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So, what's next?

Summary:

There seemed to be no sign of trouble. But then, all of a sudden, everything changed, and the peaceful, joyful existence that Johnny had become used to fell into chaos.

Notes:

- I suppose this story happens about half a year later after the events of first movie and about a year before the second one (let’s pretend that’s the time gap between them)
- In this story, Moon's theater operates in a rather strange mode, in which theaters usually do not work. It's a little unrealistic, but it's more convenient to develop the plot in this way.
- It seemed to me that Johnny's character in the story is a little softer, and quite often he is nervous, doubtful, scared, etc.
- Just a huge number of new characters

Chapter Text

Six months have gone since the whole city's attention was glued to TV screens displaying a performance on a temporary stage among the remains of the previous theatre, on which new music stars were formed, enchanting practically every person with their singing.

Following such a big event, the theatre, owned by the well-known Buster Moon, was rebuilt virtually from scratch, although it retained most of its former aspect, except for the translucent water pipes with squids, which were located outside.

Every newspaper covered the brilliance of the singers who sang that evening, and they began to be recognised on the street, photographed, and approached for signatures. Each of them rose to prominence. Every week, concerts were conducted at the theatre, where singers played a variety of songs, dazzling and impressing with their voices again and again.

After a while, other animals began to arrive at the theatre, eager to join the team: they were auditioned, the most skilled of them were picked, and they became artists of the famed theatre of the period.

 

***

 

Autumn arrived in the city, a bright and gorgeous time of year, as the leaves on the trees began to turn a bright hue and the city began to convert into a yellow-orange patch, and every morning the animals gathered for school with their parents.

“Alright, folks, it's time to start planning for the forthcoming holidays!” Buster exclaimed, extending his arms and smiled.

“Are you referring to Halloween?” As she tuned her new guitar, Ash spoke a little sluggishly.

“Yes! I have plans to present the audience with something unexpected and, in a sense, explosive”, Moon took a book from a nearby chest of drawers in which he wrote down his ideas for concerts and carefully looked at the artists, “All right...”

After scrolling to the centre, Buster smirked and gently muttered, as if disclosing someone's secret:

“I was considering writing a musical...”

All the animals began to listen carefully, so as not to miss anything important, a little closer to Buster.

“A musical that we will write ourselves!”

“Wow!” shouted Gunther, standing farthest of all, which greatly frightened Rosita.

“Great, isn't it?” Moon said loudly, opening his arms again and waiting for the reaction of the animals standing in front of him.

“But are we capable of writing music, Mr. Moon?” Johnny asked. “Ash, of course, did a great job at that concert, but I definitely don’t know how to write songs.”

“Don't worry, Johnny! This is the point, that each of you will write a song to yourself, and this will become a reflection of you! I'm sure you can all do it.”

“Actually…” Meena suddenly interrupted, “I also think that writing songs is very difficult, and…”

"Maybe we can like work in pairs?" suggested Ash.

“Not bad idea!” Rosita supported.

Buster scratched his chin.

“Alright guys, let's do this. If you are one hundred percent sure that you cannot write a song yourself, then you can team up with each other. But here's what I'll tell you. I want every song you write to be, so to speak, from the heart! After all, what you create with your own hands is what comes from your very heart. And I want the audience to feel it.”

The animals nodded silently.

“What about the plot? If we write from the heart, then how can we combine all this into a plot?” Ash said skeptically, who didn't seem to like the musical idea much.

“That's the idea. First you write the songs, and then we combine it all into a story!”

“Wow!” Gunther shouted again, once again causing Rosita to flinch.

“Sounds interesting,” commented the newcomer to the theatre, a cheetah who stood next Johnny with her arms folded. She was dressed in a long dress with a cut-out at the hem, and her eyes glittered, as they do with all predators. She was one of the first individuals to arrive at the theatre after that very evening. Her voice was exquisite, fit for an opera, enticing the audience to look at this gorgeous animal without taking their eyes off it.

"It's going to be interesting, Beth," said Buster enthusiastically.

“Well, let's try!” Rosita said with a smile.

All animals agreed.

“Later I will tell you everything in more detail, but for now let's rehearse the performance on Tuesday.”

A chilly breeze ruffled the fur, blowing straight into the eyes, causing them to water. Johnny went into the wind, pulling up the collar of his leather jacket, cursing himself for not having a scarf or, at the very least, a hat. Johnny arrived at the theatre on foot today, rather than on his skateboard, as usual, since its wheel broke.

It was already beginning to get dark when the guy finally reached the garage where he still lived with his "family". Marcus was helped by one of his acquaintances and gave a ransom, of course, nor for nothing - for this, Johnny's father now owes him several bars of gold. This meant that at least once he would have to participate in a bank robbery, or in something similar ... From the thought of this, Johnny became uneasy. His dream has finally come true, and if he is caught in the act, everyone will know who he is and what he did with his father and his gang. Johnny was most terrified of this, because after that he would hardly ever be able to change his reputation and continue to sing. Of course, he is relieved that his father is no longer imprisoned, but at such a cost...

