**AN: I do not own any of the Planes or Cars movies, I only own my OCs I have added in my story. Here is a treat for you, an update so soon. However, this will be my last free day for a while. Don't expect the next one so soon. Please comment and review, let me know if you would like to see anything in my next chapter.
Chapter 3
A few days had passed, and the gang was all back in Propwash getting back to their normal routines. Though Sky's words had cheered him up somewhat, Dusty was still a little down at not making the cut. One could easily tell just by watching him work the fields. For once, he was pacing himself and going the right speed to dust the crops. Normally, he would be all over the place, speeding and driving Ledbottom crazy.
Letting out a big sigh, Sky stared at him from the front of Dottie's shop. Even her usual upbeat attitude was somber in the face of her partner's disappointment. They had both wanted this chance so bad it hurt.
"Hey Sky, feeling alright?"
The navigator turned around to see Gus standing there, Chug by his side fueling up Mayday.
"Hey Gus, yeah I'm alright," Sky responded, picking up her toolbox, "still just a bit disappointed about the trials."
Gus had always been like a big brother to Sky, always playing the goof and making her laugh when she felt down. This was one of those times.
"Well lucky for you, I have just the thing," Gus teased, walking toward Sky with his hands up, wiggling his fingers.
"Oh no," Sky warned, backing up, "don't you dare…"
Sky was cut off mid-sentence as Gus grabbed her up around the middle. Chug and Mayday turned to see what the commotion was, and they smiled at the fun scene.
Gus was clutching Sky tickling her, all the while she was letting out loud giggles and struggling to break free. When Gus felt enough was enough, he planted Sky back on the ground, both trying to catch their breaths.
At times like these, they could never understand why her own aunt would abandon such a sweet girl on the side of the road. If Sky considered you family, she would stand up for you, even if that meant getting smacked down.
Finally getting her breath back, Sky turned to Gus and said, "thanks Gus, I feel much better."
Gus just smiled back and said, "that's what big brothers are for."
Sky smiled back, picked up her toolbox, and headed back inside the garage. Dottie wheeled by moving some boxes out of the way. Dottie smiled at her adopted daughter's upbeat smile as she moved past.
"Don't forget, Bella needs help with Bobby's wing repair," Dottie called to Sky.
"No problem mama, I'll get right on that!" Sky called back, heading over to Bella, who was grabbing the welding gear. The small plane and her big sister greeted her as she got to work, slapping on the gear, and grabbing the welder.
Dottie gave Gus and Chug a look of thanks as she wheeled over to a few other vehicles to chat.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
"Ow, dang nabbit let me drive!"
The sound came from a delivery van chugging along down the road. The many miscellaneous potholes on the road making for a very peeved passenger.
Dusty and Sky were in for a big surprise.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
"All fueled up and ready to go," Chug said to Mayday as he finished topping off his fuel.
"That will be $35," Gus said to Big Bruce, Mayday's partner. Bruce is Gus's father and Mayday's partner firefighter. They had been the town's firefighters for decades, both very proud to serve their little town.
"Thanks Gus, here's the money," Bruce said, putting the exact change into Gus's hand, "you'll be by later for training, right?"
"Yes dad, I will be, Sky and Dusty aren't the only ones who train hard around here," Gus jokingly replied.
"Alright boy I'll see you around Sunday for family dinner night," Bruce called back, holding on to Mayday's side as they drove off.
Just after Mayday had left, the delivery truck pulled up to a screeching halt right in front of Chug and Gus.
The back opened to reveal the forklift who was the referee for the time trials the week prior. From the look on his face, he was not a happy camper now.
"Why don't you go back, I think you actually missed one pothole!" he screeched, wheeling down the ramp that slid out the back of the truck. Right away, he went up to Chug and Gus.
"Please tell me this is Propwash Junction!?" the referee said in exasperation.
"You are here," Gus chimed in.
"You know, you're not even on the map!" the referee belted out.
