Slurp Monster Showdown (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #9) Read online

  Yum!

  We

  found

  the

  wild

  mozzarella!

  this is a truly mousetastic discovery!” he

  remarked.

  Then we heard a

  yell

  from

  Hologramix, the ship’s computer.

  “Unidentified aliens are approaching the

  exploration team!

  Code yellow!

  Code yellow!

  Code yellow!

  ”

  Thea turned on her wrist phone. “Trap,

  can you hear

  me? You need to be careful.

  Someone is coming toward you. It could be

  dangerous

  !”

  But it was already

  too late

  . On the screen

  we could see Trap and Sally’s

  terrified

  faces. Then Trap began to stammer.

  “H-Hey, what do you want from us?

  We’re not doing anything wrong!

  Help!”

  Help!

  Aaaaah!

  Then the screen went blank. Total

  silence

  fell over the control room.

  “Something tells me that those aliens

  weren’t

  friendly

  ,” Professor Greenfur

  said.

  My fear had

  frozen me like

  Plutonian ice.

  Thea shook me.

  “We’ve

  got to get

  down there!

  There’s not a

  moment to lose!

  ” she cried.

  Oh, for all the shooting stars

  — my sister

  was right!

  I sprang into

  action

  and started to

  quickly organize a

  rescue mission

  .

  Robotix, Thea, and I would go to the

  planet. Grandfather William and Professor

  Greenfur would coordinate the operations

  from

  Mousestar

  1

  .

  I stepped onto the

  Teletransportix

  platform with my team when Benjamin and

  his friend Bugsy ran up to me.

  “We’re coming, too!” he announced.

  “We’ve already made a

  map

  of this planet,

  so we’ll be useful.”

  I shook my head. “No way! This could

  be a very

  DANGEROUS

  mission,”

  I said.

  But the two little spacemice

  climbed

  onto the platform just as Professor Greenfur

  activated it!

  My head began to

  spin

  as the machine

  started to break apart our

  molecules

  into tiny pieces.

  Cosmic cheese chunks

  , what

  a terrible feeling!

  I

  was

  ready

  for

  anything!

  Gulp!

  We’re

  coming,

  too!

  I don’t like the Teletransportix, but I had

  to help Trap and Sally.

  Crusty,

  rusty

  bolts!

  The

  wild

  mozzarella!

  We landed inside the same crater that Trap

  and Sally had been exploring. But

  where

  were they? And

  who

  — or

  what

  — had

  scared them?

  We began to examine the crater for

  clues

  .

  Thea studied a wild mozzarella shrub.

  “

  Amazing!

  Imagine that — mozzarella

  growing from a bush!”

  Benjamin started to

  bounce

  up and

  down. “The planet’s surface is soft and kind

  of

  gummy

  ,” he remarked.

  “It’s like walking on a big mattress!” Bugsy

  said happily.

  I didn’t like the

  bouncy

  surface. It was

  starting to make me feel

  seasick

  ! I

  took a few steps and lost my balance, landing

  whisker-first on the ground.

  Luckily, it was so

  soft

  that I wasn’t

  hurt

  —

  and from down there I could see

  tracks

  along the bottom of the crater.

  Shhhh!

  It’s

  them!

  “Those are

  Trap’s and Sally’s

  pawprints!” I exclaimed.

  “Good job, Ger!” Thea praised me.

  We saw

  smaller

  tracks next to the

  pawprints.

  “Those must be

  alien

  tracks!” Thea

  guessed.

  Hey!

  Untie

  us!

  We followed them. After a while, Trap and

  Sally’s tracks

  disappeared

  . And the alien’s

  footprints looked

  deeper

  .

  “Hmm. What happened here?” Thea

  wondered. Then we heard voices.

  I

  jumped

  at the noise. “That sounds

  like Trap and Sally!”

  Thea raised a finger to her lips. “SHHH!

  We don’t want the aliens to see us!”

  We

  hid

  behind the edge of the crater

  and peeked out.

  Shooting stars!

  Trap

  and Sally were tied up on a pole!

  The aliens who had captured them were

  small,

  round

  , and

  chubby. They all

  wore milky-white clothing. They each had

  two cheerful

  eyes

  on top of tall stalks.

