Since Sing released in 2016 and Sing 2 released in 2021 and it's suggested that this parallel universe Earth to ours is at least set on the relative year meaning the time between Sing 1 and Sing 2, hence the five year gap between the two movies.

This is kind of proving an exercise of developing the characters for my uses. Developing interests and lives and how they feel about each other. Who they were before Buster as individuals, exactly how he affected their lives. What message did he leave each of them with that made them decide to take control of their lives and make themselves happy instead of waiting for life to make them happy? Who they were before, with, and after. Maybe flashing back to their lives with Buster. The many shows and antics they got up to during that 5 years. Kind of like Young Sheldon seems almost what Sheldon was like when his dad was alive and what he was like after he died. Or at least his part of the story.

Please review. Concrit is very appreciated and most importantly be honest. I cannot improve if I do not know where my weaknesses are. Thank you.

Feel free to Facebook me since is being a butt. Thank you. Oh and do you think I should increase the rating for the serious and possibly triggering subject matter?

GLOSSARY
Three-quarter bathroom: A bathroom with a sink, toilet and EITHER a SHOWER or a BATHTUB, not both.

Part 7

Nine hours and 570 miles later, the bus rolled into town. It was just after midnight and they were all exhausted.

Rosita and Norman were dropped off first and everyone helped them carry their 25 sleeping children up to their beds.

"Thanks guys. I'll see you all at the theater tomorrow," she promised. "One o'clock." They had to plan the concert portion of the memorial.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Take care of yourself and try to get some rest." She hugged their troupe mama and got back on the bus with the rest.

She looked around the apartment, grateful to be home. Familiar, safe. She wanted to go to sleep but she just had to wash off Redshore City and the ride home.

While standing under the steaming-hot water, she kept trying not to think about it. Forcing herself to think of what she needed to do the next day now that they were home. Get her kids to school, clean the house, do laundry, collect their mail from the post office, pay some bills, call Nana and let her know they were home, go to Rocs, and go to the theater and see Mr. Moon to find out the plan for the next season. No. She sighed. Being home wasn't as helpful as she thought it would be. She realized she had been hoping that by leaving Redshore City, they could undo everything that had happened. No. Mr. Moon was still gone. Coming home didn't change that. They'd report to Mr. Noodleman instead. She didn't want to report to him but she knew wouldn't get what she did want. Eddie wasn't a bad person, she liked and respected him but he wasn't Mr. Moon.

She got out of the shower and went upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her husband. He was waiting for her, his arms open for her. Safely wrapped in his arms, she let herself break down again.

Norman knew his wife would eventually come out of it, but for now she needed him to just let her be sad. He tenderly kissed her forehead, assuring her that he was there for her. He just wished he could do something to help her. Something. Anything to make this easier for her.

Gently, he coaxed her into bed where he just held her. She would cry herself to sleep that night.

—

They dropped Meena and her family off at their home next. Alphonso and Tyler stopped with them and Barry rejoined the Gorilla gang.

"So, we need to take the truck to the storage facility and go to our hotel," Alphonso said.

"At this time of night?" Meena's mom asked. "Nonsense. You'll come back here and spend the night on the sofa bed."

The bull-elephant might have protested, he and Tyler didn't want to impose, but Meena's eyes seemed almost begging and he smiled. "Alright, if you insist."

—

They dropped Gunter off in front of the theater at his request. He looked up at the large edifice before continuing along the path, taking a pedestrian walkway through a small park to another side street that eventually led to a quaint trailer park. There were a total of five trailer homes. The first four were double-wide homes with porches or decks. One had even redneck-engineered the back of his trunk into a hot tub.

Gunter's trailer was just a small metal airstream. He had a small kitchenette with a two-burner stove and a small countertop oven and a mini-fridge. There was a tiny three-quarter bathroom. In the far end, he had a queen-sized mattress and a television.

His duffel dropped to the ground and he sat on his bed. He remembered getting the call.

'Gunter, pack a bag. Mr. Moon wants us to meet him at the bus depot in half an hour." Rosita had sounded so excited.

If only they'd known what would happen. He let himself fall over onto his pillow. He was finally alone. He began sobbing, letting himself feel the grief that he had tried so hard to hide from the others.

—

It was decided that Clay would stay with Ash. At least temporarily. Until he could get a place of his own. Since her career had been going so well, she'd been able to get herself a bigger, nicer apartment.

"The second bedroom is down the hall, first door on the right. The bathroom is across the hall," she said as they got inside.

He put his bag in the second bedroom and came back out. She was sitting on her off-white sofa, looking at a framed photograph. Getting closer, he could see it was the grand opening photo from after the theater was rebuilt.

"How did you do it, Clay?" She asked. "How did you manage to go on for fifteen years?" No, she hadn't lost a lover or a spouse, but it didn't matter. The pain was the same.

