Greener On The Other Side

by GoldenGalaxyy

Summary:

AJ feels neglected by his friend and an unexpected character offers their hand-- or tire-- to him.

Notes:

Inspired by @guppieishere

Chapter 1: Another Like Me

It hasn’t always been like this. 

When they were starting, everything was relatively simple. They won races together, AJ and Blaze. They were a perfect duo that bested all racers and outdid every cheat of Crusher. They worked as a team and couldn’t imagine being in a race without each other, and the audience saw them the same way. 

But as time went on, the dynamics between AJ and Blaze shifted gradually and AJ didn’t see it coming until it was glaring at him with ferocious fury. It was when AJ was 16, five years after he and Blaze ended up in Axle City. Yes, it’s true that in five years, people are expected to change, but somewhere in AJ’s mind, he thought at least his friendship with Blaze would stay the same. He believed that both he and Blaze would still be the same dup, be each other’s partner in crime; they could have still been equals.

He hated how he was proven wrong. 

Back then, it would be both of them being invited to parties and hangouts, but then, somewhere along the way, Blaze had been attending events without AJ. Before, it would be both Blaze and AJ sharing their adventures at the table with new friends, but now, it would just be Blaze sharing everything while AJ sat beside him with a cup of juice or a snack, laughing along with the crowd with Blaze’s bad jokes. Previously, it had been both AJ and Blaze went up on the stage to receive the trophy for winning a race, but now, AJ couldn’t even turn to Blaze before he rushed off to claim the reward and the praise. 

When did things change? How did things change this much? Has it always been like this? Did AJ just didn’t notice?

“Hey, Blaze,” AJ called as he walked into Blaze’s rooms filled with all of the trophies they (was it still a ‘they’?) had won. “I think we need to talk about something.”

“Hm?” Blaze asked, turning back to AJ with a new bowtie. “About what? Is this going to take long?”

Ignoring the way that Blaze was trying to brush him off, AJ asked, “Are you going somewhere? You seem… Well-dressed.”

“Oh, yeah!” Blaze grinned excitedly. “Watts invited me over to celebrate the arrival of her new pet! It’s semi-casual. Do you think I look good?”

AJ stared at the smiling Blaze and he racked his brain if he was ever invited. Unfortunately, no memory resurfaced. He turned to his best friend (is he still a best friend to him?) and gave him an encouraging smile instead. “Yeah. You do.”

“Thanks, bud!” Blaze said. “So, uh, you need to talk about something?”

“No. Never mind,” AJ said. “I might make you late.”

“Oh, alright…” Blaze’s smile slowly faltered but it never left his face. “Are you sure it isn’t anything important?”

AJ looked away and debated if this was the right time. Will Blaze mind if he’s a bit late to the party? Usually, he would, but maybe he could make an exception with him. So, with slight hope, he turned to Blaze and began, “Blaze, I–”

Blaze’s phone rang and the red truck immediately took it out. It was his alarm reminding him that it was thirty minutes before Watts’s party. “Oh! AJ, I have to go!” Blaze said, pocketing his phone once again. He went to his driver patted his shoulder and said, “I’m sure we can talk whenever I get back, ‘kay? I’ll see you later!”

Blaze drove off as happy as he started in the morning.

AJ watched in Blaze’s doorway. His throat tightened and he clenched his fists below. He turned to the ground and looked around and he could feel the walls of his home slowly closing in on him, threatening to squish his body as his heart was being squeezed inside his chest. He quickly got his coat and took a walk outside. 

The sky was covered over by a grey mask of clouds, but the moon’s light illuminated through the darkness of it all, masking the atmosphere with an ominous filter. AJ walked through the streets, murmuring arithmetic formulas under his breath to try and calm his mind; to try and stop the tears that threatened to pour out of his cheeks. 

He didn’t know for how long he walked. It must have been a distance if he reached the beach side of Axle City. “From my home to the beach, that would have been at least 10 kilometers, converting it into miles, that would have been 6.1 miles…” AJ muttered as he went to sit down at one of the docks that the beach had provided. It was mostly used for people who wanted to fish, but oftentimes, it was a platform for adolescent trucks to jump off from. He hung his legs off the dock and began kicking them in the air. “I left at around… 8 o’clock. And now–” AJ checked his watch “ –It’s 10:04. That meant I was walking at a speed of 2.99 miles per hour…”

AJ looked up at the horizon where the moon hung high in the sky with clouds trying to block his view. The sea dazzled in ink and AJ wondered if he could go through that horizon, if he could go deep inside the inky sea to sleep. He wasn’t tired, no. He just… He wanted peace. And what is more peaceful than sleeping?

“Well, well… Look who’s here.” AJ stiffened when he heard another voice approach him. He turned to stand defensively when he saw Lazard standing with a warm smile on his face.

“Lazard?” AJ called. “What are you doing here?”

“I prefer you call me Kolo,” The older monster truck said with a shrug. “Just don’t tell anyone that.”

“... Kolo?” AJ repeated. 

“Yeah. It’s my name,” Lazard, or rather Kolo, replied. “People just call me Lazard because… Well, I’m a lizard,” he snorted at his own joke. “But you don’t see people call Zeg “Dino” or anything,” he swayed away at the mention of the other reptilian hybrid. He turned back to AJ and asked, “So, kid. Mind telling me what you’re doing this late out?” 

AJ was hesitant. He shifted his foot sideward and crossed his arms. He doesn’t want to tell Lizzard that he came here just because he felt rejected by his best friend. "No particular reason. I just wanted to… to go to the beach."

"At ten in the evening?" Lazard asked skeptically.

Now that AJ heard it, his excuse sounded stupid. And justifying it would sound even more stupid. So, he turned away in embarrassment instead. 

Lazard watched the young boy for a while before he sighed. "If you don't want to talk about it, then I won't press you," he said. He came closer to where AJ stood and the boy stiffened and prepared for a fight, but instead, Lazard sat down where AJ once sat and took out a notebook and began to write. 

AJ was more than confused and he squinted his eyes to try and see what Lazard was writing about. Unfortunately, it was dark and AJ left his visors back in his room. And even if he did have his visors right now, he didn't think that he could understand the scribbles that Lazard was jotting down. 

AJ stood there awkwardly for a few more moments before he decided to sit down a few feet away from the former villain. He asked, "So, why are you out here late at night?"

Lazard shrugged. "I wanted to see the beach."