  “These must be the

  cheesix

  aliens,” Thea

  whispered. “Let’s approach them carefully.”

  So Thea, Benjamin, Bugsy, Robotix, and I

  quietly

  stepped out of our hiding place and

  began to follow them from a safe distance.

  a

  very

  Cheesy

  Planet!

  After a really

  long

  walk, the aliens arrived

  in what looked to be their capital city. We

  walked past houses that looked like

  giant

  soft, round mozzarella balls painted in light

  colors.

  Mousey meteorites

  , this was turning out

  to be one cheesy planet!

  The cheesix led Trap and Sally into a large

  square, where their

  king

  was seated on a

  throne that almost looked like a washing

  machine. I could tell he was a king because

  he wore a

  crown

  on his head.

  The king also wore a fancy

  turquoise

  outfit, complete with a long cloak. On either

  Trap,

  not

  now!

  Your

  Majesty,

  I’m

  hungry!

  Bow

  down!

  side of his
throne were large

  platters

  of

  mozzarella.

  The aliens carried Sally and Trap to the

  foot of the throne. Then the aliens watched

  with

  fearful

  looks on their faces,

  waiting to hear what the king would say.

  “Untie the foreigners and bring them

  closer!” he commanded. “I want them to

  bow down to

  Spherus

  the

  Third

  ,

  the leader of Mozzarellon and king of the

  cheesix people . . . me!”

  The aliens quickly untied Sally and Trap.

  My cousin

  blurted out

  , “Your Majesty, I

  am very hungry!”

  The king frowned. He did not look pleased

  with Trap’s

  bad manners

  .

  “Trap, not now!” Sally hissed.

  But Trap continued. “I have wanted to

  taste your

  wild

  mozzarella

  ever since I

  landed on this planet.

  May I?

  ”

  Without waiting for an answer, my cousin

  reached his paw toward one of the king’s

  platters and

  grabbed

  a mozzarella ball! He

  bit into it.

  “

  Tasty!

  ” he exclaimed, with

  his mouth full. “Do you know what goes

  great with mozzarella balls? A touch of

  tomato

  sauce

  from the planet

  Vega. Put them together and you get a

  whisker-licking-good snack!”

  He took a bottle of the tomato sauce

  from his pocket. As quick as a comet he

  poured some onto a mozzarella ball

  —

  and

  accidentally

  squirted

  some onto the

  king’s clothes!

  “Aaaaah!” shrieked the king. “How

  dare you dirty me with your messy sauce,

  stranger?!”

  May

  I?

  Aaaaah!

  The king waved his scepter. “Guards,

  grab him

  ! Take him to the Hypnotizer!”

  Benjamin and Bugsy looked up at me,

  worried.

  “Uncle, what’s a Hypnotizer

  ?” Benjamin

  asked.

  Holey

  craters

  , I had no idea! But it

  didn’t sound good at all!

  the

  fool’s

  danCe

  Before we could react,

  King

  Spherus

  hopped off his throne and the aliens brought

  Trap over to it. The throne definitely looked

  like a strange

  washing

  machine

  .

  Apparently, it was the Hypnotizer! The

  aliens slipped a

  cap

  on Trap’s head and

  connected it to the machine with a tube.

  Then the machine started to shoot out tiny

  little

  bubbles

  .

  “What are they doing?” asked Benjamin,

  alarmed

  .

  “I have discovered information about the

  Hypnotizer in my

  data

  banks

  ,” Robotix

  reported.

  “What do they say?” I asked.

  “The Hypnotizer is a mostly

  harmless

  machine,” Robotix replied.

  I looked at Trap, who was

  smiling

  . He

  seemed to be okay.

  Thea was suspicious. “Mostly

  harmless?”

  Before Robotix could answer, the machine

  stopped

  bubbling

  . The aliens took the

  strange cap off Trap’s head. He

  blinked

  .

  “Hey, guys, I suddenly have a

  strong

  From the Encyclopedia Galactica

  THE HYPNOTIZER

  Description:

  Alien technology used

  by the cheesix of planet Mozzarellon.

  It causes a temporary change in

  personality, and the effects can wear

  off in as quickly as a few hours or as

  long as a week.

