EVE flew WALL · E through the economy-class level of the Axiom. The humming throng¹ of reject-bots was happily following them. They still needed to get up to the lido deck, which was past the main concourse and the coach-class deck.

 

Then another crowd of stewards² appeared. They launched a web of freeze rays, locking down WALL · E, EVE, and the reject-bots.

 

But the Captain was not giving up. Working harder than he had in his entire life, he struggled against Auto³ up on the bridge. Finally, still clinging to Auto, the Captain managed to get one hand free ... and smacked⁴ the blue button.

 

"Ha! Ha! Gotcha!" the Captain yelled to Auto.

 

As the alarm sounded all over the ship, the Axiom's automated⁵ systems prepared the passengers for their return flight to Earth. Hover⁶ chairs carrying passengers poured out of the guest suites⁷.

 

The stewards toppled, crushed by the uncontrollable onslaught of hover chairs heading up to the lido deck. And when the stewards fell, their freeze rays dissolved, freeing WALL · E, EVE, and the reject-bots.

 

EVE quickly resumed course, cradling the weakened WALL · E. The reject-bots followed close behind. At last, they reached the lido deck.

 

A huge cylinder⁸ rose from the floor. It was the holo-detector.

 

The entire ship's population was gathering⁹. Passengers lined the balconies on all sides, and the floor was filled to capacity.

 

The giant video screen in the fake sky flashed on. Everyone looked up and saw the Captain.

 

"Ladies ... and gentlemen!" the Captain said, gasping¹⁰ as Auto knocked him into the console. "Remain seated. Just a slight delay. Stand by!"

 

The passengers were confused. Mary looked around and saw several toddlers in their hover rings. All the commotion¹¹ had frightened them. She and John rushed over. They soothed¹² the toddlers, then passed them to other passengers in hover chairs.

 

Above them, the huge video screen continued to broadcast the struggle between the Captain and Auto. Auto seemed to be getting the upper hand. The entire ship tilted¹³ to one side. Passengers tumbled from their chairs, but WALL · E managed to hold on to the holo-detector.

 

Pushed to the side of the ship, EVE saw a monorail car fall off its track. She looked around. Mary and many of the children were next to her. They were in the sliding monorail's path.

 

EVE needed to place the plant in the holo-detector. But she wanted to help the passengers, too.

 

EVE zoomed¹⁴ toward the monorail and, using both hands, held it back. The plant, now slipping away, was lost somewhere on the tilting¹⁵ deck. To make matters worse, sliding passengers piled up against the monorail, adding more weight as EVE struggled to hold the car up. Up on the bridge, Auto kept the ship tilted.

 

Then he switched the holo-detector button off.

 

The leaning holo-detector began moving back down into the deck. WALL · E barely held on. He wedged himself under one side of the holo-detector, trying to keep it from closing up. The pressure squished WALL · E into a box. Damaged as he already was, WALL · E refused to give up.

 

From the bridge, Auto could see that the holo-detector was jammed. He saw WALL · E struggling against the hydraulics of the huge cylinder.

 

"No!" Auto cried.

 

The Captain watched helplessly as Auto repeatedly pushed the holo-detector button. Looking up at Auto's screen, the Captain saw WALL · E being crushed. The passengers were screaming as the tilting ship tossed them around.

 

The Captain grasped the console's rails and pulled himself up to his wobbly feet. Standing¹⁶, he looked around the control room. He'd never seen things from this position before.

 

Breathlessly, the passengers watched the giant screen. The Captain was actually standing! He took a step and then began to walk. The crowd cheered wildly.

 

Auto turned to see what the fuss was about and found himself face to face with the Captain. They had never been at eye level before. Auto stared, stunned¹⁷, as the Captain lifted a finger ... and turned off Auto's power. It was just that simple.

 

"Noooo," Auto moaned as his eye faded out for good. The Captain smiled triumphantly¹⁸. The passengers roared, beaming with pride at their new hero.

