I have nothing new to report. Each WALL-E was static and expressionless, just as before, but I still can't figure out why their presence is so unnerving.

EVE was relaying the results of her search to the captain, who listened patiently with growing unease. Once the computer's translation was complete, McCrea stayed silent some time longer, deep in thought. Finally, he sat down in his hoverchair, one hand on his chin, "Are you sure?"

EVE was perplexed, Yes I'm sure! What do you mean, "Am I sure?" Of course I am!

"I don't mean to suggest you're lying to me, but have you noticed the specifics of their behavior?"

"Huh?" EVE narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Elaborate."

"Well, they don't seem dead at all. To me, it's almost like they're the exact opposite." McCrea tried to explain, "Think about it this way. Have you ever felt like you were being watched?"

EVE shook her head quizzically.

"I did some research the other day, and sometimes, say in horror movies or books, 'terror' is used to generate fear. It's when you're afraid of something that isn't there, constantly paranoid, always feeling like something is there, but when you turn around, there was nothing there in the first place."

As the captain spoke, EVE listened with an odd, creeping sense of anxiety. She had once heard that humans could tell if they were being stared at. Was this something similar? EVE believed that paranoia was stupid, but what if they couldn't help it? What if some humans were just afraid of something that might show up when you least expect it? Was that smart? A survival mechanism for ancient humans?

Wait...

"WALL-E..." EVE spoke softly, "...aware?"

"Yes. It doesn't feel like the defective WALL-E's are dead." McCrea said, "It feels like they're alive."

Like they're consciously aware of every little thing you do... EVE gasped in realization.

"Exactly."

EVE blinked. So that was it? But if they're alive...

"Then we need to be wary of them." McCrea finished, jumping down from his chair to face the computer, "Something tells me all the defective WALL-E's coming to life was no coincidence either. Someone turned them all on..." he trailed off as he thought.

EVE realized something just then. She hovered to the captain's side and pointed to herself, "Wall-E?"

"Hm? Oh, I don't think your WALL-E will be affected by this." McCrea replied, "Uh...just in case, you should keep and eye on him, alright?"

EVE nodded, stealing a glance at the screen he was looking at.

"Right. You're dismissed."

EVE saluted before dashing down the hall, emerging over the still brown Earth, though grass was growing, and she caught drifts of cotton flowing in the breeze.

She pulled the lever on their truck to open the door, "Wall-E?" drifting inside, she saw that the tv had been left on, and it was paused on the part where the two people hold hands.

Where could he be? "Wall-E!" EVE scanned the shelves for anything that could clue her in on his whereabouts. It wasn't straightforward this time, however. She really found nothing that even gave her a hint. Frustrated, she scanned through every shelf he had, searching through every tiny thing.

A call came through her ear, showing on her HUD, but she cancelled it, not even checking who it was.

Again and again, she searched everywhere through the truck, and everywhere around it in a wide circle, 10 feet, 70 feet, 100 feet...

Again, the call came, she disconnected it.

The sun was all the way down, and still, no trace of WALL-E anywhere.

EVE felt static across her screen. What happened to you? Where have you gone?

EVE had her face buried in her arms, resting on the shelf by all of WALL-E's lighters. Each of them had a BnL logo carved into them, dirt smeared on their surfaces. She looked up at them, her pale white fingers caressing over them. She lit one and stared at the flame.

She ached inside.

Finally, the call came again and she decided to answer it. It was from the captain.

"Eve. You're needed on the Lido Deck."

Eve was quiet, giving a slight beep of acknowledgement.

"Hey...are you ok?"

EVE sighed, I'm fine. I'll be there soon. She ended the call and flew off.

"Ok, Eve...we've made some progress on the defective WALL-E's. It turns out that they all go back to the same place after being out for awhile, and..."

EVE was only half listening. She was so lost in her own thoughts and memories that she could feel her eyes curving down. She couldn't help it.

"...something happening here. Something that...Eve?" McCrea snapped his fingers, "You listening?"

EVE snapped back to reality, What!?

"Eve, what's the matter? Are you going to tell me?"

EVE tried to hide what she was feeling, but she couldn't hold the act for long. She buried her face in her hands, shaking, I can't find WALL-E!

"Really?" McCrea knelt down, "What happened? I tried to call you three times..."

I'm so sorry, I know, I ignored captain's orders, and that's against protocol. I was trying to find WALL-E, but there were no traces of him. I can't find him anywhere...I'm sorry for breaking protocol... EVE nearly cried, ...I offer no excuses...

"Whoa! Eve!" McCrea gave a slight laugh, "Who do you think I am!? If you think I'm gonna punish you for that, you're mistaken, ok? Calm down..."

EVE could only see her own fingers, the slight blue glow around them from her eyes. She hated it. She hated the color blue. She wanted to see yellow. She wanted the yellow of WALL-E's paint. She was worried about him.

"Eve?" McCrea exhaled slowly, "I want to talk to you. Not as your captain, but as a friend, ok?"

EVE couldn't look at him.

"Eve?" he cupped his hands around his mouth, "All hands on deck!"

Every robot nearby dropped what they were doing and swarmed the captain, saluting with any such appendages they possessed. They then held still, awaiting instructions.

"I want everyone to search the Axiom for Wall-E. Eve's Wall-E. Get Stewards to help out if needed. Once every inch of this ship is searched, come back with him, or anything we could use to find him. Remember, Normal protocol applies as well. Don't come back until this task is complete, got it?"

Every head nodded, and then the Lido Deck was empty, except for the captain and EVE.

He shot her a smile, tipping his captain's hat, "Lemme know if you need anything else, got it?"

EVE hesitated for one moment before giving the captain a big hug.

"Heh...you're welcome..."

"Oh!" EVE jumped back, You wanted to tell me something?

"Hm? Oh! Right!" McCrea crossed his arms, "I have an update on the defective WALL-E's."

EVE gave a slight nod, I'm listening.

"Well, I figured out where they report to. This happens all at different times, but all of them go back to the same place."

EVE's eyes widened, her curiosity piqued, "Where?"

He tilted his head, "I'll show you..."