Having excused himself from the on-set rehearsals, Klaus had spent most of the afternoon confined in the Majestic Theatre's Hall of Fame. Though it was large and ornate with its proud history of shows, awards and achievements displayed on all four walls, the room was cast in a rather dull semi-darkness, with the half-closed curtains on the window only letting in a single sliver of sunlight.

While there were a wide array of shows and productions being commemorated on these walls, with a cast and crew photo of the previous Out Of This World production being the newest addition, the light from the window was mainly cast on the very end of the hallway, where a massive portrait of Madame Jument took up the entire space on the wall.

The painting was a direct homage to the classic Renaissance art style, with the old mare positioned in the centre to perfectly mimic the iconic pose of the Mona Lisa. As much as Klaus hated being in its presence, he couldn't help appreciating how well the artist had vividly captured her piercing cold stare, to the point where it almost felt she was staring directly at the observer from any angle they observed from.

And it was particularly intimidating in his current position, standing only a few feet away from the portrait, feeling utterly dwarfed by its size as his old mentor glared right down at him.

"It's truly magnificent, Madame..."

"Hmm... it is, isn't it...?" The old horse pulled a small but smug grin, perfectly matching the likeness shown on the newly-unveiled portrait, as she turned back to her protégé. "Do you think it should be bigger...?"

"Oh no, Madame, I think it's big enough..." Klaus cut himself off when Madame's face suddenly contorted into a more offended expression, her hazel eyes piercing like a knife.

"Do you not think I am deserving of a bigger portrait, fraülein...?"

"What...?! N-no, Madame, that... that is n-not what I meant, I -" Klaus stopped talking when Madame placed her hoof to his lips - having left her cane back in the dance studio - and he remained completely silent while she looked back at the portrait again.

"Hmm..." Madame pursed her lips and cupped her chin, thinking to herself for a good thirty seconds before she finally nodded. "Yes, I think it's big enough... at least for this wall."

Klaus let out a small sigh of relief, but tensed up again when she turned back to face him.

"So... your new job..." She said, keeping a neutral tone as she strutted back and forth. "Big new theatre on ze block. Ze um... ze Diamond Tower, isn't it?"

"Um, it's actually Crystal, Madame..." Klaus cleared his throat. "Yes, the um... the Crystal Tower Theatre."

"Ah, yes... yes..." Madame thought to herself for a moment or two. "I find it interesting that I was never contacted with ze offer. Of course, with all this Mr. Crystal's talk about being, um... what were his words again... young and hip, I believe... I would suppose he wasn't wanting an old lady like me teaching his new generation of hopeful young dancers."

"Oh... I didn't know that, Madame." Klaus took on a more offended, almost defensive tone, though he still kept his distance. "Well, if Mr. Crystal did not want you, that's his mistake, Madame!"

"Mistake...? Hmm... perhaps ze bigger mistake is putting his faith in someone like you, no...?" Madame chuckled. "A choreographer who's never even performed onstage? Quite a serious risk, would you not say...?"

Klaus was taken aback by this remark, feeling the sudden urge to defend himself. "But... b-but Madame, you never let me perform in the -"

"Because you were not good enough!"

Due to her current lack of a cane, Madame had slammed her hind hoof on the floor to silence Klaus, making the monkey tense a bit while the THUD! echoed all around the vast, empty room they were standing in. He tightened up even more as she suddenly came closer, looking him directly in the face as her hazel eyes pierced right into his soul.

"Did you expect me, Madame Jument, Master Choreographer, to let a stupid, fat monkey like you go up on there and embarrass me...?!" She snapped, her voice suddenly dripping with venom unlike anything Klaus had ever heard during their training sessions. "You can consider yourself lucky I didn't throw you out with ze rest of that clumsy, smelly riff-raff that tried to join!"

"But I... I um..." Klaus bit his bottom lip and looked down, letting out a small sigh. "I know, Madame."

