A/N: Okay. Two more chapters left, people. TWO. Count 'em. Uno... dos. That's it! Then Geeze Doumani is done! So, here's what I would like... I would like reviews. That's all. Just some feedback saying, hey, this is great, or... hey, this kinda sucked this time, and reasons why. Or just, Great! You know. Whatever. I'm trying to get better here. Anyways. Two more chapters! Thanks to Kowalskiluva11 for reviewing (yayness!) and MANY, MANY, MAAAAANY thanks go out to Ponytail30527 (again) who let me use her characters AND helped me write this chapter! Because I kinda suck at some stuff. And I couldn't do it. So thanks!

Chapter Eleven: Talent Show/Uh-oh/Oh no!

The day of the talent show had finally arrived, and everyone woke up early. There was noise and hustle and bustle everywhere, not one animal doing nothing. The lemurs were decorating, the penguins were, well, doing their thing... and even the chameleons were helping Cube out with the stage lights.

A good few feet above the stage was the light grid, the young otter boy connecting lights and hooking up the sound equipment. "Thanks guys, that color is perfect!" He said, matching a color sheet to their vibrant skin tones. As they scurried to get more color sheets, he thought back to the night before, right after Athena left with Roz.

He had heard Athena singing and thought it was purely amazing, though he wasn't sure if she would be singing… at the show. He hoped she would and felt himself blush. That girl never stopped amazing him.

Below the young otter boy was a penguin, steadfastly practicing his juggling. Buttons had finally moved up to electric knives, though his father didn't think he'd ever really be ready to juggle chainsaws. He rolled his eyes, however, because he knew what it really was. No matter what else happened, Rico was a real worry wart when it came to his son. Not like he minded it, he loved that his dad cared so much. But this might be his only… his last chance to impress Athena.

He could hear it in her voice, whenever she talked about Cube. Buttons looked up until his eyes located the sandy blonde otter, fixing up lights with several of those colorful lizards. He was the one she wanted, the one she liked.

Not Buttons.

One of the handles of the electric knives started to slip. So he did what his father taught him. He thought back to something happy, that made him confident… his Athena was helping him with his history paper. He didn't know a thing about it, sure, but that didn't stop him from trying to mess around with her, and, to his surprise, she messed back. He never felt more confident than he did when he was with her. Not to mention what he felt about her. That was mere months ago, but the feeling never wavered. Well, for him, anyways.

Another handle started to slip again. Happy thoughts. Positive. Confidence. Repeat.

"Hello? Anybody home!? What is WRONG with you?" Elli shook her head hard. She was in Haley's cave, who was going to help them with the fashion show, even though she was home schooled. They had been trying on and altering and decorating outfits for the past couple of hours, doing the finishing touches on everything. Though, Elli didn't seem to be with them all the way. Lilly stared at her. "What is the matter with you, you're kinda out of it." She said, taking the dress off to make a few changes to it.

Elli sighed. She wasn't really sure WHAT was wrong with her. She felt happy and sad and confused all at the same time. And it was starting to bother her—what if she was sick!? "Haley…" The wild cat looked up at her. She may have been home schooled, but she was really good with telling if someone was sick, as well as fixing up scratches. She had to be, with how sharp her claws were. "What does it mean when someone's happy and sad and a whole bunch of feelings all at once?" Haley tilted her head up, as if her ceiling was going to give her the answer.

Though, apparently, it did. "It means that someone's probably love sick. Why? Who is it?" By now, the other girls were listening in, eager to hear the newest gossip. Elli blushed, not wanting to say it was her just yet.

"Erm… Athena. She told me after her study thing with Cube." Luckily, the others bought it, hook line and sinker, and started talking about how sweet the romance was between the two animal brains. Elli just sighed.

Love sick? But how!? She said that would never happen to her, it wasn't supposed to! And just who… Her thoughts flew back to the night before, when Marshal had saved her from the evil dragon on his white horse, in all that glistening, shiny armor. …Wait… That wasn't right, was it? What color was that stinkin' horse!? And then he said she was cute before leaving her at… no, wait, SHE said he was… She felt her face getting really warm, and tried to shake it off again, to no avail.

"Excuse me!" Elli yelled, before rushing out of the cave for some fresh air… and running right into Marshal. "MARSHAL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? AND WHERE'S YOUR HORSE!?"

There were so many things wrong with that statement, Marshal didn't really know where to begin. So, he started with the obvious. "I'm here to pick you up." Then, "And I don't have a horse." And finally, "What's wrong with you?" That went well. Elli took a deep breath and looked around before realizing… the horse and dragon thing MIGHT have MAYBE been a dream, possibly.

Whoops?

"Uh… Heheh. Nothing. I just… had… chocolate. Lots of chocolate… Peanut Butter Winkies." She lied, trying to cover her tracks. Marshal gave her a strange look before grabbing her flipper and saying that she might need to take a nap. There it was again, though, Elli thought. That happy-sad-confusedness. For Marshal.

