[Theme Song — “Hātofurusurottoru” by Gunpowder Audition — Full Throttle Heart, season 1]

[Montage of Truck-kun fighting the Undead Legions of Liquid Shadow]

We spend our days dreaming

Stirring in our sleep

Driving through our lives!

Full of octane gas

Open throttle (we’re gonna crash!)

Can’t stop this feeling (in my heart)

Fiercest, only, auto-kun… Truck-kun (Truck-kun!)

Fiercest, only, auto-kun… Truck-kun (Truck-kun!)

Full of octane gas

Open throttle (we’re gonna last!)

Can’t stop this feeling (in my heart)

Approaching certain victory

Fight the power (unleash the power!)

Drown out all the cheering fans

Defeat evil that controls the land

~

[Montage of Truck-kun driving across the landscape. The knight, Gabriel, and the wizard’s apprentice, Morden, lean out the windows. Al, the bluebird, alternates flying beside them and riding in the cab. At night, they light a campfire and sleep beneath the stars.

[The camera follows Gabriel as he walks across the hills and back to camp. The night sky is clear and full of stars. Gabriel carries two rabbits over his shoulder.

[Morden waves eagerly to the knight. Truck-kun rests in its truck-form. Al sits atop its hood.

[Together, Gabriel and Morden skin the rabbits and roast them over the fire.]

“You make that look easy,” Truck-kun rumbled. “Joe and I were never fond of killing animals.”

“I dunno,” Al said, the bluebird’s voice as rough as a three wheeled carriage ride through a quarry. “You sure did a number on that dire bear.”

“I did what was necessary…”

“Just be glad Gabriel killed those rabbits. If Truck-dude had, there wouldn’t be anything left!”

Gabriel patted Truck-kun’s hood. “You were protecting yourself. There is no shame in that.”

Truck-kun stayed silent, while Gabriel and Morden sat around the fire and started to eat. Al pecked at bugs on the ground.

“Are we almost to the cursed lands?” the bluebird asked.

Morden nodded. “Yes. Another day, perhaps.”

Truck-kun looked off in the distance solemnly. Despite traveling for several days already, it felt like only yesterday that the box truck had been transported to this strange world. Now, they were heading toward the evil lich, Gormangach.

They’d only recently learned that Morden’s Maester needed Truck-kun’s mysterious package—that it somehow held the key to Gormangach’s defeat. But things were not so simple. Gormangach also wanted the package, and Truck-kun knew somehow that the package was also the key for it to return home.

Back to Joe.

Truck-kun couldn’t help but worry about how much time had passed. An entire work week had already passed here in this strange world… What if it had been even longer back home?

~

[Gabriel and Morden sleep beside a smoldering fire. Truck-kun is parked beside them. Al sleeps peacefully in Truck-kun’s glove compartment.

[Cut to something retracing Gabriel’s steps across the hill, following the blood trail left by the rabbits. The camera looks through the creature’s eyes as it shambles toward the heroes. All that can be heard is the faint rustling of feet.

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[Gabriel wakes and calls for the others. He leaps to his feet and draws his sword. Truck-kun and Morden wake and ready themselves.

[Cue stylized view of Truck-kun transforming from its normal truck form to its truck warrior form.]

Truck-kun’s frame and wheelbase shifted. Its wheels rearranged beneath it like feet and hips. Its cab rose and turned into a torso. Its storage box unfolded, sheathing its limbs in armor plates. Truck-kun stomped forward and stood beside Gabriel.]

Shapes moved in the gloom.

At first, Truck-kun thought they might be bandits. Even though their group was far from civilization, Gabriel had warned them that there still might be brigands and criminals. The campfire had smoldered and the only light shown from the stars above—Truck-kun thought it could see humanoid shapes moving toward them.

Truck-kun had been so entranced that it hadn’t turned on its headlights yet.

The first creature reached for Gabriel, and he slashed through its arm. The blade passed through easily, but there was no sound. No cry. No clink of armor. The creature recoiled only for a moment.

The next creature lunged for Truck-kun. Without hesitating, the giant warrior brought down two fists in an overhead blow. The impact left a crater.

Still, there was no sound.

