Chapter 2

The next morning, everyone seemed to be in just a little bit better spirits, talking about their amazing night. Johnny's conquest, Porsha's anthem, and Meena's new boyfriend particularly.

"No, no. He's not my boyfriend. I haven't even talked to him since the show," the shy elephant blushed and her ears wrapped around her face like a shield.

Ash giggled. "Well when his ice cream truck opens for the day, go talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand why you didn't stick around last night." She picked out a pastry from the continental breakfast that room service had delivered.

Meena laughed nervously. "Yeah… I hope so…" She hoped he'd understand. Mr. Moon had needed them all the night before. Like Rosita, Meena felt she owed her current life to the tiny director. She was so shy before him that she couldn't do more than sing for her dear grandfather. He had given her multiple chances to sing for him and finally gave her the key to conquering her stage fright.

They all looked over at the couch where Buster slept between Rosita and Norman. The two pigs cuddled together, also deep in sleep.

Johnny grabbed a bear claw. "Crystal better not even try to come near him again. My dad has to talk to their probation officer but he's hoping if he knows what's going on, they'll be able to work it out so that they can stay up here with us." He looked up when the doorbell rang.

Buster's eyes snapped open, his irises shrunk into panicked pinpricks. "It's him! He's back!" He panicked, jarring Rosita and Norman awake. "He's coming for me!"

Rosita hugged him. "It's okay sweetie. It's okay. I'm sure it's not him." If she saw Crystal today, she was sure she would be the one getting arrested. After a night of sleep, it was easier to see clearly. Crystal had hurt their boss badly and she was furious. As furious as she would be if he'd threatened her own piglets.

"Mr. Moon! It's me and Daddy!" Porsha called inside. "He has something he wants to tell you."

Clay went to the door while Johnny and Meena positioned themselves in front of the pigs and Buster. If Crystal wanted to hurt Buster, he'd have to get through all of them to do it. He opened the door and let Porsha in. He stepped in front of Crystal before he could enter.

"Mr. Crystal?" It wasn't really a question.

Jimmy nodded. "Yes, Mr. Calloway, and let me just say it is an honor to meet you. I am a huge fan and I look forward to working with you." He offered his hand. The lion did not shake it. He only fixed Crystal with a menacing glare. "Okay, I'm guessing you're still mad about last night…" Clay shoved his shoulder and shut him up. For the first time, he felt a little bit fearful for his life.

"I'm only going to say this once. That little guy in there might be annoying and overly optimistic but he's a good person. If you even think of laying a finger on him, whether yours or your thugs, I will forget that I am a civilized lion and turn you into my lunch," he growled. He wouldn't really but he didn't like bullies.

Jimmy nodded, trembling slightly despite himself and let the lion lead him inside. He growled when he saw Porsha giving the koala a strong hug. Until Buster saw him, then he dove behind Rosita, hiding in the couch cushions.

The mother pig bared her teeth at him. "We won't let you hurt him again." She promised.

Porsha shook her head. "No, Daddy isn't going to hurt Mr. Moon. He has something to say about that." She looked at her father pointedly. "Go ahead Daddy."

Crystal rolled his eyes. "Really, Mr. Moon, this is embarrassing enough. Couldn't we do this in private?"

"Heck no!" The disagreement was voiced in unison by every person in the room.

Rosita held Buster. "No, you will not do this in private. If you have something to say, say it and get out."

Crystal groaned. "Fine. Mr. Moon, I… am…. S… sor…" He tried to force the word out and looked at Porsha who pushed him to continue. "I… am… sorry… for what I did… and thank you for not having me arrested."

Buster only nodded, unable to speak or even meet Crystal's eyes. Rosita pet his fur. "Okay? Anything else?"

The white wolf shook his head as he turned to Porsha. "I have to get to work. Moon, I leave Porsha with you as I assume you have a lot of work to do. If you ever get the guts to speak to me again, I'll be in my office. We need to plan the performance schedule for this show."