AJ had to process his response as it was the same one as his. He didn't know how to react to his response being repeated by another person. But then Lazard started laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking," Lazard said as he finished his laughter. "Wow, tough crowd. Or are you really not in the mood for jokes?"

AJ shrugged. "A bit of both."

Lazard let out a few more giggles before he settled back into staring at the pages of his notebook. He turned to watch the horizon in front of them and replied, "Well… I had a small fight with my brother. Well, I wouldn't really say small, but it's smaller than the usual ones anyway."

AJ was shocked. "You have a brother?"

"Well, he's sort of my brother," Lazard said, moving his tire from left to right to signify that he was a bit unsure. "We were born in the same place, and had the same parent, but we don't really look the same. I guess that's why people don't really see us relating to each other… but yeah. I have a brother. I actually came back to Axle to reconnect with him, but uh… it's not going as well as I thought."

"Why'd you leave Axle anyway?" AJ asked. 

"Well," Lazard looked ahead as his eyes were filled with thoughts. "I wanted to explore myself. And the world. Who am I without my brother? Who am I other than the spare? My brother found who he is without all that. He found friends and a lover. He found who he is other than being our father's son, and that is just so frustrating because Father lets him but not me so the only way I could actually find a different identity is to leave him and all that we've made and he took the credit when it was the both of us and–”

Lazard suddenly stopped as he stared down at the notebook he was scribbling. It was now filled with scratch marks of his frustrations made by his pen and he had to remind himself where he was and who he was with.

He gave a weak chuckle and put the notebook aside. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to rant.”

“No, no, it’s… It’s okay,” AJ said as he looked pitifully at the hybrid monster truck. He looked back at the horizon and he could not help but think of how much he could relate to Lazard.

“Well… I could relate in a way,” AJ said quietly at first, but then he had the courage to open up. “I… I’m happy that Blaze is having fun when I’m not around, but it’s like, my existence doesn’t matter anymore. It’s like, everyone pays attention to Blaze, and gives Blazee all the credit when it was both of us who did the work! And Blaze doesn’t do anything and just keeps receiving all of this that he doesn’t realize that… That…”

“You’re being forgotten…” 

“Yeah…”

Silence stretched between the two as a sense of understanding calmly washed them both.

Then, Lazard broke the quiet with an offer, “Hey, kid. If you’re not busy, maybe you could come by my workshop. I could use some help.”

AJ turned to Lazard and gave him a small smile. “Sure.”

 

Chapter 2: Comforted by the Unexpected

Notes:

Warning: Swearing is involved

It must have been Blaze’s imagination. 

The house that he and AJ lived in grew somewhat quiet after the last race he had with him. After he left AJ to attend Watts’s party, he realizes that he sees AJ less than normal. It was strange not seeing at home and only seeing him for races, but slowly, AJ began missing races. It started with AJ being late for a few, and AJ missing his first race. Blaze panicked then, but he was able to win the race. 

“AJ!” Blaze called when AJ finally walked inside the monster dome. “Where were you? You missed the race!”

“Oh, sorry, Blaze! I just got caught up in work,” AJ replied. “Did you lose?”

“No, I won,” Blaze said happily, but then something sparked in his interest within AJ’s sentence. “And, you have work?”

“Well, yeah. Been working as a mechanic for a while now.”

“What? Since when?”

“For a few weeks now.”

This confused the red monster truck. Since when was his friend a mechanic? Since when did he have a job? And why hasn’t AJ told him until now?

AJ continued being late and occasionally absent in Blaze’s races until he stopped showing up at all. The change was gradual and Blaze barely noticed it until he lost a race. Blaze, the reigning champion of the Monster Dome, lost. To a nobody .

“WOW! Can this truly be possible?!” Bump Bumperman shouted through the microphone as confetti sprinkled down on the new winner. “Skyler Vertington, the new rookie, had defeated the all-time champion and king of races, Blaze! WOW! What a revelation! The king has been defeated!”

The pit inside of Blaze’s stomach swirled in all sorts of ways. Emotions that Blaze couldn’t identify but knew it was bad stirred in an odd concoction, making Blaze feel like he could vomit. 

“Wow! Blaze actually got defeated!” Blaze heard voices say and he turned to see a smug-looking Crusher and an always happy Pickle. Pickle spoke again, “I thought that was impossible. Like, SERIOUSLY impossible!”

Crusher smiled at the blue-eyed truck and smugly said, “And I thought you could never be put down to a place. By a rookie of all people!” Crusher would have wanted it to be him to beat Blaze in the race, but seeing Blaze looking like he was in disbelief felt rewarding enough. The way he looked at Skylar was hilarious! Even though he lost as well, at least Blaze didn’t win. “Had the great Blazing Speed finally failed you?” he mocked and he began to laugh, but his laughter began to die down when he saw Blaze shake. 

Blaze began to heave heavy breaths as his chest began to feel heavier and heavier until he dropped to the ground, holding where his lungs were supposed to be. He couldn’t help the tears that prickled in his eyes or the way his voice seemed to croak and scratch his throat when he tried to speak.

“Sh–shit!” Crusher and Picked panicked as they went to Blaze’s side immediately. “What the hell is happening to you?!”

Another broken croak was let out of Blaze’s mouth until he brought his other tire and began beating his head over and over again. With this action, it panicked Crusher and Pickle more. 

“Crusher, lower your voice!” Pickle called to his friend as he grabbed Blaze’s tire and tried to pull it down, but he was too weak.  

Crusher quickly took charge of the other tire and pushed it down. “Stop! Stop hurting yourself, Blaze!” Crusher commanded, staring frantically at the red monster truck. Blaze’s eyes began to grow unfocused and they desperately began searching for something as low croaks which were supposed to be cries escaped his mouth. Why would Blaze act like this just by losing a race?

“I–I’ll get Gabby!” Pickle quickly said, exiting the scene and rushing to get the dome mechanic. 

“Wait, Pickle! Don’t leave me here!” Crusher begged, but unfortunately, Pickle was already gone. Crusher turned to Blaze and saw him beginning to scratch himself with his tire and he had to pull that one away. 

“Okay, okay… What do I do when my rival is having a breakdown over some stupid race…” Crusher muttered as he looked anywhere in panic, then he saw a secluded area where not a lot of people could see. He turned back to Blaze and brought his tires close to his. “Blaze. Blaze, can you hear me?” he called. “Look at me, Blaze.”

