**AN: Hey guys, here is my next chapter of NCSM. Once again, I do not own the Cars or Planes movies, just my OCs in the story. I hope you all enjoy, sorry for the wait. My updates from here on out will be slow until next month when my classes let out. As always, enjoy the read and don't forget to rate and review (no flames, please).
Chapter 4
As promised, bright and early the next morning, Dusty and Sky were up and ready at Skipper's hangar. Skipper was inspecting them both, making sure they were ready for the day. Leadbottom and Dottie were gracious enough to give them both the time off to train. There was only so much time left before the race, and they were determined to make each day count.
Though it took some time away from their sleep, Sky had insisted Dusty have a thorough bath the night before. There was no way that Sky was going to train with Dusty when he smelled like the back of a dump truck. Thankfully, she managed to squeeze in a few hours and still get ready for the day. She now stood before her coaches in her homemade flight suit and combat boots.
Audie was present next to Skipper, the two of them finally worked out their feud and reconciled thanks to Sky.
"Attention!" Skipper shouted, Dusty and Sky both stood stock still, eyes forward.
"Today we will start off with an initial inspection," Skipper explained, "I am going to see what you two can do together, then assess you individually."
Dusty and Sky nodded at Skipper's instructions.
"Once I have fully assessed you together," he looked at Dusty, "Dusty will be doing some runs with me."
Audie then piped up, "Sky, you will be working with me; we need to set the foundation on your navigation skills."
Sky nodded at her friend's words, turning her attention back to Skipper.
"Alright, for communication purposes, I'll be transmitting to you both at the same time, but I will designate which instructions go to who."
Skipper began his explanations, Dusty and Sky gave a nod of acknowledgement.
"When I call out to Sky-Crop, it means I'm giving it to you both," Skipper concluded explaining.
Dusty and Sky once again nodded, ready to take to the sky.
"Okay, mount up and head to the runway," Skipper instructed, "then fly over the corn field and show me what you guys can do."
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
With that, Sky put on her helmet and slipped on her gloves. Pulling her goggles over her eyes, Dusty popped open the cockpit and she climbed in. Once she was secured, Dusty started his engine and taxied to the runway. As they took off towards the corn field, Skipper and Audie then headed towards an open area near the runway where they could view the air racing team in action.
As they were heading to the spot, Skipper turned, speaking to his son.
"Thank you, Audie, for forgiving me, I don't think I could go another day with us not talking."
"I feel the same way…Dad."
Skipper turned to his son, feeling a warmth in his chest. Audie returned the smile, but with a somber look to it.
"I understand that this is your cross to bear Dad," Audie confessed, "but I'm not comfortable with this, Sky and I don't keep secrets from one another."
"I know Audie, and I would never ask you to keep something like that from Sky…I'm just…not ready to tell her yet."
"Would you have ever told me if I hadn't found out before and confronted you?"
Skipper gave a heavy sigh at his son's words. It seemed he was doing that quite a bit. But how could he have confessed his greatest sin to the two kids he looked to as his own? They both thought the world of him, how would they feel knowing he had lied to them from the beginning?
"Well, I guess I can't put too much blame on you for that…especially since I was already keeping something from Sky."
Seeing an opportunity to tease, Skipper noted, "oh, the one about you being smitten with my granddaughter?"
Audie stopped in his tracks, looking anywhere but at his dad. Seeing as he was caught in a trap, he decided to play dumb.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Audie said dismissively.
Hearing laughter, Audie turned to see both Skipper and Sparky convulsing with hysterics.
"Hey," Audie complained, now sounding like a child throwing a tantrum, "it's not funny."
Skipper finally ceased his guffawing a minute later so he could breathe. He bit his lip as to not break out in laughter again, though it was difficult. His now twenty-year-old son was pouting like he was still a child. Seeing how he was torturing him enough, Skipper decided to ease Audie's worry.
"Audie, you just need to tell her how you feel," Skipper explained, "the longer you wait, the more time you allow for another guy to swoop in."
"Geez, you make it sound like she will be kidnapped by a bad guy," Audie joked, trying to lessen his embarrassment.
Skipper responded with a small round of chuckles. Sparky hated to interrupt this touching moment between father and son, but the two had seemed to forget their original purpose for coming out here.
"Um guys," Sparky interjected, both guy turning to him, "aren't we forgetting about something?"
Just then, they heard each of their respective radios spark to life. While Skipper had his radio already built into him, Audie carried a handset that he was listening with a pair of bulky headphones.
Sky-High to Skipper, come in
At once, both plane and pilot remembered their trainees and turned to start their assessment.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
Flying just above the cornfield, Dusty and Sky were cruising waiting for their first instruction.
Skipper and Audie, now paying attention, turned their eyes to the crop duster flying above. Chug and Gus, who had turned up just minutes before, waited in anticipation to see their buddies in action.
