Rescue Rebellion (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #5) Read online

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  The mouselets were right. We had to do

  everything in our power to save those aliens!

  “Contact the

  cosmosaurs

  immediately!”

  I ordered Hologramix.

  “

  Negative

  , Captain,” the computer

  answered. “According to the info in our

  archives

  , the cosmosaurs don’t have the

  technology for

  intergalactic

  communication

  .”

  “I guess that means we’ll have to warn

  them

  in

  the

  fur

  ,” Trap said. “And I

  volunteer to go on the

  mission

  !

  I’ll bet there’s something

  good

  to eat on that planet, and

  I want to taste all the

  cosmosaur specialties!”

  “That’s the

  spirit

  ,

  Grandson!” Grandfather

  William

  squeaked, clapping a paw

  on Trap’s back. “But

  warning

  them isn’t

  enough. We have to

  bring them on board

  MOUSESTAR

  1

  if we

  want to

  save

  them!”

  “They can stay in the

  spaceship’s spare

  cabins

  until we find a new

  planet for them to inhabit,” Thea suggested.

  “But what if the cosmosaurs don’t want

  to

  leave

  their planet?” I asked, worried.

  “They may be too

  scared

  .”

  “It won’t be a

  problem

  , Cuz,” Trap said.

  “No one likes leaving his home, but it’s better

  than getting hit on the head by a

  comet

  !”

  Trap wasn’t wrong, but I was still

  concerned

  . Benjamin was hopeful,

  though.

  “Uncle, didn’t you see what

  gentle

  creatures the cosmosaurs are?” he said. “I

  bet they’ll greet us with open paws!”

  I gave in. I can never say no to my

  sweet

  little nephew. And we really had no other

  choice

  . We had to help the cosmosaurs,

  and we had

  no time to spare

  ! In one

  day, seven hours, fourteen minutes, and

  thirty-three astral seconds the comet would

  make

  impact

  .

  “Hurry up!” Grandfather William urged

  us. “The cosmosaur

  rescue

  mission

  is

  under way!”

  But before we left, we had to take care of

  a few problems.

  First:

  How would we get to

  Jurassix?

  “Let’s take my space shuttle,” Thea

  suggested. “I saw a

  flat

  area on the map

  where I should be able to land

  easily

  !”

  But there was another problem: How

  would we communicate with

  the cosmosaurs?

  “Modestly speaking, I’m programmed

  to speak all

  3,847

  known languages

  in the galaxy,” our multipurpose onboard

  robot, Robotix, declared

  proudly

  .

  “Therefore, I know Saurese, the cosmosaur

  language.”

  “Are you sure?” Trap challenged him.

  “Prove it!”

  Robotix then produced a series of

  incomprehensible

  grumbling

  sounds.

  “What does that

  mean?” Trap asked.

  “It means, ‘You don’t

  know if I can speak it

  or not,

  Cheesehead

  !’”

  Robotix replied.

  Everyone except Trap

  burst out

  laughing

  !

  Finally, there was a

  third problem: Who would go on

  the mission?

  Benjamin and Bugsy Wugsy came forward.

  “Uncle, can we go?” they asked. “We’d

  like to join Trap and Robotix and help save

  the

  cosmosaurs

  !”

  “I don’t know,” I replied, hesitating. “It

  could be dangerous . . .”

  “And that’s why you will go, too,

  Grandson!” Grandfather’s voice boomed.

  “You’ll be in charge of the mission! After

  all, you’re the

  captain

  , aren’t you?”

  I sighed. The truth is, I would have

  preferred to spend the day relaxing

  peacefully

  in my cabin, but of course I

  couldn’t. We were on a mission to save

  those

  defenseless

  aliens. And I

  was in

  command

  !

  We

  boarded

  Thea’s space shuttle, and in

  no

  time

  at all we had landed on Jurassix.

  anyBoDY

  home?

  Thea’s space shuttle landed in a

  desert

  on Jurassix. Trap, Robotix, Benjamin, Bugsy

  Wugsy, and I all climbed out.

  “This is where I’ll pick you up,” Thea told

  us. “I’m heading back to MouseStar 1 to

  prepare for the

  cosmosaurs'

  arrival.

  See you soon!”

