Note: Cars fan fiction. A hot-to-trot but humble golden show car, Montel DeVille has just come off the long and winding highway into a sleepy little town known as Radiator Springs. He meets a spectacular metallic royal purple 1959 Thunderbird by the name of Nydia starts flirting with him, finding him rather attractive. Not certain on whether her compliments are real or flattery, he is afraid to be reeled in by her street-smart charms and her profound nature.

"No matter where I may roam, the open road is my home sweet home."--Anonymous

"Will you love me in the morning ?"--note that Paul Newman wrote to his soon-to-be wife

"Forever and ever, baby."--Her note response..."Click"

"Good company on the road makes the trip shorter."--Old Man, original Bakuretzu Hunters

Chapter 1—Away From the Limelight

Montel DeVille, an extremely charming and debonair 1970's Cadillac DeVille had been basking in the glow of spotlights since his birth. He had known the glory and fanfare that had come from being a show car but those days were gone, faded into memory and as empty as the dust traveling in the breeze. Montel didn't mind though. There was the occasional fan that would come and visit him for the occasional autograph or sit and talk to him about the "golden years". He hadn't met a single car that wanted to dance with him though. He had a mirror ball in his back trunk and plenty of music to go cruising along with...but no one wanted to dance. The last girl that danced with him had hurt him to the core. She seemed like a decent enough lady at first, but deep down, she was cruel. She only wanted to date him because he had money, fame and the paparazzi following him everywhere he went. But once show cars became a thing of yesterday's news, she followed some fast-talking hotshot race car that was unknown at the time.

She was a DeVille like he was, a beautiful magenta Cadillac DeVille with the most alluring Eastern accent. She was horribly spoiled and narcissistic, however. He had been scarred deeply by her, and memories of her would come flooding back when he heard the song Lucille on the radio.

Although he considered himself tough and macho, he would cry himself to sleep after hearing that song.

Montel had endured long enough on the Sunset Strip and he longed for a quieter life in someplace different. With any luck, traveling would help him forget the pain he had gone through and move on to a new, different type of life.

Chapter 2—Jammin'

On the way towards his destination Montel met a couple of silly but lovable brothers called Click and Clack. They were VW Jettas that loved speed and adored filling someone up, cleaning them off, and giving them a good tire and oil change before they were sent on their way. Click and Clack had been the first truly reliable vehicles he had met in such a long time. It would be a shame to leave them...but along his way, he came across an old road that seemed to have more life in it than it had seen in many years. He had heard of this highway many times as he had been traveling the nation and all the sites around it. He had seen many a beautiful site and never grew tired of the glory that was in nature, but this truly beat all.

In the horizon he could hear shouting, cheering and noise makers.

"Sounds like my favorite occasion, a party ! P-A-R-T...Y ? Because I've gotta. There is no party until Montel DeVille is invited.", he said to himself while popping open his trunk. Ever so majestically, almost like a magician performing prestidigitation, the mirror ball appeared and he began playing music and cruising around just as he had when he was admired.

"Get down ! Get funky !", Montel said, rocking back and forth on his hydraulics. The other cars in Radiator Springs seemed intrigued, particularly the birthday girls, Rochelle, Allegra and Lucinda. They were chattering among each other in Italian and then came up to the DeVille.

"Your gold painting is so luxurious, it stings my eyes with its majesty !", Lucinda said, practically swooning.

"Hey, I'm old enough to be your grandpa, kid. But...I like the comments. Keep 'em comin', honey child.", Montel said, his voice mellifluous.

"What's going on here ?", Carmen demanded. Others along with him were dumbstruck for a moment when they had seen Montel dancing with the Ferrari twins.

"Bambini, you're a comin' with Luigi for a lonnnnng talk.", Luigi said, taking them all by the fenders.

"But papa we were just having fun !", Rochelle whined slightly.

"Yeah, papa...we were only jammin' !", Allegra added.

"No, no jammin', and especially no cruisin' ! Not until you're 18 !", Luigi said, dragging them away all the while.

