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Greaseball was sick.
She didn’t want to admit it to anyone that she was sick. She didn’t want to admit that she needed help in the yard for the day. She didn’t get sick like the others and she always worked through any problems she had. She didn’t take rest days or sick days like everyone else because she was far stronger than they were. She could work through her sickness and be perfectly fine throughout the whole day. At least, that’s what she told everyone so they didn’t ask any questions she didn’t want to answer. She didn’t want anyone to know the real reason as to why she didn’t eat anything with sugar in it.
The truth was that she did get sick and it was stupid how she got sick. She didn’t get sick like the others did but she did have one main weakness that no one knew about. Unlike the others, she couldn’t consume any sugar or her engine seized up and stopped working. She hadn’t told anyone about it because she was embarrassed by it. Everyone else enjoyed sugary food and drinks whenever they wanted to but she couldn’t. Even a small amount of sugar caused her some minor pain and caused her to be uncomfortable for a while. It was always uncomfortable for her and she hated how she felt after eating anything with sugar in it.
She had crafted the perfect excuse in case anyone asked why she couldn’t have sugar. She would tell people that she had cut sugar out of her diet so she could maintain her strong physic. It was the perfect excuse and it was believable to anyone who didn’t know any better. However, there was only one person in the whole yard who knew the truth. Not even her girlfriend, Dinah, knew the truth about her relationship with sugar. They just believed the excuse that she told them because she didn’t want to admit the embarrassing truth. They had no idea what she went through or why she never told the truth.
The only person who knew the truth was Rusty and he found out by complete accident. Greaseball was naturally embarrassed when he found out and she threatened him before collapsing in front of him. She thought that Rusty would laugh at her or would tell the others but he didn’t. Instead, he kneeled down next to her and promised not to tell a single person unless she wanted him to. He then comforted her as she vomited black sludge into a bucket as the sugar wrecked her whole system. He stayed with her for five hours, making sure she drank plenty of water and offering comfort. Once her system calmed down, he helped her lay down on her bed and left a bucket nearby in case she needed it. He left some crackers and a bottle of water on her bedside table before leaving for the night.
Neither of them talked about that night and Greaseball was secretly thankful for it. She was secretly glad that he never brought it up and kept it secret for her. However, she couldn’t help but be relieved that it was him who found her that night. Rusty hadn’t made her feel embarrassed and helped her through the whole thing without complaining. He stayed with her the whole time and never made an excuse to leave like the others would have. He gently rubbed her back and held her hair back as she vomited black sludge for five hours. He helped her when she needed it most and he didn’t ask for anything in return like the others would have. He just quietly helped her and just gave her a space to be vulnerable.
So whenever she consumed sugar, she would send a quiet message over her radio to Rusty on their private frequency. He would always answer her without question and tell her that he’ll be there as soon as possible. He would help every time without question and he would always bring some snacks with him to cheer her up. He would help her feel comfortable and would shoo anyone away if they came looking for her. He gave her the space to be vulnerable and he didn’t judge her for it at all. He never judged her once and he always showed up to help her when she asked. He just offered a gentle smile and comforting words.
This time was no different.
Greaseball found a quiet area of the yard and sat down on the ground. She could feel the sugar wrecking havoc on her system and her engine. It was always uncomfortable and it was always painful for her. The only way to make it stop was for her to vomit but she hated the feeling of vomiting and how gross she felt afterwards. Vomiting was the only way to flush the sugar out of her system but it always came out as disgusting thick black sludge.
She reached for her radio and quickly changed the frequency to the one she had grown familiar with over time. She took a deep breath and tried her best to calm her nerves as much as possible. She pressed the button and quickly spoke into her radio, hoping that she would get a response back quickly.
“Rusty, you there?” Greaseball questioned, hoping that he would answer her like he always did. She was hoping that he wasn’t busy and he could get to her in time. She didn’t want to go through this alone and she had grown used to Rusty’s company.
“I’m here,” Rusty’s voice crackled through the radio and Greaseball felt relief flood her system. She was always so thankful for him answering her call every time, even when he was busy. He always made this more bearable for her and made her feel safe the whole time. “Are you okay? You’re not sounding too good.”
“I need your help,” Greaseball said, trying her best to keep her breathing even as she felt the familiar feeling in her throat. She knew that she had to give Rusty her location and she wanted to do that before anything happened. “I’m near the abandoned shed towards the rear of the yard. You might want to bring a bucket with you.”
“Understood,” Rusty responded, knowing the routine by this point and knowing why Greaseball was calling him. He was glad that she trusted him to help her and he always made sure to help her as much as he could. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay? You just try to hold on for me and keep out of sight so no one sees you.”
