"No, Steph, wait!" Buster called to no avail when the wolf suddenly scooped Porsha's body off the floor and bolted back to the other side of the room, narrowly manoeuvring past the still raging flames as she made her way up the stairs. "Stephanie!"

"Oh no, ya don't!" Jimmy kicked the koala aside, still wielding the prop sword as he took off in the same direction his ex-wife had gone. "You ain't gettin' away from me that easy, ya low life little -!"

"You!"

Jimmy froze up - as did everyone else - when they saw the two sheep that were coming down the stairs, as the elder of the pair sent one of her signature cold, steely stares and pointed an accusatory finger.

"How dare you set foot in here, you vile ruffian!" Nana scolded harshly, not showing any fear of either the flames or the very angry white wolf who was ascending the stairs to her level. "I shall not tolerate this flagrant assault on the -"

"Get outta my way, y'old broad!" Jimmy cut her off, clenching his free hand into a fist before it sent it into the elder sheep's stomach with an audible THUMP!

"NANA!"

Buster and Eddie both cried out in-sync as she tumbled down to the bottom step and landed hard with a hard THUD! on the floor, while Jimmy barged past the younger sheep and continued making his way up to the higher level. Rosita quickly ran over and knelt beside Nana's body, carefully propping her up against the corner post as she checked for any serious injuries.

"Come on, Nana, don't go out on us..." She muttered intently to herself as she tried to revive the old sheep, letting out a sigh of relief when Nana finally opened her eyes and her breath returned to its usual, steady pace. "Alright, she's okay... but we gotta get her outta here! Right now!"

The adults were so focused on Nana that they barely noticed Johnny, Ash and Meena all making their way up the stairs, very nearly catching up to the white wolf before he reached the top and slammed the door shut in their faces.

"I got unfinished business with that trollop and her little brat!" Jimmy snarled as he twisted the lock right, tearing off the handle before pulling down some of the beams from the collapsing beams to barricade the door even more. "And you pathetic little amateurs ain't gonna interfere!"

"Alright... alright, that's it..."

Stephanie slammed the door to Buster's office tight and scrambled around the room, grabbing the coats off the various racks and bundling them up at the bottom to keep out the smoke. The wolf then ran over to the window and forced it more open, trying to let as much air in as possible as she ran over to the table where her daughter's motionless body was laid down.

She'd tried her best to cover the cut on Porsha's head with some of the cloth sheets she found in the drawer, and though the white fabric was now soaked wet, it seemed the bleeding had mostly stopped. But Porsha still hadn't moved since Stephanie had put her there, and while the younger wolf's breathing had been slow and laboured for the last few minutes, it was hard to tell if she was breathing at all now.

"Porsha... baby, come on, ya gotta wake up..."

Stephanie's voice quivered as she clasped both sides of the younger wolf's face with her trembling hands. Her fingers carefully traced the scruffy contours of Porsha's fur, and she found herself starting to hyperventilate as the warmth seemed to slowly fade from her daughter's cheeks.

"Please, sunshine, I... I can't lose you too, Porsha."

And then... nothing.

While it seemed she hadn't been moving for the last few minutes, Stephanie could feel Porsha's body finally going completely limp in her arms, her lip quivering and her hands shaking as the younger wolf's head dropped down.

"Oh no... no... NO!" Stephanie held both hands to Porsha's chest and pressed them down over and over and over again, still getting no response even after she'd tired herself out. "Come on, Porsha, come on! Don't do this to me!"

Time seemed to stand still as Stephanie fell to her knees, pulling the younger wolf's lifeless form into a tight embrace. Her intense sobbing was slightly muffled as she leaned into her daughter's shoulder, rocking back and forth as she continued to clutch Porsha's body right.

Stephanie barely noticed the sliver of orange light being slowly cast into the room as the door slowly pried open behind her, though she was almost past the point of caring about anything else as she kept her head buried in Porsha's chest, not even reacting to the footsteps slowly approaching or the hand that softly gripped her shoulder.

"Terrible shame, ain't it...?" Jimmy said, trying his best to sound sincere, but still unable to resist a mildly mocking tone. "Far too young to go..."

