Now we get to the next chapter. Thank you guys for your favs, watches, and comments. I hope to not let you guys down on this either. Now this chapter will play out differently from the last story. You will see when you start reading it. Pretty much introduce Isabella and what not. And of course her first meeting with Lightning. I thought it played out rather well and amusing. I hope you all enjoy this. Also the idea of Lightning knowing he was saved by Isabella from the scrapyard was an idea from a reviewer. Not sure if you are still on here but thanks for the idea!


"Hey Isabella!"

A young girl, about 18 with long light brown hair in a ponytail, dark brown eyes, wearing a pink hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers turned at her name. It was her best friend and she rushed up to her.

"Hi Lisa. What's got you all excited?" Isabella greeted her cheery best friend.

"Oh, not much, except that…Thomas said yes to going to the dance with me!"

"Really? That's great!"

"I know right! Now we just gotta find you a date!"

Isabella immediately frowned at the mention, "Oh please, not this again." She groaned and started to march forward again.

"Don't give me that tone! You need to go to this dance! Everyone from college is going to be there!" Lisa followed her friend.

The two girls were currently walking through one of the many buildings of their college. Lisa was a bubbly cheerleader type girl. She had blonde hair, a great figure, and bright blue eyes. But she was very friendly and social. She had many friends but Isabella was her best friend. It was hard to believe considering they were polar opposites. Isabella was quiet, reserved and somewhat shy. Not to mention while Lisa loved shopping for clothes and make up, Isabella preferred hoodies and a hobby most men would snicker upon hearing of it.

Isabella Holler was a motor head. She loved cars. She planned to have her very own car shop one day. It was why she took classes that centered on the vehicles. She didn't care about the oil getting her dirty or anything. She loved fixing or working on the machines. She would sometimes jokingly say that she had motor oil for blood.

Lisa Dean didn't mind that though. She respected her best friend's hobby choice. Still, she loved to tease her friend about the fact she loved cars more than human companionship. It was one of the reasons why whenever there was a chance, she would try to set her up on a date or something. It greatly annoyed Isabella but she decided to go along with it.

"Why can't I just go without a date then?" Isabella questioned reasonably, "A lot of people do."

"True. But no best friend of mine is going to be a lone wolf, especially someone who is pretty as you." Lisa retorted, giving her friend the glance over.

Isabella was a pretty girl. If she dressed up supplementary, she would have people looking her way more. But she was never the type to do that. She loved comfortable clothes and having her hair up in a ponytail. It was how she was. But given the chance, she would sometimes embrace her feminine side and get dolled up if she wanted to. That was a rare occurrence however.

"Give me time to think about it. Last thing I want is for you to set me up on another blind date. The last one was a complete disaster. And I have a couple of months to make up my mind." Isabella finally said and Lisa seemed satisfied with this answer.

"Fair enough. But don't think I'm going to give up hounding you, Bell. And don't worry; I won't do any more blind dates. I did say sorry for that right?" Lisa questioned as she looked rather concerned her best friend did indeed hold a grudge.

The last and only blind date Isabella went on turned out to be a bust. Lisa tried setting Isabella up with one of her boyfriend's cousins named Vince. However, Vince was a total jerk and only wanted to get in Isabella's pants. Isabella ended the date before it could go any further. Lisa apologized a thousand times until her friend told her she was fine and wasn't angry with her.

"Of course, like a thousand times. Now I have to get going, Lisa. I want to go to the scrapyard before I head home."

"Didn't you go there like last week?" Lisa questioned in curiosity.

"Yup, I always go there all the time because you never know when they have something new. Besides, I need stuff for the perfect car I will have one day." Isabella replied and was always surprised that Lisa was rather interested in her hobby.

"When do you think you will ever get this new car? You need one anyway instead of always borrowing your grandfather's old car." Lisa looked towards the car in question.

It was an old 1959 white Volkswagen Beetle. But it was in great shape since Isabella took good care of it. Yet it was her grandfather's. He allowed her to borrow it to get around. She enjoyed riding in it after all. It was smooth while driving.

"Someday, Lisa, I'm just waiting for the right car. It's another reason why I go to that scrapyard. They sometimes get cars too." Isabella placed her bag inside the car and turned to Lisa, "Anyway, I'm off. I'll call you later tonight, if you're not busy."

"Sure, girlfriend, no problem. Later!" Lisa turned and headed for her own car.

Isabella got inside the beetle and drove off towards her destination. She enjoyed going to the scrapyard. She pretended she was on a treasure hunt when looking for car parts. On her way there, she turned on the radio to listen to a song. However, she got the news instead.

