Here is my other Christmas special! It's based on the book Mater Saves Christmas, only with some details changed. I hope you enjoy it.
Fudge's Christmas Wish
Fudge swore it was always the slowest moving day of the year, tied with the day before her birthday, It was Christmas Eve and she was bored out of her mind. She'd already had breakfast at Flo's, helped the former show car with the dishes (which she hoped would help her put her on the Santas' nice list!), finished her letter to the Santas and watched all of the Christmas specials of her favourite cartoons. Now, she sat on the couch as her fathers served a surge of customers. They were going to close the shop early that day and wouldn't reopen until Boxing Day, so everyone made sure they had tyres to get them through the big day. So, the only sounds throughout Casa Della Tires were Luigi and Guido talking to their customers, the customers talking back, the whirring of Guido's wrench and the radio playing merry Christmas carols.
How come we haven't had lunch yet? nine-year-old Fudge wondered. It's gotta be, like, two o'clock, right?
She checked the time on the digital clock. It read 10:26.
"I'm bo-ored!" she whined.
"Why don't you go and see if anyone needs help?" Luigi suggested.
"Okay!" Fudge pulled on her boots, scarf and coat and went off.
Most of the storeowners were also serving customers before they closed for the holidays. Red was busy going through donations for his annual toy drive. Flo was going over the menu for Christmas lunch the next day. Doc was taking care of some travellers who were feeling the effects of the cold weather. Sheriff was just generally keeping an eye on things. Nobody really needed any help, so Fudge headed to the junkyard.
"Hi, guys!" she greeted Mater and Lightning, who were busy putting pen to paper.
"Hey, Fudge!" they responded in unison warmly.
"Whatcha doin'?" she questioned curiously.
"Finishin' off our letters ta Santa Car!" Mater answered.
"And Santa Claus!" Lightning added importantly.
"Yeah, Mater!" Fudge teased. Everyone knew there were two Santas. Santa Claus was a human and Santa Car was a snake! Just kidding! He was a car. They worked together with their flying reindeer to deliver presents to children- and children at heart- all around the world. "I've already finished my letter", she added. "Now, I'm bored."
Lightning chuckled. "Yeah, I remember being the same way when I was a kid. Every year on Christmas Eve, I'd see my mom stacking presents under the tree and it just drove me crazy not knowing what they were."
"Yer mom?" Mater repeated. "What about da Santas? Why didn't they give ya presents?"
"They did!" Lightning assured him hurriedly. "I got presents from my parents and the Santas. Like Fudge does."
Lightning McQueen didn't believe in the Santas. He knew Mater and Fudge did, though, so he was just humouring them by writing his letter. Everyone else did it too.
As Mater and Lightning finished up their letters, the latter told the former and Fudge what Christmas had been like for him as a kid.
"My family would all come over to our place on Christmas Eve and spend two days there", he recalled. "That was great. I mean, it was the only time we ever really got together and my parents weren't obsessed with work. I loved to see my grandparents and my aunts and uncles because that meant more presents. And I loved to see my cousins because I was an only child. It was nice to have other kids to hang out with.
"On Christmas Eve, my cousins and I would all gather in my room and talk about all the presents we were gonna get and see if we could see or hear the Santas."
"It would be so cool to be a Santa", Fudge mused. "Travelling around the world in a sleigh, flying high above the ground and delivering presents to make so many people happy."
"It would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?" Lightning agreed. "I remember one year, when I was eight years old, my cousins and I saw a shooting star and we swore it was the Santas."
"Maybe it was", the human girl suggested.
Lightning nodded. "Maybe. I don't know." He sighed. "If it was them, though, then they got a lot of explaining to do! That year, I specifically asked for a Fabulous Hudson Hornet Classic Racers model. And I never got one!"
"Maybe da Santas done made a mistake!" Mater suggested.
"Maybe", Lightning repeated.
At that moment, the trio heard laughter behind them. "You losers don't really believe in the Santas, do you?"
They all turned around to find Chick Hicks staring at them.
"Chick?" The surprise and suspicion in Lightning's voice was obvious. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, it's a free country!" Chick argued. "I got every right to be here! I just happened to be passing through when I heard you guys believe in the Santas. He focused his eyes on Fudge. "I can kind of understand a five-year-old believing in them-"
"I'm nine and a half!" Fudge protested.
