Well, here we are! The final chapter of When Life Gives You Lemons! I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING! But don't worry! I've also posted the very first chapter of Ride today as well in honour of Fudge's birthday! (I mentioned in the first chapter that, although mine isn't, Fudge's birthday is June sixteenth).
So, with that all said and done, please enjoy the finale of When Life Gives You Lemons!
Chapter 34- Radiator Springs Grand Prix
After about a month, things really seemed to have almost completely gone back to normal. There were a few things that were different, though. One of them, however, was temporary and that was Fudge wearing a cast and being on crutches. Occasionally, she complained that the crutches made her arms sore or that her cast itched, maybe that she was bored or simply that her leg hurt. Plus, for an energetic little human girl like Fudge, not being able to move much was a next to impossible task. Still, most of the time she was good and kind of enjoyed having a broken leg.
The other problem with Fudge was that every now and then, she still had nightmares about the whole ordeal and seemed kind of shaken up about it. She never entirely got over the fear of having her entire family killed, but, for the most part at least, she seemed to be doing okay.
The other major difference was Mater and the rest of the townsfolk had no idea whether this was gonna be temporary or permanent. He was so excited about his adventure that he was going around, telling anyone and everyone. This was a little bit of a concern for the residents, considering the real story was outlandish enough to begin with, but the tow truck had the tendency to exaggerate.
And that's exactly what he was doing on the day of the Radiator Springs Grand Prix, a friendly race Lightning had organised for the World Grand Prix competitors. The WGP was never officially finished (in fact, they weren't even sure what the other racers were doing while the bomb scare was going on), so everyone agreed that it was a good idea to have the race. Now, they were all gathered at Flo's and Fudge had put on her cheerleading outfit again to support her favourite race car in the competition.
"So, there we was!" Mater recounted the story to the townsfolk and tourists at Flo's on this particular day. "My rocket jets goin' full blast! McQueen hangin' on for dear life when suddenly, them two nasty Lemons come out of nowhere, guns drawed. We was goners! But then, out of nowhere, Fudge here on her hover board-" He gestured to her.
Fudge raised a hand in greeting. "Hi."
"-and this beautiful spy car swoop in from the sky to save us!" Mater concluded.
"That's a very entertaining story, young man", Minny, the lavender minivan, commented.
"Oh, Minny, please!" her husband, a green minivan named Van, scoffed. "Come on! None of this happened! Rocket jets, hover boards, flying spy cars!"
"No, you're quite right!" a new voice piped up. "It does sound a bit far-fetched!"
"Mater! Are you telling crazy stories again?!" someone else added, laughing. "I've heard you have quite the habit of doing that!"
Everyone was stunned to see Holley with her wings out and lowering herself down to the ground in the middle of the road while Sammy did the same on her hover board.
"Holley! What are you doin' here?!" Mater greeted her happily, rushing forward to her.
And the feeling was mutual. "Hello, Mater!" Holley answered. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Hi, Holley, Hi, Sammy!" Fudge shouted.
"Fudge!" Holley exclaimed. "How are you?!"
"I'm a lot better!" the eleven-year-old assured her, rising to her foot and grabbing her crutches.
"Hey, Fudge!" Sammy giggled. "Why don't I come to you?" So, she did and gave her a hug. "Wow! I really missed you! You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!"
"What?" came a new voice. "No hello for me?"
Mater's eyes widened when he saw who the speaker was. "Finn!"
"Hi, Finn!" Fudge cried happily, trying to get to the Faultless GT for a hug, which he was more than happy to give her.
"Our satellites picked up an urgent communique", Finn explained.
"Ah! So, you got my email!" Luigi realised. Fudge had no idea, but he'd sent the spies an email to let them know how Fudge was going and to see if they were interested in attending the Radiator Springs Grand Prix.
Sammy looked around. "So, this is Radiator Springs. It's nice."
