Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Helly couldn’t have been living in a better day. Nothing had specifically happened, but he felt like the happiest helicopter in the world, and he knew he was not about to miss out on such a great opportunity.

Patrolling today was simple as well- he’d fixed a couple of SOS phones, caught a few balloons lost in the air, and got multiple “Thank you!”s and “We owe you!”s. He wasn’t about to deny it- the sentences did make him feel amazing about being who he was, a part of the Rescue Team in Brooms Town.

Slowly, he drifted to a stop, landing on grass with a soft white cat in his hands. “I think this one’s yours…” He let out a heartfelt laugh, handing back the kitten towards its owner.

“Thank you so much, Helly. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t passing by!” The girl smiled, and Helly couldn’t help but smile back. He loved his job.

He would never quit.

Unfortunately, Helly was jerked out of his zoned-out state by Jin coming in through his intercom.

“Helly?”

Opening up the radio on his left hand, he replied swiftly, “Yeah? What’s up, Jin?”

“The port says it’s got issues with a roof leakage. Could you please check it out?”

The helicopter considered for a moment. To be fair, he was done with his job way too early. There would be no harm in doing one more thing, right?

“Sure! I’ll get to it right away.” He responded.

“Alright, see you then, Helly!”

With that, the connection closed. Helly turned back to the girl, who was cuddling her cat like a mother with a child. “I’ve got to get going. Take care of that cat, okay?”

“Alright! Thank you again, Helly!”

With one last smile, the helicopter jumped into the air, wind gushing by his sides as his propeller began to spin. His hands land legs closed in to make him more aerodynamic; soon enough, he was on his way to the port.

Chapter Text

Slowly but surely, the sea’s glaring reflection shone right at him. He let himself down and out of the sky, softly landing next to Ms Belle (the human in charge of the port) and Lifty, who was currently in conversation with Terry (a lorry truck).

“I’m telling you, the water landed right on my head!-“

Lifty’s attention was almost immediately diverted as he felt a fish of wind rush through him. “Helly! You’re here!”

Helly couldn’t help but giggle. “Yup, I’m here! Now what’s the issue?”

Ms Belle pinched her nose bridge, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. “Thank you so much for coming, Helly. We’re so glad you’re here. A section of the roof has allegedly been leaking for a while now, and I just can’t seem to fix it. Do you think you can help?”

Helly immediately knew this was the job for him. With a quick nod, he briefly lifted back into the air and quickly set himself down onto the red tiles of the storage room’s roof. It took nothing more than a quick scan to notice that a couple of tiles were missing. This then caused the leak. It was an easy and swift fix, and Helly was done with the job in no time, especially being the happy helicopter he was.

“All done Ms Belle, anything else?”

Ms Belle jumped in excitement, a smile spread across her face. “No! Thank you so so so much, Helly!”

The excitement within her was evident, and it only made Helly more pleased with himself. For once in a while, he felt really proud! A unanimous “Thank you Helly!” Came from the two other cars that had been arguing about the water droplet ever since he’d arrived, and he smiled before quickly contacting Jin and explaining his completed work.

Closing back into a Helicopter, Helly lifted into the air, off into the sky, and back towards the building he liked to call home- the Rescue Team’s headquarters.

A part of him felt off though. Even though everything today felt fast, the fix felt fast fast …

Almost, too fast…

Chapter Text

“Welcome back, Helly!”

Roy, Amber and Poli’s voices all came at him at the exact same time, but it wasn’t in a threatening or overwhelming manner.

“Hey guys!” Helly blurted out, retransforming back into his usual state as he carefully landed.

Now that he had thought about it, all of his landings today were spotless, which was extremely unlike him. But he wasn’t about to complain. His day had been immaculate, it was almost upsetting it was coming to an end. But now that he had a moment, he noticed the awkward atmosphere settling in. Why did everyone look so off put?..

He was snapped back into reality when Jin begun to speak. “Hey Helly, how did The Port go?”

“Oh it wasn’t too hard, just a couple tiles coming loose. Nothing a skilled helicopter like me couldn’t fix!” He winked, jokingly showing off his “skill”.

“Right, right. How about you, Roy? Did you get the streetlight to work?”

Roy, the fire truck of the team, rolled forward a bit. “I did but- there was something I wanted to speak to you about, Jin. The town’s been worried about a “mystery figure” driving round Brooms… im confused as to what or who this might be, so I wanted to come to you. Do you have any idea on this?”

Jin’s face had almost immediately changed into a thoughtful frown.

