Author Notes - So I've hinted about a particularly major writing decision that I had been debating quite heavily. This chapter is the reveal of that decision. Hold onto your seat. Big things are going to happen today. HEADS UP, this chapter might be really sad. Hopefully, I've done a good enough job with what I tried to do. I genuinely teared up a little as I was re-reading this chapter to proofread it, so consider that your warning.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - TO BUBBLETUCKY AGAIN

Brianna watched, through the bus window, as Big Bubble City drifted further and further away. She wasn't much of a city person anyway. She breathed in the salt spray in the air as she sat on the edge of the boat. And she kept herself entertained on her phone as Nonny drove them through the desert. Goby was driving his own car right behind them, with Deema and Gil in tow.

'Gil did send you the address,' Zooli said. 'Right? Because I don't feel like spending hours trying to find where Mia lives.'

'Yes, he did,' Nonny said. 'We won't get lost. I have Oona reading the directions.'

'We've totally got this!' Oona said. 'Stop worrying. I just hope Mia's got a massive guest bedroom, because I am going out like a light as soon as we get there.'

Brianna stayed quiet for most of the trip. Molly wasn't coming. It was a reality she was slowly starting to face. There was a hope, deep inside her, that Molly would change her mind and come back. It was a hope she tried to hold back. It wasn't likely.

'It says to turn left.'

'Where? There's so many places to turn left.'

'It just says to turn left! I think the GPS is a little slow.'

'I'll just choose this road and hope for the best.'

'Wait, Nonny, I think this is a dead end!'

A slightly uncooperative GPS aside, they were able to find Mia's place easily. Especially since Goby's car was parked out in front of it, with Gil leaning against the car.

'About time you got here!' He said, as Brianna and the others left the car. 'What happened?'

'Blame the freaking GPS!' Oona said (another reminder about what words she was actually using). 'Couldn't make up its freaking mind.'

Nonny cringed. 'Oona, please. Don't use that language in front of Mia.'

Brianna put her phone away and rushed to the front door. The disappointment of what happened with Molly was squashed by the excitement of meeting Mia. The other Guppies were totally unable to stop her from knocking on Mia's door very loudly.

'MIA!' She shouted. 'We're here! You home?'

Zooli ran to her side as fast as she could, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her away. She wasn't sure when exactly on this journey she became a better mother to Brianna than Bri's actual mother, but she knew it had happened at some point.

'Don't rush at people's doors,' She said. 'But I suppose Mia couldn't have missed that.'

And sure enough, 'DON'T WORRY, GUYS! I'M COMING!'

It didn't take long at all for Mia to answer the door.

'Hey! Hi!' She said, waving. 'Oh, you're all here. I'm not sure if I have room for all of you, but we'll see what we can do. Come on in!'

Brianna was too distracted by the sight to do that. She could only stare at Mia. Seeing her on a screen was one thing. Seeing her in person was another. A young child to an adult was wild enough. Imagine a baby to an adult. Mia looked a lot like Molly, of course, just with shorter hair and a pink tail instead of blue. And almost nothing like those baby pictures. At this age, the five-year-gap was almost impossible to notice.

It was like some bizarre form of jetlag. All the images of Mia that Brianna had seen were of a baby. And now she was truly realising that said baby had been an adult this whole time. And was probably a teenager when Brianna was born. The more Brianna thought about it, the more her brain hurt.

Zooli tapped her on the shoulder, which was enough to bring her back to reality.

'Oh my gosh!' She said. 'You're Molly's little sister!'

Mia laughed. 'Yep. So stunned that all you can do is state the obvious, huh?'

'She's had a lot of excitement over the past few days,' Zooli said. 'I wouldn't surprised if she was running out.'

Mia peered at Zooli, then at Brianna, and then back up at Zooli. They did not look anything alike.

'So…' Mia said. 'Is this a foster home kind of situation, or-?'

'No!' Zooli said, a little loudly. 'Brianna is not my child. And she's not the child of anyone else here either. But someone here has to be her guardian, and it ended up being me.'

'Eh, fair enough. Well, welcome to the abode! My sis was kind enough to buy a nice place for me. It's not very big, though, so some of you might have to sit on the floor or at the dining table.'

'Works for me!' Oona said.