"Oh, man! Y'all is gonna have a great time!" Mater declared before turning to the crowd to make the introductions. "Everybody! This here is Finn McMissile and Sammy Rose! They is secret agents! Don't tell nobody!"
"I think, I think, our cover's just been blown!" Sammy whispered to Finn with a laugh, but Finn didn't seem to mind.
And Mater had one last introduction to make. "This is Holley Shiftwell. She's-"
"I'm Mater's girlfriend!" the sports car finished before Mater could. "It's so nice to meet you all!"
Needless to say, everyone was shocked by this announcement. But none more than Guido, it seemed. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped and there was a loud, clattering sound as his forks hit the ground.
"Guido believe you now!" Luigi informed Mater, referring to the forklift's scepticism of Mater having a girlfriend in Tokyo.
Fudge smiled and gave the tow truck a thumbs-up.
"Whoa! Honey!" Flo exclaimed, noticing something on Holley's back fender. "You got a nasty dent there!"
"Yeah..."
"Was that from when you swooped in and you saved them in London?" Van wanted to know, now seemingly convinced that Mater's story was real.
"Van!" Minny admonished her husband.
"What?" he cried defensively. "I'm just asking!"
"Don't you worry, sweet pea", Flo told her. "My baby, Ramone can get that fixed up for you in no time."
"Yeah, sure thing, man. No problemo." He started to drive off back to his shop. "Just let me go get my tools..."
"Oh, no, no, no!" Holley declined politely. "I'm keeping that dent. It's way too valuable." She cast a glance at Mater, who smiled at her.
"A valuable dent?" Lizzie asked. "Oh, she's as crazy as Mater."
"Oh, those two are perfect for each other", Mack remarked.
"Yeah", Fudge agreed. Mater and Holley may have been as different as night and day, but there was no doubt about it even in a child's mind. They were perfect for each other.
"You know, there's one thing I still don't get", Lightning announced. "The bad guys hit me with the beam from the camera, right? So, why didn't I... you know..."
"Explode in a fiery inferno?" Mater supplied the words that Lightning had wanted to avoid.
"Yeah."
"I'm just glad you didn't!" Fudge voiced her opinion, hugging the race car.
"Me too", he agreed, "but I still wanna know why it didn't happen."
"Well, we couldn't figure that one out either", Finn admitted.
Holley nodded. "Our investigation proved that Allinol was actually gasoline. And Axlerod engineered it so that when it got hit by the beam, it would explode."
Then Lightning thought of something else. "Wait a second, Fillmore. You said my fuel was safe."
Everyone turned to stare at Fillmore, clearly demanding an explanation.
"If you're implying that I switched out that rot-gut excuse for alternative fuel with my all-natural, sustainable, organic biofuel, just because I never trusted Axlerod, you're dead wrong, man. It was him." He gestured to Sarge.
"Once 'big oil', always 'big oil'... man", Sarge declared, glancing around uncomfortably.
"Tree hugger", Fillmore shot back teasingly.
"Wished we'd known that", Sammy grumbled. "Would've saved us a whole lot of worry."
Fudge shrugged. "Oh, well. Like I said, the most important thing is that everyone's all right."
"I guess."
"But you know what else I don't get?" Fudge added.
"What?" Luigi asked.
"How did Axlerod turn that tracking device off?"
There was a pause. Clearly, nobody knew the answer to that question.
"Oh, well. We got the b***ard before anyone got seriously hurt, thanks to Mater and Fudge, of course, and that's what counts", Sammy reinforced Fudge's view.
"That's right", Finn agreed. "And he won't be going anywhere anytime soon."
Before long, Sheriff was leading the line of race cars down Main Street to the starting line of the Radiator Springs Grand Prix.
"Man, I can't wait to get rockin'!" Lewis Hamilton commented to Jeff Gorvette beside him. "This is gonna be wicked!"
"Yeah!" Jeff agreed. "We should do this every year!"