Clay nodded. "Actually, I will be working with you on Mr. Moon's behalf." Buster gave him a grateful glance.

Jimmy rolled his eyes again. "Very well. Come meet with me later today then." He stomped out, slamming the door. That little pipsqueak was milking this for all it was worth, little coward. At least the press couldn't see it.

Porsha smiled sadly at Buster. "Mr. Moon, I am really, very sorry for what Daddy did. Please… it was my fault."

Buster's breathing returned to normal and he pulled away from Rosita and Norman, sitting beside them instead. While he appreciated the much needed parental comfort the night before, he needed to stop acting like a baby. He was fine. He was in one piece. Crystal couldn't hurt him now.

"Porsha, it's not your fault. I think I handled the situation badly anyway," Buster explained. "You did great as the green alien. You could be the lead in a show one day. If you're willing to work for it…" He asked.

The gray wolf jumped for joy. "Oh I am, Mr. Moon. I'll work harder than I've ever worked before."

He nodded. "Good. Rosita, would you mind if Porsha worked with you as your understudy?"

The mother pig smiled. "That's a great idea!" She looked at Porsha who looked confused by the new word. "That means if I'm ever sick or not able to play the part one night, you would do it instead."

"Oh!" Porsha said. "So it's like a substitute teacher but for acting."

"Exactly!" Buster said. "You'll still be the green alien on regular nights. And she'll teach you the finer points of acting."

Porsha smiled at Rosita. "I promise I'll learn. I'll study and practice real hard."

Rosita nodded. "I will teach you everything I know." She smiled at Buster, happy to see him jumping back on the horse.

—————

James Crystal slammed his office door open angrily. That pathetic twerp had everyone thinking he was some kind of monster, even his own daughter didn't look at him the same way. He had warned Buster Moon not to make him look bad. He'd been perfectly clear. "If you make me look bad, I'll throw you off the roof."

Suki was already in the office waiting. He glared at her. "I hope you don't think you still have a job with me after last night."

She shrugged. "I know I do because I have Linda on speed dial. By the way, she wants to have Mr. Moon on her talk show to promote their show." She watched him throw his coffee cup to the floor. It shattered and left a mess of coffee. "Sir, your temper has gotten you into enough trouble. And I'm not cleaning that up."

He remembered the night before. "That little loser made me look like a fool! You were against him and his traveling band of misfits from the start. He turned my own daughter against me."

She got in his face, her expression more serious than it had ever been before. "No! You did that to yourself! You made yourself look like a fool! You turned your daughter against you! And as for my initial judgement, I was wrong. He's more than good enough for your theater." She looked up when they heard a knock at the door. "It's not locked!" She called back. Neither she or Crystal could hold back a gasp when they saw the lion enter. "My goodness! It's really Clay Calloway. Sir, it's such a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet properly last night. I am Suki Lane." She offered her hand.

He accepted her hand where he'd rejected Crystal's. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Let me say… I want to thank you for pushing Mr. Moon to pull me out of retirement."

Crystal growled. "Hey, I'm the one who did that. He wouldn't even have tried to contact you if not for me." He sat down with a harsh scowl.

Clay shot him a look. "Yeah and then you tried to kill him. I came as you wanted and you attempted to ruin my return." He pointed out the obvious. "You need to eat your humble pie while the grown-ups talk."

"Is that all anyone can talk about?!" He shouted. "I get it! I said I was sorry! What more do you want?" He sat back and pointed his eyes away. One mistake and he has to hear about it for the rest of his days?

The Lion regarded him quietly. "I know you only apologized because your daughter made you. I'm not a fan of forced apologies. I want you to know that I will only be a part of this show for as long as Buster Moon is a part of it. If anything else happens to him, I will be out that door so fast… am I clear?"

The white wolf groaned and nodded. "I understand. Mr. Moon is safe." He rolled his eyes. "And I will maintain my distance." He didn't know how he was going to get past this.

