AN: I want to just say I have been to way too many funerals. Porsha is very much representative of what I experienced and felt when I went to my father's funeral.

Part 5

In the city of Calatonia, a crested porcupine in his mid-twenties was just getting up to start his day. He popped a couple pieces of bread in the toaster and put together a percolator of coffee before switching on the news.

"And in breaking news, Buster Moon, owner of the New Moon Theater, has reportedly passed away after an altercation with Redshore City tycoon James Crystal. Five years ago, this news network…"

The male porcupine froze. He had been there for those auditions. He and his then-girlfriend had tried out together but Moon only took her. He was so mad about it, he tried to keep her from taking part but the 100,000 was just too good to even chance passing it up. But then, out of envy for her success, he made, what he knew now, was the biggest mistake of his life. He cheated on her and then tried to blame her for his infidelity. The night of the impromptu concert, hearing her sing her anthem, he knew. Moon did too. The bold little koala had seen in her what he somehow missed. It was staring him in the face now. Mentally he made note of the location, dates and times of the layout and memorial.

—

Mike was finally living his best life. He was rich and famous, hailed the world over for his rich, deep voice and his ability to play the saxophone. He had a rich, beautiful wife whom he loved and eight kids. He had everything he could ever want.

He woke up in his bed that morning and sat up. Per his usual wake-up routine, he turned on the television. "Oh my gosh!"

His wife, Nancy, moaned beside him. "What's wrong darling?" She sat up and looked at the set. "Oh… oh no…" She was the only one who knew just how much Mike really appreciated the opportunities Moon had given him even if his pride wouldn't let him actually let him say it. They wouldn't have ever met if not for that singing competition. She didn't care that he lied about already having the money. She didn't care about any of it. She had more than enough money for both of them. She put her arm around him.

—

"Alright, we're live in 3, 2, and go," the floor manager on set pointed at the stage with its two lurid green chairs.

"Hot News!" The pre-recorded sting played while Linda Le Bon forced herself to look at the cameras. Her mascara was still running despite the make-up department's attempts to fix it.

She had interviewed James Crystal many times on her show. She loved having him on the show. His charisma was infectious and always left the audience smiling. She should have reported on it yesterday but she needed the day to process it and think about what she wanted to say.

"And… the hottest story today…" she took a deep breath. "Yesterday, Mr. James Crystal, Mr. Redshore City himself, fell to his death from the top of Crystal Tower Headquarters. A suicide note left suggests he was being eaten alive with guilt after throwing Mr. Buster Moon from the catwalk above the stage where Moon's troupe were performing their new musical production. With us now, we have Suki Lane. Miss Lane, let me start by extending my condolences."

Suki nodded. "Thank you, Linda. The loss of James Crystal is a huge blow for the company. He simply couldn't live with what he did to Mr. Moon." It was the truth, in a way. She couldn't face the cameras. She didn't want everyone to see the hot mess she was. "And he was terrified of what might happen to Porsha."

Linda offered her hoof to her guest in compassion. "He was a large part of your life for so long. But we must ask, what is the future of the company now?"

"Porsha Crystal will eventually be taking control of the company, as his heiress. After she's come of age. Until then, I will be taking the helm and training Miss Crystal for the job," Suki explained. "In the immediate moment, his funeral has been planned by Jerry and myself." She had tasked the cat with setting everything up to give him something to do. "There will be a viewing and funeral service tomorrow morning at the Redshore City funeral home followed by a procession to Redshore City Cemetery where he will be interred with his beloved wife, Rosamond Crystal."

——————

Meena turned off the television. It wasn't fair. The public was mourning Crystal as though he were some tragic hero who had just lost his way in the end. They'd never know the truth. He was a monster.

She stood in front of the mirror, brushing the wrinkles out of her hoodie. She looked at the clock. "Do I look okay, Ash?" She asked her best friend while she sipped her morning tea.

Ash nodded. "You look great, Meena. You're really going to church with this guy? Do you believe in God?"