Blaze tried his best to focus his eyes on Crusher, but his eyes kept avertin to anywhere but his. “Good enough,” Crusher sighed. “Okay, we’re just going to move, okay? We’re going to move you away. Somewhere nice and quiet. And you could cry all you want, okay?”

Blaze gave a shaky nod and Crusher began to slowly lead the racer to the secluded area, and as soon as Crusher sat Blaze down, Blaze collapsed in Crusher’s hold and let out an ugly cry. He clutched onto Crusher’s body as his own trembled. His body felt like it was on fire and his lungs felt like it was being ripped out of his ribcages. He choked so many times when he tried to formulate words that Crusher had to shush him whenever he tried to say something. 

Crusher felt an awkward panic as he held his rival in his arms while broke down. He didn’t know what triggered this all. Was it because he lost? Probably. His mocking of him? Most possible. But whatever triggered it, he had to make sure he didn’t hurt himself at least. 

And where the hell was Pickle? What was taking him so long?

Soon, Pickle arrived with Gabby, but then, Blaze calmed down. He wasn’t anymore crying hysterically, but rather, he was just staring off into space with dull eyes. He still held onto Crusher, trying not to slip to the ground, and in return, Crusher held him firmly in his arms. 

“What happened?” Gabby asked as she rushed towards Blaze and Crusher. She looked over Blaze’s body and other than a few severe scratches that scraped off some of his paint, nothing else developed physically. 

“He started crying! Or something,” Pickle said as he went beside Crusher’s side.

“He started hitting himself and his eyes are out of focus,” Crusher added. “I’m pretty sure he had a hard time breathing because the way he cried seemed irregular.”

Gabby winced and put a gentle hand on Blaze’s side. “Blaze? You with us?” 

Slowly, Blaze’s eyes turned to the purple-haired girl.

“You wanna go home?” Gabby asked. 

Slowly, Blaze nodded. 

Gabby gave him a few pats before she took out her phone. She dialed AJ’s number and put the phone into her ear, however, it went straight to voicemail. “Hi! You called AJ! Sorry, I’m a bit busy so just call again or leave a message after the beep–”

Gabby sighed and put her phone down. It was likely that AJ wasn’t at home right now, so that meant that Blaze would be alone. He turned to Crusher and Pickle pleadingly and said, “Guys, can you let Blaze sleep in your house for a night?”

“Wha–”

“Of course!” Pickle said before Crusher could object. “It’s the least we could do. Why? Is AJ not at home?”

“He wouldn’t answer his phone,” Gabby said. “But thanks a lot. I’m just going to go get something from AJ and Blaze’s house. I’ll meet you later.” She hopped on her motorbike and drove off to get the things she needed. 

Crusher sighed as he looked at the painfully numb-looking monster truck.

Crusher and Pickle led Blaze to their shared house and let Blaze rest on the couch. Crusher and Pickle discussed what they were going to do with the red monster truck in hushed voices in the kitchen in an effort to let Blaze rest and not hear about their squabble. 

“What do you think we should do?” Crusher asked, irritated with the situation.

“Well, we can't just leave him, obviously,” Pickle bit back. “You’re not the only one who thinks this is an inconvenience.”

“Oh, the great Magician Pickle is seeing this as an inconvenience ? Must be the end of the world!” Crusher teased with a strained grin.

Pickle looked away in shame when Crusher put it like that. “Look, I don’t think Blaze staying with us is an inconvenience. It’s the fact that he’s in that state,” Pickle said, gesturing to the red monster truck that seemed to just stare off into space. “Crusher, you know I’m not good with emotions. And I think trying to make him happy isn’t going to work.”

“Well, you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to deal with this,” Crusher huffed. “Why the heck did you say yes anyway?” 

“Because I’m nice, Crusher. Unlike you,” Pickle sassed. 

“Hey! I can be nice!”

“Oh really?” Pickle grinned. “I bet you can’t make a dish that Blaze is familiar with to make him feel better!”

“Oh, just watch me!” Crusher said as he opened the fridge and began pulling out food. He got his phone and searched Korean dishes before he found a common one served in homes. He pulled out ingredients to make chicken bulgogi and began preparing the meal with just a look at the ingredients. 

Pickle smiled triumphantly as he began to prepare hot cocoa for Blaze.

---

Gabby came to Crusher’s and Pickle’s house Blaze’s favorite blanket, his game console, and his dog-shaped stuffed animal. Blaze was able to function somewhat semi-normal as he began to dine in on the chicken bulgogi Crusher made. 

Gabby also stayed for lunch when the food was extremely good. “I never had this good 닭불고기 (chicken bulgogi) in forever!”

“I didn’t know you were Korean,” Pickle said as he ate some of the bulgogi as well. “But I could admit, this is delicious! You really outdid yourself, Crusher!”

Crusher puffed his chest out in pride. “Of course! As if you can ever doubt me.” He glanced at Blaze who was eating hungrily at the bulgogi, trying to return the energy he lost when he cried. He kept a sigh to himself and then sat down beside Pickle.

“You should totally try adding this to your menu,” Gabby said as she ate more of the bulgogi. “Start a Korean series! It’s the trend nowadays, anyway.”

Crusher gave an amused huff and said, “I’ll think about it.”

After lunch, Gabby checked on Blaze to make sure that he was okay. The most Blaze could do was let out mumbled sounds, nod, and smile. He gave smiles when he played with his console, but other than that, he was nonverbal. His eyes looked rather heavy and just two hours later, he went back to sleep on the couch. 

Gabby turned back to Pickle and Crusher and said, “I’m really grateful, you two. You don’t know how much this means to me.” 

“No problem, Gabby!” Pickle said. “We’ll keep an eye on Blaze until he’s good enough to go in the morning!”

Crusher grunted, but he gave Gabby a reassuring nod. 

Gabby smiled at Crusher and Pickle once more before she left the house.

---

Crusher couldn’t sleep that night. Like most nights. He sighed as he got himself out of bed and then went to the bathroom. He tried to be as quiet as possible, closing the door before he turned the lights on. He took out his bottles of sleeping pills before he popped one in his mouth. 

He heard shuffling outside and his body grew tense. Was someone inside the house? 

He stayed still for a few more moments before hearing the shuffling of tires again. He grabbed the razor (because it was the nearest yet most useful thing there) and then began creeping out of the bathroom. He headed towards the living room quietly and he was confused to see light emitting where the couch was. He saw the color of his rival and he questioned himself as to why he was there before finally remembering that Blaze was staying the night. 

He sighed. 

How could he forget about that?

