"Tag, you're it!"

"Ugh... girls, come on, take it easy..." Stephanie chuckled tiredly as the two eight-year-olds chased each other in circles around her, having been doing so non-stop for at least the last twenty minutes. The older wolf jolted up slightly when Porsha slid under her legs and ran onwards with Meena in pursuit, though she briefly panicked when it looked like the pup was about to run right off the edge of the sidewalk. "Ah-ah-ah! Not in the road, sunshine!"

"Oh! Oh yeah... sorry, Mommy..." Porsha froze on the spot, inches from the traffic, and turned back to face her mother, only for Meena to quickly tap her on the back and run the opposite way. "Aw come on, Meena, I thought that was a time out!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes, letting the two little ones continue their right behind her as she walked up to the entrance of the Theatre and unlocked the door.

"Alright... go crazy..." She gestured inside as the little wolf and elephant raced past her right into the empty auditorium. "Oh, and don't break anything, Porsha! Again!"

BZZZZZ... BZZZZZ...

Stephanie tensed up a little when she felt a soft vibration on her backside, before digging into her pocket to fish out her phone. She'd given most of her regular phone numbers songs for ringtones, and would usually hang up the unfamiliar ones that didn't, but just before she could hang up she was taken aback by the name on the Caller ID screen.

"Florence...?"

While she had hoped exchanging numbers with her old friend at the festival would have allowed for some gradual reconciliation, Stephanie had decided to wait for Florence to call her, but given the fact that Florence hadn't done so in the three months that had passed since then, it seemed she had been waiting for Stephanie to do the same. Nevertheless, Stephanie continued to let the phone ring for a good few seconds, her finger hovering gently over the answer button, as she pondered what to do.

"Oh! Good morning, Ms. Frangipane!"

"Huh?" Stephanie snapped back to reality, glancing at her screen to see that the call had gone to voice mail, before looking down at the lizard beside her. "Oh... morning, Ms. Crawly. Y'okay?"

"Oh, very good, Ma'am. thank you..." Ms. Crawly then gestured to the doors of the auditorium. "Mr. Moon's just getting things ready over at the stage. Are your friends still coming?"

"Yeah, I don't think they'll be too long..." Stephanie pushed the door open, propping it with her long arm to allow the lizard to come in front. "Anyways, uh... h-how have you guys been holdin' up since the funeral?"

Quickly, she hung up the call, deciding to check back later. She greeted Buster warmly as he stepped into view, his distinctive koala charm intact even amidst the recent hardships he had faced. "Hey there, Mr. Moon," she said, using Buster's theater nickname, "How've you been holding up since the funeral last week?"

"As well as we can be!" Buster's voice nearly made Stephanie jump out of her skin, before she turned to see the koala standing up on the aisle seat on the back row, mere inches away from her. "I mean, yeah, it's uh... it's still a little tough, sure, but... but it was a good service."

"Oh... oh yeah, it was. It was real lovely." Stephanie smiled, giving Buster some space as he clambered down from the seat and led her and Ms. Crawly to the front row. "Y'know, I ain't much of a religious gal, Moon, but your Dad's probably in a better place up there somewhere, right?"

"Yeah... yeah, I really hope so, Steph..." Buster did seem slightly melancholy as he said this, though he quickly bounced back when he took the front row seat and hunched forward on the table he'd set up. "But hey, no need worrying about it now. All I we gotta do now is get back to work."

"Hmm..." Stephanie nodded as she carefully sat beside Buster, only to look up on the stage to see a familiar porcupine showing off her guitar to Porsha and Meena. "Oh... Ash came in early today, huh?"

"Yep..." Buster didn't seem to pay much attention, having already opened his clipboard to start start scribbling down some notes. "Said she wanted to talk to Johnny about something."

"Ah... course she did." Stephanie rolled her eyes playfully. "Real set of lovebirds, those two kids."