“I was actually about to mention this.” Poli, the police car and unspoken leader of the team, added. “I was speaking to spooky earlier, and he mentioned dark figures, almost like ghosts, spawning round town. He even said one was flying.”

Helly’s eyes widened. A flying figure? No one in Brooms Town could fly but him.

“So we’ve all had reports on this mystery figure then?” Amber asked, wishing to confirm.

“I guess so..” Roy replied as all three cars of the Rescue Team turned to face Jin for answers.

But in the corner of his eye, Helly could see Jin’s glare at him. His own breath hitched. She couldn’t possibly think it was him, right?! He meant, he had literally been doing nothing but helping people and cars all day!

“A flying mystery figure…” Jin repeated to herself, her eyes still lightly glaring at Helly. “Tell me, Helly, what exactly were you doing for the last couple of hours?”

Helly couldn’t believe it. She genuinely suspected him. “You think I’d do this?! No way!” He tried to defend himself, but he knew where this was going.

“Telling the truth will land you in less trouble. I wouldn’t suggest lying. Be honest with me, and I’ll let it go!” Jin responded, her eyes clearly showing signs of her anger bubbling inside.

“Jin, you literally sent me to The Port yourself! You knew I was out fixing the roof!”

“Yeah well, I just got a call before you came in saying that the roof was still leaking, even after you had supposedly taken a look at it.”

“What?! But that’s-“ Helly wanted to protest, but was suddenly reminded about the waterproof layer he had forgotten to renew. He felt so stupid. As he was about to argue, Jin had continued.

“Helly, no one else in this town can fly!”

“But that’s doesn’t mean it’s me!”

Jin grunted in frustration, rolling back in her chair. “Don’t be so stubborn, just admit it’s you!-“

Helly’s mood began to drop. “But it’s not me!-“

“I mean, there’s a lot of evidence to prove that you-“ Roy had begun, but was swiftly cut off by the young helicopter.

“Roy, you too?! That’s it! I’m going out there to prove that it’s not me!”

With a determined frown that now replaced his sweet smile, Helly collected himself and set off up and out. Yes, he’d technically just arrived from patrol, and yes, he was hella tired. But he was not about to just stand there and take the blame for something he didn’t do. He was going to find whoever was impersonating him, and show Jin the truth. Show them all. He felt the wind pick up, but proceeded to push through the wind.

Chapter Text

The wind was getting unbearable. Helly was thrown left to right, barely keeping balance. He didn’t care too much though; he needed to find who was playing the big prankster in town. It enraged him, the thought of someone acting like him just to joke around.

And Jin wasn’t being smart about it either. Why had her first instinct been to blame him? Deep down, he knew the exact reason she had chosen him.

He was the youngest of the team.
Something in Helly hurt for a moment.

Sure, he might’ve played a couple pranks every once in a while, but it didn’t go to extents of terrorising the citizens of Broom Town, and would only ever be towards the Rescue Team. And they definitely never had ANYTHING to do with black clocks…

A deafening rumble shook ahead. All of a sudden, the weather wasn’t looking up on his “wonderful” day. Helly sighed. Maybe he was overreacting. With one deep breath, he relaxed. He still felt a sadness gnaw from within, but there was no time to settle on it.

He had a culprit to find.

***

“Maybe you should’ve heard him out, Jin-“ Amber’s voice was cut off almost instantly.

“There is nothing to hear him out on! He’s pulling horrible pranks round the city, and expects me to believe that it wasn’t him because he said so?”

Amber rolled back slightly. She could see the split expressions on Poli and Roy’s faces. Jin simply looked infuriated to a point her skin seemed to be turning red. She let out a deep, unhappy sigh. Just as she was about to head out the room, her weather forecast machine had begun to beep and print. Her frown switching into slivers of confusion, she headed back up towards it. She picked up the white receipt that felt cold intertwined between her fingers. Her eyes opened slightly.

“What’s the matter, Jin?” Poli asked, taking into account everyone’s confusion.

“It says here a storm is supposed to come through. I don’t get it though- it feels way too warm for a storm…” Jin replied.

“The weather can be deceiving,” Amber responded, but she was sure everyone was slowly realising what this meant.

Finally, Roy spoke up and pointed out the unspoken. “Helly just flew off- that’s not a good sign. What if he gets hurt?”

Everyone’s worry grew; even Jin’s angry facade seemed to falter. But it was back in a matter of time as she had herself recall her previous interaction.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. It was his decision to fly out there anyways, so he can put up with whatever winds there are. I’m off to finish some work.” She explained, scrunching up the forecast as she walked towards the door, throwing it in the bin on her way out.

The moment the door closed, the three cars looked at one another, insecurity reflected in each other’s eyes.