 

伊芙带着瓦力飞越“功理”号的经济舱层。残次品机器人们哼着歌高高兴兴地跟着他们。他们还需要穿过中央广场和二等舱层，到达上面的泳池甲板。

 

此时，另一群乘务员机器人出现了。他们向下扫射的冷冻光交织成网，将瓦力、伊芙和残次品机器人锁住了。

 

但是船长并没有放弃。他一生中第一次这么努力，在舰桥上和傲特奋力搏斗。最后，船长终于设法一边紧紧抓着傲特，一边腾出一只手来……用力按下了蓝色按钮。

 

“哈！哈！成功啦！”船长对着傲特喊道。

 

警铃响彻整艘飞船，“功理”号自动系统帮乘客们做飞回地球的准备。悬浮椅载着乘客们从乘客套房内涌出。

 

无数悬浮椅不受控制地冲向上面的泳池甲板，乘务员机器人被撞得东倒西歪。乘务员机器人摔倒的时候，他们的冷冻光随之消融，瓦力、伊芙和残次品机器人得到了自由。

 

伊芙轻轻抱着更为虚弱的瓦力，立刻继续向前。残次品机器人们紧跟着他们。终于，他们来到了泳池甲板。

 

一个巨大的圆柱体从地板上升起。它就是全息探测器。

 

飞船上所有的人都聚集起来了。乘客们在所有楼厅里排成长队，地面上挤满了人。

 

虚拟天空中的那块巨大荧幕闪亮了。所有人都抬起头来看见了船长。

 

“女士们……先生们！”船长说道，在傲特把他撞上操纵台时喘了口气。“请继续坐好。稍有延误。请做好准备！”

 

乘客们糊涂了。玛丽环顾四周，看见几个坐在悬浮环里的幼儿。所有这些骚乱吓着他们了。她和约翰冲了过去，安抚那几个幼儿，然后把他们递给了悬浮椅里的其他乘客。

 

他们上方的巨大荧幕继续直播着船长和傲特之间的搏斗。傲特看似占了上风。整艘飞船向一侧倾斜。乘客们从他们的悬浮椅里翻滚了出来，但是瓦力成功地抓住了全息探测器。

 

伊芙被推到了飞船的一侧，她看见一辆单轨电车从轨道上滑落了下来。她环顾四周。玛丽和许多孩子在她周围。单轨电车正朝着他们滑过去。

 

伊芙需要将那株植物放到全息探测器里，但是她也想要帮助那些乘客。

 

伊芙朝着单轨电车冲去，用双手抵住它。那株植物在倾斜的甲板上滑走了，不知滑去了哪里。更糟糕的是，伊芙在努力举起单轨电车，滑过来的乘客们堆积在了伊芙尽全力举起的单轨电车上，这让伊芙需要承受的重量更大了。傲特在舰桥上让飞船保持倾斜状态。

 

然后，他关掉了全息探测器。

 

倾斜的全息探测器开始向下缩回甲板。瓦力快抓不住了。他用自己卡住全息探测器的一侧，试图阻止它完全关闭。瓦力被重重压成盒状。他虽然受了重创，但仍然不肯放弃。

 

傲特在舰桥上能看见全息探测器被卡住了。他看见瓦力在努力对抗那个巨大圆柱体的液压装置。

 

“不！”傲特大喊道。

 

船长无助地看着傲特一次次反复按下全息探测器的按钮。船长抬头看向傲特的屏幕，他看见瓦力被挤压变形。乘客们被倾斜的飞船抛来抛去，不禁高声尖叫。

 

船长抓住操纵台的栏杆，拉着自己摇摇晃晃地站了起来。他站着四处打量起控制室。他从来没有从这个高度看过东西。

 

乘客们屏住呼吸，看着大屏幕。船长真的是站着！他迈出一步，开始向前走。人群狂热地欢呼起来。

 

傲特转身看他们是因为什么大惊小怪，结果发现自己和船长面对面。他们以前从来没有平视过对方的眼睛。傲特不由目瞪口呆，船长举起一根手指……关掉了傲特的电源。就是那么 简单。

 

“不——”傲特呻吟着，他的双眼黯淡下去，永远关闭。船长露出了胜利的微笑。乘客们满面笑容，人声鼎沸，为他们新的英雄感到自豪。

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