Figured I might as well finish off the events of the movie. Enjoy.
Chapter 21- Return to Radiator Springs
"Where are we going?" Fudge quizzed the others.
"You'll see when we get there!" Lightning told her for the hundredth time.
Fudge remained silent, but couldn't help but wonder where she was being taken.
It was the day after the tiebreaker race and the RS gang had informed Sally, Red and Lizzie that they would be a day later than they expected coming home because Lightning said he had a surprise for Fudge, which had them take her to a mystery location.
"Here we are!" Luigi announced ten minutes later, prompting Fudge to gasp.
"DISNEYLAND!" she squealed.
"That's right!" Lightning confirmed. "We're gonna spend the whole day here!"
"Oh, my gosh! Thank you!" Fudge exclaimed, hugging Lightning. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"
The race car smiled. "No problem. Now, let's have some fun, all right?"
"Yeah!" Fudge cheered.
And that they did. It truly was a great day of fun and laughter. Fudge went on lots of rides with Mater, Lightning and Ramone (none of the others really liked theme park rides, though Luigi and Guido joined her on some).
"THIS IS AWESOME!" Fudge screamed every time she went on a new ride.
They also went shopping for souvenirs, watched parades and other shows, ate ice cream and Fudge had lots of photos of her taken with all of the Disney characters. Yep. Definitely a day that Fudge would never ever forget.
By the end of the day, when they returned to the hotel, Fudge was fast asleep in Guido's arms. She had a balloon tied around her wrist and was wearing Mickey Mouse ears that she'd gotten that day with FUDGE written on them. She'd also gotten a notebook and pen as well as some toys and a new T-shirt, all of which were in a bag Luigi was carrying. Lightning smiled at the sight of her, sleeping peacefully (he'd never seen her asleep before and thought she looked so cute in that state). She'd been exhausted, but he took that as a sign that she'd had a good day and was happy with that fact.
And that was only one of the many surprises Lightning had in store for the town of Radiator Springs. There were plenty more to come. Like the favour he had asked of Tex after the race...
"Whoo-hoo!" a certain tow truck hollered with glee somewhere above the town of Radiator Springs. "Hey! Look at me! I'm flyin'! By golly!"
"You mean we're flying!" a certain five-year-old human girl chimed in from his side, sounding just as excited.
Yes. Lightning had kept his promise. When talking to Tex, he mentioned how Mater and Fudge had wanted a helicopter ride and Tex assured him that it was no trouble at all. And when they gave the news to Mater and Fudge... Boy! You would've thought they'd died and gone to heaven.
Lightning had rolled back over to the RS gang with Tex following. The former called out, "Hey, Mater! Fudge!" The two perked up at the sound of their names. "How'd you two like a ride in a helicopter?!"
Immediately, two pairs of eyes widened and two jaws dropped.
"Dad-gum! Would we?!" Mater had shrieked.
"Reallyreallyreally?!" Fudge had squealed, bouncing up and down.
"Sure", Lightning answered. "I did promise you, after all. And I got another surprise for you tomorrow." (That was Disneyland.)
"We got a Dinoco helicopter right here", Tex informed them, gesturing to it nearby. "And you're more than welcome to take it out."
"Luigi! Guido!" Fudge cried excitedly. "Did you hear that?! I'm gonna get a ride in a helicopter! I'm gonna get a ride in a helicopter!" She hugged Lightning fiercely. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Guido and Luigi smiled. So did everyone else.
So, when they returned to Radiator Springs, the Team Dinoco helicopter got filled up with fuel and Fudge and Mater got inside, Fudge strapped into the seatbelt. Then he took off, promising them he'd take them for as long as they wanted. Boy, was he gonna be in the air for a long time!
"Hi!" Fudge called down, waving to the townsfolk on the ground, who were watching the helicopter. She couldn't stop laughing. "Hi!"
From the ground, everyone smiled. It made them happy to know that Mater and Fudge were most likely having so much fun.
"Dad-gum!" Mater exclaimed, looking where Fudge was. "You can see everythin' and everyone from up here!"
"Yeah!" a giggling Fudge agreed. "Everyone looks like little ants from up here!"
"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!" Mater declared.
That wasn't the only kind thing Lightning had done for the town upon his return to Radiator Springs. While Fudge and Mater were enjoying the rides of their life in the helicopter, Luigi and Guido were inside Casa Della Tires, staring at the tyre display.
"I think it's about-a time we redecorate", Luigi commented thoughtfully.
They were interrupted by the revving of a powerful engine as three cars rolled into Casa Della Tires. One of them was... a red Ferrari!
"Ciao!" he greeted them. "Hi. Lightning McQueen told me this was the best place in the world to get tyres. How about setting me and my friends up with three or four sets each?"
Luigi gasped happily, hardly able to speak. "Guido!" he finally managed to choke out. "There is a real Michael Schumacher Ferrari in my store! A REAL FERRARI!" He turned to the little blue forklift. "Punch me, Guido! Punch me in the face! This is the most glorious day of my life!" (Good thing Fudge wasn't there to hear him say that; not that he would've meant it. Nothing could top when his daughter was born and when he officially adopted her.) And with that, Luigi fainted.
"Wow." The Ferrari turned to Guido and spoke to him in Italian.
And... Guido fainted too. (It really was a good thing Fudge wasn't there to see them do that; she would've been so scared!)