"Lovebirds? What, Ash and Johnny...?" Buster kept his voice down, making sure the porcupine on stage couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation. "I thought Ash already had a boyfriend, that uh... that Lance fella."

"Trust me, Mr. Moon, I know smitten when I see it."

"Oh, you uh... y-you do...?" Buster quickly straightened up in his seat and tidied up his shirt and bow tie, before clearing his throat in a bid to change the subject. "Well anyway, uh... w-what time are your friends coming today, Steph...?"

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine

Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

While Rosita had seemed to be in a far more energetic mood than usual when she'd first arrived, Stephanie could practically smell her friend's nervousness coming back in full force once she got up on the stage, standing right in the centre of it and barely moving an inch while she sang. Though since Buster seemed to be concentrating more on the vocals, and still had his eyes glued to his clipboard, Stephanie managed to make a few small, non-verbal gestures for Rosita's voice and tone to follow, almost acting like an impromptu conductor.

Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh
As you shoot across the sky, sky, sky

Rosita had tried her quick glance over to the side of the stage allowed Rosita to notice the younger animals were all watching her audition as well. Porsha seemed particularly into it as she danced on the spot and silently mouthed the words, unknowingly supplying a much needed boost of confidence that prompted the pig to belt out the rest of the final chorus.

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

"WHOO! Yeah!" Stephanie stood up, whistling with her fingers while everyone else - sans Buster - applauded for Rosita as she took a small, slightly awkward bow. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about! I told ya you had the voice for this, Ro, that was incredible!"

"You really think so?" Rosita seemed both flattered and slightly overwhelmed by the praise, which everyone else murmured in agreement with, though Stephanie noticed a warm red beaming on the pig's cheeks as she looked down at her left hand. "Feels like this day's just getting better and better for me..."

"Huh... uh... y-yeah, I bet it is..." Stephanie nodded, not entirely sure what the pig meant by that. It was only then when the wolf realised that Buster hadn't said anything since the song had ended, and the expression on his face made it hard to ascertain if he'd enjoyed it or not. "Well, uh... she's pretty amazing, huh, Moon...?"

"Rosita, Rosita, Rosita..." Buster murmured to himself, rolling the R's while he looked at the notes he'd written. "Hmm... great set of pipes, but boring to watch."

"Boring...?" Rosita and Stephanie spoke in-sync. After their brief moment of mutual shock had passed, the pig simply shrugged - for some reason seeming in too good a mood to be upset - and began walking to the edge of the stage, while the wolf immediately began to turn her more passionate ire on the koala sat beside her.

"Moon, that ain't fair, ya can't say stuff like -!"

"But there's no worry to worry about that!" Buster suddenly cut her off, having seemingly not even heard what Stephanie had just said, and he regained his usual enthusiasm as he looked back up at Rosita. "We just gotta figure out a way to spice things up a little!"

"Spice things up...?" Rosita gulped, rubbing her arm. "What, like... d-dancing, or something?"

"Oh yeah, sure, dancing! Yeah, we'll get you a couple instructors, choreographers, they'll turn you into a pro in no time!" Buster cupped his chin as he thought for a moment, then looked over to face his associate. "Say, Steph, you wouldn't know that famous guy from Redshore, would you...?"

"Huh...?" Stephanie shook her head to get herself back to reality, still having barely processed what Buster was suggesting. "Wait, what... wh-what famous guy?"

"Y'know, the choreographer. Um... oh, what's his name? Klaus something?"

"Kickenklober...?!" Stephanie let out a hoarse laugh when Buster nodded, then shook her head. "Even putting aside the fact that he's way outta your pay grade, Moon, the guy's a frickin' psycho. We're not puttin' Rosita through that."

"Oh..." Buster winced a little. "Yeah, I guess I better trust your judgment when it comes to psychos, huh?"

"Yeah, probably..." Stephanie leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on the armrest, before straightening up a little as she glanced down at her handbag on the floor. "Hmm... actually..."