Oona was the first one in, followed by everyone else. Gil was the last one through the door and gave Mia a little smile as he swam by. They expected to see Oona lying down on the couch, but instead they found her lying on the floor. In front of the couch.

'Uh, Oona,' Mia said. 'There's a-'

'I know,' Oona said. 'But you just said there isn't much room, and I want you guys to have it. Besides, it's nice down here.'

Deema grinned. 'Oh sweet! Can I join?'

Goby grabbed her hand and gently pulled her away. 'I think one Guppy on the floor is enough.'

It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but most of the remaining Guppies were able to fit on the couch. Brianna pulled up a chair from the dining room and put it next to the other Guppies. Mia swam into the room with a smile on her face. A very excited, and maybe slightly crazed, smile. She was staring right at Deema.

'S-So, uh, Ms Swimmer…' She said. 'If it isn't much trouble, I'd, uh…'

'I'll sign whatever you want,' Deema said. 'But I have more important things I wanna talk about.'

'I… I just can't believe you're here! YOU! Ms Swimmer!'

'Yeah, had a feeling this was going to happen. Mia, I want you to pretend that I'm not a world famous celebrity known for her beauty and unbelievable amounts of talent.'

'And unbelievable amounts of humility,' Gil remarked.

'Um, y-yeah,' Mia said, wiping her sweaty palms on her tail. 'I can do that. … I'll try to do that.'

Everyone could tell from the look on her face that she couldn't quite do it, but none of them commented on it.

'So, uh, what are we here to talk about?' Mia asked. 'Just general stuff, or…?'

'See, we have a plan,' Deema said.

'We do?' Goby asked. 'I thought we were just here to, you know, talk and catch up.'

'Well, we are. But we're also here because we got a really cool idea.'

'No,' Nonny said. 'We do not. You seem to have a really cool idea that you're not telling us.'

'Just let her do it!' Oona said, still on the floor. 'I think we all know what she's like by now.'

The others, seemingly being held hostage by Deema and her wild ideas, waited with anticipation (and maybe a dash of worry). They all turned to her, prompting her to do a dramatic pause like she was currently on stage.

'What I think we should do now that we're back in Bubbletucky is,' Deema said, pausing again. 'We should make a big comeback. You know how sometimes, bands will come back together and they'll do this big comeback thingy? We should do that! We're back together after god knows how long. The Bubble Guppies - minus one - are back, baby!'

Brianna beamed. 'That's just what I was thinking we should do! What's the point of bringing everyone together if we're not going to do this big celebration for it? We could advertise it everywhere. Rent out a theatre or stage or something. Or we could just start singing those old songs in the middle of the street! Mia can join if she wants to, or she can just continue on with her life. Either way, it would be awesome!'

'That is a weird thing to announce first thing after popping into my house,' Mia said. 'But that sounds awesome! Let's do it!'

The other Guppies were reeling a little from how spontaneous this all was. A big performance was the expectation, but after a while it seemed like nothing more than a simple reunion. At least, they had expected to be given a bit of warning first.

'What, now?' Gil asked.

'Hell yeah!' Deema said. 'I don't see why not.'

'As awesome as that sounds,' Zooli said. 'I can think of a few reasons why we shouldn't do it now. We just got done with a very long drive, first of all. We're exhausted. Oona is literally on the floor.'

Oona held a thumbs-up into the air, apparently lacking the motivation to speak.

'And,' Zooli continued. 'We'd have to, you know, organise it first. We can't just waltz into Town Hall and decide that the place is suddenly ours now.'

'Why not?' Deema asked. 'This town's our birthplace! I'm sure they'd let us borrow the place.'

'Most of us are not celebrities,' Nonny said. 'Not anymore. And I'm sure even Ms Swimmer can't get a venue just by declaring it so.'

Deema put her hand to her chin. 'Hmm, good point. I think I tried that once. Turns out that I can't just tell a couple restaurant owners that the whole building was mine for the night. Hoo boy, was that the humbling of a lifetime!'

'Yeah,' Brianna said. 'Even I think doing it right now, as cool as that would be, is probably asking a bit much. But we should totally try it! It might be worth trying to call up the, um, Town Hall people and see if they'll do it. Or, we could always pick a quieter spot in Downtown Bubbletucky and see if we can get the ball rolling. We could even-' She gasped. 'We could get Mr Grouper to help us!'

