88Since I didn't want the document getting too long, I decided to divide this story up into volumes. The end of Cars 2 seemed like the right place to end volume one. This volume runs from after Cars 2 to before Cars 3. So, the picture of Fudge here is how she looks after Ride.
This opening chapter is to introduce a couple of OCs, who don't have that much of an impact on the story just yet, but will later on.
So, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the next volume of Fudge's story.
Cars Origins: What the Fudge?
Part 1
Piper and Mackenzie
The World Grand Prix changed me, for better and for worse. I was quite shaken up by everything that had happened and that was when I first saw the true extent to how evil people could be. Of course, I'd experienced and witnessed cruelty before that, but never that much. For months afterwards, I would have nightmares about what had happened and what could have happened.
However, I also experienced the exact opposite: I could see how much good there was in the world, with the way the spies had helped us to defeat those evil Lemons and the way that, despite everything, the racers came together through the scandal and finished their race in Radiator Springs. Even though those racers came from every possible background, on the track, they spoke the same language: speed.
Yep, I decided as I sat back in my chair, watching the racers zip past. Finn, Holley and Sammy had just left inside of Siddeley, so I'd turned my attention back to the race. There's definitely much more good in this world than bad. You just have to know where to look for it.
A few weeks later, Luigi and Guido took me to see a doctor in Ashgrove to get my cast removed. I couldn't wait! At first, I thought the cast and crutches were fun. However, after a while, the cast itched, the crutches made my armpits sore and I was just bored, not being able to move around much.
As soon as my cast was off, the first words out of my mouth were, "When can I go racing again?"
Luigi and Guido laughed. So did the doctor, Dr. Cohen.
"Not just yet, missy", the latter informed me. "You can't just get your cast off, walk out of here and get back into racing. These things take time."
"But will I still be able to race?" I questioned, fearing the answer.
Dr. Cohen smiled at me. "I'm sure of it", he assured me.
And sure enough, a month later, I was back on the track, training by Willy's Butte with Lightning. It was definitely fun to get back into the speed. I was on top of the world.
Not long later, I met Piper and Mackenzie.
After a race at an out-of-the-way speedway in the middle of the woods, I would be going with Lightning McQueen and the rest of the team to a post-race party. Even better, Lightning had won that race. This party was a simple one: just some music, drinks and beverages. All of the racers, their teams and some family and friends were there. In fact, that was how I met Piper and Mackenzie.
"Hey, McQueen!" Crusty Rotor called out. He and his rider, Andrew Fletcher, were number 76 for Vinyl Toupee, but they were retiring at the end of the year. "Congratulations on winning the race!"
Lightning smiled modestly. "Thanks, guys!"
"We're still hoping to beat you before we retire", Andrew added.
Lightning laughed. "You never know."
"McQueen is the bestest race car in the whole wide world!" Mater informed them.
"Yeah!" I chimed in.
Andrew looked past Lightning at me. "I see you brought Fudge. My family's here too and I got a daughter about her age."
"Really?" Lightning looked at me and I knew what he was thinking: this could be an opportunity for me to make a new friend.
"Yep. Mackenzie", Andrew confirmed. "I think she was with my wife, talking to Dud Throttleman and his family."
Dud Throttleman was racer number 33 for Mood Springs.
"Fudge?" Lightning prompted me.
"What do I say?" I questioned. Did Lightning really expect me to just walk up to a bunch of strangers and expect me to become friends with them? I couldn't do that.
"Mackenzie's really into racing", Andrew informed me. "I presume you are too?"
I nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"
Lightning smiled as me. "There you go!"
My heart pounded as I looked for Dud Throttleman and a group of humans near him. How was I supposed to start talking to this Mackenzie? What if we didn't like each other? Maybe she liked racing too, but for all I knew, that could be the only thing we had in common.