"In other words, last night, a strange mysterious car was found smoking out in the middle of the desert. Witnesses are unsure of where this car came from. However, no one was hurt and the car was labeled just a wreck since no soul was to be found near or even in the car. At least as far as anyone can say since no one can get inside the car."

"No one can get inside the car? That is weird. What kind of car is it and what is it even doing in the middle of the desert?" Isabella whispered to herself.

She pondered over this as she drove into the scrapyard. Once she parked the beetle and got out, she can see someone familiar come walking up, "Hey there Bell. Came back for the usual I see." He greeted while waving.

"Hey Rob. Yup, nothing keeps me away from this place." Isabella waved back and walked up towards her older friend.

Rob was a middle-aged man with a wife and three kids. He owned the scrapyard and enjoyed Isabella coming. It certainly surprised him when he first met the young girl come into his yard. He soon learned that despite her gender, she loved cars as much as him. So, he was willing to teach her about cars.

"So anything new in the yard?" Isabella questioned in curiosity.

Rob smiled and started to lead Isabella further inside. The scrapyard was rather well kept. It even had used cars to one side that anyone can buy if they want. Everything was placed exactly. It even had its own car crusher for cars that just couldn't run anymore.

"Not really, the only thing is…"

"Hey Rob!" Rob and Isabella looked to see Rob's colleague Tony come walking up, "We got a car towed in the yard. Wanna take a look?"

"Sure. Just where did this car come from?" Rob asked and with Isabella behind them, they started walking to the tow area of the yard.

"Not sure if you heard the news this morning, but it was found out in the middle of the desert. Mechanics have tried to look inside but there is no way inside the car. Not to mention there is no windshield." Tony explained and Isabella's curiosity was piqued.

"No windshield? What kind of a car has no windshield?" Rob asked rather confused.

"Apparently this one does. That's why I don't know what we should do with it. I came to you since you are in charge of the yard." Tony responded and he finally went around the corner of the building to show the wreck of the car, "Here it is."

Isabella stared at the car in front of her. It looked like it had been through a fire. Despite its charred appearance, she can barely make out the red color on it. She can also see the faint stickers on it. She walked over to examine it further. She had never come across a car like this. She had studied endless types of cars and this one was new. Judging by the stickers and a number 95, it was probably a racecar.

"You're right; I don't see a windshield on it. It doesn't even have rear view mirrors." Rob said as he too was looking over the car.

"Nor headlights. Those are just stickers. It really is a wonder where this car came from. It's just a piece of crap." Tony added and rubbed his hair.

Isabella ignored Rob and Tony as she circled the car. She really didn't know what it was about this car that fascinated her, but it was like she was drawn to it. She placed a careful hand on one side of it and tried to peer through the side window. The only thing she saw was just her own reflection. That was strange. She backed up and scratched her head.

"I guess we better just scrap it. No one is going to buy it anyway. We can try to see if get any useful parts, if any at all from it and put it through the car crusher." Rob said that caused Isabella to look up.

"Car crusher?" she questioned causing both men to look over at her,

"Yup. Sorry, excuse us a quick minute, Isabella. Tony and I have to file up some paperwork in the office and get some tools." Rob turned and walked off with Tony.

"But…" Isabella lifted her hand but both men were already gone.

She sighed and looked back at the car. She didn't like the idea of this car going through a car crusher. She titled her head to the side and had a back thought that this car nearly seemed alive. She shook her head and laughed at the ridiculous notion. Sure, she jokingly liked to assume cars are alive when she works on them. But they aren't living things like humans.

She once again circled the car and placed her hand on the hood. Maybe she can try to look at the engine. If it was a good engine, she can probably get a good deal from Rob with it. She traced her finger to find the hood opening. As she did this, she could have sworn she felt a shiver. She leaned back to stare down at the car. It had to be her imagination. She shrugged and continued to try to open the hood once more. This time she knew for sure the car was trembling and it almost sounded like it was laughing. Wait, laughing?

"What in the world?" she whispered and her eyes widen when she saw the windshield of the car open as if blinking.

She soon found herself staring directly into what appeared to be large blue eyes of this car. It stared back at her for a moment before she let out a small scream and she fell backwards in alarm. The car too let out a cry of shock. This couldn't be real. This car was alive!

"What are you? And, where am I?" The car shouted and it looked around.

