Thanks to the peeps who reviewed! I hope this chapter works, the ending was thrown together, but even though that's the case, I still think the ending was cute in its own, weird way. Enjoy!
Lightning was pumped up and ready for the practice run around Willie's Butte, especially since he was going up against the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and The King. Forgetting the fact that Oli was watching from the sidelines, he revved his engine in excitement. The thrill of races was what always kept him going, and this time, he planned on winning. Doc started up his engine along with Strip, and the three cars hesitated for a moment, before the Hudson Hornet yelled, "Go!" and the two veteran racers took off, leaving McQueen in the dust.
The rookie racecar was shocked but he took off after them. He had failed to notice that Oli had disappeared from her spot on the sidelines. Lightning hightailed it across the dirt and caught up to the more experienced cars, but they were, for the most part, evenly matched. Strip would surge into the lead, and then Doc would take over, followed by Lightning. However, the rookie was pushed back when the two older cars cut him off. He put in high gear as the dust rose around them, and that's when he felt something brush across his chassis.
And then an engine revved and even more dust flew into his grill, causing him to cough slightly. But he was back on track in no time and that was when he realized Oli was gone – and she was right in front of him. "What the…? No way!" Lightning exclaimed, catching up to her. She just winked and put the pedal to the metal, as he said, "I thought you hated racing!" Doc caught sight of her and slowed up, causing Strip to do the same. Oli and Lightning flew past them, and the two veterans traded glances before charging after them. The rookie racer would catch up to Oli, but she'd speed up to avoid questions.
They were coming up to the turn that Lightning had always had trouble with, but he wasn't all that worried about it. Oli disappeared from his right side and came back around to his left, taking the turn closer to the inside since she wasn't all too adept at power sliding. She almost slammed into Lightning but he moved out of the way, giving her time to speed up, leaving him in the dust. Strip and Doc flew past him, catching up with Oli.
Doc came up on her left while The King came up on her right, but she wasn't too worried as they came across the finish line. Exhausted, she stopped. Lightning came up angrily, his tire hitting the dirt. "What was that about?" he demanded, pushing past Doc. Oli just shrugged and lowered onto her tires to catch her breath. "You're supposed to hate racing! Not jump in during a practice run!"
"You're a little too cocky for your own good," Oli finally replied. "Thought I should be the one to teach you that lesson." Lightning gave her a skeptical look, and then what she did next caught them all off guard. The Superbird took off, leaving all three of them on the dirt track. Strip was the first to kick it into high gear to go after her, with Doc following closely behind him.
Sheriff was at Flo's, listening to another one of Ian's ridiculous stories, which was the norm. In truth, Sheriff was pretty much Ian's father-figure, and regardless of what anyone said, he didn't mind keeping the kid out of trouble. The sound of squealing tires and revved-up racecar engines startled everyone, and when they heard two cars knock against each other, the sheriff stepped in, only to find a curious sight before them.
Flo laughed as the two Superbirds in the middle of the road straightened themselves out. Strip had caught up to Oli first and she had stopped short, catching one of his tires by accident. As a result, they collided and skidded to a halt. The King waited for the younger car to get her bearings before moving to block her path. "What's she doin', tryin' to run?" Sheriff asked, driving towards them.
"I figured as much," Doc cut in, rolling up to them. The cars on the road had all congregated and were watching as Oli cringed away from the town's judge. "You ain't supposed to cause this much commotion, so I'm really thinkin' about just lettin' you go. You'll be the death of anyone of us." The Superbird shrugged, even though she did look a little hurt. Before anything else could be done, Strip chuckled lightly and looked at Doc.
"She ain't willin' to leave," Dinoco's golden boy said, a knowing look in his eyes. Oli gave him a slightly annoyed look, which he just responded to by saying, "If I'm wrong you can go ahead n' leave." Moving out of the way while noting the glare from Sheriff and the curious-yet-annoyed look from Doc, he gestured to the open road with one tire. "S'all yours." Oli turned and gazed over the open terrain – he was letting her go.
"Strip, what're you doin'?" Sheriff asked, turning on the police siren. Suddenly, Oli snorted and turned around, zooming off. She ducked behind a building, but she wasn't leaving town. Flo laughed again and looked on in surprise. The racing legend just lowered onto his axles, looking as if it was all too easy to deal with. Sheriff mumbled something and turned off his police siren, as Lightning drove off to find Sally.
After this, the congregation of cars cleared out and went back to their business, as Doc and Strip moved off to the side and relaxed, resting on their axles. "That's some faith you got in her, Weathers," Doc finally said.
"Thanks Doc," King replied. "But when dealin' with the rebellious ones, all ya gotta do is tell them they can do whatever they want, y'know, act like it won't bother you. That's what they want – a reaction. When they don't get a reaction, they'll look for somethin' else." Doc was a little surprised, but he didn't know why he was. Strip had always been easy-going (except when he was out on the racetrack) and it made sense as to why he could handle things this way.
"I still don't like her," Doc finally replied.
"She reminds me of myself, more than anything," Strip admitted. The navy blue Hornet beside him eyed him skeptically – The King – like Oli? The car in question just chuckled. Doc was beginning to wonder if the red and black Superbird knew something that nobody else did. A thought struck the town's judge, suddenly.
"Strip, what color eyes did you say Oliver had?" Doc asked.
"I didn't. But they were gray blue," Strip responded. "Why?"
"Jus' wonderin'," the old doctor said vaguely. His friend gave him a knowing look.
