Author Notes - No new Guppies to be found in this chapter, but don't think it isn't important. It delves a lot into Brianna and why she loves the band so much. And absolutely will not contain any projection on my part.

CHAPTER FIVE - PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Brianna gulped down her nerves as she and Zooli approached her front door. Oona and Nonny had gone home, with Oona staying over at Nonny's place. So, it was just the two of them. The sun was setting. It was almost time for Brianna herself to be heading back home. But not like this.

Her stomach churned. For anyone else, bringing their hero back home to meet their parents would be an amazing moment. One to remember for years to come. A story to pass down to the kids and grandkids if they had any. But not for Brianna. Zooli didn't make a difference. Anyone could be standing next to her, going to ask her parents' permission, and her feelings would not change.

'Remember, Brianna,' Zooli said. 'If your parents say no, and they probably will, you're not coming with us.'

'Yes,' Brianna said with a sigh. 'I know that.'

But a 'no' was not what Brianna was worried about. A 'no' would rather surprise her. She shuddered when Zooli knocked on the door, and Brianna's mother Taylor answered the call.

'Oh, there you are, Bri,' She said in a nonchalant voice. 'And who's this?'

'T-This is Zooli, Mum,' Brianna replied. 'You know, one of the people in that band I really like!'

'Huh. Okay then. What's she doing here?'

Zooli found Taylor's non-caring attitude quite odd. Not really the way to react to a celebrity being at your doorstep. If one could call Zooli a 'celebrity' anymore.

'Uh, hello, Ms…' Zooli said, hoping the lady would say her name.

'Taylor,' The woman said.

'Taylor, I came here because I want to ask you something. See, my friends and I are thinking about going to Big Bubble City to see if we can reunite with our band members. Brianna is a really big fan, as I'm sure you know, and she wants to come with us. But, of course, I had to ask you first. Yo-'

'Yeah, that's fine.'

The speed of the answer, and the nonchalant tone, stunned the words right out of Zooli. She stopped speaking mid-word, and her mouth was left hanging open.

'W-What?' She asked.

'She can go,' Taylor said with a shrug. 'See if I care.'

'Uh, Taylor, with all due respect, you don't know me. It's one thing to let your daughter come with me at all. But you haven't had any time to think about this! Don't you think you should-?'

'I said she could go. Might as well spend the night with you. No need to keep talking. Now, leave me alone.'

And with that, she shut the door. Zooli knocked again, calling out her name, but to no response. Brianna had stayed silent the whole time, not at all surprised with how it turned out.

'Don't bother, Zooli,' Brianna said. 'She won't listen.'

Zooli huffed. 'I know you trust me, but your mother has no reason to. Doesn't she care that she could be casually handing her daughter over to someone who's gonna hurt her!'

'No. Not really.'

'That-' Zooli's expression softened. 'Wait, huh?'

Brianna brought her hand to her elbow and rubbed it, not looking up from the ground. Whatever words she wanted to say did not want to leave her mouth. She couldn't work up the energy to speak.

'Do you wanna… talk about that?' Zooli asked.

After a few seconds of no response at all, Brianna nodded.

'Alright,' Zooli said, kneeling down. 'But I think we should go over to my place to do that. Somewhere indoors. My wife and I will prepare dinner for you, and you can talk about this whenever you want.'

The idea of going over to Zooli's place for dinner, and a sleepover, was enough to perk Brianna's spirits back up again. She raised her head and smiled.

'What are we waiting for?' She said. 'Let's go!'

She zipped off into the streets, leaving Zooli at the doorstep. Only a few seconds later, she returned.

'Wait…' She said. 'Where do you live?'

Brianna's sour mood improved immensely when she arrived at Zooli's doorstep. The front garden looked like a miniature jungle, with tall grass and massive bushes. It contrasted with the houses it was sandwiched between, which were as neat and tidy as the rest of the town's. The kind of place you'd expect someone like Zooli to have.

Zooli was about to open the door, but stopped herself.

