Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A few weeks passed by since buster's visit to jimmy. He hadn't told anyone else about where he had been that day and he told suki to also keep it a secret. Though suki didn't like the idea of it, she kept her word to buster. The others were none the wiser.

Production on the theaters next show had already begun. Gunter had suggested a story based on Greek mythology, specifically the story of hades and persephone. The cast had also gotten the chance to meet the four newest members of the cast that were part of the recent auditions.

Things seemed to be going well.

Buster sat in his office, writing and adjusting the script on his laptop. His sleeping habits have been getting better, thanks to the help of rosita making sure he got some sleep. Feeling more awake than usual, he was finally able to get some work done without dosing off.

He suddenly looked up when he heard a knock at the door. "Come on in!" He called out, not looking up from his laptop as the door opened. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice did he look away from his work.

"Hey buster!"

Upon looking up, a smile grew on his face when he saw the friendly smile of the sheep in front of him.

"Eddie!"

Buster leapt up from his chair and rushed over to hug eddie, almost knocking the sheep back due to the fact that he could only hug his legs. "Woah! I missed you too buddy!" Eddie said with a smile.

"It's great to see you! When did you get back?" Buster asked, pulling away from the hug to look up at Eddie.

Eddie Noodleman, grandson to Nana Noodleman, left Calatonia to continue school not long after the reopening of the new moon theater. Though buster missed his friend dearly, he was happy that Eddie was pursuing his dreams. He was also glad that Eddie didn't know about what truly happened in redshore. The sheep had heard about the shows success but that was all he heard, according to the emails he would send to buster. And that was all he would ever know.

"I got here this morning." Eddie said, "I was gonna go see my folks first but I couldn't wait to see you!"

"Aw, Eddie you shouldn't have. Family comes first." Buster said, rushing over to his desk and grabbing the laptop. "I'm glad you're here though! We have a lot to..." buster then noticed eddie holding a envelope in his hoof. "What's that?"

"Oh. Well, when I was coming in, some guy in a suit asked me to give this to you." Eddie handed the envelope to buster. Once in his paws, he opened it and started to read it.

Dear Buster Moon,
With Crystal entertainment under new management,
We would be honored by you and your casts presence at
this year's Redshore city's 30th
Annual Charity Gala
To help donate money to the redshore city's.
Children's hospital.
__________
Jan 26, 2022 at 6pm
Crystal Tower Hotel
______
We understand that your previous experience with our.
Company was not ideal. But our host would
be honored to have you and your cast members here
to help a noble cause.

Once he was done reading the letter, his eyes were wide in surprise and his mouth was opened agape.

"Buster?" Eddie glanced over buster's shoulder and quickly read over the letter. Soon his facial expression matched buster's.

-----------

"Wait. You're being serious right now?"

"Yes! I am not kidding, we were just invited to the redshore city's annual gala!" Buster was standing on stage with the original cast listening to him talk. Their faces showed nothing but pure excitement and joy, all except for ash. She was looking over the letter, her eyes showed concern.

"I'm not sure about this, moon. I mean, after everything that happened in redshore, you sure you want to go back?"

"I understand, ash. But I promise you, I'll be completely fine while we're there."

Ash didn't look convinced. She walked over to buster and led him away from the others, "And what about Jimmy? You know he got out a few weeks ago. What if this is a trick?"

Buster stiffened when ash mentioned jimmy. He quickly shook it off before ash could notice, "T-The place will have security. I'm sure if he were to do anything, they'd stop him. If he were to get in that is."

"I still don't think this is a good idea..."

"...I know." He admitted. "But...I can't just avoid it for the rest of my life. If I don't get it over with now, it'll probably be worse later on."

Ash glanced at buster, sighing. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive." He replied.

"Then..." ash gave a soft smile. "I guess we should get ready until the gala, huh?"

Buster nodded, "yup. We got quite a week ahead of us."

Buster watched as ash smiled and went back to join the others. They were talking amongst themselves about the gala, having been known for being the biggest event in redshore city. Where only the most famous or richest animals were invited.

"You guys are gonna love it!" Porsha said happily. Having been the daughter of a wealthy businessman, it was obvious that she had formally attended the party once. "Oh! We should all go shopping! We can get new outfits and..."

Buster smiled. After all that had happened recently, it was nice to see porsha smile once again. He glanced down at the letter, focusing on the line that mentions crystal entertainment being under new management. A part of him wondered who was now in charge of crystal's company. But the thought went away when he remembered when ash mentioned that jimmy was already out of prison.

He was relieved that they hadn't heard from the wolf since their last interaction. But it didn't make him any less afraid. Looking back at what he said, he wouldn't be surprised if he discovered crystal was hunting him down to finish him off. As long as crystal stayed away, everything would be fine.

-----------

"Goodnight porsha."

"Goodnight dad."

Buster smiled when porsha called him dad. She had been calling him that ever since the night when he had told her he saw her as his own daughter. He was glad that she was getting better from the damage her father had caused. Buster made his way to his bedroom, climbing onto the stack of books that layed next to his bed, allowing him easy access onto the mattress.

He layed his head down on the pillow, covering himself with the blanket before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---------

"Everything is all set for the gala. Invitations have been sent out. Especially to moon." Jerry said, holding a tablet which showed the guest list for the gala. Buster's name, along with rosita, ash, meena, gunter, Johnny, and porsha's, were all on the list.

"Thank you jerry." A feminine voice replied. In the office of former owner, jimmy crystal. A white Siberian tiger stared out the window upon redshore city.

"Let us hope that Mr. Moon will accept our offer. Otherwise all of this, will have been for nothing..."

Chapter Text

The day before the gala had finally arrived. Ever since they had received the invitation, porsha had been helping them prepare. Having had personal experience at a gala, she knew exactly what she was doing when she took everyone out shopping. "Did the invite say who the host was?" Porsha had asked. It would make sense that she'd want to know who was now in charge of her father's company. "It didn't say." Buster replied, "but it did say that the host would be happy if we came."

As night fell, the group met at the bus station. All were packed and ready for the trip back to redshore city. Johnny and nooshy were the last to arrive to arrive at the station. "Sorry we're late mr. Moon!" Johnny said, trying to catch his breath after running all the way to the station. Nooshy was right behind him, wearing a backpack. "I hope you don't mind but nooshy wanted to come along." He said.

Nooshy waved at the others, "I don't really care about the gala. I just have some....things I need to take care of in redshore." She said with a sheepish smile.

While her words peeked at Johnny's curiosity, he didn't dare to ask nooshy what she meant. When he had asked before about her life in redshore city, nooshy only replied with, "the city isn't as great as everyone thinks it is. If you were a nobody like me, you would experience the hardships first hand." That was all she had said on the matter. And wanting to respect his friend, he left it at that.

The group boarded the bus, taking seats at the back like they had previously when they first visited redshore city. As buster took a seat, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Upon taking it out he could see suki lane's name on the screen. He answered the call, putting the phone close to his ear.

"Suki?"

"Moon, are you on your way to redshore?"

Buster raised a brow. "Um, yeah? How did you know?"

On the other line, suki held the phone to her ear while entering an elevator in the crystal entertainment building. "I still work with crystal's company. I know about you guys getting invited to the charity gala." She replied as she pressed the button to close the elevator door. "Look, I called because I want you to reconsider."

Buster raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"There's a lot you need to know but I have to start from the beginning. First, about your host"

Buster's ears slightly perked up. Finally, he would know who their mysterious host was. "Her name is Jewel. She was a performer here at crystal entertainment before getting offers from the majestic theater. Because of her success, she was the first person the company contacted. Now she runs crystal entertainment unless porsha decides to take over the company later on." Suki explained quickly. Buster tried to process this information as best his could. All he could understand was that jewel was the name of their host.

"Suki, slow down-"

Suki continued, not hearing Buster as she spoke. "This gala isn't just about the charity event. Ever since crystal was arrested, the press has been bombarding employees, former performers, stage directors, anyone they can find to ask about crystal. About why they never spoke out about his violent behavior. Jewel wants the gala to help put these questions and rumors to rest." Buster noticed a change in suki's tone. She sounded as though she was getting angry the more she spoke. "But the way she wants to do that is by-"

Before suki could finish her sentence, the call ended. Buster frowned and looked at his phone only to see the image of an empty battery. "Damn it.." he muttered.

"You good, moon?" Ash asked, having heard buster.

"Yeah. I just forgot to charge my phone before we left. Suki was telling me about the gala."

"Really? What did she say?" Gunter asked curiously. The others turned their attention to buster, all interested in hearing what the talent agent had revealed about the gala. "Well, she told us who our host is. Her name is jewel!" Buster said.

"Wait. Jewel? That act they showed on the buildings in the city?" Johnny asked, looking back at when they first went to the city. The billboards and screens on the buildings showed many different acts, one of them showing an act that featured a female white siberian tiger with the name Jewel as the title.

Buster nodded, "I believe that's the one. She said that jewel once performed for crystal." Porsha's ears perked up, glancing up from her phone to listen in on their conversation. She became lost in thought as she remembered her father allowing her to watch as jewel practiced in the theater when she was four years old. She smiled softly at the memory before tuning back into the conversation.

Buster frowned when he looked back at what suki had said, "she also mentioned something about the press. About how they've been asking employees and others about crystal's aggressive behavior." He said, recalling what suki told him. Nooshy rolled her eyes, "I'm not surprised. He probably blackmailed or bribed people to keep their mouths shut!" Johnny nodded in agreement.

"Was there anything else?"

"I think so. But my phone died before she could tell me." Buster said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

----------

"Hello? Buster?!" Suki looked at her phone, the call was disconnected. She groaned in frustration and shoved her phone into her pocket. Once the elevator door opened, suki stepped out and headed towards her own office. Upon entering, she put the folders she held on the desk in frustration. Sitting back in her chair as she tried to contact buster again. "Come on...pick up!"

