As the camera panned across the stage, the bright lights illuminated the set, revealing two big red chairs that were placed opposite each other in the centre of the stage. Klaus was sat on one, having traded his sweater and beret for a simple but formal black suit, and he kept his hands clasped tightly together in his lap as he looked over to the capybara sat opposite him.

"Good afternoon..." The capybara said, addressing the camera. "On today's show, we'll be discussing the recent controversies surrounding renowned dancer and instructor, Madame Amélie Jument, who passed away last week at the age of eighty-seven."

Klaus tensed up a bit as the screen behind them displayed a side-show of photographs and video clippings from Madame's past achievements, some dating all the way back to the much younger horse's first performance over fifty years prior. As the host continued speaking, the presentation ended with the footage from Marilyn's livestream, showing the older and decrepit Madame making her offensive rants against the younger dancers.

"The controversy stems from a video that was released on the social media platform Quacker, from Madame's end of life ceremony two months ago. During this incident, many of Madame's former students and co-stars came forward to accuse and criticise the dancing starlet of toxic behaviour, and years of emotional and physical abuse..." The host then finally turned his attention - and the camera and audience present - to face his guest. "And we are joined today by one such student, highly acclaimed dance choreographer, Klaus Kickenklober."

Klaus gave a small wave to the crowd that was applauding him, though he sat straighter as the capybara finally spoke to him directly.

"Mr. Kickenklober. You requested to come on this show in order to address these allegations made against your mentor..." The host said. "You even claim to have emulated Madame's behaviour during your own work as a choreographer. So what exactly have you to say on this matter?"

Klaus took a deep breath, his mind racing as he prepared to speak. He knew that this was a delicate matter - especially with Madame having only just passed mere days prior - and that every word he said would be scrutinized by the public and the media. He had spent many sleepless nights thinking about how to approach this, and he had finally come up with what to say.

"Well, to start off with, I... I feel the need to acknowledge the complex nature of the teacher-student relationship in the world of dance..." He cleared his throat, trying to make himself more comfortable in his seat. " It is a relationship that is built on trust and respect, but it can also be fraught with tension and conflict. And this was very much the case with Madame..."

The capybara remained silent, but he still nodded in acknowledgement, which prompted the old monkey to continue.

"She made it known that she had very high expectations for her students, and I and many others had to endure very harsh treatment and criticism under her tutelage. She'd made something of a mantra out of it, you see..." Klaus let out a sigh. "Only when we suffer can we be great."

"And do you believe this yourself, Klaus...?" The host asked.

"I did. Once. And I taught that to my own students for... for many, many years. But looking back, I can see that Madame crossed the line many times, and... and I did too..." Klaus lowered his head for a moment. "Madame, and myself, we... we'd always find something to criticise. Anything short of perfection was failure, and... even that wasn't enough for us."

The old monkey then bit his bottom lip, drumming his fingers on both the armrests of his seat, before looking at one of the cameras focusing on him.

"But to every student I've ever taught... performers, dancers, students, I... I truly am sorry..." He said. "I don't expect most of you, or... or any of you, to forgive me but... well, after saying this there's a good chance I'll never work in the dance industry again, but... but even that does happen, I still admit to what I've done, and I take full responsibility for it."

"Hmm..." The host nodded, his expression almost unreadable as he cupped his chin. "Hypothetically, Klaus, if you were to remain in the choreography business, I would assume you would try to learn from your mistakes. And Madame's...?"

"Oh yes, of course..." Klaus sat a little straighter again, letting out a rather embarrassed chuckle. "I mean, to be honest, even before Madame's incident, I had been... what's the phrase...? Loosening up? Hmm, yes... you um... you may all recall my performance in the, um... well, you might say it was the unofficial premiere of Buster Moon's Out Of This World show..."

This prompted a few laughs and chortles from the crowd, which only grew as the screen in the background showed footage of Klaus' impromptu dance duel with Johnny, which ended with the monkey finally bowing in submission to the very angry-looking young gorilla.