“I don’t like this.”

Poli stated, almost immediately backed up by Roy.

“Yeah, I mean, Helly’s out there in freezing, potentially dangerous winds, trying to find proof for his innocence- yet we can’t even call him guilty in the first place. We didn’t have enough evidence- I-“

The fire truck rolled back slightly. He felt guilt rise in his chest. Had he not went to side with Jin, maybe she would’ve heard Helly out. He felt like 50% of this was his fault, and all because he wanted to make matters better. Honestly, he was scared as hell for Helly. He knew Helly wasn’t one to be completely lost- there was a reason he was a part of the Rescue Team after all. But a part of him still nagged at the idea of their youngest member getting hurt all because of him. He knew the others felt a similar way.

After a long moment of nervous silence, Amber stated, “We’ve got to find Helly. Or at least reach out to him through comms. I don’t think any of us would feel okay going to sleep tonight having no idea on the whereabouts of a member of our team.”

“That’s right. Jin might be upset at him, but it’s no excuse for us to not even try figure where he might be, even if it means he doesn’t wish to talk to us once we find him.” Poli responded.

“I’ve got a plan,” he continued, “I’m going to go physically look for him. You guys stay here. If he shows up, reach out to me through comms. Try do the same to him but if I was accused of something I hadn’t done, I’d want to be alone. And knowing him, I fear he’s already turned off his comms.”

All three of them turned to face the broad screen upon which Jin usually broadcast maps, stats, etc. in the right hand corner were the statuses of everyone’s comms. The pit in their hearts grew bigger as suspicions were confirmed. At the end of the list stood a figure of Helly, the word “Offline” outlined above him. Poli sighed, Amber and Roy exchanging worried glances.

“Let’s get to work then.” The police car stated, looking back at them both. “Reach out to me if you’ve got any news.” He stated, the others responding with a quick “Right!” before he entered his lift.

A strong sense of worry slowly began to cloud his mind. That helicopter better have not pulled something stupid yet…

With a sigh, upon arriving at the bottom floor, Poli sped out of the Rescue Team’s Headquarters, and set destination straight towards Brooms Town.

Chapter Text

The amount of time Helly had spent sat in the spot where the figure was last seen was adding up to about 4 hours; the Broom’s Woods had begun too look a little too dark for his liking. He may be a part of the Rescue Team, but even Rescuers had fears- and his was the dark.

The sky turned a deep shade of navy blue as he let out a yawn. This was horrendous. Was it his luck? He had sat here for so long, and the one time he needed evidence, the culprit didn’t even arrive? He was getting tired.

‘No’, he thought, standing back up onto his feet. ‘I’ve got to figure out who it was first. Then you can sleep, Helly.’

As if on cue, branches a couple of feet away began to shuffle and shiver. This had to be it! Helly knelt down, trying to let his green blend in with the rest of his surroundings. He couldn’t miss the opportunity. Surely enough, the culprit road out of the bushes…

“It’s my turn being the monster!” Benny, a small car, cried out. Helly knew him well. He was a small blue car: a huge fan of Roy, spare tire in his back, and never seen without…

Surely enough, the other two cars a part of their trio rolled out: Minnie and Rody.

“Yeah but like, I didn’t actually get a good scare in, so it’s actually my turn!” Rody argued whilst pulling out a dark cloth- very obviously what they used while trying to intimidate the citizens of Brooms Town.

A riot emerged between the two boys, and only lasted for around 30 seconds until the only girl of the friend group- Minnie- jumped in.

“I haven’t even had a go once! So honestly, it’s my turn.” She yanked the black cloth out of the drape of Benny and Rody’s wheels, and draped it over herself. She looked exactly like the figure.

Helly stumbled back. It was the trio all along? It only made him feel worse. The fact that Jin couldn’t tell the difference between him and the trio- it was kind of embarrassing. Was he really just as immature? He had to take a split second decision, and decided to confront the kids about playing such pranks.

Folding into a Helicopter, he followed with a low drift at a decent altitude until he landed right behind the children. “Hey guys, what are you doing here? It’s so late!” Helly asked, but his voice came off more… saddened than enraged.

The three mini cards jumped. “Helly?!” They all shouted in unison. “We Uhm-“ they all looked at one another for an excuse, but none had actually expected this as a scenario to come true.

Helly sighed. “Kids, you can’t be out this late, and even worse, you definitely shouldn’t be playing pranks like this at night! It could startle or scare someone so badly, it would cause an accident…”

Not only, but it could also hurt a couple. But they didn’t need to know that.

