At the break of dawn, the family thanked the princess and set of for the Fire Ruby.

"Be careful, friends!" Princess Prism warned them. "The dragons of that volcano are not as they appear to be. You all must be wary,"

"Thank you for the warning, your highness," Blaze nodded.

"You're welcome. Good luck!"

The group headed out of the Cloud Kingdom and towards the direction Misty was leading them in. They soon made it to a tall volcano, with lava flowing down it's crater like waterfall.

"Oh... do we REALLY need that ruby, bro?" Sparkle quivered.

"Yes, we do," Blaze sighed and nodded.

"Well, you will have to do it without some," Misty told them weakly. "As a water fairy, I… I won't be able to stand this much heat,"

"Okay," Blaze gave a nod before turning. "Come on... let's go."

They flew closer to the volcano, leaving Misty behind as they approached the cave entrance below it.

"So… we need to go INSIDE the volcano?" Pickle gulped.

"Looks like it," Crusher nodded with a shudder.

Just as they were about to enter, a stomping noise could be heard coming towards them as a giant shadow of a dragon could be seen from inside the cave.

"EEK!!!"

Sparkle hid behind her parents as they were all taken back. Pickle hid behind Crusher, who gulped as he and Blaze slowly drove forward.

The stomping closer got louder and louder as the dragon got closer and closer towards them.

"What do we do, Blaze?!" AJ cried out.

"Just stay calm," Blaze answered calmly. "We'll try and talk things through."

"I hope you're right..." Crusher gulped.

As the dragon got closer, however, the shadow got smaller and smaller. The group blinked in surprise until a small roar came out, and a small red baby dragon crawled his way to towards them.

"Well... that was... unexpected..." Crusher blinked.

"Awwwww!! He's so cute!!" Sparkle cooed.

The baby dragon giggled, reaching his arms towards them. Pickle squealed and took him in his tires.

"Where's his mom? And why is he all alone?" Phoenix wondered.

A loud roar suddenly came from inside, causing the group to jump.

"That explains it!!" Flame gulped.

"Da-Da! Da-Da!" the baby dragon called out with a giggle.

"Pickle... put the baby dragon down slowly, and then back away." Crusher told him.

"Okay, okay!" Pickle set the baby dragon down.

Unfortunately, the baby dragon merely giggled and flew back into his tires, snuggling with the green truck gently as he looked up at him with bright golden eyes.

"He won't leave! What is the big dragon gonna do?"

Another roar came out, and rocks fell into the cave entrance with a crumble and a thud.

"Oh no!" Sparkle gasped. "We're trapped inside!"

"Well... I guess we need to prepare to be eaten..." AJ gulped.

Suddenly, stomps could be heard coming their way, and they turned to see a large red dragon, almost as tall as the cave itself as he swung his gigantic tail at them. He breathed out smoke as he snarled at them.

"Easy, boy..." Blaze said. "We didn't intend to hurt your baby or for this rockslide to happen. If you calm down, we can explain."

"How DARE you tell me, Lord Furnace, ruler of the dragons of this volcano, to CALM DOWN?!" the dragon roared out, causing an earthquake to occur at his last word.

"I-I'm so sorry, your excellency," the red truck stammered. "I had no idea of your... your stature."

"Go on, baby," Pickle said. "Go to your daddy."

The baby dragon hummed in disappointment before hopping down and moving to his father. Lord Furnace sighed in relief.

"There you are, young one."

"We're sorry we made it look like we were taking him, sire," Phoenix said. "We had no such intention."

"We, um... actually request your help, too," said Sparkle quietly. "I-I mean... if you want to help us..."

Lord Furnace huffed but his baby seemed to tug on his claw. He glanced down at him.

"What's wrong, little Burner?"

"They fwends!" Little Burner spoke with a giggle. "Help fwends, Da-Da!"

"Well... my son does seem to like you," Lord Furnace sighed. "All right... what do you need?"

"We need the Fire Ruby, Lord Furnace, to help defeat three villains after us," Blaze spoke up.

"Villains, you say?" Lord Furnace raised an eyebrow. "And who are these three villains that are so powerful?"

"Um... my parents and uh... Zhan Tiri." Crusher winced.

"But before you say anything, my brothers are the stone wielders, but you better not touch them!" Sparkle snapped, even with her parents trying to hold her back. "They've already been through enough with three villains trying to kill them just to take their powers! Please..."