Chick ignored her. "But you two?!" he laughed, eyeing Lightning and Mater. "You should know by now they're not real."
Mater glared at Chick. "I s'pose next yer gonna tell us the Easter Buggy don't exist neither."
"Shut up, Chick!" Lightning scoffed. He didn't say anything else: he didn't want to say he believed in the Santas to Chick (he'd never hear the end of it). but he didn't want to say he didn't believe in the Santas in front of Mater and Fudge.
"Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat", Chick began, "I gotta make a donation to the toy drive!"
"You're donating to Red's toy drive?" Lightning questioned sceptically.
"Oh, yeah! I'm makin' my contribution! See?" Chick showed off the collection of Chick Hicks toys he had with him.
"Hmmm..." Still, Lightning was suspicious. He was at least ninety-nine per cent sure Chick was hiding something. He just wanted to know what.
Mater, Lightning and Fudge met up with the others at lunchtime.
"We're just havin' odds and ends for lunch and dinner today", Flo explained to them all. "I'm savin' all the good stuff for tomorrow."
"Can't wait!" Fudge proclaimed with a grin.
"Did y'all finish yer letters to the Santas?" Mater quizzed everyone.
"Sure did!" Flo assured him.
"Absolutely!" Doc added.
Mater collected all of the letters and shot off like a bolt of lightning in the direction of the mailbox. Then, he rocketed back to Flo's.
"So, all we need to do now is wait fer the mail truck to git here and take the letters away!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"And put out the oil, milk and cookies!" Fudge added. She and Flo had baked cookies the previous afternoon. While they and everyone else in town had tried the cookies, a batch was set aside for the Santas. "And the carrots for the reindeer!"
"That's right!" Flo agreed.
Doc smiled. "I think we're in for a great Christmas this year!"
If Doc was the one saying that, it must be true. Normally, the old Hudson Hornet didn't care much for Christmas. Or any holiday for that matter. Ever since he moved to Radiator Springs, he tolerated them a lot more than he used to, but he still didn't enjoy them.
"Yeah!" Fudge cried excitedly. "This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!"
Unfortunately, that was when Sheriff showed up to dampen everyone's spirits.
"I'm afraid I got some bad news, everyone", he reported. "Gas stations up and down Route 66 have been robbed!"
Everyone gasped.
"Have they caught the thieves?" Doc questioned.
Sheriff shook his hood. "Not yet. Even the fuel pumps at the post office have been robbed as close as Ashgrove."
Mater gasped. "But that means the mail trucks can't come through and deliver the letters to the Santas!" he exclaimed. "That means no Christmas!"
"What are we gonna do?" Fudge wondered worriedly.
"Flo! Fill me up!" Mater instructed. "I'm gonna deliver the letters myself!"
Flo tried to fill the tow truck's tank up, only to stop and gasp. "There's no fuel left!"
"What are we gonna do?!" Fudge repeated.
Mater noticed something; out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chick and some of his pals- Boost, DJ, Wingo and Snot Rod- chuckling to themselves.
Fillmore had an idea. "Meet me at the dome in five!" he whispered to Mater.
In a matter of minutes, Mater was fuelled up with the last of Fillmore's latest batch of Christmas brew. Then the hippie van requested that his letter went straight to the top of the pile of letters.
"Never stop believin', man."
Lightning and Fudge were concerned. They couldn't let Mater go all the way to the North Pole alone. They knew what they had to do.
"Mater, I'm coming with you!" Lightning decided.
"Me too!" Fudge chimed in.
"But, McQueen", Mater started to protest, "you ain't got proper tyres!"
"Did somebody say tyres?" Luigi piped up excitedly.
It took the combined efforts of the small town's residents to prepare Mater, Lightning and Fudge for their expedition to the North Pole. Luigi and Guido got Lightning into some more appropriate snow tyres. Sarge outfitted the cars with fog lights and snow plows. Lizzie got some warmer clothes from her shop for Fudge to wear (sweater, hat, scarf and gloves, all Radiator Springs themed). Flo whipped up some hot drinks free from fuel for the trio to take with them.
They were ready. After being warned to be careful and look out for each other, Mater, Lightning and Fudge set off for the long journey.