And Lightning was finally able to introduce Francesco to his beautiful girlfriend, Sally. It seemed that he was over his jealousy and it could even be said that he and Francesco were on the road to becoming friends. The Italian formula car even admitted to liking how the competition was no press, no trophies, just racing. Though, they did still tease each other. Like how Lightning had a new sticker, reading, Ka-ciao, Francesco.
Meanwhile, the rest of the town was gathered near Willy's Butte for the race. Mater, who gave Fudge a ride (while Guido carried a chair for her), had a goofy smile on his face.
"You seem happy", the human girl observed, though it was blatantly obvious.
"I done got me a girlfriend!" Mater announced ecstatically. "Holley done said it herself! Ain't that so dad-gum amazin'?!"
"Yeah... She's very lucky to have you."
Mater smiled broadly. "Thanks, Fudge."
It wasn't long before the race cars came zooming past, sending dust flying up, but it didn't bother the RS gang due to their position above the track. They all cheered like crazy for Lightning McQueen as he sped off, fighting Francesco for the lead. And, as usual, Fudge gazed at the racers dreamily, wishing she could go as fast as them (though, McQueen took her for laps every now and then, which he promised to do again when her leg was fully healed). Everyone was having a great time. Until...
Beep, beep, beep!
"Finn, Sammy, time to go", Holley reported. "Siddeley's gassed, geared and ready to fly."
Fudge and Mater turned to the three spies, unable to hide their disappointment. "You're leavin' already?"
"We've got another mission, Mater", Finn explained. "Just stopped by here to pick something up."
"Somethin' tells me you're not talkin' about souvenir bumper stickers."
"Why, yes, Mater!" Sammy teased. "How did you know?!"
"Her Majesty asked for you personally, Mater", Finn informed him before turning to the human girl beside him ruefully. "We would've asked for you too, Fudge, but you're too young at the moment."
"But hey!" Sammy chimed in. "Something to think about when you're older. CHROME could really use someone like you."
"Yeah, I'll think about that", Fudge agreed with a nod when, in reality, she was thinking, Not a chance. After the whole mission, as fun as she thought it was and as much as she hoped to see Finn, Holley and Sammy again, there was no way that she was ever gonna do that to herself again. If she could, that is. She never expected it to happen in the first place. "I've never really thought about being a spy."
"Well, neither had I till I started", Sammy admitted. "There was this really complicated illegal activity going on at my college, which I won't bore you with the details of now, and I started investigating. And that's how I met Rod. Bad news was my investigating got me kicked out of college, good news was Rod was impressed with my skills and asked me if I was interested in becoming his partner. Of course, I accepted and I haven't looked back." She looked to Mater. "There's no reason why that can't be you, Mater."
"But I told y'all before", Mater protested, "I'm not a spy."
"We know", Holley replied.
Finn gave him a genuine smile. "Spy or not, you're still the smartest, most honest chap we've ever met."
"Don't forget massively charming", Holley put in.
"And insanely brave and heroic", Sammy added, putting her arm around Fudge to show that she wasn't just talking about Mater, causing the child to feel embarrassed.
"Well, thanks", Mater responded modestly. He turned to the human girl beside him. "Whaddaya think, Fudge?"
"I'd miss you if you did", she answered, "but it is your decision."
"I'd miss ya too..." He looked back at Finn, Holley and Sammy and gave them his decision. "Well, as much fun as it was, hangin' out with y'all, this..." He turned to look at the other townsfolk, cheering excitedly and then at his little sister, who was smiling at him. "This is home."
Fudge's smile widened as she remembered when Guido comforted her while she was in the hospital. Home wasn't a place; it was people. She knew that Mater had just realised the same thing.
"That's all right", Holley assured him. "We understand, but I'll be back. You still owe me that first date."
"And if you ever change your mind, our offer still stands", Sammy told him.
"That's right", Finn agreed, nodding. "And if there's ever anything I can do for you, either of you", he added, glancing at Fudge, "just let me know."
