A/N: Warning: the following chapter has a fair amount of blood and violence.

Sparks Fly – Part Three

One dark, silent, very long helicopter ride later, Mater and Finn found themselves shoved out of the helicopter and onto the helipad perched on top of an old oil derrick. Based on the rusted metal here and there and the wide open spaces, this derrick had been abandoned years ago.

Perfect place to discretely kill one's enemies.

One of the Pacers got the parking boots off Finn and practically ripped the duct tape off the spy's mouth, but he and Mater were still surrounded and restrained. Escape wasn't an option at the moment, especially with Finn's guns still securely tied down.

"Where are you taking us?" Finn finally demanded, Zündapp leading his prisoners through the halls of the derrick's main building.

"To your doom, McMissile. What else?" Zündapp droned, chuckling darkly.

Finn only glared, struggling against his captors. Mater did the same, the both of them fighting to break free. But their enemies kept tight grips. Soon, the Pacers and Gremlins that had Mater forced him off down a different hallway while Finn had to keep following Zündapp. Finn felt a spark of fear, but he kept the fierce glare in his eyes and ground his teeth angrily. He couldn't let Zündapp get to him. He had to do whatever he could to help Mater escape from here. Of course, first that involved breaking free from his captors, and that didn't seem likely at the moment.

Finally, they stopped in a room made almost completely of metal walls/ceiling and gray tile, with a large viewing window on one wall. Zündapp turned to face Finn, the window behind him. "Now, Finn McMissile, comes my moment of revenge. I've been waiting quite a while for this."

"Oh spare me the theatrics, Zündapp." Finn snapped. "What are you going to do to Mater?"

"Would you like to see him?" Zündapp gestured to the window, and the cars around Finn forced him forward until his headlights almost touched the glass. He looked through the window to see Mater being shoved to the center of a large room almost the same size as the one Finn and Zündapp rested in. The cars slapped parking boots onto Mater's front wheels, leaving him and locking the door behind them. Finn noticed the walls and ceiling of the room looked strange, almost as though they weren't connected. They also looked much too smooth.

"Finn?" Mater called, staring at the spy car worriedly. "You lemons leave 'im alone!"

Zündapp chuckled. "How adorable. So concerned for your safety, McMissile, when he's the one in danger. Tell me: how crushed did you feel when Agent Turbo died?"

Finn opened his mouth to snap at Zündapp, but then he came to a horrible realization. The walls and ceiling weren't connected… "No…..no, Zündapp…..please…."

"This is my revenge, McMissile." Zündapp said, smirking evilly. "You've interfered far too many times, and now you're going to pay."

"Then why not just kill me?" Finn said, his eyes flickering back and forth from his enemy to his trapped friend. Mater stared at him, confused and scared, clearly unable to hear what they were saying. "Kill me if you want, but just let him go!"

"And what joy would I get from that?" Zündapp rolled his eyes. "No. No, I want to see you suffer, McMissile. I was going to put that Jaguar in there, but who better to destroy than the true mastermind behind the World Grand Prix failure?"

Finn's eyes widened as a thick slab of metal rose up from the floor, blocking the window and beginning to move towards Mater. The last thing Finn saw was Mater's terrified gaze. "Zündapp!" Finn didn't care how desperate he sounded anymore. He just wanted Mater out of there. "Zündapp, I'm begging you. I'll do anything." Zündapp ignored him, an evil smirk on his lips. Finn stared as the walls came closer and closer to Mater. He never felt so helpless in his entire life, and though he struggled as hard as he could the cars surrounding him refused to let him move more than an inch any way.

"Mater! NO!"

CRUNCH!

Finn swore his engine stopped. It was one thing to see Leland's crushed corpse. He didn't have to hear the horrible sound of metal getting crunched and compacted. Finn squeezed his eyes shut, desperate to block out the noise. He didn't even hear Mater's scream. Or maybe Mater didn't have time to scream. After a few minutes, the sound stopped and the walls of the crushing machine retracted. Finn's breathing was shaky, shock coursing through him. Memories of Leland's corpse flashed in his mind, and Finn fought to not cry. He wouldn't cry; not in front of his worst enemies. But that wouldn't stop the feeling of defeat that seemed to crush him worse than the machine that killed his friend.

