Okay! Welcome to my Disney Planes fanfiction! This is a story about friendship and how I've come to learn love truly works. It's based on two of my real life situations. Also, it's randomly and pointlessly musical, like The Lion King or … The Hobbit. That was a joke, sort of, for those of you that actually read The Hobbit and know that there was quite a bit of singing in it. If a chapter contains lyrics from/based on a song I will list it at the start of the chapter. Then if you want you can look up the song on YouTube and let your cheerful inner child sing along, or you can do like I did when I read the Hobbit and skip that crap. Maybe you'll find something you like to add to your playlist.
The characters are normal because … what is this humanized crap? They're talking machines and as a self-professed 'auto'-phile, I love it! That being said my fic's kinda tech-y at some parts. This fiction was started BEFORE I saw Planes so stuff will be different and I ain't re-writin' it. Also, in my Planes book the forklifts are called 'tugs' so I kinda rolled with that. I know in the Cars movies they're called 'pittys', but to me that sounds dumb.
Now for the important stuff; Disney owns Planes, yadda yadda yadda. Arianna, Onyx, Stanley Blitzwing, Rodney, and anyone bearing the surname 'Tigerfyre' are mine. The characters in the movie are adults, so I put them in adult situations. Therefore, this fiction is rated T for strong language and sensual scenes, oh, and nudity! So much nudity! There's like nudity in EVERY part! Why? Because they're planes, so stop getting so excited … you perverts. =p
Personally, I think it's a little rough. I was going to go back through and add more detail to smooth it out, but it's so long and I'm not even done writing it, and I've been thinking of a sequel so this version should be clear enough that you all can understand what's going on. So, PLEASE let me know what you think.
Songs: Get Low by Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz
"Oh my gosh," cried Dusty to his tug escort as he was led off the JFK runway in New York. "I'm so tired. Everything is so busy and chaotic here. I thought I'd never get cleared to land. I'm about to fly around the world. I shouldn't have to fly to the qualifiers. I mean I know cars don't ride in cars so planes shouldn't ride in other planes, but cars ride in planes so planes should be able to ride … uh … boats or something, right?"
The tug gave him a look.
"That's what I should've done," continued the crop duster. "I should've taken a nice, relaxing cruise to New York! Definitely should've taken a cruise. I bet all the big racers are taking cruises. No one flies himself to a race. Even racecars don't drive themselves to races."
"Ya sure do talk a lot," said the tug steward at last. "If ya engine's as fas' as ya mout', it's easy to see how ya won tha rally las' year."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just nerves- wait, you know who I am?"
"Of course! Ya Dusty Crophoppa, everybody knows who ya are! In fact, dat's tha only reason ya down here on ya way to tha qualify-ahs instead of in tha air waitin' to be cleared for landin'. Dis is JF-friggin'-K national airport an' we don't got time for most little planes. Now jus' keep goin' straight until ya get to da main gate. Somebody'll be d'ere waitin' for ya. It's been a pleasure Mr. Crophoppa. Welcome back to New York and good luck."
Dusty could hardly follow the directions as he was so caught up in the bustle. All around him, hard-working tugs zipped by to help the planes land safely. Cars and trucks sped past to tend the aircraft and stay on schedule. Skyscrapers surrounded the airport grounds and there wasn't a field to be seen for miles. As he neared the main gate, the sound of his name jarred him from his sightseeing.
"Dusty! Dusty!" Shouted a female navy blue tug as she waved a sign with his name on it. "Do pay attention, Mr. Crophopper. I've been calling your name for the past five minutes. Hurry now!"
She led him to the white zone where a navy blue heavy-duty tow truck was waiting with a long flat bed trailer.
"Wow! I can hardly believe it's you! Hop aboard, Dusty and I'll take you straight to the qualifiers!" The tow truck laughed as the little female tug lowered the flatbed's ramps for Dusty and secured his wheels once he was onboard. "I'm Tucker and my cuddly little associate here is Bernice. We run Tucker's Plane Taxi service. The only one in all of Queens."
