"DRAT!" Daria hissed as she watched them drive off. "Those pesky shapechangers are more powerful than I thought!"

"Great Fairy Dalia!" cried a phoenix as he flew over, and Dalia hid her crystal ball from him. "The ice dragons are beginning to grow restless! What do you suggest we do?"

"Keep up the fight!" Dalia urged. "Those ice dragons will not stop until all phoenixes are phoenix-pops!"

"Yes, great fairy!" the phoenix gave a bow before flying off.

As soon as he was gone, Dalia scowled as she pulled up her crystal ball again. "Those fools must never know I was the one who caused the feud all that time ago, and I will put an end to their triumphs!"

She twirled her magic once more, causing a rumble and an earthquake. She soon targeted the nearby mountain, causing the rocks to fall towards the group.

"Earthquake!!" Pickle hollered.

"And a rockslide!" Blaze gasped. "Everyone, quick! Into that cave!

They dashed towards the cave as fast as they could. They yelped, avoiding the rocks until they made it to the cave.

"Phew... everyone okay?" AJ asked.

"Yep!" Pickle nodded.

"Barely but yes," Crusher nodded with a groan.

"But look!" Sparkle gasped as she pointed to the cave entrance. "We're stuck!"

"What do we do, Mom? Dad?" Blaze asked.

"We'll have to find another way out," Phoenix sighed.

"Come on-- spread out and search!" Flame told them.

They spread out, driving off in each direction of the cave. Crusher, Blaze and Sparkle headed deeper into the cave and found a dead end.

"We can't go out this way..." Blaze sighed.

He and Sparkle headed back, and Crusher grumbled, glaring at the wall in front of them.

"Stupid dead end..." he tried to punch the wall with his tire but yelped as his tire went through it.

"Crusher? Is everything okay?" Blaze asked, turning back with a gasp to see their older brother no longer where they left him.

"Where did he go? He was right there!" Sparkle gasped.

"Wait a sec... there's something about this wall..."

Blaze drove forward and set his tire on it. He gasped as it went through the wall.

"Mom, Dad, AJ, Pickle! Come here, quick!"

"What is it, buddy?" AJ asked as they rushed toward them.

"We found a wall! But it's all an illusion!" Sparkle cried.

"It could be a way out! Let's go!"

They went through the wall and screamed as they were met with a long tunnel and slide, heading down and down until they reached the floor, crashing down with a thud.

"Ow..."

"There you guys are!" Crusher sighed. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," said Sparkle, "but where did we end up?"

"Somewhere behind a waterfall," Crusher replied, listening to the water falling from nearby.

"If we're behind a waterfall then it must be nearby!" Blaze beamed.

"Let's go!"

They headed off to follow after the sound of the waterfall. They soon reached daylight, and they gasped to see the crystal waterfall.

"Wow... it's beautiful!" Crusher said.

"Yeah!" Blaze agreed. "I've never seen a waterfall made of crystal before!"

"The wonders of this forest will amaze you," Flame chuckled.

"And look! There's the trail!" Sparkle cried.

"And the crystal waterfall means we're getting closer to the stone! Let's go!"

They burst through the falls and back on the trail, while Phoenix approached Crusher with a wide grin.

"Crusher, I remember Blaze telling me you were the one who found the illusion of the wall. I'm really impressed.

"Y-You are?" Crusher asked.

"Of course I am," Phoenix smiled. "I know you never had that good of a mother growing up. I want to be the mother you never had, if... that's all right with you,"

"I..." Crusher gulped.

How was he supposed to respond?

He always wanted a mother that cared for him, but...

Before he could say anything, Phoenix gently held his tire.

"You may not be my biological son, but... you're still family to me,"

"I... I am...?"

"Of course. I'll give you all the love you need, and it won't matter if you are part of both species. That makes you very special in my eyes. What do you say?"

Crusher looked deeply touched by her words, and immediately cuddled her close.

"I... I'd love that... Mom..."

Phoenix smiled and held him just as close. "Now, come on, honey. Let's catch up with the others."

X

"ARGH!!" Dalia screamed. "NO!! WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING THE HARD WAY?!"

"Um... your grace?" one of the phoenixes asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Now get back to the fight!"

"Uh... as you wish," the phoenixes nodded and flew off.

"Guess I'll have to use maximum level..."

She snarled and held her magic high in the air. She then shot at the sky and swirled it around. The clouds darkened above the group before snow started to fall from the sky.

"Ooh, snow!" Sparkle giggled.

"Is snow... normal in this part of the forest?" AJ asked.

"Not normally... we better go... now!" Crusher dragged his new family away. "Guys, this isn't ice dragon snow! It's another kind of magic snow! We need to find a way to get to the stone through this storm!"

"Ah! Snow's getting stronger!" Pickle cried.

"What do we do?!" Sparkle whimpered.

"TAKE COVER!!" Blaze yelled.

They dashed off as the snow fell harder and harder. A snowstorm soon came, and the family had to take cover under a tree to stay safe.

"It's... so cold!" Sparkle shivered.

"Brr, too cold…" Blaze hissed and huddled against his sister and brother.

"Hang on, guys, I'll start a fire... whoa..." Flame groaned, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"Dad!" Sparkle rushed over to help him stay upright.

"Woah, woah, what's going on…?" Pickle asked with a shudder. "I mean, I know that it's cold but… it isn't THAT cold is it…?"

"Phoenix magic is determined by temperature," Blaze said. "If it gets colder, we have to wear winter gear so we don't get woozy. If we go too long without some form of heat, our powers will freeze up!"

"Woah… that's terrible!" Pickle gasped, watching the family look drain and powerless.

"We have to figure out something-- fast!" AJ exclaimed.

"Since Crusher is only 1/2 phoenix, it shouldn't affect him as much as it does us," said Flame. "So he should be fine."

"What about you guys?" Crusher asked worriedly. "We have to warm you guys up! Pickle, think you can help out with your magic wand?"

"Sure thing!" Pickle beamed and held out his wand.

He waved it around, causing warmth and heat to beam up towards them.

"Phew... that's better..." Sparkle sighed.

"But Pickle's magic won't last us long, so we have to find the stone before it wears off," Blaze said. "Mom, do you have any idea how close we are?"

"Well... according to the legend, it's in a cave with rainbow vines around the entrance,"

"I think I see it!" AJ gasped, pointing to the cave at the top of the hill. "Let's go, hurry!"

They dashed to the cave as quickly as they could. Pickle kept his wand steady for the warmth. They soon made it inside the cave, dashing in with a sigh of relief.

"Made it," Flame smiled.

"And guys!" Blaze gasped, pointing his tire forward. "Look!"

They turned and all gasped to see the vines of rainbow from the cave ceiling. They headed through the cave and gasped to see something shimmering within the cave.

"It's the stone! Come on!"

They headed towards where the shimmering came from. They soon found it at the end of the cave, below a fountain of crystal water and shimmering from upon a silver altar.

"Wow... it's so beautiful!" AJ beamed.

"Okay, Blaze-- all you and Crusher have to do is activate the stone with your powers at the exact same time. Then, it should show us all a vision of what really went down." Phoenix told them.

"Alright, Mom!" Blaze nodded.

"Got it," Crusher gave a nod as well.

They leapt down to the alter and stood facing it.

"Ready, Crusher?" Blaze asked, looking at his brother with a smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be."