Suki smirked. "Jimmy, you're just lucky Mr. Moon doesn't seem litigious. How is he doing, Mr. Calloway?" She asked.

"He's understandably traumatized. He and Rosita," he told her. "I sat up with them all night."

She shot her boss a harsh look. "That's to be expected. I would like to stop by their suite. Do you think he'd be up for a visit?"

"From you? Sure. Anyone else? No," Clay replied. "To his credit, he is trying. When I left them, they were going down to the buffet. The hotel sent up pastries and coffee but the piglets and Porsha wanted French toast

She giggled. "That's great. I'll go join them there. That's a good time to talk to them." She stood up. "Care to join me and we can talk about the details."

Calloway followed her out, leaving Crystal to ponder the precarious situation he was in. He was being torn down over this by everyone and it just didn't seem fair. And everyone was oh so concerned about the little koala. No one cared what he was going through. They never did. No one ever really cared about him until they wanted to get their fifteen minutes of fame at his expense. Then they only cared about what he could do for them. They never asked him what he wanted or needed. It was only ever him and Porsha and she was his daughter. They hadn't even cared when his wife died, only pushing him to get back to work quickly and try and raise a small child on his own. No one ever cared about him. It wasn't fair that this little nobody had so many people who cared for him and Crystal couldn't get one.

"You're the only one who ever truly cared about me, Rosamond," he said. "What do I have to do to fix this? Did I really do something so bad? He's fine and that pig wasn't going to jump on her own. I saved the show. I didn't mean to but I did. Don't I get credit for that much?" He lowered his head. He went cross-eyed as a bowl of cookies appeared under his nose. At his side was his assistant, Jerry.

"Are you alright sir?" He asked. "Last night was terrible for you. You almost killed that little koala."

Jimmy leaned his head back. "Not you too, Jerry! Just leave me alone!" He snatched his bowl of snacks and Jerry jumped back and ran out. After a few moments, he realized his mistake but it was too late. What was it? Was he really the problem? No, that couldn't be, but nothing else made sense.

He got up and went to his desk. He was surprised to see a few books and pamphlets on anger management classes. A letter sat with them.

"Mr. Crystal, I don't know what you were thinking last night but you need to face facts. You need help. Before you push everyone who cares about you away. For good. Your daughter needs you, she needs you to be capable of controlling your anger, and she needs you to be a present father. Let go of your ego before it destroys everything you hold dear. - Suki"

He ripped the letter into pieces with a roar, picking up one of the books and throwing it randomly. A crash made him look up to see what he'd hit. He saw the family photo of him and his wife holding their newborn daughter laying on the floor, cracked and his mouth fell open.

He leaned over the desk, hanging his head. "What's wrong with me?" He asked out loud, closing his eyes pensively.

————

It wasn't hard to find the New Moon troupe. They just needed to follow the excited squeals of all twenty-five piglets. Clay couldn't help a chuckle when he saw them running around the table, Norman and Rosita struggling to get them to sit with everyone else.

Johnny and Nooshy sat with his dad and his gang talking about his dance moves and plans for practicing and perfecting the routine for future shows.

Ash sat beside Buster who was picking at his plate. "Clay, I have a spot for you here. Hey, Miss Lane."

Suki smiled at her while Clay waved. "I'm just going to get my plate and I'll join you." He promised the porcupine.

"May I sit with you?" She asked politely. When Buster nodded quietly, she sat. "With all of the chaos last night, I didn't get to congratulate you. I didn't think you had it in you but last night's show was amazing."

The timid koala dared to smile at the praise. "We came out to do a show and we put so much work into it. We didn't want it all to go to waste." He explained. "Especially after he called us amateur, talentless losers on live tv. He openly mocked us."

She laughed. "Well, no one's mocking you now. When I first met you, I thought you weren't ready for this city, especially not for Crystal. But you stood up to him and you proved me wrong."

Rosita sat down beside her, having finally gotten her kids to sit with their breakfast. "Mr. Moon has a talent for that." She smiled at him.

