"All creatures great and small..." Buster's amplified voice boomed from the speakers and echoed off all the walls, prompting the audience's chatter to cease as the koala descended on the Theatre's signature golden moon prop. He still held his microphone as he clambered down onto the stage floor, while the red curtain remained closed behind him. "I am your host, Buster Moon, and I bid you all a very warm welcome, to the Suki Lane Memorial Concert."
He briefly looked over to the corner of the stage, where Stephanie and Porsha were both stood, waiting for the older wolf to give a thumbs up gesture before he continued.
"Tonight, we come together not just to commemorate the life of one remarkable soul, but also the many, many remarkable souls who have spent their lives suffering in silence..." Buster took a deep breath, taking a moment while a large image - showing a collage of various photographs provided by the Lane family - was projected on the red curtain behind him. "Now, Suki here wasn't just a name or a statistic. She was a daughter... a sister... a friend. She had dreams, aspirations, and a fearless, selfless spirit that could not be easily extinguished."
A quick glance up at the royal box allowed Buster to notice Charlie and his family, all of whom were already getting choked up at both his words and the images of their departed loved one on display.
"But as we stand here tonight in remembrance, we also oughta acknowledge the recent release of one Jimmy Crystal, whose heinous actions tragically took Miss Lane from the world those six years ago." Buster could feel himself getting a little unsettled as he spoke about this, especially when he spotted some of the various hostiles that were scattered around the crowd, but he was determined to pull through. "So while our cast sing for you tonight, I'd like each and every one of you to consider those that have been oppressed and hurt, and those that are too afraid to stand up for themselves and others. And we can all unite together to pave the way for change... for justice... and for a world where no voice has to be silenced. Thank you."
A soft but still resounding applause broke out among the audience as Buster climbed back onto the prop moon, giving it a soft tug as it lifted him back up above the stage where he was out of their sight. "How's things looking up here, Ms. Crawly?"
"No signs of Crystal yet, Mr. Moon..." The old lizard answered back, still peering through her telescope down at the crowd below. "I've counted fourteen so far. Eight if you count Mr. Jonze."
The audience fell back into an excited hush when the curtain rose, and the stage was bathed in a soothing blue light as the familiar silhouette of a pig emerged from the darkness.
Rosita's dark blue dress was somewhat more modest than the leotards she usually wore in the other shows, but judging by her husband and children's awestruck reactions on the front row, she looked no less stunning as she strode towards centre stage. She took a deep breath as she gripped the microphone that had been propped up, waiting for the hypnotic synth backing track to begin before she let her voice weave its magic.
No words appear before me
In the aftermath
Salt streams out my eyes
And into my ears
Every single thing I touch
Becomes sick with sadness
Cause it's all over now
All out to sea
While most of the crowd were mesmerised by Rosita's performance, Ms. Crawly adjusted her spyglass as she spotted Jerry on the third row, while the cat made a silent, discreet gesture to the grey wolf beside him. This prompted Kendall, Roman and the five other thugs - a cougar, a daschund, a chimpanzee, a fox and a hedgehog - to leave their seats and head towards the lobby. "Oh, Mr. Moon! That's the first squadron on the move!"
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You were bigger than the whole sky
You were more than just a short time
And I've got a lot to pine about
I've got a lot to live without
I'm never gonna meet
What could have been, would have been
What should have been you
"Alright, this way!" Kendall barked orders to his crew the moment they were outside on the sidewalk, leading them round the corner of the Moon Theatre towards the side alley. The grey wolf ran right up to the back fire doors, growling in frustration as he shoved and yanked the handles to no avail, before taking a step back and looking to the others. "Well, what are ya waitin' for? Break it in!"
Roman rolled his eyes, though they were concealed by his dark sunglasses, before giving the doors a forceful kick that sent them flying open. To their surprise, there was no alarm, and though they all remained on alert, the corridor seemed completely deserted as they walked into it. Kendall shoved his way to the front, leading the group into the dark backstage room.
Did some bird
Flap its wings over in Asia?
Did some force take you
Because I didn't pray?
