*I'm back with another chapter of my version of Sing! Heck yeah! I'm going to warn you, the next episode will be a tearjerker for a special character(won't be telling you which one). This is published on August 14, 2021. If you like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and spam the comments. It will be greatly appreciated! The song used is called "Beautiful Mistakes" by Maroon 5. Enjoy!*

In the early morning, Johnny peeked out of the garage to make sure that the coast was clear with a satchel over his shoulder. He got out his skateboard and rode on it through the streets in Catalonia. Feeling the breeze on his face, Johnny skated till he got to the theater. However, his eyes went wide when he saw cops roaming down the streets. Johnny immediately hid at the theater's entrance, breathing heavily.

Hearing the cops coming closer and closer, Johnny immediately lockpicked the theater doors and quietly got in. He closed the door and hid as the cops passed by without a care in the theater.

Johnny sighed in relief as he looked around the grand entrance with an awed expression on his face. The gorilla entered further into the theater to see the grand auditorium with a huge stage and balconies that faced the stage from a higher perspective.

Johnny shivered as he gripped on his leather jacket to keep himself warm.

He looked around the theater with a small smile as he approached the wooden stage. With a hop, he sat on the edge of the stage. He put his satchel beside him as he pulled out his headphones and put them around his head. He turned on the music while laying on the wooden stage, tapping his fingers to the beat.

He began to hum to himself while singing parts of the lyrics to himself.

"Beautiful Mistakes.."

He hummed the next lyric while singing parts of the song.

"Beautiful mistakes

I wouldn't take them back.

I'm in love with the memory.

And now I lie awake, making beautiful mistakes."

From outside of his headphones, it looked like he's just singing some random words from a song he's listening to. However, his song was more than just what appeared.

Johnny got up from the stage as he picked up a satchel containing a device he's listening to music from as he made up his own lyrics.

https://youtu.be/yJod2LFvK7Q

"It's beautiful, it's mesmerizing.

You're like a dream come true to me.

I take a shot at society but I know I stood out among the rest.

I fill up my days of fitting in with the way you come in and out of my life.

I made up hopes inside of my head,

Like, One day, I'll see you again."

Johnny began to stride backstage where it was empty and bare, quiet enough for him to sing his heart out.

"Now, I can't be holding on, holding on.

I've been searching since you've been gone.

Can't be holding on, holding on.

Beautiful mistakes that I regret in my head.

But certainty had made me ignore them all.

And now I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes.

I can't take them back.

I'm in love with the memory.

Now, I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes."

Johnny wandered aimlessly through the rehearsal rooms with a beautiful angelic voice.

"Nah-nah-nah, in my head.

Nah-Nah-Nah, in this city.

Nah-Nah-Nah.

Making beautiful mistakes."

Johnny strode up the stairs while singing the words to himself, unaware of anyone sleeping in the building.

"Oh dear, it's wonderful how I'm able to find my voice.

I take a moment to breathe and I emerged from the water.

I still hear your voice through the walls of the theater.

I made these hopes in my head.

And they were becoming brighter by each hour."

Johnny entered the lobby where he saw a piano with a wide smile and opened it to play a couple of tunes. At first, his fingers were tensed up as he began to play the piano.

"Now, I can't be holding on, holding on.

I've been searching since you've been gone.

Can't be holding on, holding on.

Beautiful mistakes that I regret in my head.

But certainty had made me ignore them all.

And now I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes.

I can't take them back.

I'm in love with the memory.

Now, I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes."

Johnny smiled to himself as he played the piano with one of his earmuffs off of his ear.

"Nah-nah-nah, in my head.

Nah-Nah-Nah, in this city.

Nah-Nah-Nah.

Making beautiful mistakes."

Johnny took a break from singing as he messed with the piano, not knowing that Buster was awake with bags under his eyes. Buster opened the blinds and noticed Johnny playing the piano. That's who was singing in the most angelic voice he ever heard. Buster would've grumbled at the kid for coming in early but he actually enjoyed watching the young gorilla finding his voice through the piano while Johnny continued to sing.

"Beautiful mistakes that I regret in my head.

But certainty had made me ignore them all.

And now I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes.

I can't take them back.

I'm in love with the memory.

