Three months had gone by since the assassination attempt. Crusher had settled into Blaze's place quite well. He had moved into AJ's old room and replaced the bed with his own, and the couple set his trophies on the shelves as well.
When public got word that Crusher had moved in with Blaze, rumors had spread out all over the internet and all over the city. The other racers were infuriated, with Pickle theorizing that their little plot hadn't worked out the way they were hoping.
No assassin had made a move for the past months. Crusher wouldn't let them, anyway, since he always stuck by Pickle, Blaze, Darington or Zeg. He made sure that he was never alone.
Too bad that it meant that he couldn't even be alone in his own room...
.
.
.
"Crushy, come on! The race is about to start in ten minutes!"
"Coming, B!" Crusher rushed around his room, shining his exhaust pipe in the mirror. "There. Perfect,"
He was turning to leave when he felt something hit his tire, causing it to grow heavy. He gasped as he felt all of his tires collapse.
"W-What in...?!"
He tried to get up, but just as he attempted to, something hit him hard across the head, and he felt darkness surround him as he laid limp on the ground with a thud by the time a dark figure towered over him...
X
"Hmm, wonder what's taking Crush so long...?" Blaze frowned as he drove back into his apartment to check on his lover.
Now, usually, he would be patient with anyone, his boyfriend at the most, but something with the lack of response from the dark blue truck gave an unsettling feeling in his stomach.
"Crushy, you still in there?" Blaze knocked on the door.
No response came. The red truck gulped and knocked on the door again.
"Crushy?"
At the third knock with no response, Blaze turned the doorknob and went inside. His heart fell as he saw the room empty while the window was wide open beside the bed. His stomach twisted as he bent down and found some tranquilizers on the ground.
"Oh no," his heart began to pound as he rushed to the open window. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." When he saw not a trace of the kidnapper, he took out his phone and began to contact Anna. "Officer Anna, CRUSHER'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"
["What?!"] Anna gasped. ["Alright, Blaze, calm down. I'm on my way with the rest of the police,"]
"O-Okay..." Blaze nodded and hung up, his thoughts burning with worry and panic.
Who could've taken Crusher?
X
Crusher woke up with a groan as he found himself in complete darkness. He tried to get up but found himself in chains, attached to the wall. He pulled on the chains to get free as hard as he could.
"Don't bother."
The unfamiliar dark voice made him stiffen. He turned and found a masked being in front of him, eyes gleaming in the darkness.
"Wh-Who are you?!" Crusher demanded. "And what do you want with me?!"
"You think that you're so clever." the being snarled. "You thought you could fool everyone about your so-called love for Blaze. You don't love him, you're just trying to use him!"
"B-But I-"
"SAVE IT!" the kidnapper punched him hard with sharp claws, twisting his exhaust pipe. "I know exactly what you are, you little twit! A manipulator, a blackmailer, a cheater! A fake!"
Crusher clamped his mouth shut, tears pricking his eyes as he trembled. The kidnapper growled and punched/broke his other pipe.
"And now you're playing victim?! You are so disgusting that it makes me sick!"
He kept punching the dark blue truck over and over, blood and oil spilling out and staining his tires. Crusher fell down and began to cry harder as the other wouldn't stop until someone garbbed the kidnapper by the tire.
"Not too much." the other truck, a female, spoke. "He won't talk that way,"
"Then what are you expectin' us to do?!" another female from beside the first demanded.
"Don't worry," the first one assured her with a smirk as she held out her tire that sparked out in electricity. "We've got... other ways to make difficult people talk,"
Crusher hyperventilated as the three towered over him. His body trembled, and his eyes were as wide as saucers as he tried to back up, only for his back to meet the wall.
"P-Please! S-Stay away from me! P-PLEASE-!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
X
"CRUSHER'S KIDNAPPED?!" Pickle screamed after Blaze entered the Monster Dome with the news.
"WHO WOULD DO THAT?!" Darington yelled.
"WHO TAKE CRUSHER?!" Zeg cried out.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Blaze began to cry in worry. "O-Officer Anna wouldn't let me investigate with them because I'm always too... too emotional when it comes to Crusher..."
"Well, you are," Darington pointed out.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Pickle's eyes widened. "Crusher has been kidnapped... and the other racers aren't here because of some 'urgent' business..."
"Wait," Darington's eyes widened. "You don't think...?"
"The others... aren't here?" Blaze turned to the green truck, heart pounding as his eyes went dark. "Where are they?"
"Note in Gabby's pit say other racers busy with 'urgent business'," Zeg told him.
"Urgent, huh?" Blaze gritted his teeth. "Pickle, do you still have your tracker on everyone?"
"Yes... I do," Pickle smirked and took out his tablet. "Oh, I get your plan. Would you like us to go with you, or...?"
"I'll go by myself, if you don't mind," Blaze got the tablet and glanced down at the screen. "I'll call you guys once I find Crusher. Once I know for SURE that THEY were the ones who did the crime, call Officer Anna immediately,"
"Got it, Blaze," Darington nodded.
Blaze gave a nod before turning to drive away. He pressed the navigation button on the screen, and a map appeared. He found blinking circles on the map, all in different colors, but he focused on the dark blue one and followed it through the streets. He soon reached a warehouse, just outside of the city. On the screen, the dark blue dot was suddenly with a dot of orange, a dot of pink, and a dot of purple.
Just as he and Pickle had thought.
"I don't even understand why you guys did this-" he shook his head and growled before keeping the tablet and heading to the door.
He was barely close to it when he heard a scream and a thud. He stiffened and leaned close to the door to listen in to the conversation.
"Great job, Stripes, you've knocked him out!"
"HE WAS GETTING IRRITATING!"
"WE WERE SUPPOSE TO GET HIM TO ADMIT HIS SINS, NOT KNOCK HIM OUT!"
"BEATING THE ANSWERS OUT OF HIM COUNTS, STARLA!"
"IT DOES NOT, STRIPES!" Another voice joined them. "WE AGREED THAT MY ELECTRIC TIRES WOULD DO ALL THE WORK!"
"But it hasn't been working, Watts," a fourth voice spoke up.
"Well, it WOULD have, Gabby, if Stripes would let me!"
"Guys, please don't argue..."
The last voice made the red truck stiffen. AJ had something in this too...? The thought made him rage, so much that he was about to see red.
"Well, it doesn't matter now," the second person, Stripes by the voice. "He's bleeding badly. If we're lucky, he'd bleed to death before we toss him out,"
Alright, that was enough to make Blaze snap. He was soon seeing red as he burst into the warehouse door.
The rest of his actions were a blur, even to him.
X
Crusher groaned as he felt himself beginning to return back to consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes but panicked when he found himself in the darkness. His breathing sped up as he hyperventilated and looked around, trying to find a way to escape when tires suddenly embraced him gently.
"Crushy, shh, shh, it's okay,"
"B-Blaze...?" Crusher's head snapped towards the red truck, who looked worn out but relieved as he smiled. "I-Is that really you...?"
"Yeah, it's me," Blaze assured him with a smile and kissed his forehead. "And you're safe now, don't worry,"
"B-Blaze..." Crusher gave into the hug. "Wh-What happened to them...?"
"They got away... beaten up but I've gotten proof enough for the rest of the police to go after them, so I don't think they'll be showing their faces in a while," Blaze told them. "We're both safe now, don't worry,"