"Yeah, pretty drive though right?" Chug put in.
"Oh yeah, if you like all that dirt and corn," the referee responded, muttering that last part.
"Hey guys, what's going on here?"
All three males turned to see Bella, who had asked the question, Sky right on her heels. Right away, Sky noted the forklift and where she knew him from.
"Hey, you're the referee from the rally time trials," Sky noted, "what brings you all the way out here?"
At once the referee recognized the spitfire navigator of the racer team he was looking to find.
"That I am," the referee stated, "and you must be Sky Hartwell, the navigator for one Strut Jetstream?"
Sky inwardly groaned at the ridiculous name, but nevertheless gave a nod noting he was correct in his assumption.
"Is somebody asking for me?"
Sky turned to see Dusty wheeling over to the group.
"Hey partner, taking your 30 for lunch?" Sky asked, waving him over.
Just as Dusty pulled up, Sky motioned to the forklift and explained, "this nice gentleman over here has been looking for us, Strut Jetstream."
Noting Dusty's confused look, she motioned with her eyes at Chug.
"Ohhh," Dusty acknowledged, partly in embarrassment. Sky then cleared her throat, this time motioning to the forklift.
"Yes, that's me," Dusty jabbered, "except you're…mispronouncing it…slightly…"
"I am?" the referee asked.
"Mhm, its actually…" Dusty cleared his throat, "Dusty Crophopper."
"Dusty…Crophopper?" the referee asked, raising his brow.
"Yeah, its Scandinavian," Dusty belted out. Sky just stood there, smacking her head into her palm.
"Right, and I'm Egyptian," the referee said back sarcastically.
As soon as he leaned in towards Dusty to say so, he caught a whiff of the orange plane.
Jumping back waving his clipboard, he shouted, "googly moogly, what is that smell?!"
"It's Vitaminamulch," Dusty grumbled in embarrassment.
"Vita-mina-what?" the referee asked in confusion.
Right at that moment, Leadbottom was coming around his shop, which was located right next door to Dottie's garage. Hearing the forklift's question, he came around to croon about his mulch. Sky immediately put both hands to her nose, trying to keep out the smell. On a regular basis, the mulch always gave Dusty a bit of an odor. But Leadbottom, he was constantly covered in it, making the stench that much more potent.
"The finest smelling compost this side of the Mississippi, original, creamy and chunky style," Leadbottom gushed out, taking a big whiff.
Everyone else just stared at him in disbelief and disgust.
"Oh, I love it, I love it," Leadbottom carried on, "smells like daffodils and Sunday dinner!"
Everybody's looks of disbelief just followed him as he wheeled away, singing about his love of compost. The referee then turned his gaze back to the vehicles and humans.
"Ugh, you know that old boy needs some help, right?" the referee noted, thinking that the old plane had a few screws loose.
All at once, vehicles and humans let out a sigh and collectively admitted, "yeah."
Trying to right the mood, Bella then clapped both her hands together loudly.
"Okay, now that we have established that," Bella jolted out, "how can we help you?"
"Oh, right," the referee continued, "are you familiar with the racing fuel additive, nitromethane?"
"Oh yeah, zip juice, go-go punch," Chug continued on, "that stuff will blur your vision and slur your speech…"
He was cut off as both Sky and Gus bumped him with their elbows, motioning him to 'shut your trap'! Even Dusty was giving his friend a look.
"Oh yeah, it's illegal, totally illegal," Chug finished dejectedly, "sorry."
"Yes, you're right about the illegal bit," the referee explained, "illegal fuel intake means an automatic disqualification for those participating in the rally."
"Yes, but what does that have to do with us?" Sky asked.
"That stuff was found in the tank of the fifth-place qualifier, Fanzarelli," he explained.
"Wait, so you're saying…" Dusty inquired in a hopeful tone.
"He and his navigator are out, you two are in, congratulations," the referee finished off.
