"Oh no they DON'T!" Crusher quietly hissed.
"Crusher, come on..." Pickle pleaded. "Let's just forget this whole plan!"
"NO!" Crusher snarled.
"But what can YOU do, Crusher?" Pickle asked.
"I'm gonna make sure I get the Sunstone first!" Crusher grinned.
"Uh, how, exactly, are you gonna do that?" Pickle raised an eyebrow. "Even YOU don't know where the Sunstone is,"
"Yes, but THEY do," Crusher smirked, eyes flashing. "I just need to create a little… facade,"
"What do you mean by... facade?" Pickle hated to ask.
Crusher didn't answer. Instead, his smirk widened while his crystal blue eyes glowed with intensity. Suddenly, black rocks began to sprout out from the ground, trapping Pickle in a cage and lifting him. The green truck gasped in horror.
"Hey!!"
"Oh, calm down, Pickle, you're fine," Crusher rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing THIS for, Crusher?!"
"Easy," Crusher snickered. "Why beat them when you can join them?"
Pickle looked confused. "Wh-What…?"
"Oh, Pickle, don't you get it?" Crusher grinned. "Once I 'ask' for help because they see you trapped, they'll think that I'd do ANYTHING for my best friend, as you would for me, and lead me straight to the Sunstone for sure!"
"Crusher, that's insane!" Pickle cried out.
"Insane enough to work," Crusher evilly laughed. "Just act with me, and everything will go according to plan,"
"But this is way wrong!" the green truck protested.
"And you've got anything against it?" Crusher snarled, eyes flashing icy blue again as he glared up at the other. "It's either you're with me or against me on this, Pickle."
Pickle sighed before backing down. Crusher smirked.
"Good to know that you've chosen the right side," Crusher then took a deep breath, eyes ceasing it's glow as he backed up a bit before letting out a scream. "PICKLE!"
His scream reached Roarian, AJ, Blaze and Sparkle, who jumped in shock at his voice.
"That's Crusher!" Blaze gasped. "And it sounds like Pickle's in trouble!"
"Come on!" AJ cried.
The sped over to the bush as fast as the could. The found Crusher glancing up fearfully at a rock cage… which had Pickle trapped inside!
"I... I don't know how it happened!" Crusher lied. "We were playing and then... that happened!"
"HELP!" Pickle played on the lie, grumbling internally to himself for fooling the others like this. "Blaze, HELP!"
"Don't worry, Pickle," Blaze said. "We've found a solution, and we're gonna get you, my parents and our friends outta there."
"Blaze? I have a question," Sparkle piped in. "The ground is too dangerous to drive on with all those rocks popping up, so... how are we gonna find the sunstone and the magical scrolls?"
"Flying would be our option, right Roarian?" Blaze turned to Roarian.
"It indeed would," Roarian replied. "Now, you three hold still."
Roarian flapped his wings and hovered over the ground. His sunstone sent it's magic towards Blaze, Sparkle and Crusher. The orange truck squealed in excitement while the dark blue gasped.
"Now let's get going!" Blaze told them. "Lead the way, Roarian!"
Roarian nodded and flew off, following the direction his sunstone was leading him to. Blaze, AJ and Sparkle followed after him immediately. Crusher managed to glance at Pickle with a victorious smirk before following after them. The poor green truck let out a sigh.
"I hope you know what you're doing..."
X
Roarian's sunstone led the group to the cave where the flying lion lived and all the way towards the Great Forest. They flew over the forest, waving to the animals below him then they flew up and higher until they reached to the bottom of a mountain. They landed on the ground with a thud, and Sparkle squinted her eyes as she looked up.
"Woah, this is a high climb,"
"Yes, so we must not waste any time," Roarian spoke, driving forward to lead.
"Yeah," Blaze agreed. "Let's go."
He and Sparkle followed after the flying lion. Crusher followed as well, dragging himself behind the group as he smirked.
"This is almost TOO easy—"
Just as he murmured under his breath, the ground began to shake, and he turned around in confusion to see the black rocks rising up from behind him. He was bewildered.
He never commanded the rocks to follow him.
"Weird..." he frowned before shrugging. "never mind."
He turned and drove off after the others as fast as he could. Unbeknownst to him, the rocks senses his panic and emerged faster and faster…
X
"I cannot believe this…" Roarian's eyes widened as he stopped in front of a dark cave.
"What is it?" Blaze asked.
"This… is the forbidden cave of the stone wielders," Roarian explained. "We were never to enter it because of the amount of magic and knowledge within,"
"Then I guess it makes sense this is where your sunstone would lead us," AJ said.
"Come on!" Sparkle said. "We gotta find that sunstone and scrolls!"