------

The ride to redshore city was long. Just like it was before. Most of the crew fell asleep during the trip, all except for buster. The koala stayed awake in fear that he would have a nightmare once again. The nightmares had stopped for a while until he went to the redshore city prison to see jimmy. Ever since then, the nightmares came back but they were worse. He would remember waking up on a stage, darkness surrounding him. He'd try to call out for someone but he would always find himself alone. It would be then when he'd see one of the cast, feeling relieved at first. But everytime he'd approached them, they would turn and stare at him with pure hatred in their eyes.

He quickly shook the thought from his head, not wanting to experience the nightmares again. He already felt guilty about not telling the others about his visit with crystal. He didn't want these nightmares to become another problem. He stared out the window, gazing up at the night sky while trying to keep his eyes open. He was exhausted. He longed to close his eyes and drift off into sleep, but his own fears kept him awake.

--------

As morning came, the bus finally arrived in redshore city. The others woke up the moment the bus arrived at the station. "Here we are again." Ash said as she exited the bus, glancing around at the surroundings. The city still looked the same as it was during their first visit. Buster was the last one to exit the bus, stumbling as he got off. Rosita noticed, "Are you okay, buster?" She asked. "Huh..? Oh! Yes, rosita! I'm fine." He yawned as he spoke. Rosita raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Buster turned his attention to the others, "now then, let's find ourselves a hotel. The gala starts at 6:00 so we have plenty..." buster's voice drifted off as he did a head count, frowning. "Where's nooshy?"

At the mention of the snow lynx, Johnny looked beside him. She was standing beside him when they exited the bus, but he was shocked to see that the snow lynx was no longer there.

"What the?-"

"She was just here, wasn't she?"

"Where did she go?"

"Well, she did say she had to take care of something." Ash said, recalling what nooshy had said back in calatonia. "She must've left already." While the others seemed to understand, johnny still had a look of concern. "It's still kinda odd...she left without saying anything.." he said as he followed the others to find a taxi. "Don't worry, Johnny. I'm sure she's fine." Rosita said in a comforting tone, hoping to calm the gorilla's nerves. Johnny could only nod his head. Part of him wanted to go find nooshy, but he wanted to respect her privacy and leave her to whatever it was she was doing.

---------

Nooshy watched from afar as the group got inside a taxi. She wore her hoodie so she wasn't easily found by johnny, who took a quick glance around the area before getting inside the taxi. Once they were gone, she removed her hoodie and pulled out her phone. She opened her messages and read a text that had been sent to her that morning.

-Are you on your way?- The text read. Nooshy began to type in her reply.

-Yeah. Just arrived in redshore. See you tonight.-

After sending the text, she put her earphones on. Putting on a song to listen to as she made her way through the city.

~Yo sé que soy un cabrón
Que no merezco tu perdón
Te juro que no e' mi intención
Pero si escucha' esta canción~

As the music played, nooshy hummed along to the song. Her body moved to the music as she made her way across the street to the other side.

~Te deseo lo mejor
Ojalá que te olvides de mí
Yo sé que fui lo peor
Y tú mereces ser feli' ~

Nooshy made her way through the streets of redshore. Not once stopping. She knew where she was going. Turning up her music a bit when she passed by a karaoke diner, it's music from the inside surprisingly louder than her own music.

~Me voy antes de que sea tarde
Y el corazón te destroce otra ve'
Ya sé que soy un cobarde
Si quiere' haz que no me conoce', está bien~

Meanwhile, Johnny stated out the window of the taxi at the city. The city was active as people shopped, enjoyed the sights, or watched street performers. At the sight of a group of performers dancing with a crowd around them, he was immediately reminded of nooshy.

~Otra ve' no cumplí lo que te prometí
Otra ve' te fallé, otra ve' te mentí, eh-eh
Otra ve' me toca ser el malo~

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and looked through his photo gallery. He smiled as he looked through photos of him and the others. Most of them were pictures of them before and after shows. He eventually came across of picture of him and nooshy after their first show together at the majestic theater.

~Otra ve' me toca ser el malo
¿De qué valen la' flore' y lo' regalo'?
Si soy culpable de tu dolor
Y por mí ahora ere' peor
No quiere' que más nadie te hable de amor
Pero yo~

He stared at the photo for a while. The picture showed the two, nooshy having had climbed on johnny's back and smiling. While johnny remembered him feeling awkward having the lynx on his back, he couldn't help but smile at her antics.

~Te deseo lo mejor
Ojalá que te olvides de mí
Yo sé que fui lo peor
Y tú mereces ser feli' ~

The taxi eventually came to a stop at a hotel. Everyone grabbed their bags out of the trunk and made their way inside to check in. As he grabbed his bag, johnny opened his messages and decided to send a quick text to nooshy.

-Hey. Just wanted to let you know we made it to the hotel. I'll send you the location. Let me know when you're on your way.- The text read. He sent the text before catching up to the others.

~Me voy ante' de que sea tarde
Y el corazón te destroce otra ve'
Ya sé que soy un cobarde
Si quiere' haz que no me conoce', está bien, eh~

As the song came to an end. nooshy glanced at her phone, seeing a new message from johnny. She quickly read it and was about to reply when she noticed someone approaching her. She shoved her phone into her pocket and walked up to the 'stranger'.

"Hey man!" She waved at the animal standing in front of her. "Wasn't expecting to see you til tonight." The animal in front of her was a dachshund dog around the same age as her, wearing a dark gray sweater with jeans. "Sorry. But i couldn't wait to see you again. It's been a while, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I just had to get out of the city for a while." Nooshy said, leaving out the part about her moving to calatonia indefinitely.

"Well..." the dog smiled at nooshy, "it's good to have you back."

Nooshy plastered a fake smile on her face, "it's...good to be back."

Chapter Text

Nooshy followed her friend, Douglas through an alleyway, her hands in her pockets clutching a mini taser she always kept on her. The streets never failed to make her paranoid. She reminded herself that she wouldn't be in the city long, though it only helped a little. "So, what brings you back here anyway?" Douglas asked, not turning back to look at her. Nooshy bit her lip, "Ah, well. You know, just....missed the sights." She said in a slight nervous tone.

Douglas chuckled, "yeah. But i don't blame ya for leaving, you know." The two arrived at an apartment complex. Entering and heading up the stairs to the upper levels of the apartment. "I would've left too but...still got a debt to pay off." He said. Nooshy frowned upon hearing this, stopping in her tracks on the stairwell. Douglas noticed this and looked back at her, confused.

She looked back at her friend, "She's here. Isn't she?"

Douglas stared at her for a moment, sighing. "Yeah...she's here."

-------

The time had finally arrived for the gala to begin. As the group started to head out, buster pulled out his now fully-charged phone. He turned it on only to find several missed calls and messages from suki. He frowned as he opened his messages to see the multiple texts from her.

-Moon! Answer your phone!-

-Please!-

-Did something happen?!-

-Are you okay?!-

-PICK UP YOUR FUCKING PHONE!-

Buster grimaced at the sight of the messages. Whatever suki had wanted to tell him, it was obviously important. He was just about to call her when meena suddenly approached him. She wore a similar outfit to the one she had on during out of this world, only it lacked of it's long fabric following after her and rather than it being white, it was a navy blue color. She had a look of excitement on her face. "They've sent a limo for us, Mr. Moon!" She said, not able to contain her excitement. He couldn't help but smile at seeing the elephant so thrilled to be attending such a high class event. He glanced at his phone before putting it back in his pocket. If suki knew so much about the gala, she would most likely be there.

"Okay! Let's get going everyone!"

-------

The ride to the crystal hotel gave the group a sense of déjà vu. For Buster, it felt like only yesterday that crystal had agreed to let him and his cast put on their show, and they were heading to the hotel to think of the story. Despite the sound of his cast talking excitedly in the limo, their voices were low to buster as he was lost in his own thoughts. The memories came rushing in and no matter how much he tried to think of anything else, it wasn't long before he found himself back in the crystal tower. Jimmy holding him by his shirt over the edge of the balcony, threatening to let go. His breath started to quicken, catching the attention of ash.

"Moon!" She rushed over to buster, the others turning their attention to the two. The sound of ash's voice was enough to snap him back into reality and see the worried faces of his cast. "I knew this was a bad idea! We need to get-"

"No! It's okay, ash." Buster quickly reassured her. Before ash could protest, the limo came to a complete stop. The door was opened by the driver revealing the crystal tower hotel. Paparazzi and news anchors were surrounding the hotel, snapping photos of the well dressed guests who went inside. The moment the door to the limo was opened, paparazzi started taking as many pictures as they could of the theater cast. The sudden flashing lights caused ash to cover her eyes slightly from the brightness, allowing buster to quickly get away from her.

He felt bad for avoiding ash, especially since she was still worried about his mental health. But he couldn't risk revealing the prison visit. He couldn't stand to see the way she'd look at him if he told her. The very thought of it hurt his heart. Ash was like a daughter to him, he didn't want her to feel any sort of pain. The group exited the limo, getting escorted by hotel staff in order to get through the paparazzi.

--------

Back in Calatonia, Jenna washed the dishes as the TV played on in the background, humming softly to herself. it happened to be the exact channel where the news were doing a report on the redshore city gala.

"I'm here at the crystal tower hotel where redshore city's 30th annual charity gala is taking place. Redshore city is know for its talented celebrities, all who are attending tonight's event to help donate to the redshore's children's hospital. Oh! I am just receiving word that buster moon, owner of the new moon theater in Calatonia and the stage director of his latest show, Out of This World, has just arrived with his cast!"

Jenna's ears perked up, looking up from the sink and turning her attention to the TV. On the screen, she could see buster moon and the rest of the cast being escorted by hotel security. Multiple reporters attempting to ask them questions. Most of them were focused on buster, the questions centered around jimmy crystal. Jenna watched as the koala try to avoid the reporters, eventually getting to the point where rosita had to step in between buster and the crowd. She remembered when she had first heard about Jimmy crystal's arrest, how buster was almost killed during crystal's violent rampage, as the news put it.