'Got any allergies?' She asked. 'To animals, I mean. Cats, dogs, birds…'

Brianna shook her head. 'Nope! Hayfever kicks my butt every spring but otherwise I'm fine!'

'Okay, good.'

That was the only warning that Brianna got before Zooli opened the door. A mere second later, a big mermaid dog - a German Shepherd, specifically - charged through the house and licked Zooli all over her face.

'Hey, HEY!' Zooli said between laughs. 'Down, girl, down!'

The big dog obeyed her order, but not before licking her face a few more times. She sat down on the floor, sitting up like a little princess.

'That's Dingo,' Zooli said. 'And yes, you're allowed to pat her.'

Brianna took this offer immediately, patting Dingo on the head. Dingo's tail wagged a mile a minute, and she gave Brianna a big lick on the face. Her neck was so big that Brianna could barely wrap her arms around it. The young girl was so distracted by the big doggo that she didn't notice someone else entering the room.

'Well,' The new lady said, with a thick Australian accent. 'Look at what the old Zooli dragged in.'

Brianna looked up from Dingo and saw a woman standing before her. A woman about Zooli's age with long turquoise hair tied up into a flowing ponytail, and a patchy tail coloured a most soothing shade of deep blue.

'Hi!' Brianna said, waving. 'You must be Bindi, right? Zooli told me about you. That is, like, the thickest Australian accent I have ever heard.'

Bindi laughed. 'That's right, mate. What brings you here?'

'I'm going to bring the Bubble Guppies back together again!'

Bindi stopped smiling. 'You're going to do what now?'

Zooli chuckled nervously. 'Uh, let me catch you up.'

'And now she's staying the night before we all head out to Big Bubble City tomorrow.'

Zooli told Bindi the whole story. From meeting Brianna by chance in the bakery, to meeting Nonny and Oona again, to Brianna's parents 'granting permission'. Bindi was on the edge of her seat the whole time, waiting for Zooli to finish it so she could yell out…

'CRIKEY!'

Zooli sighed. 'How long were you waiting to say that?'

'That's one hell of a story!' Bindi said. 'You're really going to go all the way out to Big Bubble City, just for a chance to see your old friends again?'

'That's right. You can blame Brianna for it. It was all her idea, after all.'

'Blame me?' Brianna said. 'You don't have to go, ya know. You chose to go along with this!'

'She's right!' Bindi said. 'And I know you too well. If you didn't want to go, you wouldn't.'

Dingo lay on the floor at Bindi's tail fins, but she certainly wasn't the only animal in the house. Brianna was sandwiched between two cats - a little ball of white fluff named Felix, and a big Maine Coon named Francesca. Felix was sleeping away like the world had stopped around him, while Francesca kept nibbling softly on Brianna's fingers. A frog (Izzy the Fifth) in a big glass cage overlooked the living room and croaked a happy tune.

The one pet who interested Brianna above all else, however, was the seahorse in a tank. Zander, his name was. According to Zooli, he was the direct descendant of Zelda, the seahorse who had inspired the band to write and perform 'Little Seahorse' for their sixth album. Brianna wasn't sure if that story was true or just something Zooli was making up, but it made Zander intriguing nonetheless.

'If you wanna come with me,' Zooli said. 'You're invited.'

Bindi shook her head. 'Yeah nah. I'm not much of a city person. B'sides, we have a dozen pets to take care of, and you're not going to find a pet sitter willing to take it all on.'

'Fair enough.' Zooli glanced at Brianna. 'Hey, kid. If you want, I can take you to the guest bedroom so we can have that little talk.'

Brianna frowned. But only for a moment.

'Yeah!' She said. 'I'd like that!'

The guest bedroom was far plainer compared to the rest of the house - much less like a discount jungle - but Brianna was fine with that. Heck, she could've been sleeping in a box in the backyard and she would've been happy. She was going to sleep on Zooli's property! She and Zooli sat down on the bed, looking out the window as night covered the land.

'So…' Zooli said. 'You wanna talk about your parents?'