The radio went silent and Greaseball slumped back against the wall of the shed. She didn’t want to go through this alone but she knew that she was running out of time. The feeling of something crawling up her throat was getting harder to ignore. Soon, she started to cough as her system started to react to the sugar she had consumed earlier. She had little time to react but she tried her best to climb to her feet so she didn’t make a mess. The last she wanted was being covered in the black sludge because she knew it would take ages to get fully out. She had learnt from past mistakes and didn’t want a repeat of it.
She had barely got to her feet before the coughing got worse and was quickly followed by that gross feeling. She braced a hand against the shed wall as she gripped where her stomach would be. It happened so quickly that she had no time to react to it. She felt herself vomiting up black sludge onto the ground in front her, watching as some of it splattered onto her skates. She felt disgusting but she couldn’t stop it as she coughed up more of it. She wanted to do nothing but cry in that moment and she wished that it would just stop already.
She felt the familiar feeling of her hair being held back as someone supported her. She knew who it was without having to look and she was so thankful. She was so thankful that Rusty had been able to find her and that she wasn’t alone anymore.
“I’ve got you,” Rusty said softly, knowing that this wasn’t an easy thing for Greaseball to experience in the slightest. He knew that she struggled with vomiting and that it always made her feel disgusting afterwards. “I’m here Greaseball, I’ve got you. Just let it out, don’t fight it anymore.”
Rusty glanced over his shoulder and he could see Hydra standing guard behind him. It was clear that Hydra was keeping an eye out for anyone who would be looking for Greaseball. Rusty hadn’t meant to drag the freighter with him but he didn’t have to explain anything. He didn’t have time to explain anything so he told Hydra that he would explain everything afterwards. He just wanted to focus on helping Greaseball and making sure that she was okay. He could worry about filling Hydra in on the details later when they had time to talk about it.
The next ten minutes were awful for Greaseball but she felt better knowing she wasn’t alone. She was glad that Rusty had made it in time and was helping her through this. She hadn’t failed to notice that Hydra was there but she couldn’t say anything about it. She could have a word with the hydrogen freighter later when she was feeling a lot better. Hopefully, Hydra would be willing to keep this a secret from everyone and would be smart enough to not bring it up in future. She didn’t need anyone else knowing the truth and knowing a part of her life.
Once the worst had passed, Rusty helped Greaseball to sit on the ground and made sure that she was away from the mess she had made. She was feeling a bit shaky on her wheels and needed to sit for a bit. Rusty was sitting on the ground beside and was making sure that she couldn't see the mess she made. He knew that she didn’t like seeing the mess she made after vomiting so he always tried to block it. If there had been a bucket, then he would have moved the bucket out of sight or gone to wash it out.
“How did this happen?” Rusty asked carefully, wanting to know how this happened to Greaseball and why she ate sugar. He knew that she was always so careful whenever she was eating and that she always checked labels beforehand. “You’re usually careful with eating anything that may contain sugar. What happened?”
“Silver Bullet,” Greaseball answered, not bothering to hide the truth from Rusty. She knew that hiding the truth did nothing and that it was easier to be up front about what happened. She knew that Rusty wouldn’t judge her and that she could be honest with him about it. “He gave me a drink and forgot to tell me that it wasn’t sugar free. It wasn’t until after I drank it that I realised what was in it and I didn’t have time to confront him about it.”
“They still don’t care?” Rusty questioned, knowing full well that the other champions didn’t care about Greaseball’s dietary requirement. The amount of times they fed her something with sugar and never bothered to tell her was far too high. “You think they would have learnt by now not to mess with your diet.”
“They don’t believe it,” Greaseball said truthfully, knowing that the others didn’t believe that they could be affected by something as simple as sugar. They believed that they were better than normal diesels because they didn’t feel the effects of sugar. “Sugar doesn’t affect them in the same way as it does for me. As far as they’re concerned, I’m just being picky about what I eat and drink.”
“Do you plan to get payback?” Rusty asked, wanting to know if Greaseball had any plans of getting payback on the others. He knew that they wouldn’t stop unless she showed them the consequences of consuming sugar. “You can’t keep letting them get away with this. You must have some way of getting them back for this.”
“Oh I do,” Greaseball responded, more than willing to share her plan with Rusty. She had been thinking of ways of getting her revenge and who her main target was going to be. The only one who was spared from her plan was Blue Lighting, since he knew what it was like. “Next time one of them gives me sugar, I’m going to vomit all over them and let them see the damage sugar does to my system.”
It sounded harsh but Rusty knew that it was deserved. The rest of them didn’t seem to care that Greaseball couldn’t have sugar and were always trying to sneak it in. They seemed pretty set on proving that a bit of sugar never harmed anyone. The only one who didn’t seem to push it was Blue Lighting since he understood what it was like being sensitive to food. Greaseball had tried to be patient with the others but it was clear that they didn’t care about her.