“We didn’t mean to hurt anyone! It was just a little joke.” Rody responded, Benny’s expression changed to one of worry. “Did- did someone get hurt because of us?-“

Helly felt something crush under that statement. He felt like a dam with a crack that was being left alone to explore the stone wall, and no one was bothered about fixing it. Why would they? The dam’s young anyways. They’d just build a new one.

“No.” He lied. “Not yet, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, no? Why don’t you-“ Helly stated, but was interrupted by the sudden “BANG” of thunder from up above. Water slowly dropped on his propeller, causing him to shudder. Raining- no. Storming, at this hour? It felt like nothing was going his way no more.

“We need to get you guys to safety. Come on, let’s get a move on!”

More thunder rumbled ahead as Helly transformed into his Helicopter state, and flew above at a speed just faster than the kids. What he was doing was stupid, he knew it. But right now, he felt like there was nothing to lose. His emotions blinded him, and for a moment, it wasn’t just the sky’s water that fell. He shook himself off slightly, turning back to make sure the kids were following as he looked for a Rescue Team station. There, a couple meters away, a concrete box with a red door- unlocked by a code- stood camouflaged with the trees.

“I see it! Keep moving!” He instructed, helping the trio out against the harsh winds. Honestly, it was getting a bit much for even him, but he already felt so worthless. Surviving this storm would make it all better.

He unlocked the station; its red door sliding open after a heavy pull. One, two… he counted the trio as they rolled through the door, but never reached three.

Rody was missing.

Eyes widening, he looked around in hopes for finding the issue. Moments away from the door, Rody stopped- his wheels stuck in rocks. “Help! Helly please-“ he cried, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

A sense of responsibility flooded Helly’s heart. “It’s okay, Rody. Ive got you!-“ he pushed through the winds, barely seeing anything in the dark at this point. His heart raced with adrenaline, fear, and anger. He felt like a mess; he could barely set his thoughts straight. Carefully removing the rocks round Rody, he freed the small car and it sped off towards the station.

Helly watched as Rody made it inside. A small smile spread on his face. At least he was sort of useful. The only thing left was himself.

He took considerate and careful steps, wary as to not get blown off the earth like last time with Posty. Finally he was a moment from the door. He decided to make a jump for it.

…

Maybe it was in fact his luck. The winds just so happened to pick up together, and Helly’s hand slipped from the door handle. He was plunged into the sky’s darkens and rain as he was spun and disoriented in the storming sky. He felt his mind spin, his heart beat so hard it hammered in his head. His ears begun to ring, and he couldn’t take it anymore. Closing his eyes, bracing for whatever impact, he slowly lost any grasp of reality as he slowly lost consciousness.

***

The trio stood frozen in the station. The rain was beginning to seep in- it didn’t begin to look up for them unless they closed that door.

“Close the door.” Minnie said, afraid for all four of them and what was to happen.

“But Helly!-“ Rody cried, a not yet recognised guilt seeping into his heart. If it wasn’t for him, Helly would’ve been safe and sound.

“Helly’s a part of the Rescue Team! He’ll be fine… right? Benny, tell him!” She argued back, desperate for backup from others.

Benny didn’t know what to say. He stood frozen until Minnie asked him again. Feeing pressured, he responded with a “Yeah I- I hope…”

Rody looked at his best friend’s face, before turning back to face the open door and the endless night, stormy sky. He felt horrible, but they were right. It was getting cold, wet, and extra late. Reluctantly, the door was shut with a metal “Boom”.

For a while, the room was filled with nothing but a quiet hum of electricity and the wind coming from the outside. Not once did any of the kids speak, nor did the wind relax. Just like that, with not a word ushered, the kids fell asleep- their hearts filled with worry for the green Helicopter, his whereabouts now unknown to all.

Chapter Text

The sight that met the trio’s eyes wasn’t a pleasant one to start with. Branches and twigs looked demolished under the storm’s wrath yesterday night- trees had fallen and boulders moved from the strong forces of winded that used nature’s resources like toys. The tiny three slowly rolled out of the station they’d spent the night in, fear and guilt still clouded in their eyes and minds from yesterday.

“So.. what do we do?..” Rody asked, his voice slightly hoarse. Oddly enough, his eyes looked a bit more bloodshot from the rest of had he been crying?

It was definitely not something Benny would expect from the leader of the trio, but he wasn’t about to judge. He didn’t respond, his mind still replaying the helicopter’s swift disappearance as he was swooped from the ground and into the air.