  We watched as the space shuttle

  disappeared

  in the distance. We

  were completely

  alone

  on an unfamiliar

  planet. Which way were we supposed to go?

  Stellar

  Swiss

  cheese!

  Why do I

  always have so much

  trouble

  reading astral

  maps?

  Luckily, Benjamin came to my rescue.

  Ha!

  Ha!

  “Do you need help,

  Uncle

  ?” he asked

  sweetly.

  “Er, yes,” I admitted,

  embarrassed

  .

  “Thank you!”

  “This

  dot

  is where we are,” Benjamin

  said, pointing

  confidently

  to the

  map. “According to the map, the cosmosaur

  village is here. So we have to go

  north

  !”

  Bugsy Wugsy was so

  excited

  she could

  barely stay in her fur.

  “I can’t wait to meet those

  adorable

  cosmosaurs!” she squeaked.

  But instead of excitement, I felt a strange,

  annoying

  itchiness on my snout. I

  twitched my nose and we headed north.

  After a while, we saw a narrow path

  between some

  rocks

  .

  “According to the map, we have to

  go

  this way

  ,” Benjamin explained.

  Trap took a
step forward.

  “

  Yoo-hoo!

  ” he shouted.

  His voice echoed, but there was no

  reply.

  Yoo-hooo

  . . .

  Yoo-hoooo

  . . .

  Yoo-hooo

  oo . . .

  “Anybody home?” Trap continued.

  Anybody home?

  Anybody home?

  Anybody home?

  All of a sudden I had an

  uneasy feeling.

  “Stop it!” I told my cousin. “You might

  disturb —”

  “Who?” Trap interrupted me with a

  chuckle

  . “Those cute little cosmosaurs?”

  Suddenly, a huge

  shadow

  fell

  over us.

  We turned and . . .

  GALACTIC GORGONZOLA!

  A

  terrifying shape had appeared behind us. It

  had an

  enormouse

  face, two

  tiny

  arms, and a massive body that ended with

  a comma-shaped tail. Hey, wait a minute!

  It was

  identical

  to the cosmosaur

  Hologramix had shown us, but it was much,

  much, much

  bigger

  ! And it didn’t

  seem to have a

  sweet disposition, either.

  In fact, this cosmosaur was downright

  scary

  !

  The

  alien

  looked at us menacingly,

  baring its

  sharp

  fangs. Benjamin, Bugsy

  Wugsy, and Robotix hid behind me in

  fear

  .

  Trap, on the other hand, wasn’t scared at all.

  “Relax!” he said calmly. “This guy is just a

  little

  bit bigger than we expected.”

  “You mean, they’re a little bit bigger

  than we expected,” I corrected him as three

  more cosmosaurs emerged from behind the

  rocks. The aliens

  STARED

  at us for a

  moment. Then another one bared its

  fangs

  and roared.

  “Groooarrr!

  Grrrrr roooarrrg.

  Grrr groooaaar!”

  “Wh-what is it saying, Robotix?” I asked

  in a

  shaky

  voice.

  “They want to know

  who

  we are,

  where

  we come from, and

  what

  we

  want!” Robotix replied quickly.

  Trap stepped forward.

  “Dear

  cosmosaur

  friends, we are a

  delegation of

  spacemice

  who have

  come to —”

  The cosmosaurs didn’t let him finish.

  We all looked at Robotix.

  “He said, ‘You can

  explain

  what you’re

  doing on our planet to our king,’” Robotix

  translated. “‘He will decide what to do with

  you. Follow us!’”

  it was just

  a baby!

  We

  followed

  the cosmosaurs toward

  their village.

  “Cousin, do you think we can

  trust

  them?” I whispered to Trap as we walked.

  “I really don’t like the way they’re

  looking

  at us!”

  “We don’t have a

  choice

  ,” Trap

  replied. “We’ll have to talk to their king and

  explain that they are in

  danger

  !”

  “Yes, of course,” I

  squeaked. “It’s just

  that . . .”

  “What?”

  The itch on

  my snout was

  worse

  than ever, and I

  couldn’t hold back.

  “Ah . . .

  ah .

  . .

  ah .

  . .

  achoo ! ”

  I exploded into a galactic sneeze that

  startled

  everyone!