"Ah yes, that's the one... you could say that was a sort of wake up call for me. Piece of humble pie, as it was..." Klaus itched the back of his neck. "But that Johnny, that... that brave, brave young boy, he... he never took to my teaching methods. In fact, I pushed him so hard, I... pushed him right over to another teacher. And he became a better dancer there than he ever would have done under me... and that short right there... there's your proof."

"It certainly doesn't seem debatable..." The host chortled. "So what does this have to do with your future work, Klaus...?"

"Well, it's inspired me to be better. And to do better..." Klaus met the host's gaze, his eyes fierce with determination. "I know that I can never undo the harm that I've caused already, but when... when I'm gone, years from now, I... I wish to be remembered as a teacher who inspired and uplifted his students, not one who tore down and belittled them. I would rather be a good man than a great tyrant. And if you'll all still have me, I... I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove that I can be that kind of man..."

"I see... like the teacher you wish you had yourself, I suppose...?" The host leaned forward a bit as Klaus nodded. "And do you have any current projects lined up?"

"Well yes, actually..." Klaus sat up. "You see, the Out Of This World sequel has been put on hold for a few months... in the wake of all this, of course. So in the meantime, I'll be teaching a summer course at a dance studio in Calatonia."

"Calatonia...? Home of the Moon Troupe, correct?"

"Correct, yes..." Klaus chortled, then looked back to the video as Marilyn's livestream showed on the screen behind them again. "Hmm... I will say the idea wasn't completely my own, though..."

"Indeed..." The host then cleared his throat. "Well, to bring things back to our main discussion, Klaus. Many believe these accusations and controversies surrounding Madame Jument's behaviour will permanently taint what would otherwise have been a proud legacy. Would you believe this to be a deserved fate after all she put you through...?"

"To be completely truthful, I..." Klaus took a deep breath, then sat up, his face completely straight as he faced the host directly. "In the wake of all this, I would say that Madame and her legacy are irrelevant."

This prompted some confused whispers and murmurings among the crowd, and even the host seemed rather perplexed, but he remained curious and interested as he leaned forward, which prompted Klaus to continue making his point.

"Madame Jument spread and thrived on the misery of others, and if we focus on her legacy, she will continue to spread it!" He said. "Nothing that we say or do will hurt Madame now... that old horse is already six feet in the ground, for God's sake!"

Klaus spoke in a rather venomous tone, though he felt the need to dial it back a bit when he noticed some of the more disturbed faces in the crowd. After a brief pause, he took another deep breath and continued in a firm, but more encouraging, manner.

"My point is... Madame Jument is not the one to talk about here, her victims are... we should be inspiring them to come forward. Empowering them, comforting them, making sure they know that what Madame did to them was not right!" He could feel his eyes misting up a bit. "Making Madame the centre of this story only validates her influence and further sidelines her victims. And... and my victims. Why waste our time trying to bring her down, when we should be bringing them up...?!"

Klaus was taken slightly off-guard by the resounding applause that suddenly broke out among the crowd.

"Well, there you have it..." The capybara pulled a small smile as he lounged back in his seat, then turned to face the camera so he could wrap up the broadcast. "And that was Klaus Kickenklober, speaking on the complex, yet surprisingly optimistic legacy of the highly controversial Madame Jument. Join us next week when -"

While the host continued his ending remarks, his voice - and all the other sounds around him - slowly faded to silence as Klaus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, the old monkey couldn't help feeling a strong sense of relief. As hard as it had been to confront his trauma and mistakes, as well as admit to them on national television, he knew full-well that it had been the right thing to do, and getting it off his chest after all those years was nothing short of cathartic.

"Oh no no, I think they'll love it!" Marilyn's voice echoed slightly throughout the almost completely empty staff lounge of the New Moon Theatre. The young gorilla was sat with her legs casually propped up on the table while she spoke into her phone. "Oh yeah, he's great... uh-huh. Yeah, I know, but I think it'll be good for them. Nah, come on, it's not gonna be like that... besides, like Double K said today, he's not gonna be like her anymore. Uh-huh, yeah... yeah... of course, I'll be right there with them. Yeah, obviously."

She glanced over at Johnny and Nooshy as they entered, giving them a small nod of acknowledgement while she tried to end her conversation.

