Ellie flew across the sky with about fifty Asterparan dragons trailing behind her. She was fully prepared to speak with Neithhotep in a civilized manner, but she found that people listened better when there was an army of dragons supporting the argument in question. Speaking of which, Elkay had once again donned her armor, and was at the helm of the triangular formation. She flapped a little harder to fly beside Ellie, then smiled when she was in full view.

"So . . . how's my mom holding out?"

Ellie twisted her mouth.

"Not sure. She turned off her semi-narration when she found out that Bernie was dead, and that could mean a lot of things."

Elkay gave a slow nod.

"Oh, so that's why the last chapter was so short. Do you think she's crying?"

"No."

Elkay did a barrel roll over Ellie.

"God, I hope she's crying."

Ellie bit her lip.

"Elkay . . ."

The dragon smiled whimsically.

"I'll bet she's bawling her eyes out."

Ellie frowned.

"Elkay, stop . . ."

"She's probably sitting all alone, in solitary confinement, completely broken-"

Ellie put her hand on the dragon's shoulder.

"Elkay, I love you, but for Christ's sake, stop being such a bitch."

Elkay pouted, letting her ears go limp.

"I'm sorry. I just hate her so much . . ."

Ellie nodded.

"I know, but try to be patient and put the past behind you. We might have to tolerate her presence for a very long time."

Elkay winced.

"What makes you say that?"

Ellie shrugged.

"We seem to be doing a good job of reforming former villains on our little island. I'm definitely noticing a pattern with Henry, Zeb- Well, with Henry . . . and you . . . hopefully June . . ."

Elkay sighed.

"Ellie, I'm sorry for being so . . . me. I've screwed up a lot of things in the past because of my . . . me-ness. So, I guess I'm apologizing for that. Yeah . . . and I'm also sorry for the bad things I'll do in the future. I just never learn my lesson."

"Sometimes you do."

"How do you know?"

Ellie crossed her arms.

"There was a point in time, not too long ago in fact, when you wanted to murder me. I don't think that's ever going to happen again."

Elkay laughed nervously.

"Yeah . . . Crazy times! Sorry about that."

"You've apologized profusely upon several occasions. I trust you now. Most of the time, anyway."

Elkay hummed.

"Well, I trust you to keep my mother under control. You did well with your own bitchy mother, after all . . ."

They fell silent, but after a moment, Elkay's ears twitched lightly.

"Ellie, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you hate Halloween before Robin convinced you it was fun?"

Ellie exhaled tensely.

"My mom never let me eat candy. She said I'd rot my teeth."

Elkay folded her ears back in distress.

"That's so sad . . . Do you want me to buy you a big bag of candy to compensate?"

Ellie shook her head.

"You tend to do impulsive things to please me. I appreciate the effort, but I don't need any more gifts."

"Definitely don't check your bedroom closet, then."

Ellie narrowed her eyes.

"What's inside?"

"Not a sugar glider, if that's what you think . . ."

Ellie slapped her forehead.

"I'm not even gonna ask. Listen, we're approaching the place where your mother is hiding out, and I'd appreciate it if you could stay behind while I try to reason with her."

"Understood. Does she know you're coming?"

"I wouldn't doubt it, Elkay. I wouldn't doubt it."

They flew towards the same cavern where Claire had been hiding out with her crew. There was an arrow etched in the rock, pointing to the mouth of the cave. Elkay looked at it and scoffed.

"Wow. Subtle. I wonder where she wants us to go."

Ellie gave her a pointed look and flew down. Elkay diminished her altitude ever so slightly, prepared to defend her granddaughter if necessary. She was alarmed to see that Ellie had absolutely no problem with simply strutting into the deep, dark cave (unarmed and all alone [to face a fierce dragon, etc]). It could very well be a trap. Neithhotep was more than capable of setting up steel jaws or rolling boulders or sharks with laser beams tied to their heads. Be that as it may, nothing seemed to be going wrong, and Elkay respected Ellie enough to let her handle the situation on her own.

For now.