This is the beginning of the end, guys! This is my last story chronologically (I don't plan on disappearing off the face of FFN after this, but I will not be writing anything that happens after this). It picks up pretty much where What the Fudge? left off and takes place during and after Cars 3.

As was the case with Cars in this trilogy, this'll kind of be an abridged version of Cars 3 since you know the movie and Fudge's role in it. I hope this isn't going to be too boring for you guys.

Once again, I would like to give credit to my friend Bolote for the front cover image! Thanks! I love it!

So, let's see what's happened in Fudge's life since we last saw her... Shall we?

Cars Origins: Fudged the Results

Part 1

Chapter 1- Jackson Storm

All I can say is thank God for racing season.

My life started to pick up gradually after that. For one thing, I was able to come home quickly. I was glad to be back in Casa Della Tires and the comfort of my own room and my own bed. For a moment, I wondered what this place would be like if I hadn't come back. As I lay in my bed and looked around my room (which was a little on the messy side, but given everything that had happened, it was the least of our worries), I wondered what my family would have done with all my stuff. I remembered when Uncle Doc had died, Sally had gone over his will. To my surprise, Uncle Doc had been generous enough to leave something for every single Radiator Springs resident, including me. I hadn't expected to inherit anything because I was just a kid. Obviously, I was too young to make a will. Plus, it's not like I had money or a property of my own or any valuable jewellery. I didn't think my family would exactly be arguing over who got some racing knickknacks or Babysitters Club books. So, I wondered what they would've done with them. Not that it matters now, I guess.

But I digress. For another, Sammy recovered from her cancer quickly and the doctors declared her cancer-free. To celebrate, I went with her when she got a new tattoo. This one had the letters FU followed by a pink cancer ribbon on its side. Underneath was the word CANCER, so the tattoo said F**K CANCER on her right wrist.

Third of all, my family were very loving and kind after my failed suicide attempt, even though most of them didn't know that's what it was. They seemed to feel really bad about how my birthday went and they were determined to make it up to me. For starters, we had a make-up birthday pancake breakfast and make-up birthday dinner, which did cheer me up a bit. On top of that, they surprised me with a Hawaiian vacation for all of us, plus Sammy and RJ!

"I think we could all do with some R and R", Lightning explained to me when I was presented with the tickets.

"Well, this is awesome!" I declared. "Thank you so much!"

Lightning shrugged modestly. "It was nothing."

Maybe it was nothing to him; he had money to burn. To me, however, this was too good to be true.

Well, we had the most amazing time in Hawaii and I appreciated not only that, but the general genuine love and support from my family. They were there for me if I needed them. The only issue was that I just couldn't bring myself to tell my Radiator Springs family that my accidental overdose was no accident. The press had gotten wind of it and the only thing Lightning told them was, "Fudge isn't well." That much was true and I didn't see any reason why we couldn't leave it at that.

Sammy and RJ could, though.

"Why haven't you told them yet?" they kept demanding while we were in Hawaii.

"How did you know I haven't?" I questioned.

"Come on, Fudge! Look at 'em!" Sammy waved an arm toward my family, who were all talking and laughing. "They ain't got a clue! They still believe the 'Fudge isn't well' bulls**t!"

"You've been telling people I'm not well!" I countered.

"It's not any of our friends' business that you tried to kill yourself", RJ reasoned. "They don't need to know. But your family, they do need to know."

I guess that was true, but I refused to see that at the same time.

"Stop avoiding the subject, Fudge!" Sammy added, rolling her eyes. "Why can't you just tell them already? If you don't do it, then I will."

"No! You promised you wouldn't! I will tell them, I will! It's just not that easy!" I protested. "Like when you thought it would be easy for me to talk to RJ and it wasn't! I don't have your confidence, Sammy!"

My sister went silent.

"You're right", she admitted finally. "You're right. I'm sorry. This has gotta be in your time."

That was the only downside to the vacation. I never did figure out how and when to tell my family, so I never did. Thank God my brother, sister and I went our separate ways after the vacation; otherwise I would've gotten an earful.

Like I said before, thank God for the racing season too because that provided me with a good distraction; not only from telling my family about my suicide attempt, but from everything that was upsetting me before and led to it. Being up on the crew chief platform, watching cars go two hundred miles an hour and giving tips to the best one out there was the best anti-depressant I could have. Every now and then, the thoughts of what I'd been through would linger in the back of my mind, but I tried so hard to shake it off and focus on the races. Most of the time, it worked.