Once his passengers were buckled in, Tucker departed the station, "You know, most people said it was dumb to start a plane taxi service. They're all like 'Tuck, planes can fly' but I knew it was a good idea. Planes shouldn't have to fly to their own races. We're smart, Dusty, you and me. See, when everybody else gets there they're going to have to rest, but you're going to be all fired up and ready to race and it's all thanks to me."
"Well, I am a little tired. I did still have to fly from Minnesota to New York," Dusty corrected.
"Aw, that's a shame. Well, at least you got a nice, relaxing ride to the race."
Dusty could feel his oil pressure rise with excitement as Tucker pulled onto the qualifier grounds. He couldn't see any of the other competitors yet but just the sight of the tugs from their crews zipping to and fro was enough to make him want to leap from the flatbed. Finally, Tucker came to a stop.
"Alright, Dusty, that'll be $95 for the ride," said the tow truck.
"What?!" Dusty exclaimed.
"Hey, what can I say? This one of a kind service don't come cheap."
Dusty used his new SkyPad to pay his fare.
"Do you accept Google Wallet?"
"Who doesn't? Thank you, sir! Good luck in the race," Tucker laughed as he sped away.
As Dusty passed the empty grandstands on his way to the competitors' quarters, in his mind he could hear the roaring of the crowd from his win last year and he couldn't wait for a repeat performance. Well, maybe not an exact repeat as he hoped this year things would go a little smoother and that no one would give him a hard time. He began to grow a little nervous as some of the darker memories came back to him. Still, the crop duster tried to remain positive; maybe … hopefully … there might be an accident and Ripslinger would die on his way to the race or something. It was a shame that Chug and Dottie couldn't come to the event with him this year, but he understood that the Fill 'n' Fly wasn't going to run itself. However, the qualifiers were different this year and it was required that he have a crew. Skipper could've at least loaned him Sparky, then he wouldn't have had to hire two tugs he barely knew to service him if he ran into trouble.
At last, Dusty made it to his hangar and it was just as drab and crappy as he remembered it. Out in front, his rental crew shot the breeze with his good pal and fellow racer, El Chupacabra.
"Dusty! Mi amigo! Your team and I were wondering when you'd get here. How was your trip?" Asked the masked plane as he approached the little crop duster.
"Exhausting, except for the ride here from the airport but that was expensive," Dusty replied.
"You rode here from the airport?"
"Yeah, Tucker's Plane Taxi. He's a navy blue tow truck with a matching female tug named -."
"Si, I know of them. I have used their service myself, but they are contracted to bring contestants from the airport to the qualifiers … for free."
"Free?"
"Si! Racers and entrants do not have to pay to be transported from the airport to the race."
"He totally ripped me off!" Dusty exclaimed in disbelief.
"Que?" The Mexican racer asked in confusion.
"Tucker! He charged me $95 for the ride here!"
"Oh, uh, perhaps he did not know you are a Wings Around the Globe racer."
"He knew! I can't believe he ripped me off. I even tipped him for ripping me off!"
El Chupacabra laughed heartily as he strolled with his friend, "Come, mi amigo. You need to relax."
Dusty began to feel more at ease at the sight of the familiar faces as they made their way through the competitor's quarters. Ishani warmed up with some stretching as her crew organized her hangar. Bulldog was enjoying the morning's New York Times with a cup of Earl Grey. El Chupacabra stopped to give Rochelle one of his cheesy pickup lines which resulted in her snubbing him once more and retreating into her hangar.
"Losing your touch, El Chu?" Teased Dusty. "What was that about?"
"It … is a long story," he sighed dolefully.
"I've got time."
"Alright then. Rochelle has … broken up with me."
"What? Why?"
"I am not sure. She said I have nothing of use to offer her and the relationship has run its course."
"I'm sorry to hear that, amigo. You don't seem too broken up by it though."
"Of course not! I do not believe it is over. We will get back together, but for right now she still has a lot of setting up to do. We all do."
"Setting up?" Dusty asked.
"Si! Tonight the media arrives," El Chu answered. "Everyone wants to look their best and have their autographed pictures ready."
"Why? This week is just the qualifiers. The actual Rally begins next week."