Now, I'm wide awake, making beautiful mistakes.

Nah-nah-nah, in my head.

Nah-Nah-Nah, in this city.

Nah-Nah-Nah.

Making beautiful mistakes.

Nah-nah-nah, in my head.

Nah-Nah-Nah, in this city.

Nah-Nah-Nah.

Making beautiful mistakes."

Johnny was playing the ending notes of the piano with his eyes closed to feel the music on his fingertips. He swayed his head to the beat of the music while humming softly to himself. The notes finally ended as a song the gorilla listened to end. He brought his satchel up to find another music to listen to.

However, Buster opened the door with a creak, earning a gasp from the gorilla as he turned to see Buster in his suit and tie with a tired stare.

"Hey, kid," Buster greeted the gorilla.

"Ello, Mr. Moon," Johnny said with a plastered smile to show his canines.

Buster looked around the theater. "Is anyone else in the theater with you beside me?"

"Uh...I don't think so."

"Okay...um, how did you get in?"

"Huh?"

"How did you get in? The theater was locked for a reason," Buster clarified with his head tilted.

Johnny gasped to realize that he lockpicked his way into the theater with a weak nervous smile. "It...happened to be unlocked."

Buster arched a brow.

On cue, Eddie ran into the lobby. "Hey, Buster, you left the theater unlocked--oh, hey, Johnny."

"'Ello, Mr. Noodleman," Johnny replied with a wave.

"Oh, you can call me Eddie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. I'm sure."

Johnny smiled. "Okay, Eddie."

"Who's over there playing piano and singing in the most angelic voice ever?!"

Johnny, Buster, and Eddie glanced down to see Mike rubbing his tired eyes with a groan, entering the lobby.

Johnny had a shock in his eyes as Mike climbed up on the piano and sat on the headboard.

"Did you sleep here?" Buster asked Mike.

"Not like I got any other places I could sleep at without being assaulted," Mike replied while rubbing his eyes. "I woke up to someone playing the piano and singing something. I literally thought I was dead and entered Heaven."

Johnny clenched his teeth. "Sorry, I didn't think there was anyone in the theater."

"Oh, so it's you," Mike pinpointed while rubbing his eyes.

Johnny nodded shyly.

"Alright, Boy Wonder, I'll bite," Mike said while with a little laugh.

Buster pointed at Johnny. "But...it's really him playing the piano and singing. Although, I thought I was dead for a second too when I woke up to him singing."

Johnny blinked for a bit in confusion. "I don't understand--"

"You don't need to--"

"Hello, is anyone home?!" A familiar teenage voice echoed in the theater.

Buster gasped in shock. "Now, everyone's coming in. Let's go!"

Buster quickly ran out of the lobby with Eddie behind him. Mike and Johnny exchanged shocked looks on their faces.

Meanwhile, Mizuki was entering the theater while noticing it unlocked...well, mostly lockpicked. She entered through the theater to save what she observed later when she talked to Buster as she noticed two teenage porcupines walking through the auditorium.

Buster approached the two teens with an arched brow. "Uh...Ash?"

"Yeah, and her boyfriend, Lance," Lance finished Buster's sentence.

Mizuki approached beside the koala showman. "I could've sworn we just want Ash."

"I thought so too."

Eddie cocked up a brow. "Um...I thought we just had Ash."

"And Lance," Lance added.

Ms. Crawly entered the building from backstage as Johnny and Mike snuck their way downstairs and spied on the porcupines with Mike on Johnny's broad shoulder.

"Look at that prickly cactus," Mike pointed to Lance with a disgusted groan.

Johnny, overhearing the situation, nodded his head in agreement.

"Technically, we called Ash and said she's in the show. We didn't say that you're in," Mizuki argued.

"On top of that, she sang the best out of the two of you, so...hate to say it but you're not in the show," Buster concluded.

Johnny and Mike nodded their heads firmly in agreement with Buster.

Lance rolled his eyes with a groan. "Ugh, whatever. Let's get out of here, Ash."

Ash stayed in her position, conflicted.

Lance noticed this. "Ash!" He called her name more firmly.

Ash didn't know what she's thinking when she said this. "I-I think I'm going to stay."

