Terra watched as a guy ran past him and practically drooled over this car that was parked in the dirt. Something really sleek and fast, that would probably get its owner many speeding tickets. Meanwhile, Ven was making a fool of himself for some blondes, and Aqua was flipping a guy who had tried hitting on her onto his back. Terra heard a sound like a gunshot, and he turned around to see that it was a car that had backfired. It wheeled toward him, and he stuck out a foot to stop it.

"What the heck?" he asked nobody in particular. Most of the cars at this place were all things that did look pretty cool, and this thing looked more out of place than a rabid Kingdom Hearts fangurl at a Kairi-appreciation convention. The Volkswagen was covered in dirt, and had a messed-up paint job. A girl with bright red hair came from the drivers seat, coughing. Terra raised an eyebrow. "What's up with your car?"

The girl looked at him, and raised an eyebrow herself. "What's up with your clothes?"

Terra shrugged. "Touché. Seriously, why do you have a bug like that at this place?"

"I was looking for some parts to fix it up," she said. "But I don't think that anything's going to fix Herbie."

"You named your car?" asked a guy who had been on the passenger side. "What are you, Maggie, one of those hicks from down south?"

"He was already named that!"

Terra backed away slowly. It didn't really matter, the two of them were too absorbed in their argument to notice him. He found Aqua wiping the dust off her hands. "I think that this world is beyond help. Sorta like Wonderland. Maybe we should head out, find somewhere else."

Aqua rolled her eyes. "You're just afraid that you'll get run over by one of these cars. Besides, I wanted to tell you that I can feel something extremely powerful nearby."

"Darkness powerful?"

"No." Aqua's eyes narrowed. "Not darkness. Closer to the Cornerstone of Light. Not bad, exactly. But old, very old. And powerful. If you don't mind, I intend to find out what it is." She stepped out of the way of Ven, who had been running so fast he would have run right into her, making for an awkward moment.

"Hey, there's something weird going on here," Ven said. "I'm not sure, I but I could have sworn I saw the apprentice walk by, look straight at me, and keep walking without attacking me. He went that way." He pointed in the direction of a van and a sleek sports car, where some big racer was talking into a microphone.

The guy just oozed that big cheese aura around him, the kind of guy who thought that he was all that. "And so, you're all going to get to be the first to know about this thing." He reached down and grabbed something from a box. "It's my new videogame. Tripp Murphy Undefeated." Cheers went up around the crowd as some of Murphy's flunkies tossed around the copies of his videogame.

Suddenly, a screeching noise filled everyone's ears. The bug that had almost run into Terra earlier was scratching a line along Murphy's car with its mirror. "Somebody doesn't like Tripp," he said.

Within minutes, Murphy was in his car, and the girl Maggie was in Herbie, and they were about to race. Terra scanned over the crowd, and saw somebody that stood out. A young man his own age in black armor, wearing a helmet. The apprentice had his hand out, and a dark aura surrounded it. A trail of darkness went from his hand, straight to Murphy's car. Terra pointed it out to Aqua.

"I hate cheaters," Aqua said simply. "I suppose I could even the playing field." She started chanting words in some other language. Light magic went from her hand, to Herbie. When the race started, both cars shot off at high speed thanks to the magic they were getting.

The final stretch came up, and both cars were even. Tripp suddenly pulled ahead, and Herbie was about to run into the guard rail. Against all odds, the little bug started grinding the rail like a skateboard, pulled ahead of Murphy, and crossed the finish line. Aqua looked surprised. "I did not do that," she said.

Tripp Murphy slammed the door to his car, and a camera tried to get a shot of him. He slammed the camera away, and punched out the guy who had been holding it.

Meanwhile, the bug had started to drive off to an empty area. The paparazzi that had shown up to get coverage of Tripp Murphy was going to follow and try to get some footage of the challenger that had beat Murphy, before running off after Lindsey Lohan, who had mysteriously shown up at the car show out of nowhere.

Aqua snickered. "I love illusion magic," she said, before snapping her fingers, and the illusion vanished. She headed over to the parking lot, where Herbie had parked, and a guy and girl were arguing.

"Is there something I can help with?" Aqua offered.

The girl huffed. "No, just as soon as Kevin realizes that I would never go out racing again."

"Okay, Maggie, for the last time, what happened then? The bug went driving all on its own? I'm sorry, Herbie went driving on his own."

Ven tapped the bug on the hood while Maggie and Kevin argued. He looked down, and jumped back. "Th-that car just winked at me!" he stuttered, pointing at Herbie.

