Cars Lemons (Book 1)

Sore Loser (Francesco x Lightning)

"Impossible!"

That's what Francesco had said when Mater blasted by him in rockets, thanks to his experience as a spy with Finn and Holley. To his chagrin, Mater ended up winning the Radiator Springs Grand Prix as a result, and although he had changed since the beginning of the World Grand Prix, he was still a sore loser.

"That was one of the rare times that Francesco has ever gotten third place in a race." Francesco complained, and Lightning just laughed.

"Hey, maybe you'll cheer up when I show you something." Lightning said in reply, and Francesco had no idea what he meant.

Lightning just told him to meet up with him behind Doc's museum in Radiator Springs after dinner at the Wheel Well with the other racers, and he did so out of curiosity. Obviously, Lightning was excited about whatever he had to show him.

The other WGP racers were in their cones at the Cozy Cone, probably keeping to themselves until they'd turn in for the night, since the sun was already down after everyone had finished talking and mingling over dinner.

Francesco neared the museum dedicated to Doc Hudson, Lightning McQueen's mentor, and went around the back to see if Lightning was there, his headlights on since it was dark out and there weren't that many street lamps in Radiator Springs.

Sure enough, Lightning was there already, as he saw the American racer with his own headlights on, and he was facing two doors with a bunch of signs saying "Keep Out," "No Trespassing," "Private Property," and other signs with the same sort of message. He just looked at Lightning with a raised eyebrow.

"Lightning, I do not know what you have here to show me."

"Oh, hey Francesco! It's inside." Lightning replied, turning to look at Francesco.

"We're going to disobey the many signs saying not to enter?" Francesco asked, unsure as to what Lightning was getting at.

"Oh, those belonged to Doc, but I really need to get to taking them down. After he became my mentor, he let me go in here whenever I wanted. I kind of treat it as an extension to any of my friends as well, heh." Lightning said, as he pushed one of the doors open to reveal a pretty cluttered-looking garage.

He flipped the switch for the light, and it illuminated the room enough so that he could find the tape that he wanted to show Francesco, while the Italian racer still looked confused. It was a bit dusty, and he still wasn't sure what Lightning was looking for in the garage. "I assume that this was your mentor's house?"

"Pretty much!" Lightning replied, and he finally got the tape out as he looked triumphant. "Aha! Got it. Just gotta put it in the VCR…it's one of Doc's races. Trust me, you'll like it."

Lightning managed to get the tape in, and soon the footage of the race appeared on the TV in the garage. It lasted for quite a while, but Francesco was still interested as he watched Doc Hudson race. He could definitely recognize some maneuvers that Lightning used, which he probably learned from his mentor.

The outcome was third place for Doc Hudson, and the last moments of the tape were him posing on the winner’s podium with a grin before the tape ended. However, Francesco wasn’t sure if this was what Lightning had brought him here to see.

“Is this what you brought Francesco here to see, Lightning?” He asked.

Lightning nodded. “Yeah! You know, Doc’s a pretty big racing legend over here, and I just wanted to show you that even legends like him get third place or lower.”

Francesco sighed. While he appreciated Lightning trying to make him feel better, he was always accustomed to winning. He’d have to get over that at some point. “Grazie, Lightning, but I am fine. Francesco is just a sore loser.”