"North Pole, here we come!" Mater shouted.
"We're on our way!" Fudge declared.
"Let's sing some Christmas songs to pass the time!" Mater suggested, beginning to do just that.
As soon as the three of them were gone, Sheriff faced the ones who were staying behind. "Here's what we're gonna do: We're gonna catch those thieves!"
"Us?" Fillmore repeated. "How?"
"I got a plan. Luigi, Guido, you're gonna be scouts. Sally, you're in charge of the maps. Fillmore, you keep makin' fuel to keep the search party goin'."
"Yes, sir", everyone chorused, not daring to argue.
"C'mon, man!" Fillmore called to Luigi and Guido. "I'll get you filled up!"
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. When Fillmore returned to his dome, he found his fuel-making supplies stolen!
"Who would do a thing like this, man?" the hippie van wondered sadly.
"We're about to find out!" Sarge answered. "We'll pool our remaining fuel for Luigi and Guido and they'll track the thieves."
So, that's what they did and Guido and Luigi were off to track the thieves.
Way up north, Mater, Lightning and Fudge were all beginning to grow tired. Still, they fought to keep their spirits up by singing Christmas songs. Plus, they had to remind themselves why they were doing this.
"We gotta deliver the letters, so the Santas can come and we kin have Christmas!" Mater insisted.
"That's right!" Fudge agreed. "Still, it would be a lot easier if we had a sleigh like the Santas and we could fly."
"Still on that, Fudge?" Lightning asked Fudge with a teasing smile.
"It would be awesome!" she insisted.
"Yeah, it would!" Mater agreed. "'Cause it's takin' so dad-gum long to get to the-"
BONK!
"What was that?" Fudge questioned.
"I think I hit somethin'", Mater replied. He gasped when he saw what it was: a candy-striped pole. "The North Pole! We found it!"
Lightning couldn't believe it. "No way!"
"This is awesome!" Fudge exclaimed, leaping out of Mater's truck bed.
There was no doubt that this was the North Pole and it was everything they'd dreamed it would be. There was a big Christmas tree in the centre of a little town with toy workshops set up all around. Elves were hard at work in each workshop. Some elves were also examining lists of naughty and nice children.
In the centre of it all was...
"Santa Car!" Fudge cried in disbelief, running towards him.
"Dad-gum!" Mater gasped, following her.
"Santa Car is real!" Lightning marvelled.
"But where's Santa Claus?" Mater wondered.
Santa Car beamed when he saw the trio approaching him. "Welcome to the North Pole, Lightning, Mater and Fudge."
"How do you know our names?" Fudge wanted to know in surprise.
"'Cause he's Santa Car!" Mater reminded her. "It's so dad-gum nice to meet ya, Mr. Santa Car!"
"I believe this is the first time anybody's come to the North Pole", Santa Car informed them. "What brings you all this way?"
Mater told him what had happened. "So, we came to deliver the letters ourselves!"
"And save Christmas!" Fudge added.
Santa Car's face fell. "I appreciate you coming all this way, but I'm afraid Christmas may have to be cancelled this year."
"No Christmas?" Mater was heartbroken.
"What?!" Fudge shrieked. "Why?!"
"My reindeer have been stolen", Santa Car explained. "And Santa Claus is missing. I can't fly around the world without my reindeer. And there are too many presents for me to handle on my own. I need Santa Claus."
"So, all of the gas stations back home have been robbed and now the reindeer and Santa Claus are missing?!" Fudge wailed. "This can't be happening! It's like someone wants to ruin Christmas!"
Mater thought for a moment, remembering how Chick reacted when Flo's was robbed. He had an idea.
"Santa Car! Kin ya come back to Radiator Springs with us?"
Santa Car was puzzled. "What for?"
"I think I know where yer reindeers and Santa Claus went", Mater replied. "Somebody took 'em!"
"Who?" Lightning, Fudge and Santa Car all asked in unison.
"Chick Hicks!"
"Chick Hicks?" the other three repeated simultaneously.
"Why would Chick do that?" Lightning wondered.
"Dem reindeers are fed top secret fuel to help them fly, ain't they?"
"That's right!" Lightning realised. "Chick would do anything to win a race!"
"Even cheat!" Fudge added disgustedly.
