"Hey, Dad!" Blaze greeted as they entered the house.

"Hey, kiddos!" Flame greeted with a grin before frowning when he saw Crusher's tearful expression. "Hey, what happened?"

"Something at the Monster Dome," AJ told him with a sigh. "Anyway, where's Mom and Sparkle?"

"They went out to play soccer," Flame said. "Want to play with them? I was about to out to buy groceries,"

"Hmm…" Blaze thought for a while before smiling. "Maybe we should go with you, Dad. Groceries sound fun, right, guys?"

"Uh... sure, I guess," Crusher shrugged.

"Alright!" Flame grinned. "Let's go!"

He led the group out, with Blaze following behind while Crusher dragged himself at the back. The red truck clearly noticed this and went over to his father.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"I think Crusher needs some more time to adjust," Blaze began. "and I think him going grocery shopping with us would help us bond, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Flame nodded. "That's a great idea, Blaze. It looks like Crusher could use some good company anyway,"

"Thanks, Dad," Blaze gave a smile.

X

"So what's the first thing in our list?" AJ as soon as they were at the store.

"Wait, we need a list?" Flame thought for a while.

"Dad, did you forget the list?" Blaze chuckled.

"Well, lookie there, I did!" Flame laughed.

Crusher sighed behind them. He knew what Blaze was trying to do, it was hard to ignore, but no matter how hard he tried, he just… couldn't feel himself belonging in the family.

"T-Thanks for trying to help me out, but... I think I'll just head home and lay down..."

"Crusher, wait—" Blaze tried to get to him, but the dark blue truck was driving away faster than he could.

Crusher was about to leave the store, but when the doors opened, he stiffened to see a familiar face on the other side…

"M-Mama…? P-Papa…?"

It took Calvin and Krisha a few seconds to recognize him, but when they did, their eyes burned with fury.

"Why are you alive?!" Krisha snarled. "It was probably your mother, Calvin. Guh, I knew we should have finished her off..."

"We'll have time for rants later, Krisha." Calvin growled before grabbing Crusher with a tight grip. "Come on, you brat. Time to go."

"No!" Crusher struggled in the other's grip. "Please... someone!"

"Hey!" the three of them turned to see Blaze dashing over. "Let him go—!" He gasped however when he recognized the adults standing in front of them. "You… You're… you can't be…"

"The flame symbol... you're Phoenix and Flame's son, aren't you?" Calvin asked.

"My my... hasn't he grown since we saw him last!" Krisha cooed, only for Blaze to smack her tire away.

"Oh, don't you THINK that I would fall for your act," Blaze growled, his whole body suddenly glowing in sun marks at his rage.

"Blaze, no!" AJ whispered, running to his side. "You can't let them see your magic!"

"Kids?" Flame asked, coming over. "What's going on?"

"Flame!" Calvin offered his friend a 'friendly' smile. "It has been so long since we've seen you!"

"Calvin... Krisha," Flame cleared his throat. "What brings you to town?"

"Just running errands when we noticed our little... butler, got loose," Krisha said with an icy glare.

The grip on Crusher tightened, and the dark blue truck whimpered, his body instinctively glowing with crescent moons. Flame's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth and forced a smile.

"I… apologize, Krisha, but I think there's some mistake,"

"Mistake? Oh ho, Flame, you are making a mistake," Calvin chuckled darkly. "We have to take this brat home for leaving. And he knows what that punishment is."

"I'm sorry, but would 'home' REALLY be the word for where you live?" Flame challenged swiftly taking Crusher from him and pulling him away. "I think not."

"Crusher told us everything you did to him as a little kid," AJ sneered, "and you're not gonna get away with it."

This made Calvin and Krisha burst into laughter.

"Please, this little failed abortion is just wanting attention," Krisha huffed, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's not like we care. He's... nothing. And so are all of you."

"He is a BRILLIANT child that you both abandoned because of your own selfishness." Flame defended with a growl as AJ held Blaze back before he could lose control. "You don't deserve to have him like he was ever your own child. He is MY child now, so leave him alone."

"Where's the proof, huh?" Krisha looked around. "I don't see any papers. And there are no cops to back this evidence up."

"There are now..." AJ said as he and Blaze jumped into their police officer uniforms. "Officers Blaze and AJ are putting both of you under arrest for attempted murder of a minor."

"And don't you two try to lie out of it." Blaze hissed, taking out his phone. "I've had Officer Anna on speaker for a while now, so anything that you say WILL be used against you."

"W-What?!" Calvin shrieked as handcuffs were placed on them. "Crushy, boy, get us out of this!!"

Crusher barely spared them a glance as Flame held him closer.

"Don't you DARE ask him for help after everything you've done to him." Flame said. "Anything and everything happening to you is everything that you both deserve. You just face the consequences of your own actions."

"T-Take them away, Blaze." Crusher managed to whisper.

"Gladly," Blaze grinned as he and AJ grab hold of the two, who were screeching to oppose. "Dad, take Crusher home. We'll tell Mom everything when we get back."

X

"And then, they took Calvin and Krisha away, as they were screeching like wild parrots," Flame finished the story.

"Well, they surely got what they deserve!" Sparkle laughed.

"How's Crusher holding up?" Phoenix asked.

"He fell asleep as soon as I tucked him in," Flame replied. "Poor kid… he had had a break down, and his powers almost destroyed the road in his tears,"

"Mom, is Crusher gonna be okay...?" Sparkle asked. "I get the feeling he wants to be in our family, but he doesn't know what to do or what to say."

"He's going to need time to adjust, Sparkle," Phoenix assured her. "And we all need to bond with him to get to know him better. He will feel more comfortable if he knows that we aren't a threat, nor are we strangers,"

"Oh..."

"Do you he would mind if I go check on him, Flame?" Phoenix asked.

"No, no, go on ahead," Flame said.

Phoenix turned and drove off to the room Crusher was staying in. She slowly opened the door to peek and see Crusher snuggled up peacefully. The sight made her smile.

"Good... that's a sight I like seeing..."

With that, she closed the door to let the dark blue truck have his rest.