Chapter 16 – The Vows

Ash closed her jacket against the bitter night air. The rest of the house was turning in at this hour and yet, here she was, sitting in the gazebo with nothing but her guitar and the moon to keep her company. Sleep seemed like it would evade her for the time being, so she did what came natural on sleepless nights: Strum her guitar and let the music carry her thoughts. But that wasn't going so well; sometimes she forgot Redshore City was in the desert, where daytime threatened to melt you into a puddle and nighttime would freeze what was left into a popsicle. The cold was settling into Ash's fingers and affecting her ability to play.

Or that's what she told herself. There was a little more to it than that. She wasn't a nihilist, but it was hard to deny the latest sequence of events, the "falling of the dominos" as Cleo Keller would put it, left her with a sense that nothing really mattered. With their careers stalled and their names mud, there didn't seem to be much to strive for. There was a real possibility that their names would fade away, only to be remembered ten or fifteen years later from a semi-viral "ever wonder what happened to those guys?" video or article posted online.

Most notably, Buster wasn't there to keep them stable. She knew he needed to find his own stability, but that selfish need for comfort held on to her. Even though she found Moon's cheesy sayings groan-inducing, it was nice knowing there was always someone there to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

A distant roar, fierce and familiar, ripped Ash from the spiral of her thoughts. She dared not let herself hope, but as that roar steadied into an ever-approaching rumble, it became much harder to deny. She knew that engine—she'd ridden that bike! It calmed to a whirr nearby before falling silent.

Ash made a break for the gate and threw it open, where she spotted an aged lion with a helmet tucked under his arm and a guitar strapped to his back lumber across the front yard in the darkness.

"Clay!" she called out.

The lion headed in her direction, releasing a relaxed exhale through his nostrils, his eyes lulled in a dreamlike state, and greeted her with a gravelly, "Hey."

Ash couldn't help her smiling, but the memories of Clay's last visit wiped that away. "Moon's not here if you came to yell at him again."

Clay's whisker twitched at the thought. "I ain't here to yell at anybody."

He was taken by the hand by the porcupine and pulled into the backyard. They settled in the gazebo, serenaded by crickets and softly lit by the shimmering reflection of moonlight from the pool's surface.

"I'm sorry, Clay," Ash said, and the cascade of feelings translated into a torrent of words. "Moon can be deceptive but that's not my style. I should've told you how the show really came about. But we had so much going on and the show didn't work without you and things started moving so fast and—"

Clay raised a hand to stop her. "I should apologize too," he said. "I shouldn't have blown my top and stormed out like that. Didn't mean to scare you kids. Just had to get away... always did my best thinking on the road."

"You had every right to be upset," Ash said.

"Yeah, I did. But while I was on the road, I reached two conclusions I can't deny: I really like you people, and even though I don't like how everything came out, this almost random chain of events left us better off."

Clay relaxed a bit; Ash could see the tension rolling off his weary body in waves. His eyes seemed to be peering into another time entirely.

"Ruby would be all over this. She'd call it something like a 'god wink.' Reminds me of those cheesy movies she loved so much." There was the smallest twist of a smile. "Happy little coincidences that change lives for the better. Truth is, that's what this was. Gunter could've thrown anyone's name out there as long as it got that Crystal guy excited. Where would that leave me? Stuck back home, drownin' in depression and self-pity 'til the end of my days. None of you had to pick this decrepit old lion, but you did. You literally saved me. Can't be upset about that."

"I never really thought about it like that," Ash said, blinking. "If I believed in things like fate and destiny, I'd say that's what this was. But I don't like the thought of our lives being predetermined for us, so... a happy coincidence. That's how we got here."

"Great minds," Clay said, and his body tremored with a low chuckle.

"If you're here does that mean... you're back?"

The lion gave a knowing smile with his eyes. "That's really what I came here to say. Like I said, I like you people... I like this. I'm sticking with all of you the whole way. When you get the show up and running again, I'll be there. I ain't going anywhere, I promise you. I wanted to tell everyone that but didn't realize how late it was..."

"That's nonsense, Clay! This is definitely something everyone should be up to hear." Ash bolted from the gazebo and into the house through the patio. She turned on every light she could find while shouting, "Hey! Get up! Clay's back!"

Clay closed his eyes with a warm smile, gave his head a quick shake, then followed Ash.

Jerry rubbed his eyes; the light from his computer monitor felt like it was burning into his retinas. There were only a few days to put together this benefit concert, and that meant long days and late nights assembling everything, working out the contracts, reaching out to talent, arranging meetings, etc. But Jimmy needed this, and once everything was said and done, it'd be for a good cause... whatever cause that turned out to be.

Pushing himself away from his desk, Jerry suppressed a yawn and slid out of his chair. He wanted to stretch his legs, but more importantly, he wanted to check in on his boss. Keeping light on his feet, Jerry entered Jimmy's office and was met with low, atmospheric night-lighting. Jimmy was in the lounging area, draped across the couch with his arms awkwardly strewn above his head.

