Porsha chattered her teeth as she latched onto Meena's arm, while the elephant sat at Ms. Crawly's computer, searching through the National ID Records. Having tried this at least four times already, Meena took a deep, anxious breath before she pressed Enter, and Porsha tightened her grip as they waited for the computer to respond.

Stephanie Crystal: (0) Records Found

"No records found?! Again?! Oh, come on!" Porsha put her head against the wall in frustration.

Suki had headed back to her hotel room to get her work laptop, hoping to find some files related to Stephanie on the Crystal Entertainment database, but she'd promised to call the moment she found anything. While she was gone, Porsha and the others were sitting on the floor of Buster's office amidst a sea of phone books, Ms. Crawly having gathered nearly every one that had been registered by the government in the last decade.

They'd been reading, rereading and re-reading through all of them for most of the afternoon, but had made no progress in their search. A few Stephani Crystals had popped up, a Stephanie Chrysler, even a nationwide pawn chain called Stephen's Crystals and Jewels, but all of the individuals associated with these addresses were still alive, and none of them were wolves.

"Ugh, why is there literally nothing on her?!" Porsha threw one of the books aside and slumped down with her head lowered. "This is a total waste of time..."

"Bloody hell... must be the end-times if it's you of all people admitting defeat!" Nooshy snarked with a gentle chuckle as she knelt down and cupped the wolf's face. "Chin up, mate. No use giving up now."

"Yeah, Porsha, we'll find your Mum sooner or later!" Johnny added as he patted her on the back. Porsha flashed a small grin, clearly appreciating their reassurance, only to jolt up when Buster suddenly threw one of the books with an enraged grunt, letting it hit the nearby fan with a loud CLATTER!

They all looked with concern at Buster as the koala's eyes widened and his ears drooped. He clearly hadn't meant to lose his temper in front of them, though he let out a long, frustrated sigh as he put a hand to his face.

"I knew Jimmy Crystal was cruel, but this is low even for that bully!"

It was clear from his tone that Buster was legitimately furious, a type of mood that none of the troupe - and certainly not Porsha - had ever seen him in. He calmed down a little as Rosita sat beside him and gently took his hand, though it didn't do much to temper his despair.

"He erased everything about her... his own wife!" Buster exhaled. "Y'know her... her life, her legacy... it's all gone, just like that! And now it's like we're looking for someone who doesn't even exist!"

"Wait... doesn't exist...?" Ash shot up and pursed her lips. Everyone looked to the porcupine while she strutted back and forth, muttering to herself as a theory formed in her head. "No, that couldn't... then again, nah... although... yeah... yeah, that's it! You hit it right on the head, Moon!"

"Wait, I did?" Buster raised an eyebrow as Ash started laughing, briefly glancing with concern to the others. "Uh... Ash, I don't think I follow what you're trying to -?"

"Don't you get it?!" Ash's voice became a little strained and high-pitched in her excitement, so she took a deep breath before continuing. "Moon, you said it's like we're looking for someone who doesn't exist, and that's the point! Stephanie Crystal doesn't exist, because we're not looking for Stephanie Crystal!"

The others looked to each other, unsure, before Ash took Meena's seat at the computer. She continued muttering under her breath as she rapidly typed on the keyboard, then pressed Enter. It took a few seconds before the computer responded, and a grin crossed her face. "Bingo!"

Stephanie Frangipane: (1) Records Found

"Frangipane?" Johnny struggled to pronounce it correctly as he and the others crowded around Ash and the computer. "Isn't that a pudding or something?"

"It's a flower too!" Porsha cut in. "You say it with an E at the end."

"And it was her maiden name before she met Jimmy..." Ash kept her eyes glued to the screen. "Suki told me they were never officially married, so legally, Stephanie never actually changed her name to Crystal. Alright, let's see if we can find a... ah-ha, here!"

"Yeah, but Ash, what if it's just another -" Porsha froze with a gasp as Ash clicked on the ID file, instantly recognising the wolf in the passport photo as she latched onto Buster. "Oh my gosh... that's her! That's my Mom!"