"Right... well, I've gotta go now, Auntie. Uh-huh... oh..." Marilyn's eyes widened for a moment or two as she pursed her lips, clearly taken-off guard by something her Aunt had said on the other end. Johnny and Nooshy weren't sure what this could have been, though they sighed with relief when Marilyn pulled a small smile and finally responded. "Um... yeah, I... I love you too, Auntie..."

She let out a small sigh as she hung up, sitting up a little straighter while Johnny and Nooshy approached her. "Hey, guys... what's up...?"

"Oh, uh... not much, really..." Johnny shrugged. "So, um... was that your Aunt, then?"

"Hmm... yeah." Marilyn chuckled. "I signed my cousin and one of our mates up for Klaus' little dance studio. They're both a bit nervous with that sort of thing, but I'm gonna help them through it. Yeah... thought it'd be a fun little thing for us to do together."

"Aw yeah, that'd be brill!" Nooshy said. "Who knows... they might end up performing over here with us lot one day!"

"Well, I'm certainly hoping so!" Marilyn responded as the three of them laughed, though she calmed down a bit when she looked to the other gorilla present. "So anyway, um... how'd you feel about that interview, Johnny...?"

"Oh, you mean the one Klaus? Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm really happy with it..." Johnny nodded, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm glad to see all those folks coming forward about Madame too. But I suppose you played a big part in that too, Marilyn."

"Me...? Nah, I were just a glorified cameraman! You and Klaus were the real stars there, handsome!" Marilyn chortled while she shoved her phone back in her pocket. "Still... feels a bit mad finding out how bad she really was, doesn't it...?"

"Oh yeah, deffo... But I'm glad we got to finally show her for what she was. Mad old mare..." Nooshy scoffed, before pulling a rather grim expression. "Bit crap they had to delay the show for it, though..."

"Well yeah, but at least that means Mr. Moon's got time to hammer out the rest of it, eh...?" Johnny crossed his arms confidently, before looking to the other gorilla as she stood up. "Sorry you're having to wait longer for your debut, Marilyn, but don't worry too much. We'll make it worth the wait for you, mate."

"Yeah, um... about that..." Marilyn bit her bottom lip, awkwardly itching the back of her neck before she dropped another bombshell. "I, um... I'm dropping out of the show."

"WHAT...?!" Johnny and Nooshy were equally wide-eyed as they called out in-sync, though Nooshy was especially perplexed. "What about your clout?"

"Don't think I need anymore of that, love!" Marilyn laughed. "Yeah, my Quacker followers have nearly tripled thanks to Madame's little guest spot on my livestream!"

"Oh... well, I suppose that's good for you, then..." Johnny said, still rather uncertain. "But I thought were looking forward to it... y'know, building new bridges and stuff..."

"Well, let's just say KC and I have got a few older bridges that we'd rather be mending..." Marilyn winked as she pulled a smile, these words finally putting her now-former co-stars at ease. "Yeah... no point getting jealous of you lot, when I've got a whole family of my own to reconnect with, eh...?"

"Hmm... well, that sounds like a plan to me..." Nooshy chuckled, before patting the gorilla on the shoulder in a slightly rough but still affectionate manner. "We're really gonna miss you, though, mate..."

"Aw... I'm gonna miss you lot too!" Marilyn suddenly pulled Nooshy and Johnny into a hug, somehow being strong enough to nearly crush the life out of them both at once. "Hmm... yeah, but seriously, though... you've all been loads of help. And not just for me, either..."

"Hmm... glad we could be..." Johnny smiled warmly as Marilyn put her sunglasses back on and shuffled her way past them towards for the exit. "Still... good luck out there, Marilyn. I hope you take care of yourself."

"Take care of myself...?! Ha ha, of course I will!" Marilyn boasted confidently while she opened the door for herself, before making both Johnny and Nooshy's eyes bulge to their widest points with what she said as she left. "I'm a Fletcher, darling! I'll land on my feet one way or another!"

"Mr. Moon...?!" Johnny called out as he opened the door to Buster's office and peeked his head inside. To his surprise, it didn't seem the koala was present, but Johnny's disappointment quickly turned to a smile when he spotted the old lizard sitting behind her desk. "Oh... hi, Ms. Crawly. Is Mr. Moon in...?"

