Author's Note: I'm not sure why this is getting underlined, but I can't fix it... ANYWAYS! Thanks for sticking around! Hopefully after the next chapter, I'll be able to put a little faster pace to this, but no promises! But anyway, thanks for the reviews, the factories, the followed! This chapter is a long One! But it also comes with a slight WARNING!

yes that's right

WARNING! There is some intoxication in this. And the drunk car says, like, one or two things that some people might not like. Insert shrug here. Also racism! Don't get offended! It's in dialog and does mot reflect my opinions whatsoever! I am not racist, I LOVE EVERYONE! Also, follow me on insta-to the-gram at ezziesharley and have fun with sneakpeaks, sketches and suches! Okay, onto the story. Oh wait! There is a Spotify playlist as well! It's call "In the Fast Lane" Clever, right! Anyways, if you have suggestions for the playlist, please feel feel to PM me! Okay now onto the story!


Chapter 30: Un Mensaje


Eyeing the newcomer, Doc wasn't sure if the electric blue car was who he thought. That is until he turned and caught his eye. Now having eye contact, the bright blue car smirked and all of Doc's suspicions were confirmed.

"Doc, do you want me to-"

"I can handle this," Doc cut off Sheriff, "The last thing we need is for anything drastic to happen. Why is he here, I'm not sure. But I intend to find out without making a scene." Sheriff gave his friend a nod as Doc went on to serve and maneuver through the crowd of dancing cars.

"Well, if it isn't my old friend!" The blue car said. "Hudson, right? Don, or something like that, right?"

"Doc. It's Doc.." He said once her was close enough to be heard without raising his voice. "What are you doing here, Storm?" Charles gave a chuckle.

"Can't I just come to wish the mini copper a happy birthday?" Doc replied with a scoff. "What, don't belive me?"

"First of all, she doesn't want to be a cop anymore. Second-"

"What does she want to be then?" Doc eyed him. Charles answered hastily, as if he wanted to know for more than just innocent curiosity.

"That's none of your business." he said curtly.

"Hey, no need to get testy." Charles said then looked around. "Where's the kid anyway?" Doc glanced around and found her before Charles could.

"Let her be. It's her party, she doesn't need you to ruin it." Charles looked around and spotted Harley with Miguel, but said nothing about it.

"Hm, okay then." He said then looked back to Doc. "I can tell you're on edge, we've only met once. I've met your cop friend and his sidekick once. This is my second trip to the lil' town. What's the issue I pose?" he asked. Doc again only scoffed.

"The issue is that I don't believe it was a coincidence that you met Sheriff and Harley, found this town," Doc's voice became more serious and suspicious the more he talked, likewise, Charles expression went from sly to hard and dark, "then you just happened to run into me. I also don't think your little roommate, Damien, crashed here with amnesia is a coincidence either."

"Well, you're smarter than I thought you were.." Charles said then pushed passed him and headed for Harley.

"Stay away from her!" Doc said catching a few worried and nervous glances from the crowd.

"Look, I'd love to sit here chat about the whole situation," Charles chuckled slightly, "actually I wouldn't… but anyway, I came here for one reason and one reason only." He paused his treck and gave Doc a wicked glance. "I have a message for the runt."

"Don't call her that.." Doc snarled and chased after him. But he didn't catch him in time.

"Harley!" he said as he neared her. Her gaze turned from adoring Miguel to confused at Charles.

"Um… who are you?" She said and Miguel suddenly became defensive.

"Ey, if she doesn't know you, and I don't know you, then that means you're crashing the party. You don't want to know what we do to cars who crash a Quinceañera…"

"Herly, chill, lil' Camaro. She knows me!" without moving his eyes from Harley, he spoke. "We met a long time ago, remember Har?"

"Don't call her Har!" Doc said as he quickly drove up to the small group.

"Fine, I'll call her Harlita." Charles said looking over to Miguel. "That's what you Mexicans do right? And 'ita' or 'ito' to the ends of our English words to make them yours." Miguel angrily revved his engine.