As more time went on, I began to feel like there was no point in telling my family in what had happened. In fact, by the time I turned sixteen, I'd almost completely forgotten about it. Almost. Even better, when Sammy and RJ turned up in Radiator Springs for my sweet sixteenth birthday party, neither of them mentioned it. They just wished me a happy birthday and gave me my presents. Sammy gave me a really cool sleek jacket. I loved it!

I'd been kind of hoping they would forget about what happened and it looked as though that was the case. After all, like I said, I almost had.

So, that's how things were at this point in my life. However, a couple of months after my sixteenth birthday, I was at the Copper Canyon Speedway for what I thought was just a typical race. What I didn't know was that this race would trigger a chain of events that would turn my whole life upside-down. I think you know the one I mean...

"You're doing great, Lightning!" I encouraged him as he roared into the lead. "Just keep going! You're doing great!"

Lightning was in the lead with Bobby and Cal right behind him. I was keeping one eye on Lightning and the other on this rookie, who was climbing through the pack at an alarming rate. I hadn't been too concerned about him because he was in the middle of the pack throughout most of the race, but now, I was starting to worry a little bit. Should I say something? Nah, I decided. How much ground could he really cover now?

"How's the view back there, Bobby?" I heard Lightning taunt through my radio.

I could hear Bobby laugh. "You better not blink! I'll blow right past you!" he retorted.

"Okay, let's see what you got!"

"Whoo-wee!"

That's when I caught a glimpse of the rookie racer. He was this sleek black car sporting electric blue decals and the number 2.0. I'd never heard of his sponsor, IGNITR. They must've been a new company, which made sense because he looked nothing like the other racers. He was younger, looked more hi-tech and had sharper lines. This guy was nothing like anything I'd ever seen, the way he just shot past one racer after another before I could even blink. I didn't like this one bit.

"Lightning? A racer's catching up! It's the rookie!" I radioed him, beating myself up for not saying anything earlier.

To my surprise, Lightning just laughed. "Oh, come on, Fudge! He can't be that much of a threat now! He was way behind me!"

As if on cue, the rookie came flying past him and Bobby, winning the race from nowhere.

"Lightning had it in the bag!" I exclaimed in disbelief. I smacked my hands together in frustration.

"Are you okay, angel?" Papà questioned, concerned.

"Lightning could've won the race if I hadn't been so stupid!" I groaned, taking off the headset. "Why didn't I warn him earlier?"

"It wasn't your fault, soldier", Uncle Sarge informed me. "No one saw it coming."

"I did!" I protested. "I saw him making his way through the pack and I said nothing!"

"It was not your fault, angel", Papà repeated Uncle Sarge's words. "I think we were all surprised he was able to catch up so fast."

"I guess..." I replied sceptically.

I went to find Lightning, expecting him to be super mad at me for not doing my job and warning him about this new racer who'd been creeping up behind him. I guess I was having an off day as crew chief. That can happen, I guess, but I was starting to get the feeling that I had more off days than on. I'd only just recently stopped taking naps during the day after the accident. At first, I thought that was great because it meant I'd stop falling asleep in the middle of races, but then that caused a new problem: by the time the race was over, I'd be just about ready to fall asleep. I was barely able to focus on the race as it became a blur behind my tired eyes. It was something I'd never let myself think about until that moment, but I began to have my first serious doubts about my abilities as crew chief. Sure, when I'd first landed the job, I wondered if I was really up for it, but this was the first time I was confident the answer was no.

"Who is that guy?" I murmured to myself.

A reporter overheard me. "Don't you know? That's Jackson Storm! He's the one to watch now!"

Well, I really didn't care for the way he was talking to me like I didn't know anything, but his words got me thinking. Jackson Storm. Interesting name. And if what that guy said was true, then this whole season was about to get interesting. I was aware of that from the get-go. If only I knew how interesting the season was going to be...

"You're not mad at me, are you?" I quizzed Lightning worriedly the second I saw him in victory lane. He probably just wanted to congratulate the winner of the race like the good sport he is.

"No! Of course not! Why would I be mad at you?" he wondered.

"I didn't see that guy until it was too late!" I explained. "You could've won! I should've-"

Lightning cut me off. "Well, neither did I."

That didn't make me feel any better. Of course Lightning hadn't seen him. He was up front. He couldn't really look behind him, could he? I could look anywhere on the track and I hadn't. What was wrong with me?