"Who's the newcomer with the shiny chassis ?", Lizzie said in her usual ornery way.

"Hey...Eyes off the merchandise, sweetheart.", he said, dancing a bit, and bouncing around a bit on his tires to another funky beat. The others had to admit, he really did have rhythm. He didn't mean any harm, even if he did like to flirt a little. It had been a while since he had gotten the confidence back to flirt, even with older women. Something about this place got his motor humming. Then, he saw an old familiar face that nearly put him into overdrive.

"Flo !", he exclaimed, laughing momentarily.

"Montel DeVille ? Is that you shug ?", Flo said, her smile was big and bold.

"I can't believe it ! What ever happened, girl ?", Montel questioned, his hazel eyes inquisitive.

"Same thing that happened to you, although I found Ramone. A few romantic words of Spanish and I was bowled over. Why aren't you still in the Auto Show biz though ?", Flo said.

Ramone was not too far behind and he was keeping a close eye on this Cadillac Casanova.

If he dared to try anything funny, he would hand his bumper over to him on a platter.

Montel's joyous expression turned to one of sadness, though he kept a fairly unreadable expression.

"I'd rather not talk about it, Flo. I need...to go lie down for a bit. All of this groovin' has worn me out for the day.", Montel said, lowering his mirror ball back into his trunk and switching over to a more gentle melody. The song spoke for itself...Love Hurts.

"Shouldn't you try to say something to help him feel better ?", Ramone asked, sounding extremely out of character.

"Wait just a darn minute, hombre ! You were looking like you were about to go all Van-Damme on him. Why the sudden change of engine ?", Flo questioned.

"I don't know, Bonita. I was just...worried. It seems that he's been through so much but he won't let anyone in to try and help him heal the pain. Reminds me of a certain someone after her career came to an end.", Ramone said, sweetly, nuzzling gently against Flo. Flo smiled and sighed, she liked to cuddle with Ramone, it made her completely blissful and almost forget her surroundings.

"I think he'll be alright, Ramone. Let's get some shut eye for now, it's been a long day.", Flo said, returning to her garage followed by Ramone who kissed her sweetly before turning out the lights.

Chapter 3—Purple Haze

When Montel awoke, there was a rather large street cleaner named Andre who came around every Friday to keep the roads looking spotless. He was whistling a pleasant melody that was most likely Les Marseillaise. He stretched out his tires, yawning. He felt completely refreshed. He hadn't slept like that in a long time and he had needed a good rest for quite some time. There was something magical about this locale. He couldn't put his tire on it, but there was most definitely a spirit here unlike he had ever seen before...and it was contagious.

Montel thought he could do with a good cruise around Ornament Valley and see exactly what this little metropolis had to offer for him. He saw all of the landmarks and the racetrack in the background. He wasn't so aloof when it came to racecars now. He wouldn't mind seeing a race in the future, and besides, it would be entertaining. He was cruising around Willy's Butte when he came upon a dark royal metallic purple 1959 Thunderbird.

"Why hello there, handsome !", she said, in a pleasant, amiable tone.

For a moment, he was struck by the T-birds uncanny beauty. It had been a while since he had seen such a classy car. It was pretty obvious she had been a show car in her days as well, and she actually seemed kind. But he still didn't trust her. Her purple eyes gazed deeply into his and he could feel himself blushing as well as a deep rumble within his engine he hadn't felt for a long time.

"Hello there yourself.", he replied starting to move away slowly.

"What's your name ? I'm Nydia. I've been a resident of Radiator Springs for a couple years. The cars of Radiator Springs saved my life from the junkyard, and Doc put me back together, piece by piece. I was almost thrown aside because the company I was modelling for didn't want me anymore. I had gotten into a wreck. It wasn't because of my own foolishness. My best friend, a girl who had been modelling with me named Ingrid hated me because I was getting more attention than she did. She was a jealous sort, a hot-headed VW Rabbit. You think that with the name she would be tame, but she was deadlier than a horned Viper. She was beautiful though, a pretty white Rabbit...but crazier than a march hare.", Nydia said.

