Chapter 1 – The Fixer

"Cleo!" Jimmy said with outstretched arms, fangs bearing through a strained grin. "Came to gloat, didn't you?"

A snow leopard dressed in a sharp azure pantsuit strutted through the door, her head full of dark curls that bobbed and coiled with every step. Perched on the bridge of her snout were violet-tinted shades, and a manila folder was tucked under one arm. Her name was Cleo Keller, and she was known as one of the city's top fixers: someone that could make the problems of Redshore's big wigs go away.

Behind Cleo a buzz sounded out as the reinforced door shut, metal clanging upon metal. Cleo stepped further into the cell and took in its spacious sights: ritzy carpet a deep midnight blue, tapestries draped across the walls, and an HD TV nestled in the corner. Perched in a seat fit for a king was Jimmy Crystal, his snow-white fur prim and claws manicured. He was just as she remembered, only trading the designer suit and tie for an orange jumpsuit.

There was no way Mr. Redshore City would receive anything less than luxury during incarceration. Too many palms to grease. Too many favors owed.

Cleo took a seat across from Jimmy in a metal folding chair that somebody likely scrambled to grab when they realized Crystal was getting a visitor. Between them was a small table of polished oak, a menagerie of snacks spread across it.

Following a short silence, Cleo said, "You know I never wanted to see you end up like this."

"I remember you being the one that said I'd end up here eventually." Jimmy looked amused, but something about his words pierced like an icicle.

Cleo let the feeling pass. "I wasn't going to come at first, but Jerry was screaming and crying on my porch. For days. It was quite annoying."

Jimmy let out a deep chuckle. "Jerry's still making himself useful."

"He is," Cleo said. "I'm surprised you keep denying his visits."

Jimmy's gaze dropped to the floor. "I don't want him to see me like this."

"Considering his feelings, that may be doing more harm than good."

The wolf tilted his head with a skeptic squint. "What are you talking about?"

I forgot how dense you can be, Cleo thought. "It doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that I'm here with a plan to deal with Buster Moon and help you—"

Jimmy raised a hand to silence her. "Don't need your help. I already have a plan."

"Don't tell me you're going to put a hit out on him or something insane like that."

"N-no..."

"Good! I'm not going to ask you what you were thinking when you tried to kill Moon because I know you weren't thinking."

Jimmy's fist crashed into the table. Snacks flew everywhere. "Are you taking that talentless little loser's side!? Do you know what he did to me!? I gave him the opportunity of a lifetime! Gave him and his amateur friends everything they needed! He stood in my auditorium and lied to me like it was nothing! Like I was nothing! I even gave that lowlife a second chance after I found out what a lying little con artist he was, and he kept humiliating and disrespecting me!" Unclenching his fist, Jimmy let his claws dig jagged streaks into the wood as his fury boiled over. "And it all ended with me doing a perp walk out of my own theater! That he seized illegally! Buster Moon deserves everything he has coming to him!"

Cleo slapped Jimmy's hand away, causing the wolf to recoil with a yip sound. "Don't do that," she said. "It's a nice table, and you're ruining the snacks."

Jimmy recovered with a growl, but Cleo continued on.

"This mobster bravado you concocted started as a shield, but it's slowly morphed into a double-edged sword when mixed with your unchecked rage," the snow leopard said. "That said... I agree with you."

Jimmy froze, then sank in his chair like a deflated balloon. Throughout the entire ordeal, no one had seen it from his perspective, no one listened to his side, not even his own daughter. Then Cleo comes waltzing back into his life and validates his feelings. He should have been energized, elated even. But there was something disturbing about it all. It's one thing to feel aggrieved, it's another to have someone else confirm it.

"Cleo..." Jimmy said, his voice a shaky whisper. "He ruined my life, Cleo. I was just looking for a big show for my theater. That's all. Then he infiltrated my company, my life, and I just couldn't get rid of him. I tried! Now I wake up every damn day in this box! I can't wrap my head around it. How the hell did it end like this?" He buried his face in his palms. "Porsha's never come to visit, you know. Not even once."

"All's not lost if I've got anything to say about it," Cleo said. "Jimmy, we saw what happens when you handle it your way. Now let's try it my way, please."

Jimmy leaned forward, his hands forming a triangle as he was consumed in pensive contemplation. His stillness was only broken by the occasional glance in Cleo's direction.

After what felt like hours of silence, Jimmy said, "I don't like giving up control."

"I won't take control away from you, I'll just be guiding you," Cleo said.

"I don't let too many people get close. They spit in your face if they do."

"I know."

