

The inevitable loneliness that Nonny would feel for a few days wasn't important at that moment. It was all in the future. For now, he was going to give Oona a smile and appreciate her company while it was still within reach.

Nonny was just about falling asleep, after Oona had stayed with him the whole day, when he picked up that special card again. The one with all the lovely signatures on it. He opened it up to the first page, where that strange blank space had been filled. There were six names in this spot, each much bigger than the other names and with totally different font to each other. One name was soft and dotted with hearts, while another was so wild it was hard to read. One was decorated with lightning bolts, another with paw prints. One had turned the L's into musical notes. And the last surrounded his name with all sorts of trinkets from their adventures.

Oona, Deema, Gil, Zooli, Molly, Goby...

He fell asleep with tears - both happy and sad - in his eyes.

Author Notes - I really wanted to show how Mr Grouper handled the situation, which might be easy for other fans to kind of forget. Mr Grouper doesn't play major roles in fanfictions every often, which makes sense. While he is a good character, he pales in comparison to the Bubble Guppies themselves. Heck, he isn't even mentioned in the theme song!

Still, he is an important character, and his situation is quite similar and yet totally different to how the Guppies are dealing with this. I tried to capture what a teacher might be going through in a moment like this, and ended up making myself feel sad in the process.