The sound of Rosita's voice was still faintly audible from the stage, though it almost seemed eerie as Kendall and his crew made their way through the backstage area. There were props, costumes and set pieces hung up on the racks and scattered around the floor, but the actors that were seemingly supposed to use them were nowhere in sight.
Kendall looked down to the floor as a long silhouette caught his eye, a small, devious smile crossing his face when he traced it back to the corner of the stage where Stephanie was observing the performance. He raised his hand to get the attention of his peers, which then turned into a signal to proceed forwards as they approached their seemingly oblivious target.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You were bigger than the whole sky
You were more than just a short time
And I've got a lot to pine about
I've got a lot to live without
I'm never gonna meet
What could have been, would have been
What should have been you
"NOW!" Stephanie suddenly barked as she turned on the spot, making Kendall and the rest of his crew freeze up on the spot.
"INCOMING...!" Mike's bellowing voice echoed from the rafters above. It quickly grew louder as the mouse swung down on a sand-bag, only just managing to jump off before it sent Kendall flying into the wall with a powerful THWACK!
The other thugs barely had time to react to their leader's predicament before they looked up at the ceiling, seeing a young gorilla and two porcupines hanging from the beams with a large, heavy tarpaulin stretched out between them. The trio let go of the beams they were hanging onto and gracefully parachuted down, letting the tarp cascade down with them.
"Gah!" Roman just managed to slip out of the way as the cover cascaded down onto the rest of his group, only for a massive arm to latch onto him from behind and yank him back. Marcus kept the leopard in an effortlessly tight headlock as he signalled to Stan and Barry, prompting his two associates to take care of the other thugs while Johnny, Ash and Lance - with some extra help from Porsha and Meena - held the tarp down.
Once the hostile party were completely subdued, Porsha quickly scrambled to her feet and ran over to her mother, gently taking Stephanie's hands as the older wolf tried to steady her own hyperventilation. After a few seconds, and a few more deep breaths, Stephanie finally managed to relax herself as the moment passed, and a small, satisfied smile crossed her face as she looked back over to the stage for Rosita's final chorus.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You were bigger than the whole sky
You were more than just a short time
And I've got a lot to pine about
I've got a lot to live without
I'm never gonna meet
What could have been, would have been
What should have been you
The last note of the song lingered in the air for just a moment or two, only to be broken by a resounding round of cheers and applause from the audience. Unsurprisingly, the cheers from Norman and the piglets were by far the loudest as Rosita gave a graceful curtsy for her adoring public, waving and blowing kisses to her fans and family while she quickly rushed off the stage.
"Oh hey, it worked!" Rosita's face lit up as she came backstage, seeing the rest of the group's handiwork, before rushing over to pull Ash into a hug. "Great idea with the tarp trap, honey. Wasn't any trouble, was there?"
"Nah, they walked right into it..." Ash chuckled, gently pulling herself from the mother pig's embrace as she straightened the glasses. "Still... I always thought that only worked in movies."
"Hey, I told ya you had a vision for directing, kid..." Stephanie sent a wink Ash's way, making the porcupine's face beam red for a moment, before looking over to side stairs as Buster made his way over. "How's things lookin' up there, honey?"
"Ms. Crawly's still on lookout. Any of Crystal's other guys make a move, we'll be ready for them!" Buster reported, then glanced over to the slightly-dimmed stage while Mary took her seat at the piano. "Alright, Johnny, you're up next!"
"On it!"
Johnny finished straightening up his red suit and began his approach towards the stage, only to get knocked to the floor with a THUD! when a figure suddenly barged past him.
"Johnny!" Ash was just about to run to the gorilla's side, only to grunt in pain when a hand suddenly snaked around her neck from behind and yanked her backwards. "Ugh, get off me!"
"Hey dude, take you're stinkin' paws off my - whoa!" Lance was cut off when Kendall grabbed onto him with his other hand, the grey wolf panting and snarling as he backed into the corner with both his hostages.
"Ash!" Stephanie's eyes bulged wide, though her fearful expression quickly shifted to a more determined scowl. "Put 'em down, Ken, they're not part of -"
"One step closer, and the Prickle Twins get it!" Kendall cut Stephanie off as she and the others freeze up on the spot, only to loosen his grip on Lance when the porcupine swung his head back, sticking some quills right into his left wrist. "ARGH!"
