The rain poured heavily down roof of the homes of the trucks living in Affluen-City. The streets were full of huge slippery, splashy puddles whilst empty of any monster machines.
All except for one.
A young dark blue monster machine shuddered as he was lost in the rain. He drove through the empty streets, glancing around for a place to stay, or at least stop by while there was still rain. Soon, the rain grew stronger, turning into a storm as the chilly blew against the child, causing him to shiver before speeding up, his will to survive and stay safe from the rain heightening as he turned down the street.
Suddenly, there a flash of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder. The poor child yelped before slipping down the puddles, causing him to stumble and slide onto the rough road below him. He whimpered in the pain as he slowly and shakily hugged himself, trying to warm himself up. He closed his eyes and began to cry, feeling his whole body aching as he felt the rain pouring down hard on him.
He didn't move. He couldn't move. Everything felt so heavy and so strong that he was knocked down.
Knocked down and left in the harsh, cold rain. Left in the mercy of whatever life throws down at him.
Or if life had any mercy on him.
The storm grew stronger, the wind picking up speed and strength as more lightning came, each with a clap of thunder. The young dark blue truck quivered in fear and in the cold as he felt his eyes beginning to feel droopy.
He knew better than to sleep when he was literally in the middle of a storm, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't take it any longer. He hasn't slept for days, and his tiredness was crawling up to him, ready to take him into slumber.
As he felt himself slip away into the darkness, a flash of light came from beside him, and the last thing he saw was a tall shadow driving towards him before he blacked out.
X
Warmth and comfort were the first to greet him as he felt himself gain consciousness once more. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes to find his surroundings different from earlier.
Instead of the greyness of the city's night, he was in a room of maroon. Instead of the harsh coldness of the wind, he felt the warmth of flames from a lit-up fireplace nearby. Instead of the hard cement, he was now laying down on something soft and comfy. Instead of the cold rain water trickling down his back, something warm was around his back and wrapped his shivering body.
And instead of the sound of the pouring rain, he heard voices in his surroundings.
"... and when the storm clears, let's take him to the police to find his way home---"
"Oh, poor child! I wonder how he ended up alone and empty in the first place,"
"I wish I knew that too..."
The young dark blue truck used all of the strength he gained to slowly get up, the blanket sliding down a bit as he turned around to get a glimpse of the owners of the house he was in. A monster machine couple were talking behind him, the woman a silver white with fiery red and yellow hair and ocean blue eyes while the man was an amber yellow with golden brown eyes.
"I can't believe anyone would leave their child unattended," the woman shook her head. "It's just not something a parent would do,"
"Not all parents are the same, Phoenix," the man said, gently cupping his wife's cheek with his tire.
"That doesn't mean that it gives them the right to just... leave their child in the middle of a storm!" Phoenix cried out with a frown. "That's just not right, Flame!"
The outburst made the young truck jump in surprise, causing him to fall off from where he laid with a thud. The blanket landed over him as the pair seemed to notice his fall and quickly drove towards him.
"Are you okay?" Phoenix asked, carefully picking him up with the blanket.
The child looked up at her and gulped, whole body tensing up in fear. Flame noticed this and frowned.
"Phoenix, he's scared. I think we should set him down,"
"Alright, alright," Phoenix sighed and reluctantly set the dark blue truck back on the couch.
The young truck covered himself more in the blanket, driving back to sink into the huge pillows. Flame and Phoenix exchanged concerned glances before the yellow truck slowly drove closer to him.
"Hey, it's alright," he assured the child. "It's okay. We won't hurt you,"
"You're safe, little one," Phoenix added with a nod and a smile. "You are safe. There's no need to be afraid,"
The dark blue truck didn't seem to believe them and sunk further into the pillows. Flame sighed and drove back a bit.
"Well, we can't blame him if he's scared," he spoke. "He just woke up in a house full of strangers, after all,"
"I know, I know," Phoenix let out another sigh. "Poor kid. I sure hope the storm clears out, so we can find his parents,"
The young truck overheard them and froze before sinking the deepest into the pillows, trembling. The duo noticed this action, but before they could say anything, the door in front of them swung open.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?"
"Nothing too serious, Blaze," Phoenix assured as she drove past the couch and took the 4-year old red truck into her tires. "Just a frightened guest,"
"A guest?" Blaze's ocean blue eyes lit up. "Really?!"
Flame chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. Phoenix snickered, driving back to her husband and taking their child with her. Blaze glanced over at the couch and gasped when he saw a pair of eyes behind the pile of pillows.
