They woke up the next morning, and Foxy tried to slink over to the cone to do more work on her web-chatter.
"Hey, Foxy!"
Foxy mentally groaned as she heard the shout, thinking that it was Sheriff again. "What, Sher-oh."
When she had turned around, she saw Lightning instead of Sheriff. At the moment, she would have taken Sheriff instead of Lightning.
Her mouth instantly snapped shut, and she looked down at the ground.
"Foxy. Foxy, please. Just hear me out, all right?" His tone shocked her, and she looked up. He looked like he was begging her to be friends again, his blue eyes concerned and slightly lonely-looking.
She nodded, but didn't say a word.
"All right. I didn't mean to scream at you. It was just-a-a... it just happened. I don't know why, but it did. And you're right. If we would've been here, I would've laughed and licked you back, but I didn't. The point is that I screamed at you for something that I could have laughed about. I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Can you forgive me?"
Foxy's eyes widened at the sound of her real name coming from his mouth. He had never called her that before... "I'm not sure. Can you forgive me?"
"For what?"
"THIS!" She licked his hood again, then darted off.
Lightning shook his hood, and true to his word, he began laughing and chased after her. He caught her, and pinned her down by the hood of her sweatshirt. "You know what happens now, right?" He asked in a low voice, grinning evilly.
Without waiting for her answer, he planted his tongue on her face and dragged it upwards, then did it again, and again, and again.
Foxy was laughing too hard to speak, her mouth shut tightly, her head whipping from side to side to try and avoid Lightning. Lightning licked her one last time, making sure to go especially slow, and then he let her up. She blinked her eyes open, and stood up shakily, her expression akin to one getting covered in garbage as a prank. Her bangs were plastered upright, looking like she had used gel to get them to stand up.
Lightning laughed so hard he was lying on the ground in minutes, gasping for breath, sounding like a retarded seal.
Foxy made a noise akin to a cough and a 'Blegh.' at the same time, which only made him laugh harder.
Doc came rolling over, hearing Lightning's obnoxiously loud laughter. "Kid, what's so funny?" He took one look at Foxy's expression, and looked back at the-now gasping Lightning. "You didn't."
Lightning could only nod, tears streaming from his windshield as he shook with laughter.
Doc scoffed and rolled his eyes, nudging Foxy. "Ya all right?"
She made the noise again, and Doc chuckled. "And it don't help that a car's tongue is as big as your face."
She sank to the ground, curling up into a ball and shuddering, her thoughts filled with what a tongue that size could be used for.
"Now look what ya did. Go get ready for your next race." Doc nudged Lightning in the door, then lifted Foxy onto his hood. He rolled into Flo's, and deposited her at Fillmore's side. "Poor kid." He muttered, looking over at her in pity.
"What happened? All I heard was Lightning laughing like a lunatic."
"He licked her. By the looks of it, I'd say multiple times, and straight up."
The others' bumpers dropped , and Fillmore tried to flatten her bangs out.
Finally, after about half an hour, she shook herself, and blinked rapidly.
"You all right?"
"I think so... But his tongue! It's like getting swallowed by bubble gum! Or getting eaten by a worm! Something pink!" She was shaking now, and the others laughed. "And his tongue reeked of oil! Blegh! Now I probably smell like I've been soaking in it! I swear, it was like getting swallowed by something big and pink! It was awful!"
"That's what she said." Sheriff muttered again, just loud enough for her to hear, and he cracked up, Doc quickly joining in.
"Thanks, Sheriff. Thanks a lot." Foxy sighed, and began trying to scrub Lightning's dried spit off herself.
"It helps if there's water around." Sheriff replied, snickering.
"Red?"
The fire truck looked up alertly, and spotted Foxy scrubbing herself furiously. "Foxy needs a good bath."
"Not yet! Let me get rid of my phone, my wallet, my ears and tail, and my shoes and socks, at least." She did so, putting them in the cone, and came back, hiding behind things in case Lightning came back.
Red fired a blast of water at her that made her shriek loudly, and leap into the air like a cat. "That's COLD!"
The others laughed, and Foxy cowered behind Fillmore, peeking out from behind his quarter panel, dripping wet. The ones who could see it laughed at the sight, and Red crept up behind her.
He sprayed her again, making her jump into the air like she had been shocked. She yelped and bolted into the center of Flo's, now sopping wet and shivering slightly.