He went to the kitchen and made them each a cup of tea, adding a few drops of honey to hers. "I'm surprised you'd ask that. You know I didn't. I secluded myself at my lake house and pretended the world no longer existed. I stopped living." He took a drink. "Until an annoying porcupine and her annoying koala friend trespassed on my property and tried to climb my fence. Until that porcupine reminded me that it wasn't what my wife wanted for me."

She looked up at him then back down at her cup of tea. She knew he was right. "I just don't know how to get past this… it's like I'm lost in a dark cave and I can't find my way out."

He nodded with understanding. He picked up his guitar and a pick. He began playing softly so as not to disturb the neighbors. "I'm not afraid, Of anything in this world, There's nothing you can throw at me, That I haven't already heard."

—

Eddie had them drop him off at his parents' house. He didn't even go inside to let them know he was home. Instead he went directly to the pool house and sat down.

How many times did Buster stay the night with him, just playing video games and talking until dawn about his theater? Too many times to count. So many times, so many chances. And knowing now that Buster would have accepted him, it all felt wasted. So many chances. He had been so close to real happiness but he'd been too afraid to take the chance.

He sighed and lay down, his face buried in the cushions.

"Eddie, dear, is that you?" His mother's voice emanated from the intercom.

He moaned. "Yes Mom, it's me. I'm home." He didn't look up.

"Well, come up to the house, we need to talk," she ordered him.

The Suffolk sheep groaned as he forced himself to get up. He didn't want to talk to his parents. They hadn't even called him once since he left and he knew they watched the news.

Once inside the big house, they sat him down and his mother fixed him with a glare. "Well?" She asked.

He scratched his head. "Well what?" Why did his parents seem mad at him?

"Where have you been?" His father barked. "You disappeared after midnight Saturday morning without any explanation whatsoever. We have been worried sick."

He shrugged. "Then why didn't you just call? Or ask Nana. She was with me."

His mother replied, "Don't talk back! Now answer the question. Where were you?"

"I was in Redshore City. Didn't you hear what happened? It's been on the news and in the paper," he asked.

"Only that disgraceful theater friend of yours putting on another failure of a show," his father scoffed. "I know he's your friend, son, but there was a reason we forbade you to see him. He nearly got your Nana and yourself killed, among others. He's a menace to society."

"Now dear, that might be a little harsh. He is at least very pleasant, for a deluded, washed up charlatan." His parents' words cut through the middle-aged sheep.

Eddie shook his head. "Mom, Dad, Buster was killed! He's dead! Murdered! How did you miss that?" He asked. Saying the words hurt but their words were worse.

To their credit, his parents actually stopped to register what he said. "Well, that is a shame. But I can't say I'm surprised. What happened? Did his lies finally catch up with him?" His father asked.

Blinking, his mouth open, trying to process what his father was saying. He held out his trotter, it was shaking. "I just lost my best friend and that's all you can say? You know what… I can't do this now. I'll be out of the pool house tonight." He didn't let them say anything else, though they did try. His mother even followed him out to try and lecture him. He just ignored her and started packing anything he felt like taking. Buster was right.

"Eddie! I know he was your friend. But you must understand, this is life. We've tried to shield you from it but life is not usually kind," she stepped in Eddie's path as he folded his clothing neatly. "Eddie, I'm your mother. Please, listen to me. Mr. Moon was not a good friend to you. He used you to get to us and our money for his shows. He used you to get to your Nana and he nearly killed her! Be reasonable son. We just want what's best for you."

Eddie didn't even look at her. He couldn't. If he did, he'd do something he'd regret bitterly. "The viewing is Thursday at 10. If you really care about me, you'll be there."

"And where will you go?" She challenged him.

"It's time I moved out anyway. Buster asked me to take over his job for him," he explained. "I'll be living in his apartment."

She moved to block him. "Like hell you will! Eddie, you are our son! You have duties to this family!"

He glared at her. "No! I have a duty to me. And I have a duty to Buster and that means that it's up to me to keep the troupe going and that's what I'm going to do!"

She rolled her eyes. "You'll never make it out there on your own, Eddie! You've never lived on your own and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you become one of those theater hooligans."

"Nana is one of those theater hooligans," he snapped back.

"Nana is a world renowned opera singer. She earned her place. This group of amateurs are operating under the delusion that they have any talent. And only because of that fool koala!" She shouted back.

Eddie growled and slung his bag at her, forcing her to step aside.

—

The driver carefully brought the bus into the garage parking lot. It was already planned that he'd fly back home, Porsha would pay the expenses. Marcus hopped out and went to the trunk.