"What...?" Buster tilted his head as Rosita sat on the edge of the stage, just as intrigued by the wolf's behaviour as Stephanie picked up her purse and searched through it.

"Ah-ha, here it is!" Stephanie finally fished out the bright, glitter and sharpie covered poster, unfolding it for Buster to see. "We could get this fella in! Y'know, let him teach Ro a couple moves, maybe pair 'em up on stage or something?"

"Pair up? What, you mean... like duets, and stuff?" Rosita didn't seem so certain when Stephanie nodded, but she tried her best to keep an open mind as she got down off the stage and approached them to get a better look at the flyer for herself. "Well, who is this guy?"

"It says here his name's Gunter. Ooh, he's from Schnitzeldorf too!" Buster passed the poster over to Rosita - letting her get a look at the slightly blurry photograph of the other pig in the middle of it - and looked to Stephanie. "Yeah, I think we could make that work."

"Oh yeah, totally!" Stephanie's enthusiasm faltered a little as she looked over to Rosita, noticing a more neutral but still rather disappointed expression on her face. "I mean... that's only if you're okay with it, Ro...?"

"Hmm? Oh no, I... no, I mean yes! Yeah, I uh... I'm great with that, actually." Rosita let out what sounded like a sigh of relief, regaining her cheeriness as she looked down at her hand. "Yeah, whatever stops me making a fool of myself on that stage, I'm game."

"Terrific!" Buster nodded, gesturing over to a seat next to Stephanie for Rosita to sit at while he turned to the next page in his clipboard. "Alright, Johnny, that's you up next!"

"Come here, love... have a look at yourself..."

Mary hesitated, then slowly approached, letting her father put his arm on her shoulder as he straightened her up and guided her over to the mirror, giving her a full view of her reflection.

"Now, do ya know who I see standing here in this mirror, Mary?"

"Dunno..." Mary exhaled, trying to sound casual. "But I'll suppose it's going to be something mean."

"Well, what I see is someone who's gonna take Calatonia by storm! Someone who's still gonna be loved, respected and remembered. Someone that folks'll be talking about years, decades, even centuries to come!" Graham sounded a lot more sincere than Mary had expected. He sounded encouraging, perhaps even proud. "But then of course, I see you stood here too."

Mary's smile dropped, but Graham's tone remained the same, despite his much more cutting words.

"A clumsy, chubby, four-eyed little nobody, who never does anything but leech off her generous, and far too patient old man..." He then ruffled the top of Mary's head, his forceful manner almost giving her whiplash. "Do ya really think somebody like that's cut out to be a superstar...?"

"Well, I... I..." Mary bit her bottom lip, then looked down again. "No... no, I suppose not."

"Course she's not..." Graham then patted her shoulder - rather more forceful than necessary, but seemingly affectionate enough - while cupping her chin with his other hand. "All this girl needs to do is keep her head down, do as she's told, and not go following stupid dreams."

"Mum...?"

Mary jolted up as Johnny's voice snapped her out of her reminiscing. She quickly wiped her face with her hand, not wanting her thirteen-year-old to see her tears as she turned to see him standing in the doorway.

"Oh... there you are, love..." She said, her voice still slightly strained from her crying, while she quickly held up her phone and pretended to look around the large, backstage room they were standing in. "I were just trying to see if I could get a good reception spot. The Wi-Fi thing's being a bit crap."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Moon said it's on the blink or something. I think that bloke's up there fixing it..." Johnny then pointed to the window right at the top corner of the wall, allowing Mary to spot the armadillo technician that was rewiring the satellite. "Anyway, I um... Rosita's all done, so I'm gonna be on stage next, Mum..."

"Oh, are you...? Great!" Mary did have some genuine enthusiasm in her voice, though there was still a sadder sentiment to it as she knelt to the boy's level and gently straightened the leather jacket he had on. "Hmm... look at you now, eh...? My handsome little man, getting up to sing for the whole world."

"Well, not really... it's just Stephanie and Mr. Moon. Oh yeah, and that Joanne lady..." Johnny gulped. "And Ash..."