At that moment, I was pulled from my thoughts as I was nearly ploughed down by a group of at least half a dozen young race cars, all painted midnight blue. The youngest looked about seven or eight while the oldest was about nineteen or twenty. He was battling for first place with a much smaller, but equally aggressive car. It took me a second to realise he had an auburn-haired human riding on his roof.
"Hey, hey, guys!" an older midnight blue race car (their father?), who looked a lot like Dud Throttleman, called out. "We're not at the speedway now! Calm down!"
They ignored him.
I knew they shouldn't have been racing inside, but still, I was fascinated. Well, these guys had the speed and the aggression, but none of them had the skill. Still, it was something to admire.
At least until I saw the oldest one knock the smaller car by his side and sent him spinning out of control. All of the others shot past.
"Ha!" the older car taunted. "Maybe someday, you'll be able to keep up with me, but today is not that day! Let's face it: girls can't race!"
"Yeah!" the second oldest chimed in. "Why don't you go and play with your dollies?!"
The racer who'd spun out was a girl! So was the human riding her. I was surprised. I'd seen girls race before, of course, but never that aggressively!
"Girls can race boys!" the girl car protested. She looked about a year or two older than me. "I'll show you, you..." She sent a few... unladylike words the boys' way, causing several people to look up in horror.
"Piper Louise Throttleman!" a lilac car next to Dud Throttleman and the other midnight blue car gasped. "Don't you ever say that again!"
"But Mom-" Piper began.
"I don't care", her mother interrupted. "You won't be coming to see your uncle race again if you don't start behaving now."
Piper gave a hard glare as the other cars- seven of them and all boys- started snickering. However, they stopped when their mother added, "That goes for all of you! Do you understand?!"
"Yes, Mom", they chorused dolefully.
Piper grunted. "Come on, Mackenzie! Let's go!"
"Yeah!" the human with auburn hair on her roof sneered, sticking her tongue out at the boys. "I'm so glad I don't have seven brothers!"
I watched them drive off and I thought back to a moment when I was about eight years old.
Everyone in Radiator Springs was busy. The storeowners were tending to customers. Lightning and Doc were training by Willy's Butte and didn't want me hanging around and distracting them. Sheriff was out on patrol.
I was bored and lonely.
I knew better than to mention that to my family, though. I knew what they'd say: "Why don't you go play with the kids in town?"
If I thought that would work, I would try that. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I fit in like a fifth wheel with any kids who visited town with their families.
So, on this particular day, I was excited when I heard some boys- two cars and a human- who were about my age, chattering away about racing.
"Lightning McQueen is the best racer in the world!" one of the cars- a black Mercedes Benz- declared.
"Yeah!" the blonde human boy agreed. "But The King's pretty cool too!"
"Yeah! He's the only racer to win the Piston Cup seven times!" the third and final boy, a red Mini Cooper, reminded the other two.
"Do you think Lightning McQueen will win seven too?" the human wondered.
"Yes!" I chimed in, eager for some friends.
All three boys stared at me.
"How do you know who Lightning McQueen is?" the Mercedes quizzed me.
"He's my brother", I explained. "I go to his races all the time."
"Why?" the Mini wondered.
"Because I like racing."
"You can't like racing!" the human informed me. "You're a girl!" He spat the word girl out as if it tasted bad.
"So?"
"Girls can't like racing", the Mercedes insisted. "It's for boys!"
"No it's not!" I countered. "I'm gonna be a racer one day! Well, a rider!"
That made all of them crack up and argue, "Girls can't race!"
"Girls have raced!" I informed them.
"Oh, yeah? Who?"
"Misti Motorkrass."
"Misti Motorkrass?" they repeated, still in hysterics. "She hasn't won a single race all season and she barely finishes in the top ten!"
"What about Louise Nash?" I quizzed them.
"Who?"
"Louise Nash. She raced in the fifties and won thirty-eight races."
"A boy could win more", the human remarked.