Isabella didn't reply back. She only stared. She was trying to rack her brain of any rational thoughts of why this car was talking to her. She finally stood up slowly and could see the car's eyes were shifting about. It was clear from the expression on its…face that it was scared. The bumper apparently was its mouth and it was gritting its white teeth.

"This car is actually talking. This can't be real." Isabella whispered and looked behind her.

She was expecting Rob and Tony to come around the corner at any given moment. She wouldn't be surprised since she and the car did scream a little loud. She looked back and figured the car would be motionless once more. Like what she saw was just a figment of her imagination. Instead she found this car was now staring at her with fear in its blue irises.

"I must be dreaming this whole thing. Yeah. This is all a dream." She whispered and pinched herself. The pain was real and the car was still there, staring at her, "Okay, my arm is sore and you actually talked."

"Of course I can talk. But what the heck are you? And this place…" The car shifted his eyes around and his eyes widen upon realization, "Wait, is this a junkyard?"

"Uh yeah?" she replied slowly and felt this car might be male considering his voice sounded like one; a young man at that.

"How did I end up in the junkyard? This can't be happening! I'm way too young to be here!" The car started rambling and Isabella frowned at this.

She thought she heard footsteps and looked over her shoulder. Luckily, she didn't see anyone. She glanced back at the poor confused car, "Hey, keep your voice down!" she whispered harshly.

She still wasn't sure if she was dreaming this whole thing but she decided the best course of action was to go with it for now. And the first thing was to make sure no one knew this car was able to talk. If Rob and Tony saw this, they will probably call the authorities. She watched the car look back at her in shock. At least he stayed quiet for the moment.

"Okay, first of all, I don't know how a talking car like you is here but you don't want anyone to know that you can." She explained patiently.

"Why?" He asked confused.

"Because in this place, cars don't talk; if anyone saw you can, you will probably be sent someplace far worse than where you are now," She replied and this caused the car to shiver in fear. Seeing him look so pitiful made Isabella feel sorry for him. She continued with a gentle smile, "Don't worry, I can get you out of this place if you listen to everything I say."

"But how I can trust you? I don't even know who or what you are. And I don't know how I got here." The car rejected and tried to move his tires. He winced in pain from just doing that simple movement.

Isabella can see his point and replied, "Well, I'm really good at cars. You would be lucky if you come with me especially with how you look right now," he gave her a look upon her last statement but she ignored it and continued on, "And I'm a human but my name is Isabella Holler. As for how you got here, I hope we can figure that out soon enough."

"Human?" He repeated and he remembered hearing about such creatures.

But he was so young and those were just fairy tales. Did he somehow get teleported to this human world just from going so fast? Maybe he needed to be careful with how quickly he was going next time. He looked at Isabella for a moment and contemplated whenever or not he should trust her. He opened his mouth to speak only for him to jump a little when he heard a voice not too far away.

Isabella too heard the voice and it seemed Rob and Tony was walking back towards them. She glanced back at the car, "Close your windshield…I mean your eyes and don't move! Let me handle this from here." She said and hoped he will listen.

He frowned but obeyed. Just in time too since Rob and Tony had come around the corner. Isabella turned towards them, "Well that does it. It's time to see what useful parts this car has." Rob said as he was holding a wrench.

Isabella's eyes widen as she watched him and Tony start towards the car. She can see the poor thing shivering a little since it was clear he had heard what Rob said, "Wait Rob!" he stopped as did Tony, "Uh, I wanna buy this car."

"What? You can't be serious, Isabella." He said as he wanted to see if his young friend was just kidding.

"I am serious. While you and Tony were gone, I examined this car and I may have some use for it. After all, I talked about wanting the perfect car. Who knows, this might be the car." Isabella felt for sure Rob would be willing to let her have it. She was after all his best customer.

"I don't know. This doesn't look like it will run. I mean look how charred up it is. It looks like it will only go at 40 MPH at the most. That is if you are lucky." Tony put in his own thought.

Isabella bit her bottom lip when she saw the car snort at this remark. She looked at Tony and the man stared down at the car in suspicion. She rushed over to stand in front of Tony, "I don't care. I want this car," she looked at Rob, "Please, Rob? You know how much of an expert I am with these machines."

Rob was silent for a moment. He looked at Isabella and then down at the car. He didn't know why for the love of his wife of what possessed Isabella into wanting this piece of junk. But he had seen how she took good care of her grandfather's beetle. Maybe she will get this car to run just as smoothly someday. Finally, after a long time of quiet pondering, the scrapyard owner sighed and turned to the young girl,

"Very well, Isabella, I will let you have this car. And knowing how much you do for this yard and the fact this car is just…a hunk of junk, you can have it for free."