"That's just how racing works, remember?" Lightning reminded me. "You win some, you lose some. You can't take it personally. That doesn't mean you let me down, all right? Don't worry."

But how could I not worry?

As we made our way through the crowd, I got my first good look at Jackson Storm. He only looked a few years older than me. Plus, like I said, he looked more hi-tech and even looked faster than the other Piston Cup racers. Already, there was no doubt of his talent as a racer. All that was left was to see what he was like as a person.

"Hey!" Lightning called out. "Jackson Storm, right? Great race today!"

"Wow! Thank you, Mr. McQueen", Storm replied.

Okay, I thought to myself. He seems all right, I guess.

"You have no idea what a pleasure it is for me to finally beat you."

Okay. I was wrong. How does he even have the nerve to say something like that? I never could, no matter how much I wanted to; I was brought up to be respectful.

"Ah. Thanks", Lightning replied before letting out a nervous laugh. "Wait. Hang on. Did you say meet or beat?"

"I think you heard me."

My jaw dropped. Now, I decided I simply didn't like this guy.

I'm pretty sure that's when Jackson Storm caught his first glimpse of Fudge Rossi-Topolino. He must've seen my shocked expression and gave me this unimpressed look. It was a look he would go on to give me a lot. "And who're you supposed to be?" he quizzed me, sounding as unimpressed as he looked. He probably couldn't care less who I was.

"I'm his crew chief", I answered, hoping I sounded proud. This guy was getting on my nerves and kind of scaring me a little, but I didn't want to show it.

He looked surprised. "Oh! I thought you had to at least reach puberty before you did a job like that!"

Now, I was straight up mad. I'd heard all of the young jokes before, but do people really think Lightning McQueen, the tied winningest Piston Cup champion, let just any teenager be his crew chief? Then again, I wasn't sure if I was doing the best job.

"Fudge is sixteen", Lightning informed Storm. He was trying to sound calm and polite, but I think he was just as annoyed by Storm's attitude as I was. "And she's more than capable of the job."

Then, of course, he had to have a laugh over the fact that my name is Fudge.

Thank God that was when the press showed up, wanting pictures of Lightning and me with Storm.

"Yeah, yeah! Come on! Let's get a picture! You know what? Get a ton of pictures!" Storm requested. He gestured to Lightning. "Because Champ here has been a role model of mine for years now! And I mean, a lot of years! Right? I love this guy."

It never occurred to me until that moment how Lightning had been in the game for quite a while. Well, a while for a race car, anyway. Was ten years really that long, though? The King and Chick both raced for a lot longer than that.

"Who does he think he is?" Lightning muttered to himself as he and I headed back to the trailer.

"Just another arrogant rookie", I answered.

"Yep", he agreed as we entered the trailer.

"He did seem pretty fast", I remarked worriedly. "Although, he probably thinks speed is all there is to the Piston Cup."

"Well, it does help", Lightning pointed out.

"You're not worried, are you?" I asked.

"Of course not! He won one race!"

"So far", I mumbled, a little concerned about what the arrival of Jackson Storm meant, even if Lightning wasn't.

My concern grew when Lightning put Chick Hicks's show, Chick's Picks with Chick Hicks on in the trailer. Piston Cup's statistical analyst, Natalie Certain, was a guest on the show and what she was telling us about Jackson Storm was definitely interesting...

"Jackson Storm is part of the next generation of hi-tech racers", she explained. "Storm achieves his top speed by exploiting the numbers. Tyre pressure, downforce, weight distribution, aerodynamics. The racing world is changing."

"And for the better, if it means my old pal, Lightning, is down for the count", Chick remarked. "Am I right, Certain?"

"Well, if I'm certain of anything, Chick, it's that this season is about to get even more interesting", Natalie Certain replied.

I Googled Next Gen racers and what I saw was unbelievable. They had a two per cent lower drag coefficient, five per cent increased downforce and one point two per cent higher top speed. What was really interesting, however, was that the Next Gen racers hardly ever raced on tracks. Instead, they used simulators. I'll admit that they looked impressive, but they didn't exactly have the unpredictable conditions or real life dangers of a real track.

Luckily, Lightning wasn't rattled. "Why should I be scared of a bunch of fast cars who don't race on real tracks? Besides, I could use a challenge. Sometimes, racing feels like it's getting pretty easy."

I admired his confidence; I've always wished I had it.