"It is...?!" Buster was still recovering from her rib-crushing embrace as he looked back to the computer. "Holy moly... Ash, does it say anything else... uh... known addresses, burial records, anything like that...?"

"Okay, burial records, let's see, where is she... oh, here's her profile!" Ash squinted a little more as she studied it. "Hmm... says here she spent most of her childhood bouncing between foster homes... no known family, one registered address in... oh wow..."

"What? Where, uh... where is it?!" Porsha was getting even more anxious as she leaned in.

"After she left Redshore, she spent the rest of her life living alone at a registered address in her childhood hometown... Calatonia..." Ash's eyes were bulging to their widest point as she looked back to the others, who were equally taken aback. "She lived here!"

"WHAT...?!" Everyone shouted out in near-unison, prompting most of them to lean further in to make sure they hadn't misheard.

After another moment or two of studying Stephanie's photograph, Buster's jaw suddenly dropped, and without another word the koala got down from the computer and headed over to his own desk. The others all looked over to him as he opened his drawer and frantically dug through it, eventually finding what he was looking for.

"Porsha..." He said softly. "Come take another look at this..."

Porsha skidded down on her knees beside Buster and looked at the familiar item he was holding - the framed photograph of Nana and her troupe outside the formerly-named Prairie Theatre. She studied it for a moment or two, mostly focusing on Florence Fletcher again, before her heart nearly stopped as she finally noticed who Buster was pointing to.

"Oh my gosh..."

The slender young wolf - looking to be in her late teens or possibly early 20's - stood near the back of the troupe, though her height made her tower above most of her co-stars. With her dark teal coat and greenish-gold eyes, this wolf was nearly Porsha's spitting image.

Or, to be more accurate, Porsha was hers.

"She performed here...?" Porsha was still slightly breathless, though her face lit up when Buster nodded. Barely a second passed before the wolf suddenly trapped the koala in another hug, tears of joy streaming down her face as she shrieked with excitement. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, YOU GUYS, MY MOM PERFORMED HERE!"

Buster himself was still overwhelmed by the discovery that had just been made, though he finally let out a gentle chuckle. "Small world after all, huh kiddo...?"

While the others were still processing these revelations, Nooshy scratched the back of her neck as something else suddenly occurred to her. "Hang on, so... if Porsha's Mum lived here, then that must mean she's buried at -?"

"At Calatonia Cemetery!" Ash finished her sentence as she pointed to the screen. "Yep, says it right there. Buried at Calatonia Cemetery!"

"Wait, that creepy graveyard?" Porsha let go of Buster as she ran over to the computer. "She's been there this whole time...?!"

Ash nodded. "That's what the records say..."

"Well then I gotta go there... like, right now!" Porsha shot up and ran to the clothes rack, struggling to get her one-sleeved jacket on. "How, uh... how far away is it again?"

Ash tilted her head, taking a minute to think of an estimate. "Probably ten, fifteen minutes...?"

Buster had a concerned look on his face as the young wolf continued getting ready to leave, and the others weren't sure what to say.

"Porsha, it's gonna be dark soon, and I know graveyards aren't really your thing. I mean, maybe... maybe you should wait til tomorrow, y'know, when you're a little more -"

"NO!" Porsha snapped suddenly, making Buster and everyone else go wide-eyed. "Sorry, it's just... ugh... with all due respect, Mr. Moon, I've done my waiting. Okay, and if my Mom is buried there, then I am not waiting another minute to go find her!"

Buster knew from Porsha's voice that there'd be no arguing with the young wolf. He looked to Rosita, who nodded silently, then turned back to Porsha with a smirk. "Hmm... well, I guess we better get some flowers on the way."

"We know where she is!" Buster yelled down the phone in excitement, hanging on for dear life to Johnny's leg as the gorilla sped off on his skateboard. "Suki, there's no time to explain, but we're on our way to the cemetery right now! We'll meet you there!"