“Johnny, there you are,” Marcus interrupted his son’s thoughts. “What are you preparing this time with your theatre friends?”

“Hey dad.” Johnny smiled and walked over to Marcus. “Yes, another concert. Although Mr. Moon plans to put on a musical, which we will practically write ourselves.”

“Is there a problem with this?” Marcus fiddled with something in his hands, and sometimes glanced at his son.

“Well… I'm just not sure if I can do it, since I never wrote anything myself.”

Marcus chuckled and put a hand on his son's shoulder.

“I think you can do anything, Johnny."

Johnny smiled. Yes, probably, only six months ago, he could not have imagined that his father would support him so much. From the day that Marcus saw Johnny singing on stage and immediately rushed to meet him, his behavior changed a lot, as did his outlook on life. Johnny didn't know exactly what made his father change like that. That he saw in his son something he never knew? Or was he just amazed by his singing?

In any case, now his life is not at all what it was before the performance, and Johnny still could not believe it. Although the conversation about the bank robbery has not yet taken place, it must still happen, because otherwise Marcus will definitely not be able to repay the debt. Johnny sincerely hopes that this will be the last crime they commit in this life. Although it is still unclear who and where Markus will work after that, it will be better and safer in any case.

Johnny said good night to everyone and got ready for bed. He knew what the rest of the gang was probably doing - discussing a robbery plan. Although Johnny was hesitant to take part in this, he saw that it would be difficult for only three of them, so he pondered if it was worthwhile to help him. After everything that has happened, it is likely that Marcus will ask his son not to take part in the crime.

Lying down on the couch, Johnny pulled on the covers and looked at his watch: it was already eleven. Not to say that it was late for Johnny, because sometimes he went to bed at three in the morning. In addition, it is unlikely that conversations outside the door will subside at least until two. Therefore, Johnny turned his face to the back of the sofa so that the light from the next room would not interfere with sleep. Thinking about his life, which Johnny did quite often, the guy slowly began to fall asleep. The last thought that crossed his mind was that his life really isn't that bad, and especially now, he's happy.

The next day, everything was the same as usual: Johnny woke up, took a shower, and immediately went to the theater for a rehearsal. He usually arrives a little later than the others, because he lives the farthest, and, moreover, he moves with the help of a skateboard. And this time, he was the last to arrive again, just at the time when Moon was talking about his idea for a musical that they discussed yesterday.

Due to the musical's Halloween theme, the narrative will also be tied to horror, horror stories, and many dark spooky things. At the same time, Buster stated that the songs could be about anything since they could be written for each of the artists and then combined into one plot.

Rosita and Gunther agreed that Rosita would write the music, but Gunther would choreograph the dance. Ash instantly stated that she would create something loud and dark, which would be appropriate for the evil elements in the musical's narrative. Moon enthusiastically agreed, then recommended that Meena design something polar opposite, bright and joyous, to which she replied that she had planned it that way. The rest have not yet decided what their song will be. Since some animals didn't have the opportunity to compose a song at home, Buster set aside a few hours for each of them when they could think about their creations. Johnny was sent to a new room with a piano.

However, almost immediately, Johnny had problems. For two whole hours he thought about the theme of the song. Yes, you need to write from the heart, as Moon said, but what exactly? About life? Not to say that his life is so interesting. About family? More precisely, about the father? But how can this be added to the plot? About love?

Johnny started to wonder. When did he fall in love? A few times in elementary school and once in middle school, but it wasn't all that serious. The guy is now flooded with memories of those days when he and his friends were chasing the girls from the opposite class, tried to flirt and compliment them. At the time, he thought he was quite cool, but now he realises how absurd it all was. Smiling, the guy tapped the keys of the new black piano with his right hand's fingers, attempting to make at least some form of tune, but failing to produce any results, he immediately gave up.

“Damn…” Johnny said softly.

"You don't seem to be doing very well," came a familiar voice from the direction of the door.

Johnny turned and saw Miss Crawley walking slowly towards the piano.

"Yeah... kind of..." Johnny spoke quietly. "I haven't even come up with a topic for the song yet."

Miss Crawley sat in the chair next to Johnny and began to swirl the tea in her mug loudly.

“When you don't know what to write a song about, write about love!”

“About love? But Mr. Moon said to write from the heart, and all that ...”

“Well? And you don't have a girlfriend, do you?”

Johnny hesitated to answer. Indeed, practically everyone his age has a partner, but he never had one. But, assuming that telling Mrs. Crawley the truth isn't so humiliating, he responded with a sigh.