"Wow!" he said. "Is that the guest?!"
The dark blue child jumped and sunk back again. Phoenix shook her head and set Blaze down.
"Settle down, Blaze, dear," she told him. "Our guest is a child lost in the rain, so he's a little frightened,"
"Oh," Blaze nodded in understanding before driving towards the couch cautiously. "um, hi there. I'm Blaze. What's your name?"
The other child peeked out from the pillows, staring at the red truck inquisitively before slowly driving out. The blanket was still on him, covering up most of his face and body as he stuck his head out from the pile of pillows.
"I... I'm Crusher," he spoke in a whisper.
Flame and Phoenix gasped, eyebrows raising as Blaze beamed and slowly got closer to the other child. He held a tire out and set it on the couch.
"Hi there, Crusher," he said with giggle. "These are my parents! My Mom and my Dad!"
"... h-hi..." Crusher shakily held out his own tire, setting it down beside the other's before glancing up at the two adults.
Phoenix gave her a smile and slowly placed a tire on the small dark blue truck's tire. "It's alright, Crusher. We won't hurt you, promise,"
Crusher glanced down at the larger tire with doubt but was able to slowly slide his to hers. Phoenix's eyes widened in surprise, but they soften instantly before she gently took the child's tire into both of her own.
"How are you feeling, Crusher?"
"C-Cold..." Crusher shuddered.
"Let me help with that," Phoenix carefully picked him up and set him down in front of the fireplace, laying down with him. "There. Is that better?"
"Mm-hmm," Crusher nodded as Flame took Blaze into his tires and set him down beside the dark blue truck, laying down by his wife's side. "Th-Thank you, M-Ms Phoenix... M-Mr Flame..."
"No problem, little one," Flame smiled and patted his head. "You're tired. You should get some rest,"
Crusher knew he was right and nodded, a yawn escaping his lips before slowly falling into another slumber in between the two.
X
Day came, but the storm still poured hard on the roof of the family. Crusher was back on the couch as he held a mug of hot chocolate in his tires while he stared out of the window.
"Oh, Crusher?"
"Hmm?" Crusher turned around. "Yes, Ms Phoenix?"
"May we ask you some questions?" Phoenix asked as she and Flame drove towards him.
"Um, okay," Crusher slowly nodded, setting the mug down on the nearest table.
"Thank you," Phoenix smiled. "First is an easy question; how old are you?"
"5," Crusher timidly replied.
"5?" Flame looked surprised. "Well, you look tall for your age, but either way, you're too young to be left outside all by yourself, especially in a storm,"
"Do you remember how you were left alone, dear?" Phoenix asked next.
"I-" Crusher gulped, hesitant to answer. "I... I remember... my Grammy..."
"You mean, your grandmother?" Flame questioned.
"Y-Yes," Crusher nodded, staring at the floor with a gulp. "She... She went bye-bye..."
"Oh," Phoenix frowned. "She died?"
"Mm-hm," Crusher nodded again. "Papa make her go bye-bye... he say she need to go bye-bye..."
The couple froze at that. Did the child just describe... murder?
"Your Papa... killed your grandmother?"
"What... 'kill' mean?" Crusher tilted his head.
"Um," Phoenix took a deep breath and gently took the child into her tires. "Kill means to take away someone's life. To make them leave your life... forever,"
"Bye-bye forever?"
"Yes, Crusher," Flame sighed and nodded, eyes softening at the dark blue truck. "Gone forever,"
"Mama say I can see her again," Crusher said. "She point sharp stick at me and say that me can also go bye-bye and see Grammy,"
Phoenix's jaw dropped at what the child said. Flame was just as horrified, a tire landing on his mouth in shock. Crusher stared at them, confused.
"What wrong, Ms Phoenix?" he asked, glancing at them each. "Mr Flame?"
"I... alright," Flame cleared his throat and turned away. "Um, Crusher, may you give us the name of your parents?"
"Uh..." Crusher thought for a while. "They name Krisha and Calvin,"
Flame nodded and drove out. As he did, Blaze drove in, zipping to his mom and his new friend.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Crusher!" he greeted with a smile.
"Hi," Crusher waved at the red truck.
"Hey there, Blaze," Phoenix picked up her son with her other tire. "I've got great news. Crusher is staying here for a little while longer, even after the storm,"
"Really?!" Blaze gasped. "Yay! More play!"