Oye vey.

Meanwhile, Maurisa was up too, making the morning smoothies for everyone, and giving her dad a chance to relax. At least for a little while. "Morning, Maurisa!" Someone said behind her. Which actually startled her quite a bit and made her jump, splattering smoothie all over the animal. "Or, you know, you could throw smoothie on me, that works too." Peanut chuckled, wiping himself off.

The lemur gasped and ran to get paper towels to help him clean up. "Oh my gosh, Peanut, I'm so sorry!" She couldn't help but giggle a little bit. The pink of the smoothie looked good on him. "Erm… I got most of it." She said, handing him the paper towel she was using on him. The good news, at least, was he didn't look too mad. He actually looked slightly amused.

"Don't worry about it, Maurisa. It'll come off with a quick dip. No harm done." He was so laid back and easy going. Not to mention, he liked helping her out with her chores, which was really nice of him to do. She was thinking it over and almost missed him asking her about her act. "Ours is going REALLY well, Marshal and Eggy are super dedicated to this comedy thing." She really couldn't wait to see their act, it sounded like fun.

Especially since Marshal was going to be pranked the most. It gave him a chance to see what it was like on the other side. She was still a little upset over one particular prank of theirs. Let's just say that it involved a profane amount of popcorn and lots of butter. And her fur. She had Mort following her around for weeks after that. "I'm glad it's going so well for you." Maurisa chuckled, searching around their bar for cups and stuff before seeing Peanut holding out a few for her. "Thanks." She took them from him and set out making cups before realizing he didn't grab one for himself. "You didn't want one?"

Peanut smiled and pointed to himself. "I thought I had already gotten mine." Maurisa rolled her eyes and pulled out another cup, filling it with the sweet treat. "This is really good, Maurisa. Though, it could use a bit more mango. And some sugar."

Was he actually being serious!? "No way! You know how much of a felony it is to give J.J. sugar!? It's like... well, it's really bad. But mango, you think?" As the two discussed ingredients for the smoothie, the prince decided it would be a great time to sneak up on Maurisa.

"MAURISA!" He yelled, frightening the poor girl again to the point of her splattering her smoothie on Peanut. Again. The prince only laughed. "I want a smoothie, make me one."

It couldn't have been a clearer signal for Peanut to leave. Sometimes, that prince was really rude and inconsiderate. "I'll catch you later, Maurisa." He said, turning to go. "Oh, see you at the talent show! I can't wait to see your act!" A few seconds later, he was gone. Maurisa felt her face get warm, and tried to hide it behind the blender so that J.J. didn't see. Not that he was even paying attention to her.

Later that night…

The lights on the stage waved back and forth, cheerfully inviting everyone to the talent show. "I can't wait to see what the kids do!" Marlene said as she sat down next to Skipper. It was late, but all the minis, even Ariel, were allowed to stay up to watch their friends perform in the school show. The dolphins had a special tank set up so they could watch with ease.

Behind the curtain, the minis were running around, getting their acts together, as well as friends and wishing each other luck. Buttons stared at Athena, who was doing a bit more practice with Buck and Jack. He didn't like them, but they seemed to be concentrating more on their instruments than to the girls around them. When they had finished their practice, Buttons walked up to Athena slowly; he didn't want to seem creepy, as if he was watching her this whole time. Even though he was…

Whatever.

Athena was giving a few notes to Buck and Jack, seeming more confident than Buttons had ever even seen her before. "Good luck." His voice sounded so small amidst the hustle and bustle of the backstage, but she still heard him. Her head whipped around, and she smiled when she saw him. He knew she wasn't going to go onstage, but still… Oh boy. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything in the first place. He was just about to tell her never mind when she spoke up.

"Thanks, Buttons! You too! I hope you do great."

He didn't need anything else. Those nine little words made him smile so wide, he was afraid it would throw him off balance!

"Alright, everyone, get in your places, and get your acts together!" Mason said from in front of the curtain. Almost immediately, the minis quieted down and huddled together, each waiting for their turn. He turned back to face the audience, and the show began.

"Ladies and gentlemen… We here at the Central Park Zoo School would like to thank you for coming to see your children's' performance at our first… and probably only, school talent show." Why it was going to be the only one, Mason didn't say, although most of the parents knew why already. "We're going to go ahead and get the ball rolling… or rather, knives flying!" He waited for someone, anyone, to laugh at his joke, but when no one did, he simply rolled his eyes. "Buttons, you're up!"

The little penguin stuck his head out of the curtain, before it flew open around him, leaving him standing, alone, in the middle of the stage. He took a deep breath, and recited his father's mantra, as well as heard the well wishes from Athena in his head, before coughing up, then carefully juggling four electronic knives!

There were oh's, ah's, and gasps when Buttons almost caught a knife, blade side, in his flipper. His father taught him to do that, though. It was more exciting that way. After about three minutes, the music ended, and Buttons swallowed the last of the knives. One day, he would move up to swords. But until then…

The crowd cheered and clapped for little Buttons, his father smiling up at him with pride. He had never felt better.