It was dead silent…for all of two seconds.
"They're in?" Chug asked.
"Mhm," the referee confirmed.
"They're in!" Chug cheered, whistling to the others nearby, "Dusty and Sky are in the race!"
His cheers were met with congratulations, disbelief (from Dottie), and loud whooping from Sky. She was so excited, she jumped on the referee, giving him a big hug.
"Thank you!" Sky yelled in joy; the referee annoyed about being jumped on. Sky then turned to her plane partner, jumping on him still cheering.
"Hey, somebody want to clue me in?" Audie called, jogging over. He had gotten up early to go on a run and had just returned. Sky then ran over to Audie, once again sending him to the ground with one of her hugs. After successfully flattening her best human friend, she got off him and pulled him back to his feet.
"Audie, Fanzarelli was disqualified, me and Dusty are in the rally!" Sky shouted, still jittery from the excitement.
Hearing the news, a cross between a smile and look of worry spread across his face.
"Congratulations Sky, I'm really happy for you," Audie admitted, engulfing Sky in a hug, picking her up off the ground spinning her. By the time Sky finally touched down again, she looked back to see Dusty was wheeling off towards the hangar that was his home.
"Hey, where is he going? The excitement too much for him?" Audie questioned, also seeing Dusty wheel off.
"Come on Audie, let's go check on him," Sky said, turning and running after her plane partner, Audie right on her heels.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
The two humans found Dusty in his hangar, staring at a big map on his wall. Dusty had a relatively small hangar, but it was enough for him to live comfortably. Sky and Audie stepped into the hangar, Sky getting Dusty's attention by knocking on the wall. Dusty turned to see them both, giving a small smile in response.
"Hey Dust-meister," Sky teased, "what's eating you?"
Dusty knew that Sky was just trying to cheer him up, but the bundle of nerves in his gut just wouldn't let him respond. So, he simply turned back to the map. It was of the route for the Wings Around the Globe.
Audie picked up on Dusty's nerves, inquiring, "so I was right before, you are nervous about the race."
At Audie's statement, Dusty let out a big sigh.
"Audie, I was so excited before," Dusty began, "but now, I'm not so sure."
"Where did this sudden attitude come from?" Sky questioned.
"Hurricanes, monsoons, gale force winds, freezing my wings off one day, burning them off the next," Dusty listed out, "crossing oceans thousands of miles wide…"
"Ohhh," Audie noted, "even from where I was, I could hear a bit of what Chug and Gus were yipping out."
"Relying on your navigator to be sharp at every second, being the advisor when things get tough," Sky put in, Dusty's words churning a bundle of nerves in her gut too.
"Before, you were excited about the possibility of the race," Audie concluded, "now that the race is a reality, you're both nervous about the actual challenge."
In response, both plane and navigator let out a big sigh.
"Yep, and it's a bad idea."
Both humans and Dusty turned to see Skipper at the hangar entrance. Sparky the forklift right behind him, pushing him with his gear.
Dusty moved back a bit in slight fear, Sky gave an annoyed face, Audie just turned and looked at a shelf of Dusty's racer collectibles.
"Skipper…" Sky said with a warning tone. Though she loved Skipper like a father, she could tell that they were both in for a lecture.
"You'll end up a smoking hole on the side of a mountain with your parts spread over five countries," Skipper continued.
"What makes you say that?" Dusty exclaimed.
"You're going up against some of the best racers in the world," Skipper explained, "and some of them don't even finish."
"Skipper…" Sky warned again. Sparky then pushed Skipper towards the window on the wall to the left of the one where the map was hanging.
"You're sloppy on your rolls, wide on your turns, slow on your straightaways…" Skipper listed out, peering out to the cornfield. It was the same one that Dusty and Sky flew over when they did their racing training.
"Wait, have you been watching us?" Dusty inquired; Sky now intrigued by his words.
"Huh, watching you both make fools out of yourselves!" Skipper retorted.