"That is not at all how the Spanish language works you bast-"

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" Doc snapped. Miguel calmed himself slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hudson." Charles laughed at Miguel.

"Aw, getting all sensitive over here?" Charles rolled his eyes. "What ever happened to the tough macho cholos you Mexican Camaros are supposed to be."

"That's enough!" Doc drove in front of Charles and blocked his view of the two teenagers. "Get out of here!"

"I can't leave until I say what I came here to say," Charles said with a very matter-of-factly tone. "Jeez, old man, let me talk to the kid and I'll get out of your paint job." Doc shook his hood.

"Doc?" Harley spoke up and he glanced back at her. "Just let him say what he needs to say. Then he'll get lost. Right?" She glared at Charles and he scoffed.

"Yeah, I will. I promise." He said in a tone that didn't exactly comfort Doc.

"Doc. Come on." He looked back at Storm, then sighed.

"Make it quick." he said and pulled away, but parked close to Harley.

"Thanks." Charles scoffed. "So, Damien-"

"Damien?" Harley said. Miguel looked at Charles, but it quickly went over to Harley.

"Who's Damien?" he asked.

"A nobody. A complete and absolute nobody." Charles answered, but was met with a firm glare from Halrey.

"He's not a nobody…" She scolded him. "Damien Carson. He came into town one day and stayed a while. He had amnesia. I was around thirteen at the time."

"Oh.." Miguel said while Charles rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." He continued on. "Damien, my roommate, he couldn't be here, obviously-"

"Why not?" Harley was quick to ask.

"Is this kid always filled with so many damn questions?" Charles asked glancing st Doc.

"You came to give a message, then give it." Doc scowled. "And you better have to answers."

"Okay, fine." Charles was getting annoyed. "He can't come because he's… preoccupied."

"With what?" Harley pressed on.

"Hey, you want me to leave my kid all by himself?" He said in a very smart aleck tone. "He's only three, ya know."

"Kid?" Doc asked then scoffed. "Yeah right.. you'd be a terrible father."

"Well, tell that to my three-year-old son." Charles suddenly seemed very offended. "Jackson says I'm his hero."

"Well he obviously don't know much about you then…" Miguel sneered.

"Shut your mouth, kid." Charles snapped back.

"Stop!" Harley said, regretting she ever asked anything. "The message… just spit it out and get out of here."

"Right…" Charles said giving one last glare at Miguel before looking back at Harley. "Damien says he wishes you a happy birthday. Said he's sorry he couldn't be here, all the soft crap…" Charles rolled his eyes. "Pansy. Anyways, yeah. That's basically the message."

"I never told when my birthday was… how'd he know?" Harley asked, becoming suspicious.

"Oh, that's because a certain someone might have mentioned it." Charles chuckled slightly as a glimmer of a smirk appeared on his face. "That someone else also says hi. I had to drive all the way to the prison he's being kept at just to get the stupid message.

"Prison?" Harley asked, a sense of fear overcoming her.

"Yeah, your dad say hi. Ya know Jeremy?" Harley had pushed that part of her life in a dark and dusty corner of her mind. But suddenly she was six years old again and felt very vulnerable.

"J-jeremy…?" Charles chuckled again.

"Ha, he said you'd do that.." feeling self conscious, Harley backed up. "You stutter, just like Joan… just like David…"

"Okay, you've gone far enough." Doc said drive in front of Harley.

"I'm not done yet!" Charles protested.

"Oh, yes you are!" Doc started to push him back.

"No!" Charles pushed forward and got around Doc. "Jeremy and I are pretty good friends, I thought you'd like to know that. But his message is that he says hello. He says he's sorry."

"I don't want to hear what he has to say!" Harley yelled. The crowd started to clear out a spot for the commotion that was suddenly going on.

"Oh yes you do!" Charles fought back.

"Sheriff!" Doc called out. "Sarge!" The two cars quickly came over to the scene. "This guy's bothering you, Halrey?" Sarge said.

"Aw, you're a little car, aren't ya?" Charles said looking at the old veteran.