“Not really.”

“No? You yourself showed me all those apps… what were they called…”

“Dating apps?”

“Yes, those apps! And you don’t have a girlfriend yourself?”

Johnny sighed once more. "Perhaps it is time," he thought, recalling how, approximately six months earlier, his father brought him to a club and taught him how to flirt with women. In the end, Johnny failed, and he was able to flee while the rest of the group was consuming different alcoholic beverages. Marcus, of course, chastised his son, telling him that if he did so, he would stay a virgin for the rest of his life. Since then, he has asked Johnny numerous times if he would like to accompany them, but he has always declined.

“Johnny, your jacket is talking again...”

Johnny started up and, jumping up, ran to a leather jacket hanging on a hanger and took out a squeaking walkie-talkie. Despite everything that had happened, Marcus still continued to use the walkie-talkie, more for fun than for anything serious. At least Johnny thought so.

However, Johnny heard a serious voice of his dad.

“Johnny, come home now.”

“O-okay.”

Johnny hastily grabbed his jacket and made his way to the exit.

"Where are you going?" Miss Crawley inquired.

“I… need to run urgently. Could you tell Mr. Moon that I'm very sorry, but I'll be sure to rehearse additionally tomorrow.”

“Whatever you say, Johnny! I'll pass it on.”

After thanking Miss Crawley, the guy raced out of the room and rushed to the exit. It wasn't often that his father spoke on the walkie-talkie in such a solemn tone these days, and Johnny was terrified since it meant something bad had happened.

As fast as he could, Johnny rode home on his skateboard and, tossing it aside, went to the garage door, flung it open, and ran inside.

Immediately on the threshold, Johnny saw his father, who was standing with his back to him and talking to someone. Hearing the door slam shut, Marcus turned around but didn't say anything. Coming closer, Johnny saw around the corner a group of animals he had never seen before. They were gorillas, but slightly larger than Marcus, and their color was different - brown and black. Such animals are rare in the city, so Johnny immediately thought that they were not local. Most likely, they were river gorillas, and they did not look very friendly. There were about ten of them.

“Listen, guys, I would not want to fight with you here now ...” Marcus continued his conversation with strangers.

“You can’t escape it, and you know it. This is our territory, and if you do not disappear from here, you will have huge problems.”

“I repeat: I have nothing to do with what happened to Sarah, and this is not my fault ...”

The gorilla, with whom Marcus was talking, slammed his fist on the nearby cabinet with all his might, leaving a large dent on it.

“I don't want to hear it!” he shouted. “This is definitely your fault!”

Summoning someone from the crowd behind him with his finger, the gorilla grinned.

“Here they are, my pride ... Jason, Ray, Derek ...”

Three similar brown-and-black gorillas emerged from the crowd, but slightly shorter than the one Marcus had just spoken to. All three of them looked like they were ready to attack and tear to shreds anyone who even tried to touch them. They really were terrifying. Johnny felt a wave of goosebumps run through his entire body. These gorillas really looked like gangsters, there is no other way to call them.

"They are my heirs, Marcus." And do you have any idea how offended I will be if the land that was initially intended for them is taken by someone else? It's incredibly irritating, believe me.” the gang's chief stated in a dreadful bass. “And they're quite dangerous, don't you know?”

“Rob, we're not leaving here.”

The room was dead silent.

It seemed to Johnny that he heard his own heartbeat. The leader of this gang stared at Marcus, who in turn looked calm and confident. Johnny was once again convinced that his father had more than enough courage.

“I see…”

The boss beckoned his gorillas with a wave of his hand, and they filed out the door. Johnny backed away from the beasts, who appeared one after the other, to avoid drawing their attention.

“Look, Marcus, you started this war. Be afraid.”

Rob slammed the door, making the whole garage tremble and things falling off the shelves.

There was a dead silence in the room for a while, until finally Johnny decided to ask the question that interested him from the very beginning:

“Dad… w-who is that?”

Marcus sighed and turned to his son.

“Let's go, Johnny. It seems like it's time to tell you everything.”

"Everything?" thought Johnny as he followed his father into the next room, where, in addition to the car-fixing supplies, there was a table and a few chairs.

 

***

 

Taking a deep breath, Marcus began:

“I don't know if you remember your mother, Johnny. You were still small when she... Well, her name was Sarah.”

“Yes, I remember,” Johnny looked down. Unpleasant childhood memories surfaced in his mind. He hoped he wouldn't have to think about that day too much. Although Marcus believes Johnny does not remember anything, this is not the case: he recalls everything, even if he wishes these memories would fade away forever.

“Well… The thing is, she was one of them, one of those river gorillas.”

Johnny looked at his father in surprise.

“What? But they don't look like her at all.”

“No, she didn't look like them. They sort of adopted her, but I don't know the details.”