"Hmm... very good..." Madame straightened up again, proud of her work as she pulled away. Klaus remained silent as she walked a few feet away, watching while she unzipped a gym bag and reached into it. "You may have not performed for me, Klaus, but it's no secret that you' are one of my students. And I expect you to remember that."

"Of course, Madame... oh..." Klaus' eyes widened when Madame turned back around, and he finally saw the fine, navy blue beret that she was holding. "What is that..?"

"Consider it a reminder..." Madame pulled a small, insincere smile as she held the beret up with both hands, silently prompting Klaus to get down on one knee so she could place it on his head. "A reminder that you, Klaus Kickenklober, are now a part of ze Jument legacy. And as such, you vill be expected to honour zis proud dynasty."

"Y-yes, Madame. I will..." Klaus winced a bit as Madame cupped his chin again, forcing him to look right up at her. "I will make you proud."

"Proud...? Oh, please..." Madame pulled her hand away. "I vill settle for you not making a complete fool of us both."

Klaus gave a small nod, then rose to his feet while Madame grabbed her gym bag and headed out of the room. Despite her absence, the massive portrait continued glaring down at him.

"I will make you proud, Madame..." He said quietly to himself, taking off the beret he had just been gifted and gripping it tight with both hands. "I will..."

The rest of the working day had been fairly uneventful, at least in comparison to Klaus' earlier outburst, and now the cast and crew were just relaxing and mingling around the still in-construction set. To the troupe's surprise, Marilyn had decided to forgo talking about herself and had asked to hear more about them, which had led to Ash recapping the events of her high school reunion a few months prior.

"All I was thinking for that entire week was all the ways I thought that night could have gone wrong, and then when Derek cancelled, I really thought it was all gonna come crashing down, but..." Ash pulled a small smile as she patted her roommate's hand. "But you were never gonna let that happen, were you, Porsha?"

"Y'kidding? No way I was gonna let that happen, Ash!" Porsha laughed, then looked over to Marilyn with a shrug. "Besides, what's the point of knowing Clay Calloway if we can't get him to come over and perform for us, huh?"

"Oh yeah, totally..." Marilyn laughed. "Bet your mates'll be goin' on about that forever, eh...?"

"Hmm, yeah... gotta admit, though, it was really weird seeing some of those guys again..." Ash hunched forward a bit, her tone striking a mix between nostalgic and regretful. "I mean, I know they weren't just gonna stay static while I was off doing my own thing, but... but some of them really have changed..."

When Ash said this, Johnny and Nooshy both briefly glanced over at Marilyn, noticing the young gorilla tighten up a bit as she looked down to the floor. While they'd only known her for the better part of two days at this point, her uncharacteristic quietness coupled with this uncomfortable body language indicated that Ash's words were hitting close to home for whatever reason.

"Well, I think you'll find time does that to everybody, honey..." Rosita chuckled gently, before letting out a small sigh as she thought back. "I mean, I don't even remember the last time I talked to any of my friends from school, but.. but you know how it is. Maybe you've changed and they haven't, or they've changed and you stayed the same, or... or maybe you just both changed. Y'know, it... it almost makes you wonder if you'd be friends at all if you'd met them now."

"Yeah, but I guess it goes the other way too... I mean, no offense, Porsha, but if we met in school, I'm like 90% sure I wouldn't want anything to do with you!" Ash playfully nudged the young wolf. "But look at us now, huh...?"

"Hashtag Roomies For Life!" Porsha giggled as she pulled Ash into a quick but still tight embrace, though she took on a slightly sadder tone when they separated. "Well, if... if time does, like, good changes and stuff, then... do ya think maybe my Dad woulda gotten better too? Y'know, if he hadn't, uh..."

Johnny let out a small scoff, though he tried to sound casual as they all looked to him. "Well, I... I'm not saying it's impossible, Porsha, but... from what I've seen with stuff like that, time doesn't usually change much at all..."

"Oh..." Rosita pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Johnny...?"