He looked at the time on his phone and it read 2:34 AM.

That would mean he would have 13 more minutes before he passes out. Also, why would Blaze play his console this late at night?

He put the razor back in the bathroom before heading to sit beside Blaze. The sudden wait added to the couch shocked the blue-eyed vehicle and he turned to Crusher in confusion. 

The two stared at each other before Crusher looked away. He sighed and said, “Look. You got ten minutes to tell me what’s wrong before I pass out. Now, what’re you doing so late at night?” Crusher asked directly.

Blaze was astounded that he started blubbering like a goldfish, which irritated Crusher a lot. Blaze turned his console off, leaving the two in the dark. It was quiet at first before saying, “Nothing…”

Crusher groaned. “You know that’s a really bad lie, right? Now, spill. Do you want me to make you something?”

“N–No, it’s fine… Thank you…” Blaze said.

It was quiet between them for a few more moments before Blaze finally opened up. “I just… I want to say thank you for helping me today. I didn’t mean to bother you or Pickle. It’s just… I’m not…  I’m not the best when dealing with not being the best.”

Crusher scoffed at that and he could feel Blaze move away from him at the couch. 

“I just can’t okay? I can’t lose… Maybe I could lose sometimes when the situation is understandable, but today isn’t. I could have lost to someone better. Someone faster. But I lost to a rookie.”

“Yeah. I know that feeling,” Crusher sighed as he leaned back on the couch. “When I started racing, I wasn’t the best. The other racers would have kept shoving me and putting me down. This was before your friends, by the way. I was a good racer, back then. And fast too. But those idiots kept cheating with damned boosters… So I thought ‘Why not cheat too’?” 

“But apparently, the cheating I was doing was bad . Why can’t I cheat but they can? And then you came along…” He turned to the direction where Blaze was. “You came as a rookie. You never raced a single track in your life, and yet you beat me with a booster . How humiliating is that?”

Blaze now felt guilty as he turned his head away from the blue truck, trying to make himself as small as possible. Did Crusher cry too when he lost to him? How much pain did Blaze make him feel? 

“But that’s in the past now,” Crusher added, which shocked Blaze. Blaze turned back to Crusher with curious eyes, even though Crusher couldn’t see them. 

Crusher’s satchel glowed its cyan blue and it illuminated the room just a tad bit, but it was enough for Crusher to extend a tire and put it on Blaze’s. “You lost. You’re not the champion anymore. And in all honesty, I’m looking forward to seeing you lose again.” Crusher chuckled and he suppressed a yawn from coming out, sleepy tears lightly pricked down his eyes and he could feel his body beginning to feel heavy. “Why don’t we try serving the new kid to a dish served by the experts, huh?”

Blaze turned back to Crusher and he could see the softest smile displayed on the truck’s features. Blaze could feel warmth stir inside of him, but as usual, he could not put a finger as to what he was feeling. He held Crusher’s tire and watched as the larger truck leaned tiredly on the couch. He smiled at Crusher’s statement and said, “Yeah. We should.” 

They stayed quiet for a few more moments before Blaze heard the soft snores of the larger truck. Blaze smiled to himself, looking down at his tire holding Crusher’s and he couldn’t help but feel like this day was a blessing in disguise. But even then… He should talk to AJ. He yawned and let his head fall on the couch, leaning his body on the larger truck and letting his soft snores lull him to sleep.

Chapter 3: Left Hurt

Notes:

OKAY SO
I know it's been a long time since I updated but thank you so much for waiting!

“AJ, we need to talk,” was the first thing AJ heard the moment he stepped inside of his and Blaze’s house. He was tired from today’s work. He and Lazard had worked tirelessly for three days straight with only coffee and protein bars to energize them because they were close to finally having their first robot working. If AJ’s and Lazard’s equation isn’t wrong, it should work in about… 30 hours. Lazard gave AJ the rest of the day off.

He turned to Blaze and he took note of the paint peeled off by tire scratches. AJ quickly began to worry for his friend. “Blaze? What happened? Did something happen?” AJ asked as he approached his friend and began examining the scratches. “Did you get hurt?”

There was an uneasy emotion in Blaze’s eyes and he turned away with a sigh. “That isn’t important–”

“How is it not important?!” AJ yelled. “Blaze, you got hurt and you’re telling me that it isn’t important? Then tell me what is!” AJ scolded. 

Blaze shrunk a bit at the way AJ raised his voice, but he let out an unsteady breath to calm himself. “Look, I’m not saying that me being hurt isn’t important. It’s just that it isn’t the reason I want to talk right now.”

“Then what is the reason?” AJ asked his friend, looking at the scratch marks then at Blaze. In his mental to-do list, he added “Repaint Blaze” to it. 

Blaze answered, “Where were you during the last race?”

“The race? I was at work,” AJ said. 

“For three days?”

“I didn’t think you would notice.”

“How could I not have noticed?!” Blaze asked hysterically. “AJ, you were gone for three days. How could anyone not notice that? And your phone was off too! Gabby tried to call you!”

“How come I wouldn’t think no one would notice? You didn’t notice I was missing for a week straight!” AJ barked back. “What’s a week to three days?!”

“When did I ever forget you were gone for a week?!”

“When I tried to tell you that I was going to work, but you were just too busy preparing for a party about welcoming Stripes’s new bear cubs into the forest!” AJ replied angrily. “I was gone for a week then, but you hadn’t noticed. You didn’t even call! Because after Stripes’s party you had a hangout with Darington, so I guess my whereabouts weren’t as important as the things you attend to!”

“But this time it’s different,” Blaze said, talking softly to try and placate the furious boy. “It was a race!”

“You’ve had races without me before, what’s so different now?” AJ spat. 

“I lost.”

It was silence between them both before AJ let out a small laugh. Then it became louder. Blaze… Blaze could not believe this response. AJ laughing? At him losing a race?

AJ had as much passion as Blaze had when it came to racing. Sure, Blaze could understand that AJ was busy sometimes with his new work and he seemed to enjoy it as much, but he could see the effort that AJ puts in trying to attend races as much as he can. And Blaze did his best always to try and win the races in the name of AJ. 

So… To see AJ laugh because he heard Blaze lost was… Blaze didn’t know how to put it. Insulting? Degrading? Mocking? Upsetting? Something.

“Blaze… Blaze!” AJ turned to his ‘friend’, his eyes no longer the kind or caring hazels that Blaze always adored to see. Now, they were cold, uncaring, and sarcastic. An empty smile reached AJ’s face and he asked, “So what?”

