"Guybrush!"

"Plunder bunny!"

"Sugar boots!"

I ran forward to sweep her into a hug, but stopped short. "Hello, fellow chum."

She laughed. "Do you have a story to share, sweetie?"

Good - but better safe than sorry. "What were you doing on the night of the twenty-third?"

"Don't you remember?" Elaine asked, beautiful eyes sparkling.

"I'm testing that you're you," I explained. "It's been a strange day."

"Ah. In that case, I think I'd better tell you privately." She leaned in and whispered in my ear for a minute. I could feel my face turning pinker.

I cleared my throat when she was done. "Yes, I do remember that. I'm so glad you're safe!"

I had a hard time letting Elaine out of a hug, I was that relieved that we were together again. "What happened? Did you defeat Flair?"

"No, she just left. I think she expected an easy fight, since I've retired from pirate-governing. But I've been keeping my hand in, so we were pretty evenly matched. She must have finally had enough, because she ran off inland not long before I found you."

"Back to LeShip, I guess." It was probably docked on the opposite side of the island, like earlier. "Did you see LeChuck?"

"Yes, on my way in, but I hid until he went past to save time. Did you run into him? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I did, and I'm fine. It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way."

We jogged through the jungle, looking out for anything Secret-related. As we did so, I related recent events. I made sure to include setup, a hook, epic language, and a conclusion, as per Chum guidelines.

"So that's the situation," I concluded, and then paused to pant for breath.

"This Secret quest is becoming more serious than I imagined, fashion choice notwithstanding." Elaine plucked at the T-shirt draped over my coat, now drenched in sweat. It would definitely need washing after this. "You did well, Guybrush. Who knows if we'd have seen each other again if you'd left with Captain Madison."

"I still can't believe I almost thought she was you," I admitted. "And that I was a flooring inspector." I shuddered. "Actually though, sometimes Madison's voice sounds kind of like yours."

Elaine slowed her pace to match mine. "Really? I never thought so."

"Maybe it's just the posh accent," I suggested.

"It's extremely disturbing," agreed Elaine. "Not the accent; the rest of it."

I nodded wisely. "You mean the floor inspecting."

"No. Inspectors are valuable safety professionals; I do hope one day you'll get over that. But convincing people that their whole life is a lie: who knows what other tricks these dark captains can pull?"

"Want to make sure I'm me?" I offered. "I can tell you what we did on the twenty-fourth."

"No, that's okay," Elaine said smilingly. "I don't think anyone, even those three, could quite copy you."

"Thank you." I ran through it again. "I think."

"I see three options for where to go next," Elaine started, but was interrupted by a deep rumbling, which built up quickly then died away just as fast. We turned toward where it sounded like it had come from, and ended up facing the volcano.

"That doesn't sound good," I muttered.

"Maybe it's settling from the earthquake earlier." Elaine squinted at the top, but it looked no steamier than usual now. "We'll have to be careful."

That did seem to be all we could do for now. "Right. What were you saying before?"

"We could go to LeChuck's ship to see if he found anything. Or we could go back through the caverns and check one more time. Or, we could drop by the governor's mansion. I want to let Carla know about what the captains are capable of."

"How about we check in with LeChuck first, then search the caverns afterwards on the way to Carla's?" I suggested. It would have been a waste to keep looking blind if LeChuck had already found a lead. Plus, we were pretty close to LeShip by then, and I wanted a rest before trekking all the way back.

We made it to the beach, and saw the dread ship floating offshore where we expected. Also as before, there was no landing boat to row to it.

"I can hold my breath and walk there underwater," I told Elaine. "Do you feel like a swim?"

"Not today. I'll just wait here and keep an eye out."

"Okay." I hung back reluctantly. "I'll be back soon."

"Tell Apple Bob hello for me!" She waved at me as I waded in.

I took a deep breath before submerging and trudging along the ocean bed.