Meena shrugged. "I don't know but… it's time with Alphonso and I doubt I'll ever see him again when we leave. I want as much time as I can get." She sighed. "Do… do you think Mr Moon would have liked him?"

The porcupine looked at the steaming liquid. "Yeah, he seems like a nice guy." She looked up and down towards the bedrooms. "It's crazy… I still… I still keep thinking he's going to be up soon. I even made a pot of coffee when I got up. So he could have a fresh cup." She wiped her eyes.

Meena blew her trunk. "I don't know how we're supposed to just get used to him not being here. He was such a huge part of our lives." She looked out the window at the sunrise. The sound of a door opening made her quickly wipe her eyes, trying to pretend she hadn't been crying. Ash did the same. "Good morning, Mom."

Sitara hugged her. "Good morning, baby girl. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I'll get there. I was just getting ready. Alphonso will be here in about forty-five minutes. Did you want to come too?" Meena was starting to feel nervous. She was meeting Alphonso's dad.

Her mother studied her daughter for a few minutes. Finally, she smiled. "I'd love to go, sweetheart. I'll go get ready."

The door to the hotel suite opened and Clay walked in with Ishin and Marcus, carrying bags of food like the day before.

"Dad, I didn't know you were up," Sitara exclaimed.

Ishin laughed. "Well, we're going to church this morning right? I thought we would want some breakfast first so the three of us went to Java Hut." He had just taken it for granted that they would be going with Meena. Not necessarily for the message but so he could make sure this guy was on the up-and-up. He had a duty to keep his granddaughter safe.

"I know I'd like to go, if you don't mind," Clay asked. "I can take my bike if there's not room but I would like to go."

Meena nodded. "You're very welcome… if you want to…" She was feeling a little better. She saw Johnny coming out, helping himself to the breakfast burritos Clay had laid out. "Would you like to come to church with us?"

"No, thanks for the invite but Ryan's coming to hang out," the gorilla said.

"Ryan's coming over?" Ash asked. "Johnny, you're blushing. Do you like him?"

Johnny found himself laughing and trying to hide his face. "Maybe I do… he's really great and supportive. I feel safe with him." He finished his burrito.

Meena smiled. "At least, at least something good might have come out of us coming here." The laughter dulled and the ache throbbed in her chest. Her phone buzzed and snapped her out of it. "Oh, that's Alphonso. He and Tyler are going to pick up his dad and then they'll come get us."

—

The funeral home was packed with animals who had known Mr. Crystal on either a personal or professional level. In keeping with his promise, Marcus accompanied Porsha to the viewing. Johnny went with them. The others wanted to be there for Porsha but they couldn't even set eyes on the wolf. They were glad for the excuse that there wasn't enough room in their truck.

Porsha was almost afraid to approach the casket at the front of the funeral home's main room. She didn't want to see him that way but she wanted to say goodbye.

"I can't… I can't see him…" Her voice was shaky. "I'm afraid." She said softly.

The big, tough gorilla nodded. "I'll go up there with you." He knew she needed to go up. If she didn't, she'd regret it later. He took her hand and led her to the casket.

The embalmer had done a great job cleaning up the white wolf. There wasn't even any evidence that he'd been hurt at all. Jerry had selected her father's favorite blue suit with the blue tie that had gold music notes on it.

Seeing the tie, the grieving daughter smiled. "I gave him that tie for Christmas a few years ago. Since then, he would always wear it at the red carpet events for new shows. He said it was his favorite tie."

Marcus nodded while moving out of the way for Suki. She hugged Porsha before stepping up the casket. "I love you, James. Maybe if I had said that before… I'm sorry…" She kissed his lips chastely before stepping to the side, sitting down into a chair that Johnny found for her. "I just hope you can finally find some peace."