"Hmm? Oh no, dear, he and Miss Lane are out for dinner..." Ms. Crawly climbed down from her desk and sauntered over to the gorilla, sitting up on the seat in front of the piano right behind the door. "Tuesday's Date Night for them, remember...?"

"Ugh! Bloody hell, of course it is!" Johnny slapped his forehead, letting out a small chuckle. "Right, well... I were hoping to have a chat with him about the show. Did you know Marilyn's dropping out of her role?"

"Oh yeah, sweetheart, we know all about that..." Ms. Crawly swivelled around in her seat, beckoning Johnny to sit on the stool beside her, right in front of the ivories on the piano. "Yeah, she's having some family time, I think..."

"Well yeah, she did say that..." Johnny sighed. "I mean, I can see why she's doing it, but I can't believe she's just left like that. Seemed right excited to do the big dance number, and she's just dropped it like a rock. What are we gonna do instead of that now, then...?"

"Ah, don't you worry about that, Johnny. Mr. Moon's got more than a few tricks of his sleeve..." Ms. Crawly then looked down at the long line of ivories in front of them, letting out a small, rather nostalgic chuckle. "Hmm... y'remember your first day here...?"

"What, you mean when I were crap at piano...?" Johnny scoffed playfully, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah... like it were yesterday."

"Hmm... well, you've certainly come a long way since then, sweetheart..." Ms. Crawly said warmly, placing a comforting hand on the gorilla's forearm. "Yeah... one minute you're struggling to play a simple note, and the next thing I know, you're standing up to Madame Jument herself!"

"Nah... I mean, in fairness, I think that Madame thing were more of a team effort overall..." Johnny smirked. "Y'know, Marilyn had the livestream, and Klaus did his big speech, and that -"

"Now don't you be selling yourself short, sweetheart..." Ms. Crawly cut in. "Ya gotta remember they never woulda done those things without you prompting them, Johnny..."

"Well yeah, I... I suppose not."

"Hmm... but the point is, you did it, and we're all really proud of you..." Ms. Crawly sniffled a bit. "And to think, you'd do something like for Mr. Kickenklober of all fellas. Not a lotta folks are up for helping someone like that, Johnny..."

"Yeah... thanks. Ms. Crawly. I mean... it's good to help Klaus with all that, but... but truth be told, I... I don't really think I was doing it for him. At least not completely, anyway..." Johnny looked down at the ivories again, while he quietly drummed his fingers on the bottom lip of the piano. "It was probably for my Mum, more than anything..."

Ms. Crawly nodded knowingly, slowly and gently tightening her grip on Johnny's hand while the young gorilla continued.

"I just thought if... if I could help someone like her, or like Klaus or whatever, get out of that sorta scrape, it... it might let her rest a bit easier, y'know...? Wherever she's gone to..." Johnny pursed his lips as he looked upwards towards the ceiling, then back down at the lizard beside him. "I remember a couple years back, you... you said every note I played, she'd be there or something. And I do feel something like that, I think, but... but I just hope she's happy with what I'm doing."

"Hmm..." Ms. Crawly hesitated for another moment or two, the finally spoke up again. "Y'know, hearing you say that, Johnny, it... it kinda reminds me of a girl I taught years back..."

"Oh yeah...?" Johnny's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "How so...?"

"Ah, well... this girl was a lot like you. She was a gorilla too, pretty little thing... well, pretty big thing, actually, but... but very shy, very sweet... wouldn't hurt a fly, even if it owed her money..." The green scales on Ms. Crawly's cheeks beamed a warm red. "Always dreamt of being the next big thing. Y'know, like Nana or... or Florence Fletcher..."

"How'd it work out for her...?"

"Well... not so good, actually..." Ms. Crawly sighed, though Johnny was surprised when he saw what seemed to be a hateful scowl form on her lips. "Her father didn't approve, y'see. Kinda like yours, but... but worse. So much worse. Then again, it wasn't a total loss for her. She never got to sing, but she landed on her feet. Settled down, had a family. Hmm... she even named her little one after me..."

"Aw, that's lovely..." Johnny said, though he tilted his head with curiosity. "So, what happened to her after that, this girl...?"