"Excuse me?" Sarge asked narrowing his eyes at him with his infamous glare. "I could out perform you in any obstacle course your feeble mind could conjure up!"

"Ha, try me gramps." Charles said with a snarky attitude.

"Why you-"

"Anyway!" Charles interrupted. "Jeremy says he's… changed a lot. You know, since Doc here got him thrown in prison."

"I had nothing to do with that decision.." Doc stated, "although I have nothing against it."

"Yeah, I'm sure.." Charles rolled his eyes. "He wants forgiveness and all that and says he'll be the dad David could've been once he's out of there, blah blah blah." Charles scoffed. "He's a softy now, kinda like Damien." There was silence. Cold and long silence. Harley looked past Doc and right into Charles's eyes. The music had died down, all eyes were on her. Another beat passed and all cars were waiting.

"How much of that is true?" Harley asked, faking out her confidence.

"Kid… I'm just the messenger. All I do is deliver messages and gamble some when I got the time. And I'm not too bad at either job."

"Hm…" was all Haley could say. "Okay.."

"Time for you to leave, buddy." Sheriff said as he began to escort him away.

"Yeah, fine.. my job's done.." Charles said rolling his eyes. "Oh, they both waved to tell you that they love you." he said finally before the crowd spilt and Sheriff took him away to the street. Sarge status behind and rose his voice.

"What are all you cats doing standing around! The problem has been solved! Get back to dancing for Pete's sake!" the music hesitantly came back on and likewise, the other guest began to dance once again.

"Ey, you alright?' Miguel asked.

"I'm… yeah, I'm fine." she said as she stared down the pavement.

"Wanna get a bite to eat?" He asked, but Harley only shook her head. The looked off to the side of the café and silently thought for a few moments.

"What's the matter?" Doc asked as he drove and parked beside her.

"Can… can we take a drive?" She asked looking up at Doc. He gave her a small half smile and nodded slightly. Harley began driving to the main road, leaving Miguel behind. Doc followed close behind her.
She glanced at Miguel with a small half smile then drove off through the crowd that had resumed its celebration. She made it to the road and turned on her head lights. Doc did the same as he drove up beside her.

"So, where to?" he asked her with a small nudged in attempts to lift Harley's spirits, but she only looked ahead and silently drove. Docs expression fell and decided it was best to just follow her.

Silently they drove, and it wasn't long before Doc realized where they were headed. Still, he didn't say anything if it. It wasn't until they made it all the way to Wheel Well that Harley sputtered out a single word. She drove straight for the edge of the cliff and parked herself there. Turning off her headlights, she looked up and exhaled heavily. Doc drove up beside her and did the same. He decided to wait for her to speak. And eventually she did.

"Do you think he drove here on purpose?" she asked and Doc looked at her with furrowed eyelids.

"Who, Harley? When?" he asked.

"That Storm guy. He ended up here a few years ago. I remember he said he was going to a race. Do you think that's true?" she asked then looked up at Doc and he realized something. She looked older, serious. She wasn't scared, not even curious. Suspicion filled her eyes. She really was growing up. "Do you think he came into town for me?" she bluntly asked.

"Uh… I.. I'm not sure." Doc said distracted by his realization to really understand what she was asking. He looked to her as she looked away. He paused as Harley stared at the little town that had a little cafe lit up like New York "Cars come and go. It's life," Doc continued on as he gathered his thoughts as he too looked at the V8 Cafe. "Call it fate or destiny. Whatever It is, it happens."

"Like you meeting Dcoro." Harley asked with a small smile.

"How do you know wh-"

"You told me." She said and her normal smile returned, warming Doc's engine. "The first time you took me up here, you told me you remember meeting a car named Dcoro. He's the one who nominated you for judge. Because he was the judge but he was ready to resign and move away." Doc shook his hood slightly with a nostalgic smile

"I'm surprise you remember all that." He said and she shrugged.

"I've always liked stories. And I tend to remember them." She looked off and into the distant horizon. "Do…. you have any more stories?" She asked. Doc followed her gaze and sighed.

