*Hey everybody! I'm back with the new chapter of my version of Sing 2! This is published on January 20, 2022. If you guys like the chapter, don't forget to vote and comment! That would be greatly appreciated! Also, thank you guys so much for the 3k reads! That's greatly appreciated! Enjoy!*

Buster's heart was racing as he wanted to cry but he knew he couldn't right now. Buster ran through the alleyways while hearing rough voices of thugs nearby. He couldn't stop, no matter how much he wanted, he knew he couldn't.

"Where is he?!"

Buster heard that rough voice with a gasp and then he almost screamed from his loss of footing. He collapsed into the dirty brick while breathing heavily. He looked around to realize that he fell into the sewers. He heard someone come up beside him as he turned to see a dark-furred mouse shushing him while pointing to the other mice to close the sewer lid. Buster's ears twitched to hear footsteps passing by him, not even looking down into the sewers.

Buster started to breathe a little slowly while looking at the dark-furred mouse. "W-Who are you?"

"The name's Malcolm. I believe someone you knew dropped this phone," Malcolm said as he took out the familiar phone that appeared as it belonged to Eddie. Buster gasped to see it as he stuffed it in his pocket.

"T-Thank you," Buster stuttered, shivering in the cold.

"Come with us," Malcolm beckoned the koala as he guided Buster through the sewers with a couple of mice following them.

Buster looked around the sewers while shivering more in the cold. He perked his ears up to find the tunnel that was somewhat bigger than the mice but only Buster could fit through. He peeked into the tunnel to watch Malcolm lead the mice towards the lit-up place. Buster crawled through the tunnel with a few grunts and got closer and closer to the lit room. Buster finally crawled out of the tunnel to see the sewer place had a dead end while the mice were all walking around like they were in a town with boxes as the buildings and candlelight as the streetlights. Buster was careful not to knock over any boxes or step on any of the mice as he saw a straw bed that he could sleep into. He didn't have an idea of what was going on within this place but all he knew was that he needed rest.

Buster sat on the bed further from the mice while noticing Malcolm approaching him.

"You can stay here as long as you like. Just be careful," Malcolm said with a soft tone.

"Why are you helping me?"

"We saw you on the news," Malcolm stated.

Buster lowered his ears down while frowning. "You did?"

"Yeah. We knew Jimmy was going to stab you in the back the same way he did to us when we were performing for him sooner than later. And he did."

"He's going to kill me."

"Yeah. He will. I told your friend...um, Nancy, I think...that she needs to get her and her friends out of Redshore City. I guess she didn't take my warning too seriously."

Buster sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry for what Crystal has done to you. But if there's anything I can do to get you guys into a better place, I would."

"Don't feel obligated to help us," Malcolm stated. "You are being hunted right now and Jimmy won't suspect you here with us. If you can, get out of Redshore and don't return here. Jimmy is going to kill anyone who dare threatened his position or try to make it into the big leagues. The best thing you could do is not even try. Trust me, it's for the best."

Buster was left at a loss for words as Malcolm went off to check with the other mice to see if they need anything.

The koala laid down on the bed while staring up at the molded ceiling, thinking about what Malcolm said. It sounded almost similar to what Suki said before all of this happened. Was Suki actually trying to protect them since the start? And the fact that she said that he had no idea what he was getting into, she was right...he absolutely has no idea what he's getting into until it's too late. Now, he's being hunted. Now, his real forbidden name was revealed to the world.

Now the world knew who he really is...and that scared him more than anything.

In the early morning, Buster had been tossing and turning on the bed with moans and groans. No mice sleeping soundly in the boxes knew that Buster was having nightmares. Buster gasped awake while snapping his blue ocean eyes open. He breathed heavily while looking around the sewer place with a sigh of relief. He noticed the morning light peering through the sewer lid above the boxes as he yawned and stretched his limbs.

His ear perked up when he heard footsteps above him. His breathing picked up quickly as the dark-furred mice were all peeking out of the boxes.

"He's not anywhere in the city," Buster heard a gruff voice as the koala covered his mouth.

