Operation: Moonfall | Jimmy Crystal Revenge & Redemption

The Reproach

Johnny felt like he woke up in The Twilight Zone.

Everything that happened the night before left him tossing and turning through his sleep. And yet, it was like it never happened. He hadn't heard anything from his accomplices about the attack on Crystal or what happened after. There was no visit from the police, no ambush from Crystal and his thugs. If it wasn't for the news, he'd have chalked it all up to being an elaborate dream. At least Jerry would be okay.

Reality hadn't set in until the day after, when Rosita called the trio together, effectively summoning Nooshy and Ryan through the power of a controlled but none-too-pleased motherly voice. Nooshy never addressed her meltdown, and when Johnny pushed her on how she was doing, all she said was, "Never better." Well, he'd heard that one before. Despite putting whatever trauma she was living with on full display that night, she still wasn't quite ready to tackle it.

Similarly, the kiss with Ryan went unmentioned; it was like someone pressed a reset button and they were just bros again. The tiger did tell him to figure out what he wanted, but that was easier said than done. Johnny had never been interested in guys before, so the fact that he didn't hate that kiss left him a bit confused. What did that even mean? Maybe... he just hadn't met the right guy. And though that kiss did raise questions within Johnny, it didn't change how he felt about Nooshy. Even without Crystal's wrath looming over him, Johnny's life had grown complicated in a record amount of time.

He wasn't afforded the opportunity to sort any of that out quite yet, because the three of them were currently seated on the couch in the den, taking a scolding from Rosita.

"What would possess you to do something so reckless and dangerous?" the sow demanded. She was only met with guilty or averted glances. "Mr. Moon left me in charge. I promised him I'd take care of everyone. Do you know how close you were to disaster? What if Crystal caught you? What if the police were involved?"

Nooshy folded her arms in defiance. "We really worried about the fuzz now? After what we did at the theater last time?"

Rosita knew that rebellious attitude from twenty-five piglets, and she was having none of it. "This is completely different. You know this, Nooshy. We were saving a show we put our hearts and souls into. This was pure spite. If you give into dark emotions like that, they will consume you the way they consume Crystal. Is that who you want to become?"

With no counter argument, Nooshy pushed herself into the couch and sulked. Rosita turned her attention to Johnny. "What I find I'm most disappointed in is you, Johnny," she said, and Johnny winced. "You're a kind and gentle soul. Why didn't you stop this? When did you start intentionally hurting people?" The gorilla's eyes fell to his lap; he'd been asking himself the same questions.

"And Ryan! You seem pretty laid back. How did you get caught up in this?"

The tiger gave her a sheepish smile. "It sounded fun at first, and part of it was. But Crystal's been ruining everything for everyone. He kinda deserves it, you know?"

"Do you think he feels like he deserved it?" Rosita pressed against the ridge of her brows in frustration. "You're all smarter than this. Jimmy Crystal hates Buster with a fiery passion. All this incident does is give Crystal fuel to keep going after him or even escalate his attacks. This is turning into a war."

"It's already a war!" Nooshy growled. "It's time we started fighting back!"

"Do you know what happens in war? People get hurt. People die. Are you prepared for that? This isn't some random guy we're up against. This is Porsha's father. Did you think about how she'd feel knowing you went there to hurt him? No matter how strained a relationship, no child wants to see their parent suffer."