"No no, it... I don't need to go into it..." Johnny shrugged, though it was clear from the others' expressions that he wasn't going to get off that easily. "Well, I guess... um... when I've seen folks fall out, cut ties, stuff like that... bringing them back together doesn't really change or fix anything, y'know, it just... just opens up old wounds, really..."

Nooshy could tell that the gorilla wasn't in the mood to talk about this, for whatever reason, so she quickly cut in to try and lighten the mood again. "Well y'know, the whole school friends thing weren't much of an issue for me, cause I barely even went to school!"

This pretty major bombshell was more than enough to divert everyone's attention away from Johnny, and he clearly appreciated this as the lynx beside him began her own childhood story. Though his personal thoughts still lingered in the back of his head, making him unable to properly listen to Nooshy's story as memories of his own came bubbling back to the surface.

"Ah-ha, there he is!"

Graham's booming voice made all the conversations in the room grind to a screeching silence, and everyone present turned towards the doors as he threw them open for his big entrance. Marcus noticed Mary tense up a little as her father his way over to them, and she gently tightened her grip on the precious cargo that she was carrying in her arms.

In the two years since she left home, Mary could count the number of times that she'd seen her father on one hand - her wedding, her twenty-fourth birthday, and Nana Noodleman's final performance at the Prairie - but each time Graham's presence had been more than enough to taint what were otherwise wonderful days. When he hadn't responded to their invitation to their newborn's christening, Mary and Marcus had been holding out hope that he wasn't going to come, but even when he missed the service, clearly he couldn't resist coming to the mingling session afterwards and making it all about himself.

"Oh, Dad... I um... I wasn't expecting - ooh!" Mary shut her eyes tight when Graham gripped her shoulder, though after taking a quick but deep breath, she held her baby closer to her chest. "It's um... it's good of you to drop by, Dad."

"Course! Wouldn't be much of a Granddad if I didn't see my little man's big day, eh...?" Graham's words prompted a few laughs and "awws" from the other animals present. "Right... let's have a gander at the little blighter, shall we..?"

Mary hesitated, but after a reassuring nod from Marcus, she relaxed a little and held out her arms a bit, giving everyone a better look at her young son. The little gorilla was half-asleep, his barely-open eyes not even comprehending his surroundings, though he was stubborn enough to slap away his grandfather's hand when Graham tried to tickle his chin.

"Tough little lad, isn't he? Good to know he's takin' after his Dad! Ha ha!" Graham's remark prompted a few nervous laughs from Marcus and the others present, though Mary sent a rather sour look his way, which prompted Graham to pat her hard on the back. "Eh, don't feel too left out, love. At least he's got your eyes."

"Hmm... yeah..." Mary chuckled, taking on a warmer tone as she gave her son a gentle little kiss on his forehead. "He's perfect."

"Well, take a good look now, everyone, cause this little fella's gonna be the face of the family business one day!" Graham bellowed proudly, while everyone gave some scattered, but rather unsure, applause. "Yeah, just you wait. Graham The Second's gonna take this city by -!"

"Jonathan..." Mary quickly cut in, instantly shrinking back and biting hard on her bottom lip as Graham turned back to face her.

"What was that, Mary...?"

Marcus cleared his throat, putting a supporting hand on his wife's shoulder. "The... the baby, Graham, we um... his name's Jonathan."

"Hang on a minute, that... that don't make no sense..." Graham tried to keep a lighthearted tone for the other guests' sake, though Mary could tell that her father was offended as he glared at her. "I thought we'd agreed on Graham The Second...?"

"Agreed...?!" Mary stifled a laugh, feeling a small burst of courage from the company that was surrounding them. "We never agreed to anything! You were the one going on about Graham The Second, Dad, not me!"

"Because that's how you're supposed to name your baby!" Graham snarled through gritted teeth, though it didn't do much to hide his anger from the others there. "Ya don't even know a Jonathan, for God's sake!"