"I have a lot of stories." He paused and thought for a moment. He then slightly glanced at her before speaking. "Would… would you like to hear some?" He asked and without moving her gaze away from the sky, she smile and answered with a small smile and a simple sparkle in her eyes that shined as bright as her blue paint job did. "Okay then…. How about one involving Dcoro since you brought him up?" Harley glanced with the same shine in her eyes then looked back to the scenery. "Well let's see then…" He looked down at the little spot of light in the middle of the barren desert. "What to tell…"

"Can you tell me about Dcoro?" Harley asked as he eyes shifted to the small town.

"Ha, sure thing, Har." He said and sighed. "When I came here on Route 66, I was going through a tough time. My life had changed. And I couldn't just drive back to where I was. That part of my life was over." He paused and studied Harley's reactions, but she seemed to just be wanting to listen. No questions. "Well, after I met him, he helped me out a lot. He got me to talk a little bit about my past and he actually helped me cope with it. He reminded me of what the real joy in life is. Not racing.." Harley glanced at him and he quickly saved himself. "through life! It wasn't racing through life."

"You wanted to race the circuit?" Harley joked. Doc held his breath. "You know, live life in the fast lane?" she said with a chuckle and he soon forced himself to laugh with her.

"Exactly. I was young, carefree. I didn't realize living was not about going as fast as you can to live life. So for a while, that's all I wanted to do. I was a ladies man, and I was a big deal. Going to the bar, showing off." he laughed at his young self. "What a mess I was now that I think of it… and when things took a turn for the worse. Man… I was shooting whiskey and having a few cigarettes. Dcoro sorta mentored me through that hard part of my life after all the mistreating I did to myself. He helped me get out of my drinking and smoking habits I so unfortunately spun into. Radiator Springs was a perfect place to start over, and if it wasn't for the Dodge Coronet, well… God knows where I'd be…" he looked slightly down as Harley silently glanced at him. "He was soft spoken. He told you his opinions, he didn't sugar coat or use analogies. He told you what it was and that was that. Life was black and white. But it was also red and blue."

"What do you mean?" Harley asked confused.

"Well, he saw what was just there. What was black and white. But he also saw what was underneath. What was blue and red. At least that's how he had put it." Harley slightly nodded at the thought. "He knew what a car was thinking no matter how hard they tried to hide it. He was an observer of cars. He would know more about a car than they would like him to. He wasn't afraid to pry into someone's life. But he was always sympathetic and kind. Very understanding very wise. Always willing to help. So long as you ask." Harley smiled and looked at Doc with an eyelid raised. "What?"

"I'd say I wish I coulda met him… But he sounds awfully like a Hudson Hornet I know." Doc smiled and chuckled.

"Ha! I only wish I could be like Dcoro. He was one of a kind." He said and gave a slight nod.

"Yeah, I guess so." Harley said and sighed. "Thanks for this Doc… it really helped."

"Anything for my Harley.." He said and she looked up at him with a child's smile.

"Love you, Doc." she said and nuzzled his side. He came close in a sort of big and they silently sat there as the seconds ticked by. "Do you think any of them are wondering where I am?" she asked and Doc shrugged slightly.

"Maybe so. We should head back." He said and Harley started to slowly drive off.

"Yeah sounds good." Doc met up beside her, and they steadily drove back into town, neither one in any hurry.

Upon arriving, Harley quickly found Miguel.

"Hey can I, uh, go hang out with Miguel?" she asked as Doc sternly looked at her, but soon melted, losing the battle of will.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be with Sheriff if you need me." He said and drove off.

"Yes!" Harley quietly whispered to herself. She quickly drove over to Miguel with big bright eyes and a smile to match.

"Hey Miguel!" She said to the sixteen-year-old. He glanced back and laughed, his breath smelling absolutely horrid.

"Ey, Mamacita!" he said his eyes completely unfocused.

"Uh.. you okay?" Harley asked. Miguel again laughed.

"Okay? Harley, Harley, Harley. I feel great! Whoo!" he let out a loud whoop, then a burp and another laugh.

"You're breath stinks. Why?" She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable.

