A/N: I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS SINCE FEBRUARY DEAR GOD WHAT. I'm so sorry, I got writer's block for so long DX and I know I said I would update this forever ago but I was busy and... oh whatever, you guys know by now I don't stick to my updating promises XD

In the last chapter, I forgot to add a disclaimer. I did this with I&I too! *facepalm* oh well. I don't own Cars!

Thanks for the reviews and faves/follows! You guys are awesome :3 I present to you, chapter two! And sorry that this isn't all that great. I'm still getting back into the swing of writing so be patient with me, okay?

Chapter 2- Moving On

One Year Later

CHROME HQ, airfield

Siddeley

This. Looks. Horrible. I ran a hand along my jet's wing, poking cautiously at a jagged-edged gash. The last flight I went on, I was taxiing out to the runway when some bloody idiot scraped the wing with his truck. It looked pretty bad; how could I be a CHROME pilot if my jet wasn't absolutely flawless?! With nothing else fitting into the blocks of my schedule, I figured now was as good a time as ever to investigate the damage.

I lay on a rolling table thing (I'm not a mechanic; I never did bother to find out what the real name was) under the wing. As I examined my jet like Sherlock would deduce a crime, no one spoke to me. I was alone in the hangar. That's why I was so surprised by the sudden voice.

"Uh, hi..."

Stupid reflexes. The upper half of my body flew up and my head slammed into the underside of the wing. After crying out in pain like the unmanly man I was, I fell back down and cracked open an eye to identify the intruder.

The first things I saw were two light purple heels. Odd, those shoes looked familiar. I led my eyes up higher, along a pair of very feminine legs. Smooth, nicely toned... Hot damn, I could stare at those legs all day. Just as I started to lose awareness of everything else around me, the woman cleared her throat. I glanced away and stood, making sure I couldn't see her until we were closer to making eye contact. I may have admired her legs— who wouldn't?— but I was far too much of a gentleman to look up her skirt.

I smoothed out my hair and clothes, trying to appear as presentable as possible— though my dignity had just been a bit bruised. As I looked up, I expected to see some cute, yet bored, desk agent with nothing better to do than fetch her boss' coffee. Maybe I could try chatting her up. I've been so lonely since...

...Holley.

I recognized that face. That hair. Those legs... I mentally slapped myself. Stop it, Sid.

My brain went blank. Holley seemed to sense it, and she narrowed her eyes. "Hello?"

"...what?" Fantastic, Siddeley. Quite the smooth-talker you are.

"I need you to, uh, t-take me to Tokyo please," stuttered Holley.

By now I'd recovered at least some form of professionalism, but the desk agent before me was clearly struggling to hold on to hers. Couldn't blame her; this was extremely uncomfortable for us both. The two of us had barely talked in the year since our breakup.

"Sure, why?" I asked.

"I need to meet with Finn McMissile."

...hold up. She was working with Finn? My friend Finn? When did this happen?!

"Well, it's a long flight. Are you prepared?"

"I'm packed and ready to go when you are," Holley replied, gesturing to a bag behind her. Caught up in her sudden appearance, I hadn't noticed it before.

"Right. Shall we leave now?"

"Yes, I think that would be good." She decided to crack a joke. "Wouldn't want to keep Mr-Top-Spy-at-CHROME waiting, huh?"

"You have no idea," I muttered under my breath. I ushered her to the back of the jet and up the ramp, though she was more than capable of getting there herself. As she settled inside, I walked around doing the pre-flight check, examining the plane and dreading the long flight before us.

The long, horribly awkward flight with the very woman who didn't even give me a chance to propose. What fun.

"Finn, it's Sid. I'm on approach."

After alerting Finn, I dived close to the ground to announce my presence to the rest of the airport. Below was a field of chaos. Two cars, an Aston Martin and rusty tow truck were being chased by the lemons Grem and Acer. Grem's Gremlin and Acer's Pacer weren't your typical state-of-the-art fancy police cars, but hey, they were called Lemons for a reason.

The Aston Martin turned in a tight circle and... was being pulled backwards by the tow truck? That looked quite fun, actually. I made a mental note to try it sometime. In front of the tow truck was a long line of baggage, and if nothing was done, the two would surely collide.

I took it as my moment to shine. With the skill of someone who's been practicing for years, I shot at the baggage. The stuff went flying and both cars sailed straight through where it had been, not a moment too soon. I sat back in my chair with a grin of satisfaction. There's a reason I rank so high among the other pilots.

Without taking my eyes off the scene before me, I shouted at Holley. "I'm gonna open up the ramp!"

"Got it!" she yelled in reply, and I could hear her heels tapping on the floor as she ran to the back of the jet. The gear hit the tarmac and I waited for Finn to get in. The tense seconds passed and a tire was shot. He still hadn't driven up the ramp.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation?!" I murmured, veering off onto another runway. "I haven't got all day!"

I urged him on one last time, and up into the sky we went.

