*Okay, now Wattpad lets me in to edit my stories. Ugh, this thing is stupid sometimes. Anyway, sorry for my rant. This is published on September 13, 2021. If you guys like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and comment. That would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy!*

Eddie arrived at the gym on time, which would be unusual for him at times unless he avoid Gunter breaking into his poolhouse again. However, Eddie noticed the jubilant pig nowhere in the gym.

"Eddie, you're here and Gunter's not."

Eddie glanced up to see his life coach, a dachshund, approaching the sheep.

"That's really unusual considering that you're always late and Gunter was never late," his life coach replied with his arms crossed. "What happened? Did your bodies get switched or something?" The dachshund joked to the sheep.

"Where is Gunter?" Eddie asked with a brow raised.

"I don't know...he would text me to let me know he's late. I tried calling him but he didn't answer. You might have more luck than I did," his life coach replied.

Eddie took out his phone and dialed Gunter's number. He pressed his phone up against his ear. He waited for a good few seconds while hoping that Gunter would pick up.

However, after a few seconds, Eddie heard a voicemail as he blinked. After it told him to leave a message, it beeped.

"Hey, dude, I was wondering if you're coming to the gym today. Let me know that you're okay," Eddie replied urgently. He hanged up while dialing his fitness partner's number again. He pressed his ear up against the phone while waiting anxiously this time.

Gunter didn't answer.

Unbeknownst to both Eddie and the life coach, Gunter's phone was in the hands of the hyenas after they broke into Gunter's little shabby apartment and found him to not be there. After Eddie left a message, the hyenas snickered to themselves to see where the notorious best friend of Buster Moon's was at.

Meanwhile, Eddie felt a tingle in his spine that something wasn't right. He had to pull off another emergency fake-out but how? Buster was asleep still and so was everyone else except Gunter...maybe except Gunter.

Eddie could feel his hooves shaking at the thought of Gunter being stalked or maybe he's attacked. Wait, why would the hyenas go after Gunter? Shouldn't they be after Buster? Or are they going after Buster by attacking the theater gang? Eddie didn't like all of this uncertainty as he just left the building altogether.

"Eddie, where are you going?!" His life coach shouted but Eddie didn't even answer.

His heart raced as he sprinted as fast as he could but he was out of breath. He stumbled by the television store where all the televisions were playing the same commercials and the same ads. Eddie noticed his belly getting a little plump from late-night snacking and video games. He groaned deeply to himself as a commercial was turned on. Eddie glanced up to see another dachshund but he's in a cyan sleeveless and cap with gray sweatpants.

"Do you still live with your parents? Are you eating junk food and have floatable furniture? Are you constantly going to the gym but find yourself without a fitness partner and your life coach won't get off your back? Do you find yourself not physically fit, therefore, you couldn't run as fast as you could for emergencies?" the dachshund on the television spoke.

Eddie scoffed while stretching his back. "Idiot."

"You probably think I'm an idiot." the dachshund on T.V. broke the fourth wall...Eddie could've sworn.

"What?" Eddie questioned while squinting at it.

"BUT!!! I'm Gary The Winner Wishman!" After the introduction, the dog revealed a pair of blue headphones with the price of $99.95. "Send me ninety-nine ninety-five and you'll get the headphones of enlightenment. There I'll guide you personally from chump to champion in one week! Where you'll receive a certificate from completing the course in one week!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Oh please, what kind of a lame Wyatt would need something like that?"

On cue, his phone was ringing. He gasped in the hopes that it was Gunter calling him back and in the hopes that the pig got his message. But...it wasn't Gunter. It was Eddie's mother.

With a deep groan, Eddie answered the phone.

"Hey, Ma, aren't you in bed--?"

"You got a package in your pool house, dear," Eddie's mother replied.

"Wait...what?"

"You must complete the course in a week! It'll be good for you--"

"Ma, you do realize that I'm busy with--"

"One week, darling, bye, Eddie!" His mother immediately hanged up the phone. Eddie groaned deeply while ambling down the street. He looked down at his phone and dialed Gunter's number, hoping and praying that the pig will answer. However, it went straight to voicemail.

Eddie sighed heavily and hanged up the phone.

He thought about going to Gunter's apartment and see what's up. As Eddie traveled towards the apartment, he didn't know that he's being stalked by the hyenas hidden in the bushes behind him.

Meanwhile, Gunter was at Rosita's house, sleeping in a little on the living room couch. He yawned and stretched when he woke up to the early sun blinding him. At first, his head was empty until all the reminders hit him with lightning bolts.

