"Woah, woah!" Crusher helped as he tried to balance himself while he flew. "This is so HIGH!"
"Flap your wings at the same time," Blaze suggested, fluttering to his rival's side to help.
"Easy for you to say," Crusher grumbled, glaring at the other. "You don't have a pair gigantic wings,"
"Huh, his wings ARE huge," Darington realized, his tires stretched out slightly as he attempted to balance himself. "What's up with that?"
"And it's partly feathery," Pickle observed, lightly tugging on the wing, which caused the dark blue truck to grimace.
"Hey! Watch it— woah!" Crusher swerved, causing him to slightly unbalance himself, but he managed to keep himself steady and up on the air. "Man, I hate flying,"
"You'll get the hang of it," Blaze encouraged.
"Well, he has to," Stripes snorted. "We'll be flying off to take down Nina and rescue Blaze's parents, after all,"
"Terrific," Crusher groaned.
"Aww, it's alright, big guy," Pickle grinned and helped him to balance a bit. "I'll be here to help ya out,"
"Thanks," Crusher glanced at the other with a smile before turning away. "Still. How much further 'till we get there?"
"Not much further," AJ assured.
"It getting dark," Zeg pointed out, turning his head to see the setting sun.
"Huh, you're right," Blaze frowned. "Guess we'll have to stay a night at the palace before heading out to save my parents,"
"If it means resting and not flying for a few hours, I'm game," Crusher hissed. "My wings are getting tired,"
"Don't want to agree with Crusher on this, but my wings are gettin' tired too," Starla nodded, staring up at her slow-flapping wings.
"Don't worry, guys," AJ told them. "We're almost there, don't worry,"
Truth be told, in just a few minutes, even with their surrounding partly dark, they had approached a gigantic tree, where a golden and bronze palace stood with glowing flower lights and silver columns by the entrance. The group all gasped at the sight as they approached the palace.
"Everyone, welcome to Queen Zilina's palace," Blaze announced, gliding down to the entrance with AJ. "Now, landing's gonna be a little tricky, so it's better to start gliding and—"
"Daring-TOOON!"
The duo turned to see the group diving head first, with Darington leading them as he got to the entrance. He yelped as he landed with a crash.
"Oof!" The stunt truck groaned but chuckled as he tried to pick himself up.
"Oh, Darry," Blaze sighed and went over to help the other up. "You okay?"
"Yep!" Darington shook the dizziness off and grinned. "Just peachy!"
"Woah!" Zeg crash-landed right beside them, followed by Starla, Watts and Pickle.
Gabby landed with a little difficulty and helped the others up. Stripes yelped and tried to avoid crashing by moving sideways. This, however, caused the claws of his wings to get caught in the leaves of the huge tree.
"Oof," the tiger truck tried to tug his wings free. "Um, a little help please?"
"I'll help you out," AJ snickered and fluttered up to help his friend out.
"Hey, where's Crusher?" Pickle asked, looking around.
"AAAAH!"
The group turned to see the dark blue truck panicking and trying to balance himself still as he dove and crashed in between them, his large wings falling on top of him. He groaned.
"I hate my wings…"
"I've got ya, Crusher!" Pickle immediately went over to help the other.
"Man, your wings are even larger than you," Darington chuckled.
"I… noticed that," Crusher glared at the stunt truck, gritting his teeth. "And that's why I hate it,"
"It IS a little too big," Gabby observed.
"Maybe it signifies his big ego," Starla joked.
"Ha-ha, funny," Crusher rolled his eyes.
Blaze tilted his head and narrowed his eyes to observe his rival's wings. They DO seem very big and, strangely enough, very familiar…
"Blaze! You're here!"
The group turned to see Blaze's sister Sparkle zoom towards them, her own pair of wings fluttering on her back that looked similar to Blaze's but the top part of her wings were orange with red stars on it while the bottom were dark faded orange with yellow polka dots, and in the middle was a faded bronze diamond.
"Sparkle!" Blaze welcomed his sister into his tires as AJ fluttered down to them with Stripes in tow. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but Mom and Dad aren't," Sparkle sighed.
"Don't worry, Sparkle," AJ assured her with a smile. "we'll save them from Nina's clutches,"
"Great!" Sparkle beamed. "And I'm coming with you!"