The tears were almost enough to convince anyone.

One, cause Sparkle was still scared.

And two, she was scared for her brothers.

"THESE mortals the Moonstone and Sundrop wielders?" Lord Furnace narrowed his eyes. "That explains why Zhan Tiri is after you all. But why need the Fire Ruby when you both have so much power already?"

"We read that the Fire Ruby, along with the Water Sapphire, the Sky Diamond and the Earth Emerald are the only things stong enough to banish them for good," Flame explained.

"Ah, so you are all trying to form the Element Scepter," Lord Furnace concluded.

"Uh... yeah. You could say that. We didn't really know what it was called," Pickle shrugged.

"We know that us being mortals with such unspeakable power seems unlikely," Blaze spoke up again. "But, like my sister said, villains have tried to hold me and Crusher captive because of it. We only gained trust from one-- the unicorn princess. I know you all don't see eye to eye on some things, but this is really important. Zhan Tiri and Crusher's mom and dad could destroy us all! So... I'm asking you to consider our proposal."

"Hmm…" Lord Furnace seemed to give it a thought before nodding. "Alright. I accept your proposal. In one condition,"

"Lemme guess-- if Crusher and Blaze stay with you so you can drain their power?" Pickle bluntly and sadly guessed.

"No," Lord Furnace shook his head. "The Fire Ruby is far on the other side of this volcano. I will get it in exchange that you all watch over little Burner,"

"R-Really? Y-You mean it?" Blaze asked, a little stunned.

"Of course," Lord Furnace nodded. "Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal!" Crusher nodded.

"YAY!" Little Burner cheered, jumping onto Pickle with a giggle. "Pway wid fwends!"

"I will be back soon, son."

With that, Lord Furnace turned to leave. Little Burner waved his father goodbye before turning to the group.

"Pway! Pway!"

"Okay, little fella-- what do you wanna play first?"

"Hide an' burn!" Little Burner giggled.

"What's that?" Sparkle asked.

"Fwends hide and me find you while burning rocks!" Little Burner explained with a beam. "It fun!"

"Okay! Everyone go hide!"

They all zoomed off to hide. Little Burner squealed as he closed his eyes and counted 1 to 5.

"One... two... thwee... fouw... five! Weady ow not, hewe I come!"

He ran around, laughing as he sought for his new friends. He burned a bunch of rocks until he found Pickle hiding behind some boulders.

"Found Pickle!"

"D'aww, you found me!" Pickle giggled and hugged the little dragon. "Come on, let's go find the others!"

One by one, the duo managed to find the rest of the group. Soon, it was only Crusher and Blaze hiding, with everyone else helping Little Burner look for them.

"Man, they're good hiders!" Sparkle giggled.

"Me give up!" Little Burner sighed.

"No wait, I have an idea!" Pickle grinned.

He set Little Burner down and glanced around before yelling.

"HEEELP!"

"Pickle?!" They all turned to see Blaze and Crusher stumble out of their hiding spots.

"Come on! We have to hurry!"

"Found you!" Little Burner giggled.

"Oh, wow, that's a horrible trick, Pickle," Crusher huffed.

"Sorry not sorry!" Pickle laughed.

"That was fun. Hey, Little Burner, how far is the other side of the volcano? We just need a time estimation on how long your dad will be gone." Blaze asked.

"Me not know," Little Burner shrugged. "I—"

"FRIENDS!"

The group turned to see Misty fly down towards them.

"Misty! There you are!" AJ smiled. "We want you to meet Little Burner, the dragon lord's son."

"Hewo!" The baby dragon greeted.

"Dragon!" Misty held out her water magic on her hand, aiming it at Little Burner.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!!" Blaze said, stopping her. "Take it easy! He and his dad are to be trusted."

"Dragons are never to be trusted." Misty hissed, eyes flashing blue. "Dragons are dangerous!"

Little Burner whimpered as he hopped onto Pickle's tires and curled up in a ball.

"Misty, please! Lord Furnace said if we watch Little Burner for a while, he'll get the ruby for us! So you have to play it cool till then! Please..."

Misty didn't listen. Instead, more water magic surrounded her hands before she blasted the group in rage.

"AAH!! Misty, what are you doing?!" Crusher demanded.

"I've HAD IT!" Misty snarled before smirking. "Oh did you really think I came here to help you all? Well, aren't you a bunch of fools!"