"If anybody can handle it, it's you", I pointed out.

"Still, it sounds like you're gonna have to work hard now, soldier", Uncle Sarge remarked.

So, he did. The next few weeks, Lightning was pushing himself harder than I had ever seen him work for a race. Sure, he had always trained and worked hard for races, but he'd never had to push himself this much. He was racing down by Willy's Butte before I woke up each morning and he was still there after I'd gone to bed each night. Of course, in between, I was helping him in any way I could. I would record his speed after each lap, suggest strategies that would increase his speed and provide encouragement whenever he needed it.

Unfortunately, none of that was enough. Every single week, Jackson Storm won the race and he did it like it was nothing too. A couple of times, Lightning held the lead, but only briefly. It never took Storm much time or effort to get it back.

"He's impossible to beat!" I groaned after yet another loss.

"Come on, Fudge-O; it'll come!" Lightning assured me.

"I wish I had your confidence", was my only response.

If that wasn't bad enough, after Jackson Storm came onto the scene, every sponsor was desperate to get their tyres on a Next Generation race car. With each race, there seemed to be fewer race cars that we recognised. That was the next red flag for me.

"This doesn't look good", I commented. "There are more next Gens for you to fight now!"

"Yeah, was one not enough?" Cal groaned.

"I'll get 'em this time!" Lightning insisted as confident as ever.

At that moment, I saw a human woman walk past, wearing a blue Triple Dent gum jumpsuit. She had dark brown skin and beautiful shiny dark curly hair and was very short. I could tell right away that she was a rider crew chief. A human and a woman in racing? Despite what these Next Gens meant, I couldn't help being filled with hope. After all the times I'd been told I couldn't be a racer because I was a girl or a human (to the former, I would reply with, "Louise Nash, sucker!" Or something to that effect!). Now, there was someone here to prove them wrong.

After the race, she approached me. "Fudge Rossi-Topolino?"

"Yeah?"

"Felicity Turner." She held out her hand and I shook it. "Call me Flick."

"Nice to meet you, Flick."

"It's an honour to meet you. You're half the reason I became a rider."

I felt my face turn red. "Really?"

"Yeah! Lightning McQueen has always talked about how great you are as a rider! It made me realise girls and women can do it too!"

"Yeah..."

"The other half is my dad", she went on. "He was a racer too. You might have heard of him? Axle Turner?"

I thought for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh, yeah!"

"So, when can we expect to see you out on the track? I've been looking forward to racing with you."

"Um..." I wasn't sure how to respond. I couldn't lie to her and say I'd be racing when Lightning had forbidden it. At the same time, however, I didn't want to disappoint her.

"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning called out to me. "Come on! We got a pit crew meeting going on now!"

"Coming!" I turned back to Flick. "I gotta go! It was nice to meet you!"

"You too!"

I sprinted off.

Things got even worse after Storm's ninth consecutive win. We were just packing up the pits and we could hear Storm's voice over the speakers as we did so.

"McQueen is a crafty veteran champ", he was telling Chick. "He's the elder statesman of the sport, you know? Takes everything I've got to beat him."

Aunt Sally made a face. "What a jerk!" she proclaimed.

"Maybe some time in Radiator Springs would do him some good", Papà mused. "Remember how it changed Lightning?"

"He could do with some time in my boot camp!" Uncle Sarge declared.

"That, I would love to see!" I laughed at the mental image of Uncle Sarge putting Jackson Storm through all kinds of torture in boot camp.

That was the moment some of the Dinoco pitties came past.

"Well", one of them began, "we're all packed up, so I guess this is goodbye."

"Wait. What?" I asked, puzzled. It sounded like a more serious goodbye than just for the next race.

The pitties shared a glance.

"Don't you know?" a second questioned.

"Know what?" Aunt Sally wondered.

"Cal's retiring."

Even though the veteran racers were all either being fired or retiring since the arrival of the Next Gens, I did not see this coming at all. Of course, I knew and liked most of the Piston Cup racers, but not as much as Cal Weathers. My heart pounded and I stared at them in shock. I just couldn't believe that his time was up. Even I remembered his first race and, in that moment, I felt so old.

After I'd headed off to find Lightning, I found him down by the trailers, talking to Cal. I had no clue what they were saying, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Lightning was devastated. I couldn't blame him. I was practically heartbroken myself as I watched Cal's truck pull away for one last time.

What was happening to the Piston Cup?

How was that for a first chapter? Please review.