I couldn't believe this. My ex-girlfriend who broke up with me on what should've been the night I asked her to be my wife was now in my jet for the second time since then. On a mission with "Mr-Top-Spy-at-CHROME" and not me. I didn't even know how to feel. Should I take this opportunity to say something to her? I'd had an entire twelve-hour flight to talk, but sheer uncertainty kept me in my seat. After the breakup, we didn't exactly go the "still being friends" route. But if Holley were to walk into the cockpit right now, what would I say?

What would I say to anyone who came in here? As exciting as I found flying to be, the flight deck could be quite a lonely place. Aside from my good friend Finn, none of the spies I ferried across the world ever stopped by for a chat with me. They never said it, but I knew their silent reasoning was that it would interfere with their work and they had better things to do than stand around listening to a good-for-nothing pilot drone on about his love life. I had Finn but even he was always busy with important missions. Like now, for instance.

I sighed, a loud sound that disturbed the near-quiet around me. I never had this problem with Holley.

Such a pleasant surprise it would be if someone from the cabin were to just walk in and start a friendly conversation with me. What I wouldn't give for that.

"Well, dad gum!"

...is my wish being granted?

The American spy who'd been driving the tow truck was behind me, marveling at the buttons and switches that surrounded us. He looked like a kid in a candy shop; you know, those ones who were tempted to eat everything in sight? He better not dare touch any of the instruments.

To my delight and disappointment, he sat down in the empty co-pilot's seat. "Hi, Sid!"

"Hello... How do you know my name?"

"When Mr. 'British Intelligence' said it," the man replied with a toothy grin.

Ah, right, when Finn instructed me to use the afterburners. My favorite thing about this jet, I thought fondly. The odd man next to me had also requested sweets. What did he take me for, a flight attendant?

"Oh." I couldn't come up with anything remotely intelligent to say, so I shrugged and looked back at the clouds outside. "Cool."

"Ya wanna know mah name?" the American questioned, looking at me with large, expectant eyes that reminded me of a puppy begging to play.

"Sure."

"Tuh Mater!" he exclaimed. "Just without the 'tuh!'"

I nodded. "Nice name. You must be very proud."

"You betcha!"

The corner of my mouth quirked into a slight smile. This American amused me. Since my prayers for company were apparently being answered, I decided to keep up the conversation. "So, what's going on with Finn and Holley?"

"They're lookin' at pictures of someone's car engine," Mater answered. "But then they started talkin' 'bout other stuff I didn't know and I came to talk ta you!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but it isn't exactly entertaining up here either." Though it did become a little less lonely when you joined me.

"That's 'cause yer not doin' anything fun!" said the tow truck driver.

I snorted. "I'm flying an aeroplane. I find this quite fun."

"If it's so fun will ya let me try?" The begging puppy eyes were there again. "Pleeease?"

Let him fly my jet? Ahahaha NO. "Nope, sorry."

"Shoot, why not?"

"Because I said so."

Mater seemed to deflate with complete and utter disappointment, and I felt horrible. Not only did I say no to his begging face (puppy eyes never worked on me), but I was also a hypocrite for saying "because I said so". That wasn't even a good reason. It was just such a... such a Finn thing to say. He'd say that to me and it always drove me up the wall. If you're going to tell me not to do something, at least give me a legitimate reason!

The American spy shook it off and as quickly as the sadness had come, it was gone. He relaxed into his seat and stared out at the clouds. "Miss Holley sure is purty," he mused aloud.

Unnoticed by him, my eye twitched. "You can say that again."

"Okay. Miss Holley sure-"

"I didn't mean it literally."

"Oh."

I rolled my still-twitching eyes. "Yep."

The conversation died and we were left in a semi-awkward quietness. I was happy to simply have a companion, but I could tell Mater still wanted to talk. He must've come to the conclusion that I wouldn't speak anymore, because he stood and walked back toward the cabin after saying goodbye. I suppose I was too boring for him.

I'm too boring for anyone, really. So I sat back and waited again. Waited for us to arrive in Paris. Waited for Finn, Holley, and Mater to get on with their mission so I could go home and feel sorry for myself.

And waited for someone who would love me back.

A/N: Siddeley is such a whiny teenage girl -_- don't worry though, he's like that for a reason. Also, I know the way the timing in this chapter works is really off, but here: Sid takes Holley to Tokyo so she can tell Finn about the oil rig thingy and then in the airport scene, she's already with him because...BECAUSE REASONS. And then they're in the jet heading off to Paris to talk to Tomber. It's weird, I know. I couldn't find a way to fit that in in a better way, so if somebody reading this is gonna complain about the timing, just know that I'm aware of it and would fix it, but I have lots of stuff to do and IT'S GOOD ENOUGH ALREADY.

Ughh I failed at Mater and the airport scene is probably really inaccurate but whatever. I TRIED.

Thanks for reading, and reviews are always greatly appreciated.