On her first day at the theater, she kept that in mind and did her best to make sure she didn't bring it up or do anything to offend buster in any way. And now seeing him being bombarded by reporters trying to get him to reopen old wounds, she couldn't help but shake her head in disappointment at the scene. As she finished up the dishes, she walked over to the coffee table. She grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone to text a friend of hers to meet her at a certain location. Deciding to take her mind off things and going out to gain the rest of the rent money that had been due.

--------

"Can you believe those guys?" Rosita said, glaring back at the reporters behind them as the group entered the hotel. The mother of 25 wore a sparkly dark blue dress, looking at buster with concern. "You okay?"

Buster gave her a smile. "Yes. Thank you rosita. I guess suki wasn't kidding when she mentioned the press." He chuckled.

"There was a lot more paparazzi than usual." Porsha stated. The wolf was dressed in a silver retro suit with black heels. Ash glanced at porsha, "Really? That's the first thing you noticed?" The porcupine wore the exact same dress she wore during out of this world.

Johnny was right beside porsha, wearing a white tuxedo shirt with a black bow tie. Though he wore his leather jacket rather than the tuxedo jacket. "So it's usually this crazy at these things?" He asked porsha, not being entirely used to seeing that many people surrounding them and reacting as they would when seeing a celebrity. Porsha nodded in response. And finally, Gunter, who was beside rosita, wore a sparkly gold colored tuxedo and bow tie. The group finally reached a room. The two large doors were opened by the hotel staff to reveal the room where the official party took place. The animals in the room wore elegant outfits and talked amongst themselves. The cast could even recognize some of the guests as performers in redshore city.

Everyone, minus porsha and the hotel staff, stared into the room in astonishment. Buster felt a rush of pride and joy. After having struggled to make it to the big leagues, this was it! He, along with his found family, were now at the biggest party in redshore!

"Um, buster?"

Buster snapped out of his thoughts, he looked over at Gunter, who was staring ahead of them with wide eyes and a nervous expression. "Something wrong, gunter?" The pig said nothing as he gestured to the animal approaching them. Buster looked in the direction gunter was staring in and froze, Now understanding why gunter had a look of fear on his face.

Suki lane was approaching the group. She wore a black evening gown, her hair tied in a bun. She stared straight at buster, her eyes filled with rage. Buster gulped and gave the dog a nervous smile and wave. One thought going through his mind as suki got closer.

'I'm dead.'

---------

Nooshy and Douglas were standing in front of a apartment room door, The snow lynx glared at her friend, "why didn't you tell me?! She's the last person I want to see right now!" She whispered harshly. Her fists were balled up and shaking, as though she was considering throwing a punch towards the dog. Douglas turned to face the lynx, "look, I'm already in deep shit with her because of my debt! I thought if you were here, maybe...."

"What? That she'd decide to spare you for another week?!"

"Vi respects you, nooshy!" Douglas cried, catching nooshy off guard. "If I go in there alone, I'm as good as dead! But if you're in there with me, maybe she'll give me more time!" He stared at nooshy with sorrow and fear in his eyes. Nooshy felt a stab of guilt. When she had first payed off her debt, the first thing she wanted to do was leave redshore. She didn't want to remember what she went through, she wanted to start fresh. But here she was, back in the city in a situation where she had no choice but to go along with it in order to protect an old friend.

"Fine." She muttered, not looking at douglas as the dog pulled out his key and unlocked the door to his apartment. Nooshy felt a sense of dread when they were greeted with a damaged room. The dull lights flickered as they walked in, stepping on pieces of glass that had been scattered all around the room.

The two froze when they heard a familiar voice, "Hey Douglas."

The two looked behind them to see a snow leopard reveal herself from behind the door, shutting it as she approached the two. With her were two more animals, a bear and a gorilla. The snow leopard wore a dark scarlet leather jacket with high waist tights and a pair of black boots. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark room, a smug look on her face.

Nooshy watched as Douglas nervously smiled, "Vi! I-I wasn't expecting you to be here!" He chuckled, sweating bullets as the snow leopard, Vi, stared down at him.

"You know why I'm here, douglas." She said, her ice cold voice sent a chill down nooshy's spine. The bear and gorilla got closer to the three, standing behind Vi menacingly. As vi looked at douglas, she glanced over at nooshy. In an instant, her dark expression changed.

Nooshy noticed, "hey vi."

"Nooshy." Vi stared at the lynx, "haven't seen you in a while. Thought you skipped town." She sneered.

"Like I'd ever want to leave this dump." Nooshy replied sarcastically, "I LOVE redshore!"

Vi let out a small chuckle in response. She glanced back at douglas, who was staring at the two. When he noticed vi staring at him, he gulped. She said nothing, instead she looked back at the animals behind her and gestured her head towards the door. The two nodded and left the room, leaving the three inside alone.

Vi took a seat on the sofa within the apartment, "Good thing you were here nooshy, otherwise Douglas would've been mince meat by now. Gonna be honest though, I didn't really want to get anymore blood all over my outfit tonight." She said with a smirk.

"It wouldn't have made any difference." Nooshy responded, examining the snow leopards outfit, noticing bits of blood. "Jumped a guy before we got here." Vi said, having noticed nooshy's stare. The lynx didn't respond. There was a sickening pain in her stomach as she stood in front of Vi. Another thing that she had told herself when she left was that she would neve associate herself with Vi ever again.

"Okay, let me cut to the chase." She looked back at douglas. "While I did originally come here for my money, I also had a favor to ask of you."

Nooshy didn't like the sound of that.

Douglas glanced at nooshy and back at vi. "W-What kind of favor?"

"As you know, I offer many different services to the animals in redshore city." She pulled over a bag that was beside the sofa, opening it and pulling out a folder. "Recently, we got a job to..." she smirked, "take care of someone." She handed the folder to douglas. Once in his paws, he opened it to reveal a picture of the target and other information. Nooshy's eyes widened in pure horror.

The picture was of buster moon.

"Our client told us that he'll be attending the redshore city's gala tonight. If you help us, your debts will be wiped clean."

Douglas looked at vi, his eyes wide. "Y-You mean it?"

"Cross my heart." She purred.

"I'll do it!" He said without hesitation. Nooshy's heart began to race. Her breathing started to quicken as vi stood up.

"Then let's get going. I already contacted the gang and they'll meet us at the crystal hotel."

Stop them...

"The only way in is through the front unfortunately. The way I see it, we rush in and grab the koala."

Stop them!

"Once we got him, we just finish him off."

"What if someone tries to stop us?"

Stop them!!

"If someone is stupid enough to try, then we'll just kill them too."

STOP THEM!!

"WAIT!"

Vi and Douglas jumped from how loud nooshy had yelled. The two turned to stare at her in confusion. "L-Let me come with you! I know another way in!" She stammered.

Vi raised an eyebrow, "is that so?"

"Y-Yes..."

Vi approached nooshy, bending down to make eye contact with the slightly smaller animal. "Where?" Her eyes glared at nooshy in suspicion.

"T-Through the theater. It leads right to the hotel. We can get in undetected."

"That's the first place we thought of. But we need a security card to get in through the studio."

Nooshy reached into her pocket, not breaking the eye contact between her and vi. She pulled out the key card that buster had kept since their last visit in the city. She had swiped it from him when they returned to redshore. "This is our way in." She said bluntly.

Vi smirked, "Nice to see you've haven't changed, nooshy."

Nooshy clenched her fists, glancing at the ground. The moment vi turned away, she quickly wiped her eyes to prevent anyone from seeing her tears.

'I'm not going to let them hurt you, Mr. Moon. Not you or anyone else.' She thought to herself as she followed the two out of the apartment, trying to quickly think of a plan for when they would arrive at the hotel.

-----------

"H-Hey suki..." before buster could continue, he felt suki grab his arm and lead him away from the others, who stared at the two as they left. Once she had gotten him away from the crowd of people, she let go of his arm and stared down at him.

Buster quickly tried to explain, "suki, I understand you're upset. But my phone had died and by the time-"

"It's too late for that now! Why didn't you just listen to me when I said to reconsider?!" She said, cutting buster off.

"W-Well I don't see what the big deal is!" He exclaimed, "everything is going fine. The only problem we've had so far were the reporters." He looked up at suki.

"That's not it! Jewel-"

"Ms. Suki? Is there a problem?"

The two turned around to see a hite siberian tiger standing behind them. She wore a gold colored evening gown, holding a small handbag in one paw and a glass of champagne in the other. Her blue eyes were filled with concern as she stared at the two, putting down her glass as her eyes met with buster's.

The tiger smiled upon seeing him, "You must be buster moon!" She said.

Buster shared the smile, walking past suki and holding a paw out to shake hands with the tiger, "and you must be Jewel." He watched as the tiger shook his paw, though hers seemed much bigger than his.

"It is truly a pleasure to meet you at last." Jewel stated. "I was afraid you wouldn't show."

"Well, how could I not?" He replied, "it's for such a good cause."

"Indeed it is."

As the two spoke, suki watched on from behind buster. She glared down at him and was about to speak when jewel looked at her. "Suki, is it alright if Mr. Moon and I talk privately?"

Suki stared at her for a moment. but eventually nodded her head and walked off, glancing back at buster one last time before disappearing into the crowd.

"I'm grateful that you decided to come, Mr. Moon." Jewel went on. "I was afraid that after what....occurred the last time you were here, you would decline our invite." She said. Buster immediately knew what she meant.

"It...did cause some debate between my cast." He admitted, looking back at when ash had her doubts about returning to redshore. "But as you can see, I'm here now and perfectly fine."

"I am glad, Mr. Moon"

"Please, call me buster."