I rolled my eyes and walked away. It just wasn't worth it. Someday, those boys would see that girls can race just as well as- and sometimes, better than- boys. They'd see that when they hear the name-
"Fudge Rossi-Topolino?!"
I turned at the sound of my name. Piper and Mackenzie were stood in front of me. To be honest, they made me a little nervous. Not only was their racing aggressive, but they looked pretty tough and intimidating standing in front of me.
"Hi", I greeted them.
"It's so awesome to finally meet you", Piper informed me. "I've seen you on TV."
"God, I'm so jealous of you getting to go to races every weekend and sitting in the pits!" Mackenzie added.
"Yeah."
I felt my face turned red. "Thanks!"
"I'm Piper", Piper introduced herself, even though I already knew that.
"And I'm Mackenzie", Mackenzie added, even though I already knew that. "Andrew Fletcher's daughter... How come you get to go to all those races?" she wanted to know. "I'd love to travel with my dad, but he says I have to focus on school."
"Well, I'm home-schooled", I explained.
"God, you're even luckier than I thought!" Piper groaned.
I couldn't help giggling out of embarrassment. "It is pretty cool. Especially since I wanna be a racer too!"
"Me too." Piper eyed me thoughtfully. "Have you ever been told you can't be a racer just because you're a girl?"
"Yeah", I answered.
"My brothers always tell me that."
"Maybe they're jealous", Mackenzie suggested. "I mean, you would've beaten Spencer if he hadn't knocked you."
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm sure we can do it", I commented. "Have you ever heard of Louise Nash?"
"Yeah!" Piper answered. "My middle name is Louise after her!"
For about an hour, Piper, Mackenzie and I talked about women in racing and how we were going to be three of them. I didn't really know any girls who cared as much about racing as I did. So, meeting them was a refreshing change.
"It's not fair that racing is a male dominated sport", Piper grumbled.
"And car dominated", Mackenzie added. "I know a lot of humans who wanna be riders, but very few of them are given a chance! It's just not fair!"
I agreed with both of them.
Piper wasn't done complaining, though. "And it's not fair how Mom and Dad won't let me come with my uncle during the racing season! I could learn so much more by doing that!"
"How do you guys train then?" I asked.
"I don't", Mackenzie replied. "I just try to learn about mechanics and ride my skateboard. Just before was the first time I've ever been on a car."
"And we go to Aspen every year 'cause we live in Colorado", Piper chimed in. "I do a lot of skiing and snowboarding and that's how I get my speed up."
"Where do you live, Mackenzie?" I wanted to know.
"Chicago."
We chatted a little while longer about what it was like to know famous racers and how we were training for races.
"I try to eat well", Piper informed me. "I drink lots of high protein fuel and avoid sugar and fatty foods. No chocolate, no ice cream. Well, every now and then I have pizza. I love pizza!"
To be honest, it was kind of boring listening to her rambling about her healthy eating. Still, I decided to just smile and no politely. Despite their intimidating first impression, I thought that Piper and Mackenzie were quite nice. Maybe, just maybe, I'd finally found some friends.
At one point, I caught a glimpse of Lightning smiling at me and I knew he was thinking the same thing.
Unfortunately, that was when Piper's older brother, Spencer, came by to ruin everything.
"Piper!" he called, laughing. "Are you telling them about your plans to become a racer?"
"Yes!" she answered indignantly.
"You know it's not gonna work, right?" Spencer taunted.
"If I were a boy, it would work", his younger sister deadpanned.
He smirked. "Of course!"
Piper got right up in Spencer's grille. "I'll kick your ass right now! I'll show you how good girls can race!"
Spencer laughed, clearly not threatened. "Let's race!"
"Where are you gonna race?" Mackenzie wondered, looking around.
"Yeah, there's not enough room to have a proper race in here", I chimed in, thinking that they shouldn't be racing inside.
Piper glanced out at the track that was in utter darkness. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"What?" I wondered, puzzled.