Lance had his eyes widened. "What?! Babe, what happened with the band sticks together?!"

Ash turned to her boyfriend. "Come on, Lance, we can make bank if one of us perform."

Lance rolled his eyes again. "Ash, there's no money involved. Let's just get out of here--" When Lance grabbed on Ash's arm just to lead her away from the theater gang, Johnny got tensed real fast.

"Oi, don't touch her!" Johnny blurted out violently, not really meaning to come out the way it did but it intimidated Lance and caused the male porcupine to let go of his girlfriend.

Everyone turned to Johnny, who had his eyes wide in shock. Mike even gazed at him in shock.

"Ooh, protective already, Boy Wonder?" Mike whispered to him with a teasing smirk.

Johnny rolled his eyes skywards while shaking his head. He then shifted his attention back to the rest of the group with an apologetic look. "Sorry...I thought something bad was going to happen."

There's a brief awkward silence as Lance finally gave in.

"Fine...see you at home, babe," Lance said with a sigh as he made his exit out of the theater.

Buster smiled a little in relief. "Okay, I'm glad that situation got resolved rather quickly."

Ash flicked a glance at Johnny, who just stared at her in curiosity. Mike noticed this staring exchange while smirking more and pulling at Johnny's ear to get him to move.

"Come on, Romeo, we got romantic piano keys to play," Mike replied with a wink as Johnny was dumbfounded about what Mike meant. The gorilla immediately went up the stairs with the mouse on his broad shoulder.

Ash's gaze followed him up the stairs while arching a brow. Minutes later, Gunter showed up on time and not early like Ash and Johnny with a bright smile on his face.

"Yo, yo, can anyone hear me?!" Gunter shouted, his voice echoed in the theater.

"Oh my gosh, that was stressful," a woman's voice came from behind as Gunter turned to see a female pig entering the theater.

Gunter had his eyes widened for a moment while smiling joyfully. "Hello! Welcome to zhe zeater!" Gunter's voice echoed through the theater without any repercussions.

The female pig clenched her teeth a bit. "You might want to quiet down."

"Why? There's no one here!" Gunter shouted while his voice echoed again.

"Can you shut up?! There are people here!" Someone else shouted as the pigs turned to see a tiny mouse walking on center stage with his hands on his hips.

Gunter clenched his teeth. "Nevermind. There are people here."

The mouse made his way backstage while the female pig looked around the auditorium with a smile.

"Wow, this is so huge."

"Vhat's your name?" Gunter managed to ask.

"Rosita."

"Rosita, Rosita, it's nice to meet you, Rosita!" Gunter said in a sing-song tone while loving the way the name rolled off his tongue.

Rosita, the female pig, grinned while tilting her head. "And you are--?"

"Oh, vhere are my manners? My name is Gunter," Gunter introduced.

"Gunter, Rosita!!" Buster came out from backstage.

"Mr. Moon!" Both of the pigs answered in excitement.

"It's good to see you both here!" Buster replied while noticing Johnny, Ash, and Mike interacting with each other backstage. "Everyone, gather around!"

Buster gathered the papers to give to each group as the five animals stood in line.

"Wait, Moon, we're missing somebody," Mike pointed out.

"Hey, y'all!"

Everyone turned to see a female mouse, Nancy, climbing up the stage.

"I'm sorry, I'm late. I hope I didn't keep anyone waiting," Nancy replied innocently.

"No, you're just in time. We're just getting started," Buster responded as Nancy joined the animals in line.

Buster smiled while Mizuki and Ms. Crawly watched from backstage.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Buster announced as the animals stood up straight when he's passing them the paper to practice songs. "This stage is your battlefield! The songs are your weapons!"

"But...they're just words," Johnny uttered innocently.

"Maybe he meant that words are weapons metaphorically," Gunter whispered to Johnny.

Johnny gasped. "You know, I was just thinking that."

"Hey, hey, guys, he meant that the stage is a battlefield like World War 2 battlefield and your songs are guns to fire at the enemy, which is the audience right in front of ya both. What's their weapon? Their reactions to seeing you perform. They'll admit their defeat when they cheered or they'll throw spears at ya when they booed," Mike explained plainly with a deadpan stare up at the gorilla and the pig.

