7 Vale Figures It Out

Chapter Seven Vale Figures It Out The investigative scope that Captain Caspian gave to Explorers Troop 301 was experimental. It had only been tested on everyday objects aboard the Marlowe. One engineer used it to see what the chefs had planned for dinner by looking through the fridge door. Another used it to find his favorite pen, which had rolled behind a couch. Everyone thought its power was limited. When Captain Caspian gave it to the explorers, she didn't think it was any more dangerous than their shoelaces. In other words, it was something for them to play with while they were on a boring planet. Where Captain Caspian went wrong was handing the experimental technology to Voltronix Zu. Voltronix Zu was also experimental technology. He was, if you think about it, a baby.

A big, shiny metal baby who was really loud and thought he knew everything. So when he saw Foggy flying at him, Voltronix wanted to prove himself. Who was this other robot to stop him? And who were those kids to boss him around? He was Voltronix Zu! The most important robot in the entire universe. He was made special. He wasn't going to listen to anything anyone told him. And so he cranked the scope up as high as it would go. He held Foggy off and raised it to his eye. "THERE! I CAN SEE IT!" shouted Voltronix. "THERE IS SOMETHING DOWN THERE. I TOLD YOU!" Voltronix pointed at Foggy. "AND I TOLD YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU." Voltronix pointed at the kids as they ran back up the hill. The river beneath Foggy and Voltronix began to open. The water rushed away from the middle. The grass the kids ran across began to disappear into the dirt. It was like some underground giant was grabbing the roots and pulling each blade down through the surface. "This is bad, right?" said Vale.

"I DID IT!" yelled Voltronix Zu. "I, VOLTRONIX ZU, SOLVED THE MYSTERY OF THIS PLANET. I CAN SEE THEM NOW. THE LIFE-FORMS WHO LIVE HERE. THEY'RE CLIMBING UP." "Yeah, that sounds bad," said Abigail. "I doubt it's a welcoming committee." "Foggy, Voltronix!" yelled Finn. "Please. Come here! We need to stick together."

The two robots flew to where the kids stood atop the hill. Their explorer pod was parked just a few hundred yards away. But they all stood still and watched as a mountain began rising from the river. The water flowed away and spread across the land. "Oh no, Voltronix," said Abigail. "What did you do?" "I MADE A MOUNTAIN," said Voltronix. "AMAZING! I, VOLTRONIX ZU, HAVE MADE A MOUNTAIN." "I don't know if that's as cool as you think it is, Voltronix," said Abigail.

"WHAT?! IT'S SUPER COOL," said the robot. He was now literally patting himself on the back again. He was really good at that. "HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE A STUPID PLANET TO MAKE A MOUNTAIN? A BILLION YEARS?! I DID IT IN WAY LESS THAN THAT. STUPID PLANET." "I don't think that's a mountain," said Finn. "Look. There's no peak, and it's open at the top. I think you made a volcano, Voltronix!" "OH, IS THAT COOL, TOO?!" "No!" shouted all the explorers at once. They hugged each other and waited for an explosion. But nothing came. No lava. No bursts of burning ash or clouds of smoke. It was like the rest of the planet. Silent. "I can't believe you guys did that. Is this what you're like all the time?" The explorers all spun around. The hatch of their explorer pod was open. And marching toward them, in a space suit way too big for her, was Paige. "Paige?!" said Finn. "What are you doing here?!"

"I don't know what you guys did with that scope thing, but the bubble aliens say you turned their planet inside out and ruined everything," said Paige, getting closer. "What are bubble aliens?" said Foggy. "They sound cute." "Paige!" shouted Finn. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?!" "If you had taken even a second to look around before you destroyed their planet, you would have seen them," said Paige. She was standing right in front of them now. And, to everyone's surprise, circling around her head were bubbles. Small bubbles. They looked like the kind of tiny bubbles you wipe off a bubble wand after you've blown your big bubbles.