The two continued to talk, keeping their distance from the crowd of guests that were in the ballroom. Ash stared at them from a distance, a part of her still worried for buster. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see rosita. "I know you're worried about him, ash. Believe me, I am too." She said, glancing up from the porcupine's eyes to look at buster and jewel as they talked.

"I know. But...did you notice how he was this morning?" Ash asked.

Rosita nodded, "yes. It's obvious he didn't get any sleep."

"Do you think it's because of his nightmares?"

"Most likely..." rosita frowned. "But we can't expect him to get over what happened so quickly. It takes time..."

Ash sighed and nodded in agreement, "yeah. I know..."

----------

After buster was led away by suki, the group had practically split up once he was gone. Either to enjoy the party or to find where suki and buster had gone. Though Johnny had originally tried to find the two, he eventually found himself lost in the sea of animals. He tried to see if he could see a familiar face through the crowd, but so far all he saw were really faces of animals he didn't know. Neither Buster or the others were in sight.

"Johnny?"

At the call of his name, Johnny looked over his shoulder to see who was behind him. He immediately turned around when he saw a familiar tiger in front of him.

"Ryan?"

Johnny felt relief wash over him when the tiger confirmed his question with a nod. At least now there was one person johnny knew that was with him now. "I haven't seen you since the last show! How have you been?"

Johnny shrugged, "Could be better. I kinda got separated from the others." He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled sheepishly.

Ryan chuckled, "same here. I came with a friend of mine and I lost them in the crowd." As Ryan spoke, johnny noticed that the tiger glanced around. "Nooshy isn't here?" He asked. Johnny wasn't entirely surprised by the sudden question. Ever since they first met, it seemed like the two were inseparable. So seeing that he was here alone without the snow lynx by his side making snarky remarks must've been odd to those who have known the two since the show.

"Oh. Well, she said she already had plans tonight so she didn't come with us." He said, answering ryan's question.

"Ah, okay."

For a moment, there was silence between the two. The only other sounds were the chatting of the other animals and the sound of the orchestra playing in the background. Johnny didn't know why, but it suddenly felt hard to speak to the tiger. When they had first met, Ryan was one of the many dancers in klaus's class to show kindness to the gorilla. Even being the first to congratulate him when he had finally managed to pull of the move he had been struggling with. The two would've performed together as well, had it not been for Klaus stealing ryan's role in the show.

But despite the interruption at the show, the two continued to work together as they performed the show in different theaters. They didn't see each other much since then but they have texted on another every now and then. But now, as he stood in front of the tiger once again, he found himself struggling to find words to say.

'What's wrong with me..?'

"Anyway..." Ryan started, "do you...want to hang out? You know, so that way neither of us are alone the entire night?" He said with a nervous laugh. Johnny felt his face heat up, blushing a bit but not knowing why.

He eventually smiled, "sure!"

---------

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' Was the first thing meena thought when she got separated from johnny in the crowd. The two both agreed to go look for buster and suki, both worried for the koala as they remembered suki's death glare. The very thought of it made meena shiver.

The two had stuck together since then but at some point, they got separated. Meena was now walking around, hoping to see either johnny or the others. but due to them being smaller than her and there being other large animals in the ballroom, it was hard to find them in the crowd.

Meena was about to pull out her phone when she noticed a group of animals gathered around one person. She walked over to the group and the closer she got, the more she could hear a familiar voice.

"And then the next show I was in, i played the boyfriend of the main character. Got a ton of awards for that part alone! And-"

"Darius?"

The yak turned his head towards meena, having immediately heard his name. Once he saw her, his face lit up. "Gina!"

Meena frowned slightly when he called her the wrong name, again. But after working with him for so long, she got used to it. "It's meena, darius." She said, reminding the yak once again of her real name.

Darius frowned and let out a sigh, "damn it. Sorry, Gi- I mean meena!" He quickly corrected himself, "it's just...it's been a while since I last saw you and I've been busy-"

"It's okay" she said.

During their performances at the different theaters, meena had gotten more comfortable with performing with darius. And during that time, the yak had made attempts to remember meena's actual name after calling her 'Gina' so many times. Though sometimes he would forget, meena wouldn't get as upset as she used to. She knew at least the yak was trying to remember her name.

"Anyway, how've you been? I honestly wasn't expecting to see you here." Darius admitted.

"I've been good." She said in response.

"Is this a friend of yours, Darius?" asked one of the animals in the group that had gathered around the yak.

"Oh!" Meena felt darius's cloven hoof on her own, pulling her closer as to introduce her to the animals he had been talking to. "Yeah! This is Meena, my co-star from Out of this world!" He said confidently, seemingly excited to introduce the group to her.

Meena watched as Darius talked about her, stating she was a talented singer and a great partner to work with. She smiled sheepishly from the rush of compliments coming from the yak. The group of animals listened and would glance at meena every now and then with looks of surprise and astonishment.

----------

"And after the show, Nana told me she'd buy my theater back and help to rebuild to the way it was back in the day!" Buster said, a wide smile on his face as he recalled the events from a year ago. He and jewel were sitting at a table not far from the crowd. The two talked as they drank champagne and listened to the music the orchestra played.

"My goodness, buster. All of your cast, they sound talented." Jewel smiled, putting her glass down on the table after taking a sip of the champagne. She sighed, "now I wished I had seen your show."

Buster smiled. At the mention of the show, his mind went back to that night. He felt the same pride and joy he felt for his family as they performed that night. Singing their hearts out to show everyone what they were made of. He frowned when a new thought made it's way into his mind.

"Jewel?"

The tiger turned her head, tilting her head slightly, "hm?"

"Suki mentioned that you worked with..." buster hesitated, "...jimmy before you got an offer at the majestic theater..."

Jewel nodded, "yes?"

Buster glanced away, wondering if he should ask what he had in mind. "...why didn't you tell anyone? I-I mean, he almost killed me! I don't want to even imagine how he must've treated you!" His voice grew louder as he spoke, catching the attention of a few of the guests.

Jewel blinked, surprised by the sudden rise in buster's voice, but her gaze softened as she put a paw on the necklace she wore around her neck. "There's a very good reason why I said nothing, Mr. Moon." She turned her gaze to the crowd, looking as though she were lost in thought.

"It's because of Felicity."

Buster looked at the tiger in confusion, "felicity?"

"Jimmy's wife." Jewel answered his question, "when I was a performer here, they both worked together," She let out a dreamy sigh, "She was jimmy's world. They were inseparable. He wasn't the cruel and cold jimmy that everyone knows now, no. He was a completely different wolf."

Buster listened as jewel described the relationship between Jimmy and his wife. It shocked him to hear these things considering how cold and frustrated the wolf was when he had met him. Jewel had also mentioned that felicity favorite song was where the streets have no name. He looked back at the auditions, the only time he ever saw a genuine smile from jimmy was when his cast sang that song.

"But then felicity got sick..." her tone changed and she clenched the necklace she wore. "I was devastated when she passed away....but to jimmy, it was like he took a bullet to the heart.." her soft gaze suddenly disappeared when she noticed jerry approaching her and buster. The cat whispered something to her, sending a glare to buster upon seeing him again.

Jewel stood up, "I have business to attend to." As she began to follow jerry into the crowd, she glanced back at buster and said in a soft tone that buster could hardly hear,

"I hope you will stay after this..."

Buster frowned. What did jewel mean by that? He got up from his chair and went into the crowd. He had to find suki. He needed to know what jewel had meant and suki seemed to be the one who knew what that was. As he walked through the crowd, he spotted rosita and gunter.

"Rosita! Gunter!" He called out.

"There you are!" Gunter exclaimed. The two walked to the koala as jerry began to get the attention of the crowd.

"Everyone! May i have your attention, please?" He shouted over the sound of the guests talking. Eventually, the ballroom became quiet as everyone turned their attention to the small cat with jewel standing behind him, preparing to address the crowd.

"We were worried, buster. What did suki want?" Rosita whispered to him.

"She didn't get the chance to say.."

Jewel's voice echoed throughout the ballroom, "I want to thank you all for coming here tonight. With the money that you and the citizens of redshore city have donated, we will be able to give to the children's hospital and help the young children who will lead us to a brighter future!" The crowd clapped as she finished her sentence.

Buster could see Johnny and meena in the crowd of animals, both were with the animals they had worked with in the show. He then spotted porsha and ash approaching them, the young wolf eyes were wide and she shook as ash tried to comfort her. Buster immediately rushed over to her, "Porsha? What's wrong?!"

"I-I..." she gasps between breaths as she though she was going to hyperventilate, staring at buster with fear in her eyes.

"Calm down, porsha. Breathe." Rosita said, going to her ash's side to help comfort the wolf. Ash turned to buster, looking panicked, "We have to go."

Buster didn't like how ash looked at him, "why? What's going on?"

"There is something else I wish to address!" Jewel announced. "As you know, I am now head of crystal entertainment. And since I took over the company, we have been receiving questions about the former owner, jimmy crystal."

The mention of crystal's name caught buster's attention. "I, myself, cannot speak for his actions on the night the incident occurred, But what i will do is try to put the past behind us!"

As she spoke, Jerry gestured for someone to step out to join jewel in front of the crowd. Buster could not see who Jerry was looking at, but his heart quickened as he heard the crowd gasp in shock. He could see Johnny and meena's facial expressions changed from neutral to looks of pure horror and shock.

Buster knew he wasn't going to see anything if he just stood there. Without saying a word, he rushed to the front of the crowd to see what had caused the state of shock throughout the room. He froze the moment he got close enough to see jewel, he felt as though his heart stopped as his eyes went as wide in horror.

Standing besides jewel, was none other than Jimmy crystal himself.

Buster started breathing heavily as he took a step back, the noises around him were drowned into muffles as his vision began to blur. The last thing he heard before everything went dark was the sound of ash's scream as she rushed over to him.

"BUSTER!!"

Chapter Text

"Everyone! Stand back!"