"Well, until recently I wasn't actually sure where she ended up. We didn't talk much after she got married, but... but she did send me this wonderful little thing for Christmas one year!" Ms. Crawly chortled, playfully tapping her glass eye while Johnny tried his best not to gag at the sight. "Funny thing is, though... that girl may not have gotten into showbiz herself, but it turns out her kid was just as into it as she was! Maybe even more!"

"Hmm... well, that's a result."

"It sure is..." Ms. Crawly seemed to stare off into space for a moment. "Y'know, until she stopped writing to me, she'd go on for pages and pages about how happy she was to see the little fella loving his music. Hmm... always said she was really hoping I'd get to teach him on day."

"And did you...?" Johnny leaned forward a little, though judging by Ms. Crawly's rather confused reaction, he felt the need to clarify. "Um... teach him, I mean...?"

Ms. Crawly hesitated for a moment, and Johnny could sense that this was a sensitive topic for her, but she pulled a small smile before she nodded. "As it turns out, I did... and I never even realised..."

Before Johnny could ask what she meant, the old lizard suddenly climbed off her seat and went back behind her desk. After fishing through her bottom drawer for a moment or two, she came back over, carrying a small, black leather box in her arms.

"Oh hey, Ash were telling us about that!" Johnny laughed as Ms. Crawly sat beside him again, and gently passed the object to him. "This is what you keep your eye thing in, innit...?"

"Uh-huh..." Ms. Crawly beamed warmly again as she looked at the old keepsake, before tugging on the small handle on the bottom to pull open a tiny compartment. She carefully pulled out the the slightly crumpled hand-written letter within it - as well as the small, rather aged photograph attached to the bottom corner with a paperclip - and placed it on the desk where the sheet music was usually displayed. "Hmm... I think you might recognise that handwriting, sweetheart..."

Johnny leaned in and squinted a little to study the writing, quietly mumbling out the words as he read them. Around halfway down the sheet, Ms. Crawly noticed the young gorilla's eyes slowly widening as his mouth hung agape, followed by a small, shocked gasp when he finally saw the photograph at the bottom.

He kept this same expression as he slowly turned his head around to face the old lizard, who kept a tight grip on his hand as she spoke. "I'm really sorry I didn't figure this out sooner, Johnny, but I really think she'd - ooh!"

Ms. Crawly was cut off when Johnny suddenly threw his arms around her, pulling the fragile reptile into a tight hug that almost crushed the life out of her. Despite this, she gladly returned the embrace, and they both looked back with small, misty eyed smiles at the picture clipped to the bottom of the sheet.

This polaroid photograph was older and grainier than the standards of current camera technology, which was inevitable given that it was over thirty years old, but it was easy to recognise the much younger Ms. Crawly - still clad in her old black eyepatch - sitting at a grand piano, and the beautiful, bespectacled young gorilla that was sat playing it beside her.

Dear Joanne,

I really hope this finds you well, and I'm really sorry to hear you couldn't make the party. After all the chats we've had about it, I was hoping you'd get to see my lad performing his first proper solo!

Anyways, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything you have done for me. Feels like you've been there for me through thick and thin, and I really am grateful for your unwavering support.

Even when you only had one eye, you saw something in me that I didn't even see in myself. I suppose Eelton John would call it a "taste of love in a simple way" (HAHAHA) but for a girl growing up with a dad like Graham Griswold, that support really meant more to me than I could ever put into words, and I'll always love you for it.

So that's why I wanted to give you this. Marcus was worried you might take this as sort of an "eye for an eye" type threat, but before you panic that was definitely NOT my intention! It's a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, so it should be alright, but I really hope you like it.

But like I said before, my little lad still loves his music and his singing, maybe even more than I do! It might not have worked out for me in the long run, but I can tell he's got his Dad's heart, and I know our boy's not a quitter. I really do hope you get to meet him one day, Joanne, and I bet you're bound to see the same thing in him that you once saw in me.

Once again, I'll always be grateful for everything you've done for me, and everything I'm sure you'll do for him. You're a true friend, Joanne, and I really am blessed to have you in my life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lots of love, as always,
Mary