"Put them in the holding cell." Zündapp ordered, driving off. Finn barely registered his captors pushing him to another, smaller room that must've once been a storage area. The cars shoved Finn inside and put parking boots on all four of his wheels, and seconds later another car pushed in a cube of metal and glass. The door was slammed shut, leaving Finn alone with only the dim light of a single lightbulb hanging above him.

Finn stared at the crushed cube, and he felt that crushing defeat sensation come back like a knife. That was Mater. That cube of crushed, rusted metal and broken glass was Mater. How could this happen? Mater, who was so kind and cheery, was now just a pile of dead metal. Finn clenched his jaw and ground his teeth together, managing to keep his sobs silent. But he couldn't stop the tears escaping his eyes and running down his hood.

Knock knock

Pause.

Knock, knock

Pause.

Knock, knock, knock

"Finn?"

Finn blinked his eyes open. He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he woke still in the holding cell with Mater's remains. Someone knocked softly on the metal door. "Hello?" Finn's voice was a little hoarse from his crying.

"Finn? You in there?"

Finn's senses jumpstarted when he recognized the voice. "Harley?"

"It is you!" Harley's voice cheered softly on the other side of the door. "Oh Finn, I was so worried about you! Are you hurt?"

"I….I'm fine…" Finn said, glancing sorrowfully at Mater's corpse.

"Good." Harley said. "Listen, just hang tight. I need to find a way to get this door open."

"Harley, there's something you need to know." Finn said.

"Tell me later." Harley said dismissively. "I'm getting you out of there."

"It's about Mater!" Finn said hurriedly.

Harley didn't speak for a moment. "What about Mater?"

Finn sighed. "He's dead, Harley. Zündapp…..he…..he killed Mater." He struggled to keep his tears at bay. "I'm sorry, Harley. This is all my fault. I'm sorry."

Finn couldn't see Harley's expression, but she remained silent for a moment. "Finn, it'll be okay. I promise. Just hang tight, okay?" A pause. "I gotta do some distracting. I'll be back, I promise." Finn listened to Harley skate away, and after a few seconds he heard her shout, "Hey bozos! Na na-na na na na!" Then she blew her loudest raspberry. Tires squealed as several henchmen apparently chased her, falling for her teasing. Finn listened to them go, praying Harley wouldn't be harmed.

After a minute, the door to the cell suddenly came down with a loud BANG! Finn jumped, wanting to reverse but forgetting that the parking boots kept him firmly in place. Finn blinked at the new, brighter light coming in, but when his eyes adjusted his jaw dropped.

"Heya buddy!" a familiar rusted tow truck greeted warmly, his bucktooth grin stretched from headlight to headlight.

"Mater." Finn breathed. "You're alive."

"Yeah!" Mater nodded happily. "Now you jus' hang on. I'm 'onna git ya outta here." He moved to one of the parking boots and began unhooking them.

"But how did…?" Finn asked, looking back and forth between Mater and his supposed corpse just next to him.

"Ya remember how Holley's been teachin' me spy ta….tac…..uh…." Mater's eyes squinted a bit as he tried to sound out the sophisticated-sounding word Holley had used.

"Tactics?" Finn offered, finally smiling when he realized Mater was truly alive and standing next to him.

"Yeah!" Mater nodded. "Anyway, I done put in a decoy in dat crushin' machine an' I used mah tow hook ta grab the rafters an' escape! Harley and Holley found me an' helped me git free!"

"Holley's here?" Finn asked, feeling the last parking boot fall free with Mater's help.

"Yeah!" Mater said excitedly. "Holley an' Harley an' Sid! They came ta rescue us! C'mon! Let's go!"

"Mater!" Finn piped up, making Mater pause and turn to him. Finn looked down a bit in shame. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean it, really." Finn smiled softly. "I am very thankful to have you as a friend, and I was wrong to try and let go of that."

Mater smiled back. "So I'm forgiven?"

"Only if you forgive me for losing my temper." Finn nodded.

"You got it, buddy." Mater assured. "Now let's git home!" Finn nodded in agreement, the two of them slipping out of the cell and driving down the hall. They nearly ran into Harley and Holley, the former who hugged both of them and sighed in relief. Harley also cut away the ropes around Finn so he could unload his guns.

"Siddeley's up on the helipad." Holley said as they hurried towards the exit of the building and to the open platforms of the derrick. "We have to move quickly before—"

They suddenly skidded to a halt once they reached the outside, finding themselves completely surrounded by Zündapp and his henchmen (which now included black-painted lemon cars and several black-clothed human men).