Jimmy released a deep, shuddering sigh and popped what was left of the snacks into his mouth. "I'm gonna hand this over to you, Cleo. Don't let me down, okay?"

Cleo nodded. "If we're doing this, I have a rule: no more violence. It's not my style, and once upon a time you didn't lean on it so much either. If things start to spiral out of control again, I'm walking, and you'll have to pull yourself out of this mess your damn self. All right?"

"Tch!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Cleo said. "I've got one question, though. I assume you're sitting on the card, am I correct?"

"You know it. It's got to be the right time to play it."

"That's a surprising amount of patience and forethought."

"You making fun of me?"

"No, I just think we're on the same page for once."

Cleo dropped the manila folder onto the table and sorted through the files, revealing images of people and places Jimmy didn't recognize. "I've been doing my research on Buster Moon and he's left quite a swath of destruction in his wake," she said. "For a koala that likes to preach about chasing dreams and always believing in oneself, his approach in reality is surprisingly Machiavellian."

"I don't know what the Macarena has to do with anything, I just wanna know what you plan to do to Moon."

With a quick sigh, Cleo briefly removed her shades to massage her temples.

"It's not just about Moon; you're crucial to the plan too." Cleo set her hand out on the table and motioned for Jimmy. Reluctantly, he reached out and clasped his hand in hers. "Guts. Stamina. Strength. These are the things you're going to need for what comes next."

"I don't like the way this sounds, Cleo."

"This goes against everything you've built around yourself, but I'm going to need you to be vulnerable, Jimmy. Remind the world that you're a person too. That you're the victim." She felt him pulling away but held tight. "Yes, you, a victim!"

"You're gonna make me look weak!"

"Vulnerability is not weakness! Rage is intimidating but it's also blinding. There is real strength in opening yourself up."

Jimmy finally broke free from her grip, anxiety growing across his face. "So, what, you want me to go crying to the world about Moon?"

"I hate to say this but there is one ongoing truth in our world... the best way to destroy a victim is to turn them into a perpetrator. Buster Moon victimized you and then the world was convinced you were a villain. We're going to flip the script again. It's time to tell the truth about what really happened at Crystal Entertainment, about what he did to you. Expose Moon, and watch the dominoes fall."

Jimmy felt a smirk coming along. "Let's get Moon."

"That one's a handful, ain't he?" the guard, a black bear, said to Cleo with a dumb grin plastered across his face. "His cell's nicer than my whole house." She said nothing as she left Jimmy's cell behind and the guard escorted her out of the Redshore City Jail.

Cleo's stone-faced façade was a gift; within her raged a tempest of emotions, and guilt was winning by a mile. She told Jimmy she recognized his pain, because she did. She told him she understood the gravity of Buster Moon's misdeeds, because she did. What she didn't tell him was why she finally reentered his life. For all that talk about what Moon did, deep down, she knew she was a hypocrite. Lying and manipulating Jimmy like that meant she wasn't all that different from the koala.

You need this, Jimmy.

One day, hopefully soon, you'll understand.

I'm helping you.

"This is for your own good," she murmured before she caught herself.

"Mm?" the guard said absently.

"It's nothing."

And if he ever found out ulterior motives were at play, regardless of what they were and for what reason, well... Buster Moon might get bumped to number two on Jimmy Crystal's shit list.

A/N

Flawed characters are my sustenance. There's a level of catharsis there. It's why I focus on Buster and Jimmy. Been working on this story for a while and just now got around to posting it. Moonfall will be a trilogy with maybe some branching stories or one-offs in the process.

Controversial opinion: I didn't think Jimmy was a true villain. A supreme jerkass and slightly disturbed, sure. The attempted murder was horrible but didn't make a lot of sense. He didn't get a redemption arc in the movie, so I had the fresh and wholly original idea of writing one myself. Hopefully exploring and expanding his character can add dimensions to his behavior and the arbitrary acts of cruelty the movie had him commit. Fair warning, he might get slightly worse before he gets better! I wanted to give Jimmy more agency than he had in the movie, so that means that when he does bad things (or at least things in his own self-interests), they'll actually impact the plot. Also, Jimmy/Jerry is totally happening, though it might be a bit of a slow burn.

But this is also a Buster tale. Sometimes I feel people forget how flawed he can be. He uses a lot of deceit and exploitation but never goes through the introspection or growth period that comes with a character grappling with their flaws. Of course, it always tends to work out for him, so why would he? But... what if it didn't? Not only will Buster have to face his own actions, he'll have to explore the root of this behavior. I can't be the only one that wonders where it comes from?