As far as Brianna was aware, it was a brilliant idea. She had seen Mr Grouper in so many of the promotional videos, and knew that he was a wonderful person. And unlike with Molly, there was no risk of him growing up to be a jerk. He was already all grown-up! But the other Guppies didn't seem to agree. They all looked at each other awkwardly, exchanging winces and sad expressions among themselves. It was enough to get Oona to sit up.

'What's wrong?' Brianna asked. 'I think it's a great idea! Don't you?'

Zooli was the one to stand up, grabbing Brianna by the hands and gently pulling her to her tailfins.

'You guys can catch up with Mia,' She said. 'I'll tell Brianna what's going on.'

The others seemed to agree, silently. Zooli searched around for the backdoor of the house and brought Brianna into the backyard. There was a little bench for them to sit in the shade, aimed right at the setting sun. Zooli made sure that Brianna was comfortable before she said anything.

'Don't you think it's a good idea to get Mr Grouper to help you?' Brianna asked. 'He was always so good at that! Surely that wouldn't change after just a couple decades.'

She waited to get her answer, but it didn't arrive at first. Zooli just sat there, head hanging and shoulders slumped.

'It's a great idea,' She said, quietly. 'Really, it is. I'd love to go find Mr Grouper and have him help us. You don't know how much I want to be able to do that. But I can't. None of us can. And we never will, no matter how hard any of us try or wish for it. B-Because, Mr Grouper is…'

She struggled to finish the sentence. Every time she tried to say that final word, it got caught in her throat and all that came out was a choke. Brianna, at first, didn't understand it. But then, it hit her. Her eyes went wide. Her heart skipped a beat.

'No…' She said. 'I-It can't be. Is Mr Grouper…?'

She couldn't finish the sentence either. But, somehow, they both knew exactly how that sentence would end. Zooli simply nodded. And the reality of the answer hit Brianna like a ton of bricks.

'He can't be!' She cried. 'It… it hasn't been that long, has it?'

'Bri,' Zooli said. 'It's been more than twenty years. Do you know how much can happen over a time like that?'

'There's no way. Mr Grouper can't be gone. He can't! He wasn't even that old, was he?'

'He was in his forties when he was teaching the class. I'm not sure, but he must've been in his early seventies when he… he passed away.'

'B-But seventy isn't that old!'

Brianna regretted those words almost as soon as they left her mouth. Even as socially awkward as she was, she could see the pain in Zooli's eyes. The teacher's age didn't matter one bit. She stayed quiet, trying to comprehend this bit of news. That bright, cheerful face that showed up all over the promotional materials was now gone. Forever. She took out her phone and searched through the dozens, if not hundreds, of photos she had saved of the band until she found one focused on Mr Grouper.

The wonderful smile staring back at her was now nothing more than a memory.

'I-I'm so sorry you had to learn this, Bri,' Zooli said. 'I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain it to you. But when you suggested we… we get Mr Grouper to help us, I couldn't leave you in the dark.'

'It's… it's okay,' Brianna said. 'I'd have to know sooner or later.' She paused, for a long while. 'Do… do you know what happened to him?'

'I know exactly what happened to him. Even though it had been years and years since I had really talked to him, he sent me a video a while back. A pretty long video too, but I can show you the important parts.'

'Are you sure you want to do that? Won't that be really hard on you?'

'You deserve to know.'

Zooli took out her own phone. It didn't take long at all for her to find the video in question. Brianna's heart broke when she saw Mr Grouper there, standing by himself in the middle of a room. He looked so tired, and his eyes were a little red like he had been crying. But still, he gave the camera a genuine smile.

'Hello, Zooli,' He said. 'I don't know if you even still remember me anymore, but I certainly remember you. After all these years, I never forgot the greatest group of children I have ever met. All seven of you meant so much to me. You were like my second family. So, I'm making this video to tell you the bad news. You should be allowed to know what's happening. And… And I'm so sorry that I had to do this.'

His voice sounded old and tired, and not just from age. Like he had spent the last few hours speaking non-stop. It was dawning on Brianna that this hadn't been the only video he had made. He must've made a unique video for all seven of his beloved students.

