No Longer Strangers

Chapter 1 - Drunken Reunion

It had been about a whole year since world-famous racer Dusty Crophopper had trained and became certified as a firefighter at the Piston Peak Air Attack, and if the team was honest, things almost weren't as fun without the little plane. But even so, the Piston Peak team couldn't let their minds roam too much since it was summer, and a VERY humid summer, making it the most dangerous fire season in a while, so the team always had to be on their a-game.

And it didn't just go for the flyers who flew into the fire, or the Smokejumpers who touched down when the ground was engulfed in flames, it also went for those who stayed behind at the head quarters; though it wasn't much, but it was difficult for Patch and Maru too this fire season.

Whether they were constantly sitting in front of a computer, scrolling through all the fire locations, or rushing back and forth through the lot, making multiple batches of retardant, Maru and Patch certainly had their forks full.

Miraculously, though, the park was able to go one day with just one fire, and it wasn't even that big, so when the team returned after the fire was put out, they were maybe hoping for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. But just when they decided to have a coffee break, it became short-lived.

"Hey, we got a superintendent approaching! Ol' Jammer's comin' up the road!" Patch called on the intercom, as the said park superintendent came slowly driving up the road.

"Good day, everyone!" Jammer happily greeted, and everyone turned their attention to the superintendent.

"Hello, Jammer. Anything wrong down at the lodge?" Blade asked with concern.

"Oh, no! Everything's just fine, and that's exactly why I came up here. I wanted to thank you all for your hard work and bravery; I know this summer's been hard on you firefighters, so I thought I'd come and thank you."

"Oh, please, Jammer, we're just doin' our job!" Dipper added while chuckling with embarrassment.

"Well, I like your humility, but you won't be too modest to at least come to the celebration of the lodge's thirtieth anniversary this Friday, will you?" Jammer asked with a smirk.

"I wouldn't count on it; the coffee they serve is a LITTLE too on the fake side for me," Maru mumbled.

"I don't know, Jammer. It's safer for us to stay up here, always on the ready in case a fire suddenly breaks out," Blade added firmly.

"Well, that's too bad…I really thought you'd all like to come if you found out who I booked to perform at the celebration…" Jammer said with disappointment, but then he coughed something under his breath.

"What was that?" Dynamite questioned.

"Lady Linda! I was lucky enough to book Lady Linda for the celebration!" Jammer suddenly burst out, and everyone either immediately smiled or went wide-eyed.

"Shut the hangar door! You got THE Lady Linda to perform?!" Dipper squealed with excitement. But as everyone else was surprised at this, Maru wasn't following.

"Uh, excuse?!" the mechanic tug called, gaining everyone's attention, "who's this 'Lady Linda'?"

They all went silent, wide-eyed and their mouths all gaped open with shock; even Windlifter couldn't believe what he just heard.

"What?" Maru asked with a shrug.

"You've gotta be kidding me, Maru! You mean you've NEVER heard of Lady Linda?!" Dipper asked with horror.

"Nope."

"Dude, she's, like, the BEST classical singer in the country! How have you NOT heard of her?!" Drip shouted.

"HOW?!" Avalanche roared.

"I'm just not a classy guy…though, I DID know a Linda back in grade school, but I highly doubt it's the same Linda," Maru pondered out loud.

"What was her last name?" Dipper asked while driving up to Maru and glared at him.

"How the hell should I know? I haven't seen or heard from her in years," Maru huffed.

"What was her type?"

"I don't know…a Linde Electric, maybe?"

Everyone suddenly gasped at that.

"Oh, don't tell me…" Maru sighed.

"That's GOTTA be her!" Dipper squealed.

"Yeah, right! I'm pretty sure there are plenty more Linde Electric forklifts named Linda," the mechanic tug protested as he rolled his eyes and turned to head back to his shop.

But then the sudden sound of a jet flying over made everyone glance up, and they all saw a big black jet flying towards the lodge.

"Guess you'll find out when you head to the lodge; the bar's open every night. Hope ta see ya'll this Friday!" Jammer called as he turned and drove back down the mountain to meet Lady Linda at the lodge.

"Sure, I'll go, but only because they serve the best appletinis," Maru grumbled sarcastically, and continued back to his shop.

"Why you gotta be such a Doubting Thomas, Maru?" Blackout questioned.

"Yeah, ya never know; the Linda you knew could actually be the legendary Lady Linda," Dipper added with hope.

"I wouldn't count on it!" Maru called with a sneer.

Later that night, Dipper was actually able to convince Maru to come with her and the rest of the team down to the Grand Fusel Lodge, but he was still pretty doubtful about the fact that the Linda he knew in grade school was Lady Linda.