“... Wh–What?”

“So what if you lost?” AJ asked, his face slowly turning into a deep frown as the negative emotions began to seep in under his nerves. “You lost. So what? You won’t be invited to parties anymore? You won’t hang out with your other friends anymore? So what? What does that have to do with me?”

“AJ–”

“Nothing! Absolutely, nothing !” AJ slammed his fist into the wall and Blaze yelped when a crack echoed from the impact. The wall on their house was dented by AJ’s fist and the red monster truck couldn’t help but think that this was not his friend. His friend would never let his anger do that. 

AJ stared at the frightened adult before he let out a huff. He marched into his room, slamming the door wide open before getting a bag, and hastily began pushing clothes into the bag. 

“AJ?” Blaze slowly went closer to AJ’s room and watched in confusion and fear as he saw his ‘friend’ pack his belongings. “What… What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Wh–What?” 

Blaze watched helplessly as AJ zipped the bag closed then he moved aside as he let AJ pass. He watched his best–… He watched the boy he used to know leave the room and march towards the door. 

Blaze could feel his body freeze in horror as he helplessly watched his friend, and in the last bout of desperation, he ran to the front of the door, blocking him. “NO!”

“Blaze,” AJ growled, his teeth gritting in irritation at the red monster truck. “Get out of the way.”

“AJ, you can’t do this!” Blaze said. “What about our races? What about our plans together? We can still try to fix this–”

“ We ? No. No, Blaze,” AJ said, glaring at him. “There was no longer a ‘we’. That was broken a long time ago. Now, move.”

Blaze’s eyes widened at the harshness of AJ’s tone and he couldn’t help but choke up on how drastic his friend had changed. What happened to the sweet AJ that he once shared is victories with? What happened to his friend who always helped him when he was down? What happened to his brother whom he had known since they were little? 

AJ sighed and pushed his way out the door with his belongings and Blaze couldn’t do anything about it. 

Now, he was alone in this empty house, and the silence couldn’t have been colder. 

---

Lazard opened his door and was shocked to see AJ standing out in the rain. “AJ! What are you doing here? And it’s raining!” He said, ushering the young boy inside. 

This wasn’t Lazard’s lab. It was his house. He usually didn’t stay in his house for longer than a few hours, leaving it with the bare minimum of things a home should have. This was one of the rare times that he was at his house and he decided to clean up before AJ made his way on his doorstep. He let the boy sit down on the couch and got a towel to wrap him in.

“What are you doing here? Did something happen?” Lazard asked, taking note that AJ had no bruises nor scraped along his body. Whatever happened to him, he was hoping AJ wasn’t hurt. He also took note of the luggage that he was lazily carrying with him. 

“Kolo…” AJ turned to the lizard hybrid and the adult realized that he had been crying. “Can I… Stay with you? For just a couple of days…”

“AJ…” Lazard sat with the boy and patted his bat comfortingly. “Did you had a fight with Blaze?”

“... I don’t want to talk about it.” 

Lazard nodded in understanding. “Alright… Don’t worry, AJ. You can stay with me for as long as you like.”

AJ leaned against the adult and said, “Thanks, Kolo.”

Chapter 4: The Danger's Here

Notes:

Hopefully, the 5th chapter will be the last. I don't want this to always be extending.

Anyway! My last chapter of 2023! See you all in 2024!

It was a week after Blaze came to stay over at Crusher’s place and something from that night made Blaze lean on the larger blue truck. Whenever Blaze would get invited to a hangout, he would ask for Crusher and Pickle to come along with him. Crusher would always decline but Pickle loved to go. Blaze would invite Crusher to places like the park and small cafes, but Crusher would often decline, although the times where he would join, Crusher found himself enjoying it.

In a week, you could say the red monster truck had wormed its way somewhere near Crusher’s cold metallic heart. 

That was why it worried Crusher not to see Blaze in the weekly race in the dome. He watched as the new and old racers come in the doors of the monsterdome but no Blaze. He looked at the time and it was still twenty minutes until the race starts. He turned to Pickle who was setting up shop for the race. He poked his friend before he said, “Pickle, I need a favor.”

Pickle turned to his friend and huffed. “If you’re going to ask me to spill oil on the tracks, I am not doing it,” he replied as he continued to stack his materials on his little snack and merchandize stall. 

Crusher rolled his eyes and lightly shoved his friend. “I’m not going to ask for that! It’s something more serious this time!”

“What? Getting you a banana-flavored smoothie after the race so you wouldn’t cry again?” Pickle teased then dodged his friend’s offending tire. He stuck his tongue out to his blue-colored friend when he missed and the older truck just glared at the short one.

“I am serious, Pickle,” Crusher said. “I need you to check on Blaze.”

Pickle stopped fooling around and gazed at Crusher in disbelief. “Blaze?” Pickle looked around the crowd and then back at Crusher. “But Blaze is not here.”

“Yeah. Exactly,” Crusher said. “I need you to look for him.”

“What?! But I have to set up shop!” Pickle complained. 

“I’ll do it for you.”

“But how am I supposed to look for him in this big city?!” Pickle reasoned. 

Crusher rolled his eyes and pointed at him. “Don’t give me that excuse. I know what you’re capable of.” Crusher reached out and pulled Pickle’s magic wand from him. “I know you’re more powerful than you seem, P. You don’t have to hide it from me, you know…”

Pickle gapped at his wand then back at Crusher who had a determined look on his face. Pickle took a deep breath and got his wand from his friend. “Blaze must have done something to you to make you push me like this,” he said with a sly grin directed towards his friend.

Crusher looked away from his friend, but he couldn’t hide the small blush on his cheeks. “Just– Just go find him!” Crusher ushered. 

Pickle giggled like a mischievous child. He flicked his wand in the air, and soon, his body dissipated in a green cloud of smoke, flying overhead to exit the dome in search of Blaze. 

Crusher sighed as he watched his friend disappear then went to his stand to try and arrange his products. He didn’t mean for his friend to catch up quickly about his little crush on the red monster truck but he was his best friend since college. Of course, he would pick something up when Crusher becomes insistent on finding his (former?) rival. 

Crusher looked at the participants and saw many familiar faces like Watts, Zeg, Darington, Starla, Stripes, and of course, the newbie, Skyler. The new monster truck seemed younger than most of his peers, but that didn’t stop him from trying to interact with the other racers. He was all smiles and laughter that it reminded Crusher of when he first saw Blaze– annoyingly positive. 