"Si, but the qualifiers are quickly becoming an event of their own. Fans are excited to see the fresh new faces and the skills they hope to bring to the Rally if they can make the cut. That and it is fun to watch when the duds flop. Mira!"
The two friends watched as a clumsy, young plane attempted a Cuban Eight and crashed into his neighbor's hangar. El Chu chuckled.
"A dud. That was almost me," admitted the crop duster.
"Almost, and now look at you. You are the champion!" Exclaimed the Gee Bee. "You had better watch your back this year though. Ripslinger will be after you for sure."
"No, Ripslinger better watch his back because this year I know all his tricks."
There appeared to be some commotion coming from in front of Ripslinger's hangar. Ripslinger himself was on his personal stage attempting to enjoy a full body buffing and pre-autographing some photos of himself, while Ned and Zed struggled to ward off what seemed to be a deranged fan.
"Come on, Ripslinger! What are you?! Scared?!" A female Grob 120TP taunted him as she flew circles around his hangar.
The female was blue with a white underside. On her left flank, where the blue met the white was written creo que puedo volar and her body was painted with what from a distance looked to be a tribal dragon wrapping around her. Up close, this dragon was actually comprised of an elaborate pattern of tiger stripes. Although extremely artistic the design came off to many as ugly body art. So with her dark coloring and tattooed appearance, at first glance one would've thought she was a boy. However, the big name racers and WATG officials knew better. Instead of the customary 5-bladed propeller of her model, hers possessed only 3. Upon each of her wingtips was attached a small and sleek high-pressure natural gas flamethrower, the tanks of which were mounted safely to either side of her fuselage. In the past she employed them in nighttime stunt shows, but now they were mostly used to threaten others or make mischief.
"As if! Can't you see I'm busy?!" Ripslinger voice vibrated as he was buffed. "Besides it's too early for your games, Lex! If you must make a fool of yourself, you can do it with Ned and Zed!"
"Fine! I will!" She huffed, spiraling up higher into the air, "Come on, boys! I'll give you each a grand if you can beat me in a game of A-L-E-X-I-S!"
"One thousand bucks?! Right on!" Shouted Ned, excitedly heading for the runway and taking off after her.
"What's A-L-E-X-I-S?" Asked Zed, right behind his brother.
"It's her name, stupid!"
"I know that part! I mean how do you play it?!"
"It's simple, fellas," Alexis replied, slowing down so that she flew betwixt them. "I'll do a trick. You guys have to do the same trick exactly how I did it. If you mess up you get a letter. If I mess up, I get a letter and one of you gets to be the leader. First to spell 'Alexis' is out! I'll try to go easy on you!"
She rocketed from in between the pair and into a long, fluid barrel roll.
"That's kid's stuff!" Taunted a cocky Ned as he flawlessly copied her.
"Yeah, anyone can do this!" Agreed Zed as he completed his turn.
"Okay, how about a roll into an outside loop?" Asked the female before executing the trick
Ned took his turn, mixing up the loops.
"Ah ah, Ned! I said an outside loop, not inside!" She corrected with a laugh. "That's an 'A'!"
"Shit! I always get those two confused!" He cursed.
"Pay attention, dummy!" His brother teased.
Captivated by the game, Dusty followed the trio to the open runway as he watched from the ground, "Skipper taught me all those moves. Maybe I should play for $1000."
"You would need it to pay for your ride back to the airport," teased El Chupacabra, following him.
"Ha ha, that's so funny," scoffed the crop duster sarcastically.
Alexis was about to perform a Cuban Eight for the brothers to duplicate, when she caught sight of the growing audience below. The other competitors were gathering to watch her little show and he was among them. Suddenly, she was no longer focused on the game.
"Lex! Watch where you're going! Look out!" Screamed Zed as she barreled in a daydream right for him.
His panicked shrieking awoke her just in time for her to roll off the course of a major collision.
"Let's see," taunted Ned with a laugh. "I don't think a Mach-1 makeout with Zed was the trick you intended so now I'm the leader. That's an 'A' by the way!"
"Whatever," shrugged Alexis as she circled back around. "Man, there isn't any trick you can do that I can't. I can do stunts you fools can't even fathom."