"Give him some air!"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

The panicked voices of the crowd was all jimmy heard the moment he walked into the room. He stood their beside his former employees, staring in shock at the scene in front of him. He wasn't sure what had happened before the koala fainted and a part of him didn't want to know honestly, all he could see was the crowd of animals suddenly gathering around him the moment he collapsed.

Most of them stepped back when ash got close to the koala, her quills were sticking out defensively as if ready to stick anyone who got too close. She was soon joined by rosita, gunter, Johnny, meena, and even porsha, who looked as though she would faint herself. Jimmy felt himself lurch forward when he saw his daughter collapse to her knees beside the porcupine and koala, but not in an angry or jealous way, but in the sense that he was ready to rush over to her just as the theater cast did for buster.

It was the first time in months that he had seen his daughter since the night of his arrest. She never came to visit him and when she and ash saw him just moments before, she got scared and the two ran away to warn buster. But despite it, he still loved her as much as any other father would.

Johnny carefully picked up the unconscious koala, hotel staff coming and moving the guests away from the cast as they were escorted out of the ballroom. Porsha stood up, glancing back at jimmy as she did. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and tears as she followed the others out. As they left, the crowd starting whispering to each other, some glancing at jimmy while others weren't afraid to give the wolf judgemental stares.

"I knew this was a mistake..." he growled under his breath, adjusting his tie and starting to walk away. Jerry looked distraught as the wolf started to leave.

"Wait! Mr. Crystal, don't go!" He cried. He was about to run after the wolf when he felt a paw on his shoulder.

"I'll go talk to him." Jewel said softly. She began to follow jimmy, leaving Jerry behind in the ballroom.

Jimmy was close to the exit when jewel stopped him. "Jimmy! Wait please!" She called out to him.

"Why should i?" He spat.

"Have you forgotten what you told me?" She reminded him, folding her arms.

At the mention of it, jimmy stopped in his tracks. Remembering the conversation to the two had just a few weeks prior.

---------

"You want to bail me out?"

"Yes."

Jewel was sitting in front of jimmy in the visitor's room. On the table was a folder that held all the legal paperwork involving jimmy's bail inside. The wolf stared at her as though she grew two heads, "why do you want to that?"

"Mr. Crystal..." she began, "we've known each other for a long time. You were the reason I became who I am today..." she paused, clutching the necklace in her paw. "You and felicity..." she said in a soft voice to not be heard by jimmy.

"I'm sure what happened that night was just a misunderstanding-"

"You've heard the news. I went on a 'violent rampage'" jimmy used air quotes as he spoke. "There's no way they'll let me out."

"You'd be surprised the kind of strings I can pull." She said with a playful smirk.

Jimmy couldn't help but chuckle at the action,"Nice to see you still remember my wisdom."

Jewel smiled, for a moment, she saw the old jimmy crystal she once knew. She continued, "once you're out, i have an idea to help better your image. But..." her smile disappeared, "you won't like it."

"What is it?" Jimmy asked, his tone suddenly getting dark as he spoke.

"Well....the redshore city gala is coming up and it's being held at the hotel. The press will there as well as...."

"Moon." He growled the koala's name. Jewel nodded. "Perhaps if we get you two at least in the same room-"

"Not gonna happen."

Jewel stared at the wolf, "what?"

"No. After what he did, the moment I see that little loser, I'm gonna kill him!" He snarled.

--------

That was until Buster payed a visit. The thoughts that he left Jimmy with made the wolf agree with jewel's plan. He had told her that no matter what happened, not to let him leave.

He regretted telling her that, Along with other things he agreed to.

"I know things aren't going as we planned, but we still have the whole night ahead of us!" Jewel said, going to stand in front of Jimmy.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, "oh come on! You really think after that, he'll want to come back?!" He snapped, remembering the glare ash had sent him as they left the room. Even if Buster decided to return to the gala, it seemed like his cast would prevent him from doing so.

"Well, at least stay for the party!" Jewel begged, "Even if we can't get buster to come back, you could at least show everyone that you're trying to get better!"

Jimmy growled something under his breath. But when he looked back at jewel, he sighed. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

The two made their way back to Jerry, who was staring nervously at the crowd as they glared at Jimmy.

--------

"Mr. Moon?"

"I think he's waking up!"

Meena and Gunter's muffled voices were the first thing Buster heard as he started to wake up. His eyes opened and his vision cleared, seeing his cast staring down at him with worried eyes. He groaned as he sat up, putting a paw on his head.

"Ugh, my head...." he glanced around at his surroundings and noticed they were in the lobby of the hotel. Behind his cast, a hotel employee spoke into a walkie-talkie, letting someone know that Buster was now awake. As his memories started to come back to him, his eyes widened and he put a paw to his chest as he began breathing heavily.

"J-Jimmy! I-I saw-!"

"We know." Rosita said, kneeling down to calm Buster down. "We saw him too..."

"Why is he here?!" Buster cried out, not being able to contain the fear he felt. The last time he saw Jimmy was in prison, and after what he said to him, he knew he was dead meat if the wolf were to see him again.

"I bet she invited him." Ash hissed as she mentioned jewel. "I knew this was a bad idea! We need to leave!"

"Yeah, I agree with Ash, let's get out of here," Johnny said, pulling out his phone and muttering the words, "Just let me call Nooshy..."

Buster frowned as the others nodded in agreement, looking back at what Jewel had told him about crystal and what she had told him before she left.

"I hope you will stay after this..."

Why? He had wondered before. Why did she invite him? Then he remembered what she had said about the press. Could this have been a way to get the press of their back? He had to find out for himself, though he knew his cast would not like his decision.

"N-No, ash, we can't leave." Buster said as he stood up with the help of Rosita. Ash stared at the koala, her mouth agape as her eyes were filled with confusion and rage. "What?!" She blurted out, her voice echoed through the lobby.

"We can't just leave. Jewel wants this night to go well and..." he paused, hesitating before speaking again, "if that means I have to stay with-"

"Oh no! Not this time!" Ash cut him off before he could continue. "I can't bear to see you suffer just because of someone else! You just fainted for Christ's sake!" Buster stared at ash in shock, but he shook his head.

"I can handle it!"

"Moon, You've been saying that for months! But everytime you say that, you just keep getting worse!"

"I know! And yes, I've had an episode tonight but if I can face jimmy in prison, I can handle him he-" Buster froze in horror, realizing what he just said. The others looked at him in shock.

Porsha frowned, "...What do you mean by, you faced him in prison? The last time we saw him was on the night he was arrested....right?"

Buster gulped, glancing at the ground to avoid the eyes of his casts. He stammered, "I-I....I didn't....I mean..."

"Is there something you're not telling us, Mr. Moon...?" Meena asked, sounding hurt.

Buster tried to come up with an excuse. A slip of the tongue, a misunderstanding, anything! But nothing came out. He could also tell by their expressions, they most likely won't believe him if he gave them an excuse. He sighed in defeat, it was time to come clean. "Okay..." he started, "a few weeks ago, after you told me about Jimmy's bail....I convinced suki to take me to visit Jimmy in jail..."

"What?!" They shouted in unison, ash being the loudest out of them all.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Rosita asked, suddenly, her eyes grew wide as she realized something. "Is that why you've been getting nightmares again?"

Buster stared at her, "How did you-"

"Come on, buster! You didn't think we noticed how tired you were this morning?"

Buster flinched from the sudden rise in ash's voice. She, out of everyone else, seemed more upset about this. Buster couldn't blame her.

"Why? Why did you keep this from us?" Ash cried, "I thought you were gonna start telling us everything now!"

"L-Look, I'm sorry! Just let me explain!"

Before he could continue, ash shook her head, "No." She looked at buster, pain seen in her eyes.

"If you want to go back in there, be my guest! ...But I'm done." Once that was said, ash turned around to leave. Buster wanted to go after her, but he couldn't move. The look she had given him. It reminded him of his nightmares, the look of betrayal that the cast gave him in those dreams. It shook him to his core, rendering him unable to stop ash as she left lobby.

Johnny soon followed after her, glancing back at Buster, "you should've told us Mr. Moon. We would've helped you..." was all the gorilla said as he walked away. Meena could only glance at Buster with saddened eyes as she followed after.

Rosita watched as they left, looking back at Buster. "I'll go talk to her." She reassured him.

Buster closed his eyes," I was gonna tell her....I-I went on that day because...." he sighed, "I wanted to let him know just how much he hurt me..."

"Look, you did nothing wrong by doing that." Rosita put a hand on his shoulder, "it's just....you kept this from us when you promised you wouldn't keep any secrets anymore..."

"I know I did..." Buster said. He looked up at the three who stayed behind. "You guys should go....I'll....I'll catch up after I do something.."

Rosita looked worried, knowing that whenever he says that, something bad happens. But as much as she wanted to stay, her motherly instincts told her to go after ash. "What are you going to do?" She asked, though she knew whatever he said would only worry her more.

"...Jewel told me a lot about Jimmy and I....I just have to confirm this myself.."

"...." Without warning, the mother of 25 gave Buster a tight hug. Though he was surprised by the sudden action, he didn't hesitate to hug back as though it would be the last time the two would embrace. "Please be safe..." she whispered to him.

"I will." He promised.

As she pulled away, Gunter approached the koala. "Remember, we're here for you, Mr. Moon." He reminded him. Buster nodded in a way to show he would remember it. Gunter joined Rosita as Porsha walked up to Buster, the teenager looked exhausted from earlier, her eyeliner smeared a bit from crying when Buster had fainted.

"U-Um....Buster..?"

"Yes, porsha?"

"When you're done talking with my dad....c-can you let me know...? I....I think I should talk to him..."

"I understand, porsha."

The wolf smiled softly before bending down to hug Buster. He hugged her back, whispering comforting words to her before he pulled away from the hug. Porsha stood up and followed Rosita and Gunter out of the lobby, leaving Buster alone.