"You... You wanna play with me?" Crusher asked.
"Uh-huh!" Blaze nodded and jumped off his mother's tires. "Let's play blocks! Can we, Mom?!"
"Sure, dear," Phoenix smiled and nodded, setting Crusher down next to her son. "Go on ahead,"
"Yipee!" Blaze grabbed Crusher's tire and drove off, both laughing as they left the room.
Phoenix watched them leave before sighing and shaking her head. She too left the room and found her husband at the phone.
"Alright, thank you,"
"Was that the police?" Phoenix asked, driving towards him as soon as he hung up.
"No," Flame shook his head. "A private investigator. We need to investigate what had happened before concluding what truly happened to Crusher and tell the police to arrest his parents for child negligance, murder and attempted murder,"
"Good idea, Flame," Phoenix nodded. "but what should we do with Crusher once his parents are guilty?"
"I have an idea," Flame smiled. "and I think Blaze is gonna love it as much as you will,"
X
The storm was lighter than it was a week ago, but it was still raining hard as Crusher and Blaze played on trucks in the living room mat. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, causing both children to look up from their game. Blaze jumped to his tires, setting down his toy truck before heading over to the door.
"Who is it?!"
"Oh no, Blaze!" Phoenix dashed into the room, picking up her son. "When there's a mysterious knock at the door, you should always get me or your father, alright?"
"Okay, Mom," Blaze nodded as he was set down beside Crusher.
"Good," Phoenix smiled at them both before turning to answer the door to reveal a dark orange truck male wearing a huge brown hat over his head and holding a portfolio in his tires. "Hello? May I help you?"
"Mystic, PI." the stranger said, taking out and showing his badge. "Are you the wife of Flame?"
"Yes, I am," Phoenix nodded and pushed the door open to let him in, already informed about the private investigator's arrival by her husband before he left for work that morning. "Come in, come in. Let's talk at the dining room,"
Mystic gave a stiff nod and followed the silver white truck past the living room and to the dining room. Blaze and Crusher watched with interest as the two adults passed them and left.
"Who he?" Crusher asked.
"I not know," Blaze shrugged. "Friend of Mom, I think,"
"He look serious," Crusher grimaced. "And scary,"
"Don't worry, Crusher," Blaze smiled. "If he do anything, me defend you!"
"R-Really?" Crusher's eyes widened.
"Yeah!" Blaze nodded with a giggle. "You my new best friend! I protect you from danger!"
"Aww, thanks, Blaze," Crusher gave a shy smile.
X
Another week passed. The storm had finally cleared, and the family could finally leave the house without the fear of getting sick. The first place they went to was the police station.
Blaze was amazed when he entered the station. He went around and asked questions to the friendly police trucks, prompting Flame to drive after him to make sure he didn't go too far.
Phoenix watched them amusingly as she carried Crusher in her tires. She shook her head and laughed as Blaze zoomed off again, which made Flame groan before driving off to follow.
"Oh, those two," she chuckled.
"Um, Ms Phoenix?" Crusher looked up at the silver white truck with curious eyes. "May I ask question?"
"Of course, dear," Phoenix smiled and nodded.
"What we doing here?"
"We're waiting for your parents,"
Crusher stiffened at the news. Phoenix noticed this and frowned before pulling him into a hug.
"Oh, no, no, Crusher, don't worry," she assured him. "They won't hurt you, promise. That's why we're here. If they try to hurt you again, the police will help defend you,"
Crusher didn't seem convinced but curled up against the woman anyway, too scared to look back up. Phoenix sighed and held the child close to soothe his worries and fear. Just as she did, the doors of the police station swung open, and in came Chief Police Officer Zane, followed by his fellow police trucks.
"Ms Phoenix, was it?" Chief Officer Zane asked, driving forward towards the silver white truck. "Where is Mr Flame?"
"My husband went off to chase our son," Phoenix giggled. "He seemed to have an interest on becoming a police in the future,"
"Of course," Chief Officer Zane chuckled before taking notice of the dark blue truck in her tires. "Ah, and this must be little Crusher. Hello there, young one,"
Crusher glanced over but quickly ducked his head immediately. Phoenix sighed and rocked him gently to soothe him down.
"He's a little wary, Chief," she told him. "It took a while for him to warm up to us. Well, not with Blaze, of course. It seems children can warm up to one another faster than they can to adults,"
"Well, he certainly warmed up to you," Chief Officer Zane grinned before shaking his head. "Well, since Mr Flame is busy chasing off your son, may you and Crusher be willing to come with me to the interrogation?"
