Operation: Moonfall | Jimmy Crystal Revenge & Redemption

The Ultimatum I

Buster's jaw dropped, and the mic almost fell out of his grip.

"'No?' What do you mean 'no?'"

"I said what I said," Jimmy snarled. "The thing about apologies is that you don't have to accept them. But you know what? That one wasn't half-bad for what it was. We're just way past that point, and you left out a lot of crap you did to me."

He shoved the tub of popcorn into Cleo's lap and got up. Before Buster could protest, Jimmy had jumped onto the stage. For a moment, Buster forgot how quick and nimble Jimmy could be, and the koala felt all the confidence and power being siphoned out of him as the wolf approached. It didn't matter what name was engraved on the theater; this was Jimmy Crystal's stage now.

"You stole my theater, attacked my employees, convinced my daughter to stab me in the back! And that wasn't enough for you! After I was arrested, you sold a show I made possible to a rival theater, trashed me in the Kilborn interview just for giving my side of the story, and then your people invaded my theater again and attacked me during a benefit concert! They put Jerry in the hospital. That was almost me!"

"I-I had no idea they would d-do something like that," Buster stammered, backing away. "Believe me, if I knew, if I had been there, I'd have put a stop to it."

"That's the problem, Moon. I don't think I believe you." Jimmy stopped his approach, but Buster was only slightly relieved. The wolf was still bristling with fury. "I had an entire life before you showed up and ruined it. All the things I lost, all the things I sacrificed to get to where I am today, all for nothing! As long as you got your show, you didn't care if I rotted in a cell."

"You tried to kill me! What did you want me to do, tell the cops that it never happened?"

"I told you what would happen if you crossed me and made me look bad, and you did it anyway! You didn't apologize because you're sorry, you did it because everything blew up in your face and you're trying to save your ass."

"I have a life, too! And the lives of my troupe depend on it! Can you blame me for trying to put this behind us?"

"Yeah, I can!"

Buster was growing frustrated. It was like talking to a brick wall... a brick wall that called you names and occasionally threatened to end your life, so you still had to be cautious with how you spoke to it. With his apology landing with a wet thud, the truth was, Buster was at a loss. He only had one strategy, and that was to let Jimmy talk. As long as Jimmy was ranting, Buster was breathing. It was only when he felt like it was time to end things that Buster really had to worry.

"Okay, so you don't want my apology," Buster said. "Why did you come here? What do you even want?"

A low chuckle rumbled in Jimmy's throat. "You ever hear of death by a hundred cuts?"

"It... it's actually a thousand."

"Shut up, Moon, or I'll make it a million!"

Buster shrank under the boom of Jimmy's voice. It was like being flung back in that luxurious office of Jimmy's again, the wolf's words ripping into him, the skyline of Redshore taunting him. Then he ran hot with humiliation realizing he physically reacted to Jimmy's outburst, showing everyone just how much he was still deeply affected by that ordeal.

The cracks in his brave little façade were showing, and the smile in Jimmy's eyes said everything. Buster shied away from the theater seating; he could endure Jimmy's mocking gaze because he'd done so before, but his humiliation was accentuated by the thought of Cleo seeing just how weak he really was.