"Before exactly this happens." Harley groaned.

Finn moved forward, guns drawn and ready to fire. "Out of our way, Zündapp."

"Oh I don't think so." Zündapp snarled. "None of you are leaving here unless your dead bodies are dropped into the ocean!" Harley tensed, pressing herself closer to Mater for protection.

Holley put herself in front of Mater and Harley, pistols unlocking from her hubcaps. "Stand down, Zündapp. You can't keep us here."

"I don't intend to." Zündapp seemed nearly manic now with his wild eyes and snarling tone. "I intend to watch you all die! Men! Shoot them!" The henchmen locked and loaded their guns, ready to fire. Finn, Holley, Mater, and Harley tensed up, ready to fight their way out/run for their lives.

Then, a new voice piped up.

"Belay that order!"

Zündapp and his henchmen jumped, turning as a figure walked up to them. As the figure came towards the spies, the henchmen parted like the Red Sea for her. Finn, Holley, Mater, and Harley stared in shock as the figure stopped before them, hands on her hips.

"Emily?" Holley finally asked.

Emily stared at them with a rather bored expression, as though the scene before her caused no joy whatsoever. In fact, she seemed to be growing more and more irritated. "Holley and Harley. You two aren't supposed to be here." She glanced to the tow truck of the group. "But, Mater, I must say I'm rather impressed that you managed to escape the crushing room. How clever of you."

"You were there?" Mater asked, confused.

Harley glared hard, stepping forward to be between Finn and Holley. "Of course she was there. She planned this entire thing! You're the one who ordered Finn and Mater to be kidnapped!"

Emily clapped mockingly. "Well done, Ms. Graduated Early. So glad to see that degree truly reflects your smarts."

Harley growled a bit, but Holley moved in front of her to keep the girl from moving towards Emily. "Why? Why would you do this?" Holley demanded.

"Because Finn clearly needs some persuading to understand the concept of returning one's feelings." Emily droned.

"That's what this is about?" Finn demanded. "You're doing all this because I didn't react the way you wanted to your distasteful flirtations?"

"She flirted with you?" Harley made a face of pure disgust, one that Holley and Mater mimicked. Actually, most of the henchmen mimicked that look.

"I wouldn't call them distasteful." Emily shrugged, as though not realizing the impact of her actions. "Honestly, Finn, you're acting like no woman has ever flirted with you."

Finn glared hard. "You little—"

"Now, now, Finn." Emily scolded. "Let's not use foul language in the presence of a lady."

"I certainly hope you're not talking about yourself." Harley sassed.

The second that last word left Harley's mouth, Emily fired a shot from her pistol. The bullet grazed Harley's ear and left a cut, stabbing into the wall behind her. Harley flinched, leaning against Holley and clutching her bleeding ear. She stared in shock, almost unable to believe how close Emily came to shooting her in the head. Mater moved closer to Harley, ready to protect her.

Emily tucked her pistol away, looking to Finn. "Tell you what, McMissile. You surrender yourself to me and your imprisonment here, and I'll allow your friends to leave unharmed."

Finn narrowed his eyes. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Well, it's either that or I let Zündapp's men kill them." Emily shrugged. "I'd do it myself, but I don't want to waste my bullets."

Finn weighed his options. On the one hand, he'd rather eat his own tires than be trapped here with a lovesick and twisted-mind Emily. But he almost lost Mater and Harley was already injured (even if in a minor way). He couldn't bear the thought of watching them and Holley get killed. Siddeley could get them home safely, and then he could figure out a way to escape on his own.

"Fine. Done." Finn said.

"What?" Harley, Holley, and Mater gasped.

"Finn, we didn't come all this way just to leave someone behind." Harley said.

"This is not up for debate!" Finn snapped in a harsh tone. "All of you get to Siddeley and go home."

"But Finn—" Mater started.

"Right now!" Finn ordered. His friends reeled a bit, shocked by his tone. But they didn't dare disobey him. Being the oldest one of them aside, it was long since established that he commanded their little group, and if he gave an order, you had to follow it. So Holley led the way as she, Harley, and Mater hurried off to find Siddeley. Several of the henchmen cars surrounded Finn, ready to lead him back to the holding cell.