"Mr. Crystal?" Jerry murmured. Jimmy replied with a truncated snore, the fur on his face aglow from the TV. Hard times at Crystal Entertainment or not, Jerry rarely recalled seeing Jimmy stay this late, and he suspected his boss's aversion to returning to his posh manor had a lot to do with it being an empty nest.

Droning in the background at a low volume was a twenty-four-hour news station, and Jerry had half a mind to shut it off. The news cycle moved away from Buster Moon's transgressions (for now), focusing on Jimmy's sudden release and all the drama and speculation that entailed. How Jerry wished he could muster up the courage to say—or lightly suggest—to Jimmy that he should decouple himself from the slavish need for public recognition and acceptance. But he knew that was a selfish want; fame was a double-edged sword, and when you're famous, you have to sell yourself to the public for a living. When you're famous, you are the product.

Jimmy shuffled a bit in his sleep, and that gave Jerry an idea. He retrieved his personal blanket from his own office and returned, fluffing it against the air and enveloping the lower half of the sleeping wolf. Jerry caught himself before he whispered sweet dreams, but the dreams would be sweet from here on, at least for him. It was surreal seeing Jimmy free again, and the nightmares that plagued him following the arrest were distant, but still distressing memories.

The nightmares started after Jerry first got word that Jimmy was denied bail. Jimmy languished in a tiny, dingy cell, and Jerry was a literal captive audience, forced to watch but unable to be seen or heard. Fueled by Jimmy denying Jerry visitation, the nightmares recurred, growing more troubling over the weeks. Jimmy's fur thinned, his prison jumpsuit growing baggy as the wolf in it wasted away. "Help me, Jerry!" he pleaded, clinging to the bars of his cell.

"I'll save you, Mr. Crystal!"

"Jerry, where are you?"

"I'm right here! Can't you hear me?"

But Jerry's voice was nothing more than a whisper in the wind, his presence a transparent visage under the filthy, flickering lights. He was the most pathetic ghost ever.

As the nightmares progressed, Jimmy continued to wither. His eyes were sunken, with bruises and cuts multiplying across this body.

"They're hurting me, Jerry," Jimmy said with a hoarseness that left his voice almost unrecognizable. "Help me! Get me outta here! Jerry, don't leave me in here!"

That was the nightmare that left Jerry's cheek tufts and pillow stained with tears. He decided he could no longer bear witness to the imagined atrocities of his dreams without doing anything about them, and it was that decision that led him to Cleo Keller's porch, sowing the seeds of the plan that would become the foundation of Operation: Moonfall.

And the plan succeeded.

"I'll never leave your side," Jerry vowed, watching Jimmy sleep. "Never."

Jerry's ears perked up when the elevator dinged in the distance, and he scurried into the hallway to find out who was visiting this late. Celeste Cassidy marched out of the elevator, the rigidity of her body language and the power in each footfall putting Jerry on edge. She was wound tight and ready to fight.

"Ms. Cassidy, what are you doing here?"

"I heard Crystal was still here."

"It's late. He doesn't have time for this, and neither do you. Come back tom—"

"On the contrary," Celeste said. Jerry tried to shoo the cougar away, but she stepped right over him and pushed her way into the office. She saw Jimmy sitting up on the couch, a blanket bunched next to him.

"Huh, you really are here," she said with mild surprise. "Didn't think you were capable of burning the midnight oil."

Jimmy wrinkled his nose. "Aren't you a sore sight for eyes?"

Celeste cast a glance around the office. "I half expected you to be traumatizing an intern or banging some floozy on your desk."

"I heard your heavy feet stomping all the way here. Only you can make heels sound like boots," Jimmy spat. "Why are you here, Cassidy?" Then a grin, quick and wry, appeared. "Came to remind yourself what a real leader looks like?"

"A narcissist like you would never admit it but you left the company in bad shape. I'm sure all you thought about was how hard the consequences of your own actions were in that cell, but it's been hell here for everyone trying to keep this place afloat."

"You're crying after barely running this company for a few months? Do you know how many crises I've navigated over the years?"

"And how many of them were of your own creation? You're going to destroy the Crystal brand at this rate."

Jimmy stood up, pointing a thumb at himself. "I am the brand, you idiot."

Celeste suppressed a growl. "You're on a course for self-destruction, Jimmy. You're going to burn, and hopefully you don't take the whole company down with you. I'll salvage what's left of Crystal Entertainment after you're reduced to ashes."

For Celeste, it was less about playing with fire and more how to play with it. There was a dangerous delight behind trying to rile Jimmy up. His rage was a screaming inferno, liable to engulf anyone in range, but it was also his weakness. He did stupid things when angry. He'd shoot himself in the foot in a blind rage. It's what made him predictable.

