"Come on, Crusher! Time to go!"

Crusher groaned as he forced himself off his bed at the sound of Pickle's voice. He felt himself struggling to breathe as got off and shuddered. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and found himself pale.

"Oh boy..."

He sighed and hissed. He tried to make his lightning marks glow, to practice his invention making. As he tried, he felt his marks fade before it could finish. He panted and fell on his tires.

"Come on, come on, I need to practice my cheat,"

He took a deep breath and shut his eyes to try again. Before he could, Pickle came to the room with a smile.

"Come on, Crush! We'll be late!!"

Crusher groaned and shook his head. "Coming, coming..."

Pickle smiled but frowned when he realized that the other was very pale.

"Crusher… you okay?" he asked.

"M'fine," Crusher waved it off and drove past him. "Come on. I need to think of my cheat for today,"

"If you say so..."

X

X

X

"The race is about to start in 5 minutes! Racers, TO THE STARTING LINE!"

Crusher hissed as he thought hard on what the next cheat should be. The race was outdoors, so it gave him a good opportunity to use his resources and other things for a cheat.

"Good luck at the race, Crusher!" Blaze waved over at him as he and the other racers all lined up.

"Psh, I don't NEED luck," Crusher grinned, though he winced as he did so, feeling already tired..

"Hey, you okay, Crusher?" AJ asked, glancing at their rival from the driver's seat. "You look a little pale,"

"I'm FINE!" Crusher huffed. "Time to race!"

Soon, the light flashed green, and they all zoomed off. They dashed through the forest, where the race was heading through. Crusher felt himself struggling to breathe but shook his head and kept on going.

This time, he was going to win.

This time, he was going to make a cheat SO big that Blaze and his friends won't be able to get past it.

He was going to WIN.

No matter what it took.

He soon made it to an area, clear and perfect for his cheat. He took a deep breath and glanced at the path, watching as Blaze and his friends started coming. He shut his eyes as his marks began glowing.

"Come on, come on..."

Lots and lots of scraps came from his chassis bag. There were so much scraps as they piled up and compiled together to make a wall that was still growing and growing and growing until it finally blocked the road behind him.

"YES!!" Crusher cheered, panting and catching his breath as his marks began to cease it's glow. "I did it! I… I did it…!"

He soon began to cough and wheeze for breath as he fell on his tires, panting. His head began to spin, and his eyes were all blurry as he tried to get back in the race.

He couldn't feel his tires.

He couldn't feel anything.

All he felt was his life force draining him from his body.

And then… nothing.

He felt nothing.

At all.

X

X

X

"I'm a wrecking ball crane monster MACHINEEEE!!"

Blaze jumped and transformed into a wrecking ball crane machine. AJ cheered as he hopped on the driver's seat. His friends cheered as Blaze jumped and swung the ball towards the ball.

Almost in an instant, the wrecking ball destroyed the wall. The group cheered, with Blaze cheering the loudest as he de-transformed.

"Alright!" He beamed. "Now come on, everyone, time to race!"

He and AJ sped forward, eager to continue the race. He was taking the lead and was about to head forward when he spotted someone laying on the race track.

"Huh?"

They skidded to a stop. AJ jumped down from the driver's seat and ran to kneel down to see who it was. He gasped, hands moving to his mouth in shock.

"Uh… Blaze…?"

"Yeah?" Blaze drove forward. "What's-"

He froze in the spot when he realized who was laying down on the ground. His tire reached his mouth, tears forming at the tips of his eyes.

"C-Crusher…?"

Said truck didn't respond. He didn't move.

He couldn't move.

He was on the ground, unmoving and still. Blaze leaned down to check his breathing but couldn't feel his pulse.

There was no pulse.

None whatsoever.

Blaze didn't know what to think. What to say. What to do.

Instead, he fell on his tires and began to cry, cry over the dead body of his rival.

How was this possible?

How did he not notice it?

How could he let this happen?

How did this even happen?

He didn't care. Because there was no point.

Crusher was gone.

This was his biggest and final cheat.

And Blaze wished that it wasn't.