A/N: Welcome to the Planes arks and the second half of the entire story! I am so happy the first half was enjoyed. I succeeded in making Harley a fully fleshed-out character and didn't run into any Mary Sue problems (which I sometimes struggle with). Here's to the hope I do the same with the Planes stories.

So this Part Four actually takes place before the Planes plotline, labeled in the chapter drop box as Pre-P. Summary: She's a girl scarred by a simple action that left her without parents. He's a plane scarred by a simple command that nearly cost him his life. Misery may enjoy company, but putting these two in the same room is the worst idea anyone could think of. Has Sparky finally lost it, or is he on to something by bringing them together?

Enjoy!

How To Be Loved

Chapter One: Battle of Words

I am ten years old. My skin is white, without any tan color or freckles. I guess people call that Caucasian, whatever that means. My hair is black, the color of an unlucky cat. And yes, I was naturally born with that color hair. Yes, I was naturally born with blue-green eyes that are really just a swirled blend of blue and green coloring, not a combination of the two colors. They aren't because of color contacts or hair dye. So there.

My name is Skylar Amelia Doe. My friends call me "Sky," but only ONE person has the right to call me that. I know what you're thinking. "Doe? Like the deer?" No, like the name they give to people who don't have a last name. That's me. I don't have a last name. I'm an orphan. Got a problem with that?

I'm a psyche human. I have powers normal humans don't get. If you have a problem with that, I'll put my fist in your teeth.

The end

The maroon Volkswagen GTI looked up from the notebook she read from to stare at the book's owner. 10-year-old Skylar Amelia "Sky" Doe stared back, her pitch black hair pulled into twin braids and her blue-green eyes boring holes into the Volkswagen's windshield. She dressed simply: red and white sneakers, dark blue overalls, and a long-sleeved red shirt.

"Well, Skylar, why don't we get started?" the Volkswagen offered kindly.

"Sure, whatever, Mrs. Getty." Sky huffed.

"Good." Mrs. Getty said, keeping a smile on her face. "Let's start with this first paragraph. You explain your physical features in creative detail, specifically that it's all natural. Any particular reason for clarifying that?"

"Because people have thought otherwise. Duh." Sky replied bitterly.

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. I guess my eye and hair color combination is so weird people feel the need to doubt it's all real."

"And does it bother you that people don't think it's real?"

"I don't give a flying Fairchild's aft what they think."

Mrs. Getty decided to ignore Sky's subtle bad language for now. "All right. So let's go on to the last paragraph now. You're really a psyche human?"

"Yeah." Sky said simply.

"Have you ever punched someone because they tried to make fun of you for it?"

"Not recently."

"Why do you feel you need to solve such problems with violence?"

"I've tried talking and it didn't work. Punching them got my point across."

"Have you tried telling a teacher about the kids giving you trouble?"

"Duh."

"Not everyone tries that first, Skylar dear."

Silence.

"This middle paragraph is most concerning. Are you ever teased for being an orphan?"

"I am not talking about that."

"Skylar, it's my job to help children like you. I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on."

Sky stared at the car before her. "Mrs. Getty, do you know what you are?"

Mrs. Getty blinked. "The school counselor?"

Sky shook her head. "You're a Volkswagen GTI. And I'll bet nobody has a problem with that. People accept that about you. You are loved despite what you are." Sky leaned forward a bit, glaring hatefully. "You have no idea what it's like to be in my situation."

Mrs. Getty stared. It was silent for a moment before she sighed. "May I offer some advice?"

"You are the school counselor." Sky rolled her eyes.

"You said in your journal entry here that only one person is allowed to call you 'Sky.'" Mrs. Getty noted. "Is this a close friend of yours?" Sky shrugged. "Well, then why don't you spend some time with them? Go spend the weekend at a park or spending the night or something. Maybe it'll take your mind off things."

"I'll ask." Sky shrugged again. "He kinda lives far away. The town's so tiny it's not even on the map."

"As long as you can find a moment to enjoy yourself." Mrs. Getty said. "I think it could be emotionally helpful for you."