"You killed her..." Stephanie spat back, not looking the white wolf in the eye, though her anger was still overpowered by her utter despair. "You took my daughter from me..."

"Never woulda happened if you didn't take her first... this is exactly what I've been tryin' to show ya, Steph..." Jimmy almost sounded like a wise mentor as he towered over his ex-wife, gently patting her on the back as she continued sobbing. "Everything ya touch, everybody ya get close to... it always ends in pain and misery. Every time. And now you got Porsha killed too... just like ya did with Suki..."

"Oh God, what have I done..." Stephanie whimpered, still crying her eyes out as she latched onto her daughter's body. "I'm sorry, baby... I'm so, so sorry..."

"There ya go, that's it... get it outta your system..." Jimmy pulled a small, devious smile as he slowly reached behind his back with his other hand. "I know it hurts, Steph, but... I'm doin' us all a favour with this."

"Huh...?"

Just by chance, a small movement caught Stephanie's eye, and she briefly glanced up from Porsha to study the tall silhouette cast against the red-hued wall, raising its arm above its head. Her eyes suddenly bulged wide when she turned on the spot, seeing Jimmy holding the prop sword pointed down, ready to strike.

"HOLY SH-!"

"Gah!" Jimmy grunted when he brought the blade down, only for Stephanie to suddenly shoot up to her feet and latch onto his wrist with her hand. "What the...?!"

Both wolves put all of their strength and effort in as their struggle brought them to the centre of the room, Jimmy trying his best to force the sword down on Stephanie while she kept the blade only inches away from piercing her neck. Despite her predicament, several hundred thoughts and feelings were racing through Stephanie's entire body as she continued to restrain Jimmy's arm - mostly the same sadness she felt for Porsha, mixed with some fear and uncertainty - but as she looked into Jimmy's piercing blue eyes and studied the sadistic smirk still on his lips, she found her emotions slowly overpowered by a deep, powerful rage.

"RRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

"Ugh!" Jimmy yelped when Stephanie sent her kneecap right between his legs, loosening his grip on the prop sword as it fell to the floor with a metallic CLATTER!

He barely had time to react this when his ex-wife then gripped the back of his head with both hands, before propelling her head forwards so that it connected hard with a loud, painful SMACK!

Jimmy stumbled back and fell to the floor, sitting himself up against the wall as both the headbutt and the smoke inhalation sent his senses all over the place. It took just under half a minute for his vision to clear up again to see Stephanie now standing over him, still having that blazing fury in her greenish-gold eyes as she pointed the blade right at his neck.

"N-n-now, Steph, let's just take it easy..." He stammered. "Alright, just listen to -"

"NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Stephanie bellowed harshly, burning tears still streaking down her face as all her emotions came barrelling to the surface. "Ever since we met, all you ever did was hurt me and control me, and make me feel like I'm worthless! And if I'd not gotten Porsha outta there, you'd have been no different with her either, would ya?! But oh no, ya couldn't just let us leave! Not good for lil' Jimmy's crybaby ego, was it?!"

"You know what ya did, ya ungrateful little -!"

"Well, I've had ENOUGH!" Stephanie shrieked, making Jimmy tense up before she threw the prop sword to the floor. "Ya say I'm the one bringin' pain and misery everywhere I go, but we were happy here! And Suki woulda been happy here too!"

"Steph..."

"And do you wanna know why that is, Jimmy...?" Stephanie sent all the fury and hatred she could muster into her piercing stare as she sent it directly to her ex husband's face. "Because I ain't the one causin' pain and misery... YOU ARE! And ya always have been!"

"M... Ma... M-m-mom...?"

"Porsha...?" Stephanie straightened up, the burning rage fading away from her tearful eyes as she slowly turned back to the table, her face then lighting up with joy when she saw the young wolf sitting back up. "SUNSHINE!"

"Ooh!" Porsha yelped when her mother suddenly darted over and pulled her into a hug, still slightly dizzy from both the smoke and the bang she'd suffered to her head, though she quickly returned the embrace as she slowly regained her bearings. "It's okay, Mom... it's okay..."

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" Stephanie gushed, crying tears of just about every emotion possible as she planted clumsy kisses all over her daughter's face. "I'm never gonna let y'outta my sight again, I promise, I... aw, Porsha, I love you so, so much!"