Malcolm peeked out and shushed everyone. Buster heard only small whispers before something broke through the sewer lid above the boxes, causing the metal lid to collapse on the boxes. Buster screeched as he tried to make a run for it until someone grabbed the back of his shirt collar.

"Found him!"

Buster was held up as he saw a buff gorilla thug as he felt a syringe on his neck. The koala yelped while trying to fight the blackout around.

No...no.

Buster's breathing slowed down as he passed out in the grip of a stranger. 

~.~

Everyone was quiet on the bus. No one dared to talk about anything at the moment, especially trying to wrap their brains around what happened.

Meena tried not to think about Alfonso and Darius too hard but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to think about the injuries they might come back with or worse...they might be dead fighting off the thugs so that everyone could get on the bus safely.

Rosita realized that she missed a text from her husband that he and the kids were home. She texted her husband, Norman, that they were on their way home.

Gunter checked on Eddie frequently and anxiously to see if his friend was waking up from the drug. Porscha sat next to Eddie, holding him while trying not to sob in the bus.

Mizuki sat at the back of the bus and kept looking back to realize that the huge city that was once behind them disappeared. Now, they're in the middle of the desert and the early morning sky made it easier for the driver to see his surroundings in this beautiful deserted environment. Mizuki bit her lips to hold in her sobs while she felt someone rubbing her shoulder. Mizuki looked to the side to see Ms. Crawly comforting her and reassuring her that everything will be okay.

Mike and Nancy held hands throughout the bus ride while they watched Johnny and Ash sitting together with Nooshy sleeping on Dexter, who's sleeping against the window with a quiet snore, in front of them.

Suki threw her phone outside of the window so that Crystal wouldn't track her location and try to get the gang. She leaned back against the seat to stare at the empty scenery from the window behind Eddie and Porscha.

Johnny bit his lips as he just stared into space in front of him. "I had him."

Johnny's words alerted the theater group in the vehicle.

Rosita softly gazed at the young gorilla. "Johnny—"

"He slipped from my fingertips," Johnny added, now tearing up.

"Take it easy, big guy," Ash soothed while rubbing his arm. "It's not your fault for what happened to Buster."

"If only that stupid bus driver would listen to us when we told him to stop," Mike growled at the bus driver, driving with his headphones on.

Nancy nudged on Mike's arm. "Don't make it worse."

"What? I'm just saying," Mike replied with a shrug.

"I...I'm scared," Meena finally muttered while letting tears stream down her cheeks.

"Scared of what, sweetie?" Rosita cooed.

"I-I don't want to lose Alfonso. Why am I so scared of losing Alfonso? Is-is this what falling in love with someone does to us?" Meena stuttered, beginning to whimper.

Rosita hopped off of her seat and went over to Meena to comfort her. "It's okay. It's okay."

"Is this natural to feel this way?" Meena questioned Rosita as Rosita took a seat next to the young confused elephant.

Rosita comforted Meena. "Yes, it's natural to feel this way. When you love someone, you would want to keep them safe."

"But it's getting to the point where I'm thinking the worse. What if he's dead?"

"He'll be okay, Meena," Rosita reassured Meena. "He'll be okay. I'm sure."

It's been a couple of hours through the desert as they finally entered the edge of Catalonia. They're home.

Nooshy woke up while realizing that she was resting her head on Dexter's broad shoulder and lifted her head up away from Dexter. She rubbed her tired eyes with a yawn as she noticed that she was in an unfamiliar city.

"Where are we?" Nooshy asked.

Dexter lifted his tired eyelids as he rubbed his eyes and looked out the window to see that they were home. "We're home."

Nooshy widened her eyes in realization. "This is Catalonia you guys were talking about?"

Mizuki frowned and nodded her head to answer Nooshy's question.

The animals looked at the bus station to see Norman waiting with Stan, Barry, Meena's family, Gary, and Nana Noodleman.

The group widened their eyes in shock to see Nana with them.

She must've known something's up, Mizuki thought.

The doors opened as Nooshy got out of her seat first and walked out of the bus with Johnny and Ash. Meena was hiding in her ears as Rosita and Gunter followed Johnny, Ash, and Nooshy out of the bus with her. Mizuki, Ms. Crawly, and Suki followed after the group as Porscha stayed behind with Eddie and Dexter.

