Summary: What if Rosita wasn't able to catch Buster? Character death

Part 1

Redshore City was known as the entertainment capital of the world. For that reason, theater-owner, koala, Buster Moon and his troupe wanted nothing more than to perform there. Through a comedic series of events, they'd successfully auditioned and pitched a sci-fi musical to Arctic Wolf and entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal. Admittedly, it took some fancy talking and white lies. White lies that nearly got Buster killed but his tenacity, combined with the empathy of Ash the porcupine and the wisdom of the reclusive Clay had been enough to get them to this night.

They had all been terrified out of their minds but, even in the face of grave danger, the New Moon Troupe performed before a packed theater of guests. Johnny conquered his cruel teacher in a dance battle. Porsha Crystal stood up to her father, embracing her new role as the green alien of the planet Joy. Meena found the courage to talk to her ice cream guy.

Then the final act came. It was time for Rosita and Gunter to wow the audience with the climax. Buster would have been lying if he said he wasn't nervous when Rosita's acrophobia once more surfaced as she peered down from the diving board.

"Come on, Rosita…" he prayed, trying to will her fear away. No one saw the maniacal white wolf rushing up to them. "Ahhhh!" He cried out when the wolf grabbed him by the jacket and ran to the lift, riding it to the top of the catwalk.

Blue eyes shrank to pin pricks. "Got you now, you low-life little loser!" He growled.

"I am not a loser and I'm not a low-life. We did what we came here to do! And there's nothing you can do or say to change that…" Buster could see his life starting to flash before his eyes. Could this really be it? After coming this far?

Jimmy hauled Buster to the edge of the catwalk towering over the stage. He laughed. "I can do whatever I want." And without thinking, he threw the koala from the catwalk.

—————

From her position, Rosita was trying desperately to regain her composure so she could do the scene.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Buster falling. "Oh… oh…." She ran to the end of the springboard and leaped into the air. She aimed herself at the falling koala. She just needed to reach him in time. She fell down but he was falling faster. She bit her lip and tried to push herself to go faster. She was about to grab him, she could feel his fur, but he was gone before she could, and he fell down past the flashing lights and onto the rising ice cave set. "No…" She finished the drop and ran to the small figure as the audience slowly realized something was wrong. The lights came on, allowing them to see the little producer lying in a growing pool of red. She was only barely aware of Gunter joining her.

"Mr. Moon?" She looked at the koala, his body twisted in a bad way. Ice filled her chest as she assessed his injuries. "Buster?" She knelt and touched him, holding him gently.

He moaned and looked up at her, making her smile with relief that he was still alive. "R… Rosita… you… you made the jump…" He smiled at her before coughing up blood. "You… you… did it…"

She shook her head while the rest of the cast joined them on stage. "I did. But don't talk about that now. We need to get you some help." She didn't like the way he was breathing.

The koala smiled as he felt someone pick him up. It was Big Daddy, Johnny's dad. In his big arms, he could see the rest of his family nearby. "We… we need to… to finish the show… if we don't… he wins…"

"How could we finish now?" Johnny asked. "When you're better, we can try again, so you can see the ending." He argued. The young gorilla male couldn't believe this was happening. Why couldn't he stop that maniacal wolf?

Meena nodded. "He's right. We need to get you to a hospital, Mr. Moon. You'll be alright." If only she'd seen Crystal sooner. If only she'd thought to sit on him.

Buster smiled at the elephant. "No… no, we need to… finish the… show. Please…" He looked at Rosita. He saw Ash nearby. "Please, let me… let me see… the end…" He coughed up more blood, aware of the rattling in his chest.

The porcupine felt her chest aching as she looked to her partner for the upcoming scene. She could see it in his eyes. He had seen this before. He nodded at her sadly.

Marcus held him. "It'll be alright, now. We'll watch the end of the show, then go to the hospital." He looked at his son. "This is what he wants." He whispered.

Gunter touched Rosita's hand. "We have to finish the show." He whispered. She could see tears in his eyes.

Resolutely, she nodded. She looked out at the audience, at her husband and children. She met Norman's eyes and she knew that he'd seen it too. She wanted his arms around her now but she had a job to do.

Marcus carried Buster back to the control booth. Porsha took Buster's little hand. "Mr. Moon, I'm so sorry. It's my fault you're hurt."

His chest rattled with each breath. He was only vaguely aware of the pain. "Porsha, no. It's not your fault. You… you were great…." He looked out at the stage.

"We have survived the wormhole. The missing space explorer must be here somewhere…"

In the cave, Ash was trying to find the strength to play. "How can I play now?" She whispered. A big paw covered her shoulder.