"Oh yeah, don't you worry about her, Johnny..." Mary lowered her glasses slightly, giving her son a playful wink as his cheeks went red. "If you have even half the rugged charm your Dad has, that girl'll be swooning over you in no time."

"Oh God, Mum, don't say that in front of her!" Johnny whined, though he was still laughing when Mary took his hand and stood him in front of a tall mirror propped up in the corner. "Ugh, seriously? Mum, I look fine, I've gotta be on any minute."

"I know, love, I know..." Mary seemed oddly focused while she straightened the younger gorilla's shift and tried to tidy up the unkempt fur on his head. "You can't just look fine, darling, you need to look your best!"

"It's only an audition..." Johnny rolled his eyes, then finally pried himself from his mother's grip. "Alright, alright, I'll do it myself!"

Mary shook her head playfully, feeling a small smile tug at her lips as she watched her boy trying to make himself look more presentable, before glancing upwards to see the mirror in front of them. Even if she hadn't been thinking of her father's words in that prior moment, the sight of herself now standing in his shoes did hit somewhat close to home, but something inside her was telling her to finally right this wrong.

"Mum...?" Johnny was slightly surprised when Mary gently held the back of his head, tilting it upwards so that he was now looking directly at his reflection. "Something wrong...?"

"Hmm..." Mary sniffled a bit. "Do you know who I see standing here in this mirror, Johnny?"

"Uh..." Johnny thought some more, then shrugged. "Just you and me, innit?"

"I see a boy..." Mary said, her eyes already beginning to mist up from the speech she had planned. "He's an ambitious little lad, loads of big dreams. Of course, he did take a lot of them from his Mum."

Johnny giggled as Mary ruffled the top of his head, though he remained silently focused on the mirror while his mother continued.

"It's not always been easy. His Mum went through a right lot when she were his age. And it stuck with her. It still does, actually..." Mary wiped her face with her hand again, gently holding her son's shoulder with the other. "And a couple years back, his Mum, she... she nearly did something really bloody stupid."

She glanced down at Johnny as the younger gorilla lowered his head. While she and Marcus had never told their son outright what she'd tried to do on the bridge that day, Mary knew all too well how observant her boy could be, and a part of her couldn't help feeling that he'd already long figured it out by now.

"But I... um... b-but she didn't suffer for nothing..." She then cupped Johnny's chin, lifting it up so he could see his reflection again. "She might not have got to live her dream, but... but now she's here to see her boy live his."

Johnny nodded slowly, trying his best not to cry, though Mary had already completely given up on holding back tears when she knelt down again and pulled her son into a crushing but loving embrace. "And if that lad plays his cards right, he'll be taking Calatonia by bloody storm, he will!"

It's a little bit funny
This feeling inside

I'm not one of those who can
Easily hide

Don't have much money, but
Boy, if I did

I'd buy a big house where
We both could live

Everyone was near completely silent - including even Porsha and Meena, who were sat with Ash a few rows from the front - as Johnny sang into the centre-stage microphone. Though he was still rather nervous, his voice sounded almost heavenly as it gracefully echoed off all the walls, in perfect harmony with the gentle tune that his mother was playing on the piano behind him.

If I was a sculptor
But then again, no

Or a man who makes potions
In a traveling show

I know it's not much
But it's the best I can do

My gift is my song, and
This one's for you

Stephanie felt Rosita's hand clasping over her own as they both focused on Mary. The gorilla had her eyes closed and silently mouthed the words, clearly feeling right in her element while she played, though there were more than a few moments when it seemed she had to stop herself from actually singing out loud.

And you can tell everybody
This is your song

It may be quite simple, but
Now that it's done

I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words

How wonderful life is
While you're in the world

When Johnny stopped singing, Mary still had a few more instrumental bars to conclude the song with, though the sounds of her music still faintly echoed around the big, silent auditorium for a good few seconds even after she stopped.

