A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay in updating. I just got back to college so I won't be able to update as regular as before. Just a reminder: long italic paragraphs are Cruz's diary entries, short sentences in italics are people's train of thought, and the bold text indicates a flashback. Without further adieu, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Push It!

Cruz

It's quiet- a little too quiet. In a few days, I'll be back on the race track and just the mere thought of it is driving me crazy! The stillness of this cone is not helping me either. I just wanted to drive into my cone so I could get some peace and quiet but I'm anxious about getting back to racing. It all happened so fast. It seems like just the other day I was dreaming of becoming a racer and meeting Lightning McQueen, and before I knew it, I was face to face with my childhood hero! Not only did I get to meet Lightning, I also got to race for him! After my surprising victory at the Florida 500, I actually got to become a racer! I even got to race for Dinoco, I mean how awesome is that? I was on a roll with my winning streak, and now I'm sitting here wondering if all of this was just a one-shot deal.

It was a late evening in the small town of San Juan, Texas. A young Cruz was parked in front of the television in her living room, watching another racing event. It was the Los Angeles 400 at the Los Angeles International Speedway. There were only ten more laps to go and Lightning McQueen was holding a solid lead. Cruz's eyes were glued to the television screen as she tracked Lightning's every move.

"You can do it Lightning!" Cruz screamed.

"Ay mija! Keep the noise down," her mother said as she made her way into the living room.

Cruz's mother was an amber 2002 Spanish GTI Seat Leon. She had soft, brown eyes and a warm smile. She only wanted the best for her daughter, even if it meant protecting her from unrealistic goals. She loved Cruz to death and would go above and beyond to prove that to her (just as any good mother would).

"Are you still watching that race? You need to get to bed. It's a school night," her mother said as she drove toward the television set to turn it off.

Cruz immediately sprung into action, blocking her mother from pushing the power button.

"Mom please, there are only ten laps left!" Cruz pleaded.

"Give me a break. That's what you said ten laps ago!"

"Mom pretty please! Lightning is leading. I have to see him cross the finish line."

"Oh my goodness. What is it with you and this race car?"

"Mom, he's not just any race car. He's Lightning McQueen! He is already a three-time winning Piston Cup Champion. He's the fastest car on the track and he always wins," Cruz said as she gave her mother a big smile.

Cruz's bright smile turned into a frown as she stared at her mother's blank expression.

"Sweetheart, you are too obsessed with him. You buy all his merchandise, you constantly go on and on about him, and you stay up late on school nights just to watch him race."

"Well I am a huge fan mom," Cruz said as she shifted her attention back to the TV screen.

"Cruz honey, he doesn't even know you."

That statement pierced her soul. Cruz forgot all about the race as she turned to face her mother.

"Mom, I know he doesn't know me but one day he will. When I'm racing on that track and winning those Piston Cups, he will definitely know me then. Maybe he'll want to recruit me for his racing school, or even better: he might want to be my sponsor!"

"Cruz-"

"And then we'll be able to hang out with each other all the time. He could teach me all his tricks!"

"Cruz, sweetie-"

"What if I become the next #95?! Oh my gosh! That would be so awesome!"

"Cruz!" he mother yelled. "Sweetheart, what did I tell you about these fantasies?"

Cruz looked down at the floor. She pushed the button to turn the TV off. There was complete silence between the two of them.

"You told me to dream small..." Cruz mumbled.

"Dream small or-"

"Not at all. I get it mom," she said with a huff.

"Oh sweetie, I only want what's best for you. I don't want you to chase some fantasy and get caught up in this racing world. That kind of lifestyle is not for everyone. Besides, racing is dangerous. Crashes happen all the time. If you crash, your career is over! Is that what you want for yourself? Why don't you choose another dream? You want someone to train you, but what if you became a teacher? You can train all the young minds and help shape the future generations."

"A teacher?" Cruz grimaced.

"It's a real job sweetie, and you can really make a difference."

"I don't want to be a teacher mom. I want to be a racer!"

"You can teach racing school then."

"Are you kidding? I want to do the racing, not teach it."

"Mija that's enough. I need you to go upstairs, brush your teeth and get ready for bed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes mom," Cruz said as she drove up the ramp to the bathroom.

Was my mother right? Is this lifestyle for me? If I crash or have another accident, my career is over just like that. How can I just-

A beeping sound and a flashing blue light interrupted her thoughts.

"Hamilton here! Call from Chester Whipplefilter," her electronic assistant said.

"Hello Mr. McQueen," Cruz answered in a sing-song voice.