Brianna let out a mournful sigh. 'Yeah. It's nice to share things like that with, um, friends.'

Zooli got comfortable, staying silent and letting Brianna do all the talking. Sometimes, just letting a friend talk was all you needed to do.

'My parents are… they're alright,' Brianna said. 'They feed me. They hug me. They, kinda, remember my birthday every year. But they don't really listen to me. Sometimes, it feels like they forget they even have a daughter. And when I try to talk to them about my problems, they just… they just don't listen to me. One time, they got kinda mad at me and said I was an accident.'

'If it makes you feel any better,' Zooli said. 'I was an accident too. It doesn't always mean you were unwanted.'

Brianna chuckled, weakly. 'Yeah, but I'm not sure. My parents never really felt like they were there for me. I-I kinda struggled to keep going sometimes.'

'What kept you going?'

Brianna smiled. For real, this time. A smile that practically brought the sunshine back to the nighttime world.

'You guys!' She said. 'It was you and your band that kept me going all those years! Ever since I heard your song about Australia on the radio once, I could see the light shining in the darkness. When kids at school were mean to me and my parents wouldn't listen, I had your music. I could imagine being friends with you, and the others. And whenever I was sad, all I had to do was play one of your songs and I felt so much better!'

As Brianna explained her story, Zooli could feel her heart melting. There was no denying that the band had been extraordinarily popular, but never before had she thought about those fans. The fans who reached out to the Bubble Guppies in their times of need.

'When I listened to your music,' Brianna continued. 'I felt like I really belonged. I would read all the fanfiction and look through all the old forums. Yeah, by the time I got into it, the band had broken up years ago. Long before I was even born. It really hurt when I learnt that. But it didn't matter. The fanbase was practically dead and I didn't care! I had a community and I had friends. People who helped me through the darkest moments of my life!'

Zooli didn't know what to say. That band had faded to the back of her mind, pushed aside for more important things like her zoology courses and nature documentaries. Never in her life would she have imagined how important it would've been for someone she may never have even met. And who knew how many other people like Brianna needed the band to get through tough scrapes? But even if it was just Brianna, that was more than enough.

'Wow…' She said. 'I never knew our band could have that much of an effect on someone.'

Brianna leaned against Zooli, who found herself wrapping her arm around the little girl. Now, Zooli had never really wanted children. Not only was her job quite busy and dangerous, but little kids just weren't her cup of tea. But as she sat there, with Brianna cuddling up against her, there was a brief moment where she wondered if - maybe - she did want kids after all.

Then she remembered the time she had to stop a little kid from touching a blue-ringed octopus, and decided she had made the right choice.

'That's why this is so important to me,' Brianna said. 'To see the band back together one last time… it would be so special. I have to try, no matter what. Even if I can't quite succeed, I've still got three members of the band back together!'

'Well,' Zooli said. 'In that case, I will try my best to make sure you reach your dream. I can't guarantee that we'll get everyone back or even find them, but I will not give up until we have tried everything. Besides, I… I'd like to see the old band again.' She paused. 'They actually had a similar effect on my life too.'

Brianna looked up at her with the eyes of a sad but curious puppy.

'They did?' She asked.

Zooli nodded. 'See, I was a big fan of theirs before I joined the band for real. Back when I lived in Big Bubble City, I didn't get along well with my classmates. I was always the weird kid who talked to animals. But when I met the Bubble Guppies, for real, my life changed. I had friends. I was a part of my favourite band! I don't think I'd be the person I am today without them.'

'Well, in that case, we really will get the whole band back together. I can feel it. I think we can really do it.'

Author Notes - While my life hasn't been quite identical to Brianna's (my parents certainly aren't neglectful), it is true that Bubble Guppies helped me through a tough time. High school, specifically. Brianna's story is meant to reflect all the people who got attached to a work of fiction to help them escape from a difficult reality. Especially when it's something as 'saccharine' as Bubble Guppies. There's something about seeing a group of friends accepting each other's differences and having fun adventures without a care in the world (with the occasional minor conflict).