"Ven, it's a car. Cars do not wink," Terra said. "At least not in this world," he added under his breath. So he was quite surprised when the door to the bug flew open and hit him. He looked at the car and shook his head. He turned to Aqua. "I think you're right. If the apprentice is here, then we should stick around. We need to know what he's planning."

---

That night, in a motel, Tripp Murphy was going over the video of the race. "How did that happen? I couldn't have lost to a girl, much less a bug." He stopped the tape, and looked at the girl who had beaten him. She looked almost scared at the starting line. "That bug is not normal."

"I'll say," said the apprentice from behind him. Murphy turned to look at him. "That beetle is not normal at all. You know, from what I hear, that girl's family is in the racing business, and they have a place in the Nextel Cup. If she could beat you in a bug, then . . ." He shrugged innocently.

"Who the heck are you? How'd you get in here?" Murphy said, waving him away. He had more important things to worry about than some kid.

The apprentice shrugged. "I might be able to help you. But if you're sure you can win by yourself, then you really don't need me, do you?" He turned around, and started to leave.

Murphy looked at the video again. "Stop." The apprentice stopped as he was opening the door. "What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, I was hoping you'd ask me that," the apprentice said, a sly smile forming under his helmet.

---

The newspaper hit the table. Mr. Peyton, Maggie's father, had his eyes narrowed. His teeth were gritted tightly. "No, absolutely not."

"But dad--"

"No! You are not going to race again! I can't believe that you actually disobeyed me and did that race yesterday!" Mr. Peyton looked at Aqua, who had volunteered to go with Maggie for moral support. "Who's she? Some punk chick from some big city?" Aqua raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond, as she had heard plenty of stuff over the years about her unnatural hair color.

"That doesn't matter, dad," Maggie said. "What matters is that I beat Tripp Murphy in a '63 Bug! Why can't I take Ray's place in the Nextel Cup?" Ray, as Aqua later found out, was Maggie's brother, who had been injured in very bad timing for the Nextel Cup, which was coming up in just a few days.

"That's enough, Maggie. You're not racing, and that's final," Mr. Peyton said quietly, before snatching up his newspaper and storming from the room.

Aqua let out a low whistle. "What's his deal?"

"I got into a car crash a few years ago in a street race," Maggie explained. "Totaled the car, and ever since he hasn't let me race."

"That stinks," Aqua responded. "But, he's a dad. Personally, I don't have any fond memories of my dad."

"How bad could he possibly be?" Maggie asked skeptically.

Aqua sighed, before she unbuttoned the bottom edge of her sleeve. She folded it back to reveal a series of scars along her wrist. "He did that to me," she said quietly. Maggie gasped at the sight of it. Aqua recovered her wrist. "Now, if I could get through that, then maybe you can try a little bit harder at getting into the Nextel Cup."

Maggie turned to the window, and looked out where Herbie was parked in the driveway. "Sorry, Aqua. But my dad, he won't let me do it. I think it's because I look like my mom. She died, in a racing accident."

Now it was Aqua's turn to gasp. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I was really young, I barely remember her. But, yeah, I look like her, and my dad doesn't want to lose her twice." Maggie looked over her shoulder at Aqua. "You know any way to make sure that I couldn't possibly get into any danger in that race?" Aqua shook her head, even though there was indeed a way to do so with magic, but she had to remember that nobody in this world knew anything about magic.

"I know a way," said a man slightly older than Maggie, who had slipped into the room without either of them noticing. "Name's Ray," he said to Aqua. "As I said, I know a way you can race without getting hurt. Get in first by a ton, and stay there. Now c'mon, you have a race that you need to get ready for." Maggie squealed, and hugged her brother in happiness.

Maggie Peyton

The youngest member of Team Peyton, and the owner of Herbie, a living car. She's a good racer, but got into a huge accident a few years back in a stree race, and hasn't raced since. Originally, her brother was going to be in the Nextel Cup, but it was found that due to a health problem, he couldn't race. Now, thanks to her brother, Maggie's headed into the Nextel Cup to face off against Tripp Murphy. She first appeared in Herbie: Fully Loaded.

Kevin

One of Maggie's oldest friend, and a mechanic. He owns his own garage, but since he doesn't have a lot of money, it's not very big. He first appeared in Herbie: Fully Loaded.

Tripp Murphy

The big-shot of the racing world, and known for his 'big cheese' attitude. He's a jerk, and will do anything to win, including working with the apprentice. He first appeared in Herbie: Fully Loaded.

Herbie

A living '63 Volkswagon Bug with a sense of humor, and the capability to make people seem completely insane when they claim that he's alive. He'll only be the car for the person who he really feels it right, with very few exceptions. Maggie wasn't his first owner, but his original owner is unknown. Herbie first rolled onto the screen in The Love Bug(2).