"Hey Cruz! I need you to meet me at Flo's Cafe," her mentor said with a tone of urgency.

"Right now? Can't a girl get some time for herself?" Cruz said with a sigh.

Although she really wanted some time alone, she was grateful for the interruption (her mind was spiraling out of control!).

"Yes I need you now," Lightning said as he hung up.

Oh well, at least I'm getting out of this crazy cone!

Cruz made her way to Flo's V8 Cafe where most of the townies waited for her to arrive. She pulled up to the front of the gas station where everyone crowded around her.

"Hey guys!" Cruz said with a bright smile.

"Hey Cruz!" everyone answered in unison.

"How ya' been honey? It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" Flo exclaimed.

Cruz laughed. "I'm doing good Flo. I'm so happy to see you guys!"

"Are you ready to get back to racing?" Ramone asked.

She paused for a moment. Am I ready?

"You okay hun?" Sally asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Of course I'm ready to get back to racing. There's no other place I'd rather be," she said with a crooked smile.

"Really? You don't sound too confident," Lizzy interjected.

"No really, I am ready to race," Cruz said as she bit her lip.

"I can't hear you soldier!" Sarge yelled.

"I SAID I'M READY TO RACE!" Cruz screamed.

Everyone stared at her in shock. The silence was terrifying. Oh great Cruz, look what you did!

After a few minutes of intense staring, everyone gave a resounding cheer. Whew! That was close!

Lightning laughed as he drove closer to Cruz.

"You ready to go?" he asked with a smile.

"Wait, where are we going?" Cruz asked in a confused tone.

"Just follow me," Lightning said as he drove toward Ornament Valley.

Cruz pulled out from the gas station and sped up next to Lightning. The two were driving side by side, leaving the town.

"So, how do you really feel about getting back to racing?" Lightning asked while glancing over at Cruz.

"Honestly, I'm a bit nervous," Cruz said as she bit her lip.

Lightning chuckled. "I expected that. Besides, it's been a while."

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of. I took such a long break. How would I be able to get back into the swing of things?"

"Don't worry Cruz, you'll be fine. I bet you'll feel better once you get on that track," Lightning said with a warm smile.

They both arrived at the Figure-8 Speedway (a racetrack located in Carburetor County, near Ornament Valley), where Sheriff, Mater, Luigi, and Guido were waiting near the starting line of the track. Sheriff hooked up the speed radar to track Cruz's speed once she crosses the finish line. Mater and Guido were wearing big, blue afros with the number 51 on the front in yellow. Luigi was atop the flag stand ready to wave the green flag. Lightning and Cruz entered the stadium and made their way over to the crew.

"They're here!" Mater shouted as he jumped around.

"Thanks for setting everything up guys," Lightning said with a big smile.

"No problem buddy! Hey Cruz, you ready get out on that there track?" Mater asked with a giant grin.

"Yes I am," she said with a slight smile.

"Alright, everything is all set and ready to go," Sheriff said as he turned on the speed radar.

"Puoi farlo Cruz (You can do it Cruz)!" Guido shouted with glee.

"Okay Cruz you're up," Lightning said as he drove near the starting line with a headset on.

Cruz took a deep breath and made her way to the starting line. She rubbed her tires into the asphalt on the track. She stared straight ahead at the distance of road before her. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. It's alright Cruz, don't worry about it. You can do this.

"You okay Cruz? What's going on?" Lightning asked through the microphone on his headset.

"Um I think I need a mantra," Cruz said with a nervous laugh.

"You need a what-now? If you need some pasta we can pick some up for ya on our way back home!" Mater yelled across the track to Cruz.

Lightning laughed out loud. "No Mater, she said that she needs a mantra not pasta."

"What's that?" Mater asked, looking confused as ever.

"You know the phrase I usually say before I start my races?"

"Oh! She can't use yours?"

"Of course not! I can't just steal Mr. McQueen's mantra, I need to make one up!" Cruz yelled back to Mater.

"We can work on that later. For now, just say anything to get yourself in the zone," Lightning said.

Okay Cruz you heard him. Get in the zone.

"Alright, here we go. You are a fluffy cloud and a beautiful, bright banana babe!" Cruz whispered to herself with a smile.

"A banana babe?" Lightning said as he cringed.

"Hey, you said to say anything!" Cruz yelled back.

"I want you to take it slow. You're going to do one lap around this track so we can see what your top speed is. Alright let's do this thing. Luigi?"

"On your mark...get set...GO!" Luigi yelled as he waved the green flag.

