One morning, Elkay woke up and yawned so hard that the top half of her head fell off. She moved her arms up and down as she got out of bed, feeling around for her missing body part. She found it on the floor, picked it up, and clicked it back on her jaw.

"I hate it when that happens," she muttered.

With a cheerful hum, she hopped over to her dresser and opened the drawer. She pulled out a small piece of fire and placed it in her rucksack. Then, she whistled a merry tune and skipped down to the dining room.

When she entered the cafeteria, she saw Ellie sitting at a table all alone. It figured: she was an early riser, unlike Alan, who could sleep until noon. It was all the better for Elkay, who got to spend the mornings with her dear friend and granddaughter.

"Hello, dear friend and granddaughter!" she cheered as she stood on her chair.

Ellie looked up from her waffles and raised her eyebrow.

"Why are you moving like that?"

Elkay laughed.

"I move like this all the time!"

Ellie shook her head.

"No, you don't. You're being all robotic. What's up?"

"I can't help but move this way. That's how my joints fit in."

Ellie blinked.

"What are you talking about? Did you sprain something?"

Elkay shook her head.

"You can't sprain Lego."

Ellie froze. She placed her fork on the table and folded her hands.

"Lego?"

Elkay nodded rapidly.

"Of course. We're all made of Lego."

Ellie frowned, then stood up.

"I have to go check on something."

Elkay watched as she exited the cafeteria.

"Alright, but I'm eating your waffles."

***TSJWFEW***

Ellie glided off of the Visitors' Center Tower and made her way to Mount Sibo. She felt the thermals carrying her higher, blowing through her feathers like a warm fan. There was no doubt that something was mentally wrong with Elkay. Well, more wrong than usual, that is. If she was seeing Lego everywhere, it was very possible that she had suffered some sort of traumatic event, resulting in quirky delusions. That was just the kind of thing Elkay did. In any case, there was only one person who was capable of making Elkay go crazier, and that person just happened to be a dragon.

"Neith!"

Ellie called out long before she reached Neithhotep's isolated cave. She landed on a rocky ledge and screamed again.

"NEITH!"

The yellow dragon slithered out of the darkness.

"I heard you the first time."

Ellie put her hands on her hips.

"What did you do to Elkay?"

Neithhotep scoffed.

"Nothing. It was a perfectly normal pregnancy. She became messed up all on her own."

Ellie crossed her arms with an unimpressed frown.

"No, recently. She thinks the world is made of Lego. Did you say something to upset her?"

Neithhotep twisted her mouth thoughtfully.

"Well, I've been consistent with my insults, so I see no problem there. Perhaps she's reached a breaking point, in which case, you'd better find a way to fix her."

Ellie shook her head.

"I see no reason for her to be acting so strangely, and right out of the blue. It must have been a traumatic event of some kind."

Neithhotep shrugged.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Let me know if she recovers or dies."

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Alright."

"I wouldn't care either way."

"Got it," Ellie muttered.

She flew back towards the Visitors' Center, frowning in confusion. If Neithhotep was telling the truth, something far more sinister was going on with Elkay. But what could be more traumatic than an insult from a family member? . . .

***TSJWFEW***

Ellie found her grandmother punching a plant by the main road. After an arbitrary amount of hits, she moved on to the next leafy victim.

"Elkay, what are you doing?" Ellie asked, afraid of the answer.

"Collecting studs," she stated, as if that explained everything, "Turn on Destroy On Contact, Ellie. It'll make this go much faster."

Ellie pulled her away from a crocosmia bush hurriedly.

"Elkay, what's upsetting you?"

The dragon didn't change her expression.

"Nothing, Ellie. Well, nothing but the usual things."

"Which are? . . ."

"My regrets, my loneliness, and a lump of ash that got stuck in my nostril."

Ellie hummed.

"Regrets . . . Loneliness . . . Is this about Zebil?"

Elkay laughed, moving the top part of her head in a rather bizarre way.

"Of course not. I recovered from his violent murder at the hands of my mother long ago. I even built a memorial wing."

Ellie's eyes went wide.

"In the VC?"

Elkay nodded.

"It's right over there," she said, pointing to a distant stretch of the building, "Of course, you can't see it from here, since the backgrounds are out of focus, but-"

Ellie grabbed her by the wing.

"That's where we'll find our answer."

***TSJWFEW***

Ellie was shocked to see just how much work Elkay had put into decorating the memorial wing. Everything seemed to be blue with black stripes, including the walls and floor. There were sculptures and statues and neckties; there were sofas and pillows and painted apples; there was even a fireplace in the shape of a tiger's head. Everything imaginable was crammed into the hall, and Ellie couldn't help but gawk at it all in amazement.