"Sparky, binoculars," Skipper commanded Sparky, who placed a pair of plane-sized binoculars on Skipper's outstretched wing. Skipper then folded in his wing, the binoculars now sitting on his face.
Hearing a weird sound, the fuel truck and forklift turned to see Gus letting out a big yawn. In between guzzling down a large coffee, he was leaning back stretching out his arms. He was not used to getting up before the crack of dawn and was not yet awake.
"Ha-ha, Chug, I think Gus needs to fuel up more than you do," Sparky joked, poking fun at Gus.
"Hardy har har," Gus retorted, still mid-yawn, "I was the one who had to pull Chug out of bed this morning."
Chug laughed at Gus's attempt to tease him, knowing it was all in good fun.
"Ok guys, we're all here, now let's cheer on our friends!" Chug shouted out.
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Skipper scolded loudly, the machines and human standing at attention, all going silent.
"Pay attention now, we have a lot of work to do," Skipper commanded, turning his attention back to his trainees.
Skipper to Sky-High, got a visual, ready to begin, over
Sky-High to Skipper, roger, ready to start training, over
Skipper to Sky-Crop, let's begin, over
Skipper to Crophopper, remember this, it ain't how fast you fly, it's how you fly fast, over
Crophopper to Skipper, roger that, over
Skipper to Sky-Crop, show me what you got, over
"Oh yeah!" Dusty cheered, soaring over to the corn rows.
Sky-High to Crophopper, Dusty, let's start off with the sprints, easy on the pitch, over
Crophopper to Sky-High, roger, over
Dusty and Sky then flew up and over several of the corn rows, demonstrating their ability to maneuver.
Audie to Sky-High, watch Dusty's pitch angle, you lose momentum if you pitch too low, over
Sky-High to Audie, roger that, over
With that, Audie continued his watch, noting where Sky needed some additional instruction.
Skipper to Sky-Crop, great, you can fly up and down, what else can you do, show me your turns, over
Sensing that Skipper was less than impressed, Sky instructed Dusty to fly on the knife edge in and out of a few trees.
Skipper to Sky-Crop, turns are terrible, Sky what are you telling him, over
Feeling a bit frustrated, Sky and Dusty took a few more turns, each of them earning a scolding from the old corsair.
"Keep your nose up!" Skipper yelled into the radio, yet again displeased by the flying duo.
"Hey Skip," Sparky noted to Skipper, pointing one of his forks up.
Seeing at what Sparky was getting at, Skipper called into the radio.
Skipper to Sky-Crop, you two want speed, over
Sky-High to Skipper, is that a question, over
Skipper to Sky-Crop, I mean do you two want serious, boat-rattling speed, over
Crophopper to Skipper, oh yeah, over
Skipper to Sky-Crop, look up at those clouds…
Sky and Dusty looked up to the big blue, wondering what Skipper was getting at.
…highway in the sky, tail winds like nothing you have ever flown, over
Not noticing Dusty's apprehension, the smile on Sky's face grew ever more, understanding Skipper's message.
Sky-High to Skipper, roger that, over
"Dusty, turn your nose up, full throttle, we're going above the clouds!" Sky radioed to Dusty, the orange plane feeling a deep pit forming in his gut.
"R-r-r-roger that, Sky," Dusty warbled out, beginning his ascent.
Skipper to Sky-Crop, power up, firewall thrust, max torque, max torque…
Leaving the line open for Skipper to give instruction, Sky was eyeing the controls and keeping an eye on Dusty's angle of ascent. She noted that everything was going well, the power output and speed were good so far.
"Alright Dusty, maintain V-Y, max rate, now," Sky informed, noting their controls and pitch angle.
"R-r-r-roger Sky," Dusty again burbled out, his nerves now getting to him.
"Dusty, you good?" Sky asked in a concerned voice.
She never got a reply, for Dusty had just let his eyes drift downward.
Skipper to Sky-Crop, looking good, excellent instruction Sky, maintain climb, over
Sky-High to Skipper, roger that, over
Just as Sky ended the transmission, she noticed some slight shaking from her plane partner. Her concern growing, Sky decided to play the firm card.
"Dusty, eyes up, maintain climb!" Sky shouted, wanting her partner to straighten out so they didn't run into any issues. Unfortunately, her words did not reach her now terrified partner.
From the ground, Skipper and Audie could see there was a problem. Before Skipper could get in a word, Audie clicked the transmit button, hoping to get the team back into gear.
Audie to Sky-Crop, Dusty your nose is too high, pitch angle down, over
Sky-High to Audie, roger that, over
Sky noted Audie's transmission, once again shouting to Dusty to adjust the pitch angle. Dusty once again did not hear her, his eyes now seeing the tiny world below. He began to hyperventilate, an anxiety attack coming on.
"DUSTY! Pitch angle down or we're going to stall and crash!"
Dusty jolted at his navigator's shout, realizing that Sky was now yelling at him in fear. Now deciding enough was enough, Dusty pulled an up and over to head back down.