"Oh, we can fathom!" Panted Zed as he finally recovered from the spook of almost crashing.
"Stupid!" Yelled Ned as he flew up alongside his brother and smacked him with one of his wings. Then he questioned Alexis, "What tricks?"
She dropped down to fly beside them and bragged, "I can hover just like a helicopter."
"Bullshit!" The twins said in unison.
"I'm so serious!"
"Oh yeah? Like this?" Asked Ned as he attempted to decelerate to a stop in the air and hover. When his pace dropped to the point he began to dive he anxiously accelerated back up to speed with a terrified yelp.
Alexis cackled hysterically.
"Let me try!" Called Zed. He attempted it the same way as his brother and replicated his failure perfectly.
"Oh, stop! You guys are killing me! Thanks for giving me the leader position back. Oh, and you're both up to "I" now. One more loss and that's the game," jeered the cocky female. "By the way, this is how you do that trick!"
Alexis climbed straight up into the air allowing gravity to slow her to a stop. By applying just enough gas to cancel out the gravitational pull on her body she was able to create the illusion of hovering. With her nose facing the heavens her propeller even simulated the horizontally whirling blades of a chopper. From the ground below, came some mild cheers. Alexis then fell backwards into a loop and flew past an awed Ned and Zed.
"Now, it's time for you boys to earn that 'S'!"
She spotted a water tower just beyond the Air Traffic Control building with crossbars that were much too close together to fly through. Nonetheless, Alexis felt the space between the foundation and the first rung was just big enough. It was a dive that'd bring any plane deathly close to the ground but the stunt plane was crazy enough to try it. How could she not? He was watching!
"Now bring yourselves over here, bros, and let me see you get low if you want this dough!" She rapped, now more into putting on a good show than actually winning the game.
Once again she climbed skyward and allowed gravity to bring her to a stop. She turned to face the ground when suddenly, with a furious tremble, her engine stalled out. End over end she tumbled towards the ground, which drew closer at a horrifyingly increasing rate.
"Oh no! She's out of control! She'll crash!" Cried Ned.
"How many letters will she get for that?" Inquired Zed.
"Don't be a dumbass!" Scolded Ned as he smacked his brother again. "If she crashes that means we automatically win."
Terrified gasps and screams arose from the audience as they witnessed her plunging towards the earth. The WATG Rally emergency team stood by, their sirens blaring as they helplessly watched from the ground.
"Come on. Pull up. Pull up, you crazy girl," said El Chupacabra.
"What the hell are you doing, Alexis?" Ripslinger whispered to himself.
"Oh no. I can't look," whimpered Bulldog, closing his eyes and turning away.
Ishani said a prayer under her breath.
"That plane will never survive a crash like that! Somebody has to do something!" Yelled Dusty.
Without a second thought he raced as fast as he could towards where it seemed Alexis would make impact at the base of the water tower. He was nearly directly below her as she plummeted with frightening haste. Just then she leveled off to fly beneath the tower.
"Watch out, kid!" She warned Dusty as she swerved to avoid him. A smidge to wide for a horizontal entry, she leaned to her right side to pass beneath the tower diagonally. Her right wing tip grazed the concrete and sent sparks flying as an indication of how she barely cleared the opening.
"Yes!" She panted before landing safely back on the runway. "Am I one bad ass stunt plane or what?!"
She was clearly out of breath and her engine was smoking profusely. In an instant the emergency vehicles surrounded her and one of the fire engines doused her with flame retardant foam.
"Try 'the most reckless stunt plane'!" Scolded Rochelle.
"What on Earth is the matter with you?!" Barked Bulldog, his tone highly reprehensive.
"What?! 'Chelle, B-Dog, why you buggin'?" Alexis asked, not understanding everyone's resentment.
"If you EVER do anything like that again, you will be so disqualified! Flying less than 10 feet from the ground on competition grounds is against the rules … not to mention really stupid!" Boomed a furious Roper. "Diving under a water tower, are you insane?! Even your own engine is mad at you!"
"Oh, the overheating? That's no biggie, I've got it completely locked down," Alexis reassured.