It took a little while longer before Greaseball was feeling stable on her wheels again. Rusty helped her back on her feet and made sure that she felt strong enough to skate again. She was relieved that no one came looking for her and that she could go have a moment to breathe. She watched as Rusty turned his attention to where Hydra had been standing the whole time. She hoped that Hydra would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut about what he saw.
“I’m going to head out,” Greaseball stated as she started to skate away from the couple. She knew that Rusty had things handled and that he could tell Hydra to keep it a secret. She just wanted to leave so no one would come looking for her or find her with Rusty and Hydra. “See you two losers around.”
She left before either of them could get a word in.
Hydra was shocked by the sudden switch in mood but Rusty was used to it. He knew that Greaseball didn’t want to talk about it and just carry on like normal. He knew that she hated talking about it and wanted to act like everything was fine. It was better to let Greaseball go and to not question what had happened. Asking questions could lead to her lashing out or completely shutting down which weren’t great options. Sometimes, it was easier to leave someone alone rather than push them when they weren’t ready.
“Is that normal?” Hydra asked, trying to understand what he had just witnessed. He had never seen Greaseball like that before and now, she was acting like nothing had happened. He had no clue as to what was going on or whether he needed to be concerned about her. “Does she normally act like that afterwards?”
“Yeah it’s normal,” Rusty answered, wanting Hydra to understand what just happened. He knew what was happening and he was used to it by this point. He had learnt not to question Greaseball and to just let her go. He knew that she would want some time on her own before facing the others in the yard. “She doesn’t like talking about it and likes to pretend it didn’t happen. It’s her way of dealing with it without having to confront it.”
Hydra felt like he should say something about it but it wasn’t his place to do so. It was rather clear that Greaseball was embarrassed about it and didn’t want people talking about it. She wanted to keep it to herself and make sure that no one found out the truth. It was most likely the reason as to why she never talked about it with Rusty and left as soon as she felt better. She didn’t like the idea of having to face it afterwards and having to swallow some of her pride. It was just something that Rusty had to accept whether he liked it or not.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Hydra stated, knowing that Greaseball didn’t want anyone else knowing. He hadn’t meant to find out but he was more than willing to keep it a secret for her. He could tell that she wasn’t ready to face the idea of having a weakness like that. He could see that she was still processing the fact that she was just like everyone else and had flaws or weaknesses. “If she wants to keep this private, then I’ll respect her decision and won’t tell anyone about this.”
“Thank you,” Rusty said softly, knowing how much this would mean to her. He had done this enough times to know how much keeping this a secret was helping her. He also knew that it was a big task keeping this a secret from everyone in the yard, including Dinah. “ I know that it's not fair but she isn't ready to admit that she has a weakness out loud like the rest of us.”
“I get it,” Hydra said, having experienced something similar when he was still in the lab. He knew what it was like to have your secrets shared with people without you knowing. A part of him understood what Greaseball was going through and knew what kind of vulnerability was like. “It’s not our secret to share and she’s not ready to admit it yet. However, we’ll be there when she is finally ready to admit it out loud.”
Hydra was right.
The day Greaseball finally admitted it to herself, she would have the full support she needed. She would have Rusty and Hydra waiting there for her to show their support. She had two people who could back her up and who could help her when she needed it. She had no idea how lucky she was and Rusty doubted that she would ever know that. He knew that he wouldn’t get any appreciation for what he was doing but he was fine with that. He knew that she still needed time to figure things out and to come to terms with the new information. Sure, Greaseball was prideful but she wasn’t as stupid as people thought she was.
Rusty had seen a side to Greaseball that she rarely showed to anyone. Her vulnerable and caring side was kept hidden rather well for her own safety. However, he had been lucky enough to witness that side to her personality and he knew why she did this. She was terrified about being mocked and for being laughed at. She always had the feeling that she wasn’t good enough that she constantly needed to prove herself to ease that feeling. She cared a lot about what people thought of her and how they viewed her as a person. It was easier to put up a tough exterior than admit to people that she had insecurities about her place in the yard.
These rare moments when her guard was fully down allowed Rusty to see the real Greaseball underneath. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for her but it gave him the chance to see the person underneath the tough exterior. Someone who had a soft heart and cared about those who meant so much to her. Greaseball wasn’t built to be mean but it was the only way she knew how to survive in a world that didn’t treat engines fairly. She knew that being mean and proud of who she was meant that no one would be able to forget her or treat her horribly. She had admitted that she was terrified about ending up like Rusty some day, old and forgotten about.
That’s why he was so willing to keep her secret. He wasn’t trying to save her reputation but he was trying to protect that side of her from harm. He was trying to protect that caring, vulnerable side of her from the harsh words and actions of the other engines. He was trying to protect a side of her that she wasn’t ready to show to the others yet. He was saving her from the embarrassment and mockery that she would face from the other engines.
And that was worth more than anything.
That’s why he kept her secret.