Johnny hated Crystal. Hated him for killing his boss and ruining their show. And he was getting a huge ceremony mourning his death. He wanted to trash the funeral home and wreck the work the embalmer had done. However, Porsha was almost like his sister now. When his father had asked him how he'd feel about him taking her in, it was an easy answer. He wasn't the only one who was in pain. He hated him but she loved him. What he did really didn't matter to her, as angry as she was at the time. Crystal had been her father.

Porsha picked her father's hand out of the casket and held it, squeezing it and hoping in vain that he would squeeze it back, like he used to when she was little. "Daddy, I'm so sorry. I didn't think any of this would happen. I just thought you'd make Moon put me back in the show. I was wrong. He never fired me. He just wanted me to have a role I was more ready for. I'm sorry I embarrassed you and made you look bad. I love you, Daddy." She let Marcus lead her to a seat, his big arms making her feel safe enough to cry. She wondered if the hurt would ever go away? If she could really go on without her father. It was just so hard to plan in this fog.

To the far side of the funeral home, Jerry stood, unwilling or unable to go up to the casket. He hadn't stopped weeping since discovering his dear boss' broken body at the foot of Crystal Headquarters. He wasn't the idiot everyone thought he was. Crystal would never take his own life but he had no evidence and he was afraid of what might happen if he challenged the medical examiner's findings. The suicide note had been in his hand and the little cat couldn't prove it wasn't.

He saw Porsha and the New Moon Troupe and he wanted nothing more than to have them all thrown out but knew he couldn't. He was among the few to know just how much Crystal really did love his daughter. He just didn't know how to show it. He'd known him when his wife was still alive. Then, James Crystal had been a lot like the optimistic koala. He enjoyed putting together spectacular performances and seeing the end results and he wasn't so hard to impress either. Until she died in a car accident with a drunk driver. The white wolf had never been the same. Walling off his heart from the world and losing himself in his work. Unable to show affection, the wolf lost all sense of kindness and compassion for anyone. Love was now a foreign concept to him. One he would never understand again. In an ill-advised attempt to save himself, the drunk driver had even tried to suggest that Crystal had intentionally crashed his car to try and kill his wife and child. The driver subsequently vanished mysteriously into the desert and was never heard from again.

Jerry had fallen for the wolf while tending to his injuries, both physical and emotional, all the while knowing he'd never be able to reciprocate his feelings. It was okay. Jerry was just happy to be able to serve Mr. Crystal and to help him when he needed it the most.

"What do I do, Mr. Crystal. What do I do now?"

—

Back at the hotel, a few hours later, the crew was packing up their bags. It wouldn't be long before they were on their way home.

"What?" Meena asked in shock while talking with Alphonso. "You don't want to do that? You have a home here."

The bull-elephant smiled. "Yes, I do. The great thing about my job is my job travels. Tyler and I were thinking of going to other cities anyway at some point. I'm coming with you." He promised.

"But what about your dad?" She asked. "Is he okay with this?"

He hugged her. "He said if I hadn't asked him, he would have suggested it. He loved you on Sunday. You're the first girl I've introduced to him that he really liked." He admitted. "Are you okay with me coming back with you?"

Meena's lip trembled and she hugged him back. "It's more than okay. I'd love it if you did." She was glad she'd gone to church with him. His dad was really nice. Her family had even gone with them when she'd expressed anxiety about meeting his dad. Alphonso just seemed to understand her and being with him just felt so right.

The atmosphere of packing to go was far and away different from when they first arrived. When they'd arrived, this hotel had been a symbol of hope. They had made it to Redshore and they had successfully convinced Mr. Crystal to let them do their show.

Now, it was ugly and tainted. All Rosita wanted to do was to leave. To go back home to familiar territory. Back to their theater. She and Norman were still floored that Buster had willed them the precious building.

She was still going through the paperwork and trying to find some way to make sense of it all. Shifting through it, she came across an 9x12 envelope. She opened it and two smaller envelopes fell out. "Guys! Look what I found. Eddie, this one's for you."