Porscha shook Eddie gently to wake him up. "Are you awake, Eddie?"

"He doesn't look like he's awake yet," Dexter indicated as he gestured Porscha to move aside gently.

Porscha frowned with her ears flattened. She moved out of Dexter's way as he reached for Eddie and hauled him over his broad shoulder. Porscha walked out of the bus while noticing new faces she hadn't met before. Her ears perked up to see that Meena was hugged by her own mother while her grandparents surrounded her and comforted her. The female wolf perked her ears up to find Rosita and Norman holding each other as if they won't ever let go again.

Porscha gazed to the side to see Nana Noodleman eying on her along with Gary standing next to her.

Nana widened her eyes to see Dexter carrying Eddie out of the bus.

Dexter saw a horrified look on both of Gary's and Nana's faces. "Jimmy drugged him."

That explanation within itself didn't make anything better for Gary.

"Come quickly," Nana urged everyone gathered at the bus station. "I want to know everything that happened."

The group nodded their heads in obedience as they walked forward.

Nana noticed Porscha in the black dress. "What on earth are you wearing? Are you going to a funeral or something?"

Porscha shook her head. "No...Dad chose my dress and had me wear it."

"Well, your father isn't good with fashion. It looks tight on you, dear," Nana said to Porscha.

Porscha faintly smiled while shrugging her shoulders.

Nana examined Porscha further. "I think I had some clothes that would fit you but it won't fit me."

Porscha smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, dear." 

~.~

Eddie, are you awake?

Eddie could've sworn that he heard Porscha's sweet voice asking him. Was he hallucinating voices again? He'd been hearing voices non-stop—mostly Jimmy's narcissistic and conniving voice. Eddie grew to fear Jimmy even more than he used to when he met the wolf in person. He's everything Nana said about him. Cruel, uncaring, cold...but he's more than those things. He tried to murder Eddie. He kidnapped the sheep and drugged him to the point where Eddie couldn't move.

Eddie had no idea what was going on. Was he still in that cell? Did someone get him out? If so, then who?

Eddie could finally move his body as he lifted his eyelids open. At first, everything around him was blurry and bright.

"Eddie?" Porscha's voice uttered. "Are you awake?"

Eddie groaned as he tried to talk to Porscha if she was still there. "P-Porscha?"

He felt someone hugging him, a head underneath his chin. Eddie looked down to see a familiar fur color of someone he was in love with as he wrapped his arms around her body.

"What did Dad do to you?" Porscha muttered, mostly to herself but Eddie heard her as well.

"P-Porscha—you-we need to get out of Redshore," Eddie uttered, still nothing but a blur around him.

"We're already out of Redshore City," Porscha softly answered.

"What?" Eddie's vision was finally clear as he noticed that he was in a pink room with purple bedsheets and drapes to cover the windows. He noticed old pictures of Nana's youth all around the room.

"I'm...in Nana's house," Eddie realized as he turned his head to Porscha lifting her head to stare into his hazel eyes, wearing a long-sleeve pink blouse with ruffles around her paws and a v-line that didn't go down too far but enough to show tiny puff of white fur on her chest. She's also wearing shorts that went up to her thighs. "You're in Nana's house. Am-am I hallucinating?"

Porscha smiled softly at him while shaking her head. "No, you're not. I'm glad you're okay."

Eddie smiled at her while trying to sit up but his head was pounding. He covered his head with a groan. "Ugh, I feel like I've been hit by a train."

Porscha frowned and hugged Eddie tightly, causing Eddie to look down at her. She rubbed her head against his chest. "I miss you."

Eddie smiled warmly while hugging her back. "I miss you too." Eddie and Porscha laid back down on the bed, holding each other while Porscha was listening to Eddie's heartbeat.

Eddie rested his head on hers, relaxing his body, not because of the drug forcing him to but because she's here with him right now. Before Eddie could fall back asleep with Porscha embracing him, someone opened the door.

"Good heavens!"

