AN: Just an FYI, just because Sing and Sofia are meant for kids, my stuff generally isn't. In fact, I'd say this is probably the closest I've gotten to kid friendly but it's more family friendly, as in kids should not read this without parental permission. PG13, not PG, not G.

Part 9

When the arcade opened, Johnny took James to the arcade. When he first introduced James to the colorful, noisy electronic games, the boy took to them like a duck to water. He smashed the buttons and chased the ghosts around the simple maze, eating little dots. He and Johnny raced on the motocross game.

They were just looking for their next game when Johnny caught sight of a tiger on the dancing videogame. "Oh, James, come see this. This game is fun but I suck at it."

The tiger was deep in his game, not paying any attention to the pair as they watched with fascination.

"What kind of game is it?" James asked.

"It's called Dance Dance Revolution. See the arrows on the screen and the others at the top?" Johnny asked. "This pad he's on is the controller. He wants to step on the left arrow right as the yellow left arrow reaches the black left arrow up on the top of the screen. The game then scores him based on how close he gets to hitting it right on time. The goal is to try and get a perfect score. It's really hard. But this guy seems to know what he's doing."

"I should. I've been dancing since I was seventeen," the Tiger announced that he was paying attention to them. "Though my teacher would not call this dancing." He finished the song and wiped his sweaty brow. He faced Johnny and smiled. "Hi, I'm Ryan."

Johnny's eyes locked with Ryan's and he blushed involuntarily. "Johnny. And this is James. This is only his second time playing video games. Yesterday was his first."

James bowed. "Prince James of Enchancia."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. He was about to ask a question but thought better of it. "Would you like to try?" He asked.

"Can I?" The boy asked with excitement while Ryan put another dollar into the machine before Johnny could each the slot.

"Go for it. Here, let's start you on easy, just so you can kind of get the idea," the tiger selected the song and stepped back by Johnny. "Your little brother seems like fun."

Johnny shook his head. "He's just a friend. His sister is helping our troupe with a show and he wanted to see the games again. They don't have these games where he lives." He found himself looking over the other male surreptitiously. "So are you vacationing here with your family?"

Ryan laughed. "Nah, I work here with my teacher. I'm one of the dancers they use in the shows. If you're putting on a show, we might very well get to work together." He grinned, his eyes traveled up and down Johnny's form. "What theater are you with?"

"New Moon, from Calatonia, Santa Francesca to be exact," the silverback replied. "What about you? Or have you always lived in Redshore?"

"I've lived here for several years, it's my home now. Where I came from doesn't matter," he shrugged. "This is my home."

"Ryan!" A sharp voice shouted from the arcade entrance. Both young males turned to see a proboscis monkey in late middle age with a beer-gut stomping towards them. "Here you are! You're late for practice!"

"Sorry Mr. Kickenklober, I was just showing Johnny and James the dancing game," he explained. "Johnny, this is my teacher. I'm his senior apprentice."

"You're about to be demoted to junior apprentice if you don't get your butt to the studio! Now!" Mr. Kickenklober wagged his finger. He glared at Johnny for just a brief second.

Ryan sighed. "Sorry, Johnny, James, I gotta get to class. Hey, why don't you come check it out. Mr. Kickenklober, Johnny's with the New Moon Theater and they're working with Crystal on a show. Couldn't they go ahead and join the class since we're likely going to be working together anyway?"

The monkey glared harder. "They may come and watch. You know they cannot join the class until Crystal gives the go ahead."

Johnny shook his head. "It's fine. I promised James a morning at the arcade." He looked at Ryan. "We'll see each other again, I'm sure." He hoped so anyway. He was sure that Ryan was someone he wanted to know better.

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On orders from Crystal, Suki accompanied Porsha, Amber and Meena to the food truck pavilion. To keep the older woman from being bored by teenagers and little girls, Rosita and Miranda accompanied them.

"So you really have twenty-five children?" Miranda asked. "That's such a blessing, but it must be chaotic."

Rosita smiled. "Oh it is. But it's been easier since my husband has started contributing more to their care. He's on his way with them as we speak." She looked over to the other table.

"So for the slumber party, we definitely HAVE to play Twister!" Porsha said. "I've always wanted to play Twister at a slumber party. I've always wanted to have a slumber party."

Amber laughed. "You mean this is your first slumber party? Then we have to make sure it's fabulous! We'll need lots of ice cream and cake and balloons! Lots of balloons!"

"Oh! Let's pitch a tent on the roof of the house. That way we can look up at the stars!" Porsha suggested.

The princess clapped excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Girls, that's not a good idea. The roof isn't covered and up so high, the winds are way too strong," Suki told them. "You know your father won't allow you to be in any danger, Porsha." 'That's why I'm here babysitting you instead of doing my real job,' she thought to herself. She felt bad for resenting Porsha just a little. And this whole family. Crystal had been all but ignoring her and using her for childcare for his 17 year old ever since that little purple princess arrived.

Amber thought about it. "Oh! I bet Cedric could help with that. He might be able to cast a spell on the roof to shield us from the wind."

"I'm sorry but I'm sure your father won't want to take a chance with a might," Suki told Porsha.

The wolf pouted. Generally, her father spoiled her, making sure she always got what she wanted, but in matters of her safety, he was terribly strict. She didn't know why. "Sorry. My dad can be overprotective."

"I can understand that. He loves you and just wants to keep you safe," Miranda said. "Just like Roland and I want to keep our kids safe. I'm with Suki. Even if Cedric could cast such a spell, I don't think it's a good idea. But I promise, before we leave, we'll all go camping one night, okay?"

Amber nodded. "Okay, Mom. It's okay, Porsha. I charted stars all night. I can do more another night. But you have to tell me, what is Twister?"

"I don't really know but I've heard it's the quintessential slumber party game. Aunt Suki told me about it," the wolf smiled at the dog.

"I'll bring you my copy tonight and you girls can learn together," Suki promised.

Rosita noticed that Meena was very quiet. She seemed to be staring at something. Following Meena's line of sight, she saw a dashing, young bull elephant. Looking back at Meena, she saw her eyes were very round, almost dilated. When the elephant looked back at them with the greenest green eyes she'd ever seen, Rosita subtly held up her hand to indicate she wanted to buy his wares, a tray of ice cream.

He came over. "Hey everybody, would anyone here like an ice cream. I make it all myself with only the freshest ingredients. Only…." He stopped when he saw Meena. "Hi…" he let out a heavy breath as their eyes met.

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Crystal was already knee-deep in his workload when Jerry came in. "Mr. Crystal, you have a visitor." He opened the door wider to let Roland in.

Crystal looked up at him, his eyes filled with frustration and even a little exhaustion, despite it being barely ten in the morning. "Is there a problem, King Roland?"

The king shook his head. "I only wanted to see if I could possibly assist you. I can see how much you have to do."

Crystal sat up straighter and pasted an expression of false bravado on his face. "No, no. I'm doing fine. I just have to get through this mountain of paperwork. The process of launching a new show is very tedious."

Roland nodded. "I guess it must be. I might not know much about the theater job but I know how tedious paperwork can be. Please, let me help you. To thank you for being so kind to my daughter and her new friends."

Crystal examined the king for a few moments before sighing. "Alright, I suppose I could use a hand."

AN: Ending this here. Johnny's met Ryan and Klaus. Meena's met Alphonso and Amber and Porsha are on their way to being besties. Suki is definitely not enjoying be used as a babysitter and Crystal is nearing complete burnout. Will Roland be able to get Crystal to open up about his wife? Will Sofia and Ash be back in time for the slumber party? How are things going with Calloway? Find out in future chapters. PLEASE REVIEW!