"Lance!" Ash's face lit up as her boyfriend dropped down onto the floor, only for her smile to drop when the other porcupine immediately scrambled to his feet and bolted out the door without even looking back. "Wait, but... b-but... Lance, I... LANCE, WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Shut up!" Kendall barked harshly as he placed his hand over Ash's mouth, muffling the porcupine's voice while manoeuvring his arms around her quills to prevent her from repeating Lance's escape route. He then looked over to Stephanie and Porsha, pulling a sinister, toothy grin as he tightened his grip on the porcupine in his arms. "Now... if ya want your little friend here to stay in one piece, you're gonna stay nice and quiet-like til Daddy gets here..."
Mary shut her eyes and let out a small, sharp exhale, only just resisting the urge to punch her defenceless, bedridden father right in the face. Eventually, she opened them again, taking on a calmer, but still sad, tone as she looked him right in the eye.
"Why are you like this…?" She finally asked, the slightly wide-eyed expression on Graham's face indicating he hadn't expected to hear this question. "Seriously, what... what did I do to ever deserve any of this from you... eh...?"
Graham scoffed, and Mary couldn't tell whether his response was answering her question or deflecting it. "You were weak... pathetic... an embarrassment. Y'always have been."
"Hmm... right..." Mary shook her head, finally accepting that she was never going to get through, so she stood up and straightened down her shirt. "Well, maybe if you hadn't so worried about that, Dad, you wouldn't be sitting here all alone like this..."
"Y'think I care about being alone...?" Graham spat, though his arrogance came back in full force as he lounged back with a smirk. "I might have not have made many friends in my life, Mary, but I made an impact! Folks are gonna remember me! Yeah... the Calatonia Kingpin! The Infamous Graham Griswold, eh...?"
Mary glanced over to Charlotte for a moment, then let out a small sigh. "But is it worth being infamous for all the wrong reasons, though...?"
"Of course!" Graham's hearty laughter was punctuated by his strained coughing. "What, you'd rather I be like you?! Some worthless little waste of space who -!"
"I am not a waste of space!" Mary hissed, which prompted a mean-spirited little smirk to form on her father's face as the power began to shift again.
"Oh come on, don't lie to yourself, love! No one's gonna remember you!" He said. "Bloody hell, ya could die tomorrow, and even Marcus and Johnny'd forget ya existed by the end of the week!"
Graham's words were still ringing on loop in Mary's head while she tried to slow down her breathing. This usually happened whenever she was about to perform, though since she was always sat in the back playing her piano while everyone else performed in the foreground, it had always been easy enough to conceal her nerves in public. At least most of the time.
It wasn't until the lights brightened up onstage when Mary saw that Johnny hadn't come on yet, and a quick glance to her right caused her to realise that the entire crowd was now directly focused on her. She had hoped the awkward moment would pass once her son made his entrance, but then the catchy bass line of the backing track began to play, and the young performance definitely should have come on by now.
Mary tensed up and shut her eyes tight, her fingers hovering inches above the ivories. The next five seconds seemed to stretch on for at least a minute as she argued internally with herself, while another voice slowly began to drown out all her father's words of discouragement.
"When I was little, I'd have given anything to be up on this stage... singing my heart out like you lot used to do. Hmm... wasn't meant to be, I suppose."
"Says who...?" Stephanie chuckled, gently nudging the gorilla's shoulder. "Hey, first thing I'm gonna do when I buy this place, I'm gonna make you my opening act. How's that sound, huh...?"
"Ha ha, very funny..."
"No no no, it's not a joke, Mary, I'm serious!" Stephanie laughed, but she still sounded completely sincere as she held her friend's hand. "Come on, it... I don't believe it's ever too late for ya to chase your dreams."
The sound of a piano tune snapped Mary back to reality, only to look down and realise that she'd already started playing it, while the bass line on the backing track transitioned to a full blown orchestra. Even with her son seemingly absent for whatever reason, she knew the show had to go on, so after just another moment or two of hesitation, she finally started belting out the lyrics.
