by Matt London
“Uhh . . .” Dad scratched the side of his face thoughtfully. “On the flight back? Did you all forget? I’m kind of a super genius.”
“So what’s the plan, Dad?” Evie asked. She was eager to know how they were going to save Diana and the continent.
Letting out a sigh, Dad said, “The only way to save Diana is to re-create the Eden Compound so we can reverse the effects of what Viola did to her. And the only way to do that is to get the formula back so we can undo the damage Mastercorp has done to the continent, and return Diana to normal.”
Rick adjusted his glasses. “I have the perfect plan. We’ll launch an all-out assault on the roboctopus. Viola Piffle has got to be in the command center. We take her out and retrieve the Eden Compound formula.”
Evie frowned. Viola was sure to be guarded closely by Mastercorp soldiers, her mechanical ravens, and even Vesuvia. But that thought gave Evie an idea.
“I think we can convince Vesuvia to help us,” Evie said slowly.
“Surely you are joking. That girl is a maniac. She can’t be trusted,” Mrs. Maple said.
Evie shook her head. “When I was with her in New Miami, and on the dreadnought, she seemed different. Not like the crazy bully I knew in school. The way her mother treated her was”—she shivered—“Well, it was dreadful. I think if I can just talk to her, we can get her on our side, to save the continent and stop Mastercorp.”
Evie looked around the room, every single face had the same confused expression—like a mutant goat monster had asked them a trigonometry question.
“Sprout,” Evie turned to her friend. “You were there in Egypt. You saw her spare our lives. Don’t you think she has changed?”
The boy wiped his brow. “Well, shucks, Evie. I reckon she did, but just because she didn’t kill us doesn’t mean she’s going to help us.”
“None of you believe me.” Evie pressed a palm against her forehead. Her head felt like a locomotive was chugging through her skull. “Because of what I did to the settlement. Because I helped Mastercorp. You don’t trust me.”
“That’s not true.” Mom stood from her seat and hugged Evie. “We’re your family. We’ve forgiven you. It’s Vesuvia that we don’t trust.”
“But she’s changed. If you don’t think people can change, then what do you really think about me?” Evie asked.
“Mom’s right,” Rick said. “Evie . . . the only Lane who hasn’t forgiven you is you. We love you. But right now, we have to focus on the tactical plan for our assault on Mastercorp. We can’t risk relying on Vesuvia.”
Evie sank down into her chair, her head spinning. The rest of the meeting proceeded quickly as they planned the attack, assigning duties to Winterpole’s agents, Cleanaspot employees, and the citizens of Scifun. A thousand hoverships would be in the air—perhaps the largest such battle in history.
Evie spent the rest of the meeting brooding in silence, wondering if she would ever feel at home on this planet again. Some mistakes are just too big, she thought. Her loved ones forgave, but they would never forget.
Later, on the upper deck of the Sudsy Bubbler, mechanics made final adjustments to the tightly packed rows of hoverships. Pilots rushed to their vehicles. Long lines of Winterpole agents piled into hover-buses for quick transport back to the Winterpole complex, where they would get their ships and join in the fight.
Sprout and Rick walked ahead of Evie, talking excitedly about their plans for the battle, like it was some video game. Evie didn’t feel that way at all.
“Koo ka-koo ka-KOO!!!”
Hearing her family’s old bird cry surprised her. She turned to see Mom and Dad standing there.
Evie froze like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “What . . . what did I do?”
Her parents smiled and hugged her warmly. Dad said, “We love you, Evie. We don’t want you to fly off and forget it.”
“And we’re proud of the young woman you are becoming,” Mom added, running her fingers through Evie’s messy hair. “Even if we’d rather you stay home and do your homework than go off on adventures.”
Evie returned their hugs gratefully. This felt nice, like home.
An alarm blared across the deck, breaking the moment. A Cleanaspot technician ran past. “Mrs. Lane! We’re detecting movement to the south.”
They ran to the edge of the ship and peered into the distance, toward Scifun. The dreadnought had come out of nowhere. It was charging toward their beloved city at full speed. And they were too far away to stop it. There was nothing any of them could do.