"Well, um..." Johnny cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets, trying his best to make contact with anyone other than Ash while they all eyed him. "Was that any good, Mr. Moon...?"

"Good...?!" Buster shot up in his seat, making the two gorillas on stage jolt up a little. "That was better than good, kiddo, you guys were fantastic!"

"Guys...?" Mary's eyes widened a little, as she quickly stood up from the piano. "N-no, Mr. Moon, it's only Johnny auditioning. I were just here to -"

"Oh-ho, don't you even think of selling yourself short, Ma'am!" Buster cut her off. "Big, soulful girl like you, tenderly playing the keys! I still got goosebumps from it now!"

"Always knew she had in her..." Ms. Crawly nodded, before turning attention to the still blushing younger gorilla. "And as for you, well... seems you really do take after your Momma now, don't you, young man...?"

"Hmm... in all the best ways..." Stephanie added, sending a quick wink Mary's way, before looking over to the still standing koala. "So, I take it that means they're in, Mr. Moon...?"

It was around an hour or so later when the satellite was finally fixed. The adults were too busy talking among themselves to notice this, though the younger animals were incredibly grateful to have the internet and Buster's old television working again.

"Ugh, it's about time! I've not checked my Quacker for like two hours!" Ash straightened her glasses as she sat beside Johnny at the lunch table and opened her phone, once again bearing a full signal while her notifications came pouring in. "Damn, there's like a million of these over from Redshore, all about... oh my God..."

Buster was at the doorway of the auditorium, paying the armadillo for his services, so Ms. Crawly took the responsibility of flicking through the channels on the television set, trying her best to find something the two eight-year-olds sat in front of it would enjoy.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Ro, it looks like you were right..." Stephanie grunted slightly as she finally popped the cork off the champagne she'd just taken from Buster's office, clumsily pouring out two glasses for the theatre troupe's two newest additions. "This day really is just gettin' better and better, huh...?"

"Yeah, and I'm really glad about it too..." Rosita gently clasped her glass with both hands. "Honestly, I didn't tell Norman, but I was definitely expecting it all to go downhill for me after this morning. But y'know, even if all this had been a total -"

"Morning...? But you didn't get here until... hang on a minute..." Mary raised an eyebrow as she and Stephanie both suspiciously eyes the pig, who now had a red beam on her cheeks and a cheeky little smile on her face. "Did something happen to you this morning, Rosita...?"

"Well..." Rosita lounged back and propped her kneecap up with both hands, allowing her friends to finally notice the small, emerald ring on her left hand as their eyes bulged wide. "You could say the theatre wasn't the only thing I signed up for today..."

"Wait, is that... did Norman... oh my...and... y-ya said yes, right...?!" Stephanie barely waited for Rosita to nod before she let out an excited shriek, immediately latching onto the pig's arms and dragging her into a tight hug. "Aw, Ro, congratulations!"

"Quite the bloody courtship, too!" Mary laughed, gently patting Rosita on the back. "How long have you been a thing again...?"

"Two years, secen months, and uh... ah-bup-bup-bup-bup... oh, six days!" Rosita was still slightly strained before she pulled herself free from Stephanie's embrace. "But yeah, y'know... we were just having breakfast, I was about to set off. Then Norman, he just... he just got down on one knee, proposed there and then in the middle of the kitchen! I mean, I know it's not exactly Paris, Steph, but -"

"Oh no, don't you start selling Norman short, Ro!" Stephanie laughed, though she was mostly trying to avoid thinking about anything regarding when and where her own ex had popped the question to her. "Ya still got way better taste in men than I've ever had, buddy!"

BZZZZZ... BZZZZZ...

Stephanie tensed up a little when she felt the vibration in her pocket again, quickly fishing out her phone and seeing the familiar name that had been calling that morning.

"Oh, uh... just gimme a second, girls, I gotta take this..." Stephanie left Rosita and Mary to continue gushing about the big engagement news, barely even noticing Ash take the remote from Ms. Crawly as she finally answered the phone. "Well hello, stranger!"