Mason came back on stage after the cheering subsided, the curtain closing again. "I'm quite glad that didn't get your flipper, Buttons. Now you can do your homework on Monday." The audience laughed a bit now, completely warmed up for the rest of the show.

"Next up… The Trouble Making Brothers… Really? That's what you're going by, truly?" Mason yelled, looking offstage at the trio. The boys simply shrugged, leaving Mason speechless. That said, he walked off, allowing the boys to do their thing, whatever that may be.

Marshal ran onto the stage, waving his little flippers as he did so. "Okay, folks, we're going to have a special show for you tonight! And the reason because it's special is that… well, it's the talent show. Now first of all, why are we having a talent show?"

Peanut shrugged. "Who cares? Less school!" He smiled when the crowd laughed.

Marshal chuckled. "Speaking of school, did you know that I got yelled at by my teacher for something I didn't do?"

"No, and what is it that you didn't do, Marshal?" Peanut asked, trying not to laugh.

"My homework!" The little penguin shouted.

The crowd laughed again.

Mason leaned over to Phil and whispered. "It's funny AND true!"

"Now let's talk about the Nile." Peanut and Eggy said at the same time.

Marshal felt his face drop. Those traitors! "Guys, that's not in the script!"

"Oh, we're… improvising." Eggy whispered with a smirk.

"Anyways, when a boy likes a girl, but fails to—"Peanut didn't get to finish his sentence however because Marshal had flung a pie at his face. Peanut's reaction was odd; he just chuckled and wiped it off his face. But then his reaction became normal and childish when he flung it at Marshal. "HAHA!" He said.

Marshal smiled and picked up another pie to throw at him. "Eat my pies!"

"Not if you eat it first!" Eggy then ducked under Marshal and squash the pie in the penguin's face.

"Guys!" The cream face covered penguin moped. "You're no fun!"

"Oh, yes, yes we are!" Peanut picked up another pie, but as he threw it at his friend, they ducked and pie hit Joey the kangaroo.

"That's it, yah little trouble makers! I outta wallop yah for that one," the kangaroo them proceeded to bounce over to the frightened boys as they ran off.

Marlene poked Skipper's flipper. "Is that part of the act?"

"AHHHHHHH!!!" The three kids screamed.

"I don't think so, Marlene." Skipper answered. "Maybe we should stop him."

"No!" A small girl's voice said from behind them. The adults turned and saw it was Lilly. "Our fashion show is coming up, and you cannot miss it! It'll be great, spectacular, the first fashion show in the history of the entire zoo's history! SO SIT DOWN!" Lilly could be mean and demanding when she wanted to be, and this was one of those times.

Elli, who was wearing her small little gown she designed, looked at Private. "She scares me, daddy." She whispered.

Private chuckled. "Don't worry, sweetie. And you look great by the way!"

Elli blushed. "Oh, you're just saying that!"

"No, don't say that!" Lilly ran behind the little penguin and pushed her towards the stage. "The gown is good!"

"Sorry, Lilly." Elli muttered. "You really want to win this thing, don't you?"

Lilly smiled. "Yup, and I really want to have a good first fashion show, too! So get in formation!" She ordered.

Nellie, Haley, and Elli then stood up straight as Lilly walked past them like Skipper would.

"Just stay focused, keep good posture, and for the love of all things pretty, don't fall!" Lilly said.

"We got it, Lil's." Haley said, smiling. "We got it."

Lilly sighed. "Okay, here we go!"

Marshal, who was still running away from Joey, ran behind the stage for safety. "Okay, Marshal, let's calm down. Joey might not kill you!" He muttered to himself, breathing heavily.

"Marshal?" A soft voice spoke out.

Marshal shrieked but then saw it was just Elli. "Oh, Elli, there you are! I… wow…" he looked down at Elli's dress. She looked… wow. Marshal wondered if he was blushing. If he wasn't, he sure was when Elli waved her flipper over his eyes to bring him back to normal. "Huh… what?" he asked, still a little out of it.

Elli smiled. "I asked if you were alright." She said.

"Oh… OH! Oh, yeah, I'm fine! I'm great, actually! You know, other than the fact that Joey's trying to kill us."

Elli giggled. "I'm sure he'll calm down." She then waved goodbye before walking onto the stage with her friends.

The talent show went great! Lilly made sure of that. The girls even had a lot of fun as they walked down the stage to a few songs that Maurice was nice enough to help them out with.

After the crowd settled down once again, Mason stepped on the stage. This was getting a little tiring, to tell the truth. Another reason this wasn't going to happen again.

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A/N: I had to break this chapter into two pieces, because it was too long for its own good. Finale Chapter 2 is coming tomorrow, then Finale Chapter 3 and a special epilogue chapter (which might be its own thing, I don't know yet) will be up the day after. Don't forget to hit the review button, please? Thank you!