"Wait, they can throw spears from their mouths?" Gunter asked with a brow raised.

"Hold up, I signed up to be in the talent show, not in a battlefield," Johnny replied with a tremor in his tone.

"We're all doomed," Ash whispered to Nancy and Rosita.

"Okay, forget about the battlefield and weapons! I realize now that it's a terrible analogy to use in this." Buster changed the subject quickly, earning silence from the chosen few. He sighed heavily. "Let's try this again." There's a brief pause as Buster thought of something to say. "The stage...is yours to own. The songs you perform are yours to command. You're all picked for a purpose. For your talents, your strengths, and your confidence. You are the chosen few. You are the ones who will perform spectacularly. Want to know why I know that? Because there's something in each of you that had a spark to light up the world around you. You're all here for a reason. Whether it's to become something big." Buster glanced at Mike, while Mike perked his head up a bit.

Buster smiled. "Or to stand out in a crowd."

Rosita and Gunter smiled brightly.

"Maybe it's because you want to see your worth in the performing world."

Ash was keeping her eye on her boss while pondering in thought. Nancy leaned in to listen more.

"Or maybe you just want to try it just to see if you have any talent whatsoever."

Johnny paid attention to every word Buster had spoken.

"Whatever your reasons may be for being here, you are here on this stage, getting ready to practice and live out your dreams. Because, as my father would always say, dream big dreams and go as far as your dreams can take you. Do not let fear stop you from doing the things you love."

Everyone nodded their heads, inspired by the words being said to them.

Buster smiled when he knew there's a spark that hit them all simultaneously. "The talent show is going to take place in the next few months. I want you all to be prepared and give everything you got! Let's do this!"

"Yeah!!" Gunter shouted in excitement, which he's apparently the only one who's beaming with excitement.

Buster grinned once everyone was pumped like Gunter as they made their way towards the backstage to practice. He looked to Mizuki and Ms. Crawly, who were giving him the thumbs up.

"That's a ten out of ten speech, Mr. Moon," Mizuki said as she approached her boss.

Buster chuckled. "Thank you, Mizuki. I didn't even practice."

"I don't think you need practice," Mizuki replied with a smile. "I think you just nailed it perfectly."

Buster laughed a little. "Oh, it's nothing--"

"Look, a grand speech made by the wimp who's mugged with a squirt gun."

Buster, Ms. Crawly, and Mizuki turned to see Babeesh entering the auditorium with a smug smile at them.

Ms. Crawly immediately walked away to check on the performers as Buster was tensed up.

Mizuki rolled her eyes. "You're not going to let go of that, are you?"

"Come on, babe, your boss is a wimp," Babeesh teased cruelly. "Who would hand over a watch to a mugger with a squirt gun?"

Buster rubbed his silver watch attached to his wrist. "Well, for your information, the same mugger who mugged me with a squirt gun gave me back the watch and it's fixed now."

Babeesh guffawed. "Wow, either the mugger is an idiot or you're just lucky that the mugger isn't even hostile to you."

Mizuki turned to her boyfriend with her arms crossed. "So, are you coming to see me, or are you here to bully my boss?"

"Well, you and your boss are always together--"

"That's because she's the assistant secretary next to Ms. Crawly," Buster informed plainly. "You know what, I'm going to see what the performers are up to. I'll see you later, Mizuki."

When Buster left Mizuki with her boyfriend, she shot him a dirty look.

Buster headed towards the performers with an irritable groan. Today was not a good day to deal with Mizuki's boyfriend. It's not a good day to let him bully the koala. He went to check on the performers in their rehearsal rooms to find out that they were watching the whole thing.

"Who's that guy?" Gunter asked in a disgusted tone.

"Eh...just a frequent visitor of the Moon Theater. I thought you guys are practicing," Buster said while tilting his head.

"Well, you had to deal with two prickly cactuses today...so, we watched to make sure you're doing okay," Mike stated plainly.

"I do have a question," Johnny said with his hand raised while showing a piece of paper he was handed out earlier. "We somehow had the duets. Like I had one with Ash...not that I'm complaining anyway--"

"Yeah, we were going to ask you a question about that...you know that from my audition that I don't do well with duets. No offense, Johnny," Ash added.

