Hey guys. Not sure if anyone will know of this story being updated but now it begins anew. This first chapter is pretty much similar to what it was before, only a lot better written and more detailed. If anyone has any ideas or anything they would like to see, feel free to send it my way. Just remember that this takes place after Cars 1 but before Cars 2. That is all for now. I will be posting the next chapter real soon.

The day started out normal enough. He was heading back to his new-found home after a long year of racing. Traveling throughout the states can be rather exhausting as well as doing all the races of the season. But it had been worth it because he had won his first ever Piston Cup. It was hard to believe but he done it. From this moment onward, he was no longer a rookie. It was all thanks to his friends back in Radiator Springs. He felt grateful that he had gotten to know everyone in that little town.

He remembered when he came upon Radiator Springs. And not by choice mind you. He was a young rookie, only eighteen at that, and moving up fast in popularity with each race. It wasn't long until he was known. He was the legendary Lightning McQueen, despite his young age. However, even with all the races, fans, and being one of the most popular racers of America, there were downsides. Deep down, Lightning felt lonely. He tried to hide it by focusing on just winning the races and thinking to himself that he will be happy if he got the Piston Cup. He had dreamed of it since he was little.

All the fame and glory soon got to him and he became rather selfish and arrogant. His good heart seemed to get colder with each passing day. Thus, he soon only cared about winning and nothing else. He started to neglect his own team and fire his crew chiefs one by one since he decided he was a one man show. His arrogance nearly cost him the last race and it ended with a three-way tie. His opponents were Chick Hicks and Stripes "The King" Weathers. To determine the true winner, another race was to be held in California.

Lightning forced his truck driver Mack, who was probably the only friend he had, to drive through the night. The young rookie ended up lost on the road and couldn't find Mack anywhere. He drove off the interstate into a tiny town called Radiator Springs. He tore up the road and had to fix it. During that time, he started to get to know all the cars that lived there. Being around such good folk reminded him of what having true friends mean and that winning races wasn't everything. His heart of gold was restored and he learned to be the kind car he once was.

He may not have won the Piston Cup in Los Angeles but he knew he would by next year. His mentor, the legendary Hudson Hornet, taught him all his tricks that he had learned when he was a young racing car himself. Lightning became real good friends with all the cars, including the rusty tow truck Mater, of Radiator Springs. And to repay their kindness, he decided that their town will be his home and he put it back on the map so it can have business like it did once more.

He even had the chance to fall in love with one of the residents. Her name was Sally Carrera, a beautiful blue Porsche, and the owner of Cozy Cones Motel. It was because of Sally that Lightning learned his lesson about friendship. She even showed him why she ended up staying in Radiator Springs; the true beauty of the valley and the nice folks who lived in the town.

Now, another year had gone by, and with his first Piston Cup, Lightning couldn't wait to get back to his new home and show all his friends and his girlfriend of what he accomplished. Doc Hudson had of course come along since he was his crew chief now. He kept reminding Lightning that the Piston Cup was just some shiny old cup that held no meaning but the young car knew that was just his usual way of saying "Congratulations but don't let it get to your head."

Now they had just arrived back in Radiator Springs. Everything seemed normal enough. Mack drove up and announced, "Well, we're here, kid."

Lightning smiled and eagerly pressed the button to lower the door of his trailer. Once it had opened enough, he drove out as quickly as he could. He was expecting everyone to greet him since he had been gone for a while. Instead, he was surprised to see no one was out. Instead, coming up to him was only Guido, a tiny blue forklift Isetta. And he looked rather distraught.

"Uh hey Guido, where is everyone?" Lightning greeted him and Guido began to say something in Italian. The red racecar couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

Finally, Guido made a gesture that he needed to follow him and the two drove towards Doc's place. Mack unhooked himself and followed after the two. What was wrong? Was it Doc? He had gotten a call yesterday that he needed to come back to Radiator Springs right away and he left after that. Lightning didn't know what it was, but he could feel a dreadful feeling deep inside. He knew he was not going to like it. Once he had arrived to the building, he could see all of his Radiator Spring friends gathered around and they all looked very upset.

"What's going on?" Lightning questioned casually and all the cars turned to look at him in slight surprise.

"Oh Lightning!" Luigi, the pale yellow 1959 Fiat 500, said in an unmistakable Italian voice and he went up to the racecar, "I am so sorry that none of us were able to greet you. It's just that…"

He trailed off and was on the brink of tears. Lightning was still confused and he looked at the others. Sheriff, a black 1949 Mercury Club Coupe, came up and sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, son. The reason we called Doc back so soon is…it's about Sally."

Upon hearing his girlfriend's name caused Lightning's heart to stop, "Sally? What happened? Is she okay?" he began to ask quickly.