"That's not it," Strip said, but before any more questions could be asked, Doc drove away.
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Oli sighed and looked out at the dirt road before her. She had been given the opportunity to leave, but she had denied it. She didn't want to stay in town, but she couldn't help it. The Superbird was startled when Doc came up next to her, parking there. "I think you're hidin' somethin'," Doc said flatly, looking at her with hard blue eyes. She looked back at him and blinked once or twice. "A Plymouth Superbird randomly dropping by Radiator Springs ain't a coincidence." Oli felt her engine warm up – she was nervous, but she was frozen in place.
"I ain't hidin' nothin'," Oli replied defensively, but Doc could see that she was lying.
"You got a lotta nerve, kid," Doc said. "What're you hidin'."
"You'll tell Strip," she shot back, still keeping her walls up. She wasn't about to let them down without a fight, even if it was a fight with the judge.
"What makes you say that? This ain't about Strip, and that's Mr. Weathers to you. This is about you," Doc responded, blue eyes cold. Again, Oli felt her engine warm up. Well this was great – just absolutely great! She shifted her gray blue eyes away and tried to figure out an alternative. She could probably outrun Doc, but then again, he was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet… "Now, what're you hidin'?"
"But… I refuse to tell you!" Oli replied, kicking it into high gear. She peeled out, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Doc glared after her, before starting after her. She couldn't get that far.
)))
The first place she hit was Tailfin Pass, and luckily it was relatively deserted. That is, until she came around the corner and slammed hard on the brakes. She skidded to a halt, looking over at the slightly surprised car before her. "What're you runnin' from this time?" The King asked, driving forward. She looked past him, hoping she had ditched Doc farther back.
"Nothin'," she replied, avoiding eye contact.
"You're lyin'," Strip replied. "Cars jus' don't come flyin' up here without a reason." What…? This is messed up, get your dang head together, Oli! You did NOT come here to get tied up in sticky situations!
"I ain't lyin'," she replied, trying her best to look innocent. Lie better! She told herself mentally. Shifting her gray blue eyes up again, she said, "Really. I just needed to blow off some steam." Girl, you suck at lying.
"Oli, you're gonna get yourself in trouble. You're in deep enough, so what're you runnin' from? I'm not gonna tell Doc," Strip reassured her. Don't listen! You'll get thrown back in the dirty impound lot! But there was a lot of sincerity in his voice and eyes, so she sighed.
"Doc."
"C'mere," the light blue Superbird said, driving past her. She followed after him and he seemed to be thinking for a moment. "Oli," but that wasn't the right way to start. "I'm tryin' to keep ya out of trouble." There was a little bit of disappointment in his voice. Good going, idiot. Now look what you've done, even Strip's disappointed. Way to go!
"Sorry," she whined, looking over at him with hurt gray blue eyes.
"Well, what'd Doc want?"
"Umm… I dunno…" Oli lied again. Strip gave her a knowing glance, but didn't press it any further. She was thankful that he wasn't pushing the subject. "I'm sorry…" She felt remorse, but only because the other Superbird was disappointed in the slightest. Other than that, she didn't care. They came up to the Wheel Well, where there were a few visiting cars.
"Hey, good to see ya, Strip," one said, driving up to them. It took him a few seconds to notice the other Superbird next to him. "I don't think we've met, I'm Darrell Cartrip. And you are?" The gray car looked at her expectantly.
"Oli," she replied.
"Well it's nice to meet ya. We don't see very many Plymouth Superbirds around here, or anywhere, for that matter," Darrell replied. "Anyway, whaddaya doin' all the way up here? I figured you'd be trainin' with McQueen."
"Oli here got into some trouble so I brought her up here," Strip responded.
"Hidin' her?" Darrell chuckled.
"Pretty much, yeah." They heard another car coming, so they both did their best to block the red and black Superbird from view. However, it was only a false alarm, as it was just a passerby. Breathing sighs of relief, they moved out of the way and looked at Oli for a moment. She did look strikingly similar to The King, but it wasn't anything you could pass judgment on.
"Paint her blue and she'd be your twin," Darrell commented.
"'Cept for the eyes," Strip pointed out.
"Me? Nah, I'll stick to my red and black paintjob," Oli replied quickly. Darrell shrugged lightly, along with The King. The red and black Superbird looked at them both for a moment, before turning and driving to the edge where she parked and rested on her tires. This worrying was killing her, making her tired. If she wasn't worried about Doc chewing her out for something, she was worried about something else entirely. Sighing with worry, she dozed off, the thought, "Is all this worry worth it in the end?" floating through her mind.
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That night, Strip and Darrell came back up Tailfin Pass and realized Oli had slept all day. "I got it," the light blue racing legend said, driving over to her. He nudged her gently and she woke up with a start. "It's just me, it's just me." She looked at him with tired eyes. "Jus' get inside and get some sleep. You'll need it."
"I'm not tired," she replied, but they both knew it was a lie.
"Darlin', we both know you are."
"But what about…Doc?" she asked, sounding more exhausted than she looked.
"Darrell and I can cover for ya." With that being said, she nodded. Oli was too tired to argue, and she figured Strip wouldn't lie about something like that.
"You gonna stay up here or go back down and stay with Sally…I mean at Sally's place…" This just proved how exhausted the red and black Superbird was. "Ya know what I mean."
"I'm goin' back to the town," he replied. "But Darrell's up here, you'll be fine."
"I'm not worried," she said with mock-anger, but she gave up when she realized just how tired she was.
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