Skyler looked around the stadium and turned his head to Crusher’s direction. He gave him the brightest smile and a wave. He cringed. Yes, he is definitely a mini-Blaze. He wondered if Skyler never won the last race, he and Blaze would be best friends. 

Skyler began to approach Crusher and the other tried to drive away from the approaching white monster truck. “Crusher! Crusher, wait!” He called. 

Crusher groaned. He snapped at the white monster truck with a red stripe and yelled, “What?!”

“Crusher, don’t be like that to the new racer!” Starla said as she and the others approached the two. 

Crusher rolled his eyes and retorted, “Yeah, as if I want to be nice to the competition .”

Skyler was taken aback by the hostility but instead of backing away from the truck like most new racers, Skyler smiled at Crusher. He laughed and said, “When they said you have a prickly personality, I didn’t know that it would be this much.”

“Yeah, well, that’s Crusher for ‘ya,” Darington laughed.

Crusher rolled his eyes and tried to leave the conversation, but he stopped when Skylar spouted his last sentence. “I actually got into racing because of you, Crusher.”

Crusher turned back and matched the other shocked faces that surrounded the white monster truck. “What?” he asked. 

Suddenly, the building began to shake and the metal holding the ceiling began to fall. The crowd panicked and tried to look for cover, pushing each other off the bleachers and trying their best not to get hit and get stuck. 

“GABBY!” Watts yelled, racing over to the young girl who was dodging the metal beams left and right. Luckily, Watts was able to get Gabby away from the danger before the fragile human would get squished.

Crusher looked up and saw a metal pole beginning to fall down on him and the others. He reached into his satchel and made a shield above them. The metal beams clinked and clanked against his shield and Crusher began having a hard time trying to hold on to the weight. 

The other racers couldn’t believe it. The Crusher they know would run away in tears at the mere sight of danger. It was unbelievable to see him protecting them now. 

Instead of watching, Skyler rushed to help Crusher lift the shield to try and help Crusher with the increasing weight. With Skyler’s action, the others were given the incentive to try and help Crusher carry the weight. 

“What the hell are you all doing?” Crusher asked as the weight became lighter and lighter as everyone began to help. 

“We’re helping, duh!” Darington replied. 

As the roof began to collapse on itself, the others saw the roof of the dome being torn apart by two gigantic metal hands from above. “Oh, Blaaaaaze!~” A singsong voice of a familiar teenager called and the group watched in horror as the robot’s torso and head were revealed. In the head of the robot was AJ in science gear and goggles and he looked manic. “Where are youuu?~”

“AJ?!” Gabby yelled. “AJ! What are you doing?!”

AJ simply ignored her and scanned the area with the visors added to his robot. “Hmm. Not here.” He placed the roof back and left.

Even though the roof had been placed back, the detached support beams were on the ground, leaving nothing to support the roof. The roof began to fall and the ones who were left cried in fear as they met their demise. 

“WE HAVE TO LEAVE!” Stripes yelled and he led the way with Crusher’s shield. 

Crusher’s shield wasn’t able shield all of them from the debris that fell while driving out so as they went forward, the blue truck had to exert more effort into making the shield bigger and bigger with each meter they took. 

Skyler was amazed at the blue truck’s abilities and he couldn’t help but feel his mechanical heart beating when he saw Crusher in action. 

Once they were out of the dome, the gang kept moving until they were a safe distance away to watch the facility slowly fall to the ground. Skyler turned to Crusher with stars in his eyes and exclaimed, “Crusher! Crusher you were so cool! The way you made that shield and–”

Crusher tuned Skyler out as his face was covered by a gloomy shadow, panic slowly making its way to his features. 

Starla turned to Crusher and saw his perplexed face. “Crusher, you–”

Crusher drove away, leaving the group confused. Gabby tapped Watts and said, “We have to follow him.”

“Gabby, Watts, wait! What’s going on–”

Before the group could finish their question, they were driving off as after Crusher. With all the commotion gone, they didn’t notice that Zeg disappeared. 

Chapter 5: Precluded Conclusion

Blaze sped past through the traffic lights that turned red with no care if he was breaking the laws right now. He saw his best friend. And his best friend was on a huge robot that towered over the commercial buildings. A robot with gray and red markings and a bit of green.

Where the hell did AJ get that robot? And why was he doing this to Axle City? 

“Oooh, Blaaaaze!~” AJ called as he pushed through the buildings that blocked his way. “Where are you? I want to show you my new toy!” He ignored the screams of the citizens below, threatening to stomp them to the ground if they were not going to move. 

The fear snaked up Blaze’s body and he shivered in terror to see his friend call for him in such a condescending manner. How did his friend end up like this? AJ just didn’t become a villain… He became a supervillain. And… Was it his fault?

Blaze couldn’t think rationally because panic and fear clouded his judgment. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He didn’t know. Because  AJ was always the one who could reason during these stressful moments. So, without much thought, he jumped in front of AJ and yelled, “AJ! You have to stop this!”

AJ looked down at him and gave him a manic grin. Blaze didn’t know his old friend could do that. He was always so innocent, so kind, so cheerful. “Blaze!” He greeted cheerfully. He extended his robot to show him in all its glory and proudly proclaimed, “I got an upgrade! Awesome, no?”

“AJ, you have to stop this!” Blaze repeated. “This isn’t the way! I know you’re mad at me, but hurting other people shouldn’t be the solution!”

AJ only laughed and leaned down on his robot as if he was looking at nothing but a little insect. “And since when did you care about other people?”

“What?”

“You never cared.” AJ got half of a building with his robot hands and raised it above his hands in anger. He glared down at Blaze and roared, “You never cared for me!”

“AJ–!”

AJ slammed the building down on the truck and Blaze froze in fear as he saw his life flash before his eyes. However, he was pulled back from the falling architecture with just a minute to spare and into the arms of his friend. Blaze looked up and saw a determined look on Zeg’s face. “Zeg!” Blaze cried as he hugged his friend tightly. “Thank you! AJ is–”

“That’s not AJ right now,” Zeg said as he hid Blaze in between the alleys and away from AJ who was looking for Blaze’s squished body. Blaze looked up at Zeg confused before the dinosaur truck turned to him and continued, “You can’t talk sense into AJ when he’s this mad. All he’s thinking about right now is destruction.”

Blaze wanted to doubt his friend, because how could he say something so cruel about AJ? “AJ isn’t like that!” Blaze defended. 