Meanwhile outside of the hotel, as Ash called for a taxi, Johnny unlocked his phone to call Nooshy.

--------

"We're here."

Nooshy followed after Vi, Douglas behind her along with several other animals behind them. The animals included the bear and gorilla from before, along with a leopard, a wolf, and a another lynx. The group snuck to the back of the hotel where the studio led to the theater, stopping in front of a door of the dressing room that required a key card.

Vi looked back at Nooshy, "do your thing, sweetheart." She said, knowing that the nickname would annoy her. She smirked when all Nooshy did was glare at her when she approached the door, pulling out the key card she had taken from Buster. She swiped the card, unlocking the door.

"Hold on," She whispered to the animals behind her, taking a step inside. She tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness to see if anyone was inside, but Vi got impatient. She flicked on the light switch, catching Nooshy off guard. She panicked, "Wait!"

Once the lights were on, Nooshy was relieved to see an empty room. The nightcleaners had already done their job for the night. Vi, along with the other animals entered the dressing room.

"Alright, here's what's going to happen..." As Vi began to discuss the plan, Nooshy's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and she held in a gasp when she saw it was from johnny. She snuck back outside to answer the call.

"Johnny?"

"Hey Nooshy. Are you doing okay?" Johnny asked from the other end of the line

"U-Um yeah! Just...hanging with some pals.." she said through gritted teeth, glancing back to make sure Vi wasn't listening in. "So...how's the gala?"

"Well actually, we just left."

At that moment, relief washed over Nooshy. "Really? Why so early?" She asked, though she was glad to hear that they had left, she was still curious as to why.

"Jimmy crystal was there." Johnny's voice was low as he mentioned the wolf.

Nooshy's eyes went wide, "what?!"

"And then Mr. Moon said he had visited Jimmy in jail a few weeks ago! Needless to say, I think Mr. Moon stayed behind."

Nooshy staggered forward, almost dropping her phone. "H-He's still in there?"

"....yes? Nooshy, is something wrong?"

Nooshy opened her mouth to speak but the sound of a door opening stopped Nooshy from doing so. She glanced over her shoulder and quickly recognized the white fur of Vi. Without saying a word, she hung up the phone and tried to shove it back into her pocket, but in her haste she dropped the phone, causing it to crack.

"What are you doing out here?" Vi asked.
Nooshy felt as those the snow leopards stare was burning into her skin, though she avoided her gaze. "N-Nothing. Just got a call from a friend." She uttered.

Vi simply rolled her eyes and walked back inside. "Come on, we have work to do." All Nooshy could do was nod and follow Vi back into the room, forgetting her damaged phone outside.

---------

'This is a bad idea...'

That was all Buster could think about as he entered the ballroom once again. The gala seemed to be continuing as normal, but as he walked through the crowd, animals glanced at him and moved out of the way as he walked through, making an easier path for the showman. It wasn't long until Buster saw Jewel with Suki.

"Jewel! Suki!"

The two turned their attention to him as he rushed over to them. Jewel had a look of relief on her face upon seeing him again, "thank goodness you're alright!"

Buster looked up at the tiger and Jewel frowned when she saw that Buster showed no sign of welcome. "I-Is something wrong?" She asked.

Buster ignored her question and her gaze. "Why did you bring Jimmy here...?"

Jewel stiffened and glanced back at Suki nervously, the dog made a gesture for Jewel to explain her reasoning to Buster.

"Well i....look, I..." she stammered, trying to figure out what to say. "I...I invited him here because I wanted to put a stop to the rumors, the press, everything! I thought if you and Jimmy were here, people might move past the incident..." she stared at the ground, ashamed.

"Where is Jimmy now?"

"He was here a minute ago but...I think he went to the theater..."

The moment Jewel said that, Buster turned his back to the two and rushed out of the ballroom. "Moon, wait!" Suki called after him, causing Buster to skid to a stop. He glanced back to see Suki rushing over to him.

"What are you going to do?"

Buster shrugged. "To be honest...I don't know yet."

Without saying another word, Buster made his way out of the ballroom and towards the theater.

Buster stood at the top of the broken escalator leading down to the theater room. He took a step forward but hesitated. Was this really a good idea? What if things went wrong? What if Jimmy still sought revenge and Buster was walking into his own demise? He shook the thoughts from his head and started his descent down the stairs.

It wasn't long before Buster saw Jimmy standing on the stage, His back facing the audience seats as he stared at crystal decorations that were presented on stage. Little did Buster know, the wolf was staring up at the scaffolding where the incident had taken place, so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Buster when he called out to the wolf from the seats.

It wasn't until he got closer that Jimmy snapped back into reality, he turned around and immediately glared at the koala.

"Jimmy i-"

"What the hell do you want?" Jimmy growled, looking away from Buster.

Buster flinched at the sudden growl, but he stood his ground. As Jimmy started to walk backstage, Buster followed. "Jimmy, look, Jewel explained....a lot to me before I even knew you were here."

Jimmy felt his entire body stiffen in anger as turned his head back at him, his eyes filled with both rage and fear. "How much did she tell you?" He snarled through gritted teeth.

Buster hesitated. "She told me enough...About why she bailed you out..."

"Moon-"

"A-About how you used to be..."

"I'm warning you moon,"

Buster took a step back as Jimmy got closer. he stared into the wolf's eyes, the rage in his ice cold blue eyes took him back to the day when the incident took place. It seemed as though Jimmy knew what Buster was going to say next.

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth.."

But something in Buster prevented him from saying the next words that came out of his mouth.

"And....about Felic-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence before he let out a scream as he lifted by his shirt, hyperventilating as he stared into Jimmy's rage-filled eyes.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!" He spat.

"J-Jimmy I'm sorry!-"

"What? You think just because you got told a few stories about the old me that you can suddenly sympathize with me?!"

"No! I-I don't think that at all!"

"I swear to God if it weren't for Jewel, I'd.....I-I..."

Buster watched as Jimmy's face changed as he realized what he was doing. It was all too familiar, for both of them. "God damn it..." Jimmy muttered before dropping Buster. The koala landed on the floor, he quickly stood up and glanced at Jimmy. What he saw surprised him, the wolf had a look of regret on his face. Jimmy leaned back against a wall and slid down to the floor, avoiding eye contact with Buster.

There was an eerie silence between the two for a moment before Buster heard Jimmy muttering to himself.

"She wouldn't want this....she wouldn't..."

Buster looked at Jimmy, "Felicity..?" He asked. All Jimmy did was nod at the mention of his wife.

"You know.....the night I got arrested, the first thing I thought was.....what would she say if she saw me now...?" Jimmy reached into his pocket, pulling out the family picture he kept in prison, unknowingly dropping the red bowtie that he also kept in his pocket.

He stared at the photo, his eyes filled with grief as he focused on both Felicity and Porsha in the photo. "Ever since she...." he couldn't even say it, the very thought of it made him feel sick. "I just buried myself into my work and..." he paused, lowering the picture down.

Buster stared at Jimmy, this was a side of him that had never seen before. And while a part of him wanted to flee after what had happened a moment before, he didn't move.

Buster knew that he was a forgiving man, a bit too forgiving in fact. There were many times before when Eddie would tell him that he was too forgiving to people who had hurt him, either mentally or physically. He was thankful that it was never physically but mentally, he knew Eddie was right.

But despite that fact, he didn't feel any different to the situation now. "Jimmy i-" he was about to speak when he noticed the red bowtie on the floor next to Jimmy. He tilted his head and went over to pick it up, unknowingly getting close to Jimmy in the process. Though the wolf said nothing as he focused on his own thoughts.

"Is...is this my bowtie?"

Jimmy glanced at Buster, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...you left it on stage that night.." he said, his voice somewhat raspy, as though he was struggling to keep back tears.

Buster rubbed the soft silk of the bowtie, taking a seat on the floor beside Jimmy. "I guess I forgot all about it.."

"No shit." Jimmy chuckled a bit as he said it.

"Why did you keep it?"

"Well....to be honest, at first I kept it as a reminder to kick your ass if I ever saw you again."

Buster gulped a bit, "uh..."

"But...after you came to the prison, I kept it to remind myself that...." Jimmy glanced at Buster, "I...I hurt you. And that no matter how many times I keep denying it, I hurt a lot of people. All because I can't move on."

"Jimmy..."

"I wanted for so long to move on...not just for me, but for my daughter."

Buster's ears perked up at the mention of Porsha.

"But...I just couldn't, I-I wanted to be there for her but..."

"You put work first...hoping if you did, you'd forget about how much pain you're in..." Buster added, finishing Jimmy's sentence. The wolf looked at him in surprise, though the look of shock quickly faded when he realized what he meant, shock being replaced with sympathy.

When he looks back at Buster, the koala was quickly attempting to wipe away tears that had formed in his eyes.

Jimmy sat up immediately, "Moon-"

"Aww, what a sweet, sentimental moment." A voice purred.

The two froze and turned around to see a snow leopard, accompanied by several other animals. Jimmy stood up, as well as Buster.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?" Jimmy asked. Buster didn't like the look of the animals behind the snow leopard. All of them were either larger animals or predators.

"That's not important right now." The snow leopard pulled out a gun from her jacket, catching the two by surprise. Buster froze while Jimmy took a step to stand in front of him.

"What's important, is that I'm doing you a big favor, Mr. Crystal."

Chapter Text

Buster and Jimmy were frozen in place as Vi pulled the gun out from her jacket, a devilish smirk on her face as she turned her attention to Buster, who was behind Jimmy shaking in fear. "Step aside, Mr. Crystal." Vi warned the wolf. The two were in the theater inside the crystal tower hotel, far from the ballroom where the gala was being held. They both knew that if they tried to make a run for it, it would end in someone getting shot and possibly killed.

Jimmy glanced down at Buster. "Moon, when I give the word, run!" He whispered fiercely, loud enough only for Buster to hear.

"W-What?"

"Don't ask questions, just do it!"