"I will not accept this!" Zündapp shouted. "My revenge is not complete if the tow truck still lives!"

"Frankly, Zündapp, I don't give a damn." Emily droned. "It's not my fault you failed to kill Mater. I only agreed to let you do that to break Finn."

"Well that didn't work out, now did it?" Zündapp snapped.

Emily glanced to Finn, who returned the gaze with a defiant and furious glare. Yes, there was still a fire in his eyes that wouldn't go out so easily. It would take more than crushing Mater to break his spirit. "True." Emily mused. "Your feeble attempt did not work so well." She glanced up as Siddeley began flying off into the distance. "But perhaps my attempt will work better." She pulled a walkie-talkie from her belt, pressing the button to talk into it. "Is the target set?"

"Locked and loaded, ma'am." A voice over the walkie-talkie said.

"Shoot them down." Emily ordered.

"What?!" Finn shouted, shocked and angry. He jumped when a missile shot from an area on the derrick, flying after Siddeley. Finn hurriedly turned on his radio. "Sid! Sid, come in! There's a missile on your tail! You have to—"

BOOM!

Finn jumped again at the explosion, and everyone looked out to see the flaming figure of a jet plane falling from the sky and crashing into the ocean. Finn couldn't tear his eyes away, shock crashing onto him yet again. "Sid? Sid, come in." He waited for a response over his radio, but only heard silence. "Come on, Siddeley, please answer me." Finn strained to hear something—anything—that could indicate maybe his friend survived. But he didn't hear a thing. Strangely enough, he didn't even hear static.

"I do apologize, Finn." Emily said, only half-remorsefully. "It was necessary."

That's when Finn snapped. He suddenly bolted and broke free from his captors, his tires screaming against the metal derrick platform. He rammed into Emily, knocking her backwards and causing her to slam into a nearby crate. Before she could stand again, Finn slammed into her with enough force to pin her to the crate but not enough to seriously wound her. At least not yet. Emily shouted in pain, her nails digging into Finn's hood, and she glared.

"Ow." She said in a snarky tone.

"Believe me, this is nothing compared to the pain I'm going to put you through before I kill you." Finn snarled. Zündapp and the henchmen couldn't believe what just happened, and they weren't sure they wanted to get in the middle of it. For one thing, they didn't exactly like Emily; for another thing, Finn's current mood scared them very much.

"What good will it do, Finn?" Emily asked snidely. "I've already won. I knew I couldn't just let your friends go. They care about you too much. They'd come running back to save you and I wasn't about to deal with that headache."

Finn didn't consider himself the murderous type, but right now all he wanted was to snap Emily's spine in half. But before he could open his mouth to retort, he felt something hook onto his back axle and yank him backwards. To the shock of him and most everyone else there, Finn found himself pulled off the ground and onto a platform above his enemies. When he finally settled his tires onto the platform, he turned to see Mater unhooking his tow hook from the spy car.

"Mater?" Finn blinked in surprise. "Holley? Harley?"

"You really think we'd just leave you behind?" Holley asked, smiling warmly.

"We ain't that gullible." Mater laughed.

Harley skated up to the edge of the platform and looked down towards the shocked Emily, Zündapp, and henchmen. "You're quite right, Emily. We would never just leave Finn here. We would, however, trick your getaway jet into taking off so that you would shoot it down."

"What?!" Emily growled.

"You just lost your only shot and getting off this rig without being arrested." Holley said, smirking.

"So, not to be cliché, but we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Emily." Harley said. "Your choice."

Emily let out a feral snarl, and she suddenly unloaded her pistol. Harley, Finn, Holley, and Mater ducked as shots flew over their head.

"This way!" Holley urged, leading the way as they hurried off. "Siddeley's hiding in the clouds and he's going to come down when we're ready. But we have to hurry!"

"After them!" Emily shouted, the henchmen quickly and fearfully following her orders. "Leave McMissile alive but kill the others!"

In hindsight, maybe scattering wasn't the best idea in the world. Holley had the right mindset when she thought of the plan; if they split up, they could throw their enemies off their trail and make their way to Siddeley safely. After all, each of them had radios to contact the jet to get them. But as Harley skated around the derrick, she soon realized she lost her pursuers and also lost her way. She soon abandoned the "running away" plan and stuck to sneaking around the building, trying to find a way to the helipad or at least to some other flat surface where Siddeley could pick her up. But a part of her said she ought to search for her friends and make sure they were all right.