"I'd tow y'all back to Radiator Springs", Mater offered, "but they ain't no way we'll make it back in time."
"Not to worry", Santa Car assured him. "I believe I still have some fuel left..."
Lightning's eyes widened. "You mean..."
"Yes", Santa Car confirmed. "I'll fill both your tanks up with the fuel that makes my reindeer fly." He turned to the nine-year-old human girl beside them. "Fudge, you'll have to ride with Mater again."
"Okay!" she agreed.
Everything came together so quickly. Mater and Lightning had full tanks and Mater had an antler hat that Mrs. Santa Car had made for him for the journey. Before long, both Lightning and Santa Car were hooked up to Mater with his tow cable and Fudge was positioned in his truck bed. The trio from Radiator Springs hadn't been sure if the fuel was going to work, but when they were ready, their tyres began to lift off the ground!
"It worked!" Lightning exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"Dad-gum!" Mater breathed.
A huge smile spread across Fudge's face. "We're... flying!"
Santa Car just chuckled at their reactions.
"Let's go save Christmas!" Mater shouted.
"Yeah, let's go!" the others yelled.
Meanwhile, back in Radiator Springs, Luigi and Guido rolled through the snow, determined to find any clues; or better yet, the thieves.
"I don't know how we are supposed to find them, Guido", Luigi remarked.
"(Me neither)", Guido sighed, disappointed.
"We don't even know if they are still in Radiator Springs", the Fiat went on. "They could have gone to rob more gas stations on Route 66!"
"(And Route 66 is a very big place)", Guido chimed in. "(I don't know why Sheriff-)"
"Wait!" Luigi exclaimed abruptly. "What is that?"
"(What is what?)" Guido wondered.
Luigi didn't answer. He just rolled closer to the edge of a cliff.
"(Where are you going?!)" Guido demanded.
Again, Luigi didn't answer. It didn't matter, though. Guido had seen. Chick Hicks and his gang- his pitties, DJ, Boost, Wingo and Snot Rod- were all there. The two Italians couldn't believe their eyes when he saw who else was there: Santa Claus and nine reindeer! That wasn't even the worst part, though. All of them were trapped in a large cage. Santa Claus wasn't wearing his suit jacket; just his suit pants and a white-T-shirt. The red jacket was lying on the ground not too far away, several sheets of paper lay scattered around it, including the naughty and nice lists. A now empty sack and a large collection of presents had also been strewn across the ground.
"What are you doing, Chick?" Luigi murmured to himself softly.
Unfortunately, at that moment, one of Chick's pitties, Bruiser Bukowski, noticed Guido and Luigi. He let out a shrill whistle and in a matter of seconds, the entire group surrounded them.
"Ha! You're too late, boys!" Chick informed them triumphantly as another forklift siphoned their gas. "We've already reverse engineered the flying fuel! With no help from this guy!" he added, shooting Santa Claus a dirty look.
"But why?" Luigi wanted to know.
Chick and his posse burst out laughing.
"Why do you think?! So, I can fly around the track and never lose to Lightning McQueen again!"
Of course, that would be cheating but Guido and Luigi knew Chick had never cared about that.
"You know what the best part is?" Chick went on. "NO CHRISTMAS!"
"You don't like Christmas?" Luigi questioned.
"Of course I do!" Chick replied. "Who doesn't love Christmas? But you know why everyone loves Christmas? Presents!"
Luigi, Guido, Santa Claus and the reindeer just stared at him.
"All I ever get in my stocking is dirty oil filters!" Chick shouted. "What kind of present is that?! If I can't have presents, no one can!"
"There are more important things than presents, Chick", Luigi informed the mean green race car.
"Oh, yeah?" he scoffed unbelievingly. "Like what?"
"Friends... family..."
"Giving", Santa Claus piped up, "not receiving."
Luigi nodded. "Exactly."
Chick just scoffed again. "Maybe you should give something better than dirty oil filters then!"
"Maybe you shouldn't be so naughty then", Santa Claus countered calmly. "You ought to realise what's important in life."
"I know what's important!" Chick insisted. "Winning!"
Chick was just starting to fill up his tank with the special flying fuel when the sound of jingling bells filled the air.
"What the heck is that?!" he demanded.