Oh, the joke was never hard to tell
Threw my spare change in the wishing well
The dream alone is always in your hands
If that don't fill the boy, and build the man
"Alright, Ken, just listen to me..." Stephanie took a single, shaky step forward, reaching out her hand as the other wolf tightened his grip on Ash's neck. "Look, I know me and Jimmy have put ya through a lot, okay, but ya can't take it out on -"
"I'll take it out on whoever I want!" Kendall snapped, pointing his free hand over to Porsha while keeping eye contact with her mother. "Ya didn't want anybody hurt, ya shoulda left your little brat where she belonged! Cause things were goin' great for me before you -"
"Oh, really? Well, if that sorta life's what you call great, buddy, maybe ya really are a... a... wait..."
Stephanie pursed her lips and straightened up when she heard the music and singing, before she and everyone else, including Kendall, looked over to the stage to see where - and who - it was coming from. "MARY...?!"
I'm gonna love me again
Check in on my very best friend
Find the wind to fill my sails
Rise above the broken rails
"Ugh!"
Kendall suddenly grunted when one of the cast members darted over and shoulder-checked him. As the grey wolf tumbled to the floor, his porcupine hostage flew out of his grip and up into the air, the momentum of her fall causing her to knock over her rescuer as she landed in his arms.
While most of the group quickly ran over to tie up the near-unconscious Kendall, before loading him up into the pile of thugs they'd already captured, Ash shook her slightly dizzy head and took off her slightly cracked glasses, her blue eyes widening when they met the brown eyes of the young gorilla that had just caught her.
Unbound by any ties that break or bend
I'm free, and don't you know?
No clown to claim he used to know me then
I'm free, and don't you know?
And oh, oh, oh
I'm gonna love me again
"You okay, Ash...?" Johnny sat back up and gently brushed some of the loose quills out of the porcupine's face. He tensed up a little when Ash threw her arms around his neck, but after getting an encouraging nod from both his father and Stephanie, he slowly returned the embrace. "Yeah... you're okay, mate..."
"Hmm... I've never been better..." Ash gave Johnny a quick kiss on the cheek, chuckling at the bright red blush that suddenly beamed off the gorilla's face, before leaning closer to whisper in his ear. "Now get out there and sing with your Mom..."
Back on the stage, Mary was playing the instrumental bridge to the second verse, taking a few deep breaths to get her voice ready again. But just before she could open her mouth to sing, she was cut off by a resounding cheer from both the audience and the backstage, her face lighting up with joy as Johnny finally ran on stage to take over.
The golden age was somehow bittersweet
But now the past lies sleeping, in the deep
The peaceful days that followed hollow nights
A kiss or touch could feel like Kryptonite
"WA-HEY, GET IN THERE!" Marcus bellowed as he, Stan and Barry all cheered and hollered for their loved ones on the stage.
While everyone else backstage was enthusiastically enjoying the performance, Buster looked up to see Stephanie getting a little misty-eyed as she watched the mother and son performing their duet, and he reached up to gently grip the wolf's hand. Stephanie looked down at the koala with a small, tearful smile, sniffling a bit as she knelt down to his level and pulled him into a hug.
Back on the stage, Mary shifted over a little on her seat, allowing Johnny to sit beside her and have a try on the keys for himself. Despite making them up on the spot, his improvised riffs complemented the song's main motif, and his mother was able to answer his tunes with some energetic melodies of her own. Though their voices were both slightly strained by the time they reached the final chorus, it was nevertheless a beautiful harmony as mother and son both belted out the lyrics.
I'm gonna love me again
Check in on my very best friend
Find the wind to fill my sails
Rise above the broken rails
On the third row, Jerry jolted up with a shriek when he heard the blaring alarm of the phone in his back pocket, though the audience were too focused on the two performers onstage while the cat quickly clambered down off his seat and ran out of the auditorium.
Unbound by any ties that break or bend
I'm free, and don't you know?
No clown to claim he used to know me then
I'm free, and don't you know?
And oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
I'm gonna love me again!