'I learnt, not too long ago, that I… I have bowel cancer. I've tried my best to fight it, but my body's had other ideas. The doctors tell me there's nothing more they can do for me. It's terminal. I have a year left at most.'

Brianna glanced up at Zooli's face. Her eyes were shimmering under the setting sun's light.

'I was so frightened when I first got the news. But now, I… I'm not so scared anymore. I've done everything I'd want to do in life. I had a job I loved doing. I've seen so many of my grandchildren being born and growing up. I have left the kind of mark on the world that I wanted. After everything I've done, I'm prepared for the end. But my greatest regret will always be that I never spent nearly as much time with you guys as I should have. And for that, I apologise. I don't know where any of you are right now, so this might be the last time you ever hear my voice.'

Brianna could feel the tears gathering in her eyes too. She had never met Mr Grouper - never got the chance - but his sweet and friendly personality emanated from every video she had seen him in. In so many ways, he had been more of a father to her than her actual father had ever been.

'Zooli, you were a late addition to my class. All the other Guppies were there from the beginning, but you were not. Sometimes, I'd worry about you. I feared that you felt like an outsider, like you weren't really part of the group. But then I'd see how my other students treated you, and I would realise that I had nothing to worry about. Still, should you ever feel like that, I want you to know that I loved you just as much as the others. I didn't care one bit that you were a late arrival. You were part of my class, and that was all that mattered.'

That was where Zooli paused the video. Perhaps that was the 'important' part, or maybe she couldn't watch anymore. Tears were gathering in her eyes, but she was smiling.

'T-This wasn't actually the last time I saw him,' She said with a quiet sniffle. 'I was adventuring through the Amazon when I got this video. When I did, Bindi and I took the first flight back to Bubbletucky.'

'Do you think the other Guppies got a video like this?' Brianna asked.

'Oh, absolutely. I bet Mr Grouper made a new video for each of us. He never would've just made one generic video and sent that to everyone, or only made one for a single student.'

Brianna looked at the frame the video had been paused on. Unlike so many other abrupt freeze-frames, this one was almost perfect. Mr Grouper, even as his life was coming to an end, still had that warm fatherly smile on his face. Zooli wiped her eyes with her arm, regaining her composure.

'Then we have to do this,' Brianna said. 'More than ever.'

'What makes you say that?' Zooli asked.

'Mr Grouper would've loved to see the Bubble Guppies reunite and become friends again. Even if Molly isn't coming along, we have everyone else. And if you believe in heaven or whatever, then he could be watching us all right now. Waiting for the day you finally come back together!'

Zooli smiled, and looked up at the sky. She was never sure if she believed in an afterlife or not, preferring just to think about her current life and how best to live it before it ended. But at that moment, she could've sworn she could feel Mr Grouper smiling down upon her.

'Yeah!' She said. 'Let's do it not just for us and our fans, but for Mr Grouper too!'

Author Notes - In case it isn't obvious, the 'tough writing decision' I've been alluding to was indeed to kill off Mr Grouper. I had been debating it ever since I started this story, going back and forth over whether or not I wanted him to still be alive after all this time. After a long debate with myself, I decided to go through with having him be dead before the story begins. This was NOT a decision I took lightly. Not at all. I chose to do so because I believed it opened up new opportunities to explore themes and ideas that no other Bubble Guppies fanfiction has really tackled: how the Guppies would react to Mr Grouper's death. Not to mention that it serves as a motivation for Molly's arc in the later parts of this story.

I wish to bring up 'Thirty Years Later' again, because one of the many problems I have with it is its awful use of killing off characters. Spoilers for a story you shouldn't even read anyway, but not only did Mr Grouper die at some point in the past, but I also killed off Mia and Oona in ways that were borderline disrespectful. Mia's callous death (of a drug overdose) is hardly even referenced outside of the chapter where it happens. With my decision to kill off Mr Grouper, I am aiming to avoid the mistakes I had made before. His death is now a major part of the rest of the story, fuelling everyone's motivations and will be talked about plenty of times. The Guppies avoided talking about him before because they wanted to forget it had ever happened. But now that Brianna has forced them to remember, it will be a major topic of their discussions from now on.

Like I said, my decision to kill off a major character like this was not done lightly or carelessly like I had done in 'Thirty Years Later'. I can only hope I've given the topic and the weight behind the decision the care and respect that it deserves.