2 SPLURSHHHH!

Chapter 2 SPLURSHHHH! The Time-A-Tron bobbed to the surface of an ocean of fiery melted rock. Above, the night sky sparkled with stars. "Cheese Louise!" cried Judy. "Where's the land? Where's the water?" Andrew peered out through the dome. "This sure is a weird place," he said. "But it's too dark to see much. There isn't even any moonlight." meep… "Earth like this everywhere," said Thudd. "Big ball of melted rock." bong… "And there is no moonlight," said the Time-A-Tron, "because there is no moon."

"Sure," said Andrew. "On some nights you can't see the moon at all." bong… "Pardon me, Master Andrew," said the Time-A-Tron. "The moon does not yet exist!" "I bet I know what you're going to say," said Judy. "One of these giant asteroids starts buzzing around the Earth and that's how we get a moon." "Noop, noop, noop!" said Thudd. "Moon happen different way." "How?" asked Judy. meep… "Oody not want to know," said Thudd. "Oh yes, I do," said Judy. "Spit it out, Thudd." meep… "Moon happen when planet big as Mars crash into Earth," said Thudd. "Lotsa stuff splash into space. Make moon!" Judy shivered. "What if this thing crashes on us?" Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw a flash. A bright ball of light was streaking across the sky.

"I hope that's not the Mars-sized thing!" cried Judy. "Noop, noop, noop!" said Thudd. "Comet coming now. Big ball of ice!" Suddenly the purple button in the middle of Thudd's chest began to blink. meep… "Unkie Al!" said Thudd. Thudd's purple button popped open and a purple beam zoomed out. At the end of the beam was something furry. A flap of fur fell away. Underneath was the familiar face of Uncle Al! He was Andrew and Judy's uncle, a top-secret scientist. He'd made Thudd and the Time-A-Tron. "Hi, guys!" said Uncle Al. His teeth were chattering, but he was smiling. "Uncle Al!" shouted Judy. "Hiya, Unkie!" squeaked Thudd.

"Jumping gerbils!" said Andrew. "You really are in an ice age!" "You've got that right, Andrew," said Uncle Al. "I'm still in Montana. But I'm located sometime between eleven thousand and twenty thousand years ago. "But where are you?" asked Uncle Al. "Safe inside the cabin, I hope." When Uncle Al contacted Andrew and Judy by Hologram Helper, he could hear them, but he couldn't see them.

"Um, not exactly," said Andrew. "We're in the Time-A-Tron, floating in an ocean of boiling rock." Uncle Al's frosty eyebrows went up. "Walt Disney on a walnut waffle!" he said. "What happened?" "Thudd figured out that Doctor Kron-Tox kidnapped you and took you to an ice age," said Andrew. "We had to take the Time-A-Tron to rescue you." Uncle Al shook his head. "It's great that you wanted to help me," he said. "But time travel is too dangerous. I'd rather be stuck in an ice age than put my favorite kids at risk." "Uncle Al," said Judy. "The last purple-button message came from Doctor Kron-Tox." Uncle Al frowned. "That doesn't surprise me," he said. "Kron-Tox grabbed one of my old Hologram Helpers." bong… "Professor Dubble," said the Time-A- Tron. "There is trouble with the Fast-Forward button."

Uncle Al brushed off an icicle hanging from his nose. "Check the tachyon tubes and—" gu… gu… guzzz The Uncle Al hologram looked like it was dripping away. Uncle Al's voice was fading. "Uncle Al!" yelled Judy. "You're disappearing!" "It's the Hologram Helper batteries," said Uncle Al in a voice they could hardly hear. "They don't work well in the cold. "Now I have something very important to tell you. Doctor Kron-Tox has hidden Professor Wilde…" guzzzzzz "…and he's planning to…" guzzzzzz Before Uncle Al could finish his thought, his hologram completely dripped away!