Holding her breath, Evie waited for the inevitable.
The dreadnought flew over Scifun, past the tree-scrapers, without firing a shot. Instead, it went out to sea, moving quickly to the northeast.
“Where are they going?” Mom asked.
Evie said, “If they continue in that direction, they’ll arrive in North America.”
RICK AND SPROUT WATCHED AS THE DREAD-NOUGHT FLEW OVER SCIFUN AND HEADED northeast toward the United States.
“It all makes sense,” Rick said. “It’s worse than we thought. They never wanted to destroy the eighth continent. It’s the other continents they’re going to destroy with the Anti-Eden Compound. They’re going to wipe out every habitable place on the planet, except here, and then cash out when they sell the land.”
“That’s a real pickle in our orange juice,” Sprout said.
“We have to stop them, but . . . the mission.”
“I’ll go,” Sprout volunteered. “Gimme a small posse of able-bodied folk who eat their vegetables, and I’ll bring down that robo-shark and hogtie it before nightfall.”
“But you’re my copilot,” Rick said. “I need you to help fly my hovership.”
Evie, Mom, and Dad ran over, as did Mister Snow.
“What are we going to do about that?” Mister Snow asked, pointing at the dreadnought in the distance.
“I’ll be your copilot, Rick.” Evie smiled, looking at peace for the first time in a long while. “We made this continent. Let’s save it, together.”
“Okay,” Rick said. “Evie’s with me. Sprout will lead the mission to intercept the dreadnought. Mister Snow, can we trust you to field a team and complete the mission?”
“By all means, yes,” Mister Snow said. “I will hand-select the agents to join us on the mission to stop the dreadnought.”
They hurried to complete their pre-mission procedures, setting everything up for the big moment. Professor Doran had armed the carrying carrots with corncob rocket launchers and was doing a last-minute check on the walking vegetables. Mister Snow had wrangled two dozen agents to join him and Sprout on their mission to take down the dreadnought. Tristan had armed his most devout partygoers, and they were ready for a fight. Everyone who had come to the eighth continent, the continent he and Evie had created, was here, and they were ready to fight to protect their home.
Rick climbed aboard the small hovership he had picked out, a four-seat flying water cannon that Cleanaspot used for their toughest washing jobs. Evie got into the copilot’s seat beside him.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Ready.” Rick nodded, feeling nervous, but sure of their plan. They were going to attack Mastercorp head on.
“I say, children, wait for me!” 2-Tor waddled across the deck. “You can’t go into battle without adult supervision! Or bird supervision, as the case may be.”
“Hop in, 2-Tor.” Evie grabbed his wing and helped him climb into the backseat of the hovership. “It’ll be just like old times.”
The ship rumbled as the engine fired and they rose into the air. Rick squeezed the controls carefully. It wasn’t the same as flying the Roost. He missed his old tree. They had lost so much. Doctor Grant, the Roost, maybe even Diana. Rick tightened his grip on the controls. No, not Diana. He was determined to save his friend, even if
he died in the process.
“Hey,” Evie clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Just like old times.”
Rick nodded and relaxed. “Right.”
Sprout’s voice came over the ship’s comm. “So long, partners! Mister Snow and I are taking off. See y’all on the other side.” Sprout’s squadron rose from the deck of the Sudsy Bubbler and headed northeast after the dreadnought.
Dad’s voice came next over the comm. “Now remember, kids, we need that formula. It’s the only way we’ll be able to turn Diana back and stop Mastercorp.”
“But be careful!” Mom chimed in.
“I’ll be ready to produce a batch of compound as soon as you get the formula,” Dad added. “So hurry!”
“Copy,” Rick said. “All hoverships, form on me. Launch!”
The fleet of hoverships took to the air, following Rick across the water, back to the eighth continent. On the way, another massive air force, this one of Winterpole hoverships, joined the aerial caravan.
“Winterpole has arrived,” Mrs. Maple said over the comm. “Our statutes indicate that it’s time to kick Mastercorp’s butt!”
Rick and Evie cheered loudly.