"Of course, of course," Phoenix nodded. "Where to?"
"Follow me, please," Chief Officer Zane motioned them to follow him through the halls of the police station.
Crusher quivered in the silver white truck's tires as the halls they passed darkened compared to the entrance. Phoenix patted his head comfortingly with a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry," she whispered to him. "You'll be alright,"
They soon made it to the interrogation room, with Chief Officer Zane opening the metal door to a room of grey and metal as two trucks sat behind a huge metal table. One was a dark violet male truck with a flame light pattern of lavender, and the other was a coal black female truck with a swirling light of silver, both having coal black eyes, similar to Crusher's. They were both handcuffed on the table as they glanced up at the police chief. The man growled.
"This is insane, Zane!" he spat out. "A waste of time! My wife and I did nothing wrong!"
"You have the right to remain silent, Calvin." Chief Officer Zane glared down at him. "You as well, Krisha. Your case is heavy, and every word spoken could and would be used against either of you."
"But we didn't do anything wrong!" Krisha defended with a snarl. "You'll be hearing from our lawyers about this!"
"Of course I will," Chief Officer Zane rolled his eyes as Phoenix drove in.
As soon as she did, the pair narrowed their eyes at the child in her tires. Crusher peeked out and met their eyes, causing him to jump and cower back in the woman's grasp.
"THAT WOMAN HAS OUR CHILD!" Calvin roared out.
"Kidnapper!" Krisha accused. "Why don't you arrest HER?! She stole our child!"
"She RESCUED your child, along with her husband, from a storm two weeks ago," Chief Officer Zane corrected. "And even if he was stolen, you both would still be charged with child negligance,"
He then turned to Phoenix and moved aside for her to drive to his side. Crusher was getting more frightened by the minute, but the silver white truck held him with a tight grip, assuring him that his so-called parents were never going to be able to grab him from her tires.
"Calvin and Krisha," she spoke, glaring over at the pair. "I have heard your names before. You both were the richest and most popular business trucks in the industry. I had heard that you two were very ambitious, but I could never imagine that anyone could murder a senior citizen and attempt to murder/neglect their own child like that, especially in the middle of a storm,"
"Mother was an annoying twit." Calvin huffed. "She was letting Crusher escape from the house to play in the playgrounds and have... ugh, friends,"
"Crusher is a CHILD!" Phoenix pointed out. "He NEEDS to have a childhood and to roam around and play! Keeping him in the house is unhealthy and will make him socially unstable!"
"Better than letting him be corrupted by the values and traditions of all those poor peasants," Krisha scoffed before smirking. "and we attempted to murder him, so that we may... restart on having a child. And this time, his precious grandmother would never be there to corrupt him with the outside world!"
"Your intentions are cruel and low, and no matter what you think, murder and child negligance are still crimes." Chief Officer Zane growled. "Not only will you arrested, you will also be stripped off your status in the high class and your rights as Crusher's parents,"
"Have him. We don't care," Calvin shrugged. "Let him rot in an orphanage, for all we care,"
Crusher seemed to have overheard him and whimpered, sniffling his tears. Phoenix glared daggers at the dark violet truck, holding the child closer to her.
"Well, unfortunately for YOU, he will NOT be ending up in an orphanage." she hissed, pressing a small kiss on the dark blue truck's head before turning to leave. "Chief, I will be fetching my husband and our son. Please call us when the trial will occur, so we may present the proof that the investigator gave us to the judge,"
"It was YOUR FAMILY WHO SENT THE INVESTIGATOR?!" Krisha bellowed.
"Of course, of course," Chief Officer Zane nodded, ignoring the coal black truck's outburst. "I will take it from here,"
Phoenix nodded and drove out of the interrogation room. She still held Crusher protectively as she headed out of the halls to find Flame exasperated while an enthusiastic Blaze was chattering with the friendly police trucks. She smiled and went over to them.
"Flame, Blaze,"
"Mom!" Blaze zipped over to his mother. "You're back!"
"How was the interrogation?" Flame asked, driving over at them.
"Wonderful," Phoenix sighed. "Let us go home now. There's something we need to talk about,"
"Alright," Flame nodded and carried Blaze then they waved a goodbye to the police before heading out of the station.
X
Third week since Crusher stayed with the family. He was feeling quite at home in there, despite the place being smaller than the mansion.