"Come here, Foxy. Since I did this to you in the first place, it's only fair that I dry you off." Lightning called, coming back from the Butte. He went for a towel, and came back to find Foxy sitting in his spot and shivering, looking like a drenched cat. He wrapped her in a fluffy towel, and proceeded to dry her as best as he knew how. To Foxy it felt like a spin cycle in a dryer. When he unwrapped the towel, an extremely ruffled Foxy wobbled out, unsteady on her feet from the very thorough drying she had received.
The others chuckled, and Lightning steadied her, then set her on his hood. "We good now?" He asked, and she only purred, too disoriented to think straight at the moment. "That's what I thought you'd say, Foxy." Lightning chuckled, and petted her messy bun that she had put her hair up in. When she could finally see straight, she stretched out on Lightning's hood, a soft sigh of contentment barely audible. "Comfortable?" Lightning snickered, looking down at her. She looked up at him and smiled sleepily, and he grinned. "I figured." She looked up at him beggingly, and he sighed. "Go ahead. You've already made yourself comfortable." Her tail wagged a few times, dropping off his fender, and she yawned widely before shutting her eyes. She was asleep before he knew it, sprawled out on her stomach.
Over the course of the next few days, she became quieter, barely opening her mouth for anything, and she wasn't drinking coffee like she had been. When Lightning had offered her an apple, her fox ears went back and she shrank away from it.
"There's definitely something wrong. She hasn't even tasted a sip of coffee recently." Flo remarked worriedly.
Lightning nodded. "She didn't even eat the green apple I offered her. She normally only eats the green ones."
Doc looked over at Foxy, who was sleeping soundly by Fillmore. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out what. She wasn't eating, or even drinking, and she was sleeping during the day? She was definitely out of sorts. "Fillmore, see if you can get her over to my office before she wakes up tomorrow. I can't think of anythin' else to do but check her out."
Fillmore nodded, glancing down at her worriedly and petting her gently.
The next morning, Doc was in his clinic, getting out what he thought he'd need when Fillmore rolled in, Foxy lying limply on his roof. Fillmore brought her down, and to his shock Doc produced a leash. "That way we can keep her here, because she ain't goin' to like what's happening." Doc replied gruffly.
Fillmore could tell that Doc didn't like the idea any more then he did, and set Foxy down.
Doc hooked the leash to the collar, and looped it around the lift. He began raising the lift until the leash was taut, and stopped when he thought she was secure. "She ain't goin' nowhere." Doc chuckled quietly, and began to figure out how to best look at what was wrong with Foxy. He settled for gently pulling her bottom jaw down, and peering inside. Her tongue flopped out, and Fillmore chuckled. "Hmm..." Doc left her side, and went to go for his tools. He took one with a hook on the end, and gently prodded it against one of her teeth.
She stirred, mumbling faintly, but slept on.
Doc continued tapping her teeth, until he got to her left lower canine.
She shot upwards, yelping, completely awake.
"We've found the problem."
Foxy was peering out from behind the hydraulic pole for the lift, her fox ears back and her mouth shut tightly.
"It looked like there was sand under it." Doc told Fillmore.
Fillmore's eyes widened, and he looked over at Foxy. "When we were at the beach for the race, she got a mouthful of sand..."
"That explains a lot. Particularly painful." Doc looked over at Foxy, who was still hiding. He sighed, then told Fillmore to go get some fuel. "This is goin' to take a while."
Fillmore nodded, and left the clinic.
Doc turned back to Foxy, and began the task of wrestling her to the ground and getting the sand out from in her teeth. As he held her firmly in place using the leash, he was astounded at how much sand there was.
"How much of it did you eat?" He asked in shock.
She didn't reply, although she couldn't with the hook Doc was using. It was positioned scarily close to her tongue, and she didn't dare move. He continued, until he pulled back. "Better?"
She nodded hastily, but didn't respond verbally.
He pinned her down again with a tire, and got back to work.
Finally, an hour later, she pulled back. "Agh! Watch where you're pointing that thing, will ya? And geez you're strong! Nobody's ever been able to pin me down for this long before. When can we go get coffee?"
Doc sighed, shaking his hood as he looked at her. "I think I liked you better when there was no talkin' and a whole lot of sleepin'."
"Thanks, Doc. I didn't even know that was bothering me until recently. It hurt like a mother.. dog!" She finished quickly, giving him a grin. He rolled his eyes, and unclipped the leash.
"Here." He passed it to her, and she gave him a curious look.
"What am I going to do with this?"
"The better question is 'What am I gonna do with it?'"