"None taken," Johnny replied with a grin.

"Either you don't do well in duets or you don't have the right duet partner," Buster answered in a beam. "And I don't think you're terrible at duets. You just don't have the right partner. What I would suggest is practice with Johnny and see where it goes from there. If you two can't stand each other, then you can do solos."

"Alright, sounds like a deal," Ash replied with a little sigh.

Johnny and Ash went off to practice together.

Gunter and Rosita came up to Buster.

"You had us partnered up too." Rosita approached politely.

"Yeah. Rosita, you have a great set of pipes but...you're a bit stiff."

"Stiff?" Rosita questioned.

"Yeah, people are going to see you and not know why you're stiff like a board. So, I thought I partnered you up with Gunter because Gunter knows how to dance. And maybe you can teach him how to sing and he can teach you how to dance and let loose."

Gunter blinked. "Wait, I thought I had a good singing voice."

Buster clenched his teeth a bit. "Well, you do but it needed a bit more work."

"Oh...okay!" Gunter beamed.

Buster saw that the performers were practicing together while he watched just to distract himself from thinking about Mizuki and her boyfriend.

Why is she still with that jerk?

Buster groaned to himself for even worrying about it.

Well, it's still a good day. It can't get any worse than this.

On cue, the lights went out, causing panic among the performers.

"It definitely can get worse," Buster muttered to himself.

"Uh, Moon! We're blind!!" Mike shouted in panic.

"Alright, everyone, don't panic!" Buster yelled for everyone to hear him in the darkness.

Ms. Crawly came down the stairs while searching her hands in the dark, feeling Buster's face. "Oh, Mr. Moon, when's the last time we pay the power bill?"

Babeesh laughed cockily. "You forgot to pay the power bill?!"

"No, we paid for it at the beginning of the month!" Buster answered in a defensive shout while he gently removed Ms. Crawly's hands off of his face. He rolled his eyes. "I'll go see what's up! Keep practicing!"

"I'm sorry, but we're in the dark. We can't see crap!" Mike stated in an obvious tone.

Mizuki got out of glow sticks out of her purse and bent them to make them glow. "Here, you guys can use these!"

Mizuki handed each performer a glow stick to use during practice.

"Great job, Mizuki! Use them, guys! I'll be right back!" Buster stated loudly as he's about to take off.

"Wait, Mr. Moon! Here," Mizuki shouted for her boss as she handed him a glowstick, to which he gladly accepted.

"Thank you. I'll be right back!" Buster determined. "Johnny, I'm going to need your muscles and your height!"

"Okay!" Johnny said in a nod as he followed his boss into the darkness.

When both Buster and Johnny left, Eddie entered the dark auditorium.

"Hey, guys! There's a black-out going on in this side of town!" Eddie shouted, informing the group.

"You're a little late to inform us of that!" Babeesh said in a yell.

Mizuki took out another glowstick and bend it to make it glow. "Eddie, catch!"

She threw the glowstick at Eddie, who almost caught it but dropped it on the floor by accident. The sheep picked it up with a sheepish smile.

"Thanks, Mizuki!" Eddie thanked as he climbed up on stage. "Where's Buster?"

"He's with Johnny. They were going to check on the lights!" Mizuki informed loudly.

"Okay," Eddie determined while going into the darkness to find Buster and Johnny.

Meanwhile, Johnny helped Buster out with the backup generator.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Johnny questioned.

Buster nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Johnny pulled the chord of the generator until Buster noticed something off.

"Oh shoot," Buster blurted out.

"What?" Johnny questioned.

Buster unplugged the cord from the outlet. "This outlet doesn't work. I forgot we plugged it into an outlet that doesn't work."

"Are there any outlets we could plug it into?"

"None that I could see." Buster glanced up at the window that showed the sun shining down at them. "Hey, Johnny, do you think you could throw me up there?"

Johnny tilted his head with a brow raised in questioning. "Okay."

The gorilla picked up the koala and thrusted him up to the window. Buster was face-planted against the glass, earning a gasp from the gorilla.

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Johnny," Buster answered the scared gorilla as he opened the window and crawled outside onto the ledge of the building.

"Johnny?"