"Oh gosh!" Gunter covered his mouth from shouting. He realized that Rosita must've been home since last night and let him sleep on the bed. He tiptoed out of the living room and the house.

He knew he forgot to go to the gym. It's unusual for him to forget. So, Gunter exited out of Rosita's house and sprinted through the streets to get to the gym. Hopefully, he's not too late.

Gunter searched in his pockets and gasped when he realized that he'd forgotten his phone.

Maybe it's a good idea to get my phone first, Gunter thought as he made his way towards his own apartment.

~.~

Eddie arrived at Gunter's apartment while shivering a bit. He noticed apartment number 195 but the doorknob was missing. The sheep pushed the door opened slightly while feeling the cold air coming through the sheep's wool. Eddie looked into the darkness to see that there were some things overturned and the furniture was torn to shreds. This was exactly what Eddie feared happen to Gunter.

Eddie quickly grabbed a baseball bat near the doorway, using it as a weapon as he tiptoed into the apartment. His breaths were becoming shaky as they formed a cloud in the cold apartment that dissipated in seconds. He didn't like this environment---no, he didn't trust it. Not one bit. But Eddie had to look for clues. What if Gunter was kidnapped? Eddie's hazel eyes darted everywhere, from right to left and up and down. Eddie's legs were a little shaky as his heart was pounding harder and harder against his chest. His wool poofed up a bit when the tension was building in the small apartment. He peeked into the bedroom belonging to Gunter to see that the blankets and the sheets were thrown off. The television was staticky across the bed in the bedroom.

A lump went down on Eddie's throat as he skulked down the hallway. The floors creaked underneath his hooves.

"Gunter," Eddie whispered the pig's name, his ears flicking to every sound around him, hoping that Gunter would just casually walk out and greeted him. But it didn't happen.

In a sudden moment, he heard footsteps rushing into the apartment behind him.

Eddie didn't bother to look behind him as he quickly hid in the closet with the baseball bat ready in his grasp.

The footsteps didn't die down as they crept towards the closet Eddie's hiding in. Eddie took a quiet deep breath and gripped the baseball bat. When the floor near him creaked, Eddie stepped out of the closet, ready to fight his stalkers.

However, Gunter screamed back at Eddie just randomly jumping out of the closet with a baseball bat. "AAAHHH!!! Don't hurt me, please!!"

Eddie gasped in shock to realize that it's just Gunter wandering around his apartment. "Gunter?"

Gunter took a few moments to calm his breathing to see that it was just Eddie. "Hi."

Eddie groaned heavily. "Oh, dude, you scared me."

"I scared you?! You scared me!!" Gunter pointed out. "Almost gave me a heart attack."

"Uh...sorry."

"What were you doing in my apartment?" Gunter questioned.

"I was looking for you, man. You didn't show up at the gym," Eddie responded while putting down the bat. "I've been trying to call you all morning."

Gunter gasped while looking around. "Oh, yeah, I was at Rosita's last night. She needs help with the kids so I helped."

Eddie sighed in relief. "Okay, okay. That's good."

"Did you break into my apartment to look for me?" Gunter questioned with his head tilted.

"No, it was like that before I came in," Eddie explained. "Dude, I think your apartment was broken into."

Gunter pondered as he looked around his shabby apartment for his phone. "Do you mind calling my phone for me?"

"I got you, I got you," Eddie responded while dialing Gunter's number and let it ring.

Both of the animals heard nothing.

"Do you have the ringer on?" Eddie inquired.

"Yes. A very loud ringer," Gunter answered while searching around the small apartment. "Call it again."

Eddie called the number again.

Nothing...

Both of the animals exchanged horrified glances at each other. A dark realization settled in on both of their minds.

"I think someone just stole my phone," Gunter uttered in horror.

"Yeah, I was just about to say."

~.~

Buster was tossing and turning in his desk drawer, moaning and groaning as if he's in pain. He couldn't open his eyes until his alarm clock went off, scaring him awake. Buster yelped as he snapped his eyes open. He sat up abruptly and watched his head to make sure he didn't hit his head again.

He quickly turned off the alarm clock as Buster took a couple of deep breaths, counted to ten, and relaxed his muscles, reassuring himself that everything was fine. Well, he wanted to believe himself when he thought about it.