That's why she felt the floor fall out from under her when, instead of losing his cool, Jimmy sat on the arm of the couch with a smug grin on his face.

"You done? That's it? You had months to prepare this little speech and all you have to say is that I'm gonna burn and you'll scavenge what's left? That's your big plan?"

"I don't need a complicated plan when you're going to implode all by yourself. Then I'll take my rightful throne, and everyone will know who really deserves to run this company."

Jimmy broke into derisive applause. "There it is, there it is! All the entitlement with none of the qualifications. That's always been your problem, Cassidy."

Celeste folded her arms, her brows trenched in irritation.

"Touched a nerve, did I?" Jimmy said. "Let's keep going. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that no one told you I was getting out until the news reported it."

"So?"

"So, the reason that happened is because no one likes you, no one fears you, and most importantly, no one respects you."

Jimmy got up again and moved in so close Celeste could feel his breath. He was taller and broader, but her gaze never wavered from his. Jerry watched in subdued horror, his legs buzzing with nervous energy in case he had to move quickly. He didn't know where he would move or why, but the situation was too volatile not to be ready for something to go sideways.

"Do you know why I took you under my wing?" the wolf asked. "Made you my protégé in the company? When our streaming initiative failed, every creative and executive tied to the project was ejected... except for you. You never wondered why?"

"Because I was the best one on that project," Celeste said. "Because it's stupid to lose talent just because the top brass is too ignorant and arrogant to listen to good ideas, to course correct, or do anything that doesn't hurt their inflated egos."

Jimmy's shoulders bounced from a quiet laugh. "It was a bet, Cassidy. I bet that I could take a colossal loser like you and turn you into a winner. Before me, you weren't seen, you weren't heard, and you regularly bounced between divisions and projects without leaving a notable impact. Hell, you dressed like a slob before I took you in. Hate me all you want, but you are where you are because of me."

"I always knew that mentorship was more about fondling your ego than building me up."

"Sure don't look like you knew that to me," Jimmy replied, nothing but an arrogant gleam of teeth in the low light. "I saved you from getting tossed out with a massive failure around your neck from a company that doesn't have failures. You'd be jumping from startup to startup right now if it weren't for me. Instead of talking up this delusion where you take my company from me, maybe you should show some goddamn appreciation for even being here right now."

"I wondered if that stint in jail humbled you even a little bit. Looks like I got my answer." Celeste turned on her heels and started to storm out of the office but stopped at the door, then returned, leaving a healthy distance between herself and Jimmy. "You know, that koala actually got me to do something I never thought I would: Almost feel sorry for you.

"From everything I've seen and heard, you were just doing business as usual, while Moon swindled and manipulated you right from the beginning. You took a chance and gave a con artist the deal of a lifetime, one he didn't have the experience or qualifications for. And for reasons that escape me, you gave him a second chance even after you found out he was a terrible little liar. But you let your anger get the best of you. I thought about you rotting in that cell while Buster Moon reveled in the praises of the city you helped nurture, with the daughter you raised standing by his side, running a show he only pulled off with money finagled from your company. I thought about how his star was rising while yours was fading. How you'd be forever be known as, well... a colossal loser."

Jimmy swelled with anger and moved faster than she expected, but not against her. He pointed at Jerry, and the cat flinched from the sudden motion.

"Jerry, get her out of here!" Jimmy demanded, motioning for the door. "Oh, and Cassidy? If you ever barge into my office and disrespect me like this again, I'll end your entire career!"

Celeste was on her way out, throwing a glance back so Jimmy could see her satisfied smirk. "Like I said, I almost feel sorry for you. I'd be just as pissed if I were in your shoes. I should feel sorry for you. I don't."

"That's enough, Ms. Cassidy," Jerry said. The cougar left the room, her laughter echoing from the hallway.

Waiting for the elevator, Celeste knew that confrontation was petty, but sometimes small and petty wins are enough to keep a person going. If Crystal was to knock her back down the ladder and have the audacity to retroactively take credit for her success, she'd make sure his time back at the company was anything but smooth. Until he screwed up again, this would have to suffice.

Jerry watched her in intense silence. Celeste couldn't hurt Jimmy, not yet, and not directly, but that gave her an idea. She could fudge with the best thing in his life right now.

"You're too good for him," the cougar said.

Jerry's eyes hardened. "I'll be the judge of that."

"This isn't going to end the way you think it is. He'll never want you. He'll never take you."

"Goodbye, Ms. Cassidy."

Celeste got inside of the elevator, and Jerry heard her words drifting through the closing doors, contempt tinged with just a bit of pity.

"You sad little simp."

A/N

I didn't originally plan for that Ash and Clay scene, but I didn't want the reunion to be some sort of "off screen" thing that happened. It was also fun having them acknowledge the almost random circumstances of the movie. There was also a little glimpse at the bad blood between Jimmy and his (former) protégé. Believe or not, there was a time when Celeste used to look up to him.