"Sounds like we've both had our share of checkered pasts. You almost died...That's worse than what I went through.", Montel said, realizing he had nothing to complain about. Nydia wanted to know more about what had happened to Montel. She seemed geniunely interested but he was afraid. It had been such a long time since he had been in love.

"You don't want to hang around with someone like me. I'm more of a loner, and I intend to stay that way.", Montel said, a little harshly. He started to turn in another direction, away from Route 66.

"Suit yourself, but you'll just end up alone.", Nydia said, wisely. He stopped and thought about what Nydia had said and decided to talk to her somemore.

"Maybe getting to know Nydia wouldn't hurt so badly. It has been a long time after all...", Montel thought to himself. And that was just what he did.

Chapter 4—More Than Friends

As he got to know Nydia more the pain of the past disappeared. She had proven herself to be incredibly strong. She was more of a city slicker but she had said the life of this small, but expanding metropolis was exactly what she had been searching for. She said that Missus Flo was like a mother to her, helping her cope with moving on in her life. The other cars had welcomed her so openly into the family that she was glad to be part of their community. She wasn't so bitter any longer. At least here she wouldn't have to worry about Ingrid. Ingrid was probably someplace waiting in an unemployement line wondering where her career went. Even so, she wasn't going to be spiteful. As she did for all her other enemies she lifted their names to the Great Manufacturer in hopes fortune would turn out to be better for them.

Nydia was so tremendous to be around. Montel had never been so blissful in all of his years, even when he was getting all that attention as a show car. He didn't mind dancing with Nydia, but then she asked him, fluttering her eyelashes...

"May I have this cruise ? I'm quite nimble on my tires.", she said, putting forth a rather large smile. It was the first time he had seen her smile like that since he had met her.

"Of course, I would love to cruise with you, Nydia, honey.", Montel said. The word "honey" had come out and he hadn't intended it to, but it seemed so natural. It was official now that he felt deeper emotions about the lovely Tbird. He was in love with her. The whole night, they danced and watched the stars appear up above.

"The stars are glorious tonight, Montel. This is another thing I love about this place. You can look for miles and there is absolutely no light polution. The stars are clear...I feel I could almost touch them if I reached out to try and grab one.", Nydia said, her purple eyes glittering.

"Something is even more lovely than those stars...", Montel began.

"What's that ?", Nydia said, her eyes like amethysts in the moonlight.

"You are Nydia...I think I love you.", Montel said, averting his hazel eyes away from her tender gaze.

"I loved you the first moment I saw you...", she whispered in his ear. She nuzzled gently against him and kissed him lovingly, but with passion. Montel simply closed his eyes and drank in the moment.

Chapter 5—No Longer Alone

Montel looked around him and he could see life everywhere. Allegra, Lucinda, Rochelle and their nephew Gambino were playing with their parents as well as "Grandpa Doc" and "Grandma Lizzie". Doc, even though he seemed gruff on the outside, actually adored little cars quite a bit. It was obvious that they loved him and they could see that deep down, he really cared about those around him. Montel had been in Radiator Springs for a year now and everyone had been curteous, generous and congenial ever since had arrived and now he was a proud father of a rather rambunctious but sweet baby boy named Terrance. They called him Terry as a nickname. Terry loved everyone, particularly his parents but he really liked Missus Flo because she looked so much like his own mother. In fact, Terry had a new playmate named Hotaru. Hotaru was the daughter of Akane and Charlie and both of them were proud parents, just like Montel and Nydia.

Epilogue

Whatever pain or bitterness had been inside of Montel no longer existed, and nor did it matter. Montel realized what the true "magic" of this locale had been. A community like this one had a tendency to change a person, even if they were unsure whether they could be transformed or not. Montel was feeling cmoplete and at peace with himself. The lovely Nydia and his spunky son Terrance were all he needed now to find happiness. It was a place he could call home, and he no longer had to roam any longer. He had found where he belonged and a family that loved him whatever came around the bend.

The End

July 9, 2006