The koala stared at the clock to find that it's early in the morning. He had two options...he could go back to sleep for a few more hours or stay awake. It seemed easy to fall back asleep but it's easier for him to stay awake, just to get his head out of the nightmare he'd experienced.

He put on his blue suit and slacks while opening the drawer and climbing out of it. Buster rubbed his tired blue eyes as he peeked out of his office to find the lights were off completely. Everything seemed to be in order as the office door wasn't locked.

People would think that Buster would lock his office whether he's out of it or not. But he didn't like being inside locked rooms. He would prefer to be outside of the locked room than inside. And no one who knew him more than a few years ever questioned him why. Ms. Crawly was the only one who knew why...and Buster would like it to keep it that way.

Buster looked out of the window of his office to see the sun rising steadily over the skyscrapers of Catalonia. He opened the window to inhale the scent of fresh air.

"Beautiful," Buster finally said with an exhale. The koala caressed his fingers to notice dry paint on the theater building. "I'm gonna get you a new fresh coat of paint once I paid back the loans I owe the bank. You like that?"

There's a brief pause as Buster caressed the theater with a frown.

"You know, there's so much to say. So much to think about. I know that I'm excited about the talent show...what about you, old girl?"

Buster knew that the building within itself couldn't talk but he liked to make up an imaginary conversation with it as if it's a person.

"I hope it's good. I hope people will like it...and, well, I hope that you can be 'revived' as the saying goes."

Buster patted the cement that held up the building. The koala showman sighed heavily. "You know, I know that I made friends along the way...but I'm scared of...involving them into my life because...there's so much they don't know about me. And I'm scared that if they see the real me...they would hate me. Or worse...they get hurt by somebody I know. You know, maybe they're better off not knowing the real me. You know? Although, there are some parts of me that don't know if I'm real or not so...I don't know anymore."

Out of nowhere, Buster heard someone munching on potato chips behind him as he quickly turned around and noticed Mike sitting on his wooden desk while munching the chips on the small bag. He stopped his eating with broadened hazel eyes. He swallowed and let the awkward silence settled in.

"You left your office door unlocked," Mike answered before Buster could utter a question.

Buster sighed deeply while turning to Mike, plastering a smile and closing the window. "Morning, Mike."

Mike noticed a plastered smile on the koala's face. "You know, Moonster, I can tell a difference between your fake smile and your genuine smile."

Buster lost his plastered smile while tilting his head. "Moonster?"

Mike nodded his head. "Yeah, it's a combination between Buster and Moon...Moonster. Although, I debated whether I should call ya BustaMoon but it feels like more of a pun than an actual nickname. So, I stick with Moonster."

There's a brief pause as Mike shrugged off the conversation like it hadn't happened to get back to the main one.

"You know, when you fake a smile, your face tends to tense up a bit more. When you actually smile...you're more relaxed," Mike said while letting his legs dangle over the smooth wooden edge of the desk.

Buster took a moment to think about what Mike just pointed out.

Mike continued on with the subject. "So what's up with this real you stuff?"

"How much have you heard?"

Mike pondered for a second. "Uh...I was there since you talked about being excited about the talent show or such."

Buster sighed, losing the fake smile completely. "It doesn't matter."

"It kind of does since you're resorting to talking to a building about something a simple therapy or a talk to a friend would solve," Mike counter-argued.

Buster chuckled humorlessly at that as he turned to look out into the window, seeing the clouds covering the sun now. "It's really nothing, Mike."

Mike wasn't convinced. "I highly doubt it."

There's a brief pause.

"I know you think you're protecting everyone from discovering the 'real you' but you're only damaging yourself in the process," Mike replied while standing up on the desk.

Buster turned to look at Mike over his shoulder. "Why do you care so much all of the sudden?"

Mike was silent for a moment, a bit taken aback but he still stood straight. "Well, can I be honest with you? You're actually one of the few people in this whole theater I actually like aside from Nancy. Johnny comes in a close second. The kid earns my respect. But you earned my respect too. Not because you're just the boss but you're...well, you're a kind person. You took me in and listened to me ramble about the injustice of being a mouse. I would like to return the favor."

Buster fully turned around to look at Mike with his head tilted. The koala took a moment to ponder about it as he just shook his head. "No, Mike...I know that you want to help but...there's nothing you can do to help. You probably wouldn't understand."

The white-furred mouse twisted one of the corners of his mouth down to give an unsure frown. "Then...do you wanna get a drink?"

"In the morning, Mike?" Buster questioned.