"Wait!" Roarian stretched out his wing to stop the orange truck. "This cave was rigged with booby traps to make sure no ONE gets inside, and no thief enters,"
'Well, how unlucky for them.' Crusher snickered under his breath.
"Then... how can we get in?" AJ asked.
"Follow after me… slowly…" Roarian commanded as he entered the cave, causing his sunstone light up in the darkness. "Stay by me and stay wary,"
The others nodded, and Sparkle huddled closer to her older brother.
Crusher was the only one who didn't stick close. As soon as he entered the cave, his whole body glowed with crescent moons, along with his eyes lighting up in crystal blue. He glanced down at himself and panicked.
"Hey, wha... what's going on?!"
He looked over to make sure no one was watching before turning to fix his problem. He shut his eyes and tried to reverse the glow.
"Come on... come on...!!"
He was focusing on concealing his magic that he lost focus on the rocks that followed after him and the group. All of a sudden, the black rocks emerged from the ground, causing the cave to glow icy blue. The group gasped.
"Whoa!!" Sparkle and AJ glanced at the rocks in shock.
"We have to get outta this part of the cave!" Blaze exclaimed. "NOW!!!"
They zoomed off, avoiding the rocks as the drove. Crusher stayed a bit behind, glaring over at the rocks that came beside him.
"What is going on...?!"
He snarled. "Why do you rocks keep following me?!"
The rocks gave no response. Instead, they glowed more intensively and multiplied at his rage and panic. He seemed to realize this and sighed.
"Just... need to calm down..."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to get his newfound power back under control. To his delight, the rocks stopped multiplying and his glow ceased, leaving the lightning part of him glowing in the dark.
"Phew..." he sighed in relief before driving off to catch up with the group.
"Roarian, how much farther?" AJ asked.
"Not too far," the lion answered. "Right through here!"
He pointed to another cave entrance, where a giant sun was carved on top. Inside, two stones were present in visual; the Sunstone and the Moonstone. The group were amazed.
"Whoa... it's amazing!" Sparkle said. "So... what do we do now?"
"Enter and find the sunstone before the Moonstone wielder gets it first," Roarian replied as he led the group in.
"Let's hurry!" AJ exclaimed.
Blaze and Sparkle nodded before they and Roarian zoomed inside. Crusher smirked, eyes flashing icy blue deviously as he slowly drove after them.
"Hurry all you want… the Sunstone WILL be mine…"
They drove through the cave and found the walls imprinted with pictures, all carved with stone while others were painted with mud. Roarian narrowed his eyes at them to analyze. Blaze noticed this and tilted his head.
"What is all this?"
"They look like... ancient inscriptions!" AJ said. "But... what do they say?"
"They tell of a story," Roarian explained. "Of how the Sun Drop fell from the stars… how it reunited with the Moonstone thanks to a villainous demon named Zhan Tiri… and how it destroyed said demon when both collided by the brave princess who wielded the sunstone, along with her loyal subjects and best friends,"
"Whoa... so what would exactly happen if the Sun and Moonstone came together?" Crusher asked, his curiosity peaking at the thought of wielding TWO stones.
Twice the stones, twice the power he had over Blaze.
"All depends on who wields it," Roarian replied. "When Zhan Tiri wielded them, she destroyed everything she touched. When the princess wielded them, she revived all those she touched. Emotion and intention is all that matters,"
"So... if the person causing all of this wielded both... it could destroy everything!" Blaze gasped.
"Then we gotta find it! Fast!" AJ said, pushing his fist into his open hand.
"Guys!" Sparkle called. "I found something!"
"What is it, Sparkle?" Blaze asked.
The group all turned to what she pointed, and they gasped to see scrolls partially opened on top of two alters; one with the sun symbol and one with the crescent moon.
"It's the scrolls!" AJ gasped.
"Now all we need is the sunstone!" Blaze cried out.
"And we must do it quickly, before the Moonstone wielder knows where we are," Roarian gave a nod then they all turned to drive off.
Only Crusher stayed, his eyes focused on the scrolls in front of him as he felt his eyes glow icy blue once more in greed.
"I can use these spells, all right..."
He moved closer to the altar, the one with the crescent moon on it before snatching the scroll. He glanced down at the chant written on it before smirking. He then placed it in his bag before calling for the rocks.
Suddenly, the black rocks emerged from the ground and towards the moon altar. Crusher let out a scream, calling the attention of the group as they raced back to the altars.
"Crusher, what's wrong?!" Blaze exclaimed.
"The moon altar!" Roarian gasped, glancing at the altar, which had a black rock impaled through it. "It's destroyed!"