Harley skated around a corner and suddenly skidded to a halt when she almost crashed into a car. But she relaxed when she only saw Finn. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Finn nodded. "This way!"

Harley stuck right by his side, the two of them stealthily making their way down the hallway and hopefully towards the exit. "Any sign of Mater or Holley?" Harley asked.

"No, but I'm sure they're around here." Finn assured. "How did you find me and Mater anyway?"

"We tracked my phone when I threw it into the helicopter." Harley explained.

Then Finn remembered he still had Harley's cell phone tucked away somewhere. But something else kept his thoughts occupied. "Why did you come, then? Why not just let Holley and Siddeley handle it?"

"I wasn't going to sit back and do nothing." Harley said firmly.

"But you put yourself in unnecessary danger." Finn chided. "You can't just die right after finishing high school."

"I don't leave behind my family, Finn." Harley said. "Whether you like it or not, you're family." Finn didn't answer. The two of them were silent as they continued on to search for a way out. Then, Harley spoke up again. "I know you don't like the idea of close relationships, but I think you're just kidding yourself. You need to tell me or prove it to me, because I can't read your mind and I'm not even going to try. Right now, I have two guesses: you really don't care about anyone or you're too afraid to care about people even when they care about you."

Finn didn't say anything, looking everywhere except towards Harley. He didn't know how to answer her question. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he knew the answer in the first place. He and Harley paused at the sound of voices, and they quickly ducked into a nearby room that turned out to be a large storage room. Harley quickly shut the door behind her, listening for anyone coming. She jumped when she heard crackling electricity, and she spun around to see two Taser hooks latched onto Finn's grill. Finn convulsed and shook violently as electricity coursed through him. After a moment, his eyes rolled back and closed as he fell limp and the Taser hooks retracted back into the remote.

"Finn!" Harley gasped, hurrying to his side and kneeling beside him.

"Step away from him, Harley."

Harley looked up to see Emily before them, the blonde spy tossing her Taser to one side. Harley glared, standing and putting herself protectively in front of Finn. "No, you step away from him." Harley growled. "You may think you love him, but doing all of this is just going to hurt him. He'll hate you."

"You're so foolish, Harley." Emily scoffed. "You know nothing of love."

"I know more than you do." Harley assured. "You don't force people to care about you. That's not how it works."

"I meant romantic love." Emily droned.

"It doesn't matter if it's love for your family or someone who want to date." Harley snapped. "None of this is right, Emily. You're only going to push away the people who care about you."

Emily rolled her eyes, glaring at Harley. "I really didn't want to have to kill you, kid. But you're interfering with my plans, and I can't have that."

Emily suddenly lunged with a punch, but Harley managed to duck out of the way. She skated to one side as Emily lunged again, the spy swinging her leg in a roundhouse kick. Harley crouched down to avoid it, spinning and swiping Emily's legs from under her. Harley jumped back up, standing ready. Emily growled a bit, glaring at Harley. She flipped up to her feet again, taking a strong fighting stance.

"I've had years of training. You don't stand a chance." Emily growled.

"Yeah? Well I was raised by a police sheriff and an Army sergeant." Harley retorted. "I won't be taken down so easily."

This time, Harley lunged. But maybe she should've taken Emily seriously when she said "years of training." Harley threw a punch, but Emily caught her wrist and bent it at a painful angle. Harley gasped in pain, but hardly had time to react when Emily planted her fist into the teenager's stomach. Emily threw another punch to Harley's stomach, a knee to her chest, and a vicious backhand across her face. Harley sprawled across the ground, gasping from the sharp, throbbing pain. Emily's boot suddenly hit her ribs, and then her shoulder. Harley instinctively curled up in a ball, clutching her stomach. Emily scoffed in disgust.

"You pathetic child." Emily walked to the door, opening it and clearly prepared to leave. She made her way to an open crate nearby and reached inside, pulling out a machine gun. "You may be book smart, but you know nothing of the world." Harley could hardly move from the pain, staring as Emily set up the gun's stand and pointed the barrel at her. "Your little 'family' in that stupid town taught you so little about how things work in the world."

Harley glared, struggling to rise. "I feel sorry for you, Emily. There are people who love you very much, but you're so blind to it all. You're the one who doesn't understand love, and for that I pity you."