"Stephanie? Is that you? Oh finally, I've been calling all day!" Florence sounded slightly breathless on the other end, and it was clear she had been - and most likely still was - crying her eyes out for hours. "Oh darling, I'm so sorry, I... I really can't imagine what it must be -!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Florence, slow down a sec!" Stephanie cut off her old friend's tearful tangent as she propped herself up against the pillar behind her. "Sorry for what, I... I um... w-what are ya talkin' about here...?"

"What am I taking about?" Florence sounded taken aback, almost offended. "Haven't you seen the feeds? It's been going viral for about six hours now!"

"Ah... right..." Stephanie winced a little. "Well the thing is, Florence, we've been kinda cut off most of the day over here, so I ain't exactly sure what's been goin' on in the -"

"Hey, Mommy, look!" Porsha suddenly blurred, getting everyone's attention as she went right up to the television screen. "It's Daddy's big building!"

"Huh...?" Stephanie lowered the phone, still keeping Florence on the line, as she looked up in the direction her daughter's voice was coming from, and she finally saw the broadcast on the screen for herself.

As Porsha had observed, it was indeed the massive monument of the Crystal Tower being focused on, and the camera slowly panned down to show a squadron of fully armoured police officers escorting a figure across the parking lot.

"Wait wait wait wait wait, he's innocent!" The all too familiar high pitched voice of Jerry was audible above the reporters' narration, as the tiny cat tried his best to follow the entourage and their prisoner. "Mr. Crystal, please, I love you!"

And there he was. Stephanie almost felt the need to pinch herself, but judging by the reaction of everyone else in the room, they were all seeing exactly what she was. James Robert Crystal, Mr. Redshore Crystal, was hunched over, handcuffed, and being dragged to a police car, trying in vain to pry himself free every step of the way.

"Ya can't do this to me! D'ya even know who I am...?!" Jimmy's eyes were bloodshot and he was bearing his teeth as he thrashed and fought - though the rhinoceros officer restraining him made his physical struggles all for naught - and he finally resorted to ranting right into the news camera. "All this crap, it's just lies, fake news and nothin' else! None of ya got nothin' on me! I'm the victim of a witch hunt, ya hear me...? A WITCH HUNT!"

"They got him...?" Stephanie's voice was barely above a whisper as everyone looked over at her, before she suddenly shot up and let out a loud, overjoyed howl. "THEY ACTUALLY GOT HIM!"

This prompted a resounding and very enthusiastic cheer from everyone present - with the sole exception of Ash, who's eyes were still glued to the screen - and Stephanie spent at least two minutes going around giving hugs and kisses to all of them before she finally returned to her call.

"I take it you've seen it news, then?"

"Y-yeah, we've just seen it now! It's frickin' incredible!" Stephanie's voice was strained by all her whooping, laughing and cheering, though there was a sincere tone of relief to it as she wiped her joyful tears away with the back of her wrist. "I just... I just can't believe it's really happening. I mean, are ya seein' this? They're puttin' him away, Florence!"

"Oh, it really is wonderful, darling!" Florence sniffled a bit, before her happier and congratulatory tone slowly gave way to a more melancholy one. "Terrible thing he did to that poor girl, though..."

"Yeah, well... the good news is he's gonna answer for it now, that and all the other... wait..." Stephanie pursed her lips and froze up for a moment, then curiously tilted her head when she looked over to the television again. "What... w-what poor girl...?"

It was right at that moment when a familar photograph flashed up on the screen, right above the main headline explaining what had happened. Even after dropping her phone on the floor, for the better part of five seconds afterwards - which certainly felt a whole lot longer - Stephanie was completely frozen on the spot, her breath still in her throat while her heart had all but completely stopped in her chest.

"If you're just joining us now, I'll reiterate tonight's top story... prolific entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal has been officially placed under arrest by Redshore City police, charged with the murder of one Suki Lane."