Eddie and Porscha looked up quickly to see Nana peeling her gaze away from the couple as if they were making out on her bed.

"W-We're just hugging, Nana," Eddie uttered fearfully.

"That better be all you're doing," Nana said strictly. "I let you borrow my bed to rest in...not doing that. I mean, if you are going to do something like that, you might as well use protection."

Porscha blushed madly while letting go of Eddie and covering her face in embarrassment.

Eddie shook his head with a discouraged sigh. "Nana...not a good time."

Nana huffed a bit while smiling at her grandson to see that he was okay. "Well, I was going to bring you some tea to help you with your headache. You might as well stay down for a little while since you might be still paralyzed from the drug."

"Thanks, Nana," Eddie uttered while Nana walked out of the bedroom to get tea for Eddie. Porscha and Eddie gave each other awkward glances.

"S-Sorry about Nana," Eddie apologized with a blush. "She can be blunt sometimes."

"Yeah, I get it," Porscha said while smiling at Eddie.

The door opened again as the couple noticed Johnny entering the room with a bright smile on his face.

"Eddie!" Johnny ran towards the bed and sat at the side. "How are you feeling?"

"Just a tiny headache...I don't know if I can move," Eddie answered while moving his limbs slightly.

"That's the side-effect of a hallucinogen," Nooshy said as she entered the bedroom and hopped at the end of the bed. "You might not be able to move for a few minutes."

"H-How long have I been out?"

"A good day or two," Johnny calculated. "You were definitely passed out on the way home from Redshore City."

Porscha frowned while sitting up across from Johnny and Nooshy.

"Wait...how...how did I get out of Redshore?"

The three animals went silent for a minute.

"Fitness partner!"

The animals glanced as Gunter hopped onto the bed unexpectedly with Gary following after him.

"Hey, man, you doing okay?" Gary asked Eddie.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eddie said while sitting up more to look at everyone around him. Meena walked in with Mike and Nancy on her shoulder.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Mike exclaimed happily.

"Are you okay?" Meena questioned meekly.

Nana walked back into the bedroom while holding tea with a small groan. "Goodness me, you guys are crowding him. Here's the tea, Eddie." Nana held out the tea as Nooshy took it to pass it to Johnny. Johnny received it while giving it to Eddie.

"Thanks, Nana. But...how did I get out of Redshore City? How did you guys even find me?" Eddie probed his questions.

Johnny clenched his teeth. "There's...a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, definitely," Mike stated with a nervous chuckle.

Eddie nodded his head.

Nana bit her lips. "I think it's better if we have everyone gather in the living room. Can you walk, Eddie?"

"I-I can try," Eddie stated while Porscha moved out of the way so that Eddie could get out of the bed. Eddie moved off the bed and stood up. He seemed to be okay when standing up but his legs wobbled as he almost fell over. Johnny hopped over the bed and helped Eddie up before he could fall with Porscha by his side.

"It's okay, take your time," Porscha whispered to Eddie to reassure him that it was alright.

Nooshy moved over by Johnny while looking at Eddie. "Eddie, stretch your legs a little bit. Like this." Nooshy stretched out each of her legs a little bit so that Eddie could follow along with her. "It wakes your legs up a bit."

Eddie stretched out his legs a little bit to wake them up. It worked surprisingly as Johnny and Porscha slowly let go of Eddie so that he could walk by himself.

"Thanks," Eddie uttered.

"No problem," Nooshy said with a sweet smile. "Let's go!"

Nooshy exited out of the bedroom with Meena following after her and Mike and Nancy staying on the elephant's shoulder.

Johnny followed behind Eddie, Porscha, Gunter, Gary, and Nana out of the bedroom while closing the door behind him. 

~.~

Nana Noodleman had mustered the animals in the large living room. Meena's grandparents sat on the long pink soft couch together while holding trunks anxiously. Mizuki sat in between Suki and Porscha while Eddie was holding Porscha's paw next to her. Johnny sat with his father, Nooshy, and Ash on the other long couch. Meena took a seat by her mother while Mike and Nancy were sitting together on Meena's shoulder. Gary and Gunter sat near Ms. Crawly while Ms. Crawly was rubbing her arm anxiously. Stan and Barry were sitting with Rosita and Norman, almost like they were guarding the pig couple against any potential danger.