"Dusty, are you okay? What happened?" Sky asked very concerned.
"Sky, I'm so sorry I, I should have told you before," Dusty yammered out, wanting to get back to the ground ASAP.
"Told me what?" Sky asked, now more confused than scared.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
"What are you two doing?!" Skipper yelled, pulling his binoculars down, angrily staring at the crop duster.
"Okay Dad let's meet them at the runway, make sure they're okay," Audie said concerned for his friends. Chug and Gus followed Audie as he sprinted to the runway. Skipper gave out a frustrated sigh, motioning for Sparky to wheel him after the concerned group.
~~~~~88888~~~~~
Just after touching down on the ground, Dusty wheeled to a stop, trying to catch his breath. Once he slowed down enough, Sky opened the cockpit and hopped out. Jumping down in front of her partner, she began her task of trying to get the plane to calm down.
"Dusty, it's okay, you're okay, shhhh," Sky calmly spoke rubbing the front of Dusty's nose. Her words and touch had the desired effect, Dusty took a big sigh and relaxed. Once the plane had been calmed, Sky too let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Okay, I'm calm now Sky, thanks," Dusty thanked her, giving a small smile. Though that smile turned into a nervous grimace seeing the old corsair pull up in front of the two. Audie then sprinted right up beside him, leaning over on his hands and knees to catch his breath. Once he could form words, he walked right up to the pair.
"Are you both alright?"
"Yes, Audie, we're fine," Sky responded, turning to her plane partner, "what happened up there, partner?"
"That's what I would like to know!"
Both humans and plane turned to see the old corsair still giving them a grimace laced with anger and concern.
Sky was wondering the same question and turned to Dusty to receive her answer.
"Uh, Uh…. I was having some problems with my axial compressor…"
As Dusty burbled out his excuse, Skipper could see Sky's confused expression.
"Do I look like I was built yesterday?" Skipper pointed out.
"Uhh, no no… I was low on fuel and…"
"The Jolly Wrenches have a motto, 'volo pro veritas'," Skipper lectured, "it means 'I fly for truth', clearly you don't!"
Dusty looked to the ground ashamed, Sky placing her hand on him to give comfort.
"Sparky, push me back to the hangar!" Skipper ordered, the small forklift already turning him around to head back.
Seeing Skipper leaving Dusty finally blurted out the problem…much to the shock of everyone there.
"I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!"
The only sound that could be heard was the squealing of Skipper's tires as Sparky stopped dead in his tracks. Sparky then turned Skipper around to see Audie and Sky with looks of both shock and confusion. Gus and Chug, who were moments behind Audie, also were staring in disbelief.
Their silence was broken by the loud guffawing coming from Gus, who was leaning on Chug's cab shaking like mad. Dusty just seemed to be even more embarrassed judging by how downcast he looked.
"Are you kidding me? Scared of heights and you want to race around the world!"
At Skipper's shouting, Sky gave him one of her looks asking him to back down. She then turned her gaze to her partner.
"Dusty, I've known you a long time now," Sky said, consoling him, "how come you never told me before?"
"I'm a crop-duster, I've never had to fly that high before," Dusty explained, "plus I was ashamed to tell you, especially after I found out that we're flying the rally."
"Dusty, it's alright, everybody is scared of something," Sky said, once again reassuring her friend.
"No, Gus is right to be laughing," Dusty muttered out, "I'm just pathetic."
"You're only pathetic if you believe you are."
Both plane and navigator turned to Audie, who was the one that had spoken.
"But, but…"
"But nothing Dusty, Sky is right," Audie said, "everyone is sacred of something, we just need to find a way to help you overcome this."
"Y-You think so?," Dusty stammered out in a hopeful tone. Nodding his head at the crop duster, Audie turned his gaze back at Skipper.
"Dad, you still up to train the flat-hatter?" Audie jokingly asked.
Skipper took a long hard look at Dusty. A fear of heights in this race would be a hindrance, might even put Sky in danger one of these days. He had half a mind to say no.
"If we can hone the skills he has got, the rest will fall into place," Audie argued back, "he's got the heart, he just needs a teacher to guide him."
"Alright Audie, enough," Skipper retorted, looking back at Dusty, "alright flat-hatter, we'll work on that heights issue in time, but first let's see if we can turn low and sloppy into low and fast."
"Roger that Skipper," Dusty said, cheering up a bit. A big grin spread across Sky's face.
"We'll work on your basic form first," Skipper informed, "while Sky gets some instruction from Audie about how to navigate for you properly."
"Aye-aye Skipper," Sky chortled back, playfully saluting Skipper.
"Okay Sky, ready for lesson one?" Audie asked.
"You bet," Sky replied, heading off after Audie.
With that, the real training began.
**AN: Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me. I know it has been forever since my last update. However, I am not abandoning this story. Some personal issues came up and they had to take precedence. I have been going back and fixing some stuff in my chapters and might have a new one out soon.