"To be honest, we really don't know. While you were gone doing your races, Sally went on a small business trip for a month. When she got back, she didn't seem herself even though she kept insisting she was fine." Sheriff explained as he recalled when Sally returned from her trip, "This was a few months back."

"That can't be right. I just talked to her a few days ago, and she sounded fine on the phone." Lightning said and remembered when he talked to Sally exactly.

Their conversation was the usual. She asked how his races went and how he was doing. He told her that he had a good feeling of winning this season. And lo and behold, the next day, he won his first Piston Cup. He couldn't wait to get back to Radiator Springs and tell not only everyone here but Sally as well.

"That's da ting, buddy," Lightning looked towards the Southern voice and Mater, the old rusty 1951 International Harvester L-170 "boom" truck, drove up. He looked rather sorrowful which is always rare for someone as upbeat as Mater, "She kept putting on a face so not ta worry anyone. But she done collapsed just yesterday and that's why we had to call Doc back in a hurry."

Lightning knew as well as everyone else of how stubborn Sally is. She was also the type who hated to have her friends worry for her. Whatever she caught during her trip must have really done a number on her and yet she wanted everyone to focus on their business. But it only cost her in the end. There was probably a chance Doc Hudson will not be able to fix her. The folks of Radiator Springs however tried to remain hopeful.

Because of the emergency, all the cars closed down their shops and waited for any news from Doc about Sally. It was nearly sundown when Lightning came back. Now a couple of hours later, there was still no updates and that was only making things worse. Lightning had the urge to go and race out just to calm his nerves but he didn't want to take the chance that Doc would come out at any given moment. Finally, when it was about 9 pm, a familiar navy blue 1951 Hudson Hornet came driving out of his shop. Upon seeing him, all the cars including Lightning turned towards him.

"Well, Doc, how's Miss Sally?" Mater questioned for everyone.

Doc paused for a moment. He looked at each face of the cars he became friends with in this small town. He finally stopped at Lightning. The look in his blue eyes told the young racecar everything even before he could speak,

"She doesn't have much time," Those words caused all the cars to gasp in dismay; he waited a moment before going on, "It appears she caught something in her engine and it started to tear her up from the inside. I tried everything to fix her and stop it, but it's already advanced well beyond my capabilities. If she had said something sooner, I would have probably been able to clear it away. However, she only has a few minutes to live."

Doc tried to say all this in his usual gruff monotone voice, but even he couldn't keep the sadness from being shown. He cared about Sally just as much as everyone else in this town. He also knew that the reason Sally never said anything about this was she didn't want everyone to worry over her. Especially Lightning, and she knew how much he loved racing and winning that Piston Cup was his dream. Even if she called just Doc to come back and make him swear not to say anything, it would have made Lightning suspicious and he would have lost his focus during the races.

Everyone that had gathered tried their best to keep their tears in. Luigi and Guido held each other as they started balling. Flo, a minty green 1957 Motorama show car, started to weep softly while her husband Ramone, a1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider who was right now the color of midnight blue with white stars, held her close. Flo had always loved Sally like a little sister and it hurt her to know she was going to lose her. Sheriff sniffed heavily in an attempt to control his emotions. Mater and Red, a large red 1960s style fire truck, joined Luigi and Guido on their crying. Fillmore, a light green 1960 VW Bus, could only shake his head and mumble to himself. Sarge, a military green 1941 Willys model jeep, blinked rapidly.

The one who didn't show how he was feeling at the moment was Lightning. He was still in shock at the fact that Sally will soon be biting the dust. He just couldn't understand how this came to be. Why would something like this just happen to her? No force on the planet would ever answer that question for him and he knew it. Feeling numb, Lightning glanced at Doc and finally asked,

"Can I see her?"

Everyone looked at Lightning. They all knew how much he cared for Sally. Now they were worried of how he will be once she was gone. Doc stared at the racecar for a moment and pondered if it was a good idea. Then again, Sally will be gone any minute. The best thing to do now would be to allow him to say goodbye to his girlfriend one last time. Finally, he replied,

"You can. But are you sure?" he asked for he too worried of how Lightning was going to be.

"Yes."

Without another word, Lightning drove by Doc and into his shop. The others could only watch in depression. Once he was inside, the sight before him made him wince. Sally was hooked up to a lot of wires and it was clear that she was indeed sick. The paint on her body seemed dim even in the bright lights and her eyes were currently closed. She was breathing heavily with the heart monitor beeping beside her. The whole thing seemed to add more years on her. It was true that Sally was older than Lightning by a few years, but she was still young. This thing she caught damaged her to the point that she will never drive again.

Lightning could feel sorrow welling up inside of him as he observed her for a moment. This was depressing. It took all of his courage to finally call for her, "Sally? Hey Sally!"