“I-“ Minnie’s voice cracked, her eyes tearing up again. This was horrible. What were they meant to do? “I don’t know! I can’t- I- why-“ she kept going back and stuttering against her words. She couldn’t get it together, not after what she’d seen. Such a close friend swooped away so far… she hated the idea of it.

Benny noticed her panic, immediately jumping in to comfort her. “Hey no- im sure we can think of something… right? I mean- let’s go look for him?” He suggested while trying to offer as much comfort to the girl who was now crying into him.

“It’s useless.” Rody said in realism. “Where are we to look for him. And even if we find him- how will we help.”

“We can- we can do something, right?”

A moment of silence fell between the boys; the only thing audible being Minnie’s soft sobs.

Rody sighed. He had an idea, but he really didn’t want to go along with it. He looked at the faces of his other two friends. They looked so… helpless. Lost. Confused. Terrified.

Worried.

“We lie.”

….

“Pardon?” The blue car responded, his eyes widening. He had never disobeyed his elders- and doing something as serious as that, especially with such a serious topic…

“I said, we lie.” The green car, who had slowly come to terms with the fact that he couldn’t seem to feel anything, reestablished.

Minnie pulled back from Benny. “B-But that’s…”

“Horrible, I know. But do we have any other choice? If we tell them the truth- we’d get in so much trouble for both pulling the pranks and being out at night so late! We simply can’t tell them anything. Or else we’re loose tires.”

Rody looked into Minnie and Benny’s eyes. “Trust me, I don’t want to do this either- but what other options do we have? Tell them the truth and have the whole Rescue Team on our back for the rest of our lives? I-“ for a moment, a sliver of emotion peaked through his mask, though it wasn’t for long. “I can’t do that.”

Benny and Minnie exchanged looks. Rody sort of had a point. It was that or an experience that would feel like eternal punishment. A shudder shared between them, an unsettling emotion driving into their souls, intertwining like thread.

“Do we have a deal?” Rody asked, looking at both of them with empty but bloodshot eyes.

Afyer a moment of contemplation, both other cars put in their wheels into the centre, securing their pact with a “deal”. But something told all three of them that it wasn’t long before this “deal” of theirs was to go down the drain…

***

“Still no response…”

Jin explained turning round in her chair to face the other three members of the Rescue Team.

“This is horrible! Last night’s storm was no condition for flying- no signals or signs from Helly cannot be a good sign!” Amber replied almsot instantly, her worry hitting peaks she didn’t know were in her limits.

“I feel horrible about all this I-“ Jin had begun, but felt her voice waver, so she stopped. Spinning back round on her chair to face the board, she eyed it slowly and carefully, hoping for any signs of a helicopter. None had come in for the past 12 hours. Her vision blurred, a spiking sensation prick at her eyes, but she pushed it down.

“He needs our help..” Poli exclaimed, but immediately shuddered, slowly rolling back into his resting position. Yesterday night, the police car was found at the Rescue Team’s headquarters weak, wet, and barely awake. He had spent every drop of his battery trying to find Helly, but to no avail. He played a risky game; his energy supply was pretty much empty by the time he got back to the point Amber had to emergency charge him. He later revealed a couple injuries he sustained from flying objects in the storm while on his lookout, putting him back a little more. He sighed, bracing himself for a bit of pain as he spoke up again. “I need to go find him, I can feel something hapoened.”

Roy’s face was scribbled with worry for both Poli and Helly. “You’re barely awake and functioning, for that fact, injured, and you want to go lookout again? It’s not happening.” He rolled over towards Poli, but he was just as stubborn as ever.

“Roy, you don’t get it! Helly’s only so young- Ive got to find him. We all have got to find him! We need him, no?” Poli looked at the back of Jin’s head, and he knew she knew he was eyeing her. “Jin..” he whispered, wishing for backup.

Their leader just sighed. “I’m afraid Roy is right. You’re not going anywhere until you’re healed- and looking all over Brooms might take a while. How do we even know if he’s even still in Brooms?! What if he’s-“ Jin let out a devastated grunt, slamming her head against the desk. Why had she been so hard on him? He was just a kid. After all, they were just jokes. She should’ve taken that better. She sighed, eyes threatening to tear up again.

“In that case.” Poli continued after being denied access to voyage, “we need a plan. All of us are going to go look for any hints, any clues, anything at all avout Helly and his whereabouts. We find something, we report it. Amber, head towards the port, Roy towards the woods. When I get better, I’ll stay town central. Jin will stay on comms if anything comes through. Have we got that?”

All other members nodded their heads like they usually would when assigned a mission- only this time the spirits seemed lost. Nothing felt right without Helly.

“Then we’ll start in a couple of hours. Rescue Team, out!”