"The track", Spencer responded as if it were obvious. He gestured to it.
"No!" I gasped, horrified that someone had suggested this. "That's trespassing! We could go to jail for doing that!"
"Only if we get caught!" Piper informed me.
"Yeah, don't be such a baby!" Mackenzie added, looking at me in disgust.
"I'm not a baby!" I argued. "I just don't wanna go to jail!"
"Fine! Don't go", Piper muttered.
"Yeah, we don't want any babies hanging around anyways", Spencer mumbled.
"But you shouldn't be going either!" I insisted. "It's illegal!"
"It's fine!" Piper assured me. "We're the niece, nephew and daughter of Piston Cup racers!"
"That doesn't matter!" I argued.
"What are you gonna do to stop us?" Mackenzie sneered.
My only response was to start heading in the direction of where Lightning, Dud Throttleman, his brother and sister-in-law (who I later found were named Richard and Grace), Crusty Rotor and Andrew Fletcher were all clustered and talking with some other racers.
Piper gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"
"I won't have to do if you do the right thing!"
Now, normally, I hate tattling. I used to be a big tattletale when I was younger, even though I didn't have any brothers or sisters. Mater and tourists often became the victims of my tattling, but I stopped when I found out what those kids do to tattletales. This time, though, this wasn't like throwing an apple at a tractor or running over Red's flowers. Piper, Mackenzie and Spencer were about to break the law.
As I walked off, I could her Piper and Mackenzie cursing.
"Don't worry about her", Spencer muttered. "I know how to deal with tattletales!"
I was a little afraid of what they might do to me, so I decided not to tell unless I absolutely had to. Maybe the fear that I would tell would be enough to stop them from going. If not, then I would go and get their parents. While I waited, I got a lemonade from the bar and went to the bathroom when I finished it. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I thought that I'd found some friends. Guess not.
When I moved over to the bathroom sinks to wash my hands, I found Mackenzie waiting for me. She was leaning against the wall casually, her black hoodie tied around her waist. "Fudge! There you are!"
"Where were you waiting for me?" I asked, trying to be cautious. I knew they wanted to break the law; who knew what else they could do?
Mackenzie grinned sheepishly as she watched me wash my hands. "Kinda... Hey, listen! You haven't told our parents yet that we were gonna go to the track, have you?"
"No..." I wasn't sure where this was going.
"Oh, good!" she informed me. "Because we were thinking. You were right. How could we be professional racers if we're sitting in jail? I guess we didn't realise it was trespassing, but it is."
I smiled. Mackenzie sounded genuine. At least, I thought so. I've never been good at reading people. "Well, I'm glad you understand."
"Yeah... In fact, we came up with a better idea."
"What is it?" I wondered, grabbing some paper towel to dry my hands.
"Well... it'll actually be easier if I show you. Come on!"
So, I followed Mackenzie outside, amazed that they'd actually listened to my opinion. These girls had just been eager to race, that's all. I sure could understand that. Maybe now they (and perhaps even I?) could race in a way that was a little more law-abiding.
Piper, Spencer and one of her other brothers were all waiting for me outside. They weren't in the al fresco dining part like I thought they'd be. They were hanging out a bit further away the party where it was dark.
"So, are we gonna race?" I wondered.
"Yeah!" Piper answered. "We are!"
Before I knew what was happening, Mackenzie wrapped her hoodie around my face, rendering me unable to see and my shouts of protest muffled.
"What are you doing?!" I managed to demand as I felt them bound my wrists as best as they could with racing magnets.
"We're just doing what we do to tattletales!" Spencer informed me.
"I thought you were my friends!" I yelped.
They all burst out laughing.
"Friends?!" Piper echoed incredulously. "With you?!"
"We thought you were our friend!" Mackenzie informed me. "But then you were too much of a goody-goody to let us race!"
I felt her shove me backwards and I landed on the hood of a car. My magnets had drawn me to them. I couldn't move very well because I couldn't see and I was tied up. The car started moving.