Isabella's eyes widen. Rob was given her the car for free? "Wait, you're not serious are you?"

"No, I am serious. You deserve it. I don't know if you will ever get this car to run, but hey who knows. That's why I am entrusting it to you. Besides, I will never be able to sell it and it will be going to the car crusher," Rob smiled at Isabella, unaware the car was shuddering a little from him saying he will crush him, "The car is yours."

Isabella blinked for a long moment and then a smile formed on her face, "Thanks Rob! I will find a way to pay you back, I promise!" she gave the man a hug and he laughed hugging her back.

"No need. Now Tony, let's get the tow truck ready. Guess we're taking this car to Isabella's place." Rob said to his companion who was a little confused on his boss giving the car away.

"Uh sure, Rob." Tony turned and walked off with Rob right behind him.

Isabella watched them go and turned back to the car. He opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, "Well, guess I owe you one." He said, and he did look grateful.

"I'll say. You were close to going to the car crusher." Isabella said and immediately regret in saying that since the car tried to back away with a look of terror on his face, "Sorry. Anyway, you will be safe back where I live."

She looked away as she wondered how she was going to tell her grandfather. She didn't want to keep this car a secret from him. After all, he was her only family left. She hoped he will understand since he was a scientist. Who knows, maybe he will help her on why there was a talking car here. That is if this whole thing wasn't a dream.

"Any place will be better than being here in this junkyard. This is honestly the last place I want to be." She turned back to the car who spoke.

Isabella observed him for a moment. She noticed he had a sad distant look on his face. She was going to ask if he was okay but that will have to wait. For now, they both had to focus on getting him back to her home, "Okay, Rob and Tony will be back any minute to drive you back to my place. So, you better get ready to pretend you're not alive." She said, having him look back at her.

"Sure. You said your name is Bell something?" he questioned and Isabella smiled at him,

"Close, it's Isabella Holler. But if you want to call me Bell, that's fine," She paused before asking casually, "Do you have a name? I don't know if cars do."

For the first time since Isabella came across him, the car smiled, "Of course I have a name. I'm Lightning McQueen, one of the world's famous racecars who just won his first Piston Cup." He introduced in a boastful yet proud tone voice.

"You're a racecar? I kinda figured from the stickers and the number 95 on you. I'll be honest that have never heard of a Lightning McQueen before. But I have to congratulate you on winning your first Piston Cup" Isabella admitted and she watched in amusement when he shrugged with his tires,

"I guess that certainly proves I'm not in my original world. But thanks," Lightning said and he let out a sigh, "Ugh, I feel really sore."

"I can imagine. You look like you've gone through a fire. You need a serious clean up." Isabella scratched her head.

The sound of a car honking caused Isabella and Lightning to jump again. Quickly, Lightning closed his eyes and he heard the human Isabella call to her human companions. The young racecar wasn't sure of how to feel about this current situation. When he woke up, he was shocked to see some strange creature that was not a car touching him. According to Isabella, no cars here speak or were even alive. Instead, it was humans that were the living beings of this world. He wondered if he was merely dreaming this whole thing and was still unconscious back somewhere in his world. But the pain he was feeling certainly felt real. Just how did he get here? He hoped to have that question answered real soon.

For now, he would have to hope this human will be right on what she said of taking him back to her home. He did his best to keep his eyes and mouth shut as he felt a hook being attached to his rear and he was pulled up. He dared to squint his eyes open to see he was being pulled onto a large rack that was attached to a large truck. Once they secured something to keep him from rolling off, they unhooked him.

"All ready to go!" Lightning heard from what he gathered was the human Rob.

"Great! Just follow me home, Rob!" Isabella's voice was heard and he felt something soft go on his hood and Isabella's voice say near him, "Don't worry, just hang on a little bit more."

He could sense the comfort from her voice and felt a little dismayed when he heard her walk off. He didn't know exactly why, but he trusted her. He felt the truck rumble to life and he was being carried away. During the ride, he felt siesta overcome him once more and he dozed off. He thought about Sally and his friends back in Radiator Springs.

Isabella in the meantime got in her grandfather's beetle and started to drive out, with Rob in his large tow truck following right behind her. She still wasn't convinced if this was a dream. It was rather hard to believe that she would come across a talking car. If this was really happening, she hoped her grandfather will help in all of this. For now, she had to get that racecar, no correction: Lightning McQueen back to her place and clean him up.