Pixar One- Shots

Disaster's Peak (Cars 3)

Spoilers for Cars 3, possibly for both the movie and the trailer. I'm going off of only what I've seen from the trailers to write this, so it may not be accurate to the movie. Enjoy!

"Come on, buddy. Cheer up! You'll win dis one for sure!" Mater grinned at his best friend, who tried to return it. Lightning had been acting rather depressed lately, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. At the start of this racing season, thirty-one new rookies- thirty-one- had come onto the track. And they were good. Good enough to have won over half of the season's races so far. One rookie in particular, Jackson Storm, was really pulling ahead in the rankings. Lightning was getting left in the dust, both figuratively and literally.

"Thanks, Mater." Lightning sighed, watching the other racers make their way into their respective pits to go over their strategies with their crew chiefs. He was excited to race, of course, but the outcomes had become a lot less clear than they had been only last year. Actually, that wasn't true- they were starting to become too predictable- they rarely ended with Lightning leading the pack. Something had changed, something more than just his competitors. Lightning himself had changed, losing a lot of the speed and power he'd once possessed.

"All racers to the starting line, please, all racers to the starting line!" A deep voice blared over the speakers that stood scattered around the infield and next to the track.

"Good luck, Stickers." Lightning turned to see Sally Carrera smiling brightly at him. "Listen," she continued softly, rolling towards him slowly. "Don't worry about anybody but you. Just focus on the pavement in front of you."

"You got it." He nodded, turning to the other vehicles several feet behind Sally and Mater. "I'll see you all in five hundred laps!" Lightning promised, loud enough for his entire crew to hear. Several whoops and yells from his crew blended into the roars coming from the grandstands as Lightning drove towards his spot behind the starting line.

Speed... I am speed.. faster than fast, quicker than quick....

Lightning fought to focus on his thoughts. The four vehicles in front of him weren't going very fast, at least not yet, but neither was Lightning. The entire group of race cars were doing the customary starting lap at a much slower pace so they could fall into their positions and start the race. A hundred yards ahead, the flagtruck was holding the green starting flag, indicating that the laps would be counted right away, ready to snap it as soon as the lead car crossed the line. Fifty yards... twenty... ten... Lightning revved his engine and took off as he crossed over the line and the flag was whipped down.

I am Lightning.

It wasn't until well into the three hundreds that Lightning began to gradually lose horsepower. He'd been slowly but steadily gaining on his competitors, eventually taking the lead. For about fifty laps, he'd maintained that lead, but he couldn't keep going at this speed forever. The distinct high pitched whine of a technologically advanced engine sounded from behind him. Lightning fought back the urge to growl under his breath.

"Storm is coming up on the inside, McQueen!" Lightning's crew chief yelled. Of course it was Storm, it was always Storm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of black and blue inching forward. Despite already being tired, Lightning put on a burst of speed. He wasn't going to lose to this guy again. Annoyingly, Jackson was unfazed, smiling smugly as he pulled up beside Lightning. He wasn't even winded. McQueen, meanwhile, was beginning to shudder at the effort of driving this fast for so long. Jackson was saying something, but Lightning didn't care. Trying to block out his competitor, he narrowed his eyes and dug deep, putting on still more speed. Jackson Storm surged ahead effortlessly, taking the lead by thirty yards in under a minute. Involuntarily, Lightning's engine lost power, and he began to fall behind even further. A racer zipped past him, followed by two others. He was-

"McQueen is fading, he's fading fast!"

The voice of the commentator broke into Lightning's thoughts.

"...No. No!" He refused to lose like this. He wasn't done, he still had a little bit left in him. Now, the racers were into the four hundreds in laps, there were only eighty something laps to go. Already half exhausted, Lightning made one last attempt at regaining the lead. In less than a half hour, the race would be over; he could hold on for that much longer. Clenching his teeth, he sped up, more and more. He shuddered violently, but he didn't care. He could do this, he had to. So focused on ignoring the throbbing of his engine, Lightning didn't notice the telltale pressure building in his rear right tire. Seconds later, that pressure turned into a sharp pain as the tire blew out completely. Lightning's eyes widened as he felt himself slip rapidly to the left. Trying to balance himself again, he flung himself to the right. The momentum carried him right over to the racetrack's wall, and he smashed into it before being flipped upside down. The force of the impact threw him sideways and forward, sending him flipping side over side along the racetrack, still in the air, the sound of screeching and groaning metal reverberating around him. Bits of aluminum littered the ground behind him.

This can't be happening..

Lightning had time for that one thought to run through his mind before he finally returned to the ground, sparks flying as he hit the pavement upside down, hard. He wasn't aware of anything anymore. He'd lost consciousness.

Hey guys! How was my debut Pixar one-shot?

I've been toying with the idea of writing something like this for a few weeks, since I saw the most recent Cars  3 trailer. I'm glad I finally did, I really enjoyed it, even with a storyline as dark as this...

I hope you guys enjoyed this, thank you so much for reading! Honest reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated! :) I do realize that this may have been a little short and/or rushed, so I'll work on fixing that in the next one. If you've got any suggestions for future one-shots, I'd love to hear them! See you guys later.