"And here is the apartment!" Phoenix announced as they entered the place.

"Wow!" Pickle squealed. "This place is SO ROOMY!"

"Thank you, Pickle," Flame chuckled. "And since you wanted to stay at the attic…"

He pulled on a cord hanging from the ceiling, and out came a long, foldable ramp. Pickle cheered and zoomed inside, dragging all his luggage with him. Crusher giggled as he watched the other head to his new room.

"Now, time to show you to your new room," Phoenix told the dark blue truck.

"Right," Crusher nodded and followed after her and her husband.

They headed through the halls, with the dark blue truck seeing every picture of Blaze, Sparkle and AJ on the walls. He sighed and turned away from the pictures.

Phoenix didn't avoid noticing this and nudged Flame. Flame jumped a bit, but when his wife motioned to the dark blue truck, he sighed and nodded in understanding.

They soon reached the spare room, and Phoenix opened the door. The room had a plain wall with one bed that Crusher knew he could fit in. There was desk near the bed, with an empty picture frame on it while a closet of white was placed at the other end of the room.

"I know it's not much, but you can fix it up in whatever way you like," Phoenix spoke with a smile.

"Erm, thanks, but I… I don't think we'll be staying long, so I won't do much change to the room," Crusher said as he entered the room. "Thank you for the room,"

"Your welcome," Flame smiled. "Oh, and if you need anything, you can call us,"

"…" Crusher slowly nodded and headed to the bed. "I… I need some rest,"

"O-Oh, okay," Flame was taken back by the dismissal and nodded. "Um, dinner is at 6, alright?"

Crusher nodded, still having his back turned on them as he laid on the bed and laid his head down. Phoenix patted her husband's head comfortingly before motioning for them to leave. As soon as the door was shut, Crusher sighed and buried his head under his pillow.

How could Cobra make this decision for him? Sure, it was for the greater good and for his and Pickle's safety, but he wasn't ready to face them.

Definitely not ready to face his blood father or his family.

Especially now that he knew that his biggest rivals were actually his brothers.

It was all too much.

Too much for him to handle all at once.

And he didn't know if could handle it at all.

X

X

"Yay! Dinner!" Pickle cheered and licked his lips as he made his way down to the dining room.

"Well, neither of us have really eaten, so I guess it's understandable how hungry you are, Pickle," Blaze laughed heartily as the green truck made his way to the table.

"Hey, where's Crusher?" Sparkle asked.

"Probably still in his room," Pickle guessed with a shrug. "I'll go get him!"

"Maybe I'll go get him," Blaze offered.

"Are you sure, Blaze?" AJ asked with a frown. "He's still adjusting,"

"I know, but I wanna make sure he's okay," Blaze told him before turning to leave.

He headed to the halls and drove through it swiftly. He soon made it to the room and knocked on the door.

"Crusher…? It's Dinner time,"

"…not hungry," an answer from inside spoke.

"Okay, I'm coming in because I KNOW that you're hungry since neither of us ate something for lunch,"

Blaze sighed and entered the room to find the dark blue truck still on the bed. He drove inside and patted his back.

"Crusher? You okay?"

"…No," Crusher admitted with a sigh. "Everything is a MESS,"

"Crusher…" Blaze frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Other than the assassination attempts on me and the fact that I'm being forced to stay with the blood father that I don't even know?" Crusher deadpanned as he turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Blaze nodded and offered a smile. "The day has been… rough, but at least you managed to find your blood father, right?"

"…Not exactly making me, uh, feel better, Blaze," Crusher groaned and shook his head.

"Didn't you… ever want to learn who you're father is?"

"I used to, but… " Crusher hissed. "after a few years, I… I just came to a conclusion that whoever my father is… he had abandoned me,"

"Crusher…" Blaze patted his shoulder. "How about now?"

"… I don't wanna try," Crusher whimpered. "He… I… I used my cheats against him… and hurt you all… I could never be his child…"

"That's not true," Blaze sighed. "Crusher, Dad could never be like that. If he would have known that your mom had kept you and abused you, he would've gotten you in a second and saved you. Even now, that's what he wants to do,"

"Psh, did you see his reaction to Cobra's suggestion? He was horrified," Crusher growled. "He doesn't want me in his life,"

"He's just as unprepared as you are," Blaze told him. "Give him a chance. I know that he will,"

Crusher didn't respond. Instead, he curled up and turned away.

"I… I wanna rest more,"

"Crusher, you need to eat," Blaze insisted.

"Maybe later… M'not hungry, at the moment…" Crusher spoke.

Bkaze sighed but knew he couldn't win since the dark blue truck wasn't in the mood. He turned away and nodded with a frustrated sigh.

"Okay. Goodnight,"

With that, he shut the door and headed back to the dining room.

X

X

Later that night, Crusher woke up hungry and headed to the kitchen. He made sure no one saw him as he zoomed through the halls and made his way to get something to eat.

As he did, he failed to notice someone watching him from afar, watching as he lost himself in the darkness. Suddenly, he hit the wall, causing to growl and yelp as he was taken back.

"Argh, dammit…"

The lights soon flickered open.

"You should really turn the lights on,"

"I…" Crusher sighed and turned to face his rival at the end of the hall. "I thought you were asleep,"

"Well, I knew you'd be getting SOMETHING to eat later on," Blaze chuckled and headed towards the other.

"Yeah, well, I'm starving now," Crusher sighed and turned. "I just… need a little snack, that's all,"

"Crusher, you had no lunch and you skipped dinner, you need MORE than a snack," Blaze pointed out.

"Eh, it's fine," Crusher shrugged it off.

Blaze shook his head and headed over to the dining room. He motioned to a tray covered up on the table, and when he removed the cover, a silver plate with dinner from that night was sitting inside. Crusher looked surprised.

"You guys… saved me dinner…?"

"Mom was insistent, Dad agreed," Blaze nodded. "And Pickle wanted to leave food for you too. They were all worried that you weren't eating,"

"I…" Crusher felt a little uncomfortable as he slowly approached the table. "Th-Thanks…"

"Your welcome, brother,"

Crusher grimaced. Blaze clamped his mouth shut, realising that he was a little too early and turned around.

"Um, I, uh, gotta get to bed! Goodnight!"

Crusher watched the red truck take his leave. He glanced down at his dinner, which no doubt cold already but still looks appetizing, before sighing.

"Goodnight… brother,"