While all of that was going on, Sally stared up at the Wheel Well Motel until, like Luigi and Guido had done, she heard an engine revving. And she knew that there was only one car who that could be.
They both chuckled before Sally asked, "Just passing through?"
"Actually, I thought I'd stop and stay a while", Lightning corrected her. He was sporting what appeared to be a combination of his racing paint job and the one Ramone had given him when he surprised Sally with the neon lights. He moved closer and added, "I hear this place is back on the map."
"It is?" Sally questioned.
"Yeah, some rumour floating around that some hotshot Piston Cup race car is setting up his big racing headquarters here", Lightning explained casually.
"Really?!" Sally gasped. "Oh, well, there goes the town."
"And it's not just cars that wanna come by to see that", Lightning rushed on. "Some humans I know wanna check it out as well."
Sally smiled broadly. That meant that Fudge might be able to stay after all. She couldn't believe just how much he had done for the town and was continuing to do so.
"You know, I really missed you, Sally", Lightning informed her.
"Well, I create feelings in others they themselves don't understand and, uh... blah, blah, blah, blah."
Lightning chuckled and they were about to move in for a kiss when...
"McQueen and Sally parked beneath a tree!" an adult male southern accent and a little girl's American-Italian accent chanted from somewhere above them.
"K-I-S-S, uh... I-N-T!" Mater concluded.
"You two should just kiss already!" Fudge added.
"Great timing, guys!" Lightning called to them.
"Hi!" Fudge shouted.
"Hey, sweetie!" Sally replied. "You having fun?"
"Yeah! I'm having fun! I went to Disneyland yesterday and I got a helicopter ride today! Thank you, Lightning!"
"You're welcome, sweetie!" Lightning responded while Sally stared at him in amazement. Going to Disneyland was news to her.
"Hep-non, hip-hep, hi-li-lilly!" Mater yelled as the helicopter turned and headed back to town. Whatever that meant. "Whee!"
Lightning and Sally looked at each other once they were gone.
"He's my best friend", Lightning reminded Sally. "What are you gonna do?"
"So, Stickers, last one to Flo's buys?" Sally suggested.
"I don't know. Why don't we just take a drive?"
Sally pretended to think about it. "Hmmm... Nah!" Then she sped off in the direction of the town, sending dust flying.
"Yeah!" Lightning cheered. "Ka-chow!" He grinned and chased after his new girlfriend.
On his way back to town, Lightning couldn't help admiring the scenery and thinking about how much had changed over the last week and a bit. He'd thought he'd had it all, but then he discovered everything that he'd been missing. He'd found a new crew chief, who he was probably going to stick with, a new home, new friends, a new family, a new girlfriend and even a new self. And he wouldn't trade any of that for all of the Piston Cups or lucrative sponsorships in the world.
"You guys have a good time?" Lightning quizzed Mater and Fudge later that night as they met up with the others at Flo's.
The sky was pitch black by that point and the two had insisted on getting an aerial view of the neon lights of the town's stores before returning to the ground.
Fudge nodded, unable to wipe the huge, silly grin off her face. "That was awesome!"
"It sure was!" Mater agreed.
"And we said thank you to the helicopter!" Fudge added before anybody could ask, knowing that they would. She hugged Lightning again. "And thank you, Lightning!"
"You're welcome", the race car responded.
"Yes", Luigi agreed. "Grazie. You have made Fudgie very happy. And you have made Guido and me happy as well."
"Oh, the Ferrari came, did he?" Lightning questioned.
Luigi nodded. "Yes he did."
"Ferrari?" Fudge echoed curiously.
"Fudgie, we had a real Ferrari in our store!" Luigi exclaimed joyfully. "I wish you were there!" (However, since he and Guido had both fainted, he still thought that it was for the best that she wasn't.)
"Sounds awesome!" Fudge commented.
"Do you like Ferraris, Fudge?" Lightning questioned.
"I have to", she replied with a smile.
Lightning chuckled.
"Yesterday and today were the best days ever!" Fudge declared happily.
"Well, did you say thank you to Mr. Tex?" Lightning asked the five-year-old, indicating to the Cadillac, meaning he wanted her to say thank you to him.
"Thank you, Mr. Tex!" Fudge obeyed in her singsong, best-little-girl-in-the-world voice.
Tex smiled at her. "You're welcome, darlin'. Ya know, you can get another ride in the helicopter anytime you want."
Fudge's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Anytime", Tex repeated.
"Within reason", Doc added before Fudge could say anything else.
"Thank you, Mr. Tex!" Fudge repeated, hugging the wealthy Texan, making him smile.
"Well, you can always do that another time", Luigi piped up, scooping his daughter onto his hood. "For now, I think it is Fudgie's bedtime."
"Okay!" Fudge agreed easily. She was in such a great mood. It truly had been a perfect day for all of them and they had the feeling that there were gonna be many more perfect days like this.
Yeah... Remember how earlier on in the story Fudge mentioned that she wanted to go to Disneyland? Well, even if you forgot, Lightning didn't! So, he took her. I've referenced the RS gang having a tradition of going to Disneyland every year after the LA race a couple of times and there's where it all began.
Well, that's pretty much the end of the movie, but there are a couple of references to the epilogue and a few more chapters to go, so I hope you enjoy those.