Suki nodded. "I've definitely learned my lesson. By the way, Linda wants to have you on her show." She handed Buster a business card. "Give her a call when you feel up to it."

He nodded. "Thanks, Ms. Lane. And really I'm alright. I mean, am I a little shaken up, sure, but I'm alright, I'm fine, just fine." His voice shook only so slightly. "As for the show, we did great work last night and I can't wait to do it again. But there's definitely a few things we'll be skipping. Speaking of, I'll need to talk to Klaus. What he did wasn't professional at all."

"Don't, Mr. Moon," Johnny interjected. "Please. Let me deal with it. Dad, you too." He said, stopping his father from taking his own action against the narcissist who tried to talk away his moment. "I'm a grown gorilla. I can handle it."

Buster nodded and made a note. "Alright, Johnny. I can respect that. But if you need help, I'm here." He promised. "And Meena, great job with Darius last night. I knew you would have perfect chemistry."

The elephant blushed and hid her head behind her ears. "Thank you, Mr. Moon, sir. Oh, I need to go find Alphonso." She stood up.

The koala chuckled. "Go right ahead, Meena. We're not really working right now. Go on and enjoy your day off." He smiled when she bounded off gleefully. "Ahhh, young love…"

Porsha nodded. "Aunt Suki, guess what? Rosita is going to let me be her understudy." She said excitedly.

Suki nodded in acknowledgment. "That's great, sweetheart. I'm sorry I missed your performance last night but I heard that it was terrific." She sighed. "I need to say for myself, I am so sorry about Crystal. His temper can be volatile."

Porsha looked down. "I don't know what was wrong with him last night. He wasn't like this when I was little." She admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Honey, it's okay," Suki hugged her gently. "You don't need to apologize for your father. I think he's… he's suffering from stress and overwork. It's no excuse for what he did but… I do believe he's a good man, deep down." She saw the skeptical looks around the table and gestured to Porsha.

Buster took a deep breath. "I want to believe that too, Ms. Lane. I want to believe that there's good in everyone. I wouldn't have asked them to let him go if I didn't believe it was possible for him too." He dragged his fork through his eggs. "I just want him to stay away from me for now."

"And he will," Suki promised. "I will be the liaison working with you on his behalf going forward. "

————

Meena hurried to the food truck parking lot outside stage 3. She smiled when she saw Alphonso, in his green-and-white striped uniform shirt and apron, putting up the awning for his ice cream truck. With a bracing breath, she approached him. "Um… Alphonso?"

The bull-elephant turned with a big smile. "Meena! You came. I was wondering if I should come find you or…." He said nervously. "You really were amazing last night."

She blushed. "Thank you… I'm sorry I didn't stick around after. My boss needed us after…" The young female bit her lip. "Did you see what happened?" She wasn't sure how much the audience noticed past the show.

"I saw someone fall from the catwalk and Captain Rosita caught him. Was that not part of the show?" He asked curiously.

Meena shook her head as she replayed the night in her own head. The moment when she saw the enraged wolf running towards Buster. "No… Mr. Crystal tried to…" She realized maybe she wasn't completely alright. "Tried to…" The pavilion seemed to vanish and she could see the backstage control booth. Buster watching and praying Rosita would make the jump. Crystal racing in. "Look out!" She couldn't stop him. She couldn't protect her friend. He was gone before she could even think to act. Crystal holding him by the shirt. And she heard the scream. The terrified scream. If Rosita hadn't been there…

She soon became aware of a large hand patting her back and helping her sit down. The pavilion returned and she saw Alphonso looking at her with concern. "I'm sorry… I guess I was a little upset by it…" She couldn't burden him with it. They'd only just met.

"It's okay, it sounds like it was bad and I'm glad he's okay," he said as he offered her an ice cream. "This'll help."

She smiled through her panic attack and accepted the cone. "Thank you…. But um, that's why I didn't stick around. Mr. Moon is pretty important to all of us."