Sky rolled her eyes with a small scoff of disgust. "Yeah, sure."

Mrs. Getty sighed. Well, this session's over. "You should probably head back to class now." Sky silently rose from her chair and snatched her journal from Mrs. Getty's desk, marching out the door. She moved down the halls of the school briskly, ignoring the taunts and giggles from the girls around her and resisting the urge to punch them. But she did bark violent threats at them when they came too close, smirking in satisfaction when they backed off in fear. She finally reached her classroom and plopped down at her desk, stuffing her journal into the desk and waiting for the rest of the class to return from lunch.

The day dragged on. At least to Sky it felt like it did. Her resentment of her fellow classmates seemed to grow, if it were possible, as the day wore on and the other kids kept pelting her with crumpled up pieces of paper and paper airplanes. She was so ready to go back to the orphanage when her teacher called her to stay behind.

"You don't have to get to a bus, do you?" the teacher, a human woman, asked.

"No, Mrs. Johnson." Sky said in a bored drawl. "I walk."

"Good. I need to speak with you about something important." Mrs. Johnson said, trying to sound serious yet sympathetic for the girl before her. "It's about your grades. You've been receiving very low marks this entire school year. In fact, I'm afraid you're failing in your schoolwork."

"How do you fail the fourth grade?" Sky demanded.

"You're not the only one I've seen do it." Mrs. Johnson assured. "It's not common, but not unheard of."

"What's your point?" Sky huffed.

Mrs. Johnson knew from past experience it was useless to beat around the bush with the raven-haired girl. "Skylar, unless you do perfectly on your final paper, I'm afraid you'll be held back a year."

"What?" Sky snapped. "Held back? Like stupid people?"

"Your grades are not reflecting your potential." Mrs. Johnson explained calmly. "If you can write a perfect essay for our final class project, I can pass you and allow you to move on. Remember? The topic for our essays is 'My Hero.'"

Sky snorted. "Small problem there: I don't have a hero."

"No one to look up to?" Mrs. Johnson asked. "Not even another student?"

"No." Sky said bluntly.

"Well, that's all right. Not everyone does." Mrs. Johnson shrugged. "Why don't you write about someone who has a heroic profession?"

"Well what exactly is a 'heroic profession'?" Sky demanded.

"Someone who saves lives, perhaps." Mrs. Johnson suggested. "Maybe a firefighter or a soldier."

Sky rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. I'll think about it." She turned on her heel and walked off, ignoring the jeers from her fellow fourth graders as she exited the school. She kept her glower as she journeyed back to the orphanage, walking the four blocks' worth of sidewalk it took to reach the large house that served as the orphanage in Sterling, Minnesota. It wasn't a very large city, but large enough to include suburban areas, a downtown district, and the possibility of getting lost if one didn't know their way around. Sky bounced up the steps and pushed open the door. She paused as two forklift and three human children went shooting past her, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm back!"

The head of the orphanage, a human Hispanic woman, paused as she was walking down the hall. "Hello, chica! How was school?"

"Bloody brilliant, Rosa. Thanks for asking." Sky droned, marching up the stairs to her room. She slammed the door shut behind her, tossing her backpack on her bed and sitting at her desk. She stared out her window to the large backyard, where most of the orphan children played. She groaned, hitting her head against her desk. "Stupid assignment. Stupid school." She sighed. "Stupid life."

"This is Sparkplug to Soarin' Sky! Come in, Sky!"

Sky smiled broadly as the radio on her desk crackled to life, and she hurriedly pushed her chair closer to it. She pressed the talk button. "This is Soarin' Sky. Hey Sparky!"

"Hey there, Sky!" Sparky's voice came from the radio. "How's it goin'?"

"Eh, all right." Sky shrugged. "How are things in Propwash Junction?"

"Just fine." Sparky said.

"I really miss you." Sky said.

"You get my letters, right?"

"Yeah, but no letter can replace your voice."

Sparky laughed. "Aw, thanks kiddo. How's school?"