The journey on foot took most of the group just about twelve minutes, per Ash's hypothesis, though Porsha had managed to make it in just over ten-and-a-half due to her frantic sprint. The sun had only just set a few minutes beforehand, so a warm glow of red filled the sky as a prelude to the coming nightfall.

"Ugh... come on... yes!" Porsha had struggled a bit to fit herself between the bars of the front gate, but eventually managed to get through onto the other side.

She soon realised her extra effort was completely unnecessary when Ash simply unlocked the gate and opened it the normal way to let herself and everyone else in, though Porsha was too focused to be amused as Buster had the group gather in a circle to explain his searching strategy.

"Okay, everybody. We're gonna split up and search the whole site, so shout out for us if you find the spot..." Buster said as the others nodded and murmured in agreement. "Now remember, we're looking for Stephanie Frangipane."

"Like the flower!" Porsha cut in. "And the dessert too!"

"That's right, Porsha." Buster nodded. "Alright, Moon Troupe, fan out!"

With the group currently consisting of nine due to Suki's absence, separating into groups of three seemed the simplest option. While Buster went with Gunter and Ms. Crawley, and Nooshy went with Johnny and Meena, Porsha predictably found herself going off with Ash and Rosita.

To Porsha's pleasant surprise, the cemetery was nothing like the gothic, horrifying wastelands she'd seen in various movies and music videos, and with its bright green grass, various colourful wild flowers and strong confident oak trees lining both sides of its various paths, this area seemed to very much live up to its reputation as one of the nicest in the region. If Stephanie truly was buried here, Porsha was fairly certain her mother would appreciate such a beautiful final resting place.

"Okay... okay okay okay..." Porsha muttered to herself as she and Ash studied the names on a line of headstones. "Wait, would they put her in S for Stephanie, or F for Frangipane...?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure they don't alphabetise at all, sunshine..." Rosita gestured towards two of the gravestones, marked V. Perkins and B. Bratt, respectively. "Our best bet is just keep searching the whole place, and hopefully your Mom's name will pop up somewhere..."

"Seriously...? But that could take forever, you guys!" Porsha lamented, before Ash suddenly took a tight but affectionate hold of her hand.

"Hmm... and we'll be here forever and a day if we have to be, buddy..."

Porsha smiled, clearly touched, before shooting up as she saw a flashlight waving in the dark a hundred yards or so away, followed by Gunter's voice. "Over here, you guys! We like, totally got it!"

The rest of the search party followed his voice to reconvene at its location, where Buster was gently sitting down a slightly breathless Ms. Crawly. Porsha's face brightened up a bit as Suki suddenly rushed in and stood between Johnny and Nooshy, before everyone's attention turned back towards the grave that Gunter had found.

It was just on the edge of the main pathway leading from the front gate, placed directly under one of the smaller oak trees in the cemetary. While the rectangular headstone was small and simple, it was nice enough, and though the silver writing was slightly faded from years of inattention, it was clear to make out the name engraved at the top: Stephanie Angelica Frangipane.

"Wow, I... I can't believe it..." Suki was slightly short of breath, her eyes clearly misting up a little as she glanced over to Porsha. "You guys actually found her..."

An awed but still slightly unsure silence fell among the group, and it lasted the better part of a minute before Buster shuffled over to Porsha and cleared his throat. "Well, I um... I'm guessing she already had an actual funeral, but you can say a few words if you want to, kiddo..."

"Oh, um... yeah, okay..." Porsha was slightly surprised when Rosita took her hand and started leading her towards the headstone, before she froze in her tracks and frantically patted her pockets. "Oh gosh, we forgot the flowers! Ugh, I'm such a -!"

Ash cleared her throat, letting Porsha look down at her. The porcupine let a small smile slip across her face as she fished the small bunch of frangipani out of her jacket and handed it to Porsha. "Got 'em outta the trash when we were leaving the theatre. Little wilted, but they're still good..."

Porsha beamed lovingly as she held the flowers close to her heart, then let Rosita keep on leading her towards her destination. Rosita held back to let Porsha take the last few steps on her own, and stood with Buster and the others as the young wolf knelt down right in front of the headstone.