"Because it's his wish," the gruff lion told her. He was nervous about performing after 15 years of living like a hermit but when he'd seen the koala's condition, hearing him beg to see the end, he knew he had to see it through.

"But… it's Buster. We shouldn't be playing now. We should be getting him to a hospital!" She insisted.

Clay turned his head. "Even if you did… we need to do this. Don't worry… my Ruby… she's here. She'll take good care of him. Go on now… it's time." He put a big hand on her shoulder. "This is all we can do for him now." He sighed as she nodded.

Tears falling down her cheeks, Ash swallowed her pain and walked out onto the end of the stage. "I have climbed the highest mountains… I have run… through the fields. Only to be with you, only to be with you. But I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

————

Growing weaker, Buster watched and listened to the porcupine who had wowed him once with her amazing voice and songwriting. The electric guitar riff that followed preceded Clay coming out onto the stage to sing with her.

As the glass platform began to rise with Ash, Clay, Rosita and Gunter, the koala couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. They'd done it. They'd played Redshore City. He looked at the crowd, applauding and cheering. Then he saw him. An older koala in the crowd, wearing a tan golf hat and a green plaid shirt talking with a lovely lioness. Without thinking, he jumped out of Marcus' arms and ran to him.

"Dad! You're here! You came!" He didn't even consider the connotations.

Benji Moon smiled. "I'm so proud of you. This is Mrs. Calloway."

Buster nodded. "Always a pleasure."

"Thank you for making my husband snap out of it," the lioness said with a grin at the white-maned lion on stage.

The older koala nodded. "Come along now. Your mother has dinner waiting." He hugged his son.

Buster stopped and turned to the stage while his troupe came out. "Not yet, Dad. I still need to do the curtain calls. Come meet my friends." He was about to join them when he saw Marcus. He understood. "Okay, Dad. Okay…" He turned to his team once more. "You did great, guys. I love you all."

—————

Johnny, Meena, Darius and Porsha went out on stage, taking their bows alongside Rosita, Gunter, Ash and Clay. Marcus would have cheered if not for the precious package in his arms. He looked down at the limp koala, his arm hanging down, his eyes closed but the ghost of a smile still on his face. The little director had given his son his dreams. He looked at Barry who was still holding onto Crystal by the scruff of his suit and shook his head. Barry grinned darkly at Crystal, sending shivers up and the wolf's spine as he was dragged out of the theater.

"Thank you, Mr. Moon… for letting my son have his dreams…." The tough gorilla had to get control of his emotions. His son needed him strong now. He'd known when he picked him up that Mr. Moon was badly hurt. He knew that taking him to a hospital would only delay the inevitable, if he even survived the trip. He would never walk again. He could feel that his bones were shattered and blood coated his shirt and Marcus' jacket, almost like his insides had been liquified. He couldn't help feeling responsible. His son had called and asked them to protect them from Crystal and in the home stretch, he had failed. He had made the dangerous assumption that the wolf had been dealt with and was no longer a danger. He should have had one of his boys guarding the wolf.

He became aware of the young Saluki beside him. "I'm sorry, I tried to warn Mr. Moon. I knew he wasn't cut out for this place." She looked into the quiet face, trying to keep from crying. She'd seen Crystal hurt too many people. "I tried to save him. I told him to leave this city and never come back. Why didn't he listen?"

Marcus sighed. "He didn't deserve this. Don't worry, Crystal won't hurt anyone else after tonight." His tone made her shiver. She believed he could make it happen.

When the crowd started to leave, the cast came backstage. "Okay, it's over." Johnny said. "Let's get Mr. Moon to the hospital." He tried to take his boss from his father. "Come on…"

Marcus put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Son…"

"Mr. Moon, what did you think?" Rosita asked, trying to get a response from their leader. "Mr. Moon… Buster…" His eyes were closed as if sleeping. She touched his cheek, it was already growing cold. "Buster… Buster, wake up… we did it… Please, wake up and tell us what you thought…. Please."

Ash fell to her knees, sobbing. Clay knelt beside her and pulled her close, letting her cry into his black leather jacket. Softly, he whispered. "Oh Ruby, this was not supposed to happen."

Still wearing her white dress, Meena reached over. "Mr. Moon, please… You can't… you can't leave us. We still need you…" Her voice broke as she took him from Marcus, cradling him, trying to jar him awake. "We… I love you…. Please…."

They weren't even aware that the guests were still there, watching them. One of the guests, a bull elephant with gold loops in his ears, was tempted to go up on the stage but his friend shook his head. Neither of them knew what happened but they needed to stay out of the way. But how he wanted to run to his goddess. Wait? She wasn't his. Where did that come from?

AN: So we'll be dealing with what happens to the troupe if Buster is gone. Next chapter: immediate aftermath.