The creature surely had to be dead. Not even a dire bear could survive—

The creature reappeared to the right of Truck-kun.

Al flittered out of Truck-kun’s cab, shouting, “Oh man, this isn’t good!”

Gabriel slashed again and again, but each strike of his sword only repelled the creatures for a moment. Shadows flickered to either side now. The creatures were fanning out. Surrounding them.

Morden uttered magic words and his wand flared with light.

The creatures that surrounded them looked like living shadows. Their bodies were vaguely humanoid, but that was where the similarities ended. They didn’t have eyes, mouths, hands, or any other discernible features. The light from Morden’s wand rippled over the surface of the creatures.

Where the light was strongest, the surface of the creatures seemed to harden, like water suddenly freezing into ice. It didn’t last for long though. The liquid mass of shadow churned in agitation, trying to undo the effects.

The entire time, none of the creatures made noise. The only sound was from the panicked heroes.

Morden shouted, “The Undead Legions of Liquid Shadow!”

Gabriel slashed at a creature. His sword struck some of the solid material, sending sparks flying across the field. “They’re weak to the light!”

The light from Morden’s wand sputtered. “Oh no.”

Truck-kun flicked on its headlights. Until then, it had been impossible to know just how many shadow creatures there were around them—two hundred watts of power illuminated the campsite and a swathe of the creatures surrounding them. There were dozens, and likely even more, in the darkness beyond.

But now the creature’s weakness to light was fully evident. The creature’s nearest to Truck-kun’s headlights seemed to dry up—turning from liquid shadow to the consistency of mud. Only moments later, their surfaces cracked like a dry riverbed.

Both Truck-kun and Gabriel leapt forward to attack. This time, the creatures turned to powder from their sword and fists.

Al muttered something encouraging above them, but Truck-kun didn’t dare look up and divert its headlights. Behind them, Morden’s wand flickered. The light was feeble, but it was enough to keep the creatures from attacking from behind.

“More light!” Gabriel shouted.

“I can’t!” Morden replied.

Truck-kun reached deep within itself. It had high beams and floodlights and reverse lights, but never had it summoned all of its lights at the same time. But Truck-kun didn’t have time to worry about what it had done before or what might be possible.

With great strain, Truck-kun rewired its lighting pathways. Plates shifted, wires slithered and reconnected.

It never stopped fighting. Couldn’t stop fighting.

With a deep hum, all of Truck-kun’s lights turned on. Flood lights cast a wide glow across the field. Reverse lights caught all of Truck-kun’s allies in its glow. All around, creatures of shadow faltered. Their skin turned to sludge and began to crack.

But it wasn’t enough.

Not until Truck-kun’s high beams flared. Light erupted out of its chest like a new dawn and stretched out to the distant hills.

Any shadow creatures within Truck-kun’s reach burst into flame. All the creatures within four car lengths immediately turned to dust.

Truck-kun turned its mighty frame, casting its high beams across the entire hillside, killing dozens of shadow creatures with its gaze.

When half the creatures had fallen, those at the furthest reaches of the horde seemed to wither and disappear into the night.

Gabriel and Morden stood weary but stoic.

“Is—is that it?” Morden asked.

“Yes,” Gabriel replied, finally sheathing his sword. “They’re creatures of number… There were too few left to keep them corporeal.”

Gabriel turned back to the campfire and tried to get it lit again. “Morden, if you have a fire spell, now would be the time…”

Al flittered down to land on Truck-kun’s immense shoulder. “Good hustle, team. I knew you could do it.”

Truck-kun turned to survey the hills. Thankfully, there were no more shadow creatures left. Still, Truck-kun didn’t want to take any chances. So it siphoned out a splash of gasoline onto the fire. The flames roared to life.

Gabriel and Morden leapt back.

The knight rolled onto his back and burst into laughter. “You should do that to Gormangach when we see him!”

~ ~

Emmett had been laying on the couch in Athena’s apartment, watching the episode of Full Throttle Heart on his phone.

Clara came out of the bedroom and stretched her arms overhead in a yawn. She stopped when she saw Emmett on the couch.

“Have you been up all night?”

Emmett was suddenly aware of the light peeking in through the curtains. “I swear I was doing work. …Mostly.”

~ ~ ~