They gathered around her while she opened the envelope addressed to them. She read it aloud, skipping the salutation. "If you are reading this letter then I've probably done something incredibly stupid and I'm no longer with you. Please, don't be too sad, we all knew my stubborn optimism was going to do me in eventually." They all laughed mournfully, knowing he was right. He didn't have any strong sense of self-preservation and he had a bad habit of trying the craziest ideas to make sure a show was a success. "Guys, I just want you to know that working with you has been the greatest honor and pleasure that a koala could possibly have. You all have such tremendous talent and you are going to take the world by storm someday. It's my hope that you'll stick together even without me. I love you all. You're not just my employees and my cast, you're my family. Don't worry about me. I'll always be with you. At every show and performance. Thank you for everything. I love you. Farewell. Sincerely yours, Buster Moon."

The letter renewed the ache in all of their stomachs and they held each other, crying again. The new members of the team stayed back with Marcus' gang and Meena's family, letting them mourn together.

Eddie unfolded his letter and read it silently to himself. "Eddie, if you're reading this, let me start by apologizing. I didn't mean to leave you like this. You are quite possibly the best friend a koala could ask for. You've been there for me even through my lowest moments. You were even prepared to wash cars with me after my theater fell apart. I don't know why I never said anything before now except I didn't know how. I was afraid that I'd ruin what we already had. Your parents would never approve. I'm dirt poor. All I have is my theater. What I'm trying to say is… Ahhh, I'm just going to say it. I love you, Eddie. I've loved you since my senior year in high school. I just didn't have the courage to say it. And I'm sorry I wasted any chance we might have had together. Learn from me. If you find someone you love more than anything, you better tell them. We are not promised a tomorrow. I probably don't need to ask but I really do. I don't want my troupe to fall apart, they're going to need someone who can plan the shows and take care of the administrative side of things. Miss. Crawly will help you. Finally, and I can't say this enough. GET! OUT! OF! YOUR PARENTS'! POOLHOUSE! Take my loft apartment above the theater, please. Please, don't mourn too long. I love you too much and I want you to be happy. Well, I better close this letter. We're premiering our new show tonight, Peter Pan. I love you. Love, Buster." The sheep leaned against the wall, trying to keep his emotions under control but it was a losing battle. Buster had loved him too. He stood up and went out onto the balcony to try and hide his tears.

He was upset but he was angry too. Angry with himself and even with "Buster, you know sometimes you make me so mad! Why! Why did you come out here without even telling me you were going? Damn it!" He beat his hooves against the glass balcony. "I could have helped."

He didn't notice anyone following him until the famous lion came up beside him. "Leave me alone." He asked him.

Clay shook his head. "No. It's okay, I'm not about to judge you for crying. Losing someone you love can make you feel like you've lost half of yourself. In a way, you did. For fifteen years, I isolated myself, shutting myself from the world. When Ruby died, I thought that nothing could ever be right again."

"But at least she knew you loved her. And you know she loved you. There was never a question. You didn't try to live a lie your whole life," Eddie challenged him. "So don't pretend you know how I feel! You know nothing about it!" He shouted before glaring down at the lazy river ride.

The lion would have been offended if the circumstances had been different. But he knew the ram was just in a lot of pain. In a lot of ways, he was a lucky lion. Losing his wife had been devastating but now that he was seeing more clearly, he was grateful for the all-too-short time he had with her. He could have easily had none of it.

"I mean why did he even come out here! I know how this happened! Buster came out here making big promises that he couldn't keep! He always does this!" He shouted. "He never thinks it all through. He just keeps talking himself into these impossible corners and I always have to bail him out!" He kicked the glass barrier harder than he meant to and his eyes went wide for a brief moment and he clenched his teeth as he sat down on a lounge. "Ow…" his tone told Clay he wasn't just talking about his foot.

Clay sat in the chair beside him. Silently offering support and comfort. There was nothing he could really say that could make the sheep feel any better about any of this.

AN: Yes, I will be bringing Lance and Mike both back into the characters' lives if you can't guess. I don't know if Mike should join the cast in the memorial concert or not though.