"Well no, but... but it's for Joanne. Y'know, my old piano tutor..." Mary pointed towards the corner of the room, her smile lowering a little when she saw no one there. "Oh, she um... she must have left. But anyway, she really means a lot to -"

Graham let out an ominously hollow chortle as he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mary, please don't tell me you've named my grandson after some geriatric, looney little old -!"

"Dad, it's just a bloody name!" Mary hissed under her breath, seeming unusually fearless as she looked her father right in the eye. "Alright, just... just please don't do this here. Please..."

For another brief moment Graham grinded his teeth and clenched his fist, clearly holding back one of his usual outbursts. But after a second or two, he finally cut the tension by letting out a big, hearty laugh.

"Of course, darling, of course!" Graham pulled a big, insincere smile as he turned back to the rest of the partygoers, then placed both hands back on his still unsettled daughter's shoulders. "Besides, it's only your first try, love. You'll get your other chances, I'm sure!"

Marcus could feel the growing temptation to grab his father-in-law by the collar and drag him to the door. But knowing that Mary wouldn't want a scene - not even one that had her father on the receiving end of a humiliating ordeal for once - he cleared his throat and reached for the champagne glasses on the table, placing one in Mary's free hand and passing the other to Graham.

"Right, well anyway..." Marcus cleared his throat, grabbing his own glass and holding it up, prompting the others to do the same. "Might as well put the future on hold for a bit, think about the here and now. And right now, here and now's our little Jonathan here. So I guess all I have to say is... to Johnny, everyone!"

"TO JOHNNY!"

"Well yeah, the old girl had probably been closed for about a decade by the time my Dad and I got the money together for it!"

Buster's voice snapped Johnny out of his private reminiscing. It was only then that the gorilla realised he'd missed a massive chunk of the conversation - which Buster, Suki and Kaya had somehow joined - and the subject had now shifted to the origins of the koala's main base of operations.

"Yeah, I think it was actually when Graham Griswold got sick when it all went downhill..." Buster briefly glanced over to his honorary niece. "The others told you about him, didn't they, Porsha...?"

"Oh yeah, Uncle Buster, I know about that Griswold guy..." Porsha nodded. "Wait, so did he own the theatre before you did...?"

"Well no, he wasn't the owner, sunshine, but he put a lotta money into the Prairie... turns out most of that money was just, uh... well... less than legal..." Rosita cringed a bit, then looked back to Buster. "Feel free to correct me, Buster, but uh... the cops seized it all, but they couldn't link it back to Griswold, so instead they just shut the whole thing down, right?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it, Rosita..." Buster sighed a little, briefly glancing over to Johnny without the young gorilla noticing.

"Y'know, my Auntie told me he basically killed Calatonia's theatre industry doin' that to the Prairie..." Marilyn cut in, sounding sincerely complimentary as she looked over to the koala. "She said it's a good thing you lot came around when you did..."

"Oh... well, it's nice of your Aunt to say that, Marilyn..." Buster smiled, flattered. "But yeah, I um... I'm really glad I was able to do it. Y'know, bring a little bit of wonder and magic back to the city!"

"God, you sound just like my husband..." Kaya chuckled playfully, straightening her glasses as Suki briefly glanced over to her.

"Um... Johnny..." The group's conversation was cut short by the familiar voice, and all their eyes widened as they looked behind Johnny to see the old monkey standing there.

"Oh, Klaus..." Johnny swivelled around in his seat so he was facing him directly. "Everything alright, mate...?"

"What? Oh, uh... y-yes, good enough... um..." Klaus took a deep breath, letting out a sigh. "Look, I don't wish to pull you away from this, but um... is it alright if we talk later today... before you go back to your hotel."

"Uh... yeah, okay..." Johnny nodded with a small, reassuring grin, though it lowered a little when Klaus took off again. He then turned back around to the others, all of whom were even more perplexed than he was.

"What do you think that's about...?" Ash said.

"It's probably about what happened earlier..." Johnny shrugged, trying to sound casual. "Should be fine, though..."

"Hmm... well just in case, mate, I've got your back..." Nooshy gently patted his hand. "We'll go see him after rehearsals."