The other entrants and their crews left and went about their business as a single orange female tug raced to Alexis' side.
"What the heck happened? What did you do now?!" She demanded.
"Way to show up late, Ari. If I hadn't had everything under control, I'd be dead by now waiting on you," teased the stunt plane. "Anyway, all I did was a few tricks."
"You didn't do that move, did you?"
"I did a lot of moves so you're going to have to be more specif-"
"Don't test me, girl! You know what move I'm talking about! The one move I told you not to do anymore because your engine can't handle it! Did you do it and piss everyone off?!"
"What?! That's not what everyone's upset about. I mean, I did do the move but they're bent because I dove under the water tower."
"You WHAT?!"
"Hey! That was some pretty fancy flying, mister," interrupted Dusty naively as he made his way over to see if the daredevil was alright. "I especially like the part at the end where you gave everyone in the audience a complex … me included."
"Don't you disrespect me, son! I'm no dude!" Alexis snapped, giving him a hard disapproving stare.
"You're a girl?!" Dusty said in astonishment before rapidly catching himself. "I mean, of course you're a girl. I'm sorry."
She scoffed and turned to leave.
"Wait up!" He called as he began to follow her. "I just wanted to say that you must be a talented flyer. Most of those were just basic moves but you do them so smoothly."
"Thanks," She grinned, seeming to have forgiven him. "So … what was up with you rushing towards me like that? Were you going to try to catch me or something?"
"I don't know. I just acted."
"That never would have worked you know. If I had been about to crash you would've just gotten yourself killed with me," she ridiculed.
"Well, excuse me for not wanting the images of your mangled, flaming chassis to haunt me for the entire Rally!"
"Don't trip, I think it's ill. You're all heart, aren't you, Dusty?"
"Uh, thanks … I think," he replied, unsure of what she just said. "Do I … know you because you seem to know me?
"Yeah, you're the current champ; Dusty Crophopper. I'm your biggest fan."
"Really?"
"No," she teased some more. "I only know your name and that you're the crop duster who kicked Rip's tail last year."
"That's more than I know about you," he countered. "Are you new?"
"I wasn't here last year but I've been in this Rally once before."
"Why weren't you here last year?"
"Nunya."
"'Nunya'? What is that?"
"It means don't worry about it, " she said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I'm Alexis Tigerfyre, American aerobat. Oh, and this is my entire crew; Arianna."
The tug gave him a nod. From up close, Dusty could find no trace of femininity about Alexis outside her own word that she was female. Her voice, while higher than a man's, was on the deeper end for what would typically be expected of a woman. In the air, her flying was the epitome of grace but here on the ground before him, she was the farthest thing from elegance. He didn't find her the least bit attractive beyond her aerial aptitude, which clearly obsessed him.
"Nice to meet you both. So … an aerobat, huh? You're really good, at least you were up to the part where you stalled out and almost tumbled out of control to your death."
"Yo! I wasn't out of control. I knew exactly what I was doing!
Seeing the oncoming challenge, Arianna sped between the two planes to disrupt Dusty and to turn Alexis away, "Okay, okay. Let's head back to the hangar so I can make sure your engine is in condition to compete tomorrow. Now, Lexi!"
"I'm going! Sheesh!" Sighed Alexis as Arianna pushed her towards their hangar. "Peace, Dusty."
"Piece of what?" He asked, still trailing the girls.
"It's means 'goodbye', now begone!" Huffed the little tug, shooing him away before returning to escorting her friend. "That little plane is kinda stupid … I think I like him though."
"Yeah, he's pretty interes-," began the stunt plane before she was cut off by a macho presence.
"Hola, Alexis. It is a relief to see that you are undamaged. Yet, you should not do such crazy things," counseled El Chupacabra, interrupting Alexis' sentence as he crossed the girls' path. "Hmm, you still seem not quite your energetic self though. Is something wrong?"
"Uh … I …"
"Engine overheated," interjected Arianna, fully aware of her friend's less-articulate moments.
"Oh? That is unfortunate," he replied. "I hope you feel better by tomorrow."
"Oh, she will. I'll have her back on top for sure."