"Don't worry, Fudge!" Piper called. "We'll come back for you when we're done racing!"
"If you promise not to tell!" Mackenzie added.
I don't know how long I rode on the car's hood form but I do know that it was a long time. I had no idea where they were taking me either.
Finally, the car came to a stop and I was thrown to the ground roughly.
"Oof!" I exclaimed as I hit the dirt.
The car removed the magnets and the hoodie, but before I could get my bearings, he was gone.
I was on my own. In the middle of the woods.
"...and then I said, 'Man, that was a real gas!'" Dud finished.
Everyone present burst out laughing. At least, that's what I was told. I wasn't actually there for this, but Lightning told me what happened.
The 95 racer looked around. "Hey... Has anyone seen the kids?"
Everyone looked around. "No..."
"I wonder where they are..." Lightning muttered.
"I'm sure they're fine", Andrew assured him, but Lightning later told me he didn't look convinced.
Ten minutes went by and they still didn't see us kids. So, they decided to go looking for us. First, they had to round up the other five Throttleman boys and Mackenzie's younger brother and sister.
"Hey, Cal!" Lightning called out, distracting the Dinoco racer from his conversation. "You seen Fudge?"
"Fudge?" Cal echoed. "Yeah. I saw her leave about half an hour ago with a young girl. Reddish-brown hair. Black and white T-shirt."
"That's Mackenzie", Andrew confirmed.
"Which way did they go?" Andrew's wife, Caroline, demanded.
"That way." Cal pointed in the direction of the door Mackenzie had led me out.
"Did you see our kids with them?" Richard quizzed him.
Cal shook his hood. "No. Sorry."
They all went off outside to keep looking for us, Lightning calling back to Cal, "Thanks! Thank you so much!"
A few minutes later, they ran into Brick Yardley in the al fresco dining area.
"Yeah, I saw a group of young dark blue cars head that way about... thirty, forty minutes ago, maybe." He pointed in the direction Mackenzie and I had gone to meet up with the Throttleman kids.
They thanked him and kept going.
"Where could they be?" Grace groaned as they followed the path we'd taken.
"I thought those kids knew better than to wander off like this!" Richard added, sounding very angry.
"Mackenzie's in very big trouble!" Andrew declared. Glancing at Lightning and the Throttlemans, he added, "Fudge, Piper, Spencer and Aaron should be too!"
At that moment, they stopped when they heard two engines growling in the distance.
"That sounds like it's coming from the track", Dud commented.
Lightning's eyes widened. 'You don't think..."
Another sound distracted them: some squawking and rustling in the bushes.
"Is someone in there?" Richard demanded.
No answer.
"IS SOMEONE IN THERE?!" he repeated, definitely losing patience. "Come on out NOW!"
Slowly and cautiously, Aaron rolled out of the bushes.
"Aaron?" Grace asked in surprise. "What are you doing in there?"
He didn't answer. He'd been watching out for any authorities or their parents.
It didn't matter, anyway. That was when a security car showed up, escorting Spencer, Piper and Mackenzie.
"What is the meaning with this?!" Grace demanded.
"I caught these three breaking onto the track for a race", the security guard answered sternly.
The Fletchers and the Throttlemans all looked astonished.
"Just those three?" Lightning asked. "There was no other human girl with them? Brown hair? 95 T-shirt?"
"No", the security guard replied through gritted teeth. "Just these three."
Later, Lightning said that on one tyre, he was worried about me, of course, but on the other tyre, he was relieved that I hadn't been trespassing as well.
The security car glanced at the Fletchers and the Throttlemans. "You their parents?"
"Yes."
"Well, I'm afraid you're gonna have to come with me, considerin' I got two minors here."
The parents all looked horrified still, but simply nodded.
"Where's Fudge?" Lightning demanded.
Not one of them answered.