Emily scoffed. "I suppose I should be the one pitying you. Because now you're going to die at a very young age." She set the gun to automatic fire, programming a timer. Emily stood, giving one last kick to Harley before stepping away to watch the gun fire. Harley fought to rise, but the pain seemed to pin her to the ground. She curled up in a ball and covered her head with her hands, praying she would at least be able to make it to the hospital.

"HARLEY!"

Harley heard the gun fire several times, followed by the sound of bullets piercing metal. Her head shot up and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar Aston Martin between her and the bullets. The gun stopped firing, either out of bullets or jammed, and Harley felt her heart rate spike.

"Finn!" Harley screamed, scrambling to her feet. She noticed Emily still in the room, and at the moment Harley had only one thought: get Finn away from that woman. The adrenaline now in her veins allowed Harley to skate around Finn, punch Emily in the stomach, and grab the blonde's hair. She pulled Emily out of the room, throwing her out the door and slamming it shut. Harley spied a red button next to the door with a sign above it that read "Emergency Lockdown." She slammed her fist against the glass, smashing it and pressing the button. An alarm blared out briefly as the door locked securely. Harley nodded in satisfaction, ignoring the blood dripping from the cuts on her hand. She hurried back to Finn, collapsing to her knees next to his fender and looking over his wounds. Finn's eyes were squeezed shut, his breathing labored through clenched teeth. Multiple holes could be seen on his side where the bullets pierced his hide. Oil flowed from the wounds like inky streams, and Harley knew if she didn't do something fast Finn would bleed out and die.

"Harley…" Finn suddenly spoke, startling the girl. His eyes finally opened, a pained gaze locked onto the girl.

"It's okay." Harley said soothingly, trying to keep calm. "Just hang on, Finn. I'm going to help you."

"No…..no, don't…." Finn winced, as though simply talking caused him immense pain.

"I can heal you with my powers, Finn. I'm not going to let you die." Harley said firmly.

"But….you could die…" Finn protested weakly. "The wounds…will carry over…and kill you…."

Harley suddenly burst into tears. "I don't care! For the love of Chrysler, Finn, I just don't care. I want to help you, and if that kills me then so be it!"

"I won't…let you…" Finn said firmly, despite the pain still evident in his voice.

"Why not?" Harley demanded, tears pouring from her eyes. "Why won't you let me help you?"

"Because…..I care…too much….." Finn said. Harley paused, staring at him. Finn sighed, struggling to keep the pain from his voice no matter how much it threatened to consume him. "Dying…..is an occupational hazard…for a spy…..but not for you…I almost lost you…in Porto Corsa….Mater almost lost you….I wasn't going…..to make that mistake twice…"

Harley sniffled, wiping her eyes dry. "But you're my family, Finn. You and Holley and Siddeley are a part of my and Mater's family. I couldn't stop my dad from dying, but if I can save someone with my powers, I'll do it. I'm not afraid of what might happen if I try." She pressed her forehead against Finn's fender, clutching his tire in a weak hug. "I love you, Finn."

Finn felt his heart breaking, and he sighed. But he gathered his strength and nuzzled Harley lovingly. "You…..were right, Harley…..I am afraid…..to show that I care…" He took in a shaky breath. "But that…will never change…that I do love you…..very much…"

Harley stared at him with watery eyes and smiled softly.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared between the two of them, making them jump. Harley pulled back from Finn and her hand slapped against Finn's side, and suddenly she noticed the blood on her hand disappearing. In fact, her cuts began to close and the pain she felt from Emily's blows vanished. She looked to Finn's bullet wounds, which stopped bleeding in seconds. The bullets popped right out and made clinking noises as they fell to the ground, the holes in Finn's metal closing like they were never there. Soon, the wounds and the light disappeared to leave Harley and Finn staring in shock and completely healed.

Finn spoke first. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea." Harley breathed. "But the bullet wounds are gone. You're healed!"

"I…I suppose….." Finn could hardly believe it. "I mean….I feel fine…..I feel terrific. But it didn't hurt you?"

"No. Not at all." Harley patted her stomach and sides, but the wounds didn't seem to carry over to her during the healing process. "But how is this possible?" She placed her hand back on Finn's fender, looking him over to make sure he was truly okay.