"Well, I sure appreciate that", Mater replied. "Thank you..." There was a pause as a grin spread across his face. "Actually, there is one thing..."
Fudge groaned. "Uh-oh..."
So, one favour later, Finn, Holley and Sammy said goodbye to the rest of the townsfolk and left in Siddeley on their way to their next mission. Fudge gazed up at the sky, watching as Siddeley took off, wondering when she would see her spy friends again. She hoped it would be sometime soon.
And it wasn't long before the sound of someone shouting with glee rang out through the town of Radiator Springs. It was one rusty, dented tow truck by the name of Tow Mater. He picked up Otis, who had broken down (again), at rocket speed and dropped him off at Ramone's just as fast. Then he practically flew across the racetrack, overtaking all of the racers to be level with his best friend, Lightning McQueen...
...Who was evidently surprised to see him. "Mater?!"
"Hey! Check it out!" Mater announced. "They let me keep the rockets!"
"I'll see you at the finish line, buddy!" Lightning gunned forward.
"Not if I see you first!" Mater hollered, chasing after him.
And so, the two best friends- and hometown favourites- raced each other around the track, leaving the other racers far behind in the dust.
Meanwhile, Siddeley was soaring high above Radiator Springs, flying over the small town and Route 66. Inside, Finn, Holley and Sammy got down to business.
"Miss Shiftwell? What is our mission?" Finn questioned.
Holley brought up the information on her computer. "It appears that a group of cars in-"
They were interrupted by a series of rapid beeps.
"Someone's trying to contact us!" Sammy announced.
"Maybe it's the director", Finn guessed.
"I got it!" Sammy answered to the beeps. "Sup?"
"Hi, Sammy!" the voice on the other end responded.
"It's Fudge!" the human agent reported. "What's up, Fudge?"
"You have my pen!" the eleven-year-old accused.
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, I want it back."
"You can have it back once you're off your crutches", Sammy promised her.
"No fair!" Fudge whined.
"It is fair! We don't want you getting hurt by using it when you can't walk."
"But Sammy-"
"Nope."
"Why do you care so much about getting a pen back, Fudge?" Luigi wanted to know, his voice coming through the radio. "And how could you get hurt by using it?"
Fudge didn't answer. Instead, she started to laugh. So did Sammy.
The End
*Cue Cars 2 end credits as "Collision of Worlds plays*
Yeah... I know how Axlerod turned off the tracking device should've been explained, but I kinda like the idea of leaving in a mystery that never gets solved. What's that I hear you say? I was too lazy to figure it out? Yeah, well, that too! XD
Now, to reveal the Easter Eggs:
A113 should be kinda obvious in this story. It was the code for Axlerod's tracking device and the RS gang's flight number when flying from Radiator Springs to London.
The London hotel room 624 is a reference to June 24th, the official release date of Cars 2.
Fudge was in room 715 at the hospital, which was a reference to July 15th, the day I saw Cars 2 at the movies back in 2011 (and Cars 3 for the fourth time in 2017! I saw Cars 3 at the movies five times!)
Wow! I can't believe this is over! It has been an awesome experience and would like to thank each and every reviewer/favourite-er/follower/just plain reader of this story! When I first started writing this story, I had no idea it would get this many reviews, favourites and follows (over 100 reviews! That's AMAZING!)! So, thank you guys so much! You are all awesome and I appreciate you so much!
And this won't be the last you'll see of me on FFN! I still have Ride and Run That Race. Those stories focus more on Fudge and Lightning's relationship and the latter focuses on Fudge's relationship with Cruz Ramirez as well (when I say relationship, I don't mean romantic). So, if you're interested, you can go on over and check Ride out right now! So, I hope you enjoy that as well as this one. Though, I have to warn you, it's gonna be a pretty sad story.
So, for the last time for this story, thank you and goodbye! *Takes bow and walks off*