"Where's Fudge?!" he repeated a lot more forcefully.
"We don't know!" Piper shouted, sounding annoyed.
"Last time we saw her was at the edge of the woods", Mackenzie added, which, I guess, wasn't technically a lie.
"She must've ran off, so we wouldn't get back at her for telling!" Piper muttered to her brother and friend.
"You guys worry about your kids", Lightning instructed the others as he drove off. "I gotta find my sister."
I was absolutely livid as I stumbled through the darkness. I thought I'd found some friends! Obviously, that wasn't the case. They seemed nice at first! I thought they were admirable too for being determined to race, despite the barriers. They'd let nothing stand in their way and they certainly hadn't that night. Letting nothing stand in your way was a good thing, but if things kept going like this, they could end up like Chick Hicks.
I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I was hoping I could find my way back, but I didn't know which way I came. I couldn't even tell which way Aaron had gone when he left me. I remembered some of the earliest Piston Cup racers, who raced through the woods. Like Junior "Midnight" Moon. I remembered hearing that racers like him relied solely on instinct to race through the woods at night. (They mentioned something about moonshine, but I didn't know what that was at the time.)
After a few minutes, I realised that there was no way I could do that. I had practically no sense of direction. All I could see were trees and bushes. I couldn't really hear anything either. Just my footsteps...
Well, that was the only sound until I heard this creepy moaning sound.
I whimpered and ran. However, no matter how far or how fast I ran, I couldn't get away from the moaning noise. Or find my way back.
I walked/ran through the woods for about an hour and I was still lost. Several times, I thought I heard music from the party or the revving of engines from Piper and Spencer racing. Unfortunately, when I tried to follow the noise, I wound up even more lost than I already was. When I came across a creek that I hadn't seen before, I knew I was definitely lost.
It's not fair! I thought to myself angrily, sitting on a log down by the creek. Didn't I deserve good friends who genuinely cared about me? Was there just something so... unlikable about me? What if when I started racing, people didn't like me? No matter how talented I was? Public image was pretty important for a racer and even if I stayed out of trouble, I wasn't convinced that anybody would like my personality. Very few people did.
My family like my personality, I thought. But they have to. I'm their daughter or niece. What about Finn, Holley and Sammy? How could I be sure they genuinely liked me? Same with all of Lightning's racing buddies. How could I be sure that they weren't like that?
As you can see, I've sometimes had trust issues. I guess that comes from being abandoned by my mother, the one person who was supposed to love me more than anybody. I guess it didn't help when I'd been screwed over by people I thought were my friends on multiple occasions (more about that later). Unfortunately, I have let these incidents affect my relationships several times (again, more about that later).
It was these panicked thoughts, the discomfort of the ground and fearing what would happen to me all alone in the woods that made it very difficult for me to fall asleep.
I was awake with the sun the next morning. I still didn't know how I was meant to get back. I still couldn't see or hear anything that sounded like they might come from a racetrack or hotel. Not only that, but I was tired from a lack of sleep and hungry and thirsty.
Luckily, I was able to curb my thirst quite easily, drinking water from the creek. It wasn't the cleanest water in the world, but it wasn't that bad. I drank it gratefully, wondering how long I would have to rely solely on the creek water.
"Fudge!" I heard a familiar voice call. "Fudge!"
I turned around and found three flashes- one red, one blue and one yellow- emerge from large collection of trees and bushes. There were Luigi, Guido and Lightning!
"Here!" I hollered, running towards them. "I'm here!"
"Fudgie!" Guido and Luigi exclaimed in unison, giving me a big hug.
As I returned the hug, I couldn't help sobbing a little bit.
"Ssh, ssh!" Luigi whispered gently. "It is okay, angel! You are safe now!"
"Are you okay?" Lightning quizzed me worriedly. "What happened?"
My only response was, through a sob and a hiccup, "I have no friends!"
Piper and Mackenzie don't play much of a role until later on.