Johnny turned to see Eddie approaching him. "Oh, hello, Eddie."

"Where's Buster?" Eddie asked while looking out of the window. It seemed like he already knew where his friend was as he asked Johnny for a boost, climbed up, and looked out of the window to find Buster scooting on the ledge.

"Buster, what are you doing?!" Eddie yelled.

"Hold on, Eddie!" Buster answered as he made a short hop towards the ledge closely across from him but he didn't make the jump.

Buster had the wire wrapped around his leg while dangling between the theater and the building next to it.

"Mr. Moon--"

Buster screeched to see a familiar young elephant staring at him with a shy gaze, her large ears trying to hide her face.

"Um, you might not remember me--"

"Meena?" Buster recognized instantly. "Hey! It's good to see you! Hey, uh, could you help me up onto the next building?"

Meena blinked in shock as she looked towards the building next to the theater. She was able to lift Buster up to the rooftop with her trunk.

"Thanks, Meena!" Buster replied while trying to find an outlet in the other building.

"Um, Mr. Moon, I know I ran out of the theater yesterday and I know that it's cowardly of me to do so but I was wondering if it's too late for me to--"

"Buster!" Eddie managed to shout, not knowing that he interrupted Meena.

"What?!"

"There's a black-out on this side of town!!" Eddie informed loudly.

Buster had his eyes widened in shock. "So, my journey towards this building is for nothing?!"

"YES!!" Eddie answered.

"Eddie, I hate to rush you but I don't think I can hold you up any longer," Johnny replied politely from inside of the theater to the sheep, his legs wobbling.

"Oh, sorry, Johnny." Eddie climbed down off of the gorilla. "Wow, you're really strong."

"Yeah, that's what happens when I work out," Johnny said with a small weak smile.

Meanwhile, Buster sighed deeply. "Guess the attempt is for nothing."

Buster grabbed the cord and swung it like a vine towards the backstage door, not knowing that Eddie unlocked it and opened it just to see what's going on outside. Buster flew right into Eddie with yelps from both of them as the koala knocked the sheep right onto the floor.

This earned a gasp from both Johnny and Meena. Meena quickly headed towards the backstage door to see Buster and Eddie getting up.

"Are you guys okay?" Meena questioned worriedly.

"Oh yeah, we're fine," Eddie answered nonchalantly.

Johnny pulled the cord into the theater through the window and placed it gently on top of the backup generator. The lights came back on throughout their side of town, which earned a smile from Johnny.

"Look, all the buildings' power came back on!" Johnny pointed out with glee.

Buster groaned. "I just left that building. Wait, why isn't the theater lights working?"

Eddie widened his eyes. "Oops, I kinda messed with the switches to see if it would work."

Buster glanced up at Meena. "Come with me, kid."

Buster guided Meena into the theater as she looked backstage in awe.

"Okay, Meena, help me out with this. Flip those switches on."

Meena nodded her head in obedience and flipped the switch that Buster pointed to. The lights for the backstage came on.

"Great job! Now flip those!"

Meena flipped the switch Buster instructed her to do. The lights in the auditorium and the stage flickered on as if the theater came back to life, earning gasps from the performers.

"There we go!" Buster said while fixing a few things on stage and ran out into the stage to look at the theater in its grand beauty. Meena followed behind him with her eyes broadened in fascination.

"Whoa," Meena gasped.

"Amazing right?" Buster replied while turning to the elephant. "How would you like to be in the show?"

Meena gasped again. "Really? I mean, I would love to--"

"Great! Eddie's gonna need help with being a stagehand," Buster responded with a beam.

"What?" Eddie entered the conversation while his brow arched in confusion.

"Oh?" Meena uttered, almost in disappointment.

"Eddie, you got yourself a helper!" Buster replied excitedly. "Show her all the ropes of handling the stage! I'll be right back!" Buster ran up the stairs to his office to make sure the lights in his office were working.

Eddie blinked while looking at Meena. "Uh...what's your name?"

"Meena."

"Okay, Meena. Follow me. I'll show you the ropes...I guess." Eddie muttered the last part to himself with a shrug.

"Okay," the elephant agreed as she followed the sheep around backstage. 

To Be Continued...