"Do you wanna wait till tonight then? I know the best bar nearby--"

"I'm not going into those nightclubs, Mike," Buster said flatly.

"Oh no, it's an actual bar. No nightclubs or some strippers. Get ourselves a couple of drinks and--"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't drink alcohol."

Mike tilted his head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because...nevermind--"

"Ooh...is this where the real you come in?" Mike smiled mischievously. "Ooh, now I want to meet him."

"No. No. And no. The real me is...just...no."

"You keep saying no a lot."

Buster groaned irritably. "Are you always this persistent when you care about something?"

"Sometimes. Depends on how badly I need to know," Mike answered while staring up at him with a questioning gaze.

"And how badly do you need to know about the 'real me'?"

"Well, let's see, I'm working with a boss that talks to a building, freaks out about a nightclub, owns a shabby apartment, doesn't drink alcohol, and now leaves the office door unlocked...oh, one more thing, he gets attacked by a drunken ex-boyfriend and a pack of hyenas," Mike listed out everything.

Buster had his eyes widened.

"Before you ask, Wonder Boy told me," Mike replied before Buster could even ask.

"Wonder Boy?"

"Johnny."

Buster breathed heavily. "Who else knows?"

"Uh...well, let's see, Mizuki...Eddie...that's all I know so far unless the whole theater knows but I highly doubt that. Half of them don't even know why the hyenas were after us the other night," Mike replied with a shrug.

Buster sighed heavily while shaking his head. He didn't say a word as he walked out of the office, leaving Mike to ponder more about what was going on with him.

Buster needed something to distract himself from the memory. He couldn't wait for the talent show that will take place. His hopes were high for these performances that he would hope it would revive his theater back to life.

Buster could hear the pouring rain outside as the roof was leaking. The koala sighed heavily as he saw Johnny, Ash, Meena, Rosita, Mizuki, and Ms. Crawly coming into the auditorium, soaked from the pouring rain coming down hard.

"Bloody Mary, it's raining cats and dogs out there!" Johnny replied while shaking himself off.

"You can't just say that in public," Rosita responded with a gasp.

Johnny bit his lips. "Oh...right...it's raining men and women out there--"

"How's that any better?" Ash questioned.

"Just say it's pouring rain." Mike entered the scene from behind Buster. "I'm sure we have a much better understanding than any of those sayings."

"Fine, it's pouring rain," Johnny pointed out.

"There ya go, Wonder Boy!" Mike exclaimed happily.

On cue, Eddie and Gunter entered the auditorium, soaked from the pouring rain outside. Eddie shivered while shaking the water off of him, causing his wool to poof up.

Gunter dried his face on Eddie's wool only to find that Eddie was giving him an unamused gaze. Gunter immediately backed away with an apologetic look.

Eddie rolled his eyes to move on from the subject. "Sorry, we're late. Gunter's house has been broken into."

"What?!" Everyone shouted simultaneously.

"Oh my gosh, did they take anything?" Rosita inquired.

"Ya, my phone," Gunter responded.

"Oh no!" Rosita gasped in concern.

"Oh shoot. Who broke into your place?" Ash questioned the flamboyant pig.

"I...don't know," Gunter responded solemnly.

"I think I know but I might be assuming things," Eddie uttered.

"Oh, did you see?" Mizuki asked quickly.

Eddie shook his head. "No...but I can assume that it's those hyenas."

"The same ones that were hunting us down in Babeesh's house for some reason?" Meena probed shyly.

"I think so."

Everyone paused while Gunter, Nancy, and Rosita were confused by the hyenas.

"Were you guys being hunted too?" Nancy asked the group in concern.

Mike nodded his head. "They're mostly hunting Moonster but now they're suddenly after us too."

Eddie blinked as he glanced up at Buster, who didn't know what to say or do. He's completely silent until Buster clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"I'm sure that maybe we can find Gunter's phone anytime soon. Did you guys report this to the police?" Buster questioned Gunter and Eddie.

"Ya, ve did! And zey said zey will get to it," Gunter responded with his arms crossed.

"Well, then, I wouldn't worry about it then. Besides, we still got rehearsals and--"

On cue, the plank from the roof over the stage broke and the rain was pouring on stage, tampering with the electricity.

"Uh oh," Ash gasped in shock.

"Bloody Mary," Johnny groaned deeply in disappointment.

"Okay, don't panic, hopefully, the rain subsides--"

"I highly doubt that it will anytime soon," Mizuki uttered while looking around the theater.