So, to take his mind off the vexation caused by Dipper's hope, the mechanic tug headed over to the bar, which was lightly populated with a few other cars and trucks.

"Gimme an appletini," Maru grumbled to the concierge, who nodded and started on his drink. But as Maru turned and looked around while waiting, his attention, along with every other vehicle in the lobby, was caught when two big black Ford F-150 trucks slowly drove into the lobby, and as the two men glared daggers at nothing in particular, it became obvious that they were Lady Linda's body guards.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present the one and only, Lady Linda!" a bright green Volkswagen beetle with blue eyes announced, as he moved out of the way and pointed a tire to the door, and even when Maru's drink was placed on the counter, he couldn't take his mind off the front entrance as he grabbed the small glass.

What came dramatically through the front entrance was a Linde electric forklift with dark red paint, and sparkling amber eyes. And as she appeared to be an idol to most, Maru could only stare at the forklift with wide eyes and a gaping mouth; he was so shocked, he couldn't even hold his drink anymore, and it fell to the floor and shattered.

"Actually, can I get a strong Long Island Iced Tea?" Maru whimpered without even turning back to the concierge, who once again nodded and started making his drink.

Meanwhile, the rest of the firefighting team was getting a front row seat to meet Lady Linda herself, and Dipper was fangirling the most.

"Oh, Ford! I can't believe! You're ACTUALLY Lady Linda, and you're HERE! I'm a HUGE fan, and I've listened to ALL your music, and, and, and…"

"Ok, ok, whoa! Calm down, girl!" Lady Linda chuckled, "it's always nice to meet a fan, and not just any fan; I heard you're the team that keeps this park safe from fires."

"That's right, Miss Linda; been protecting the park all the way back since the fifties," Dynamite added with confidence.

"Well, I can't thank you enough. I always thought Piston Peak National Park was the most beautiful place on earth, and now that I'm here, I couldn't be happier," Lady Linda added with a happy sigh.

"Well, you should come up to the Piston Peak Air Attack; you can get a pretty good view of the whole park from up there," Pinecone pointed out with a smile.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh! Speaking of which, I've got a friend of mine who you should really meet! C'mon!" Dipper suddenly cut in, and Lady Linda and her body guards followed her with haste.

And as they approached the bar, Lady Linda couldn't help but look around to see who was most likely going to be hung over the next morning, but when she saw who was sitting at the bar, she suddenly gasped.

"Maru?!" the Linde electric shouted with excitement, and sped up to the said mechanic tug.

"Octi?!" Maru exclaimed and returned the same amount of awe, and they started circling each other and smiled brightly.

"'Octi'?" Dipper asked with a cocked brow.

"That was the nickname I gave her!" Maru explained and set his drink down, "but I seriously can't believe it's you, Octi!"

"YOU can't believe it?! I can't believe it! I've been almost all over the world, and I finally bump into you here?!" Lady Linda laughed hysterically.

"So, you two know each other?" Dynamite asked with a smirk, as she and the others had to get in on this conversation.

"Of course we do! Guys, this was my best friend from middle school and all the way up until college!" Maru happily announced.

But the whole team could only quirk a brow at the mechanic.

"Ok, high school!" Maru admitted.

"And what do you mean I 'was' your best friend? I better still be your best friend," Lady Linda added with a grin.

"No, Octi, Blade is my best friend now," Maru chuckled sarcastically, only to earn a friendly punch from one of Lady Linda's forks in return.

"What's with this 'Octi' nickname?" Drip couldn't help but ask.

"It was what I called her because she preferred to be called by her last name," Maru explained.

"I thought you said you didn't remember her last name," Dipper pointed out.

"I don't."

"It's Octavia. And any friend of Maru is a friend of mine, so please just call me Octavia," Lady Linda, or Octavia to Maru and the others now, said sincerely.

"Why did you want everyone to refer to you by your last name?" asked Pinecone.

"I just wasn't a girly girl back then, and the name Linda even means 'soft, tender and beautiful'," Octavia replied while waving a fork.

"Oh, and like 'Octavia' wasn't as fancy or English," Maru chuckled.

"Oh, please. T'isn't a speck of English in me," Octavia protested while doing her best impression of an English woman.

"Yeah, I think you'd pass off more as Australian, anyway," Maru added with a smirk, "but with that aside, how 'bout a few rounds?"

"Well…" Octavia sighed with doubt.

"Pleeeaaase," Maru begged while giving her puppy eyes.

"How dare your, Maru? You knew I could never resist that look," Octavia hissed, but then she rolled her eyes and smiled, "alright, I'll stick around for a few drinks, but nothing too strong. Every time we went out, I had to help your drunk ass back home."

