This story contains major spoilers of Monkey Island 6 (Return to Monkey Island), and minor references to the remainder of the games. Please consider this an alternate ending, or part VI, of Return to Monkey Island. It starts right after the end credits, POV Guybrush. It assumes hard mode / writer's cut and certain achievements and optional inventory items. There are only two changes to past (Return) game events: Guybrush did not wantonly massacre the Melee Island mop tree (thus the forest animals are still gleefully frolicking about offscreen), and did actually try to free Herman Toothrot (unsuccessfully, as the password turned out to work for only one person at a time).

I do not own the Monkey Island franchise.

I sat on the park bench, alone with my memories, and took a deep breath. I let it out slowly and closed my eyes. The sun felt warm on my shoulders, and some early falling leaves brushed against my skin in the mild breeze. My life was good now, I reflected, especially in peaceful moments like these. Somehow, they always seem so precious and fleeting.

This one was no exception, as it turned out, as I soon I heard the crunch of grass under familiar boots. I opened one eye to spy a curtain of vibrant red hair as my wife leant towards me.

"I though you were heading to the ship? We didn't get a docking ticket again, did we?" I asked her.

"No, everything's fine," she said, sinking down beside me onto the bench. "I thought you might have fallen asleep, you looked so peaceful."

"Nah, just lost in thought. C'mon, I'll walk back with you." I made to heave myself off the bench, but Elaine stopped me with a hand on my arm and a serious expression.

"I think he's ready to hear the real ending," she told me.

"You sure? He's so young and kind of a scamp! I don't think that Chuckie and Dee are good influences for him."

Elaine laughed. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but if I'd been picky about bad influences, our son wouldn't exist anyway."

"Hey!"

She grinned unrepentantly. "You know, he returned the pegleg key to the restroom without my having to remind him. And he even gave his lucky four-leaf clover to the duck because it looked hungry."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Elaine tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, even though we both knew it would bounce right back, as always. "Just think about it, sweetie."

"All right, you've convinced me." I sighed and settled even more comfortably on the bench. "I just need a little bit longer to figure out how to tell it."

"You mean, how it actually happened?" she asked with equal parts amusement and exasperation.

"Yeah, but there's an art to these things. I mean, everyone has their own expectations. It's a lot of pressure," I explained.

"Okay, you go ahead and do that. Meet us at the ship when you're ready." She kissed me quickly and strolled back the way she'd come.

I stared at her retreating figure, my focus clouded as I gazed into the past. The end had begun with nearly those same words, hadn't it? "I'm ready to go," I'd told her, Stan's keys in my pocket and all the park display lights switched off. "Me, too," she's answered, and we'd walked hand in hand towards the archway exit.

Then everything went a little bit different.