"Hmm... I love ya too, Mommy..." Porsha sniffled a bit, resting her head on Stephanie's shoulder, only to let out a gasp when she looked up. "WATCH OUT!"

Stephanie grunted when Porsha suddenly tackled her to the floor, narrowly avoiding the prop sword as Jimmy swung it down onto the table. She kept Porsha behind her as they carefully backed towards the door, keeping their eyes on the white wolf as he aggressively yanked and pulled on his still stuck weapon.

"Come on, ya stupid - THERE!" Jimmy finally pulled the sword out, turning to the other two wolves as he pointed it at them. "Now, time for you two to go down with the - ARGH!"

Porsha and Stephanie both tensed up when Jimmy suddenly stumbled down and planted face-first on the floor, dropping the weapon at their feet. After picking up the sword for herself, Stephanie pursed her lips when saw the familiar portrait that had been thrown at her ex-husband's head, her face lighting up when she looked over to the gap in the wall that it had been covering up.

"Buster!"

"Pays to have shortcuts, doesn't it?" Buster clambered out of the hole, tensing up a little when it completely collapsed behind him, before running over to the window and propping it open. "Alright, we gotta go this way!"

"Wait, wait, wait, out the window?! But what about the -?" Porsha cut herself off when she looked to the door behind her, seeing the flames ravaging the floors and walls as it spread through the hallway. "Alright, fair enough."

"Everyone, for your safety, stay back!" One of the police officers called through a megaphone in an attempt to quell the crowd, while the cast - and most of the audience that had been evacuated - gathered on the street corner outside. "The building's integrity is failing! Repeat, stand back!"

While it had been the better part of seven years since the formerly named Prairie Theatre had celebrated its grand reopening, there was still a rather morbid contrast seeing it now being completely consumed by flames. Two large fire engines were now parked at either end of the site, though as it seemed little could be done to save the building itself, they instead focused on containing the blaze from spreading to either of its neighbours.

"Rosita? Rosita!" Norman called out while he and the piglets made their way to the front of the crowd, making the mother pig's face light up with relief before she ran over into her husband's arms. "Oh, you're okay... you're okay..."

Ash and Johnny both went over to help the couple keep count of their little ones, while Meena stayed in front of the theatre with most of the adults, looking down at her hands as the small mouse she was holding finally woke up.

"Ugh... my head... I tell ya, that's the last time I try and do any of that hero stuff..." Mike groaned, rubbing his temple, before finally looking up to see the raging inferno only a few feet away from him. "Hey, what the hell happened here?! I take a nap for five minutes, and you guys burn the whole place down?!"

"Well no, not exactly, it uh... w-well, it..." Meena continued to stammer for a moment or two, mainly distracted by what she was still witnessing, before rolling her eyes as she finally came out with it. "Ugh, Mr. Crystal went crazy, and he set the fuse box on fire! But Porsha and her Mom are still in there, and... a-a-and I think Mr. Moon -"

"I see them! They're up there!" Mary suddenly called, drawing the entire crowd's attention to one of the higher window where a koala and two wolves were carefully clambering out onto the side of the building. The gorilla squinted a little to get a better view, before latching onto Marcus' arm as she looked down at the fire that was spreading upwards towards the trio. "Oh God, they're not going to jump, are they?!"

"Stephanie!" Charlie put both hands around his mouth, amplifying his voice just enough for the wolf to hear him as she, Porsha and Buster all looked down. "You need to keep climbing up! Away from the fire!"

Stephanie glanced up towards the roof, taking a moment to figure whether it would be a shorter, safer distance up to there or down to the ground, but eventually gave a small nod, and looked down at Porsha and Buster. "Alright, you guys heard him. Up we go!"

She took a step back, waiting for her daughter and Buster to start climbing up first before she trailed behind them. While they'd made a updates to the Theatre's interior over the years, the original baroque sculpting made certain parts of the walls fairly easy to grip onto, and they managed to keep a steady distance ahead of the flames as they got closer to the roof.

"That's it, keep going, you two! Almost there!" Stephanie called up while Buster and Porsha got to the top, before something sharp suddenly dug into her leg and yanked her down. "Argh!"

