Dream for Slippy Toad?? :D
0 ALW -- SOMEWHERE IN THE DESERT, TITANIA --
Everyone had a dream. Everyone but Slippy Toad.
When Slippy had been in the first grade, he had been given the task of presenting to the rest of the class what he wanted to be when he grew up. A lot of the other kids wanted to be doctors, firefighters, or policemen. Lucy wanted to be a fighter pilot like her father. Bill wanted to be a space explorer. But Slippy? Slippy didn’t know. He had never really known where his path would lead. So he had presented that he was not sure what he wanted to be in front of his class. And his teacher had given him a big fat “F” over it. Even much later, Slippy would never understand why it was not okay to not have a plan at such a young age… but he tried to not let it discourage him. Much, at least.
When he turned ten years old, it became obvious he was proficient with computers, robotics, mechanic work, and had a pretty good grasp on engineering -- even more so than his other siblings. Beltino took Slippy to his office as much as he could, marveling at the lad’s childish wonder as he looked over blueprints for the upcoming Space Dynamics projects.
And then Fox came into Slippy’s life. They were fast friends, of course. Fox and his father had recently moved from Papetoon to Corneria because of better job prospects. And Beltino already knew James. Same with Peppy.
Fox, Lucy, Bill, and Slippy were an inseparable group. But as they grew older, Slippy began to realize that each of them was walking down their own path. He supposed such a thing was natural. People had their callings… sometimes those callings took them into different directions. Lucy had a knack for astrophysics. Bill’s parents had basically forced him down the path to being in the military. Fox was going to be an ace cadet for the Cornerian Defense Force… and then he was going to be the next James McCloud of the Star Fox team.
Slippy interned at Space Dynamics for a summer-- the summer before the Lylat Wars broke out. His knack for building things made him think maybe he’d find clarity there. But all he found were people telling him what to build and how to build it. The lack of innovation stifled his enjoyment. So he stayed in the military academy, something he had just kind of done because everyone else had done it.
And after the death of James McCloud, when Fox had told Slippy of his dream to see through what his father had begun, Slippy began to wonder what his own wants and desires were. Did he really want to join a mercenary group? Did he want to drop out of the academy all together and join his father at Space Dynamics? Or did he want to do something else? Something… that he just hadn’t figured out yet?
Fast forward a few years and Slippy didn’t feel any closer to his answers. What he did feel closer to was death’s doorstep.
He opened his eyes and the blinding light of Lylat filled his vision. How a single star could be so bright he was sure was in a textbook or an encyclopedia. He was sure he knew the answer, but his head hurt too much for thinking.
“Ugh,” he groaned, rubbing his head. He looked down, surprised to find blood. What had happened? He tried to remember…. But everything felt so hazy.
Slippy began to get his bearings. He was in his Arwing’s cockpit. Outside of him, he saw nothing but the yellow of desert sands. They gathered together in dunes that felt as tall as mountains, slowly moved by wind. There was something partially obscuring his view from his front windshield but he could not figure out what it was. It seemed like a branch? But what was a tree doing out here in the desert?
“Oh yeah. Spyborg,” Slippy said after a moment, blinking away some of the haze. He leaned forward, accidentally pressing forward on the Arwing’s controls. Thankfully the engines were dead-- the Arwing stayed in place.
The thing his ship had crashed into seemed… organic. And that did not inspire confidence. The toad narrowed his eyes for a moment. Whatever it was had a solid grasp on his ship’s nose… but luckily, it seemed within range of his blasters. He tried to turn on the engine. It sputtered. A small diagnostics report told him that both of his wings were lost and there was damage to the hull’s integrity. A fall from Sector X would do that, though, and Slippy tried the engine again before swapping to the emergency engine. He aimed for the protruding branch that had clamped over his Arwing’s nose… and he fired.
Everything moved and in a way he did not like. He screamed a high-pitched note, grabbing back onto the controls as if gripping them tightly would somehow save his life. The moving eventually stopped and the toad breathlessly looked at the branch. There were some searing marks on it… but it didn’t seem like wood. He gulped, finger over the button to fire.
When he fired again, the moving came but more aggressive. It confirmed his suspicions and he screamed again. This wasn’t a random desert tree. This was a claw. A claw that belonged to a monster.
“Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Slippy yelped, thrusting forward on the Arwing controls and trying to kick forth the accelerate. It sputtered… and then died out. Panicked, he looked around. There was something shifting underneath his ship-- he could feel it.
The thrashing flung him forward and his head hit the dashboard. He gasped, blinding tears of pain in his eyes. Was this how he would meet his end? Strapped down in his chair, his body probably soon lost to the desert sands? Would anyone know where to even look for him? Would he die before he even figured out what he wanted to do with himself? Would he die before he realized what his own dreams even were?
Dreams. That word again. Everyone had their dreams. Slippy felt like he had gone his whole life looking for his own. But they were never there. When he closed his eyes? He saw his team. He saw Fox, smiling that dashing smile. He saw Falco, leaning cockily against the doorframe with his arms folded-- a cheeky smirk on his beak. He saw Peppy with his kind old eyes that had known too much heartache…
He saw Lucy. She was already done with her Master’s degree and was working on a Ph.D in astrophysics now. She had already built the prototype for her own ship. He saw Bill-- strong and calm Bill, who was getting awarded a medal of honor for his service. They all were pursuing their interests… why did it feel like his whole life was chasing after Fox’s?
“AHHHHH!” he screamed, clinging onto the arm rests of his chair.
His entire life flashed by his eyes. A life that was full of… laughter. Of joy. Of friends. Slippy stopped screaming. Huh. He had never really thought about it that way. Sure. It did seem like everyone was moving in their own direction. And sure, it seemed like sometimes he was just chasing after them. But maybe? Maybe they were his dream. His friends. Those good times.
When the war had come, he had been terrified. There had not been a full-scale war in decades. He was scared of how this would change everyone. Maybe he had the right to be scared. James’s death changed Fox. Falco came into the group. They were waging war in their own way against the Venomians. A war that didn’t need the General’s permission. Fox had always told them, when the time was right, they would strike Andross. And so as the war waged, they… they lived. They took their missions where they could.
He gasped softly, realization dawning on him.
Maybe his dream had been in front of him all this time. All those laughs and good times. Hugging each other. Crying with each other. Fighting alongside each other. Maybe he didn’t need to have something decided on. Maybe he just needed his friends. Maybe his dream was a simple night with pizza, video games, and the people he cared about the most...
“Oh the heck with it!” Slippy yelled, grabbing a hold of the aiming interface. He pointed the Arwing’s left gun at the claw that had a hold of his ship. “STOP THAT RIGHT NOOOOOOW!”
He charged up a shot and fired. The limb flailed for a moment then stopped. Everything stopped. Slippy paused. Had that… worked? Outside, the Titanian desert was as still as death. The toad’s hands were wrapped around the control stick of his Arwing-- fingers locked in place out of sheer fear. He realized for a moment that he was holding his breath. Slippy let himself exhale, letting his shoulders sag as he did so. Was it safe?
Three dots on the horizon caught his attention. Leaning forward in his seat, he squinted to try to get a better look at what was coming towards him. Gleefully, he realized it was two Arwings and the Landmaster-- his friends! The toad let out a cheer. Saved! He was saved!
As he rocked back into his seat, he bumped into his controls. The engines suddenly revved but the ship didn’t move. The Arwing fired off a blast into the sand. Slippy paused, fearfully looking out the windshield. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no...
The Arwing began to move but not of its own will. The creature that had his ship in its grasp churned in the sands below. The Arwing jolted forward and then flung backwards-- like a radical rocking horse with poor Slippy trapped inside. He gave a yelp, grabbing onto the controls. Not again!
“Slippy!” Fox’s voice broke over the intercom suddenly.
“AHHHHH DO SOMETHING!” Slippy screamed over the intercom. “HEEEEELP!”
“Hang on, Slip! We’ll get you out of there!” Fox yelled.
When the monster had been felled and Slippy freed from its claws, the team reconvened at the Great Fox. Slippy ran up to Fox immediately, throwing his arms around his friend in the biggest hug he had ever given. Fox laughed, hugging him back.
“I was scared,” Fox admitted, tears glistening over his eyes. “But I’m glad you’re safe, pal.”
“I’m glad you were able to find me!” Slippy said with a smile. “I thought I was a goner for sure.”
“We wouldn’t dream of lettin’ that happen,” Fox replied and the two wandered off to get a well-deserved dinner.