With that, Roy and Amber descended to go examine their areas of Brooms, while Poli descended into his garage in hopes of finding a couple of painkillers he could down for a “quicker” heal in Amber’s section.

As he took a pill he found, his head rung with a single thought. It almost made him tear up.

“Just please be safe, Helly.”

Chapter Text

Everything ached. Head to toe, Helly was covered in scratches and burns. He had tried to get up multiple times, but his leg did not want to work. His head spun, but his propeller didn’t. Nothing seemed to work. Multiple times he had broken down, resting his back against the walls of yet another ravine. What was his luck that he had ended up in a smillar place, after just as horrid storms, twice.

The worst part was that the only way out was up. And this time, he was sure no “Poli” was going to come save him.

He wiped his tears for the third time, and tried to push himself up onto his feet. A wince echoed through the walls as Helly desperately grasped onto ANYTHING that would keep him from falling, but also standing. His left leg was still kind of okay. His right couldn’t move at all.

This wasn’t fair. No food, no friends, no escape. It was awful. How come this was the type of response he’d gotten for saving a couple of kids who were impersonating him in a storm? What did he do?! Why did it feel like the world was against him?!

Threatening to break down again, Helly clutched the ridged walls of the ravine tighter than he held onto his friends sometimes, and now he was really regretting it.

Finally, he partially stabilised himself. He looked up. Ages to go… oh there was no point. Ruining all his progress, Helly sat back down in the ravine, water splashing by his sides from yesterday night. A cry escaped him as he felt a sharp stab attack his right foot.

It was a cut- a deep one at that. It didn’t look to well; it was most likely one of the first few created when Helly lost consciousness. It hurt like hell, the rust already looking like it was setting in. His eyesight settled back up at the clouds.

He didn’t even know where he was.

Nothing felt okay at this moment. Helly set his back up against the chilling, stinging rocks behind him, and all of a sudden, he missed them. He really missed his friend’s- no.

His family’s presence.

Chapter Text

Nothing was looking up in the Rescue Team either. It had been 30 hours since any of them had last seen Helly. Jin spent days cooped up at her desk, desperately begging to see the little Green helicopter light up; a signal to be sent, something to be heard from the youngest member of the team. Sometimes, she felt like he was all she needed. She hated to admit it, but she couldn’t do anything right without knowing that someone as “annoying” as Helly was gods know where.

Poli spent his days and night asking Brooms Town and even residents outside- most of his searches coming to no avail. He’d leave early- around 3 in the morning- and return extremely late- sometimes never at all.

Roy was putting most of the team’s responsibilities on him. They still had to attend rescues, but it was nothing like what it had been with Helly. The three cars had to work thrice as hard just to be able to pull of the things that helicopter could. He might’ve been the youngest, but he was definitely a valuable piece to their jigsaw. Now with him gone, Roy had made it a mission to keep the team in check as much as he could, trying his best to make sure Poli would get at least some sleep, and Amber a conversation once in a while.

Amber.

It almost seemed like Helly’s disappearance had affected her most. She wasn’t the most talkative person you’d meet, but when it came to a topic she liked, she was off on all four wheels. Since Helly had disappeared, she hadn’t ushered a word. Barely coming out of her garage, the only time Poli or Roy would ever see her is if they had a rescue to complete- and even then she looked so empty. Maybe it was because she’d spent the most time with Helly. Maybe it was something about that childish light in his eyes when he smiled. Point is, Amber missed him.

They all did.

Jin hit her head against the table for the 7th time that morning. “Where are you, Helly? Just-“ she hesitated before continuing, as if in fear of someone watching her, “just answer me.”

As if she’d jinxed it, one of the elevator doors opened, and Poli rolled out between the metal door. “Jin?” He asked.

“Poli? Weren’t you meant to come back a couple hours later? How come you’re here?”

For a moment, there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“Did you find Helly?!”

But the spark was put out as fast as it was ignited as Poli broke eye contact with his dispatcher. Jin sighed, sitting back down in the chair that had probably been dent with her posture due to how long she’d been in it, and refused to get up in fear of a missed call.

“I have something… in fact, someone else yoy might want to see.” Poli indicated at his lift, and for the first time in a while, Jin hesitantly got off her chair and into the elevator.

…

“We’re in so much trouble.”

Benny panicked, tears threatening to spill right out his eyes any moment.

“We’ll be fine! Just stick to the plan okay?”
Rody replied, but he wasn’t doing a good job at sounding sure. “Remember, we didn’t see Helly the day he left. Yes, we might’ve been out ajd about during times we weren’t meant to, but him leaving-“ Rody paused for a moment. He felt a horrible dread kick in, and suddenly an empathetic part of his heart began to sting. It hurt. This was partly all his fault. Him and his stupid pranks… no. There was no time. “Point is, it wasn’t us. Was it, Minnie?”

