"Where did you get that cap, Blaze?" AJ asked as he and the red truck drove through the park for the night.

"At the house," Blaze replied, glancing down at the black cap in his tire. "It's too small to be mine's, Mom's or Dad's. And I know for a fact that Sparkle doesn't wear anything black without a reason,"

"And it doesn't belong to me," AJ added with a nod. "So, do you think…?"

"That it belongs to the one who kidnapped Dad? Yes," Blaze nodded firmly. "We just… need to take a closer look at it…"

They both huddled together as they observed the cap.

Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious figure spied on them from nearby, moving through the shadows as if he was one with them. Slowly, he moved closer and closer until he was only a bush away from them.

"Hmm… this cap looks like it's covered by some kind of cloth," AJ observed, fingers twiddling with the cap.

"Hey, you're right, AJ," Blaze's eyes widened as he grabbed onto the cloth to reveal a second skin. "Hmm, I wonder what happens if we remove it…?"

A pair of eyes form the bush narrowed towards them as they slowly removed the black cloth. They gasped as they now held an orange cap with a pickle symbol on it.

"Wait, this is…"

"It's from Pickle's cousin Ken!" AJ cried out. "But that would mean…"

"Pickle's Family DOES have something to do with our family's disappearance!" Blaze exclaimed. "And that means that whatever Lily was saying… they were all fibs!"

The figure sighed and held out his wand to use his magic to move the jack-in-the-box discreetly below the red truck and between the duo. The box's handle began to turn quietly as the two began to freak out.

"You're right!" AJ's eyes widened. "But, wait, does that mean…?"

"That means…" Blaze gasped. "THE KIDNAPPERS ARE NONE OTHER THAN—"

SLAM!

Before he could finish his sentence, a large hand slammed out of the jack-in-the-box and knocked the red truck out cold in a second. AJ backed up in horror.

"BLAZE—!"

Before he could run, however, mystic magic surrounded him, and he fell unconscious and floating in the air.

From the bush, Pickle appeared in his assassin uniform, wand out as he kept AJ afloat. He sighed and took out a black sack.

"Sorry, guys, but this is necessary,"

With that, he stuffed them both in the sack and fled away into the night.

X

Crusher yawned as he got up. He glanced at the clock and sighed.

11:47 PM.

"Great, 50 minutes since the last time I woke up…"

He headed out of his room and headed through the halls of the house. When he made it to the kitchen, however, he found Sparkle, Phoenix and Flame there, with Phoenix warming up some milk for them to drink.

"Uh… why are you three awake?"

"Couldn't sleep," Sparkle admitted as she took a mug of milk into her tires.

"Yeah," Flame nodded, sipping his mug of milk. "We were too worried about Blaze and AJ to sleep. How about you? What are you doing up this late?"

"Insomnia," Crusher shrugged with a yawn before heading to the fridge. "I'm just gonna get a glass of milk to try to fall asleep again…"

"Cold milk won't help you sleep," Phoenix shook her head and handed another mug to him. "Warm milk will. Here,"

"Erm, thanks," Crusher hesitantly took the mug and took a sip.

The four then began to drink their milk in awkward silence. Crusher, of course, stayed a distance from the family, a little close to the exit as he sipped.

After a while, Sparkle seemed to squirm at the awkwardness of the surroundings and looked to her parents. Flame and Phoenix exchanged glances, with the white truck motioning her husband to say something because she already did. The yellow truck sighed in defeat and nodded.

"So, Crusher, how long have you known about this… plan of Pickle's?"

"Only a few days," Crusher replied, partly absentminded as he sipped his milk.

"And you… don't seem to be bothered by all this assassin business?"

"After a couple of years, you get used to it," Crusher shrugged.

Flame frowned and turned to Phoenix, unsure of what to say next. The white truck sighed but before she could bring up another topic, there was a sudden slump from the basement, catching the family off-guard.

"What was that?!" Sparkle cried.

"Pickle must be back with Blaze and AJ," Crusher took another sip of his mug before turning. "I'll go check,"

The trio watched as he left the kitchen, leaving his mug on the table. As soon as he was gone, Phoenix crossed her tires and sighed. Flame turned to his wife with a frown.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Crusher… the aura around him doesn't feel right," Phoenix spoke.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Sparkle asked, tilting her head.

"Everything about this… it feels like he's seen and witnessed it all… even the most unpredictable ones,"

"Well, he and Pickle did say that he had his sanity lost," Flame pointed out. "I don't know if it was all a joke or not, though,"

"Joke or not, it might not be good for Crusher's health," Phoenix sighed. "Maybe we can get him to a therapist?"

"Honey, as much as I admire your concern for Crusher, I don't think it's our business to help him," Flame softly said. "I don't think he would want any help, anyway,"

"I know, I know," Phoenix let out another sigh as she backed down and glanced down at her mug of milk.

X

Blaze groaned as he came to with his surroundings. He slowly got up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around. He froze, however, as he found himself in a room with shelves of bloody organs and lifeless truck heads.

"What in…?" he backed up and turned to see AJ laying on the ground. "AJ!"

"Blaze…?" AJ let out a groan as he got up and rubbed his head. "What's going on…? Where are we…?"

"Creepy room, but hopefully, this is where our family are too," Blaze gulped. "Alive, hopefully,"

"Woah, this place is… eerie," AJ shuddered and stayed close to the red truck. "And bloody,"

"Yep," Blaze hissed. "Come on, let's go and find our family,"

AJ nodded, and they all made their way through the room. They found the nearby ramp and climbed up on it. As they did, they started to hear whispers from nearby. They stopped for a moment to listen closely to the conversation on the other side of the door that they came to.

"I'm surprised it was that's easy to knock them out," A familiar voice spoke.

"It's because A) they were alone, and B) they so busy freaking out that they lowered their guards too easy," another voice snorted.

"You gonna tell them?" the first asked.

"About the plan? About what my client wants me to do to them? Of course I will, Crusher, why wouldn't I?"

"Crusher…?" Blaze and AJ glanced at each other in shock.

They slowly approached and opened the secret door a little to see Crusher and Pickle in the living room. The dark blue truck's expression is as neutral as it usually is while the green truck had a smile that was as eerie as the mask and uniform he had on.

"You might wanna show them that their family's alive before explaining everything," Crusher suggested.

"Why? Because they'd freak out like Mr. Flame did?" Pickle giggled. "Don't worry, Crush! I've got things all handled!"

"Alright…" Crusher sighed and nodded. "Well, I'm not heading to bed anytime sooner, so I'll go with you to face them,"

"No, no… you know what happened when YOU faced Mr. Flame," Pickle's smile faltered in a second. "He thought that YOU were the one in charge this," His smile came back, as eerie as it left as he giggled. "Oh, isn't that a ridiculous thought?"

"Pickle, not everyone knows my sensitivity when it comes to… death," Crusher shuddered. "Especially because my cheats could kill a truck,"

"True," Pickle shrugged before grinning, eyes gleaming. "Then I guess it makes MORE sense if I went down by myself to greet them. Or…" He drove over to the door and opened it up, causing Blaze and AJ to stumble out. "…greet them out here! Hiya, Blaze and AJ! Welcome to reality,"