Sky rolled her eyes. "Ugh, don't even mention it."

"Why? What's wrong?" Sparky asked worriedly.

"My dumb teacher is making me write this report about my hero." Sky explained. "I don't even have a hero. So I gotta find someone with a quote-unquote 'heroic' job."

"Geez, that's rough." Sparky said sympathetically. "What're you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Sky sighed. She blinked. "Hey, don't you work with a soldier?"

"Uh, yeah."

"My teacher suggested I talk to a soldier. So, can I meet with him and talk to him about my essay?"

"I don't know, Sky. I mean, Skipper doesn't really like to socialize."

"Come on, Sparky, it'll give me an excuse to visit Propwash Junction. I haven't been there in ages. I can come this weekend."

"Yeah, but…I just don't think it's a good idea."

Sky groaned. "Why not?"

"Skipper doesn't like to talk about his time fighting." Sparky explained. "I mean, he was a Jolly Wrench and all, but I don't think he'd want to discuss it with you. Or anyone for that matter."

"Sparky, please." Sky begged. "If I don't do well on this stupid essay, they'll hold me back a year in school. I don't wanna be held back, and this Skipper guy is my only chance at moving forward."

"Why him?" Sparky asked.

"Because you know him, and I trust you." Sky said. "I would feel more comfortable talking to someone my friend knew."

"I guess I can understand that." Sparky went silent, thinking about it. Then, he sighed. "Okay. I'll come out and pick you up Saturday and you can spend the night in Propwash. Sound good?"

"Great!" Sky said happily. "Thank you so much, Sparkplug."

"Hey, don't get your hopes up." Sparky warned. "I'm just taking you to talk to Skipper. You're the one who's gotta win him over."

"Hey, I'm ten. I'll just amp up the cute factor and he'll melt." Sky said confidently.

Sparky laughed, clearly not convinced. "Good luck with that, kiddo."

Sky would never admit she felt a bit nervous to meet Skipper. Heck, she only knew Sparky because of a fateful meeting three years ago. Sparky was visiting Sterling for medical supplies and found Sky after she had run away from the orphanage. He stayed with her the entire day, making sure she was all right before helping her get back to the orphanage. The two became best friends after that, often writing to each other. Sparky returns to Sterling every once in a while for more supplies, always staying a few extra days to hang out with Sky. But Sky had only been to Propwash once before, and she never met Skipper. Despite knowing all of that, Sky was determined to not let something like this prevent her from moving on to the next grade. So when Sparky came by to pick her up Saturday, she eagerly bid Rosa farewell before joining him.

"Sky, this is Chug. He's a good friend of mine." Sparky introduced Sky to the forest green fuel truck waiting on the street with a trailer hitched up to him. "Chug, this is Skylar."

"Hey there, cutie!" Chug cooed. "Aw, aren't ya just the most adorable thing?"

Sky rolled her eyes. "Tell that to the girls in my class."

Chug laughed. "Eh, don't worry about them. Sparky tells me ya get teased at school."

"Oh did he?" Sky raised an eyebrow at the forklift as they boarded the trailer. Sparky just gave a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Yeah, but I'd be happy to 'accidentally' spill some fuel on them if ya want." Chug offered.

Sky smirked. "I'll have to think about that." All right, I like this Chug guy. She, Sparky, and Chug chatted the entire drive to Propwash Junction, and Sky definitely began warming up to the fuel truck. Sparky warned her to be courteous and careful with her words when she spoke to Skipper. Chug echoed the instructions, claiming Skipper to be quite the hardcore commander. Sky nodded in understanding, beginning to wonder what she got herself into.

It took about an hour to drive to Propwash Junction, and when Chug announced they were entering town, Sky stood up hurriedly to stare ahead. She smiled a bit; for some reason, the tiny town of Propwash held a special place in her heart. She liked it was in the middle of nowhere and not on the map; wide open spaces, plenty of friendly residents, and (best of all) it was home to her only friend. But Sky's smile fell to a frown as she sat back in the trailer. She loved Propwash Junction, but something told her she just didn't belong there.