Then, something appeared between the two of them. A ghostly thread, the same color as Finn's eyes, appeared with one end touching Harley's heart and the other end on Finn's engine. The two of them stared at the thread in shock. Harley lifted her hand, and the thread disappeared. She put her hand back on Finn's hood, and the thread appeared again. She repeated the process a few times, but neither she nor Finn could deny what they saw.

"That's a Soul Connection thread." Finn breathed.

"That means….we Soul Connect?" Harley shared a look with Finn, and she broke into smiles. "We Soul Connect!" She hugged Finn tightly, the two of them laughing in relief and excitement. They could Soul Connect! Of course! That's why they always felt those shocks and why Harley's powers always reacted when she was near Finn. They were supposed to have this connection the entire time, and it had finally been unlocked.

Harley sighed heavily in relief, smiling broadly. "Love you, Finn."

Finn chuckled softly, nuzzling the girl. "Love you, Harley."

Holley and Mater ended up outside the building when the lockdown activated, but as they made their way to the helipad to Siddeley, they noticed their enemies finally getting doors open which indicated the lockdown shutting off. Luckily, Mater managed to ram into some crates and block the path behind them so he and Holley could get away.

Siddeley rested on the helipad, ready to take off. The helicopter that took Finn and Mater rested off to one side, knocked out thanks to Siddeley. "Hurry, you guys!" Siddeley called. "Where are Finn and Harley?"

"We dunno!" Mater said worriedly.

"Mater! Holley! Siddeley!" Harley called, her and Finn hurrying up to them.

"Finn! Harley!" Holley sighed. "Thank goodness you're all right!"

"We're better than all right!" Harley laughed. "We're fantastic!"

"Why?" Mater asked.

"We'll explain on the way out of here!" Finn urged. "Let's go!" They hurriedly moved towards Siddeley, but jumped when a gunshot pierced the ground very close to them. They turned just in time to see Emily come in with a firm kick to Holley's hood, sending her backwards several feet. She sent a kick towards Mater, but the tow truck backed up and hurried over to Holley. Finn and Harley backed up, Emily not taking her manic, murderous eyes off them. Emily lunged for them, but Finn reversed out of the way while Harley ducked and spun around to trip the blonde spy. Emily tucked and rolled and jumped back on her feet again, lunging for Harley.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Harley growled, skating backwards to avoid Emily's attacks. Emily only snarled, continuing to advance on Harley. Finn and Mater shot forward, but Emily grabbed Mater's tow hook when he threw it towards her and she jumped over Finn when he tried to ram her. Emily pulled out her pistol, aiming it for Mater, but Harley suddenly jumped up and landed on Emily's back. Emily let Mater's hook go, shooting wildly and trying to throw Harley off her. But she ended up stepping backwards until her foot hit open air and she fell off the helipad.

"Harley!" Finn cried.

"Sissy!" Mater yelped. They and Holley hurried over to the edge of the platform, looking down and searching for their fallen friend. They spied Harley and Emily falling and bouncing off a metal beam which knocked Harley off Emily's back. Harley hit a small platform and Emily landed farther down and grabbed a pole to stop her fall.

"Hold on, Harley!" Mater called. Finn immediately jumped down, using his grappling hooks and encasing his wheels in magnets to scale the beams and make his way down to Harley.

Harley looked down and saw the main platform of the derrick many, many feet below her. But she also noticed Emily hanging in the open air, with only her grip on a scaffolding pole to keep her up. Harley jumped up to the metal beams that supported the derrick, crouching down on her skates and sliding down to be closer to Emily. She now was just a few feet away from the blonde spy. Harley hung tightly onto the wide beam she sat on, reaching an arm down.

"Emily!" Harley called. "Emily, take my hand!"

"Get away from me!" Emily growled, struggling to lift herself up on the scaffolding.

"Emily, please!" Harley begged, reaching closer to her. "I'll help you. Just take my hand."

Emily stared at her, then quickly reached down to her belt and pulled out a knife. She pulled herself up and slashed the blade. Harley quickly pulled back, avoiding the knife by inches. But when Emily pulled herself up, her hand slipped off the scaffolding pole and she suddenly fell backwards and towards the ground. Harley quickly pushed her glasses up and covered her eyes, Emily's scream echoing in her ears. Then she heard a sickening THUD! Emily's scream stopped.