Zeg gestured to the area where AJ was stomping away from, leaving nothing but debris and broken roads. He asked, “Is THIS what AJ would have done?!”

Blaze looked at the sight broken-heartedly and he retreated further into the darkness of the alleyway as reality struck him like a harsh whip. AJ would have never done this. He would have never wanted this. He loved Axle City as much as Blaze did. He didn’t know what happened but he needed to get his AJ back. He turned to Zeg and gave him a nod. “What do I need to do?”

Zeg smiled. “We need to–”

The ground shook and they turned to the alley to see the giant robot AJ had been on fall to the ground, scattering dust everywhere. Out of concern, Blaze tried to speed past Zeg to get to his friend. “AJ–”

Zeg held him back and shushed him as they watched the dust settle around the area. From the chaos, a silhouette with blue light showed itself in front of AJ seeming to be the one who was battling him. AJ groaned and stood up with the help of the buildings. He chuckled lowly and glared at the silhouette that stood before him. “Oh, look who we have here…”

The dust cleared and the figure was revealed to be Crusher glowing in cyan light and anger. AJ got up and readied his suit for a fight. “My, my… Why so angry, Crush?”

“What did you do to Blaze?” Crusher growled.

AJ was more than surprised, but he laughed it off and leaned his robot on a building, ignoring the frightened yells civillians screamed out for. AJ tilted his head and asked, “Why do you ask? Don’t you hate him? Wait, did you want to kill him too?”

That response only got a large pole thrown at AJ in which the teenager dodged. “Woah!” He laughed and he turned back to Crusher in amusement. “What was that for, buddy?”

“What did you do to him?!” Crusher yelled as he summoned another large metal pole and threw it towards the robot only for AJ to catch it and crush it into a ball with his giant metallic arms. 

The boy only laughed as he threw the ball of metal away from him. “Nothing much… I only gave him what he deserved.” With a manic grin, AJ raised his foot and began descending it down on Crusher’s body. “DEATH!”

“CRUSHER!” 

Without thinking Blaze rushed to pull Crusher out from under AJ’s foot and reveal himself to AJ. AJ turned and laughed when he saw his old companion alive. “Oh, so you DID survive! Pity.”

Blaze put Crusher behind him and yelled, “AJ, it's me you want! Leave the others and the city out of this!”

“Well, it's their fault if they want to sacrifice themselves for you!” AJ roared as he began stomping his way towards Blaze.

Blaze froze in fear as he saw the large metal foot become closer and closer before Crusher snapped him out of it. He pushed Blaze back and yelled, “What are you doing, you idiot?! RUN!”

The two trucks began to race away and lead the robot out of the city. AJ followed frustratedly, stomping all obstacles out of his way in order to reach his goal. Crusher had to keep Blaze from looking back or else he would freeze in fear. He doesn’t have AJ consoling him to be brave right now. Instead, it was AJ who was pushing him to be afraid. 

“I–I don’t understand,” Blaze desperately said as he dodged one blockage from another. “I don’t know what happened to him, but it’s my fault. And I am such a bad friend and brother, what had I done–” Blaze’s eyes blurred the longer he spoke and in turn, he couldn’t drive properly. 

Blaze steered unsteadily on the road and getting emotional right now was dangerous. “BLAZE!” Crusher had to push the red truck away from the approaching pole that AJ threw at them and he ended up cornering Blaze in front of a building. He glared at the crying truck and scolded him, “It’s not the fucking TIME to think about how this is your fault, Blaze! Yes, AJ being mad is your fault but AJ reacting like this isn’t, so snap out of that delusional head of yours and focus on the situation right now!”

Blaze had barely any time to react when he saw AJ approaching them with a large chunk of gravel. Crusher stood protectively in front of Blaze and AJ could only laugh at the display of friendship they had. Blaze used to do that for him too. Oh, how times have changed. 

“This is so pitiful,” AJ said. He raised the chunk of gravel and was about to drop it but then something green flung itself towards his hand and made him spill its contents. 

Zeg landed on the ground with a bit of a tumble before he drove in front of Blaze and Crusher. He glared at the robot with sheer intensity like nothing Blaze had seen on the dino monster truck. “AJ!” He shouted. “Lazard is manipulating you!”

AJ stared at Zeg and rage boiled inside of his teenage body. He balled his robot hand into a fist and tried to strike Zeg down with it. “How DARE you say that about him!” AJ cried as he tried to squish Zeg again and again, creating large craters on the road, but no matter how much he smashed, the dino hybrid kept getting away. “You don’t even know him!” 

“Yes, I do!” Zeg stated. “He’s my brother!”

Brother? Zeg and Lazard? That couldn’t be. The news came as a shock to everyone and Zeg took this opportunity to ram the robot down. AJ let out a yell as the robot fell, but he was able to steer the controls for it to land on its butt rather than the back. He looked at Zeg and began to laugh. 

“Oh… Oh . No wonder he can relate so much,” He commented and then grabbed a dumpster. “You must have been a pretty shitty brother too!” AJ threw it toward Zeg and he dodged it by an inch. By then, AJ got up and began trying to stomp Zeg too along with Crusher who was trying to fight side by side with the dinosaur truck. 

AJ was having fun but then inside the robot, his screen on it showed the concerned look of his new partner in crime. And it looks like he was driving. “Lazard!” He happily greeted. “What’s up? Need me to do something for you?”

“Uh, yes, actually,” Lazard said through the screen. “I heard Zeg was there.”

“Yeah!” AJ laughed as he kicked Crusher to a building and then tried to catch Zeg like the slippery mouse he was. “I heard he was your brother. He left you too, right? That’s why you’re mad?”

The shame on Lazard’s face was all the answer AJ needed. He reassured him by saying, “Don’t worry, Kolo. I’ll have this truck squashed in no time.”

“Y–Yeah, that’s what I want to ask you about,” Lazard said. “Please, spare him.”

AJ paused his robot and asked, “What?”

With the robot unmoving, Zeg began quickly looking for any weakness the bot had. The hands were too big, and it's likely that they reinforced that part to punch and grab. Same with the feet. The torso was most likely reinforced seeing that AJ was placed in front of it, and that only left the back. 

Zeg turned to Crusher and quickly whispered, “Go to the back. I’ll distract him.” 

Crusher gave a quick nod before going around and out of sight from the bot. Then, the robot began to move again and AJ began to redirect his attention to Blaze once more who was still standing on the side, watching the whole thing. 