Vi grew impatient. "Ugh, fuck it! I'll just kill you too!" She pointed her gun from Buster to Jimmy, who stood his ground despite there being a gun pointed right at him.

"Run! Now!"

The moment those words were said, Buster ran as fast as he could away from the group of thugs.

"STOP HIM!" Vi's voice echoed through the empty theater as he ran. Risking a glance, his eyes went wide in fear when he saw a wolf and a leopard chasing after him. 'Keep running!' He told himself.

It wasn't until he heard the terrifying ear splitting crack of a gun, he skidded to a stop, ignoring the fact that the two animals were getting dangerously close. He was expecting to see the horrifying sight of the corpse of an arctic wolf, instead, he was surprised to see a familiar snow lynx in a green hoodie attempting to snatch the gun away from Vi, a bullet hole was seen on the floor of the stage right next to Jimmy's feet.

"YOU LITTLE TRAITOR!!" Vi snarled, shoving Nooshy back and trying to aim at Buster, but Nooshy leapt onto her back, her claws dug into Vi's back as the snow leopard howled in pain.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him!"

Vi dropped the gun, grabbing both of Nooshy's arms and tossing her off. Nooshy landed on the floor with a hard thud, hissing at the sudden pain in her back but before she could get up, she was kicked in her stomach by Vi. Douglas stood in the back, watching the entire scene with fear in his eyes. Vi kicked the gun over to him, "Finish her off while I get the koala!"

"W-What?!"

Vi approached Douglas, grabbing him by his shirt, "You want your debts to be wiped clean, don't you?", all Douglas could do was nod in fear. "Then do as I say or you'll be the one leaving in a body bag!" She hissed.

The dachshund nodded vigorously, "O-Okay!"

Jimmy was about to rush over to stop Vi when he suddenly heard a scream of pain.

The arctic wolf turned around to see Buster with a bloody nose, being pinned by the leopard while the wolf loaded up his own gun. Jimmy was already close to them before he realized his legs were moving. He lunged at the wolf, causing the gun to drop to the ground. The wolf attempted to kick Jimmy off, only to get punched in the snout by Jimmy. Blood stained the arctic wolf's paw as he gave the wolf another punch, knocking him unconscious.

The leopard stood up, unknowingly letting Buster go in the process. He was about to attack Jimmy, but he suddenly let out a yelp of pain. Jimmy stared at him in confusion for a moment until he noticed quills on the leopards back.

As he realized where the quills came from, the leopard was suddenly knocked to the ground, Meena's trunk wrapped around his leg. The leopard was about to swipe at her before getting kicked in the face by Ash, "Don't you dare touch her!" She spat.

The leopard rushed to his feet and ran out of the theater, almost falling on his face in his haste to escape.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Rosita rushed past Jimmy to help Nooshy, The gorilla rushed at Douglas, knocking him to the ground. Douglas panicked, "V-Vi! Help me!" The dog looked back, expecting to see the snow leopard, but she was gone, as well as the other animals besides the wolf and leopard.

Jimmy was preparing to get up to check on Buster when he noticed Ash standing in front of him protectively, her eyes were like daggers piercing Jimmy's skin as she glared at him. "Stay away from him!" She yelled, ready to stick him with as many quills she could fire from her back if he got close.

He wasn't surprised though. The entire cast must've thought the thugs were hired by him and that he was the one who landed the punch on the koala, The blood on his fists didn't help either.

Jimmy held his paws up in a defensive position, "hang on now, just let me explain-"

Ash glared at Jimmy. "Explain what?! How you hired your goons to kill my dad?!"

"He didn't hire them!"

The group turned their attention to Nooshy, who was being helped up by Rosita. She hissed in pain and held her stomach in pain, "I-It was Vi..."

Johnny immediately rushed over to her, Douglas taking the opportunity to run away.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

Nooshy was taken by surprise when Johnny hugged her. "Thank God!" He whispered, Nooshy smiled softly and hugged back, ignoring the pain in her stomach.

Buster looked at his cast, a relieved look on his face as he wiped away the blood from his face. "How did you guys-"

"Johnny said that Nooshy sounded upset when he mentioned you still being in the hotel." Ash quickly answered, "So we came back to see if you were okay and then Jewel told us you came here to see...him." she glared at Jimmy as she finished speaking.

Buster smiled at Ash, "Ash....about earlier, i-"

Buster was caught by surprise when the porcupine pulled him into a hug. "It's okay, Rosita filled me in on everything."

Buster hugged back, careful to not get poked by her quills. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize...I overreacted-"

"But I lied to you! All of you!"

"Um, can someone fill me in?" Nooshy asked as she pulled away from the hug. Before anyone could say anything, a white blur caught their attention. They heard Ash yelp and Buster scream, all of them turning to see Vi holding Buster by the neck while wielding a gun in her other hand. Ash was getting in after being shoved to the ground by Vi, only to back away as the other three thugs surrounded the cast and Jimmy.

Immediately, Johnny was ready to rush forward to stop Vi, but the moment he took a step forward, The crack of the gun went off, causing Meena to let out a scream from the sudden sound.

Buster froze, his eyes were wide in horror, "NO!"

"JOHNNY!!" Nooshy screamed, about to rush to the gorilla's side when she was held back by the lynx thug, he held a knife to her neck to prevent her from moving.

Johnny held his shoulder, blood trickling down his arm. Rosita immediately knelt down to Johnny, despite the gorilla saying he was fine. The mother of 25 looked as though she was close to tears at the sight of Johnny in pain. Vi backed away, still keeping a tight grip on Buster's neck.

Buster struggled in her grip, his eyes focused more on his cast, worried for their lives. He never wanted to put their lives at risk, guilt started to flood his mind again.

'If I hadn't come back in here, none of this would've happened!' He thought as Vi took a step onto the lift, the same lift leading up to the scaffolding.

'If I hadn't lied to them, we'd all be back at the hotel! Not here!' The moment Vi pressed the button to activate the lift, Jimmy pushed past the thugs to chase after her. The gorilla and bear thugs were ready to run after them, but the sudden sound of heavy footsteps caught them off guard.

"POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

Rushing onto the stage were several police officers, and following behind them was Suki lane, followed by Jewel, and Jerry. They immediately apprehended the thugs, including the lynx that held a knife against Nooshy's neck.

Suki rushed over to the cast. "Where's Buster?" She then noticed them all staring up, she followed their gaze and gasped in horror when she saw Vi holding Buster by the neck, also catching sight of Jimmy climbing the scaffolding, rushing to get to the two. Suki immediately alerted the police, those who weren't busy apprehending the thugs rushed to the scene.

'If I hadn't come back to redshore, we'd be back home! Safe from harm!' The moment they were at the top of the scaffolding, Vi aimed the gun at Buster's head. "I have never, EVER, failed a job before and I'm sure as hell not going to fail this one!"

'If I hadn't lied....if I had just listened to suki....'

His life flashed before his eyes. The day he witnessed his first night at the theater, when his father bought him the moon theater, the day he met his wonderful cast, it all rushed into his mind. His heart ached with the thought of his found family going through this pain because of him, It was something he never wanted for them. Buster shut his eyes, awaiting the stinging pain of a bullet through his head. This was it. This was the day he'd-

"BUSTER!!"

As the sound of the gun went off, Buster felt as he was dropped onto the scaffolding with a hard thud, he winced at the sound yet he felt no pain. He could still hear the screams of his cast as they heard the gunshot, But his heart sank when he heard Porsha let out a heartbreaking wail.

"DADDY!!!"

His eyes shot open and stared at the scene in front of him. Jimmy was on his knees, holding his paw over the right side of his face, blood staining his white fur and dripping onto the metal surface. Vi stood over the wolf before kicking him aside and going to grab Buster again. His eyes were fixed on the arctic wolf, who didn't move as he was kicked down.

'He....He took the bullet for me...?'

The very thought of it confused Buster, a moment earlier Jimmy was close to hurting him for mentioning his wife, but now here he was, bleeding out because he a tool a bullet for the man he claimed to hate more than anything.

At that moment, Buster saw red. The moment Vi grabbed him, Buster lunged at her face. The snow leopard let out a ear splitting shriek as his claws dug into her face. Down below on the stage, the other panicked when they heard the scream.

"Something's happening! What's happening?!"

"I can't see!"

Gunter squinted his eyes, trying to see what was happening. His eyes went wide when he saw Buster attacking Vi like feral animal. "Look!" He pointed at the scene where he stood, the others followed his gaze and gasped as they watched the scene take place. They had never seen this side of him before, however their shock turned to fear when they noticed the two getting dangerously close to the edge.

Buster bit down on Vi's ear like a savage beast as she struggled to get him off. Finally, she grabbed his waist and threw him off, causing him to hit the railing. For a moment, Buster's vision became blurry as his head hit the railing, the first thing he saw was Vi holding her face, wailing in agony. Her fur and clothes stained with blood, claw marks seen visibly over her eye and her ear having been bitten off by Buster. The snow leopard eventually collapsed to ground, passing out due to the blood loss.

He struggled to stand up, his head spinning from the pain he now felt in his head and feeling as though he would vomit from the sickening taste of blood in his mouth. His vision started to fade as he tried to hold onto part of the railing for support, but his paw slipped, causing him to fall off the scaffolding. The screams of the people below were the last things he heard before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

"NO!!!" Ash screamed as she watched Buster fall over the scaffolding, her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly, the koala was caught by his coat, stopping him from falling down any further. "Oh thank god!" Jewel exclaimed, wiping away her tears and sighing in relief. The group watched as Buster was pulled up back onto the scaffolding by none other than Jimmy crystal. Porsha fell to her knees, crying tears of joy to see that both her biological father and her adoptive father were alive. The arctic wolf was bleeding from the ear, where a cut was now visible.