They flew across the continent, toward the imposing head of the roboctopus in the distance. The tentacles had flattened trees and split the land. The ugly, repetitive buildings Mastercorp had placed across the continent were eyesores, and already mines had been established to chew up the earth for its natural resources.
“Stand by . . .” Rick said over the comm. “Prepare to engage. Hold steady.”
The vents on the sides of the roboctopus’s head opened. Mastercorp’s bug-shaped hoverships stormed out like bees from a kicked hive.
“Break and engage!” Rick shouted, flinging his own ship to the side, dodging a barrage of needles from the cannons on the front of the lead bug.
2-Tor’s head struck the ceiling as the ship spun. “I say, Richard, can’t you fight a little . . . gentler?”
The rest of the fleet split off, choosing targets and fighting Mastercorp’s massive air defense. They didn’t care how many hoverships they sacrificed if it meant keeping the Lanes away from Viola Piffle and the Eden Compound formula.
Evie aimed the water cannon expertly, hosing the windshields of enemy hoverships, blinding the pilots. A well-placed blast on a hover engine shorted out its propulsor, forcing the pilots of the bugs to eject.
“Come on,” Evie said. “We have to get closer to the command center at the top of the head.”
They flew across the top of the roboctopus. From here, they could see Diana’s face, which had a look of anguish.
“She’s in pain,” Evie said sadly. Rick gritted his teeth.
Above Diana’s eyes was a strip of transparent material that indicated the main viewport for the command center. Rick flew past, trying to get a clear shot, but as he approached, defensive lasers engaged, zapping at their tiny hovership.
“Look out!” Evie cried.
He swerved to dodge the attack, and pulled the ship to a higher altitude. “It’s too hard. We can’t get to her.”
The battle raged. Hoverships traded shots. The bugs took down a number of Cleanaspot and Winterpole ships. Scifun’s contingent suffered the heaviest losses. This wasn’t like a video game. Every fallen hovership filled Rick with pain.
Evie took a deep breath, like it was now or never. She opened the cockpit door. A rush of wind filled the cockpit, blasting the kids with air. 2-Tor squawked in surprise.
Rick screamed, “Evie! What are you doing? You’re going to get us killed!”
She calmly unfastened her safety restraints. “I’m sorry, Rick, but I’m right. I can get to Vesuvia. She will help us. The only way we can get to the formula is from the inside.”
“Stop! Don’t! We’ll find another way.”
Ignoring him, Evie screamed, “2-Tor, you gotta fly!”
“My word,” squawked the birdbot. “What do you mean?”
“Fly, you bird. Fly!” Evie grabbed 2-Tor by the wing and pulled him out of the hovership door. Rick reached out for them, but it was too late. They plummeted through the open air. Evie hugged 2-Tor’s metal body and pointed at one of the open vents on the side of the octopus’s head. Rick watched in awed disbelief as 2-Tor and Evie flew inside the vent and disappeared.
At last, Rick understood. It was all up to Evie now. All he could do was lead his fleet and keep Mastercorp’s forces occupied.
SPROUT RUBBED HIS ARMS, TRYING TO WARM THEM UP. IT WAS FREEZING ON THE WINTERPOLE hovership. But when he tried to turn up the thermostat, Mister Snow swatted his hand like it was a fly.
“You may be in charge of this operation, Mister Sanchez, but I am still flying this hovership and it is my hovership and I am a senior agent of Winterpole!”
“All right!” Sprout held up his hands in surrender. “If y’all want freezer burn on your pumpkins that’s just fine by me.”
The dreadnought grew large in the front viewport. They flew in from above, so they had a good attack angle on the top of the robo-shark. In front of the dorsal fin was an observation deck, and standing on that deck was a tall, nondescript man in a business suit. Sprout remembered him from Egypt.
“There’s that rascal Mister Dark,” Sprout pointed.
Before the squadron could move in to strike, a swarm of Mastercorp bugs burst from the dreadnought’s mouth and moved in to attack.
“Evasive action!” Mister Snow slammed on the controls and the hovership went into a dive.
“Whoa! Easy there!” Sprout held on to the seat cushion. The hovership pulled out of its dive inches from the top of the dreadnought. It flew along the top of the hull.