“Blaze!” Zeg called as he grabbed Blaze and pulled him away from the robot. They were in a far enough distance that AJ couldn’t catch them but Zeg was sure that he could still hear them. AJ began to chase after them and Crusher was trailing behind, trying to be discreet.

“Blaze,” Zeg said, “You have to convince AJ somehow.”

“What?!” Blaze cried. “I–I can’t! I–”

Zeg sighed and dragged Blaze to another corner. He yelled at AJ and said, “AJ! Stop this! Lazard’s manipulating you to do this!”

AJ’s eyes burned with fury and focused his attention on Zeg. With this opportunity, Zeg pushed Blaze aside so the attention would all be on him. “AJ!” Zeg called again. “You don’t want this–”

“You don’t know that!” AJ said as he stomped in front of Zeg and forced the dino to go backward. “How dare you speak of him that way?!”

“He’s my brother, I know him!” Zeg insisted as he glanced back and saw Crusher and Blaze formulating a plan and shortly beginning to execute it. He just needed to keep AJ still. And not get caught. “He’s using you!”

AJ finally grabbed him and Zeg was pushed painfully down on the gravel that it made a crater. He was then brought to the head where AJ sat and he glared at Zeg in fury. Zeg continued, “He’s just befriending you for his own gain! He’s using you and you need to–”

“At least I am in use!” AJ quickly said, and that stopped Zeg. What did he mean? AJ continued, “I have been idle beside Blaze for who knows how long, but now I have used. I have meaning! And unlike Blaze, I know Kolo won’t leave me behind like he did–”

“AJ!” 

AJ couldn’t turn back in time before a giant speedball jumped on a track and roughly collided with the back of his robot. Crusher and Blaze made a track with a giant metallic ball then Blaze pushed it with his blazing speed (helped activated by Crusher) so it could develop momentum enough to rip apart the metal on AJ’s robot body. 

The robot exploded and both Zeg and AJ were thrown in different directions. 

Crusher and Blaze drove down from where they were hiding and gasped at the damaged they caused. “Zeg!” Blaze and Crusher called when they saw the dino groaning after being thrown at a building. There was smoke that clouded their vision but they were lucky enough that their friend’s silhouette was big enough for them to identify. 

Crusher and Blaze helped him up and Crusher asked, “Zeg, are you okay?”

Zeg groaned as he held his head in pain. “Yeah… Zeg’s okay…” He muttered.

Blaze looked around in concern, taking notice of a certain someone being absent. He looked at Zeg and asked, “Where’s AJ?”

“Blaze,” Crusher called and pointed behind him. 

In the smoke, a silhouette of a monster truck with a tail appeared, and the men waited until the smoke cleared to reveal Lazard crouched over and cradled the unconscious body of AJ. 

Blaze’s heart began beating in his ears as his eyes widened to see his friend unconscious and bruised. “AJ!” Blaze called as he quickly ran over to him. 

Lazard stiffened and he quickly moved away from Blaze, glaring at him with all of his might as he held AJ protectively in his arms. 

Zeg went with Blaze and glared back at Lazard. “Lazard,” he called, “Let him go.”

“NO!” Lazard yelled and it shocked both Blaze and Zeg. “You don’t deserve him!” he yelled. Blaze was about to defend himself but he continued, “All AJ wanted was for you to have time! But you couldn’t even give him that! You neglected him, pushed him away! And he turned to me because he couldn’t trust you. Why would I give him back to you ?!”

Blaze’s heart broke with every word that Lazard said. Did he really hurt AJ that much? Maybe he deserved this. All of this. He was such a bad person… “Lazard…” Blaze said pleaded, “Please… Let me make it up to AJ.”

Lazard’s eyes gazed at Blaze and for a moment, he softened, but the next second, it came back to his hardened glare. “That isn’t up for me to decide.”

Zeg stepped up to try and talk to him again. “Kolo–”

Without another word, Lazard threw a smoke bomb on the ground and disappeared. 

---

The city was repairing itself from its attack by supervillains. The city hadn’t been this destroyed when there was an attack, so progress was slow as they tried to repair its damages. All races were postponed for three months because of how bad the destruction of the dome was. Many parks had to be closed because of the leftover debris that spread and the city roads were all due for repair and strengthening.

Blaze looked over the city and sighed. He couldn’t help but feel like this was all his fault. If he had just paid more attention to AJ, then maybe none of this would have happened. If he had stopped to think of his best friend, then maybe he could have saved the city from his wrath. If he could only be a better friend–

Someone bumped Blaze’s tire and he turned to see Crusher standing beside him with concern. He asked, “What’s on your mind?” There was little point in asking if he was okay because clearly he wasn’t.

Blaze sighed and shook his head. “It’s just…” He gestured to the city. “We could have avoided all of this… If I could have just been…” Blaze deflated and he was close to crying once more as he looked down on the ground. “A better friend…”

“Hey.” Crusher bumped him again and when Blaze didn’t look at him, he pulled his chin up to face him. He stared at Blaze’s deep blue eyes and said, “You were… A shitty friend.” Wow, what a nice way to comfort someone. “But that didn’t give AJ the right to destroy the city,” Crusher finished.

He put a tire on Blaze’s head and awkwardly patted him. He used to do this to Pickle when he was upset but he didn’t know if this would work on Blaze as well. He added, “Look, you made a mistake. But sometimes, those mistakes don’t warrant the consequences.” He looked back at the city and sighed. “AJ being mad is your fault. The city being destroyed is AJ’s fault, separate from yours. Listen to me when I say that none of this–” he motioned to the city,” –is not your burden to bear.”

Blaze stared at the city below and his heart ever so lightened when Crusher said all of that. He sighed and let himself relax with Crusher. “Thanks, Crusher… But I still feel like I need to do something to rectify this all…”

“If you really want to fix this, then fix yourself,” Crusher said firmly. He looked at Blaze with no malice or ill intent, but it was still stern nonetheless. “Learn from your mistakes and be a better friend, because that was your only fault in this situation.”

The red truck smiled at Crusher warmly and he moved closer to the truck as he turned back to watch the view. “Yeah… That could work.”

Blaze wasn’t the best. And throughout this whole ordeal, Blaze found out that he could never be the best, because someone else could be better than him at any given time. So, he should work on that. He should be a better racer. A better hero. He should be a better friend. 

But someday, Blaze hopes AJ will come back and realize that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. 

Notes:

Thank you all for seeing the end of my story! I hope you enjoyed it:D