Jimmy gently placed Buster down, using his own tuxedo coat as a pillow for Buster to rest his head on. The sound of the lift coming up caught Jimmy's attention, the moment it arrived at the top, two police officers rushed into the platform before skidding to a stop. "Dear lord!" A male rhino officer cried out upon seeing the three injured animals. The other officer, a female gazelle spoke into her walkie-talkie.

"We need an ambulance at the crystal tower hotel. And get me in contact with zootopia's chief of police, it looks like we have a savage situation on our hands."

--------

A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the hotel, along with news reporters who were reporting live from the scene. The theater cast were outside as well, getting questioned by officers as to what had happened before they were called.

As Buster was put on a stretcher and gently loaded into the ambulance, Porsha watched with tears in her eyes. Rosita held her close, telling her everything would be okay, but she had tears as well. Ash was with Gunter, watching sadly as the their boss was taken to the hospital. crying and being comforted by Darius, who had stayed behind when the hotel was evacuated earlier in the night. Apparently, the gun shots were heard by security and the hotel was evacuated as the police were called. But Darius had stayed behind along with Ryan, the two worried when they did not see their friends at the gala.

Jimmy was standing with Jewel, who was trying to explain the situation to the police and reporters. The wolf's ear was now bandaged up and his fur was cleaned of the blood he had lost.

Johnny and Nooshy were together as the gorilla was bandaged up by a paramedic, the lynx watched with worry in her eyes. When the paramedic had finished, Johnny thanked them before standing up, along with Nooshy. "You okay..?" She asked, her paws in her pockets.

"Yeah...it just stings a little."

The two watched as Vi was rushed out of the building on a stretcher, she was placed gently into the ambulance, the moment the doors closed the vehicle sped off to the hospital. Nooshy kept her eyes on the ambulance as it left the hotel, taking her paws out of her pockets to stretch, though she hissed in pain, still sore from when Vi had kicked her.

She glanced at Johnny and frowned upon seeing his arm all bandaged up, guilt eating away at her. She knew that it was partially her fault this all happened. Thinking she could stop Vi, she had allowed the assassin and her thugs access to the theater as a way to sneak up on Buster. But everything backfired and now her best friend was hurt. She gripped the key card in her pocket, pulling it out.

She knew what she had to do.

"Johnny..."

The gorilla turned his attention to Nooshy, he noticed that she was holding something in her paws. "What's that?" He asked.

Nooshy turned to face the gorilla, asking "Can we talk? Alone?"

Johnny was confused but he nodded. The two walked back into the hotel lobby, away from the others. The lobby was mostly empty, considering everyone was outside after police evacuated the building to investigate.

The moment they were alone, Johnny looked back at Nooshy, worried. "Is something wrong?"

Nooshy didn't respond. Instead, she took the key card out of her pocket and handed it to Johnny while avoiding his gaze. The gorilla took the card in his hand and examined it for a moment before realizing what it was.

"Is this Mr. Moon's-"

"I haven't been entirely honest with you..." Nooshy said, her hazel eyes filled with shame. "What happened tonight....it's my fault..."

Johnny frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Vi was....She was going to kill Buster tonight, the only reason I knew about it is because my friend brought me to her so I could convince her to let him live!" She said, looking back fo earlier in the day when Douglas had tricked her into coming over when Vi was after him.

"She...She would've killed anyone who stood in her way and I knew you guys would never let anyone hurt moon so....I.."

Johnny froze when he suddenly realized what she was trying to tell him, the little things he hadn't noticed earlier started to come back to him. How Nooshy was there before any of them, How she knew who Vi was when she came to Jimmy's defense after Ash accused him of hurting Buster, it all started to make sense. He stared at the snow lynx in disbelief.

"You...You helped them...?"

Nooshy stared at him for a moment, before glancing away from him and nodding. Johnny visibly swayed forward but managed to keep himself standing. He didn't want to believe it, he wanted to believe it was Nooshy's sick attempt at a joke to lighten the mood. But the more the silence between the two grew, the more he began to realize just how painfully true it was.

"H-How....Why would you...?"

"I thought I could take care of it..." she replied, interrupting him in the process. "I thought, if I lead her to the back, away from everyone else that security would catch them! But I swear, I didn't know Buster was in the theater!"

"That's not the point, Nooshy! You let dangerous criminals into the hotel! Even if he wasn't there, it doesn't change what you did!"

"I did it to protect you!"

"And how did that turn out?" Johnny raised his voice a little, catching Nooshy by surprise. "When we arrived at the theater, you were on the floor about to get a bullet in the head!"

She narrowed her eyes, "look who's talking! The same guy who had a bullet in his shoulder just a moment ago!" Johnny opened his mouth to argue but Nooshy wouldn't let him.

"Do you know how scared I was when I saw you and the others? How bad I felt when I saw you get shot?! If you had just stayed out of the way-"

"YOU'D BE DEAD!" Johnny screamed, not being able to contain the anger he now felt. The remaining staff and officers in the lobby turned their attention to the two, Nooshy herself took a step back. She had never heard Johnny yell like that. It was at this moment she realized just how upset he was about the situation.

"You'd be dead, and I would've blamed myself! From the moment you told me you had "business" in redshore, I was worried! But i said nothing because I trusted you! I had trust that you'd let me know if you were in danger or in pain but tonight, you proved just how wrong I was!"

Nooshy stayed quiet, staring at Johnny as he spoke. She was about to say something when she suddenly heard Johnny utter something that shattered her heart into pieces.

"How did I end up with a friend like you..?"

Her pointy ears flattened against her head, tears threatened to escape her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. She glared up at the gorilla, "who said we were ever friends..?" She spat.

With that said, Nooshy pushed her way past Johnny and left the hotel lobby, leaving him alone. Tears dripped onto the porcelain floor tiles where Johnny stood. He stood there for a while until he heard a voice behind him.

It was Ryan.

"Johnny! Thank God I found you! I was so..." Ryan slowed down when he noticed the state Johnny was in. "Johnny?!" He rushed to the gorilla's side, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." he said softly.

"Johnny, please. After everything that's happened, it isn't a good time to keep secrets." Ryan put his paw on Johnny uninjured shoulder.

"Please tell me what's wrong."

-------

Nooshy didn't look back as she left the hotel lobby, not even when Ash took notice of Nooshy and called after her. She ran as far away as she could until she made it to the back of the hotel, tables and chairs set neatly around the area as well as a ice cream truck that was closed for the night. The moment Nooshy arrived, her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. The tears she kept back before were now streaming down her face as she sobbed.

'Idiot! Why did you say that?! He's right to be angry with you!' She told herself in her head, curling up into a ball on the ground, calling herself stupid repeatedly as she cried.

The sound of footsteps grew closer to her, though she ignored it. It wasn't until she heard the stranger say her name that she looked up. Her face lit up with relief when she saw Douglas in front of her, glad that her seemingly only friend at the moment was alive and had managed to escape Vi's grasp.

"Douglas!" She stood up and threw herself onto the dog, hugging him tightly. The dog held Nooshy close as she sobbed.

"It's okay..." he whispered to her. "Everything's going to be okay..."

For a moment, Nooshy felt safe in his arms. She was about to pull away from the hug to face her friend when he said something else.

"It'll all be over soon."

Before she could react, she felt a sharp pain in her side, her eyes wide as she gasped in pain. As Douglas pulled away from her, she saw a now bloody pocket knife in his paw. Her eyes wandered down to her body as blood leaked out from her side, soaking her clothing. Her vision started to fade as she collapsed on the ground, her eyes fixed on Douglas.

The last thing she saw was the dog staring down at her, pure hatred in his eyes. She heard the muffled sound of what seemed like a car door opening and another voice calling out, before everything went black.

Chapter Text

On the streets of redshore city, cars made way as the siren of a ambulance blared through the streets, going at an almost inhumane speed in order to get to its destination. Inside the vehicle, Vi was being checked on by the paramedics inside, half of her face was covered in blood soaked bandages. The snow leopard was still unconscious due to the loss of blood.

The two paramedics, one a gator and the other a cougar, examined the unconscious body in front of them.

"That koala really did a number on her.." the cougar uttered, grimacing at the sight. "Ryder isn't going to be happy about this."

"Let's just focus on making sure she doesn't die before Ryder takes our heads!" The gator said, focusing on Vi.

"Hey! We're here!" A voice from the driver's seat called out.

As the vehicle slowed down, the two animals prepared to unload the stretcher the moment the doors open. Once they did, the two carefully took out the stretcher. Rather than a hospital, the ambulance was parked outside of a warehouse that was hidden behind the large buildings within the city. The doors to the warehouse opened immediately for the two "paramedics", the driver exited the vehicle, a leopard who had a somewhat bloody nose due to being kicked in the face by a porcupine during the night.

As the three entered the warehouse, a black panther in a suit approached the two, hands behind his back as he approached the three. He glanced at the injured snow leopard and then at the leopard.

"Care to explain?"

The leopard gulped, trying to stand straight as he looked into the eyes of panther.

"T-There....there was a complica-"

The crack of a gun echoed through the warehouse, the leopard collapsed to the ground, dead. As the panther handed the gun to the gorilla beside him, he turned his attention to the "paramedics", who were shaking in fear.

"Keep a close eye on her while I call an actual doctor, if there is anything wrong or if she wakes up, inform me right away."

The two nodded, "R-Right away Ryder!" The two took the stretcher to another room. Ryder glanced at the gorilla, "get rid of the body." The gorilla nodded and picked up the corpse of the leopard.

Ryder proceeded to return to his office. One the desk were folders of targets of deals with other crime bosses, on a bulletin board were pictures of the animals who worked for him, Vi was among the list with a red thread attached to the thumb tack holding her picture up, the thread was connected to another picture. The picture was of Buster Moon. As Ryder approached the board, he detached the red thread between the picture of Vi and Buster before doing the same to his other thugs with their targets.

He then began to reattach all of the red thread onto Buster's picture.

Starting now, he would have all of his thugs focus on one target.