Cruz revved up her engine and sped off from the starting line. The wind was shooting over her as she felt the rush of the track under her wheels. She anticipated every turn and zipped past the finish line as she ended her lap.

"Nice job!" Lightning beamed.

"GIT-R-DONE 51! Whoo hoo!" Mater cheered.

Cruz drove off the track and made her way over to Lightning, Mater, Guido, and Sheriff.

"How do you feel now?" Lightning asked with a grin.

"I feel amazing! You were right, I needed to get back on this track. I'm so pumped!" Cruz said with a huge smile.

"Let me ask you something: do you know your top speed?" Lightning asked.

"Well I'm usually topping out at 193 on the simulator. Sometimes I even go up to 198."

"Wanna see how fast you were going?" Lightning asked as he pointed his wheel to the speed radar.

Cruz went in front of the speed radar and saw that her speed was 200 miles per hour.

"200 miles per hour?! Whoa!" she beamed.

"Yup, that's what it says. If you keep this up I'm going to have to give you a speeding ticket," Sheriff said with a chuckle.

"I think you can go faster than that," Lightning said with a determined look on his face.

"Faster? I think that's pretty fast even for me," Cruz said in a nervous tone.

"Do you know what Storm's top speed is?"

"214 miles per hour," Cruz said as her engine rattled a bit.

"Exactly and guess what? You still beat him! I think you can go as fast as he can, maybe even faster," Lightning said as he nudged Cruz's side with his front tire.

"What are you trying to say Mr. McQueen?"

"I'm saying that you need to push yourself a little more."

"Push myself?"

"Yes! Push it to the limit, give everything you've got. I know you have it in you, we just need to bring it out. This time I want you to do three laps. I want to see that speed increase with every lap okay?"

"Yes sir!" Cruz said as she headed back to the starting line.

"Alright Luigi let's do this again," Lightning said into his microphone.

"On your mark...get set...and GO!" Luigi yelled as he waved the flag again.

Cruz took off from the starting line and zipped along the turns of the track. She took Lightning's advice and tried to push herself to go faster. She felt her engine getting hot as she forced herself to speed up. She started to shake slightly when she came to the second lap.

"Take it easy Cruz, don't push yourself too hard. I don't want you to hurt yourself," Lightning said as he watched the yellow race car with concern.

"I'll be fine Mr. McQueen. I know what I'm doing," Cruz said as she continued to rev her engine. Her body shook more violently as she entered turn three. She could feel the fluid burning in her gas tank.

Lightning

"Cruz listen to me. You have to ease into your turns. If you come in too sharp you're going to hit the wall," Lightning said as he noticed her body shaking with every turn she made.

Take it easy Cruz. Please don't hurt yourself. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

His eyes were fixed on her every move. She kept shaking with each turn. All that shaking was making Lightning nervous. With every turn, she came closer and closer to hitting the wall. Every time he tried to warn her about hitting the wall, she would tell him that she knew what she was doing. He didn't mean to panic, he was just speaking from his own experience. He knew what wiping out felt like. He knew how painful it was to slam your body up against the wall and fly off the track. The last thing he wanted was for Cruz to have a wreck, not on the practice track. He breathed a sigh of relief once Cruz crossed the finish line on the final lap. She came in breathing heavily. Lightning rushed over to her as soon as she came off the track.

"Cruz are you okay?! I'm so sorry. When I told you to push yourself I didn't mean for you to go crazy!" Lightning said as he panicked.

"Mr. McQueen I'm fine. I was just burning off some steam," Cruz said with a smile.

"Don't scare me like that! You didn't even listen to me when I told you to watch your turns!"

"Calm down son. She said she's okay," Sheriff said as he drove next to Lightning.

"You alright buddy? You were really freaking out just now," Mater said with concern.

Lightning took a deep breath. "Sorry guys, I don't know what came over me. Thanks for meeting us out here and helping us train today."

"No problem buddy! We'll always be here to cheer Cruz on!"

"Well we'd better get going the sun is starting to set," Sheriff said as he went to turn off the speed radar.

"Wait, I want to see my speed!" Cruz said as she rushed over to the front of the monitor.

The screen read 210 miles per hour.

"Yes!" Cruz exclaimed as she made doughnuts in the grass near the track. Lightning looked on as Cruz surrounded herself in a cloud of smoke.

"Hey Mater come here," Lightning whispered as Mater drove over to him.

"What's up buddy, what do you need?"

"I want you to meet me in the tractor field tonight. I have a surprise for Cruz," Lightning said with a grin.