"W-Wait... what do you mean?" Pickle asked. "Why else would you come with us?"

"Easy," Misty's eyes glowed icy blue. "I work for Zhan Tiri."

"W-What?!" Blaze gasped, backing up. "H-H-How do you even know her?!"

"I met her years back, and she gave me the powers of a water fairy," Misty cackled. "I was once a mortal human, weak and pathetic, until I met her. I've been loyal to her since then,"

"Well... you need to leave! Before you get punctured like a shish kabob!"

"I'm not afraid of dragons when I can put out their fire!" Misty grinned and sprayed water towards them to drown them.

As the group thought they were going to get sprayed, a large blast of fire counteracted the water, so it turned to steam. And right behind them was Lord Furnace, growling angrily.

"Leave this land, water fairy! Now!"

"NEVER!" Misty hissed and dashed towards the dragon, whole body filled with magic as her hair turned into water. "I WILL END YOU ALL!"

Lord Furnace sighed and released a burst of flames towards her. She tried to defend herself with a water shield, but the flames were too strong, and she screamed as she blasted back by the flames. Her wings began to evaporate, along with her hair as her body suddenly turned pale and weak.

"My... my power..."

"Run... run and never look back." Lord Furnace snarled.

Misty scoffed and held out a dagger. "I'll never run… from anyone again…"

She dropped the dagger to herself, causing her to scream before she disappeared into smoke.

"She's gone now friends. You're safe." Lord Furnace assured them.

"You... you didn't have to save us, sire," Blaze said guiltily, tears beginning to enter his eyes. "I... I should have known better..."

"Shh, it's okay, Blaze," Crusher patted his back. "She fooled us all,"

"But... now Zhan Tiri knows what we're planning to do!" Blaze said. "She'll find some way to stop us, to take back our stones, to kill all of you! To return Crusher to his corrupted self! I... I... I just can't--!"

And with that, he drove off into a nearby cavern, sobbing.

"Should... we go check on him?" AJ asked.

"Let's give him a moment to recover," Phoenix suggested. "Misty's betrayal has affected us all."

Crusher sighed. "But… he's right. Now, Zhan Tiri knows what we're doing. What if she tries to stop us and kill us?"

"We have to continue with this, Crusher!" Pickle urged. "We'll find a way to stop her from stopping us, don't worry,"

"…" Crusher took a deep breath and shook his head before turning to drive off. "I'll go check on him,"

Pretty soon, he found his brother in a small cave, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"How could I have been so stupid...?" he muttered to himself. "Crusher... he... he's counting on me..."

Crusher stopped once he heard that, and listened.

"He means so much to me, and I... I'd hate to let him down by not being able to stop Zhan Tiri. I... I don't know what I'd do if I lost him..." He looked down at his tire and sniffled. "If you have any advice for me... I could sure use it right about now..."

"Honestly? I don't have any advice even for myself," Crusher sighed and drove to his side. "I… I don't know what to think. I'm just as worried, Blaze. Just as scared…" He winced and gave the other a hug. "But… this is all I know that I can offer to help,"

"I know, thanks…" Blaze returned the hug

hug. "but... you've faced so much already. I... just wanna take that pain away..."

Crusher didn't say anything for a while. He sighed and hugged him closer.

"I… The pain I feel… even now, it's still scarred into me. There's no way to take it away from me… even without Zhan Tiri after us," he spoke. "I don't need you to take that pain away. I need you to help me through it, Blaze… because there's always pain, and we can't avoid it,"

Blaze hissed and broke down more at the truth. Crusher joined in the tears until they both finally calmed down. They released themselves from each other's tires and smiled.

"You're… You're right," the red truck sighed. "And we'll both be there for each other when Zhan Tiri comes, right?"

"Right. Come on."

They headed back to the rest of their family together. Phoenix and Flame smiled over at them.

"You feeling better now, kiddo?" Flame asked.

"Yeah, I… I am," Blaze nodded with a smile.

"What do we do now?" Sparkle asked.

"You must all create the scepter part of the Element Scepter," Lord Furnace told them. "The elements will all be unstable if you do not,"

"Oh, right," Blaze nodded and gave a bow. "Thank you, Lord Furnace, for all your help,"

"And thank you for watching over my child, our new friends," Lord Furnace smiled. "Now, you must go. I have a feeling that your city needs you,"

"Thank you, again, Lord Furnace," They all bowed before they used their fairy wings to flutter out of the cave.