"Hey, who are you calling a fool?" Sky hissed out.
Sparky then turned Skipper around, so he was facing Sky.
"I'm surprised you haven't noticed," Skipper accused, "you're supposed to be his navigator, you should be making note of those corrections."
At Skipper's words, Sky was taken back. She realized that she had not noticed those little mistakes of Dusty's. She was fully trained as a mechanic, knew the ins and outs of a plane well. However, all her knowledge and training as a navigator had come from books and YouTube videos. She had never had any formal training when it came to being a navigator. As she absorbed this realization, Skipper continued his lecture at them both.
"Dusty needs to be tighter getting in and out of his knife edge," he informed, "any extra control input could cost you speed and seconds."
"So, you think we're overcorrecting?" Dusty asked.
"Exactly, rookie mistake," Skipper responded.
"Wait, are you giving us pointers?" Dusty asked cheekily. At Dusty's words, Sky hid the small smile that came across her face. Skipper was a former flight trainer in the Navy, one of the best. He was stubborn, and never intervened in another's business unless he wanted to. However, he would not offer anything if he believed that his time and effort wouldn't be well spent. Mentally, she crossed her fingers hoping for the best.
"No, I'm telling you to forget all this racing malarkey," Skipper belted out, "You just ain't built for it! You're a crop-duster!"
Seeing that the situation wasn't going well, Sky opened her mouth to intervene. However, Dusty beat her to it.
"You don't think I know that?!" Dusty argued back, "You don't think I know that?!"
At Dusty's words, Sky closed her mouth to see where this turn of events would lead.
"I'm the one whose been flying back and forth across the same fields day after day, month after month, for YEARS," Dusty bellowed, "I've flown thousands of miles, and I've…never been anywhere."
Letting out a deep sigh, Dusty finished dejectedly, "I'm not like you, you were built to fight, and look what you did...you're a hero."
At Dusty's words, Skipper's eyes fell on Sky, who gave him a stern look, motioning him to look back at the crop-duster.
"I'm just trying to prove that maybe, just maybe," Dusty said hopefully, "that I can do more than what I was built for."
Looking over once more to Sky, Skipper softened his look at the young woman he thought of as a granddaughter. He remembered their talk about her being a navigator, and the big reason he was on the fence about it was the plane she had chosen as a partner. But seeing Dusty's determination, he relented to Sky, letting her know he was willing to take a chance and support her. Hardening his gaze once again, Skipper turned back to Dusty.
"0500 tomorrow morning, don't be late," Skipper stated, Sparky pushing him out the hangar.
"Wait, 0500?" Dusty asked confused.
"Yeah, five a.m.," Sparky clarified, leaving out the door.
At those last words, Dusty sported the biggest smile on his face. He was finally going to get the training he needed.
"But first," Audie interjected, "Sky, you're gonna need some on the ground tutorials on navigation."
"Wait Audie, you're offering to help me?" Sky asked.
"Well duh, of course I will, I have to make sure you both come back in one piece," Audie chuckled out.
Sky grabbed his hands, giving him multiple thanks. But at their short conversation, they were interrupted.
"Audie?"
Sky and Audie turned to see Skipper just at the hangar entrance. In all the commotion over Dusty, Skipper hadn't noticed the young man standing there. But now that he had, the Skipper looked over with an expression that was both happy and wary. He was happy at seeing his adopted son, but wary as they were still not on good speaking terms. Despite Audie being back for over a week, and his promise to Sky, Skipper had not yet had the chance to speak with him. Right when Skipper had called out to Audie, the human immediately turned his head away with a hurt gaze. The atmosphere in the room suddenly took on a heavy undertone. Poor Dusty just stood there awkwardly, not aware of what was happening.
Right when Sky put her hand on Audie's shoulder, he brushed it off and stormed out of the hangar. Skipper turned away and sighed heavy, a look of pure sadness etched onto his face.