Shaking, Harley forced herself to put her glasses back on and she peered over to the ground. Emily's body lay on the main platform far below her. Blood already began to pool around her head. Harley let out a quivering breath, her lower lip trembling.

"Harley?"

Harley looked up to see Finn suspended in the air by his grappling hooks. "F-Finn, I'm sorry. I tried but I just—"

Finn shushed her gently. "It's all right, Harley. Let's just get you home, all right?" He lowered one of the grappling hooks from his fenders, allowing Harley to grab onto it so he could pull her up. She sat on his hood as he reeled in the other hook lines, pulling them back to the helipad.

"Finn?"

"Hm?"

"Is it always this hard to watch people get killed?"

A pause. "You know, I've been a spy for so long that I suppose I never really think about it anymore."

"Even your enemies?"

Another pause. "I believe the shock usually comes from the knowledge that a friend has become your enemy."

A pause from Harley this time. "Yeah. Yeah, good point."

On the way to Radiator Springs, Holley called a friend from C.H.R.O.M.E. to stop by the abandoned oil derricks and pick up Zündapp and his goons. She also called Marshall from Emily's agency to report her unfortunate fate. Siddeley landed in Radiator Springs and immediately he became surrounded by the residents, everyone asking questions at once. All of the townsfolk gathered around Harley and Mater, relieved to see them all right. Once they made sure Mater and Harley were okay, they gathered around Finn and Holley to make sure they made it out unharmed. Though the spies were a bit surprised, Mater and Harley encouraged them to welcome the attention. At that moment, Finn fully realized that the entire town of Radiator Springs seemed to accept him, Holley, and Siddeley in their little family. The bigger surprise came when he found he didn't mind.

Once it was established that everyone was okay, the spies and the townsfolk gathered at Flo's to talk and rest. Harley and Finn revealed their Soul Connection, impressing everyone.

"I guess discovering the connection has enhanced my powers." Harley said. "I was able to heal Finn and myself without any trouble."

"Amazing." Sally breathed. "I suppose that'll come in handy if you do any more doctor work around here."

"It also could be useful during missions." Holley said.

Harley blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Holley and Finn exchanged looks and smiles. "Well, we did some talking while you and Mater slept on the ride over here." Finn explained. "Holley and I were wondering the possibility of you taking some classes at the C.H.R.O.M.E. academy and becoming my new partner."

"Really?" Harley asked, beginning to smile. "What about you, Holley?"

Holley looked to Mater, nuzzling his fender lovingly. "Mater has asked me to spend more time in Radiator Springs so we can be together more often. I've decided to accept."

"Really?" Mater asked excitedly.

"I'll still be working as a spy, but I want to start pursuing a more serious relationship." Holley announced. She looked to the townsfolk. "That is, if you'll have me."

"Absolutely!" Lightning agreed, the rest of the Radiator Springs residents chiming in.

"Of course, that means I'll need a new partner-in-crime for missions." Finn said, looking to Harley. "If you're up for it, I can't think of a better partner than one who can Soul Connect with me."

Harley smiled broadly, but the look faltered as she glanced to her family. "What do you guys think?"

"It sounds rather dangerous." Sally admitted.

"But if Mr. McMissile promises to take care of you…" Flo mused.

"…..and we know he will." Sarge nodded.

"Or else." Sheriff added with a small glare.

"What about racing?" Harley looked to Lightning now.

"You'll still be living here in Radiator Springs." Finn said.

"And you can come to my races whenever you're not working the spy business." Lightning said. "If I need to, I can call you while you're away or someone here can fill in if you're gone. But you do whatever you want."

Harley thought for a moment, considering her options. A spy? Working alongside Finn, her friend and Soul Connect partner? And she could still stay in Radiator Springs and be with her family? It didn't sound too bad. It would be dangerous, but as long as she trusted herself and Finn, she knew she could make it work.

So Harley looked to Finn with a wide smile. "When can we start?"

A/N: Fun fact about the inspiration for Emily's character: you'll notice her full name is Emily Largo. You James Bond nerds will remember this sounds a lot like Emilio Largo from Thunderball. Giving her a name based off a Bond villain foreshadowed her eventual betrayal to her friends.

Also, most of you guessed that the spark between Harley and Finn was a psyche human bond like Sky and Blade's. Well done! I had tried to hint about the Soul Connection in Cars 2. What do you think? Do Harley and Finn make a good team?

Until next time!