Nana sat on her chair while facing everyone paying attention to her. "I believe we need to address the elephant in the room."

Meena gasped while hiding in her ears.

"Not that type of elephant, dear," Nana said softly to Meena. "We need to address something that hadn't been spoken. I'm sure most of you saw the recent news about how Jimmy exposed Buster into being this Daniel Rambo guy, right?"

Eddie gasped in shock while sitting back against the cushion.

"Bah! That's a flat-out lie! Buster is not Daniel Rambo!" Meena's grandfather said with a boisterous laugh. "That Jimmy Crystal guy didn't know how to make up a proper story!"

"Grandpa," Meena uttered softly. "Buster Moon was...Daniel Rambo."

"Huh? But Daniel Rambo is a murderer and a stripper. And Buster was none of those, right?" Meena's grandfather questioned.

"He's not a murderer," Johnny explained. "He used to be a stripper but he's not a murderer."

"Who? Buster or Daniel?" Meena's grandmother questioned in confusion.

"Both," Johnny and Ash answered in unison.

Ms. Crawly was shaking a bit. "I don't know if I want to tell this whole story again."

"Hold on, I can do it!" Mike said in determination while hopping off of Meena's shoulder and bouncing onto the elephant's knee. He climbed down Meena's leg and scurried across the floor to climb up the coffee table so that everyone could look at Mike.

Mike took a deep breath as he began to tell the story. "Alright, alright, everyone, listen up, Moonster's birth name is Daniel Rambo. Okay? Daniel Rambo grew up in a poor family where his father had to keep up the hospital payments to keep his mother alive. Then, she died of cancer when he's ten. So, a few years passed and he went to the nightclub behind his father's back to help his uncle by becoming a stripper. One night, Daniel Rambo got assaulted and lost his virginity to some big animal that we have no idea who or where he came from. His father found him in the nightclub and took him home. Then, his father sued his uncle for having a minor be a stripper. Daniel was fifteen at the time. One day, his father and his uncle got into a fight, and Moonster or Daniel tried to cut in to help but his uncle threw his father into the street and framed Daniel for murdering his father. So, his uncle took him in when Ms. Crawly, who was his nana since he was a baby, was supposed to be the guardian of Daniel Rambo. So, taken under his uncle's wing, his uncle had Daniel join a gang for three years until Daniel quit and stayed with Ms. Crawly to pursue theater in college. And then he changed his name to Buster Moon and had been the showman of his own theater since he graduated from college. Does anyone have questions?"

The animals appeared to be stunned at the moment.

"So...Jimmy partly lied about Buster?" Norman questioned the mouse.

"Yes. He lied about Moonster being the murderer and murdering his father for fame," Mike stated simply.

Norman nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, he doesn't seem like a homicidal maniac when I first met him," Gary said.

"Cause he's not. Jimmy Crystal is though," Eddie uttered.

"Really?" Gary questioned.

"Yeah," Eddie replied with a nod.

Porscha nodded her head in confirmation.

"Hey, look at that, the daughter of the infamous Jimmy Crystal agrees," Mike pointed out.

Porscha frowned. "Yeah, I was there when Dad tried to kill Eddie. He threw Eddie over the balcony and...and I don't know what came over me but-but—"

"You saved me," Eddie finished Porscha's sentence with a soft smile at her.

Everyone darted their gazes between Porscha and Eddie.

Porscha smiled softly back at Eddie. "Yeah."

"Aww," Everyone cooed while Eddie rolled his eyes at his group.

"Alright, alright, you guys don't need to do that," Eddie added.

"But it's adorable," Nooshy said innocently.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Yeah but..." Eddie paused mid-sentence and looked around the room for a familiar someone. "Wait for a second...where is Buster? Shouldn't he be here with us by now?"

The theater group sealed their lips for a moment while Johnny groaned to himself.

"I had him," Johnny muttered to himself while looking at his hands.

"What?" Eddie probed.

