SPOILER ALERT!!! This bonus scene takes place during the second break in chapter 8 of "Star Fox: Eclipse," just after Fox returns to The Great Fox carrying Krystal unconcious on his back. Before the Star Fox team debriefs about the attack on Katina, Fox remembers something he wants to ask Slippy about from earlier...

Slippy Toad paced nervously back and forth in the control room of The Great Fox, uncertainty clouding his mind. Fox and Krystal should have been back by now, the short, green toad thought to himself. Why are they taking so long? They aren't even responding...

Fox and Krystal had left some time ago to visit the Beltino Orbital Gate, the space station named after Slippy's father, in order to learn more about the supposed death of Andrew Oikonny. They flew to the nearby space station in search of answers, hoping to uncover something by viewing the data collected at the gate's research station. But something was wrong; Fox and Krystal should not have been gone this long. Did something happen to them? Did they find out any more information? Slippy's mind was restless at the thought.

"Cheer up, buddy," came a voice from beside the toad, interrupting his thoughts. "Fox and Krystal should be back at any time," encouraged Falco. The tall, blue-feathered falcon gave Slippy a playful nudge. "It's Fox; wherever he is, I'm sure he's alright."

"Thanks, Falco, I hope you're right..." Slippy half-mumbled. He appreciated Falco's concern, it was a rare occasion when the bird would show his soft side- but still had doubts. Something inside of him felt wrong, as if he knew his friends were in some kind of danger.

At the other end of the control room, Lucy and Katt were talking among themselves occasionally in low voices. Even they seemed to be worried about Fox and Krystal. Falco may have said that everything was fine, but Slippy knew that deep down, he was concerned as well.

Suddenly, the elevator at the end hallway connected to the ship's bridge opened, and a rough looking figure stepped out from it. The brown-furred fox appeared to be carrying a blue furred vixen over his shoulder, and though they were rugged and beaten up, Slippy knew it was none other than Fox and Krystal.

Fox slowly fumbled his way down the hallway and toward the control room while Slippy, Falco, Katt, and Lucy rushed forward to assist him. It seemed like every step pained the Star Fox team's leader, like he was completely exhausted and could go no farther without collapsing.

"Fox, let me give you a hand!" Falco was the first to speak up, allowing Fox to lay Krystal into his arms. "What happened to you? I thought you flew over to the Orbital Gate just to talk to Beltino, not to fight with him!"

Of course, even in concern, Falco is as sarcastic as ever, Slippy remarked. He immediately positioned himself beside Fox so he could lean on him for support. The fox was quite taller than he was, but it was not a difficult task to support his lighter frame.

Before anyone could ask any questions, Fox took off, making his way for Krystal's room at the end of the hallway, nearly pulling Slippy down in the process. "We need to get Krystal into her bed. She's only passed out, but has some wounds that need tending. Lucy, Katt, will you go get ROB and some medical supplies from below and bring them up here to us?" His words were calm and smooth, but still betrayed a hint of concern for his injured friend.

The cat and rabbit nodded in response and disappeared down the hallway, vanishing from sight as the elevator doors shut behind them.

Fox, Falco, Slippy, and the unconcious Krystal, entered into her room through a sliding metal door along the hallway between the elevator and the bridge of the ship. Falco laid Krystal down in her bed, while Fox and Slippy took seats in the two chairs beside it, each at opposite ends of a small, round table.

"So what happened out there, Fox? Why does it look like you two came from a warzone?" Falco questioned as he leaned against the side wall opposite Krystal's bed.

"Yea, you both had us all worried," Slippy croaked with a glance at his feathered friend. It was good to finally see Fox and Krystal return to The Great Fox, but he never expected to see them in such bad shape. Fox's clothes were covered in small cuts and scrapes, and Krystal was in no better shape; she bore a fresh slash across her cheek, among other wounds, some bleeding lightly while others had just stopped recently.

"It's hard to explain," Fox panted. "We only flew to the Orbital Gate seeking answers, but we found ourselves being ambushed... I'll explain later, once Krystal wakes up. She will have more to input than I will."

Slippy gulped, wondering how long it would be before the young vixen came to her senses. He cast a nervous glance at both Fox and Falco, and the room became silent except for the sound of Krystal's light breathing.

"Slippy," Fox's mention of his name almost made him jump in shock. "While we have the time, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about before..."