"Okay... here goes..." Porsha took a deep breath, then cleared her throat as she placed the flowers at the foot of the headstone. "Um... hey, Mom. It's me. Y'know, Porsha, your daughter, I uh... ugh, I can't believe I just said that, obviously I'm your daughter, I just... alright, whatever..."

Suki chortled at this, though she felt her face redden slightly when Buster gently took a hold of her hand.

"Well... turns out you were right about those big changes. I mean, it took a while, sure but... but yeah, a lot's happened since I saw ya last... or heard ya, I guess..." Porsha clicked her tongue as she itched the back of her head, thinking about what to say. "Um... for one thing, Daddy went... sorry, uh, Jimmy went to prison, I left home, and I uh... well, I joined a theatre group... your theatre group, turns out..."

Buster looked up at a very wide-eyed Suki, only just remembering that she wasn't present when they'd made that discovery. He pulled a small smile as he tightened his grip on the saluki's hand, putting her more at ease when she finally looked back down at him.

"Don't get me wrong, they're a total bunch of weirdos..." Porsha stifled a chuckle as she looked back to the others, all equally amused by her remark, but her loving smile returned when she looked back to the headstone. "Hmm... but they're the best friends ya could ever ask for... wouldn't trade 'em for all the money or fame in the world..."

The others remained silent, though they clearly appreciated Porsha's words. Ash exchanged a look of loving pride with Rosita, though they both glanced back to Porsha as the wolf started sobbing softly.

"So I guess I just wanted to let you know that I... well, I'm... I'm okay, Mom." Porsha sniffled a bit as she wiped her tearful face with the back of her forearm. "I mean yeah, it was a little weird at first, y'know... I nearly lost a hand, found out I was dyslexic, got in a car wreck, ran into a fire, y'know how it is, but uh... but I'm happy. Real happy. Hmm... and then I found out you grew up in this town too, so... so I guess it turns out I belonged here more than I thought, huh...?"

"Oh sunshine..." Rosita's voice made Porsha tense up a little as the mother pig knelt beside her, holding her left hand and tenderly stroking it. "You belonged here way before we found your Mom... heck, you became one of us the moment you got on that bus and left Redshore. That's what I've been trying to tell you, Porsha!"

Porsha wiped her face, though she slowly nodded as she processed what Rosita was saying.

"It doesn't matter who your father is, or... or who your mother was, or even where she came from... none of those things have to define who you choose to be now..." Rosita glanced over to Ash as the porcupine came over and took Porsha's other hand.

"Your Mom sacrificed everything trying to give you the life you deserved, Porsha..." Ash was now the one getting misty-eyed, though judging by the tone in her voice it was mainly tears of joy. "She might not have gotten to see it for herself, but you found it! You found it all on your own, and you weren't even looking for it, buddy!"

"Hmm... well..." Porsha wasn't even trying to hold back her tears anymore as they flooded like a monsoon down her face. "I guess I wasn't all on my own..."

Ash and Rosita were equally taken off-guard when Porsha pulled them into a tight embrace, though after a moment they both gladly returned it. Ash was nearly choking on her own tears as she glanced over to the rest of the troupe. "Well, what are you guys waitin' for?! Bring it on in!"

There wasn't a single dry eye in the cemetery as the others rushed over and joined the group hug, trapping Porsha right in the centre of it. Suki hesitated for another moment or two, but eventually she skidded down on her knees and made her way through the others to latch onto her honorary niece.

With her mother's grave right ahead, as well as her new friends currently crushing the life out of her, Porsha couldn't help sensing that weird feeling again, the same one she'd been feeling ever since Rosita had first called her "sunshine". Though now it didn't feel weird at all - just as Buster said it wouldn't - and instead it felt warm and comforting, and it was then that the young wolf finally realised what exactly this feeling was.

It was love. She'd gone so long without it, the better part of fourteen years, that she'd almost forgotten it completely. But now she'd rediscovered it, and there was one thing Porsha knew for certain - she was never letting it go again.