  “Uncle, you frightened him!” Benjamin

  scolded me. “Try to sneeze more

  quietly

  next time!”

  “But who did I

  frighten

  ?” I asked,

  perplexed.

  “Him!” Benjamin replied. He pointed to a

  little

  cosmosaur who was scampering on

  the path by the rocks.

  I suddenly realized our

  mistake

  .

  The image of the cosmosaur we had seen on

  board the MouseStar 1 had been a picture

  of a

  baby

  !

  “Uncle G, can we say

  hello

  to him?”

  Bugsy Wugsy asked.

  I hesitated. “Well, I suppose so,” I said.

  “But be very

  careful

  !”

  But Benjamin and Bugsy Wugsy were

  already

  running

  toward the little

  creature. After a moment’s hesitation, the

  tiny alien came closer and was now letting

  them

  scratch

  his tummy!

  “Look how nice

  he is!” Benjamin

  exclaimed.

  “He’s so sweet!” added Bugsy Wugsy.

  “Grrff frrrrr frrrrfrrrr . . .”

  “He says his name is

  Fred

  !” Robotix

  translated.

  “Hi, Fred!” exclaimed Bugsy Wugsy.

  The little cosmosaur

  licked

  Benjamin’s

  and Bugsy Wugsy’s faces, making them

  giggle

  with delight.

  The three of them had already become

  friends

  !

  Meanwhile, Robotix and Trap were

  walking beside the adult

  cosmosaurs

  .

  Unfortunately, they seemed a lot less

  friendly

  than the baby. I could hear

  Trap squeaking about food, as always.

  “So, what are the

  special

  dishes

  served on your planet?” Trap asked.

  The cosmosaur licked his fangs and

  growled to Robotix.

  Martian mozzarella!

  “

  ‘You’ll find out soon!’

  ” he translated. “

  ‘To

  celebrate your visit, our king will have a

  banquet

  in your honor!’

  ”

  Trap smiled at me.

  “See?” he boasted. “They’re very polite!

  I told you there was

  nothing

  to be afraid

  of! Robotix, tell them we’d be

  honored

  to

  attend their feast. And ask them what the

  specialty is. I’m very

  curious

  !”

  As soon as Robotix finished translating,

  the cosmosaurs burst out

  laughing

  . Trap

  and I

  looked

  at each other, perplexed.

  What was so

  funny

  ?

  BOW TO THE KING!

  A few minutes later, we

  arrived
/>
  in a

  circular clearing with a

  small lake

  at

  its center. All around us were high rocks

  with caves opening onto the clearing.

  There were signs hanging all around, which

  Robotix translated. One read, “

  CLAW

  SHARPENING

  ” and another read, “

  SPEAR

  TRAINING

  .”

  Squeak! For some reason, that

  place really gave me the creeps!

  On one side of the clearing an enormouse

  cosmosaur looked down from a

  HUGE

  stone throne.

  “Could that be their

  king

  ?” Trap

  asked me.

  *I want very sharp claws!

  **What do you want?

  * * * Let’s see what you can do!

  *Mmmmm . . .

  I took a better look and saw

  that the alien on the throne

  was wearing a crown of

  little bones

  on his

  head! A

  shiver

  ran down

  my fur . . .

  The cosmosaur got

  up and addressed us

  through Robotix.

  “I am King Rex the

  Sixteenth,” he said. “Welcome to

  Jurassix

  . I’m so pleased to see foreigners

  who are so

  healthy

  and

  plump

  !”

  “What does that mean?” Trap grumbled.

  “I went on a

  diet

  last week!”

  “My name is

  Captain Stiltonix

  ,”

  I replied slowly so my squeak wouldn’t

  shake

  with fear. “My friends and I come

  from the spaceship MouseStar 1. We are

  here on a

  rescue

  mission

  . A comet is

  heading this way! It will

  destroy

  your

  planet in exactly one day!”

  “That’s

  impossible

  !” the king roared. “In

  one day is the

  Feast of the Hot Sun

  !”

  “Er, okay,” I replied. “I’m not sure what

  that is, but you really must

  evacuate

  Jurassix as soon as possible! One of our

  space shuttles

  is ready to —”

  “That’s enough!” the king interrupted

  me with a growl. “This conversation is

  BORING

  me!”