Calatonia, California

One Year Ago

Buster couldn't believe it.

Despite all the setbacks, despite all the hardship, despite everything that pointed in the direction of failure, his singing competition, for all intents and purposes, was a resounding success, if the roaring crowds' reaction was any indication. And the fact that Nana Noodleman was there herself, the old sheep giving her seal of approval, made Buster feel all the more confident.

"MR. MOON!"

Buster was pulled from his thoughts as he looked to the stage, the cast of extraordinary talent, all of them beaming from ear to ear, calling for him to join them in their bow. Well, all except Mike, the egotistical mouse no where to be scene. But, at that point, Buster could care less as he went to join the others, taking a spot near the middle, the koala standing between Rosita and Gunter as the group gave several massive bows, the crowd going wild.

However, when the troupe took another bow, the crowd suddenly fell silent, only for the silence to be replaced by concerned murmurs. And any confusion the cast had was quickly replaced by fear, as the moment they brought themselves back up, there, a smug smirk on her face, was Judith…

Backed by a baker's dozen of Calatonia's finest.

And within the hour, all six of the troupe where locked in a holding cell at the Calatonia police station, heads, bowed, arms crossed, and expressions raging from scared to annoyed. But that was the first half-hour. As time passed, their feelings shifted to that of acceptance as they began to process what the chief of police had read what they were being charged with, namely Buster.

Buster, and to a lesser extent Meena, were being charged with theft of utility services, mainly power and the water used for the massive tank that caused the destruction of the Moon Theater to begin with. That in itself caused Judith to press charge son destruction of bank property. And even then, proceeding with the show lead to a charge of trespassing and Incitement.

In the end, all of them were looking up to a year in jail, and pretty hefty fines…and that's if they were lucky.

"Guys," Buster whispered after a long period of silence from the otherwise vocal koala, all the contestants of his competition looking at him in intrigue.

"I'm sorry...for everything."

At that moment, Buster looked up from his clasped hands in his lap, the diminutive showman expecting to see hostility, or at the very least resentment from the others. But, to his surprise, they just looked at him with understanding, small smiles tracing their lips, especially Rosita, the mother pig still In her costume, minus the headpiece and tails, taking a seat by Buster.

"Hey, it' okay Mr. Moon," she sweetly cooed in the kind of motherly affection she would have, reaching out to take Buster's hand. Unfortunately, her reassurance did not have the effect she wanted as the koala, his ears flat against his head, looked to cold concrete floor.

"No, it's not okay. I was too ambitious, to sure of myself, that I never thought to think of the consequences. And now, I brought you all down with me."

"Hey," Meena piped, the teenage pachyderm taking a seat beside Buster as well, "You didn't bring us down, Mr. Moon. We knew what we were doing. You didn't force to do the show."

"JA!" Gunter responded his characteristically boisterous way, "AND IT WAS LIKE TOTALLY SUPER!"

"I think it was well worth it, Mr. Moon," Johnny added with a small smile.

"And because of that, I may have just started to fix things with my dad."

"Yeah, Ash added in, a teasing grin on her face as she crossed her arms, "so stop moaning and groaning and start looking at the bright side like you always do."

"In case you haven't noticed Ash," Buster responded, though with a teasing smile of his own as he looked to the brash porcupine, his expression seeming to lift everyone's spirits little bit more, "we are in a holding cell."

"EH!" Ash responded with a wave of her hand, "I'd be lying if I said me, and Lance hadn't done time in one of these before."

"Same," Johnny threw in, resulting in a round of chuckles from the others, only for the mirth to immediately when they heard a click, followed by the sight and sound of the bared gate of the cell rumbling open, the rhino guard looking at the group through his aviators.

"All right you lot," he bellowed in a deep, authoritative voice, "you're free to go!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Buster practically exclaimed as he and the troupe quickly rose to their feet, all of them gob smacked at what they had just heard.

"Your bail's been paid," the officer clarified, the large mammal rolling his eyes behind his shades as he waved for the group to leave the cell. At first hesitant, the sextet did as they were told, leaving the cell as they were lead out of the cellblock toward the surprisingly empty lobby of the station, the room totally bare, save for the gazelle dispatcher city at the desk, who was currently finishing up some business with…

"EDDIE?! NANA?!" Buster bellowed, he along with others wide-eyed and mouths agape as they beheld Buster's friend, who more than likely got out of his woolly butt getting thrown in the cell with them thanks to his parent's influence.

"HEY JAILBIRD!" Eddie answered with a large smile, his elderly grandmother giving the troupe the side-eye, though not with a small smirk as she finished signing some forms, which did not go unnoticed by Buster.

"Wait a minute," he said, the koala trying to wrap his brain around the obvious situation happening at the moment.

"Nana…you paid our bail?"

"Not just that," the dispatcher said in low feminine voice, the gazing taking the forms from Nana with a smile as she sent the theater troupe a warning glare, "but she's paid off the fines you would have got stamped on you and made sure none this got you guys a record."

"But…How?" Rosita added in, her lips twisting into a smile that was a mixture of disbelief and gratitude.

"Yeah," Johnny added, just as shocked, yet still just as grateful, "I thought she was finxin' to have thrown in as fresh meat for wreckin' the theater alone."

"Well," Nana said with a half-amused laugh as she walked towards the group, "back in my waning years before retirement, I made a good friend of a young up and coming lawyer when I ran the circuit in Redshore City. He is now the best lawyer in the city, having gained a reputation for never losing a case. I called him up, and for old times sake, he was willing to overlook the time difference to give Miss Judith a call. Though he was always a sort of, how do you say "workaholic," working well into the early morning, so I knew that wouldn't be a bother. In the end, he was able to convince her to site those unruly ursine as the cause for the theater's current state."

"What about the fines?" Ash added in, only to receive, to Buster, and to an equal extent Eddie's surprise, Nana offering Ash a warm, gentle smile.

"Taken care of."

"Nana, I…" Buster said, finally finding the strength to come out his shock as he looked to Nana, only to see the old sheep walking towards the door, which was held open by Eddie, who received a rarely given pat on the cheek. But, before she even stepped out into the Calatonia night, she glanced over her shoulder, sending Buster a smirk. Though the emotion behind it was somewhat aloof.

Teasing, appreciative…forewarning?

As it turns out, it was a mixture of all three, given what Nana said.

"No thanks needed, Mr. Moon…Just know that you have been given quite a second chance…"

A pause.

"Don't waste it."

And for a while, Buster took that advice…

Until his ambition was bruised a year later…

By a BRUTALLY honest saluki.

WELCOME TO…

REDSHORE CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE V JIMMY CRYSTAL

A MULTI-PART PRELUDE TO THE MOON FAMILY