Porscha held Eddie's hoof tightly.

"He's...He's back in Redshore City," Mizuki said sadly.

"W-What?" Eddie uttered in shock.

"Yeah, he's in Redshore," Nancy affirmed while hugging herself.

"Is he caught by Jimmy?" Eddie asked in concern.

"We don't know," Meena replied with a shrug.

Eddie shook his head. "We have to go back!"

"How? We're criminals now since the mega clash of Gordon and Simon's baby publicize to the whole world that we're all criminals," Mike pointed out.

"If we go back to Redshore, it would be suicide," Porscha added.

"Not only that but if Jimmy managed to capture Buster, he might use Buster to get us back into the city," Nooshy debated.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Johnny stated. "Our friends who were left behind in Redshore City are in trouble. We have to go back."

Meena lowered her head when she thought about Alfonso fighting off the thugs so that the group could leave the city in one piece.

"Well, we can't keep running forever," Ash said after the silence.

"Then how are we going to expose Jimmy for his wrongdoings? You know, he's got good lawyers and people who could vouch for his innocence," Nana warned the group.

The theater group and their families thought long and hard about it.

Porscha flicked her ears as an idea just came to her. "The show."

"What?" some of the theater group asked simultaneously.

Porscha gasped as she thought more about the idea. "Guys, we got to go back. Now!"

"Wait, right now?" Mike questioned Porscha's logic.

"Yeah! There's a way to expose Dad! But we need Mr. Moon's help!" Porscha shouted in determination.

"Ya! Let's go!" Gunter agreed with Porscha.

"We're coming for you, buddy," Eddie muttered to himself as everyone exited the mansion just to gather up at the bus station back to Redshore City.

~.~

Buster felt cold.

The chilly air froze his entire world. Buster's scared blue eyes searched around the foggy surrounding. He could see his quick breaths but not what was in front of him. He took more steps as he squinted at the metal door in front of him.

His ears perked up when he heard someone sobbing. Who's sobbing in this foggy environment? Buster approached the cell door to hear the sobbing louder and louder. He pressed his round ears up against the door to find it too cold to even touch. Buster shivered as he climbed quickly up to the cell window and looked through the bars to see someone shivering and quaking in the cold.

"Hey!" Buster shouted as he saw a round ear perked up. The figure gazed up at Buster, his blue eyes and his gray fur pale. The figure appeared to be like a koala, mirroring Buster's looks except scrawny and small. Buster couldn't see well in the fog as the cold metal was pressed against the showman's body.

"I'm going to get you out!" Buster yelled. Why was he yelling when there's no one else in the fog? Buster ignored that question as the koala stood up from the other side of the cell door.

"No, you won't," the koala said tearfully and shivering.

"Yes, I will," Buster guaranteed.

"Why? You hated me. Why would you release me from this prison?"

Buster shook his head. "I don't know you, sir."

"Yes, you do."

Buster squinted as the koala stepped closer and he widened his eyes in recognition. The koala behind the cell door was just a kid. A teenager who appeared to be at the age of fifteen. His timid blue eyes stared back at Buster. There were scars over his youthful body, saying a lot of slanderous things that were etched on his skin. All of those words were so familiar to the showman except...there were a couple of words added.

Pain...

Misery...

Scared little boy...

Buster was not familiar with having those words on his own skin. The koala felt the burning on his back and on his stomach that was almost like a punch in the gut. Buster dropped down and covered his side. Why was he feeling like he was burning up? His head pounded as he tried to find the source of the pain to soothe.

Buster screamed in pain as his body felt like it was on fire. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth but his mouth fell open and screams were coming out of him.

"I brought you nothing but pain and misery. That's why you locked me up. That's why you hated me. Why would you set me free when all I ever did was bring you pain and misery?"

Buster couldn't answer that as the cell door disappeared in the fog. "No! Daniel! Wait!"

Buster cried in pain while he felt the ground shifting under his feet. He fell on his knees and curled himself into a ball to try to ease the pain. But the pain kept growing and growing until he screamed in the fog.

...