"You got it buddy! This is gonna be good!" Mater said as he drove off behind Sheriff, Luigi, and Guido.

"You ready to go Mr. McQueen?" Cruz said as she drove over to Lightning.

"Oh yeah. Let's head home," Lightning said with a smile.

BONUS

That night while all the townies were resting, Lightning went over to Cruz's cone and knocked on the garage door. The door slowly opened to reveal a tired Cruz in the doorway. She barely had her eyes open as she turned on her headlights and saw Lightning in front of her.

"Mr. McQueen?" she mumbled as she finally opened her eyes.

"Hey Cruz, come on out. We're going for a drive!"

"Are you serious? We're going on a drive at this hour?" Cruz said as she yawned.

"Come on Cruz, you can sleep when you get back," Lightning said as he slowly drove away.

"Mr. McQueen what are you talking about? Where are we going?" Cruz whispered as she drove out of her cone.

"You'll see, just come on!" Lightning said as he drove away from the Cozy Cone Motel.

Cruz groaned as she followed behind him. Soon they arrived at the entrance of the tractor field. They met Mater at the gate of the fence.

"Mater? What are you doing here?" Cruz asked with a confused look on her face.

"We got a surprise for ya Cruz," Mater said with a creepy laugh.

Cruz turned to Lightning and glared at him. "Guys this isn't funny. I want to go back to sleep."

"Don't worry Cruz this will all be over soon," Lightning said with a creepy smile.

"You guys are freaking me out!"

Suddenly Mater snapped a windshield cover over Cruz's eyes.

"Hey! I can't see a thing! Guys this isn't funny!"

Mater hooked Cruz's bumper and towed her into the middle of the field.

"Guys? Guys? I don't like this!" Cruz whispered to herself.

"Hey Cruz, how ya' doing on this fine evening?" Lightning asked. All Cruz could hear was the sound of his voice coming through her radio transmission.

"Mr. McQueen this is a sick joke!"

"It's not a joke. I'm teaching you how to listen to me. My job as your crew chief is to guide you along on the race track. I can't guide you if you don't listen."

"Why am I blindfolded?"

"I figured the less you see, the more you'll want to listen to me," Lightning said with a smirk.

"Haha. You're cruel Mr. McQueen and you're a poet! I bet you didn't even know it!" Cruz said as she laughed.

"Now, I'm going to guide you through this field of tractors. All you have to do is listen to my voice and follow my instructions, got it?"

"Do I have a choice?" Cruz said with a huff.

"Alright. I want you to drive forward slowly," Lightning said as Cruz started to drive forward.

She felt the grass rustling against her fenders. The traction on her wheels made her slow down even more.

"This is very weird," she said as she continued to drive.

She was heading toward a sleeping tractor in the middle of the field.

"Alright I want you to turn left," Lightning said as Cruz was approaching the tractor.

"My left or your left?"

"Uh, my left is your right so go right."

"My right?"

"Yes, your right!"

Cruz went to her right and successfully maneuvered around the tractor.

"Alright, now I need you to keep going straight. I'll tell you when to stop."

Cruz kept on going straight until she approached a line of sleeping tractors. Lightning was trying so hard not to laugh while he and Mater were watching Cruz.

"Okay stop now!" he said as Cruz came to a full stop.

"What now Mr. McQueen? Mr. McQueen?" Cruz called.

There was no answer. Cruz's engine was racing. She couldn't see anything and Lightning wasn't speaking to her anymore.

"Hello? Mr. McQueen why aren't you answering me?"

Suddenly, Lightning and Mater drove up behind Cruz. Lightning revved his engine while Mater honked his horn. Cruz jumped back, knocking over one of the tractors. As that tractor fell on it's back, it knocked down the entire line of tractors. Soon the whole field of tractors fell on their backs and passed gas simultaneously. Lightning and Mater burst out in laughter as Cruz kept her mouth open in shock. Mater took his hook and tore off the windshield cover from Cruz's eyes. She looked around at the field of fallen tractors and glared at Lightning and Mater.

"Surprise!" they said in unison as they kept laughing.

Before Cruz could yell at them in anger, the sound of a raging bull filled the air as a bright light was shining in the distance.

"That's Frank," Mater said as he and Lightning sped away from Cruz.

Cruz turned around slowly to see Frank (a huge thresher?), charging toward her. She let out a shrill shriek as she drove away to catch up with Lightning and Mater. Frank was gaining on her, almost ripping off her spoiler with his spikes. After the freak chase, they all made it out of the field and drove home. This was surely a night that Cruz would never forget.