"Mom!" Porsha cried as she and Buster looked down, both gasping when they noticed the white wolf that was restraining Stephanie a few feet down. "Ugh, let her go, asshole!"

Stephanie grunted in pain, trying her best to keep both hands on the wall while she kicked and stomped Jimmy's face with her other foot.

"Ow!" Jimmy finally loosened his grip when Stephanie's heel poked his left eye, his claws leaving deep gashes in the wall as he managed to slow his fall. He took a moment to regain his vision before he looked up, his already bloodshot eyes burning with rage while he watched his ex-wife quickly climbing the rest of the way to the top.

Some flames had already spread to the top of the building and were beginning to protrude through the roof, though Porsha managed to find a relatively safe spot near the middle and helped her mother limp over to it. Once Stephanie sat down, she pressed both her hands to the small but deep gash that Jimmy's claws had left on her leg, which still bled profusely despite its size, but she made sure to force a reassuring smile as her daughter knelt beside her.

"I'm okay, baby..." She said, still rather breathless as Porsha gripped her forearm. "It's gonna be okay."

"Alright, good news!" Buster ran back over, pointing to the left side of the roof where the flames hadn't reached yet. "Looks like the fire isn't gonna spread next door, so if we get across to it, we can -"

"Nobody's goin' nowhere!" Jimmy's voice made them all tense up as they looked over to the front, where the white wolf had finally clawed his way up and stepped onto the roof, snarling like a wild beast as he pointed directly at his ex-wife. "Especially not you!"

"Wait, Mom... Mom, what are ya doing?!" Porsha and Buster both tried to hold Stephanie back as the older wolf forced herself to her feet, gently pushing her daughter behind her while she sent a strong, hateful glare to her ex-husband. "Mom...?"

"Yeah..." Jimmy let out one of his ominously hollow chuckles, shaking his head as Stephanie clenched her fists. "Can't imagine how ya must be feeling... all these years runnin' away, and all for nothing, huh?"

"Hmm... I'm not running away..." Stephanie said, taking a quick glance down at the surface beneath Jimmy's feet, before she suddenly charged at Jimmy with all her speed and power. "I'M RUNNING FORWARDS!"

Porsha and Buster's eyes bulged wide when Stephanie grabbed Jimmy's midsection and tackled him down, making the already shaky panels completely give way beneath the two wolves as they hit it with a loud, painful CRASH!

"MOM!"

The faintly echoing sound of Porsha's voice was the only noise Stephanie could process as she and Jimmy both fell through the hole they'd made, beginning at least a hundred foot drop that led to an endless, hellish inferno below. What was truly around ten seconds seemed to stretch to at least a minute as she closed her eyes, waiting for the flames to take her...

But then she stopped.

"Huh...?"

The sounds of the wind above and the crackling fire below prompted Stephanie to open her eyes, realising that she was now dangling in mid-air, only a few feet from the ceiling where she'd fallen through. Yet she felt unable to feel relief for her narrow escape, as she kept her eyes on the white wolf beneath her that was still falling. Jimmy's voice had an unsettling echo as he plummeted, still keeping a hateful glare on his ex-wife until he finally disappeared into the fiery abyss below.

"STEPHANIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!"

"Ugh!" Stephanie finally turned her head away, only just avoiding seeing her ex-husband hit the bottom, though this also allowed her to look up and notice the younger wolf that had just managed to catch her.

"Okay, okay... one... two... three!" Porsha strained and grunted as she and Buster both tried to pull Stephanie back up through the hole and onto the roof with them, waiting until they were somewhat safe before she threw her arms around her mother and pulled her into a tearful embrace. "Aw, Mom, I... I-I-I thought I was gonna lose you!"

"Hmm... nah..." Stephanie planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead, letting Porsha bury her head on her shoulder while she gently clasped Buster's hand. "Like he said, baby... nobody's goin' nowhere, huh? Now, we gotta get off of this thing..."

Within the next ten minutes or so, the flames had finally been put out, though the Moon Theatre had been reduced to little more than a sad, greyish-black pile of soot and rubble.