When you're an orphan, you don't belong anywhere.

"Here we are!" Chug announced, stopping at the Fill N' Fly to let Sparky and Sky out. Sky slung her backpack over her shoulder, where she kept her toiletries, a few books, and a spare set of overalls. She followed Sparky through the tiny airport town and to a hangar at the end of the runway, Sparky reminding her to be respectful and gentle. Sky nodded, only half-listening. She didn't exactly want to bother Skipper any more than she needed to anyway, so the sooner she could get his answers the better for both of them.

Sky eyed the flag on top of the hanger, black and depicting a set of crossed wrenches and a piston that looked very much like a skull. She gulped a little, trying to remember anything about the Jolly Wrenches. But she steeled her nerves and knocked on the hanger door. The double doors slid open, and Sky's eyes widened a bit. She was forced to crane her neck up a bit to stare into the blue-gray eyes of the huge Corsair before her.

Oh Mother of Dodge. Sky thought. Sparky didn't mention he was freaking huge!

"Hey Skip!" Sparky greeted warmly, despite the glare Skipper had trained on the little girl beside his medic. "So, this is Skylar. She has a question for you. Go on, Sky."

Sky blinked, suddenly brought back into reality. "Uh, right. Well, um, I have to write this dumb essay about my hero. The problem is, I don't have a hero, so my teacher told me to write about someone who does heroic things, like a soldier." Sky hoped Skipper would understand and say something, but the Corsair continued to glare at her. Sky gulped again. "Um, so…I was thinking you could…..you know, be the guy I write about?"

Skipper's glare never faltered. Then, quite suddenly, the double doors to the hanger slammed shut.

Sparky sighed. "Told ya so."

Sky glared. Any regard to showing respect to Skipper disappeared in an instant. She marched up to the hanger door and banged on it with her fist. "Hey!" The doors opened, revealing a still-glaring Skipper. Sky matched his look. "If you don't want to talk, you could've just said so." Sky snapped.

"Uh, Sky?" Sparky said nervously.

Sky ignored him. "You don't have to talk to me at all. I have a worksheet with questions from my teacher. You can answer those and then I'll write the report from there."

Skipper's glare seemed to deepen, and he slammed the doors shut again.

Sky was fuming now, and Sparky could see this going downhill much faster than he anticipated. "Sky, maybe we should go."

The young girl ignored him again, banging on the hanger doors for a second time. "Open these doors right now!"

"Sky!" Sparky hissed. "This is so not helping!"

"Sparky, I am not going to be held back a grade just because of some….." She raised her voice to be heard through the hanger doors. "….dumb old crankshaft! The least he could do is answer the stupid questions my teacher gave me."

The hanger doors suddenly slid open, and Skipper actually stuck his nose out of the hanger. His irate glare made Sparky cringe. "Why?" Skipper demanded, looking to Sky as the girl glared back at him. "Give me one, very good, reason why I should even consider helping you!"

"Because you'd be doing something nice?" Sky offered in a sassy tone. "Or do you not even know the meaning of the word?"

"You're one to talk about niceness!" Skipper snapped. "I see no reason why I should offer help to a spoiled brat like you! I can only feel sorry for your parents."

Sky's glare deepened. "I'm an orphan."

Skipper paused, but then scoffed. "Is that supposed to elicit sympathy from me? There are thousands of orphans in this entire country alone, just like you. Don't think that just because you've been hit with hardship that you can make others feel terrible about themselves."

"Not all orphans are psyche humans." Sky countered.

"Well, aren't we special?" Skipper mocked.

Sky's fists clenched. She hardly cared that Skipper towered over her anymore. "You can't talk to me like that!"

"Why not?" Skipper demanded. "Initial respect is given, eternal respect is earned. I showed you initial respect by answering the door the first time and listening to you speak. I decided to tolerate you when you knocked a second time. You haven't shown me a shred of respect since you first arrived here. If you think I'm just supposed to treat you with respect because you feel you deserve it, you've got another thing coming!"