He got his answer when some familiar faces soared above them. There was Mater with Fudge riding in his truck bed and Lightning McQueen and Santa Car in tow.
"Hi!" Fudge called excitedly, waving.
"Lookie there!" Mater exclaimed, pointing. "Chick done captured Santa Claus and da reindeers! I knowed it!"
Terrified, Chick took to the skies and flew off.
"AFTER HIM!" Fudge yelled and Mater didn't hesitate to obey.
With Sheriff leading the way, the rest of the townsfolk showed up at that moment. They'd been following Luigi and Guido's tyre tracks.
"What is goin'-" he began. Then he stopped and his eyes widened. "Oh, sweet Chrysler!"
"Sheriff! We'll get Chick!" Mater hollered down to the police cruiser. "Y'all save Luigi, Guido, Santa Claus and the reindeer!"
"Ten-four, Mater!" Sheriff confirmed.
"Ya wanna save 'em?" Bruiser blocked their path with the other pitties and the Tuner Gang. "You gotta get through us first!"
Sheriff, Doc, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, Sally, Red and Lizzie all rolled closer, closing in on them, looking as fierce as they could. Plus, they outnumbered Chick's gang. So, they shrank back in fear and fled the scene. Satisfied, they opened the cage door to free Santa Claus and the reindeer and got Luigi and Guido down from the stands they'd been stuck on to have their gas siphoned.
"Fillmore." Santa Claus had gathered up items from his sack that had been strewn all over the ground. He gave one to the hippie van: a new set of fuel-making supplies. "Why don't you top Luigi and Guido up?" He smiled. "I think some organic fuel would do my reindeer some good too."
Fillmore grinned. "You got it, man!"
Meanwhile, Lightning was still trying to catch Chick. Both race cars were fast, but Lightning had the advantage; he knew the track by heart. Chick, however, did not. He turned too late on one of the left turns and smacked straight into a cactus!
"OWWW!" he screamed, losing control.
Even better, Chick hadn't managed to fill up his tank very much and that was the moment he ran out. The 86 race car started to fall. He screamed all the way down. His screams didn't stop when he hit the ground either; he had landed right in a ravine of cacti!
Lightning, Mater, Fudge and Doc all rushed over to see Chick in the cacti.
"Have fun fishin', Mater. Tow him straight to jail!" Doc ordered.
"Actually", Santa Claus spoke up, approaching the group, "if you don't mind, Dr. Hudson, I had another idea."
"What?" Lightning wondered curiously.
"Well, first, we'll need the help of a local body artist..."
"I LOOK RIDICULOUS!" Chick complained when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror.
"You won't feel so ridiculous when you get to the North Pole. All the elves look like that", Lightning reasoned.
"Shut up, McQueen!"
Fudge just giggled at the sight of Chick Hicks in green and with red and white candy stripes.
"You can shut up too, human!" the 86 car snarled.
"Whenever you're ready... ACHOO!" Santa Claus sneezed. "W- We'll get going for- ACHOO! -For the North Pole! You have a lot of work to do! ACHOO!"
"Are you all right?" Doc wondered.
"I suppose I've got a rather nasty cold", Santa Claus reported. He sneezed again. "After all, I was held prisoner in the snow for several hours without my coat on."
Everyone glared at Chick.
"And that is why you're coming with us to the North Pole", Santa Car informed him sternly. "To help us make toys for children of the world and perhaps learn to think for others."
Santa Claus let out another terrible sneeze.
"You'd better come with me to the clinic." Doc began to usher Santa Claus towards the clinic.
Not long later, Doc left his clinic with a report. "He's fine, but he does need to rest for a few days."
"So, what is Santa Car gon' do?" Mater wondered.
"Yeah!" Fudge chimed in. "He can't deliver all of those presents by himself!"
"Well, perhaps you and Mater ought to help me then", Santa Car suggested.
"Us?" Mater asked in surprise.
Fudge's eyes widened. "Really?"
Santa Car nodded. "Absolutely. You came to me to save Christmas, so now, I need you to help me save Christmas."
"Yeah, the world's counting on you guys!" Lightning informed them with a smile.
Mater and Fudge glanced around at their family's encouraging smiles. Then they looked at each other.