"Are you sure?" Blaze questioned, his face showing concern. "Nina is pretty powerful, and I don't want you to get hurt,"
"Sure I'm sure!" Sparkle nodded. "They're my parents too!"
"Alright, you can come," Blaze let out a sigh. "but I want you to stay close to me and the others, alright?"
"Okay!" Sparkle grinned then she turned to the other monster machines. "Oh! You brought more help?"
"They insisted on coming," AJ told her.
"They're my friends," Blaze added, pointing to each of them. "This is Stripes, Starla, Watts, Gabby, Zeg, Darington, Pickle, and you've already met Crusher,"
"Hello," Crusher bluntly greeted.
"Oh, I remember him," Sparkle snorted then she turned to the stunt truck. "So YOU'RE Darington,"
"Um, yes?" Darington offered the other a small grin. "You've… heard of me?"
"Sure have!" Sparkle chuckled. "You're the one my big brother's been going on and on and on and—"
"Ah! Sparkle!" Blaze flushed red as he placed a tire over his sister's mouth, not noticing the stunt truck blushing in front of them at the statement. "N-Now is not the time for that. I-It's already late, so we gotta rest up for our big journey tomorrow,"
"Indeed, you all do," A voice from behind them spoke, and they all turned to see a light blue monster machine approach them, a silver crown on her hair as a large pair of white, angel-like fairy wings with blue designs and a silver diamond in the middle sat on her back.
"Queen Zilina!" Blaze gasped before bowing with AJ and Sparkle.
Everyone else were caught off-guard by the queen's arrival but had also bowed down to show respect. Crusher was actually hesitant and would not have bowed with them if not for Pickle tugging on his wings.
Queen Zilina smiled. "You may rise, all of you,"
They all obliged, with Crusher partly glaring at Pickle for tugging on his wings, which caused the green truck to motion to the queen in a scolding way as the queen approached them. She turned to Blaze and Sparkle and frowned.
"I truly apologize for what happened, young Blaze, young Sparkle," she spoke to them gently. "I wish I could've done something to stop Nina from taking your parents,"
"It's alright, your majesty," Blaze reassured her. "The only thing I don't understand is how Nina escaped,"
"I will tell you all over dinner," Queen Zilina told him. "For now, I'm sure you and your friends are all tired and starving, so come, let us get you all something to eat,"
She turned to lead them inside. As she did, she had slowly dragged herself to the back of the group to ask each of them their names. She had soon settled down to Crusher, who was dragging himself at the very back of the group as he stared at the ground and grumbled to himself.
"And what is your name, young one?"
"H-Huh?" Crusher turned to the queen, surprised to see her suddenly strolling beside him. "O-Oh. My name's Crusher,"
"What an… interesting name," Queen Zilina slowly nodded, her eyes moving to his large wings. "And your wings… they are quiet large and… familiar…"
"Yeah, they really are big and— wait, familiar?" Crusher looked at the queen oddly. "What do you mean by familiar?"
"Just… familiar, that's all," Queen Zilina stared over at his wings a little longer, eyes narrowed, even as she made her way back to the front.
Crusher grimaced uncomfortably at her gaze and waited until she was far, even when she still had her eyes on him and his wings for some reason. Pickle had overheard the conversation and frowned.
"Huh, what was that all about?"
"I… I have no idea," Crusher drove closer to his best friend, trying to ignore the queen's gaze. "I don't think I even want to,"
Queen Zilina soon led them to the dining hall, where a huge feast had been prepared. The group dove in immediately, especially Crusher, Stripes and Zeg, who apparently had not eaten before they left. While they ate, Queen Zilina explained what had happened.
"Nina had been plotting to escape for years now," she began. "She had found allies within the dungeons, and those allies had found ways to bribe some of the guards with gold. They had broken out this morning, so I had tasked your parents to lead a team after them,"
"But Nina was able to defeat them?" Sparkle asked.
"Unfortunately so," Queen Zilina nodded sadly. "She had also grown powerful in her magic over the years. Her allies had all been recaptured, but the army had been struck down as well. Your parents tried to pursue her to capture her, but she had overpowered them. The next thing I knew, she had sent a letter to me, claiming to have your parents, and if I don't hand over the throne, she will cut their wings off and drain them from their magic,"
"She can't do that!" AJ exclaimed.