Flame and Phoenix had given him a room to stay in, painting it different shades of blue to match his liking and placing in a bookshelf with different types of books for him to read at his spare time. He was also given some toys to play with, toys which he plays with Blaze when Flame and Phoenix are busy.
Aside from the room, Crusher always felt warm and happy whenever the couple treated him fairly and let him go outside to play with Blaze and the other kids when the sun was shining. To him, they felt more comfortable and more welcoming than his own parents could ever be.
He really wished that he could stay with them, but he knew better than to hope.
One day, Blaze and Crusher were left alone at the house. It wasn't that dangerous due to the fact that Flame and Phoenix's neighbor friends were always keeping watch of them whenever the couple were out, so the two were feeling safe as they played tag, hide and seek and etc.
In the middle of their ninth round of The Floor Is Lava, the door swung open, and in came Phoenix, who was beaming in excitement.
"Blaze! Crusher!"
"MOM!" Blaze zoomed to his mother, who welcomed him in her tires.
Crusher smiled at the sigh of her but bit his tongue from the instinct of saying the honorific before driving towards them.
"Hi, Ms Phoenix!" he greeted with a wave.
Phoenix returned the smile and scooped the dark blue truck into her tires, causing him to yelp in surprise. "Hello to you both too! Guess what? We've got great news!"
"What news, Mom?" Blaze asked, tilting his head.
"Well, first of..." Phoenix turned to the dark blue truck. "Crusher, your parents won't be hurting you anymore. They've been found guilty and are now in prison,"
"What 'prison'?" Crusher questioned.
"Prison is where bad guys go!" Blaze exclaimed.
"That's right, Blaze," Phoenix nodded. "so, Crusher, your parents will no longer have custody over you. They can't hurt you anymore,"
"Oh..." Crusher felt his heart sink. He knew that he should be glad that his parents could no longer try to kill him again, but... that would mean that his problems were over, and now, he had to leave... just as he was getting used to living with this family...
"Oh? Why so down?" Phoenix asked with a frown.
"I..." Crusher looked away, ashamed that his expression gave him away. "sorry, Ms Phoenix. I am happy Mama and Papa not make me go bye-bye anymore, but... what gonna happen to me? Grammy already bye-bye,"
"Aww, don't worry, little Crusher," Phoenix smiled and wiped the tear threatening to roll down the dark blue truck's cheek. "Flame and I've been talking, and we know exactly what to do with you. We won't let you get hurt in the orphanage, don't worry,"
"Then what gonna happen to Crush?" Blaze tilted his head.
"You'll see," Phoenix grinned before turning to take the two out through the door. "but first, we have to meet up with Flame at the courthouse,"
"Courthouse?" the children looked confused, but the silver white truck refused to reply as they made their way out into the streets.
X
"Flame and Phoenix," the judge spoke as she handed out the papers. "By signing this... you both not only agree to take care of, but to provide for the health, welfare and educational needs of Crusher,"
Blaze gasped and squealed while Crusher was taken back as Flame and Phoenix exchanged nods before signing the papers.
"Wh-What's going on?" the dark blue truck stared up at them, confused but looking hopeful. "You... You wanna take care of me...?"
"Of course we do," Phoenix smiled down at the child. "We've loved you as if you were our own, and we still do,"
"But we wanted to wait until your parents were off their parent rights and had finished their trial," Flame chuckled, patting Crusher's head. "We needed to make sure that you were completely safe and out of harms way before we decided to make it official,"
"I... you really wanna adopt me?" Crusher still looked disbelieved about what was happening.
"More than anything," Phoenix giggled.
"With your approval, of course," the judge lightly interrupted with a small cough. "This must be approved by both parents and the child, so that it may be legal. So, what do you say, Crusher?"
Crusher blinked at her before turning to them, staring at them with tears rolling down his cheeks. He smiled and wiped his tears away.
"Yes," he spoke with an excited nod. "Yes, I approve. More than anything,"
Phoenix and Flame both smiled before embracing their now two sons into a hug. The judge herself gave a smile before grabbing her stamp.
"On this day, Phoenix and Flame has officially adopted Crusher to be their child," she said. "I hereby sign this order confirming this adoption!" She set the stamp down on the paperwork then looked up at the family. "Congratulations,"
"Hooray!" Blaze cheered. "I have a big brother!"
He wrapped the dark blue truck in a big hug, causing Crusher to giggle and hug back. Phoenix and Flame laughed then they picked up the papers and their children before heading out of the courthouse.