The cast and their loved ones were all gathered at the barrier that had cordoned off the area, while the firefighters carefully trekked into the darkness searching for any other signs of life. The larger animals allowed an elderly koala to carefully make her way to the front of the group, before she glanced over to the neighbouring building as a long ladder was set up in front of it.

"Oh my gosh, there... th-there they are!"

Bernie's voice grabbed everyone's attention as she pointed over to the ladder, allowing them to see Buster, Porsha and Stephanie all climbing down to safety. The younger koala had barely reached the bottom before both his mother and Ms. Crawly suddenly ran into his arms, though he managed to regain his bearings and return their embrace, while the rest of the group ran over to the two wolves.

"Aw, guys, we were so worried!" Rosita's face lit up when Stephanie and Mary both knelt down to her level and let them pull her into a hug, while they looked over to the children. "Hmm..."

"Alright, alright..." They heard Porsha playfully grunting as Meena, Johnny and Ash - along with all-twenty-five of the piglets - piled onto her. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure I'm still bleedin' here, you guys..."

"Well... it looks like you guys really brought down the house, huh..." Charlie's voice prompted Stephanie to pry herself from Rosita's hug, rising back to her feet as the saluki - along with both his own family and the Noodlemans - came over. "I'm guessing that's not usually how things go down over here."

"Yeah, not really..." Suki chuckled nervously, still coughing a little from the smoke she'd inhaled while inside. "Ugh... listen, Charlie, I... I'm sorry we used Suki's show for this, but I couldn't just -"

"No, no, it... it's fine..." Charlie sniffled a bit, holding back happy tears as he placed a gentle grip on her shoulder. "Hmm... she'd have been really proud of you, Steph."

Stephanie felt herself getting misty-eyed at this, before she glanced back over to the now-levelled theatre and spotting the two koalas that were stood in front of it. Buster seemed to be holding something in his arms while he and Bernie stood behind the barrier, and by coming over to them, Stephanie quickly recognised the slightly dusty and dented bucket in his arms, the Moon Car Wash logo still proudly emblazoned on the front.

"Aw, honey..." She gently pried the pitcher out of her boyfriend's hand, placing it on the floor, right in front of the Moon Theatre's remains. "I never wanted it to go this way..."

"Nah, it's okay..." Buster nodded, slowly pulling a smile as he clasped his hands around one of hers. "Hmm... y'know, the old girl, it... it's just a theatre, Steph."

"Wait, what? It wasn't just a theatre, Buster, it was your dream!" Stephanie forced a laugh, though there was still a regretful tone in her voice as she looked over to Porsha and the rest of their friends. "Y'know, it... i-i-i-it was our dream, it was everything we built, and... and now it's gone... it's gone because of me..."

"Hmm... I wouldn't worry so much about that, Ms. Frangipane..."

Nana's slightly frail voice spoke up while the crowd parted, prompting Stephanie to stand back up as the old sheep - with Eddie propping her up - limped over. The wolf wasn't entirely sure how the old sheep had ended up in this condition - having raced up the stairs mere moments before it happened - but she was more focused on Nana's words as they both looked at the building's remains.

"As it happens, it did occur to me that our beloved Prairie could do with some more... thorough renovations." Nana winced. "I would have preferred something less elaborate, of course, but... well, I'm sure you know from experience what a good clean slate can do..."

"Oh, ain't that the truth!" Stephanie chortled.

The wolf then held out her arm, prompting Porsha to rush over and pull her into a hug again, She planted a kiss on the younger wolf's forehead and let Porsha rest it on her shoulder, both letting out small exhales while they looked out at the wreckage where the Moon Theatre had once stood.

It was mostly a sigh of relief, though they did feel still feel some fatigue from what they'd experienced, both on that night and on various other incidents over the last decade. But above all else, this feeling was telling the two wolves that the worst truly had passed, and things could and would only get better from here.

"So..." Stephanie exhaled, glancing over to Buster and the rest of the group as they surrounded her and her daughter again. "I guess that means we're makin' some big changes again, huh?"

"Eh..." Porsha shrugged, before looking up at her mother with a playful smirk. "That's always worked out for us before."

"Hmm, yeah... ya got that right, sunshine."