"My breath is fine. Com'ere. Viente. Give Miggy a smooch to find out." He was clearly not donor is any sense as he drove toward with swearing wheels.

"What?" She seemed shocked as she blushed.

"You heard me!" He yelled. "Hey your trunk over here!" his voice sounded tainted with drunk anger.

"No! Get away from me!" She yelled back against the blaring music.

"But I like you. A lot! I love you Miss Harley!" He had a drunken sly look in his eyes. "I'll show you a good time tonight.."

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! You're drunk, and you need to stop!" She insisted, but he drove forward closer to her anyways.

"I'm fine! And you're hella fine too look at, mami!" He continued to advance, but she turned around and began to drove away.

"Leave me alone, Miguel!" She shouted back, but it only upset the intoxicated car more. He drove around in front of her and yelled in her face.

"You're gonna listen to me! I'm the man in this relationship, so that magma when I speak, you listen!" He demanded. "And I want you to stay with me All! Night! Long!" He proceeded to give Harley a very forceful kiss on the mouth. One that was distasteful in every way imaginable. Harley backed away as quick as she could.

"Bleh! That was disgusting!" She spit, but could still taste the liquor from his mouth on her lips.

"Admit it! You liked it!" he said and drove beside her. "And there's more where that came from!" he said and she did not hesitate to hit him on the cheek as hard as she could with her tire.

"No! There's not!" She declared. "Sheriff!" She shouted as loud as possible. "Doc!" She quickly drove away, but it wasn't long until a swearing drunk camaro followed pursuit through the crowd.

"Hey! Hey back over here!" he shouted and revved his engine. She lost him I'm the crowd, and once she knew he was off her trail, she slowed and gave a sigh of relief. She then began to find Sheriff and Doc, but then she stopped. He's underage which meant he could really get in trouble, and so would his father Pancho. She sighed and shook her hood. She didn't want there to be any drama between Pancho and Radiator Springs. The town had enough court dealings during the beginning of her stay. So instead if started up more drama, she want to find Flo instead.

"Hey sugar!" She said as she was jamming out to the music with her sisters-in-law.

"Hey." Harley said and smiled.

"You want some?" Flo slid over a cup of red liquid to her. "It's the best fruit punch you'll ever taste!" Flo clarified and Harley chuckled slightly.

"Thanks Flo." She said and began to drink it. "Wow! It really is! Did you make it?" she asked.

"You know it!" She said and laughed, Harley soon joining her. "Where Miguel?" she asked and Harry's joyful laughter quickly faded.

"Oh. He , uh.. he isn't feeling too good." She said. "He probably won't feel any better until tomorrow." She said thinking of the inevitable hangover the Camaro is sure to have.

"Ah, pobresito!" One of the in-laws said. "I better go tell Pancho then. Gracias, Harley." the bright fuchsia car said and drove off.

"Yeah… No problem." She muttered then turned back to Flo. "Hey, I haven't eaten, could you fix me a plate please? She asked and Flo gave out a cheer.

"Oh honey! I thought you'd never ask!" She quickly drove off leaving Harley to look at the party. The bright string lights mixed with the colorful lights of the Dj. The music was loud, but had a perfect balance of bass and treble. It was by far the biggest party she has ever had. And quiet possibly the biggest party Radiator Springs had ever had as well.

Harley smiled. Even with her few confrontations that night, the whole day had been rather fun. Between the few days of a culture shock and the excitement and buzz that filled the town for the past two weeks, she couldn't ask for more. It was perfect with all its imperfections. And then she started to realize life would be the same thing. Perfectly imperfect. Strange messages, she decided, will be the least of her worries. Drunk cars will be that of an enigma once she's a famous racecar. She smiled and nodded. The next Stockrim to take the circuit by storm.

Storm…

It echoed in her head.

Storm… Charles Storm..

He knows Jeremy and Damien… and he completely bashed her father, David, the first time they spoke.

"But he has a kid. Jax? No, Jackson" she remembered and bit the inside of her cheek. "Maybe Doc was right about Damien… something doesn't feel right…"