"This should not be so difficult!" Sky shouted. "I just need a bit of your time. That shouldn't be so hard!"

"Why should I give up my time for someone who's not willing to put forth the work?" Skipper snapped. "You came to me because you need an easy A. Well I am not going to encourage your laziness!"

"I can put forth the work and I will!" Sky said determinedly.

"Oh really?" Skipper scoffed.

"I wouldn't still be standing here if I wasn't prepared to fight for this." Sky said.

Skipper was finally surprised by the girl's words. Of all the responses he expected, that certainly wasn't one of them. Sky was a bit surprised herself, but she stood firm. Yes, maybe she was kind of looking for an easy A. Anything to keep her from being held back. But more than that, she wanted to talk to Skipper because Sparky knew him, and that's the closest she was going to get to talking to someone she knew. No way would she talk to a complete stranger, so Skipper was her only option.

Skipper narrowed his eyes at Sky, blue-gray eyes locked with blue-green, and the two stared at each other for a long, tense moment. "Let me see that worksheet you got." Skipper finally said.

"You gonna help me?" Sky asked bitterly as she dug into her backpack.

"Just show me." Skipper snapped. Sky rolled her eyes and handed her worksheet to Sparky, who drove into the hanger and emerged with a small scissor lift. He raised the paper to Skipper's eye level, allowing the Corsair to skim over the questions. He stared at Sky again. "When's this thing due?"

"Not this coming Friday but the one after that." Sky replied, hiding her hope with a disdainful look.

Skipper "hmm"-ed in thought. Sparky lowered himself down and put the scissor lift away, returning to Sky's side. Skipper and Sky locked eyes. Finally, Skipper spoke. "I'll make a deal with you, Skylar."

"What's that?" Sky asked.

"You do something for me, I do something for you." Skipper offered. "Starting Monday, you come to Propwash after school and do chores for me. Every chore you do will earn you two questions answered. You got twelve questions, so over the next six days you'll do some work for me in exchange for getting the questions answered."

Sky laughed in disbelief. "Seriously? Oh no. No way. I am not going to become your personal slave."

"I don't see how you have much of a choice." Skipper noted. "You do this or you get held back." He could see a flash of fear in Sky's eyes, but she quickly resumed glaring. He matched her look. "Deal?"

Sky stared at Skipper for a long moment, weighing her options. Finally, she sighed/growled angrily. "Deal."

When Sparky finally took Sky home Sunday afternoon, Sky glowered at nothing in particular the entire drive. She clearly didn't like the situation Skipper forced onto her. Still, Sparky had to admire the girl's persistence. She was either completely insane or really determined to talk to him for her essay.

"Hey there, chica!" Rosa greeted as Sky and Sparky walked up to the orphanage. "How was the weekend?"

"Great." Sky droned sarcastically. "I've become the personal slave to a senile Corsair!" She marched into the house and ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut. A loud, frustrated scream rang out through the house.

Rosa sighed, smiling at Sparky. "Gracias for taking care of her."

"It's my pleasure." Sparky assured. "She really is a nice kid, even if she's got a bit of a temper."

Rosa chuckled. "Yes, I've learned to cope with it. Unfortunately, that girl has been put through too much than she or any other child deserves."

"What do you mean?" Sparky asked.

"I'm afraid that's not my place to say." Rosa said sadly. She shook her head and smiled again. "Gracias again, Sparky. You have such a positive influence on her life, even if it doesn't show at first."

Sparky shrugged his forks. "Eh, it's nothing. But I do want you to know that Sky's gonna be coming to Propwash more often this week and maybe some of next week."

"Oh?" Rosa asked, looking a little confused.

"Me and…..a buddy of mine are helping her with her final essay." Sparky explained. "I'll be picking her up from school and taking her to Propwash every day. But don't worry, I'll have her back before it gets too late."

"Wonderful!" Rosa said happily. "Oh, I bet she'll have a great time!"

Sparky offered a somewhat weak smile. I'm not so sure.