“Go! Engage!” Mister Snow shouted. “We will disable their defenses.”
“Right!” Sprout said. He ran to the back of the ship and jumped out of the exit door. He dropped into a roll and tumbled across the observation deck. Sitting up, he saw Mister Dark on the far side of the platform, staring at him. His sleeves were rolled up, and he flexed his metal musculature. His arms looked nearly as metallic as Benjamin Nagg’s.
“You?” Mister Dark asked, sounding disappointed as he chugged a bottle of silver serum. The veins on either side of his throat inflated. He wiped his mouth. “Not even a Lane? Not even their stupid robot bird? They sent you to deal with me?”
Sprout pointed a finger at Mister Dark. “You’re an unnatural rascal. I’m gonna take you down.”
“How?” Mister Dark sneered and flexed. “I have the strength of a hundred men. My skin can stop bullets.”
“I’ll do it the old-fashioned way.” Sprout pulled out his lasso and flung the loop of rope at Mister Dark. The Mastercorp agent snatched the lasso out of the air and pulled, ripping the other end from Sprout’s hands. Annoyed, Mister Dark chucked the lasso off the side of the dreadnought and charged at Sprout.
The boy drew his machete and aimed it at Mister Dark. He didn’t want to hurt the man, but he was running out of options. Mister Dark punched the machete, shattering it. Sprout dropped the hilt as the big man grabbed Sprout around the throat. “Now what are you going to do, little boy? What are you going to do?”
2-TOR ZIPPED THROUGH THE VENT. EVIE CLUNG TO HIM. IN THE DOCKING BAY BEYOND, LOADING arms crowded the pathways.
“Look out!” Evie cried. They crashed into the floor and slid across the room. Evie flopped onto her back, gasping for breath. The wind had blown her hair stiff, and she checked her arms and legs, amazed that nothing was broken.
“Toots?” asked a startled voice. “Is that you?”
Sitting up, 2-Tor turned his beak to the source of the voice. “Didi! My pink puffin. My fine feathered friend. My beloved booby!”
The pink robo-bird clacked her beak and flung her wings around 2-Tor. They hadn’t seen each other since Evie and 2-Tor had been held captive on the
dreadnought.
“Oh, Toots! You’re here! You’re alive! My personality matrix indicates that I am happy!”
“My CPU overheats for you, Didi!” 2-Tor cooed.
“2-Tor!” Evie clapped her hands together. “Mission!”
“Oh, most correct, Miss Evelyn.” 2-Tor shook out his feathers. “Didi, take us to the command center immediately. We must stop Mrs. Piffle and retrieve the Eden Compound.”
“Toots . . .” Didi sighed. “She’s not going to like that.”
“Please,” 2-Tor said. “It’s the most important thing I’ll ever ask of you.”
“More important than asking me to marry you?” Didi huffed in offense. Evie giggled. The pink robo-bird really knew how to make the hard sell.
“I never said I would—” 2-Tor stopped short, then chuckled. “Oh, I see. Miss Didi, please take us to the command center. I promise I will make it worth your while.”
With a twirl of her pink metal wings, Didi led the way out of the docking bay and through the corridors of the roboctopus. Evie felt a great sense of unease traveling these halls. Though the walls were solid metal, they seemed to thrum with the pulse of a beating heart. These pathways . . . were they Diana’s veins?
They reached a doorway. Didi stopped. “Are you sure you want to do this? We could run away together, build a nest in a tree overlooking the sea, and not mess with Viola. I’ve gotta be honest with you, Toots, and you too, little girl, this lady is mean.”
“Let us in, Didi,” Evie insisted. She was ready. She knew she had to get to Vesuvia.
Didi opened the door. Inside the command center, big computer terminals lined the walls. Monitors projected camera feeds, news stations, and other information. Vats of bubbling Anti-Eden Compound stood in the four corners of the room.
At the front of the room, Vesuvia sat alone in a plain metal chair. She looked like a pale ghost of her former self, with a fearful expression on her face.
“Vesuvia!” Evie called, walking to her. “I found you! Listen, we need to talk. I know this is going to sound crazy, but you’re the only one who can help us.”