He turned to face the yellow car with pink bows on her mirrors. She also looked like she was about to break any moment- but she took a deep breath and recollected herself before replying in a shaky voice “No… i-it wasn’t.”

Rody sighed, just in time for Poli and Jin to walk in. Poli looked tired, and Jin looked upset. He felt to very sorry…

Tell them.

His brain urged him with messages, morality. If he told them the truth, they might find their dear friend. But if he told them the truth, he was in big trouble…

He put on a brave face. It was only 2 members of the Rescue Team. He could lie his way out of this one. Surely, it can’t be too hard. He turned back to Minnie and Benny as Jin and Poli approached the trio.

“We can do this.” He muttered, almost whispered, making sure he was inaudible to the two behind him. But as if to jinx him, Amber and Roy rolled into the Rescue Centre. 4 great members of his life, 4 pairs of broken, numb and grieving eyes.

The pressure was on.

Chapter Text

“We don’t know what happen to Helly…”

Rody’s voice was weak and unstable, as if shaken by a traumatic event. Minnie and Benny both looked terrified.

“Then why were you out so late?” Roy confronted, his voice coming off perhaps a bit more hostile than intended.

“Being out and about at the 11th hour of the evening is way too late for kids like you- you need to understand.” Poli took control of the situation, but quickly lost it to Amber speaking up for the first time in a while.

“Kids, we won’t be mad. Just- please tell us the truth.”

On pure accident, Minnie locked eyes with Amber. She regretted it almost immediately as it happened. The pain she was confronted with in the ambulance’s eyes spoke volumes within the silence of the room. She could practically feel herself crumble as empathy took control of her body. Her eyebrows furrowed. If she had lost her friends, she’d be worried sick. She would want any information on them, whether it be their location, or something as simple as “he’s okay. We don’t know where, but we were told.”

She had to do the right thing.

“He’s lying.”

…

Rody slowly turned round to make eye contact with the yellow-pink car that had spoken up behind him. His eyes screamed in fury.

‘What are you possibly doing?!’

‘What I should’ve done long ago.’

“We were playing around as what you guys know “the monster”. Pulling pranks and all…,” the only girl in the trio proceeded, “and Helly caught us red handed.”

Everyone in the room saw it; Amber’s eyes lit up at the mention of the helicopter. So did Jin’s, and Poli’s, and Roy’s.

Everything in the atmosphere lifted, except for the guilt and dread that had begun to settle in Rody’s heart. He was done for. And his parents?… oh no no. He was not going to get out of this one. He was as simple as dead meat. His worst fear of being known as a horrible car had come true. Or so he thought. He wasn’t a bad care, he could swear on it! He was just- horrible at making decisions under pressure. This made him prone to mistakes.

“He was going to send us home, but we got caught up in the storm, so he sent us to a Rescue Station instead. Rody’s wheel got stuck in a tire, so Helly went to save him. He saved Rody, that’s obvious, but as he was coming back-“ Minnie’s eyes begin to tear up. Benny shook beside her. Rody locked eyes with Poli. For a moment, the police car’s eyes looked mad at him. But as they acknowledged the dead, numb, yet guilty look from the kid, his eyes went sorrowful. They were just kids. They didn’t know better than to lie.

“What happened?” Amber asked, returning most of them to the present time.

“He got swept away by winds… they carried him far. We weren’t sure later- we had to close the door in order to not get swept away ourselves. We- I-“ Minnie began to cry.

Amber, for the first time in a while, rushed over with genuine emotion on her face. “It’ll be okay, you’re okay…” she muttered words of comfort as the girl cried into her.

Poli rolled up to Rody. “I know you probably dodnt know any better, but this could go to show that lying isn’t the best option out there. Even if it gets you out of trouble. Even if the truth might hurt.” Rody looked up at the police car that had saved him from accidents a bit too many times. He had almost tried to completely twist the story; perhaps eliminate any chance of finding Helly again. Just because he was scared…

Without a doubt, the mini green car rushed straight into the police car, a surprised inhale followed as a response. But Poli hadn’t pulled away. He just stayed there, letting Rody cry it out.

It seemed like everyone was letting everything out. It was a hard couple of hours for many- but at least now things had turned to look for the better. There was a chance. They had a lead, a clue, an idea to where Helly might be.