  Effects:

  Whoever is connected to the

  Hypnotizer will be overcome by a

  strong desire to wash and iron things.

  It is a useful device for those who are

  lazy and hate to do their chores.

  I

  love

  to

  iron!

  urge

  to do some housework,” he said. “Do

  you have any spacesuits that need

  washing

  or

  ironing

  ?”

  Two aliens brought Trap a big tub of

  dirty

  laundry. We all looked at Robotix.

  “As you see, the Hypnotizer makes you

  want to

  clean

  things,” Robotix said.

  “These cheesix really seem to like things

  clean,” Thea remarked.

  “It’s true,” Benjamin said.

  “I don’t see a speck of dirt

  on any of them.”

  Trap was already

  busy

  at work, ironing

  spacesuits. We couldn’t help

  laughing

  .

  Normally, Trap hated doing chores!

  Then King Spherus spoke up. “Since

  the stranger has responded so well to the

  Hypnotizer, let’s proceed with his friend

  as well!

  Four

  paws

  doing the wash are

  better than two!”

  Now, it was one thing to see Trap under

  the Hypnotizer’s spell. But I couldn’t

  bear to see Sally turn into a

  clothes-

  washing zombie

  ! I ran out of my

  hiding place.

  “

  Hold it right there!

  We are the

  spacemice, and we come in peace!” I yelled.

  “We’re here to

  learn

  about your planet,

  not

  clean

  it!”

  “What

  are you doing?” Thea asked.

  But Sally was all I could think about.

  Thunk

  Oooops!

  Aargh!

  I was halfway there when I

  tripped

  on

  I

  ran

  toward the center of the square,

  yelling,

  I’ll

  saaave

  yooou!

  "

  "

  Saaallyyy,

  don’t

  be

  afraaaid!

  Yiiikes!

  Aaaah!

  BONNNK!

  a bump in the planet’s surface! I didn’t want

  to fall and look like a

  fool

  in front of Sally.

  Trying to keep my balance, I struck a series

  of

  ridiculous

  poses and finally landed in

  front of the king’s throne.

  What a galactically terrible entrance!

  A Strange

  Resemblance

  I closed my eyes, waiting for King Spher
us

  to

  yell

  at me. Instead, I heard the aliens

  all talking at once.

  “

  Incredible!

  ” one yelled.

  “

  Amazing!

  ” shouted another.

  “

  It’s really him!

  ” King Spherus

  exclaimed.

  Then the aliens broke into

  thunderous

  applause, and they all bowed to me

  —

  even

  the king!

  I was cosmically confused!

  Why were they so excited?

  King Spherus exclaimed, “Bring me the

  Big Book of Space Legends!

  ”

  Two aliens ran up with the book. The king

  took it from them.

  “An

  ancient

  legend says that one day

  a

  hero

  will arrive on our planet,” he

  explained. “This hero will be known as the

  Cheesemaster

  !”

  “That’s a nice story,” I said. “But what

  does this Cheesemaster guy have to do with

  me?”

  King Spherus opened the book and

  showed me a picture. “The legend says that

  Look here!

  What do I

  have to do

  with it?

  But . . . I

  . . . actually

  . . .

  Hooray!

  Hooray!

  the Cheesemaster will

  risk

  his life to save

  his companions. Then he will make himself

  known by doing a

  dance

  .”

  I looked at the picture in the book.

  Jumping

  Jupiter

  , I really did have a

  strange resemblance to the Cheesemaster!

  And his

  dance moves

  in the picture looked

  just like the silly moves I had made when I

  tripped!

  “

  Sorry

  ,

  but that wasn’t actually a

  Hooray for the

  Cheesemaster!

  Hooray!

  dance,” I tried to explain, but King Spherus

  wasn’t listening.

  “We must

  celebrate

  our hero from

  the skies!” he announced, and the aliens all

  cheered.

  Then the cheesix raced around, organizing

  a great

  celebration

  . They

  invited all of my friends as

  honored

  guests

  —

  even Trap and Sally.

  Trap, surprisingly, turned down the

  I’d rather

  do laundry!

  invitation. “No, thank you,” he said, his

  eyes weirdly

  blank