There's a brief awkward pause as Meena turned to Gunter.

"Hey, Gunter? Does your phone have...some sort of a tracker?" Meena asked nervously.

Gunter pondered for a minute until he gasped in realization. "You know what, my phone does have a tracker!"

Johnny brightly smiled. "Hey, I can hack into your tracker so that we could figure out where your phone is!"

"Whoa, whoa, you can hack into stuff?" Ash replied, amused.

Johnny nodded his head with some form of him being not so sure. "I mean, it's been a while since I hacked into stuff but...I can certainly try."

"You know, you never cease to amaze me, kid," Mike uttered in shock as Johnny got out his phone and began to make his way through the internet.

Buster frowned and sighed heavily. "Guys--"

"Gunter, is this what you used for tracking?" Johnny showed Gunter a familiar logo to the pig.

"Ya, Ya!"

Johnny used his phone to get into the app and scanned for Gunter's password. "Piggy Bank?"

"Yeah, it's my family's nickname for me," Gunter responded happily.

"Hmm, I'm going to start using that now," Mike pondered for a moment.

Johnny smiled victoriously. "There we go!"

"Wow, that's...fast?" Eddie questioned with a brow arched at his wording.

"Huh...it's at a warehouse near the docks," Johnny stated while showing the group the map on his phone of the streets lined horizontally and vertically around the building, forming a square. "I could've sworn I've seen this map before though."

"Hey, since rehearsals are canceled today thanks to the rain--we can go there to get Gunter's phone!" Mike shouted happily.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no," Buster immediately jumped in, earning suspicious stares from the group. "Th-That warehouse looks like it's on a bad side of town and who knows what might jump out at you."

"Don't worry, we can fend ourselves," Mike reassured Buster.

"No...just...don't go there," Buster instructed firmly, earning silence from the group. "There are dangerous people in that side of town. It's better if you don't even go into it at all. Gunter can get himself a new phone and we can just be safe here."

Everyone gave each other brief glances, unsure of what's going through Buster's mind. He seemed desperate. Way too desperate for them to not go to this warehouse. What's hiding in the warehouse that Buster didn't want anyone to see? Or better yet, has Buster experienced something traumatic there before?

Hesitantly, the group nodded their heads in understanding.

"Alright, Mr. Moon," Johnny said with a sigh.

Buster frowned at Johnny's answer, not wanting to drag the kid down but he didn't want anyone to get hurt if someone were to explore that forbidden warehouse.

"Alright, everybody, I suggest you guys go home early. I'll figure out how to fix it tomorrow," Buster replied to everyone.

The animals nodded their heads in understanding as Johnny, Ash, Meena, Rosita, and Gunter headed out of the theater.

Ash glanced at Johnny and Meena. "You guys wanna come over to my place?"

"Of course!" Meena replied excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah," Johnny answered happily.

"We'll see you guys later."

As the animals bid each other goodbye, Johnny glanced down at his phone before stepping outside into the rain. He couldn't help but stare at the map of the familiar warehouse. What was so familiar about it?

"Johnny, are you coming or what?" Ash called, snapping Johnny back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Johnny said as he took a second to look back at the map with a brow raised.

Why does that map look familiar?

~.~

Ash, Johnny, and Meena entered Ash's cottage while both the gorilla and the elephant ducked their heads to enter the cottage.

"Well, make yourselves at home," Ash gestured towards the small living room as both Meena and Johnny sat on the gray couch, being careful around the quills.

Ash went into the kitchen near the living room. "You guys want anything to drink?"

"Oh, no, thank you, Ash," Johnny said with a small smile.

Meena perked one of her huge ears up to hear some kind of...romantic music. "Um, what's with this romantic music playing?"

Johnny arched a brow while listening closely. "Yeah, I think I hear it too."

Ash stopped what she's doing and listened to it closely. "That's weird...I think it's coming from that bedroom. Okay, something's fishy about the bedroom. Lance didn't let me into the bedroom last night and...there's this sound coming from the bedroom. He told me I was just hearing things. Now, I know I'm not hearing things."

Johnny and Meena gazed at each other in concern.

"Does...Lance listen to this kind of music?" Johnny asked with a brow arched more.

"No...mostly hard rock," Ash answered. "Although, we live in a very small neighborhood...so, it's probably another couple listening to romantic music."

"Your neighborhood doesn't seem to be that small to me," Meena uttered shyly.