Foxy giggled, then scooped the leash up. "You're probably right. I can't see you using it for anything." She walked out of Doc's, poking her tongue at the tooth she had gotten sand under.
"She's actually awake!"
"Feelin' better?"
"It hurt like hell, I'll tell you what!" She exclaimed, making the others laugh.
"'Least it's out now."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Coffee?"
"Sure, Flo. Thanks."
Fillmore ruffled her hair, and noticed the leash.
"Doc didn't want it, I swear." She replied to his concerned expression. "I've got no clue what to do with it, first of all."
"I know a few things..."
"Shut it, McQueen." She replied, earning a wicked grin from Lightning. "On second thought, you know so much about how to use it, why don't you take it?" She sent it skittering towards him, and he backed away from it like it was a giant snake.
"I never said I wanted it!" He shoved it back her way, and she yelped and jumped in the air as it nearly hit her.
"Hey, watch it!"
"Sorry."
"I swear, all you cars are trying to kill me!" She exclaimed with a laugh. Lightning's look of shock went unnoticed by the others as they began chuckling with her. "Anyone up for prank calling one of my friends?"
"I'm game!" Lightning replied.
"All right, awesome! So, since you don't know how my 'surprise' works yet, I get to go over it again! Yay!"
"Come on, let's go!"
The two left Flo's and headed over to the cone her web-chatter was in. "Okay, stay there." She ordered him when he reached the bottom of the ramp.
"Got it."
She darted inside, and rolled the device out, the entire thing on a rolling cart from before that she had found. "Okay, shut your eyes, and do not peek. I can tell if you peek."
"I won't." He replied, and shut his eyes tightly.
She positioned it perfectly, and smiled. "Okay, you can look now."
He opened his eyes, and they widened. "Wow! You made that?"
"There's no need to sound so surprised." She replied, but she was blushing, a sure sign that she was pleased.
"And it looks like it works, and everything! Great job, Foxy."
"I just made it the same way I made my tail and ears." Her tail wagged and her ears pricked.
"Yeah, but this actually has a bigger function then your ears and tail. They're made for entertainment and decoration, right?"
Foxy paused, then nodded. "I never really thought about it before, but yeah, you're right."
"And this thing...uhh.. What does it do, exactly?"
Foxy laughed, then replied, "It allows me, or any one of you guys, to either input a car/person's phone number, call that person/car, and talk to them through a video."
"Then there you go. It's a means of communication, which your tail and ears aren't really."
Foxy blushed a deeper shade of red, and brushed her hair around her face, trying to hide it.
Lightning grinned, then replied, "Too late. Already saw it."
This only brought a whimper from her, and he laughed. "Show me your invention, Foxy."
She nodded without a word, and turned it on. Again, she got the 'Input Contacts?' message, and again she denied it. "Wh-Who did you want to call?"
"Let me see how it works."
She passed him the keypad, and he was able to maneuver it quickly. "Huh, it works with tires, too. Impressive."
"I said cars could use it, dum-dum." Foxy replied with a grin, her blush fading.
He scrolled through the list, until he got to someone named 'Christine'. "I thought you didn't like her?!"
"That's my aunt!"
"Oh... then that's different, let's not call her."
"Yeah, good idea."
"Hmmm... Why not try Brandini the Great?"
"Who?"
"Brandon. That's one of my many nicknames for him."
"What are your others?"
"Let's see... Brandy, Brandini, Brandini the Great, Brawny, Brandywine, Brandy the Great. That's all I can think of at the moment."
"I like Brandywine. It has 'wine' in it."
Foxy laughed, then asked if that was who he wanted to pick.
"Sure. I mean he's your friend."
"Oh, shush. He'll be yours too, soon." They called Brandon, and he answered.
"Hey, Foxy what's u-OHMYGOSHIT'SLIGHTNINGMCQUEEN!"
"Yeah, hi." Lightning replied with a grin.
"Actually, there's a reason we called you."
"There is? What is it?"
"You'll see..." Foxy replied, grinning. She produced a version of a song without lyrics, and pressed play. The sound flowed out of her phone, and the two began to sing. (A/N: Bold is Lightning, Italic is Foxy.)
"When worlds collide. You can run-"
"But you can't hide!"
"When worlds collide, you'll laugh so hard you'll swear you died. When worlds collide, hold my tire, I'll be your guide, when worlds collide. Buckle-Buckle-Buckle up for the sweetest ride and prepare to have your mind blown wide, when worlds collide."
"When worlds collide, it's a curious thing. Bet you never heard a car and a human sing! Under his metal hood are some working parts, how is that different from my beating heart?"