"And the scroll of the Moonstone!" AJ pointed out. "It's missing!"
"Crusher, did you see what happened?" Blaze asked.
"I turned around, and the next second... that happened!" Crusher fibbed right through his teeth. It was getting easier by the minute for him as he felt the stone cease every doubt in his mind.
"Gaskets!" Sparkle exclaimed. "The Moonstone Wielder must be here too!"
"We must take the Sunstone Scroll, so that the wielder cannot," Roarian told them.
"I'll get it," Blaze volunteered.
Crusher gritted his teeth as he watched his rival take the scroll from the alter. He got a hold of himself, however, before another rock came and blew his cover as he took a deep breath and drove to him.
"I'll keep it safe," he said, pointing to his chassis bag.
"Aww, thanks, Crusher," Blaze said.
"Anything to help with freeing Pickle," Crusher took the scroll and placed into his bag.
"Now come, the Sunstone is this way," Roarian spoke as he led them forward.
As Blaze and Sparkle followed after the flying lion, Crusher smirked and patted his chassis bag victoriously.
"He totally fell for my act! Now, to get the Sunstone..."
The group soon entered a room in the cave, with black rocks similar to the ones that attacked them guarding the entrance, but they weren't glowing blue. Instead, they glowed light gold and glowed brighter as they approached. Roarian's sunstone reciprocated their glow before it lit up the room, revealing the sunstone hovering on an alter at the end of the room.
"Look! There it is!" Sparkle gasped. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"It's amazing!" AJ agreed.
"Let's go and get it!" Crusher excitedly said, but just as he was about to drive forward, Roarian stopped him.
"Careful," he told him. "If we're not careful, we might set off these rocks. Their job is to protect the Sunstone as much as they can,"
"Then I guess we should be careful," Blaze nodded in acknowledgment. "Lead the way, Roarian,"
Crusher growled under his breath as the flying lion led them into the room. He huffed and moved to the one of the rocks, a tire hovering over it and causing it's glow to turn icy blue in an instant. He smirked.
"Well, let's see what happens if I 'rock' their world apart…"
With a raise of his other tire, his black rocks emerged from the ground. He managed to slip to the sidelines as he watched the rocks zoom towards the group.
"Guys! Rocks coming this way!" Sparkle gasped.
"RUN!" Blaze exclaimed before they began to speed up, faster and faster, towards the altar.
Suddenly, more rocks came and emerged in front of the altar, blocking their path. They skidded to a stop.
"We're trapped!" AJ exclaimed.
"Roarian, can your sunstone reach the other one?" Blaze asked.
"I can try," Roarian reached out towards the Sunstone with his magic, but the stone cut off the streak before it could even reach it. "Oh no. My magic isn't strong enough,"
"What do we do now?!" Sparkle asked in panic.
"I don't— wait, where's Crusher?" Blaze looked around for the dark blue truck.
"I thought he was behind me!" Sparkle said.
"Over here!" They all turned to see Crusher on the other side of the rocks, almost to the Sunstone.
"Crusher! You're okay!" Blaze sighed in relief.
"Hurry! Grab the sunstone!" AJ urged.
'Like they had to tell me to do that.' Crusher nodded with a grin before driving over to reach out.
As he did, he commanded some of the rocks to lower to help him adjust as his tire hovered over the altar. He soon managed to grab the Sunstone into his tire, which sent a blast of gold magic towards them. The rocks all disintegrated, and the group were thrown back. When the blast ceased, they groaned as they all forced themselves up.
"Was that supposed to happen...?" Sparkle muttered.
"Not that I know of…" Roarian hissed.
"You guys okay?" AJ asked as Blaze got up and shook the debris off of him.
"We're fine..." the red truck nodded before looking around. "but where's Crusher?!"
"Over there!" Sparkle pointed forward to see Crusher in front of the altar, their backs turned against them as he still held the Sunstone in his tire.
Blaze sighed in relief and smiled as he stood up and drove forward.
"You okay, Crusher?"
No response came from the dark blue truck. This caused the red truck to worry as a feeling of concern and dread made his stomach drop.
"Crusher...?"
Just as he reached out to his rival, black rocks of gold and blue suddenly emerged from the ground. The group yelped as rocks surrounded each and every one of them, trapping them in cages.
"Hey! What gives?!" Sparkle gasped.
Evil laughter echoed through the room, and they all turned to see Crusher, his back still turned against them yet they recognized his voice as much as his laughing gesture. Blaze was shocked.
"C-Crusher... what's going on?!"
"Oh, Blaze…" Crusher smirked before turning to reveal himself, his eyes glowing crystal blue as he cackled. "Hasn't anyone told you? Always be careful who you trust."