The crowd both backstage and in the audience erupted into applause when the song ended. Johnny tensed up for a moment when he saw some of his and Ash's classmates from band practice had made their way to the front row, though he relaxed when he realised they were all cheering him on.
"Mum!" He whined playfully when Mary suddenly put her arm around him and pulled him closer, giving her son a kiss on the forehead as they both laughed. Johnny then tightly clasped his left hand onto his mother's right, the pair exchanging a silent nod before they took a grateful bow to their adoring public.
"YES! WOO-HOO!" Stephanie's cheers were the loudest by far as Johnny and Mary came off the stage, the wolf ruffling the younger gorilla's head before throwing her arms around his mother. "Aw, Mary, I can't believe ya actually did it, you were amazing!"
"Hmm... yeah..." Mary gently pried herself from Stephanie's embrace, carefully making her way past the rest of her castmates as she darted right over into her husband's arms.
"Mary, I... I just..." Marcus was cut off when Mary placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him closer, both closing their eyes as their lips finally connected. Both their faces beamed a loving red as they pulled out of the kiss, before they gently pressed their foreheads together. "I'm so proud of you, love..."
Johnny was barely paying attention to the praise he was receiving from Meena and Rosita as he looked over to the corner, where Ash was silently tuning her guitar. His parents both looked over to watch the younger gorilla as he quietly shuffled over to where the porcupine was sat, quickly clearing his throat to try and get her attention.
"Oh, hey!" Ash's face lit up as she put her instrument aside and sat up, throwing her arms around Johnny's lower waist - only just being tall enough to reach it - as he tensed up a little. "You did great out there! And back here too!"
"Back here? Oh, you mean the uh... y-yeah, that..." Johnny chuckled nervously, though he did show some concern as he knelt to her level. "But you're okay, though, yeah? He didn't hurt you or nothing, did he?"
"Hurt me? How could he do that, I had you protecting me!" Ash laughed, playfully nudging Johnny's shoulder. "Big strong guy like you having my back, he didn't have a chance."
"I suppose not..." Johnny bit his bottom lip, briefly glancing over to both his parents and Porsha as they all gave him an encouraging thumbs up gesture. ""So, anyway, Ash, I um... you're not doing anything after the show, are you?"
Ash's face flared up red for just a moment. She glanced over to the door that Lance had fled out of a few minutes prior, before tilting her head back to the young gorilla with a smile as she fluttered her big, blue eyes. "Hmm... I'm free if you are, Johnny."
"Alright, Ash, that's you up next!" Buster suddenly hollered as he ran over with his clipboard, though he took on a gentler tone as he gripped the porcupine's hand. "You sure you're still up for it, kiddo? Cause after what happened a second ago, it's okay if you wanna skip straight to Mike..."
"What, are you kidding?!" Ash scoffed, quickly grabbing her guitar as she flattened down her vibrant red jacket. "Gotta keep the show rolling, Moon!"
"Ah-ha, that's my girl!" Stephanie held her hand lower, letting Ash give her a high-five as the porcupine rushed past her onto the stage. The wolf then turned her attention over to the other side of the room, seeing Mary kneeling down to pull her old mentor into a tight embrace.
"Hmm... always knew ya could do it, sweetheart..."
"Wait..." Stephanie straightened up and pursed her lips as her eyes bulged wide. "Joanne...?!"
"Mom...?" Porsha gently gripped Stephanie's shoulder, briefly making the older wolf tense up again before she realised everyone else was staring at her too. "Mom, what's wrong?"
"I... I just..." Stephanie clutched her chest as she started to hyperventilate again, and her voice began to quiver with anxiety while everyone else turned their attention towards something behind her. "If... i-i-if Joanne's down here, who... who's up there watchin' the crowd?"
CLICK-CLICK!
Stephanie froze up on the spot, and the others remained just as motionless when this sound cut through the silence like a knife. Not being familiar with the noise, Stephanie wouldn't have usually assumed that it was the sound of a handgun, though it was easy enough to put two and two together when she felt the barrel pressing right against the back of her head.
And if this weren't terrifying enough, the snarling, all-too-familiar voice of the animal holding it sent a deep chill right down her spine.
"Hello, Stephanie..."