Jin smiled as she watched the cars of the RT work with the kids- comforting, holding, caring for them. She was proud of them. She turned to comms that were located not too far in the corner of the garage that they were in. Helly was still offline. But a new sense of hope filled her.

She was going to find Helly, if it meant it’d be the death of her and the team.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining bright in a clear sky, the atmosphere not matching the feeling of Brooms Town. It had been three days. Three days since Helly went missing. Things wre getting risky. If Helly had been fully charged when he left, that meant he would have enough to survive 4, maybe 5 days, if he preserved his energy correctly. But the RT knew that the moment Helly lost charge wpuld he the moment their chances of finding him plummet down to 0.

Poli made his way down the streets of the outskirts of the town. They were oddly quiet, even with the sun out. Maybe it wasn’t only the 4 of them that missed Helly after all.

Upon finding out the backstory to Helly’s complete disappearance, Poli had spent his nights patrolling the far edge of the forest. He had to be somwhere, and that was their best lead so far. As the police car was about to turn round though, a white and pink figure caught his eye.

In fact, a white and pink ambulance…

“Amber?” Poli quietly muttered to himself in surprise. What was she doing here? Poli was more than sure he’d asked her to patrol the East side, not West…. But here she was, riding away at speeds that she would usually reach only in dire emergencies.

Poli quietly hid behind a rock as he spied on Amber. He took notice of her hesitant expression, almost as if she was hiding something… The police car felt his own expression harden. It wasn’t long, though, before the car was back on her wheels and speeding off into the forest.

Poli couldn’t help but feel like something was up, both thanks to his intuition and his occupation. So, doing what any natural police car would do, he stealthily sneaked behind her.

Turns went right, turns went left, turns went up and turns went down to the point where Poli’s head began to spin. At one point, he fully believed they were going in circles- yet Amber’s pace looked as stubborn as ever. He couldn’t take it anymore.

Confrontation was key.

Giving up on keeping his tracks as silent as possible, he sped up to Amber’s velocity. “Amber! Wait.”

Jumping in surprise, Amber slammed on her brakes almost immediately. Still trying to register the voice, she turned around swiftly, muttering the only guess that game to mind: “Poli?”

Poli stopped a couple meters away from her. “What have you been doing? Why are you here?”

Amber’s usually calm and collected face turned to a frown. “Why have you been following me?”

None of them uttered an answer. Not for a while.

“Well… I saw you.” Poli finally responded. “I had asked you to patrol Apple street, no? Why are you here?”

Amber’s eyes widened for a moment, and she turned back, as if trying to hear something. Her eyes looked worried when she next turned to face Poli, as if petrified to miss a cue.

“Amber, im going to need you to explain yourself-“ Poli begun, but Amber cut him off. “It’s complicated- but im more than sure Helly is this way.”

“How do you know?”

“As I said, it’s complicated. But if I can just…”

Amber turned back round and faced what Poli had finally acknowledged was a forked path. 3 directions. None of which Poli was even sure they should take.

“Amber, im not sure if this is a good idea, I-“

Poli silenced himself as he heard his comms go static for a moment. He picked up the comm, trying to respond.

“Hello?-“

But there was no answer. Amber had gone quiet as well; he assumed she’d heard it too. Suddenly, communications went quiet again- no static, no connection, nothing.

Just as Poli was about to question, another call had come through. This one was from Jin though.

“Jin?” Poli picked up.

“Poli! I just got a very faint, static message through comms. I think-“ Jin’s end of the call went quiet. When she next spoke, her voice sounded… broken? But hopeful…? “I think it was from Helly- his symbol lit up on my screen for a moment before dying down to grey again.”

It all made sense to him now.

Amber had probably received the same idea of a message before, coming from this direction in the woods. She’d rushed over immediately- knowing her- Poli took a moment to acknowledge that she genuinely wouldn’t hesitate to find a friend the moment she’d get a lead.

Poli looked over at Amber, her eyes pleading with a desperation he’d never seen before.

“This can’t wait any longer! We have got to find Helly.” Her voice stung with worry.

“You’re right.” Poli responded. “Jin, send us your closest co-ordinates.”

“Roger.” She replied

It wasn’t even a minute before the closest pinpoint of Helly’s alleged location was. He turned to face Amber, his face covered in a determination as strong as a shield.

“Amber, go seek out Helly at the co-ordinates. Me and Roy are going to check a bit of a wider radius, just in case. If anything, we’re connected. We all set?”

Amber responded with a “Yes!”, before speeding off down the middle road. Poli activated his siren, vefore connecting with Roy.

“Poli? What’s up?” Roy came through.

“Roy, we might have found our Helly.”