Slippy's stomach semeed to tie itself in a knot of anxeity at his friend's words. I wonder if he's found out about what I did earlier... I hope he's not too angry at me! I should never have let Krystal fly to Sauria by herself, I should have stopped her or told someone!

"I think you know what I'm referring to," Fox's voice took a serious tone as he narrowed his eyes. "I was in too much of a hurry to see it before, but I've had some time to think since then. I remember how you acted when I asked you and Falco if you knew anything about Krystal's disappearance before the ceremony on Corneria. After giving it some more thought, I think you know more than you claimed to."

Falco assumed a straight posture, relying less on the wall beside him to keep him standing up. "What? There's no way, why would Slippy know anything about-"

"He's right, Falco," Slippy sighed, interrupting the bird. He hated to admit it, but now that Krystal's journey to Sauria and back was over, he felt like he could ease the concience of his friends without breaking Krystal's trust.

"You what?!" Falco glared at the green toad. "You're sayin' you knew where Krystal was the whole time and didn't tell us?"

Fox said nothing, but kept his eyes fixed on Slippy as the mechanic took a deep breath. "Honestly, I didn't even know where she was going, she never told me... but I did see her the night she left, while I was tinkering with the Arwings in the hangar bay. She told me she was leaving, and promised she would be back, but made me sware to keep my knowledge of her absence a secret, even from you two..."

Falco took a few angered steps toward Slippy. "What are you trying to do, have us worried sick about her? You led us to believe you had no idea that she left for how long now?"

"Wait, Falco," Fox mumbled, almost to himself. "Let Slippy explain himself."

Why is he acting so calm and cool? The last thing I would expect is for Fox to be alright with me lying to him, especially about something concerning Krystal. He's so close to her, why isn't he furoous with me? The thought made Slippy even more nervous than he already was.

"It's not so much that I was trying to be dishonest to you and Falco," the toad began, addressing Fox in perticular. "I was just being a good friend for Krystal, and keeping the promise I made to her. I did not know where she was going, or how long she would be away, but I felt that she had good intentions for leaving... She did in the end, right? She saved planet Sauria single-handedly, and came back to us, relatively unharmed..."

"What do you mean, relatively unharmed? Did you see the gash on her arm? She was in serious danger- she could have died!" Falco interrupted, still furious at Slippy for his decision. The poor, miserable toad glanced again at Fox, shocked out of his skin to find a look of approval in his eyes.

Fox gave him a nod in understanding. "I see now... what you did was wrong. You lied to Falco and I, convincing us that you nothing of Krystal's whereabouts... but sometimes, it's not about what's right, and what's wrong. Sometimes, it's about doing what is easy."

Slippy tilted his head sideways, confused at what his friend was telling him.

"It would have been easy to stop Krystal from flying to Sauria alone and calling one of us down to stop her in the night. It would have been easy to break your promise to her, and reveal to us you that had witnessed her attempt to leave us... but if you had done either of those things, no help would have come to Dinosaur Planet, General Scales would still be alive, and Sauria might not be safe once again."

At Fox's words, even Falco began to understand. His look of pure anger changed to one of compassion and understanding. "Keeping Krystal's secret doesn't make you disloyal, Slippy," the falcon murmured with a change of heart. "It actually makes you that much more loyal. Only a true friend would go that far to keep her secret. You had good intentions, Krystal came home to us safe and sound, and that's all that matters."

Slippy smiled at his friends' praise. Up until this moment, he had still questioned his decision to let Krystal go; but after earning the understanding of Fox and Falco, he could finally be at peace with what he had done.

So there you have it, the dialogue taking place between Fox, Falco, and Slippy before Krystal wakes up in Chapter 8. This piece isn't going to be perfect, I haven't edited it many times like I had done with the rest of the book. But still, it's something, and hopefully interesting to read. I thought of writing this back when someone asked Krystal which member of the Star Fox team was the most loyal, and instantly thought of Slippy Toad. This part is not actually an official part of the novel, "Star Fox: Eclipse," but consider it something more like a deleted scene from a movie, or something like that. I hope you like the read, thanks for the votes in the "Ask the Readers!" poll.

Haven't read "Star Fox: Eclipse? Interested in learning more? Check it out on Wattpad at the link below, or search "Star Fox: Eclipse." Thanks to all my readers!

https://www.wattpad.com/story/39170775-star-fox-eclipse

Got any questions for the Star Fox team? Keep asking them in the comments section of this book :3