Ash sighed deeply. "I'll go check out what's up with the bedroom. You guys enjoy yourselves."

Johnny and Meena watched Ash going down the hallway towards the bedroom, nervously glancing at each other.

Meanwhile, Ash was just walking down the hall with her blue crystal eyes widened. It was coming from the bedroom...just as she thought. The young porcupine girl stepped closer and closer to the bedroom door. She turned the knob and pushed the door open...what she saw was something unforeseen.

~.~

"LANCE!!!!" Both Johnny and Meena heard Ash shout from down the hallway. Johnny was tempted to get up to see what's going on but Meena shook her head, not sure what they should do at the moment.

"Babe, let me explain--"

"Who is she?!" Ash retorted.

"Hi, I'm Becky," another girly voice answered Ash.

"Becky?!" Ash growled.

Both Johnny and Meena clenched their teeth while looking at each other more anxiously.

"Did he really do that to her?" Johnny whispered to Meena.

Meena bit her lips and nodded her head softly.

"Put your clothes on and get out!!!" Ash demanded out of anger.

To both the elephant's and the gorilla's surprise, a naked porcupine girl with the clothes covering most of her naked body without her wearing them walked out from the hallway.

Meena and Johnny looked away instantly, not wanting to be exposed to her nakedness, despite it being hidden by the clothes she's carrying. When she went out of the door, Johnny and Meena glanced back at the hallway to see silhouettes of Ash and Lance talking amongst themselves.

"Ash, let me explain--"

"How long was she in your bed, Lance? Or, should I say our bed?" Ash growled her questions at Lance.

Lance sighed heavily as he didn't answer her questions.

Ash sighed shakily while shaking her head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. Get out."

Lance shook his head in denial. "Look, babe---"

"I said get out!!!" Ash snarled at Lance.

Lance stumbled into the living room space, not paying attention to Meena and Johnny watching the whole thing.

Ash was following him out with her blue eyes puffy from holding in her tears.

Lance turned back to Ash before heading out of the door. "Look, you're not around anymore...if you have just--"

"If I have just what, Lance?" Ash growled a question at him. "If I have just walked away from the theater? If I have just listened to you telling me to stick with the backup vocals? I have been putting effort into this relationship for five years, Lance! I paid all the bills to this cottage, boost your ego through rock gigs, and cut my family off because they weren't supporting our relationship. I made so many sacrifices for you. I want to be with you! I love you...but you...you don't love me. And I should've known that from the start--"

"Ash, I do love you--"

"Is this love, Lance?!" Ash screamed, gesturing towards the other porcupine girl waiting outside for him. "What sacrifices have you made, Lance?!"

"You want to be in this theater so badly without me---!"

"Without you?! I was the one who thought they want both of us!" Ash cried. "But it turns out they just want me and not you!!!"

Johnny and Meena watched the argument unfold.

There's a brief pause as Ash calmed down.

"Now...I finally see why," Ash replied while opening the front door. "Goodbye, Lance."

Lance was silent as he sighed and walked out of the cottage out into the pouring rain. Ash shut the front door, instantly breaking down crying. Her knees hit the polished floor while her head was pressed against the blue door.

Ash's shoulders shuddered while her sobs were heard. She tried to hold it back but she couldn't. The porcupine girl didn't think she still had guests to entertain. But that didn't matter to Johnny and Meena.

Meena was the first to get up while slowly approaching behind her porcupine friend, her trunk extended to tap on Ash's shoulder gently.

Ash stopped her sobs for a little bit as she turned around to see Meena and Johnny behind her, wanting to comfort her but not sure if she wanted it or not.

Ash frowned while turning to her two friends and wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry you guys had to witness that. I---I think I need to be alone."

Meena and Johnny frowned at the thought of leaving Ash alone in an empty cottage. However, Meena understood while Johnny felt like there's something more that he could do to help.

"We could--"

"It's okay, Johnny," Ash interrupted Johnny's offer. "Thank you but I need to be alone."

Johnny finally nodded his head in understanding. "Okay."

Ash opened the door to let Meena and Johnny out of the cottage. "We'll hang out at a better time."

"Definitely," Johnny said with a small soft smile at Ash.

Meena nodded her head in agreement. "Goodnight, Ash."

"Goodnight, guys."

Meena and Johnny walked through the rain, which wasn't pouring as hard as it was before. Ash closed the door as she was left alone with her thoughts. She turned to walk through the cottage with unrestrained tears in her eyes. 

To Be Continued...