Upon hearing her name, Sally blinked her blue eyes open and seeing who it was, she managed to give him a smile, "Hey there Stickers," she said, giving Lightning his nickname, "Glad to see you're back. I heard from Doc that you won the Piston Cup. That's great, your first ever Piston Cup."

Lightning tried to smile back but he couldn't. It hurt to know that Sally was trying to make casual conversation even though at any given moment, she will no longer be here. He sighed and finally spoke, "Hi Sally. Yeah I won the Piston Cup," he was happy that he had won it, but now he didn't care about that, "Uh…how are you?" He questioned and winced when he saw her cough heavily,

"I've been better. Guess I drove too much this time." Sally laughed but coughed again.

"I just have to know, Sally, why didn't you just tell everyone about this? I would have understood." Lightning asked and watched as she looked off to the side,

"Because I know you, and I know how much racing means to you. Besides, I didn't think of what I caught was going to be so severe. I thought that if I got plenty of rest and took it easy, it would go away. That turned out to be a bad idea."

Lightning sighed at her answer, "Okay, racing is my life but ever since I came here, racing isn't the only thing I always think about." He began but Sally cut him off,

"You have changed, Stickers, and that's good. I'm glad that this town made a difference for you. You've made it possible to get this place back on the map and I will always be grateful for that. And seeing as I don't have much time left, I have one last request to ask of you."

"What request?" Lightning asked, unsure if he really wanted to hear it.

Sally gave him a soft smile, "I want you to keep on racing to your heart's content and that someday you will find someone else that will understand your love of racing." She finally said.

Lightning was expecting the first part, but the last statement threw him off completely, "Find someone else? No! I can't do that, Sally!" He refused and backed up.

Why would she suggest such a thing? Sally was the only girl who got him! There was no one else! Sally sighed. She knew he would react this way. Still, she didn't want him to be depressed because she was gone. She only wished him happiness and this was the best way.

"Yes, you can. I only want you to be happy. So, promise me that you will find someone who will understand you and make you happy." She said again, though much quieter.

She was on the brink of passing and Lightning could feel tears threatening to leak out of his eyes, "But Sally…" he began again and Sally gave him a reproachable look,

"Promise me…" she said one more time, and managed to say it a firm voice.

Lightning sighed deeply and finally spoke, "I promise."

"Good." Sally closed her eyes and sighed in content, "I know you will get far, Stickers. Keep enjoying your life."

Lightning managed to smile despite himself. Sally opened her eyes again and whispered, "Can you say your catchphrase for me one more time?"

Lightning really didn't want to but if it will make Sally pass away in peace, he can do that much for her. He moved a little to the side to show off his lightning bolt sticker and said his famous quote, "Ka-chow."

Sally smiled, "Thanks, Stickers. Take care of yourself and look out for everyone, especially Mater." She said and she closed her eyes one last time.

"Sally?" Lightning said her name and noticed the heart monitor now had a line instead of a constant beat. No, she was actually gone? "Sally? You there? Sally!"

But she could never open her eyes again. She had truly passed on. Lightning backed away, his eyes watering. He lost Sally. Just when he thought his life was perfect, this happened. Not wanting to be in there anymore, he drove out of Doc's place. He passed everyone who had been polite enough to let him and Sally have their last moment together.

"Lightning?" he heard someone call his name but he ignored them.

He wanted to drive away. He had to clear his mind. Once he was on the road, he started to go fast. Normally going at such speeds always lifted his spirits. This time, the death of his beloved was clouding his judgement. He didn't care if he crashed or got lost at this point. He just had to get away from Radiator Springs. Anything to do with Sally, he wanted to forget. He never felt more hurt in all his life.

He started to go faster. His engine roar to life as he was going to such speeds that even he never did in his races. He can feel heat start to build up all around his body and his tires felt like they were on fire. He closed his eyes and kept going faster. So, what if he got hurt? It wasn't like he should care at this point. The world felt empty without her.

He continued to go faster and faster when he felt something strange overcome him. He didn't know what it was but he can feel the pain coming at him hard. Even with his eyes closed, he thought a flash went off and he decided that he should slow down. Just as he did, he heard horns blaring. His blue eyes widen and he gasped when he saw lights of cars coming at him. How did he end up on the road of the interstate? He was sure he was driving away from that.

He let out a cry of surprise and managed to dodge the cars that were honking at him. Because he was going so fast that he had a hard time controlling where he was dodging. Finally, he got off the road and started to spin out of control. Eventually he slowed down in the dirt and could smell smoke coming from him. He was in so much pain that he can feel himself slipping into unconscious.

He tried to keep his eyes open but he couldn't. Lights were on him and as he was blacking out, he thought he saw some strange things coming from the cars that had come up to him. He couldn't focus.

"Someone call help! There's a car on fire out here!" he heard someone say.

He closed his eyes and finally let the darkness swallow him. He didn't know what happened but the last thought going through his mind was Sally.