"We'll do it!" they decided simultaneously.
Mater and Fudge helped Santa Car load up the presents and Mater got given some more of the flying fuel while Fudge put on Santa's furry red coat; it was much too big on a nine-year-old girl, but Fudge didn't mind. She climbed into Mater's truck bed. While they were getting ready, Lightning had one thing he wanted to ask Santa Car.
"I guess that really was you I saw on Christmas Eve when I was eight?"
Santa Car nodded. "Yes. But I doubt you'll tell your cousin Annie that."
"God, no! Are you kidding?!" Lightning laughed. "Whenever you tell her she was right about something, she'll never stop rubbing it in your face!""
Santa Car chuckled. "And I believe I owe you this from when you were eight years old." He handed Lightning a wrapped present.
When the stock car unwrapped it, he couldn't believe what it was...
"A Fabulous Hudson Hornet Classic Racers model!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Doc drove up behind him and peered at it. "Oh, what the heck is that?!" he grumbled, sounding almost disgusted by the likeness of him.
Lightning ignored him. "Thank you, Santa Car!"
"Are we ready to go?" Fudge wondered as they loaded the last of the presents.
Santa Car looked around. "Yes. I believe we are." He faced each of the Radiator Springs residents in turn. "Thank you all very much for everything you've done. I think it's safe to say you'll all be on the nice list for a very long time."
They all beamed with pride.
"Well, Mater, Fudge, if we're ready, then we better get going."
Fudge grinned excitedly. "Let's go!"
Mater, with a tank full of special flying fuel, lifted himself and Fudge into the air.
The nine-year-old human girl laughed with delight. "We're flying... again!"
"We is flyin' to bring Christmas to ev'ryone everywhere!" Mater added.
"Yeah we are!"
"Good luck, guys!" Lightning called to them.
"Have fun!" Luigi chimed in.
"Stay safe!" Doc added.
"We're proud of you!" That was Sally.
"We'll have fun and be safe!" Fudge promised. "And we'll be back as soon as we can!"
"Goodbye!" everyone shouted to each other. "Thank you! Goodbye!"
The residents of Radiator Springs gathered together as Mater and Fudge rode off into the distance with Santa Car and the reindeer. They all watched in amazement while snow began to fall.
"What an adventure!" Doc proclaimed with a big smile as soon as they disappeared from view.
"Well, for Mater and Fudge, the adventure isn't over yet", Lightning pointed out.
"Merry Christmas tow all and tow all a good night!" Mater yelled as he flew through the night sky.
"Special delivery!" a joyful Fudge added as they distributed the presents. "For you! And you! And you!"
"This has already been the best Christmas ever!" Mater declared.
"It sure has, Mater!" Fudge agreed, smiling softly. "It sure has!"
It was late when the tow truck and human girl returned to Radiator Springs in the early hours of Christmas morning. Fudge had never stayed up so late and was exhausted. As soon as she'd put her pyjamas on and tumbled into bed, she was fast asleep. Guido and Luigi smiled and each gave her a kiss before leaving her to sleep.
At sunlight, when Fudge awoke, she had the biggest smile on her face. She knew it was Christmas!
"Merry Christmas!" she shrieked as her fathers came into her bedroom. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, Fudgie!" they echoed, kissing her.
"Should we go over to Flo's to open our presents?" Luigi suggested. He took the stocking at the end of his daughter's bed. There were some presents in it, but most of her gifts were over at Flo's.
"Yeah!" Fudge cheered, making him and Guido laugh.
So, Fudge put on her dressing gown and slippers to head over to Flo's. When she first woke up, she'd forgotten about the night she'd had entirely. That is, until an object in her stocking caught her attention.
"Whoa..." she murmured softly in amazement when she saw what it was: a snow globe. Inside was a picture of her, Santa Car, Mater and Lightning at the North Pole. A green and red Post-It note was attached to the bottom of the snow globe.
Dear Fudge,
Thank you so much for your help. You saved Christmas! You've been a very nice girl this year. Keep it up for us.
Merry Christmas.
Santa Car and Santa Claus.
Happy holidays and Happy New Year, everyone! I love this time of year because not only is the 25th Christmas Day, but it's my birthday!
And, like I said last year, reviews would make an excellent Christmas/birthday present for me!