Buster screamed awake as he felt something running through his body and his mind. He's paralyzed from head to toe and he couldn't breathe for a second. Everything was nothing but a blur around him. He tried moving his limbs with all of his might but he couldn't. He couldn't form words to speak. Not at the moment.

"Why don't we just kill him?"

"No, Daniel Rambo and his crew must be brought to justice."

"But we're doing everybody a favor by killing him."

"Not if we don't know where his friends are and make them all suffer."

Buster groaned while trying to hear the sources of the voices. All of the sudden, a sharp wave of pain ignited in his body as blue electricity was formed around him. Buster screamed out in pain as he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth to not scream in pain anymore. His limbs were quaking as he was too weak to fight against the pain and the electricity.

"Where are your little friends, Rambo?!"

Buster heard a shout as he closed his eyes and screamed more, not knowing that his screams were echoing outside of the lone warehouse he was in.

Meanwhile, Alfonso, Clay, Leonardo, and Darius were searching high and low around the city in the morning. They couldn't find Buster back in that tower building, although if they knew any better—once Jimmy's hostage was rescued out of that place, Jimmy wouldn't take the hostage into the same place. But where would Buster be if he were either kidnapped by Jimmy or hidden somewhere?

"Is it just me or am I hearing screaming?" Alfonso uttered as his huge ear perked up to hear the sounds of screams from a familiar person.

Clay turned to the elephant urgently. "Who's screaming?"

"Where did it come from?" Leonardo probed.

Alfonso lifted his ear again as he gasped in shock. "I think it's from Mr. Moon."

"I don't hear anyone screaming." Darius looked around to hear the screaming sound.

"We need to go," Clay stated.

Alfonso nodded his head in agreement. "Come on."

Alfonso led the way since he was the one hearing the scream as the three animals quickly followed after the male elephant.

Going through alleyways and streets, Alfonso finally found the source of the scream. It's from an abandoned warehouse with a worn-out sign and a crystal symbol on it.

"Now, I hear screaming," Darius stated in determination.

"There!" Alfonso pointed with his trunk as Leonardo stopped the group when he saw two guards standing at the front doors of the warehouse.

"Shh, not so loud. There are two guards in front of the warehouse. Probably a bunch more," Leonardo whispered to the group. "You guys stay here, I'll get Buster out."

"Whoa, whoa, there. There's no way you can take down those guys by yourself," Darius stated.

Leonardo gave Darius a deadpan stare as he put on his cloak and pressed the small button to turn himself invisible. Darius blinked in shock as the three men looked around to find the cougar assassin. However, in an instant, two guards fell over with blood trickling their necks. Leonardo appeared between the dead bodies while lifting his hood up slightly to show his face to them and quirked up his brow at Darius.

"Oh...I forgot that he can turn invisible," Darius said with a nervous giggle.

"Shh," Clay shushed the yak.

Leonardo gestured them to stay where they were standing as he turned invisible again and he tried to find a way in.

"Maybe we should at least see what's happening inside," Alfonso whispered a suggestion.

"We need to get in too. Leonardo's not going to do everything while we just sit and do nothing. Come on," Clay urged in a whisper as the three animals tiptoed towards the warehouse where they heard screaming. Clay was the first to look at the window and had his eyes widened in horror to see Buster strapped onto the table in the middle of the warehouse while being electrocuted. No wonder Buster was screaming out in pain. The electrocution stopped as he saw Buster breathing heavily.

Clay's heart was hurt for some reason. He didn't know why but when he saw Buster this weak and quaking on the table, for some reason...he could imagine Ruby in that position. Scared, alone, and worst, tortured.

Clay couldn't even think straight for a moment as he looked up to see a thug falling over the railing of the catwalk on the inside of the warehouse and plummeting onto the ground behind the two thugs torturing Buster. Clay gasped when he saw the two thugs shifting their attention up and threw up a smoke bomb onto the catwalk where it blew out smoke. From there, the thugs and the three animals spying from the window, they see the smoke sway, indicating that Leonardo was running from the smoke to not be detected.

Clay got out his paintball gun and busted the doors to the warehouse open, worrying Alfonso and Darius.