"I'm from the Cars-"
"And I'm from the humans-"
"But that don't mean this friendship wasn't built to last."
"He was born to a car, and I was born to a human, so let me hear ya holler for this inter-species rap!"
"You-You-You-You can run-"
"But you can't hide!"
"Whe-When worlds collide!"
Throughout the song, the two were dancing, Lightning moon-walking and Foxy shuffling. When they finished, Foxy leaped onto his roof, crossed her arms, and held two fingers up on each hand. "Word!" She exclaimed, and Lightning looked up at her.
"Don't you ever do that again. I don't know what that was, you just embarrassed the hell outta all three of us."
Foxy and him laughed, while Brandon clapped.
"That was amazing! You guys nailed it!"
"He loves music. He's like the human version of DJ, only a bit more feminine."
"Hey, I am not!"
"Dude, you buy shoes like a woman buys clothes. And shoes." Foxy and Lightning chuckled, and even Brandon snickered.
"Yeah, okay, I'll admit it. I love my babies."
"His shoes." Foxy whispered to Lightning, who snorted with laughter.
"Is that all you guys wanted?"
"Nope. I called to say Happy Birthday, bro!"
"Thanks, Liz." He gave her a smile, which she returned.
"Sooo... what's it like in Radiator Springs? You never told me last night."
"Yeah, and I don't plan to."
"Aww, come on!"
"All right, fine. I'll give you a little bit about it everyday."
"Sweet! Now you've got to give me a lot about it, since you didn't yesterday."
Lightning chuckled. "You dug yourself a hole, Foxy. Don't die in it." He replied airily, driving off.
"Hey, come back here! I wasn't done yet..."
"Done with what?"
"I said that I'd give him a little bit of info on the town everyday."
"Yeah?"
"But, I was also going to say that you'd help me."
"WHAT?!"
"Yep. At least for today, anyway."
"Fine... Mater can do the rest of the days then. You know how much he loves talking."
"Yeah, I do." So the two began to give Brandon little tidbits here and there about all the residents. When he had to sign off, he looked at a notebook page where he had written things.
"You got everything you need to know?"
"I think so... Hey, who's 'Thunder'? You said his name last night, and you haven't told me about him yet."
"Oh, I can do you one better." She whistled sharply, and Thunder shot out of Lightning's cone. "Thunder, come."
He came.
"Thunder, sit facing the screen."
He did.
"Say hello to Brandon, Thunder." She crooned, and Thunder barked, his tail a blur. He licked the screen a few times, then backed off.
"Oh, Thunder. Now I need to clean the screen again."
Brandon laughed as Thunder sat. "So he's a dog. That makes sense."
"Here you go, buddy." She gave him a piece of a green apple, and he wolfed it down. "Doesn't it, though? He's my fuzzy-wuzzy-furry buddy." She replied, scratching Thunder's back.
His tail was going a mile a minute, and he licked Foxy's face. She laughed, then pushed him away. "Thunder!" He came back for one more lick, then laid down at her feet, panting slightly. "He's a sweetheart. You'd like him, Brandon."
"I think I would." He gave Thunder a smile.
"It's kind of ironic, really."
"Why do you say that, Light?" Foxy asked.
"Mater named him after the one thing he's afraid of." Lightning and Foxy shared a laugh, and even Brandon chuckled.
"I gotta get going you guys. Bye!"
"Bye, Brandini!"
"Bye, Brandywine!"
Foxy laughed, then replied, "Lightning! You wait until I almost turn it off to say that, that way he can't react!"
"Oh... Whoops..."
"He likes that name because it has 'wine' in it." She explained to Brandon before the three said real goodbyes and Foxy disconnected the connection.
"That was fun. We should do it again sometime."
"Yeah, it was fun. And we should." Foxy replied.
That evening, she settled down next to Fillmore, yawning widely. "Man, these last few days really seemed to catch up to me. What with going to the beach, making a new invention, having you all meet Brandon, getting sand stuck in my teeth, then getting it forcibly dug out-that still hurts- and having a fight with Lightning, only to mend it a few days later. I think I need a long nap."
"That, or just a night's sleep and plenty of coffee, man." Fillmore replied with a chuckle, pulling her close.
"Yeah. That too." She replied, and snuggled into his side before drifting to sleep, Fillmore soon copying her.
And here's the end of it! How did you all like it! Now remember this machine, it will come up in my other stories from time to time. :) Hope you guys liked it, Liz