Marcus paused, then cleared his throat and continued.

“So when I met Sarah and we, you know… We ended up running away because Rob and his family wouldn't let her see me.”

“Why is that?”

"Because I was basically a street guy, and they elevated themselves above everyone else, believing that their family was the most important in the city." Despite this, we were able to flee. The leader and I were no longer on good terms as a result of this... But instead of chasing her, they chose to make this place, where we resided, her territory. And then, when you were born, she... the thing happened to her, and the family, of course, revolted, deciding that because she was gone, the territory was no longer ours, but theirs. Despite the fact that they did nothing for a long time, they have finally arrived..."

"Wait, what's a ‘territory'? Is this some piece of land?”

“If only... As I said, they thought they were the greatest, so when they moved to other regions, they essentially became kings and fully ruled the land. And because Sarah was almost Rob's heiress, they determined that the region where we dwell would be entirely hers. She was relieved at first since it meant we were secure, but who thought this would happen..."

“Then… Why can’t we just move to another area?”

“That’s the thing. They think that I was to blame for her death... for what happened to Sarah. So they want not only to take the territory and kick us out of the house, but also to deprive absolutely everything that we have.”

Johnny was silent. Not to say that they have a lot, well, at least nothing super important.

“Sorry, I didn't express myself correctly. They can take absolutely everything from ME, which means they can take you from me, Johnny.”

Marcus gave his son a troubled glance before laying a hand on his shoulder and tightly squeezing it.

“But dad, I am not a kid anymore! They can't just pick me up and take me!” Johnny said with a grin, although he was fully aware of the seriousness of the situation.

“Oh, believe me, son, they can do anything. Even kidnap you, lock you in a cage and tie you up.”

“B-but why would they want me, dad?”

“You are her son, Johnny. I think that's enough.”

Both fell silent. Marcus held his son by the shoulder, and looked somewhere at the floor, thinking.

"Why do they think you're responsible for her death, dad?" Johnny asked cautiously and looked at his father.

“Everything is very complicated, son,” Marcus said with a sigh and looked somewhere behind Johnny. “They think that I should have gone with her, but I didn’t, and that’s why this happened to her.”

"But isn't that pro-"

“Johnny, you heard everything yourself. It’s impossible to convince them. And I am pretty sure they only want to cause violence, they probably don’t even care about her.”

The boy didn't take his eyes off Marcus, who was staring at the wall behind his son. Johnny knew that, in addition to all the junk, there was a small photograph in which Sarah, Johnny's mother, was smiling sweetly and cheerfully. However, the guy did not turn around, but only continued to look at his father.

“So what can be done?” Johnny spoke softly.

Marcus shifted his eyes away from the portrait on the wall, stood up, and walked up to a small window that let in orange-gold sunset light to the room.

“We need support. We need to ask for help from neighboring areas ... Most likely, they settled in this city somewhere on the outskirts. It would be even better to ask for help from ...” Marcus mused, muttering under his breath. Johnny didn't hear much, but he didn't ask questions either. Most likely, his father will tell him the final decision later.

“Maybe it won't happen soon, maybe in a week, maybe in a month, maybe in a year… These gorillas are completely unpredictable. It's always worth being on the lookout. Always. Be careful son, I don't want to... lose you too.” Marcus said as Johnny was about to go to bed. The boy just smiled sadly and nodded.

The night was sleepless. Johnny couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, and he could feel the fear beginning to overwhelm him. Trying to calm down, the guy tried to think more positively, but this did not help much, and his heart did not stop beating loudly. What will happen now? What if they come back and take everything away? What if they kill his father?

Johnny winced. Memories of the day when, as a small child, Johnny lost his mother entered his head. He huddled up and pulled the blanket over his head, as if trying to keep the thoughts from rushing through him, but it didn't help much. Johnny felt tears begin to fill his eyes and then run down his temples and drip onto the couch with a sound. There was a lump in the throat and breathing became ragged. It's been a long time since Johnny cried. Now, trying not to grab his father attention with his sobs, the guy wrapped himself in a blanket and tried to stop, but tears flowed unruly from his eyes. "What if they kill my father?" - this thought was spinning in Johnny's head, and the imagination began to draw terrible pictures in which Johnny was left alone, as if in a dark empty room, there was silence and nothing else. He lost his mother, and if he loses his father as well, he will most likely go insane.

"I need to calm down," Johnny whispered, sighing heavily. Perhaps the only thing he could think about right now to calm down was music.

Johnny began to think about what songs he would like to sing, and then thought about the song of his own, which he should write in the near future. Because he couldn't make up his mind, the guy started to doze off. He did, however, wake up numerous times during the night, but by seven in the morning, he was able to go deeply asleep.

Johnny couldn't do anything but really be careful and always be on the lookout.