The Little EVE Probe

All rights go to WALL-E and The Little Mermaid.

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I'll tell you a tale of the great universe
And the outer space heroes we love
Where the BnL commanders are ruling the skies
In the limitless starlight above…

The wind blew across the surface of the Grand Canyon on the junk earth, caressing WALL-E's robotics and playing with his eyes. WALL-E closed his eyes and relaxed. The sunlight danced on the dirt, causing it to fly as if it were enjoying the crummy day.

With a grin, WALL-E turned to the little knot of Hal engaged in his latest experiment – launching fireworks powerful enough to break through the atmosphere and explode in space. "Great?" he called to him, he then turned on his tape recorder to play. "The garbage everywhere, the wind blowing in your face… it's a perfect day to be at the junkyard!"

Suddenly, Hal leapt backward as one of the firecrackers dropped to the ground and exploded. WALL-E kicked off his broken rollers, got another pair from another broken WALL-E and grimaced at Hal. Hal chirped sarcastically, returning to work.

WALL-E just chuckled and looked upward at the brown sky.

Hal gently cuffed WALL-E on the shoulder and chirped.

WALL-E beeped like a true historian as he gave the fireworks one final check.

Hal, who was looking to the whole thing, shook his head.

WALL-E jumped as Hal gave him a little scare behind him.

With that, WALL-E shot at the fireworks' wick and they shot off into the sky, disappearing far beyond the clouds where they finally exploded in outer space, in the heart of BnL space.

High in orbit above Earth, the Axiom was cruising steadily through the stars. Inside the ship, however, a great commotion was made over the primary robot crew along with the civilians, who were giving a special performance of Hello Dolly that day.

Once everyone had gathered on the Lido Deck, a young robot by the name of BURN-E ambled onstage to make an announcement. He put in his translator to talk English. "Captain John McCrea on deck!" Immediately, the entire crew rose in deference to their captain.

"And in the role of the boy tonight, M-O!" A round of applause was made as the cleaner bot entered, following the captain to the place of honor.

"I'm really looking forward to this performance, M-O," McCrea said to M-O as he sat down in the special chair provided.

M-O grinned and beeped.

McCrea laughed and leaned over to whisper in M-O's ear. "Especially EVE, she's going to be good for the main girl."

M-O slipped backstage and within minutes, the curtains flew open and the musical began with Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Then it was time for the the main girl to arrive – but where was she? M-O slid to a halt and dropped his head in his cleaner. Not again! He didn't even have to look up at McCrea to know he was angry, and the captain's shout echoed throughout the Axiom. "EVE!"

Meanwhile, down on Earth, EVE was exploring the ruins of an ancient civilization – that of the Mayan people. She was gazing at what was left of the old city's temple when she heard a bot's voice call out to him. "EVE, wait for me!"

"GO-4!" EVE exclaimed as her friend GO-4, clutching a stitch in her chest, came running to meet her.

"EVE, you know I can't fly that fast, my floater aren't as long as yours," GO-4 panted, but EVE held up a hand to silence him. "Look at it, GO-4," she said in awe, pointing to the ruins of the temple. "It is magnificent, is it not?"

"It's great, EVE, but no offense; I'd rather get out of here. Places like this give me the creeps, interesting though they may be."

EVE took hold of the back of her floater. "You are not getting cold beepers now, are you?" she asked.

"Uh, first of all, EVE, the expression is 'cold floaters,' and no, I'm not getting cold. Like I said, even though it's interesting to explore ruins like these, there's something about it that gives me the willies," GO-4 said, following EVE to the temple's entrance nonetheless.

EVE gave him a reassuring grin. "All right, I am going inside. You can stay out here and watch for Gremlins, if you wish." And with that, the probe slipped through the narrow entrance, leaving GO-4 outside. "Okay, good; you go, and I'll stay here and – what? GREMLINS? Jeez, EVE!" GO-4 took off and tried to jump through the temple threshold, but wound up getting stuck in the doorway instead. She struggled to free herself, muttering under her breath the whole time, but to no avail. Finally, she called to her friend for help. "EVE, I need a hand here! I'm stuck!"

EVE emerged from the shadowy hallway, a smile on her pale face. "Oh, GO-4," he said, taking her hands to pull her free.

"EVE," GO-4 whispered as EVE tugged on his arms, "Do you really think there could be Gremlins around here?"

"GO-4, I was simply trying to scare you. Do not be such a – what is the expression – scaredy-cat."

"I'm no scaredy-cat," GO-4 muttered as EVE pulled her free – but neither one of them noticed the scary shadow that passed by.

Once they were both inside, EVE darted off down the musty hallway, pausing here and there to examine certain relics. GO-4 followed behind him, still uneasy about her surroundings. "Yeah, great adventure. It's just like those old books I used to read about explorers who'd be halfway through a room when something would grab them from behind and yank 'em around a corner."

All of a sudden, GO-4 let out a bloodcurdling alarm as a skeleton fell out from behind a pillar. "EVE!" GO-4 bolted hell-for-leather down the hall and crashed right into EVE, knocking him to the floor.

The probe raised her head to get a better look at her friend, who was lying on the floor next to her, his arms wrapped around her waist for security. "Are you all right?" she asked, trying her best to sit up with GO-4 latched on to her.

"Yeah… yeah, I think so. I just got a scare back there," GO-4 sighed, finally letting EVE go. EVE rose from the floor, assisting GO-4, and the two of them continued into the next room. Upon entering, EVE's eyes snapped upon a brilliant sparkle from a back corner. "How extraordinary!" she cried, rushing to her find. Displacing a pile of bricks, EVE uncovered a beautiful, pale blue gemstone carved in the shape of a teardrop. "Have you ever seen something this lovely before?"

"It sure is beautiful," GO-4 breathed. "I wonder what it meant to the ancient Lunai."

"I am not certain, but perhaps BOB-E will know," said EVE, carefully storing the gem in her plant collector.

A sharp crack from behind her caused GO-4 to whirl around. "What was that? Did you hear something?" EVE was too engrossed in the find of another gem to notice. GO-4, definitely feeling scared by this time, tried getting her attention again. "EVE!" he cried, stomping his foot in impatience.

"GO-4, calm down. Nothing is going to happen."

These words were barely out of EVE's mouth when a green monster came crashing through the temple wall. "A Gremlin! Run for your life!" GO-4 shouted, taking off for the door and dragging EVE with his beam. The gremlin pursued them all the way to the narrow entrance, through which EVE shoved GO-4 and squeezed his way out. The tiny doorway was no match for the gremlin, who crashed through and chased them to the river. GO-4 and EVE jumped in for safety, while the gremlin roared and raged on the shore. After the twosome made it to the other side, GO-4 shook her head at EVE. "Why didn't you tell me that gremlins can't stand water in the first place? I would've carried a bucket of the stuff with me!"

EVE just laughed. "GO-4, you truly are a scaredy-cat," she told him, signaling the the mini-ship to collect them.

"I am not!" GO-4 retorted before the mini-ship grabbed them, put them in and flew back to the Axiom.