"And you can't hand over your throne either!" Blaze hissed. "If you do then all magic will be hers and hers alone,"
"That's exactly what I thought," Queen Zilina gave a nod. "That is why I decided to contact you immediately, young Blaze, young AJ. I knew that you both have the same bravery as Phoenix and Flame, so I knew that I could count on you both to save them and all of the fairy world, as well as the world you resided in, from Nina's clutches,"
"You can definitely count on us," Blaze told her. "All of us,"
"Wonderful," Queen Zilina turned to the group with a smile. "I assume that you will all help young Blaze and young AJ stop Nina?"
"Of course, your majesty," Watts replied.
"We'd do anything to help our friends!" Stripes agreed.
"Thank you, all of you," Queen Zilina glanced over at the group, her eyes resting on Crusher and his wings a little longer than the others. "Hmm, you all have such interesting wings. I assume that young Blaze had given you wings to help you with your quest?"
"He did, actually," Gabby confirmed.
"Well," Queen Zilina stared at Crusher one more time before turning away. "your wings represent the magic you each possess inside of you. Sometimes, it is a direct definition, but other times, it is indirect, and you must figure out your magic abilities all on your own. Like Young Blaze, for example, has the power of shape shifting and speed, while Young AJ has the power of flames and animal communication,"
"And I've got the same powers as my big brother!" Sparkle claimed.
"Really?" Starla sounded surprised.
"Yes, indeed," Queen Zilina giggled at the young truck's enthusiastic claim. "Young Sparkle has similar powers as her older brother, though her brother's magic is stronger than hers because of age and of constant use. One's magic can or cannot be hereditary,"
"Ooh! Zeg want to know Zeg's magic!" Zeg cried out.
"In time, Young Zeg," Queen Zilina assured the Dino truck. "I'm sure that you will all discover your magic during your quest tomorrow. You will need to use it, after all,"
"Is Nina that powerful?" Darington gulped.
"Yes," Queen Zilina's voice shook as she spoke, another brief glance at Crusher before she sighed. "My younger sister Nina had always been talented in dark magic and the magic of creation. Even in the dungeons, her magic evolved greatly with her emotions, but with your combined magic, I am certain that you will able to defeat her,"
"You really think we, a couple of ordinary monster machines, can defeat an evil, powerful fairy princess?" Stripes was bewildered.
"Oh, Young Stripes, you are all anything but ordinary," Queen Zilina shook her head at the tiger truck's words. "I have watched over Young Blaze and Young AJ on their adventures in your world of mortality. You each possess abilities that seem normal and plain when alone but powerful when set together,"
"That's right," Blaze agreed. "We all can do anything as long as we do it together,"
The group all seemed unsure but offered their friend and the queen a smile and a nod each. Only Crusher didn't react and narrowed his eyes at the fairy queen, who glanced over at him again before turning away as if nothing happened.
Soon, dinner was over, and Queen Zilina had given each of them rooms to sleep in for the night. As they retired to their rooms, Blaze had noticed his rival extremely wary and uncomfortable, so he and AJ approached him.
"Hey, Crusher," the red truck said. "You okay?"
"Eh, been better," Crusher moved his eyes to the queen, who had yet to retire to her own quarters to rest and had been waiting until they were all safely in theirs. "I don't like how the queen stares at me, though,"
"Hmm?" Blaze glanced back at Queen Zilina and had caught her staring at Crusher for a moment before turning to some scrolls in her tire. "Oh, I see,"
"Don't worry about it, Crusher," AJ assured the dark blue truck. "She must just be wary. You see, Blaze's parents are Queen Zilina's top royal guards, so with them being captured by Nina must be making her a little paranoid,"
"Still," Crusher didn't look convinced by the excuse. "She keeps on staring at me and my wings. She says that it's… familiar to her, and when she says 'familiar', there's a hint of… I don't know, she just sounds weird when she says 'familiar', and I don't like it,"
"Huh, that is weird," Blaze thought about it but smiled. "but don't worry. I'm sure AJ is right and that Queen Zilina's just paranoid now that my parents aren't here to help the royal guards guard the palace and now that Nina's out there and could strike at any moment,"
"Argh, you guys don't get it," Crusher shook his head and turned away. "She just… ugh, forget it. Why do I even bother?"
Blaze and AJ frowned but only watched as the dark blue truck drove into his room and slammed the door shut.