He nodded with understanding. He didn't know why but he didn't need to. "It's alright. I'm glad you came today. I've wanted to talk to you since the day we met."

Her ears wrapped around her face in her overwhelming shyness. "Me too. But I always got too nervous…"

"Well… now's our chance," he sat down to at the bench and looked her in the eye. "Tell me about yourself, Meena." He said her name again.

——————

By noon, Jimmy Crystal wished that he had never heard the name Buster Moon. Everyone he spoke with brought up the same thing, over and over. "How could you Jimmy? How could you? Ahhh!" Crystal punched the nearest vase to the ground. "I'm half-tempted to finish the job just to shut them all up!"

"You wouldn't do that, would you Daddy?" He realized he had spoken aloud and his daughter had chosen just the best time to walk in. Apparently he took too long to answer and she ran to his side. "Daddy, please. I'm begging you. Mr. Moon is my friend. He's a great guy and he made you look great last night until you ruined it!"

Crystal sighed. "He made me look like a fool!" He said half-heartedly. Her eyes bore into him. She knew him too well. "Damn it…."

"Daddy, promise me that you won't hurt Mr. Moon again," the seventeen year old pleaded. She grabbed onto the side of the desk.

Crystal grabbed a paperweight and prepared to throw it until he saw Porsha shrink with fear and he lowered his arm. "Oh don't look at me like that!" He half-heartedly ordered. "Let go of your ego before it destroys everything you hold dear!" He could almost hear Suki shouting at him. He sat down with a groan. "I promise, baby girl. I will not harm him again." He growled in his throat. "Actually… I will be taking a short leave of absence. The board thinks I would benefit from a break and maybe they're right."

"Oh! So like a vacay! Sweet! Where are we going?" She asked, sitting in the other swivel chair.

He shook his head. "Not we, baby. Me." He clarified. "You need to stay here. You have a new job, remember?"

She nodded. "Oh, okay, Daddy… Where will you go?" It made her worry that he didn't want her with him.

"But you'll come back right? You'll be back in time for opening night?" At his quizzical expression, she explained. "Aunt Suki wants to do a real opening night, not what we did last night. You'll be here for that right?"

Jimmy thought about it. "It's hard to say without knowing when she's planning this." He wanted to call Suki up and forbid her from such a spectacle. How dare Suki make plans for his theater without his input? However, his investors had made their point quite clear. "I'll try but… I doubt I would be invited anyway." He pointed out the flaw in her request.

Porsha nodded. "I'll talk to Mr. Moon about that." She hugged him. "It'll be alright Daddy. Just show everyone who you really are. Show them the daddy that I love so much."

Crystal didn't return the hug. He wanted to but he didn't. He didn't know how. "You should go back to your new friends. Stay with them until I get back." He stood up. "Give this to Mr. Moon." He handed her a small envelope before stalking out, heading for the roof where his helicopter was waiting. He needed to leave before he gave into his more selfish instincts.

Porsha watched him leave, holding the envelope. "Daddy…" She whispered softly. "Mom… please, take care of him for me." Why did he always try and handle these things alone?

—————

On the way up to the roof, Jerry followed Crystal. "Sir, how long will you be gone? Should I come with you? Can I do anything for you? Where will you be if we need to reach you?"

Crystal finally sighed. "One of my investors, the Scottish duck, is based in Calisota and he invited me to his manor for a couple of weeks." He admitted. This investor was the only one that didn't look at him with judgement over the incident, just said he looked like he could do with a break and he would be happy to provide a place to take that break. Though he did warn that it might not be the most peaceful location, but Crystal couldn't begin to guess what he meant by that. "Just give Suki that letter I gave you and keep an eye on Porsha while I'm gone." He climbed into the helicopter. "Take it away Raoul!"

AN: Okay surprise crossover but I'm not listing in the credentials until I do the full reveal. So until then, I dropped a couple hints at the end of the chapter. Calisota and Scottish duck. And yeah, Rosita and Buster aren't the only ones who were traumatized by the night before.