"You kids go inside, I'll get the luggage," Marcus promised. He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Hey, yeah, sorry it's so late but I promised that I'd call when we got home. Yeah, the trip was fine. Mostly we all slept. No one's had much sleep since… that night… How are you doing?" He grabbed the four suitcases. "Look, you don't have to be strong with me. I know you're hurting. I understand. If you need to cry, then cry… I'm on your side, Su…"

Johnny led her and Ryan up to the small apartment above the garage. "This is home sweet home. Sorry it's so cramped."

Nooshy shook her head. "Hey, it beats my old box in the alleyway by like 1000 miles. Much appreciated." She yawned.

Porsha nodded. "It's very nice. It's cooler here than back home. It was always so stifling there…" The rich girl, used to all the luxuries the world had to offer, looked around the simple apartment. It was different from the mansion she'd grown up in but it had its own charm. She saw photos hanging, all a progression of Johnny from kindergarten through freshman year. In the early years, there were family photos which included a pretty lady gorilla. She found one with Big Daddy and the female gorilla with Johnny at the beach, playing in the sand.

She giggled as she picked up the photo, examining it closely. "That's my mom…" Johnny said softly. "I were ten years old when she died." He explained her absence. She assumed but the confirmation was still sad.

"I don't even remember my mom. I was too little and Daddy never talked about her. But Jerry once told me that Daddy loved her so much that when she died, he forgot how to love," she said. "Thank you for letting me be part of your family. Even after…. I mean… you guys must hate me and you're giving me a home… I don't deserve it…"

Johnny stopped her train of thought. "Porsha, none of us blame you." He hugged her.

She tried to smile up at him. "But you should. Johnny, this was my fault. I insisted on being in the show and I knew Daddy had a temper. I went crying to Linda about it and she made a story out of it. It's all my fault. Jerry's right. I killed Mr. Moon and my daddy." She wept. "I'm sorry for being so selfish."

"Porsha, no. This isn't your fault," he let her cry. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you. We don't blame you. Jerry's just a jerk."

She shook her head. "But… it's the truth. Isn't it. If I hadn't acted the way I did, Daddy would never have done this and they'd both still be alive." She trembled. No matter how she thought about it, she kept coming back to her behavior. They kept telling her it wasn't her fault but how could it not be?

Johnny shook his head. "Your dad made his choices and we don't hold any of those choices against you. In fact, as much as I hate your dad, want to know what I hate most about him?" He asked. She nodded. "He made my little sister cry." She laughed through the tears and she hugged him back.

Marcus came in, having said goodbye to the gang, and watched them. They would be alright. They both would be. Johnny had someone special to help him and Porsha had a new family. He and his wife would have given Johnny siblings if they'd had the chance. It just wasn't in the cards. Now he could add two daughters to his family. Nooshy hasn't asked and he knew she never would out of pride. But Marcus didn't need to be asked. He would treat her like she was his as much as Johnny was.

"Johnny, you and Ryan will take your room. Girls, you'll take my room," Marcus began the task of getting back to normal and acting like a dad. "I'll sleep out here on the couch. Let's get some sleep. Remember, you promised you'd be at the theater by 1."

Johnny led Ryan to his small room with its twin bed. "Is this okay? I mean, we just realized there's something between us. Is it okay to share a room so soon? I mean what even are we?"

Ryan laughed at him. "I think every situation is different. Had things been different, we'd still be in Redshore City and I would have asked you out the other day. I'm not going to live with you. You're right, we are nowhere near ready for that. I'm gonna get my own place out here and we'll date. Tonight is special." The tiger nuzzled his gorilla. "As for what we are…" He sighed and kissed him tenderly. "I'll let you decide that when you're ready."

Johnny moaned and returned the kiss. Exhausted from their long journey, he and Ryan climbed into bed together. "I know I love this feeling. Just being held by you, feeling you close. Knowing you love me." He sighed with contentment. "Is it okay to feel so happy right now?"

The tiger laughed and traced his cheek with his finger. "You're so adorable." He kissed him again. "I think your friend would be happy that you're happy." They both knew he was right. Mr. Moon would have been encouraging Johnny on as long as it wasn't in the middle of rehearsal.

The gorilla sighed again and closed his eyes, just content to let Ryan stroke him. He wasn't sure if it was love he was feeling but he felt it was close.

—

Porsha looked around the master bedroom. There was one California king bed with clean, blue cotton sheets and a blue duvet, but there was plenty of room for she and Nooshy. "This is… it's very nice."

Nooshy looked up at her. "It's amazing. It's a bed." She lay down on the budget spring mattress.

The wolf nodded. Mr. Green had warned her that it would be a drastic change. She picked up the remote for the tiny television and turned it on.

The Canadian lynx looked at the older teen. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Porsha nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She wiped her eyes.

"Bullshit!" Nooshy's bluntness shocked her. "I'm not Johnny. You can't fool me. Try again."