"Hey Dusty, I'll see you tomorrow morning for practice, ok?" Sky asked, trying to erase the pungent sadness in the air.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Sky," Dusty said, looking over to his map again.
Once she finished her goodbyes, she ran out of the hangar after Audie.
"Sparky!" Sky shouted, the little forklift responding with a "yeah".
"Grab Skipper and follow me!" Sky ordered.
The little forklift followed immediately, pushing Skipper in the direction Sky had taken. It took a minute, but Sky finally found Audie walking down the runway. Judging by the stiffness in his shoulders, seeing Skipper had put him in a bad mood.
Audie was notorious around town for being an easy-going guy; but if you got on his bad side, you had better stand clear. Luckily for Sky, she was one of the few people who could approach him when he was like this. She picked up her speed and started after her friend. Right after passing him, she jumped up and landed facing Audie. He tried to walk past her, but Sky kept her arms out, blocking him every time he tried to go around her. After a few minutes of this, Audie stopped and hunched over, grabbed his hair in annoyance. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Audie then looked up at his friend. Sky had her arms crossed, simply waiting for Audie to stop being stupid and talk to her. When she gaged that he was a little calmer, Sky uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around his middle. Audie squeezed back, accepting the hug, and relieving the last bit of tension. Ever since they were kids, that was their little ritual of calming each other down. Words would not do in the heat of the moment, so they simply waited until the other was out of steam to give a hug. It was their way of showing they were there for each other, no matter what.
Once they released, Sky motioned for Audie to turn around. When he did, he saw Skipper and Sparky right there. Before either of them could say a thing, Sky gave a quick announcement.
"I love you both, you know that right?"
Both men gave a nod at her words.
"Good, and I know you both know how much it hurts when I see my family in pain?"
Again, both men nodded at her words.
"Now, I don't know what either of you said to cause this dispute, but it ends here and now!"
Both men scooted back just a bit at her words, Sky could be a real force of nature when she wanted to be.
"Me and Sparky are going to go over there," she gestured to a group of trees off the runway, "we won't listen in, but you both are going to talk this out like adults. Understood?"
"Understood!" Skipper acknowledged.
"Aye, captain!" Audie saluted at her words.
Smiling at her accomplishment, she gestured for Sparky to follow her, and they went over to the grove of trees to wait until the father and son were finished.
Turning to one another, each giving a big sigh, the discussion began.
~~~~88888~~~~~
For the first few minutes, neither said anything, just intermittently looking at one another and turning away.
It was Skipper who finally broke the silence.
"Son…"
Audie looked up to Skipper, not sure what he was expecting. Skipper's eyes were downcast, the shame preventing him from meeting Audie's gaze.
"Audie, I'm sorry son for what I said to you," Skipper apologized, "I was out of line."
"Yeah, you were."
Skipper finally looked up, meeting Audie's hard gaze. Despite the rage up front, Skipper knew better. He could see the sadness in his boy's eyes. He knew his words had cut deep.
"I know the risks of going into the Navy," Audie began, "hell, you were the one who taught me all about it!"
Skipper could feel his heart getting heavier.
"What I don't understand is why you're so against it. Part of the reason I decided to enlist is because of your influence."
Skipper once again could barely look at Audie directly. He could hear his son letting out a huge sigh before continuing his speech.
"But then I was stationed on the Flysenhower, and I saw the wall of fame."
In that moment, Skipper could feel his heart turn to stone and drop out of his chest. This time, he made direct eye contact with his son. He could see it.
The secret he had tried so hard to hide from his kids…he knew…Audie knew.
In that moment, nothing terrified him more than what his son was going to say.
**AN: Oooh, what is Audie going to reveal to his adopted father? Will Sky know of this secret? Find out in the next chapter of Nothing Can Stop Me Now. I am so itching to continue with this story, because I already have a few creative ideas for a sequel (or two, lol). Though no promises, just wait and see. Don't forget to rate and review!