15 Home, Sweet Space Station

Chapter Fifteen Home, Sweet Space Station Elias tore out the walkie-talkie from his space suit. He did the same with each of the explorers. After about an hour of fiddling with them, he showed his friends what he'd built. "Behold!" he said. "Super-Walkie-Talkie!" Elias pressed a button on the clump of wires and fuses in his hand. "There," he said. "The Marlowe ought to hear that." Soon, they saw a dot appear in the planet's yellow sky. As a Marlowe rescue ship landed, the explorers all took turns hugging the bunny goodbye. The ship was unmanned, so Abigail got in and sat down in the pilot's seat. The explorers

and Foggy followed and strapped in. The bunny waited outside to see them off. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" said Elias. "Nah," said the bunny. "I got stuff to do down here. Lots of trees to chop down, now that I'm a lumberjack, of course." The bunny paused. "And, you know," he said. "I thought I'd fix the place up a bit. Bring my family back." "Okay, but one last thing," said Abigail. "Care to do the honors?" The bunny laughed. He hopped over and jumped onto the big red launch button while Abigail pulled on the throttle. "So that's how it works," said the bunny. He hopped back, the hatch closed, and the pod took off. It was headed home.

The trip to the Marlowe was short, but it felt like forever. When the pod's doors finally opened inside the docking bay, the kids all hopped out. Before they could even set foot into the hallway of the Marlowe, their parents rushed at them. "What happened?" asked Finn's mother, captain and head astronaut of the Marlowe. She grabbed Finn's hands and stared into his eyes. "You were supposed to go to a different planet and then suddenly you disappeared and then we saw the planet explode!"

"Technically, it coconutted," said Vale. His father had him in a giant bear hug. "Kind of like what's going to happen to me in a second." Finn's mother looked at Vale like he had seven heads. But before Finn could say anything, she was hugging him, too. She placed a giant kiss on the glass of his helmet. Finn's little sister, Paige, came up and pinched him on his arm. "Ow!" said Finn. "What was that for?" "Next time, it's my turn," said Paige. "You always get all the fun." "It wasn't really fun," said Abigail, who was holding her dad's hand. "It was mostly exhausting." "What are you talking about?" asked Elias. He turned to his parents. "Mom, Dad. This bunny and I made this awesome rope ladder. It had all these loops on it. It was so cool. I'll show you. Oh! And the whole planet exploded!" "Actually, not the whole planet," said Captain Caspian. "Come on. We'll show you." They all went to the map room, and Captain Caspian turned on the projector. She showed them a video of the bunny's planet. The lava that had rushed back into the ravine eventually cooled as it

rose and fused the two halves of the planet back together. "You guys did that," said Captain Caspian. "You should be proud. Job well done." "It's not quite done," said Finn. "We should contact the bunny's family and let them know it's safe to return." "Good idea," said Captain Caspian. "And then, you know, there's Doug," said Finn. He was still embarrassed that he'd let Doug take over his brain. "I've already put that explorer pod on autopilot," said Finn's mother. "It should be here soon." "With Doug on board?!" yelled Finn. "Oh no, Mom, you don't know what he's like! He can control us. It's not safe!" Finn's mother smiled. "No, he's not on board," she said. "He can stay on that moon for a while, until he cools off." Finn laughed, and he caught Abigail's eye. She was laughing, too. The four friends stepped out into the hall as their parents discussed what to do with Doug. The corridor was empty except for the kids and a small

cleaner bot in the corner, scrubbing at a hardened pudding stain on the space station floor. Elias pulled out his robot notebook. "Look what I drew," he said. "I just did it really fast on the way back from the planet. It's a design for a new bunnybot!" "Guys," said Finn. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Elias, but I have to say this. I know it was Doug who controlled me down there, but you guys are my best friends. I promise it'll never happen ammmffff." Abigail covered Finn's mouth with her hand. "I told you," said Abigail. "Forget it." "I know, but I want to say that—ow!" A spitball bounced off Finn's cheek. Vale smiled with a straw between his lips. "Okay, okay," said Finn. "I get it. Thanks, guys." The four of them began walking toward their compartments so they could finally get some sleep.