She shook her head. "Really, I'm fine. We just went nonstop for 9 hours! I'm tired and… I just need a chance to get used to things and decompress. It's been a hard, chaotic several days." She got up and got into her suitcase for her nightgown. She opened the closet door to shield herself from the cat while she changed. "I'm sorry, I'm just… not ready to talk…" She told Nooshy as she got into bed.

Nooshy shrugged. "Whatever…" She didn't know why she was bothering. She and Porsha had nothing in common. She got into the other side of the bed and rolled over to look out the window at the stars while she fell asleep.

—

After his pillow was well and truly water-logged, Gunter grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. He immediately found a thick binder. The front of the binder was adorned with cut-out photos of the gang. He began looking through it, looking at all the photos they'd taken together over the years. The hog had only known love once before. How many loves was he doomed to lose before he found the right man?

He found a photograph of their first show, the backstage preparations. Buster was helping Eddie string some lights across the makeshift archway. He sighed. Eddie. He was to be their leader now. He still wasn't sure how he felt. A part of him was jealous and even a little angry at the sheep. He had barely seen any of them in the last five years. He'd barely seen or spoke to Buster in all that time.

But Gunter knew he was wrong to feel that way. He'd known going into it that he wasn't Buster's first choice. He was just there to keep Buster's spirits up.

He looked at the handsome smile that he had fallen for and took a deep breath. Buster had been such a positive person. He wouldn't approve of an excess of tears. He shook his head. He needed to be positive. He needed to stop crying and find a way to keep hope within the troupe. For him.

—

Eddie started by driving to the theater but he just couldn't bring himself to go inside. He wasn't ready to face it yet. So instead, he went to the only other place he felt safe.

Hobbs let him in with a sympathetic greeting. Nana was still up, watching television in her den. "I'm home, Nana…" He said softly.

The opera star looked at her grandson. He appeared to just be holding himself together. She opened her arms to him and he rushed to her, like when he was little. She pulled him close as he began crying.

Her son and daughter-in-law never liked their son's friendship with the koala. And if she was honest, there was a time when she agreed with them. She had seen him as a lying little con artist but he proved her wrong. His love for the theater at least matched her own. Making it easy to finance the rebuilding of that beautiful palace of wonder and magic.

"Why did they hate him so much, Nana? Why did they keep us apart?" He wept. After the first show, they'd made themselves clear that he and Buster were to have no contact, even threatening to have him arrested for trespassing. Buster wasn't the kind to come between families though and he told Eddie to just let it go. He realized now it was just another way that Buster was saying he loved him. His relationship with his parents was more important to Buster than their own relationship. Buster just was not willing to compromise it anymore than he already had. "I loved him, Nana, and they hated him. They don't even care that he's gone and I'm all alone now."

Nana patted her grandson's back as he spilled the beans about his parents' actions. Things started to make sense. When Eddie stopped coming around the theater and Buster's mysterious melancholy that had persisted for a few days before throwing himself into producing a new play with his troupe. She found it strange that he was always asking her for updates on his best friend instead of just going to visit or calling him up on the phone.

She thought about their flippant response when she tried to tell them where Eddie was and what had happened. They heard the words "Mr. Moon" and promptly dismissed her, saying just about the worst things she had ever heard uttered about the koala.

"There, there, sweetheart. Just give it all to Nana," she encouraged him to keep talking. "Nana will deal with it now. Oh yes, Nana will deal with it." Her tone was almost menacing and Eddie had no problem believing that she'd take care of it.

—

She was back on the springboard, high above the stage. Her song was starting and she was staring down at the audience. Butterflies filled her stomach and she couldn't bring herself to jump. She heard Gunter pushing her on but she didn't see him anywhere.

She just stood on the springboard until something caught her eye. Just above her, the blue-suited white wolf held Buster who was scrambling to try and free himself. But he could not stop the wolf from throwing him off the catwalk.

She had to do something. She had to catch him. She had to jump. She ran to the end of the springboard and leaped.

Opening her eyes, she realized she was in her own bed, sitting up and looking around their room. She looked at her husband who had woken up when she did. He smiled sadly at her. He could guess what the dream was about.

"You did everything you could for him," he whispered as he sat up with her.

She shook her head. "Did I? Did I really? I just don't know. What if I had jumped sooner? Or if I could have reached him faster? Or just let Porsha have the part. I would be the green alien if only…" Her husband shushed her doubts and kissed her lovingly.

"Honey, you just can't think this way," he tried to think of a way to make her believe him. "There was nothing else you could have done. You gave it your best and I am so proud of you." He continued to kiss her, desperate to break her out of this funk.

Rosita looked into her husband's eyes, looking for something, and returned his kiss with a little more intensity then he expected. In that moment, she needed comfort only he could give her. And he was more than happy to oblige.

AN: Finally finished this part. They're home with their new friends who now have to figure out long term accommodations and figuring out that coming home wasn't exactly the panacea they needed.