Unfortunately, Maru couldn't keep his promise of going light on the drinking because not a half hour later, the mechanic tug had five Long Island Iced teas, and was already really wobbly on his wheels.

"Jesus Chrysler*hic*…where ya been, Octi*hic*…I missed ya," Maru hiccupped as his eyes were pretty unfocused, and he took another swig of his sixth Long Island.

"Ok, that's a red flag tellin' me you've had too much," Octavia sighed, as she was perfectly sober since she only had a few appletinis, and she easily took Maru's drink from his shaky fork.

"Aw, you're no fun*hic*Octi…couldn't I just have ONE*hic*more drink…?"

"No, Maru. If you have anymore, you're going to wake up to an even worse hangover than you should, and you can't have that when you work for the park's ONLY firefighting team."

"LADYYY LINDAAAA!" a higher-pitched male voice called, and Octavia knew all too well who's it was.

"Yes, Edgar?" Octavia sighed as the same bright green big from earlier was fast approaching.

"Lady Linda, my most prized possession, I advise that you get to bed soon; we've got less than a week to rehearse!" Edgar exclaimed as he came to a screeching halt, but then he sneered at the sight and alcoholic smell of Maru.

"Who's this?"

"Edgar, this is my childhood friend, Maru. Maru, this is my manager, Edgar."

"Ok, but why are you hanging out with this drunkard?" Edgar asked angrily.

"I'm not drunk, YOU are!" Maru protested with a slur.

"Hey, Buddy, my client has many more important things to be doing than talking with inebriates like you! So get outta here before I MAKE you leave!" Edgar growled.

"I ain't goin' anywhere!" Maru growled back and got up in Edgar's face.

"Stop, guys, this is really unproductive," Octavia cut in as she came between them, "look, I'll go to bed if you let him stay with me for tonight."

"Why should I?" Edgar huffed.

"Because his friends all left, and I promised them I'd look after him. So, please, just this one night, let me take care of him," Octavia pleaded softly.

But as reluctant as Edgar was to let his famous client help the drunkard, he eventually sneered and rolled his eyes as he turned and left.

"Fine! But if ANYTHING happens to you, I'm holding him responsible!"

…

"I'm gonna kick his ass," Maru added after Edgar was out of hearing range.

"Well, you can kick it tomorrow, AFTER you've gotten plenty sober. Now c'mon, the sooner you get to bed, the better," Octavia sighed and took one of Maru's forks in her own and lead him up to the second level where hotel rooms were.

"What's his*hic*…problem, anyway?"

"Oh, he's just uptight and worried that if I'm not careful, I'll ruin my reputation and my image. Of course, I'd refuse him, but I can't let my fans down."

…

"Well, I'm not a fan."

"I know, but fan or not, I'm warning you as a friend NOT to get on Edgar's bad side."

"I could care less about that douche bag…I'm care more about the fact that…that you're takin' me ta yer place," Maru chuckled and drooled a little.

"Don't get any ideas, Maru. I'm only letting you in my room because you shouldn't drink and drive," Octavia growled in protest when she soon reached her room, which was the last one on the left, and she grabbed out her key card and unlocked the door.

Once Octavia pulled him inside, Maru could only moan in delight at the ice cold air conditioning.

"So cool…"

"You can sleep here," Octavia pointed out, pulling Maru out of his daze, and she pointed a fork at the second pair of tire padding in the floor, which was across the room from where she slept.

"Aw, can't we watch*hic*…some TV…just for a little while…?" Maru begged as he wobbled over to the tire padding, and pointed a fork at the forty inch flat screen T.V. on the other wall.

"No, you need to sleep, Maru. Lights out," Octavia said firmly, and she flipped the switch to the lamp on the nightstand beside her, turning the room pitch black.

But after a moment of silence, trying to close her eyes, and going to sleep, Octavia soon felt something warm lean against her left side, and the smell of alcohol immediately gave it away for Maru.

"Maru?" Octavia piped up softly without even bothering to switch the light back on, but there was no response.

"Maru?"

Silence.

"Maru!" Octavia whisper shouted, but she soon realized why Maru wasn't answering when she heard a sudden snore, indicating that he was obviously fast asleep.

Octavia didn't want to make this more awkward, so she sighed and closed her eyes again in defeat.

"Goodnight, Maru."

I've gotta admit, Maru is my favorite character in Planes Fire and Rescue, so that's why I'm writing this story. And believe it or not, but this story is SOMEWHAT inspired off the MLP episode The Mane Attraction. Don't like it? Leave.

Also, this is my first Planes fanfic, so don't be too harsh, alright? But if you guys have any questions or requests, I'm all ears!

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!