"Clay, wait!" Alfonso shouted as Clay shot paint at the two thugs near Buster as they turned to face the lion. Before they could point their guns to shoot the lion, Leonardo reappeared on the same level floor as the thugs and stabbed them in the backs. He pulled the thugs away from Buster as Clay, Alfonso, and Darius entered the warehouse as quickly as they could.

Leonardo shoved the bodies aside and pulled the lever to end the electricity and the torture. Buster breathed heavily and panted while trembling in the leather cuffs holding his wrists, ankles, and neck down. The cougar assassin got out a knife and cut his limbs loose.

"W-What's happening?" Buster muttered while he couldn't see what was happening.

"We're getting you out of here," Leonardo answered.

Buster started to scream and backed away from Leonardo, not really seeing Leonardo but a different dark animal. "No, no! Stay away from me!"

Clay, Alfonso, and Darius noticed this while Darius arched a brow.

"Is this Mr. Moon or a different koala?" Darius asked Clay and Alfonso.

"That's definitely Mr. Moon," Alfonso said while trying to grab Buster with his trunk.

Buster swiped the trunk away from him while covering his head. "Please, I don't want it! Please, make it stop!"

"What?" Alfonso uttered in confusion.

Leonardo gasped in realization. "Oh no..."

"What?" Clay interrogated the cougar.

"Buster's under the hallucinogen," Leonardo stated sadly. "He-He thinks he's back at the nightclub."

"Wait, how would you know—?"

Clay stopped mid-sentence while realizing what was said at Jimmy's office.

"You're lucky I didn't say anything about what happened at the nightclub fifteen years ago...that night you were assaulted—"

Clay blinked for a moment while looking down at Buster, who's covering his quivering body.

"I was there when it happened...those two animals hurt him that night," Leonardo explained further.

"Do you remember who did that to him?" Alfonso pointed out while realizing what Clay was realizing as well.

Leonardo frowned. "I think...it's some timber wolf along with a bear or something like that. It's been so long since it happened."

"What happened?" Darius questioned, not understanding what his friends were talking about.

Alfonso bit his lips while leaning over to the yak to whisper something in his ear. Darius tensed up.

"Wait, he got ra—!"

"Shh!" Alfonso covered Darius's mouth before Darius could blurt out what he just discovered. "Don't say it so loud!"

"Oh sorry. He just got the ugh into augh."

"Somehow you made it sound ten times worse," Clay stated with a deadpan stare at the yak.

Buster curled up more while covering his ears and muttering something incoherent.

Clay sighed heavily as he reached his hands out slightly towards Buster. "Buster...Buster Moon...can you hear me? My name is Clay Calloway. I'm with Darius, Alfonso, and Leonardo. You're not in a nightclub. You're in an abandoned warehouse and we're here to get you out of here and somewhere safe. Can I step closer?"

Buster breathed heavily while lowering his guard a bit. "C-Clay?"

"Yes, it's me," Clay reassured Buster. "Can I step closer?"

Buster whimpered while nodding his head.

Clay took a step closer as he reached his hands out. "I'm going to carry you out of this building. Okay? We're going to get you out of here. You'll be safe with us."

Buster breathed heavily. "W-What's happening?"

"We're going to get you out of here. Trust me, I won't hurt you."

Buster lowered his guard a bit more as Clay reached out and scooped him up gently and carefully to not scare him. Buster whimpered a bit but he didn't move away as Clay pulled him closer slowly to him for Buster to hug him. Buster clung onto Clay's jacket as soon as Buster was pressed up against the lion's chest. Clay let go to see that Buster was hanging on.

"Hey!"

The group turned to see more thugs entering the building from the side.

"Run!" Alfonso shouted as the animals bolted out of the building with Buster clutching onto Clay's jacket while Clay was holding Buster so that he wouldn't fall.

Leonardo shut the warehouse and sprinted back towards the group to catch up with them.

"Okay, we got Mr. Moon! Now what?!" Darius shouted to his group.

"Follow me!" Alfonso said loudly as the three animals followed the male elephant throughout the city with the thugs losing sight of them. 

To Be Continued...