Operation: Moonfall | Jimmy Crystal Revenge & Redemption

The Response I

Seated across from Walter Kilborn, Buster flashed one of his brightest smiles... or that's what he tried to do, as what came across was more of a lopsided, quivering smirk. He dropped it before anyone noticed and thought he was constipated. Kilborn was too busy going over last-minute details with his staff to really notice what Buster was doing, but the lamp operator, a young-ish cheetah, gave him a funny look... mission failed.

They were in a suite at the Majestic Palace for the interview, curtesy of Lester McCray. Though Buster knew the rest of the troupe would like to show up for support, he only brought Miss Crawly along, and assured them that he'd have things under control. He was a bit surprised at the speed and ease at which he'd managed to score the interview with Kilborn. Crystal's smear campaign certainly raised his profile. Silver linings and all that.

Fiddling with his bowtie for the umpteenth time, Buster turned to his assistant and silently mouthed, "Do I look okay?" Miss Crawly gave him a warm smile and a slow nod. That was the last time he got to check because things accelerated faster than he liked. Before he knew it, the cameras were on, and the interview had officially begun.

"Hello Buster," Walter Kilborn started.

"Hello Walter!" Buster replied, full of pep. Maybe too much.

"Before we dive in, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Oh! Um, well, I'm Buster Moon... as you already know," he said, followed by nervous laughter. "I'm a theater producer and I run the New Moon Theater in Calatonia. I fell in love with theater when I was six years old and it's been a big part of my life ever since. Most recently I've run... or ran, rather, the smash hit Out of This World right here in Redshore City."

Kilborn gave a nod. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get to the purpose of this interview. You reached out to us after Jimmy Crystal made some very concerning allegations about you. He called you a fraud, a conman, and a liar, among other things."

"I'm not surprised," Buster said. "Crystal is a bully and his go-to is name-calling. He twisted the truth to make himself look like a victim. I wanted to clear the air and set the record straight."

"There certainly seems to be plenty of bad blood between you two. But before we go in-depth on the allegations, I'm curious about before the two of you clashed. You say you run a theater in Calatonia. Most people would consider that living the dream, yet somehow you ended up in Redshore City auditioning for Jimmy Crystal. How did that come about?"

"The New Moon Theater is wildly successful, so don't me wrong, but I felt like my troupe and I were ready for a bigger stage and audience. And the Crystal Tower Theater seemed like the perfect stage."

"It sounds like you weren't exactly invited; Crystal claimed you crashed his auditions."

"Funny story, that one," Buster said with more nervous laughter. He'd have to get that under control. "We reached out to Crystal Entertainment and they sent a scout to one of our shows. She was a little less than impressed and said we weren't good enough."

"That must have been devastating to hear."

"I admit, it was very demoralizing. But I knew we were good enough, so I made a decision that night that we were going to get on a bus and take our act straight to her boss."

"That's quite a length to travel out of spite."

Buster frowned in confusion. "Spite? What? No, this was initiative! Determination!"

"I'm assuming breaking into Crystal Entertainment was part of that initiative and determination." Kilborn was deadpan as ever, and being unable to tell if there was sarcasm in that statement threw Buster for a loop