"Wow, Elkay, you really did a good job of decorating this place."

Elkay parted her mouth slightly, which was probably a smile in Lego world.

"I know. He would have liked it. Blue was his second favorite color."

Ellie crouched down to examine a rug that was designed to look like a blue tiger. She lifted the head and turned it around slowly.

"This is amazing. It's so lifelike. Where did you get this made?"

She flipped over the feet one by one.

"Christ, it even has claws. Oh, that's funny. You made it look like you sewed two halves together. That might be in poor t-"

The rug slipped from Ellie's hands as a realization dawned upon her.

"This is his skin, isn't it?"

Elkay hopped up and down.

"Yep. It's common for Asterparans to honor loved ones by preserving their bodies. By the way, when I die, make sure that you stuff me in a dynamic pose. Don't let the kids put my hands in rude positions."

Ellie snapped her fingers.

"Ah-ha! You never buried Zebil, therefore you never let him go!"

Elkay moved from side to side.

"Not true. This is the best way to let go. Besides, I buried his brain, so the important stuff is interred. The rest of the meat was sent to starving children in Overworld Africa, in case you were wondering."

Ellie blinked.

"I . . . um . . . I don't know if that's good or bad . . ."

"It's good."

Ellie rubbed her forehead.

"Are you sure this doesn't bother you?"

Elkay hopped up and down.

"Most definitely."

"Then it must be something else. Follow me."

***TSJWFEW***

Elkay was brought to Raptor Valley, where a gang of velociraptors was waiting. Ellie had them sit in a circle. Nobody knew what she had planned, but they trusted her judgment.

"Alright, everyone, this is an intervention," she announced.

"Why are the raptors here?" Elkay asked, "They're not my friends."

Ellie rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"I . . . Well, I couldn't find anyone close to you."

Elkay nodded.

"Sounds about right. Can each raptor please speak so I know who you are? Your molds are all the same."

The raptors gave each other concerned looks. Finally, the first raptor stood up.

"I'm Kipper."

"Bucky."

"Lance."

"Crusher."

"Princeton."

The last raptor waved, but said nothing. Elkay deduced that he was Otto.

"Alright, let's get this started," Ellie said cheerfully, "Do we have any opening thoughts?"

"We're not made of Lego," Crusher muttered.

Kipper elbowed him.

"What he means to say is: you seem to be suffering from minor delusions, Mrs. Dragon. If you need help with anything, just let us know."

Elkay gave an open-mouthed smile.

"Thank you, Kipper. I'm so glad I decided not to kill you."

Kipper's pupils shrunk noticeably. He stood up and strutted away.

"I just remembered, I have a thing to do."

When he was out of sight, the raptors turned back to the circle awkwardly. Princeton, undaunted by the oddness of their situation, sprouted bright pink feathers and pranced up to Elkay.

"Girl, you need to snap out of it. These people love you, and only want what's best for you. Stop having these cray-cray fantasies and face the real world."

Elkay blinked.

"Princeton, you're the one who's cray-cray."

Princeton laughed.

"She's kind of right."

Ellie shook her head.

"This isn't working."

Crusher crossed his arms.

"Can we go now?"

Ellie sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Thank you for coming."

The raptors scattered, and Elkay picked up her granddaughter, giving her a Lego-hug.

"Don't be sad, Ellie. Everything is awesome. We're going to be Lego forever and ever."

Ellie frowned angrily.

"We're not Lego. How can I make you see that?"

Elkay smiled.

"You're delusional, Ellie. Everything around us is made of bricks . . . or blocks. I never learned the official term."

Ellie growled.

"You're crazy."

Elkay giggled.

"I'm not crazy. Everything fits. We're Lego. The world is Lego. This is how it's meant to be."

Ellie rubbed her chin. If Elkay thought that everything was Lego, maybe making her statement partly true would help. It was worth a shot, anyway.

Using a good chunk of her magic, Ellie changed herself and Elkay into actual Lego characters. By Elkay's open-mouthed expression, Ellie could tell that her theory was accurate. The dragon shrieked and flew off.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ellie growled.

She soared after Elkay on plastic wings, which were attached to her back with little hook-clips. The dragon, in turn, flapped her own creaky wings, but she wasn't fast enough. Ellie tackled her in midair. They fell in the middle of a field.

"Why did you change me back?" Elkay shrieked.

"You have to face your problems!" Ellie roared.

"No! No, I don't!" Elkay screamed.

Ellie pinned her to the ground.

"Tell me what's wrong!"

"No!"

"Tell me!"

"I can't!"

"TELL ME!"

Elkay whimpered.

"Zebil's been dead for over a year . . ."

"I knew you weren't over him!" Ellie proclaimed victoriously.

"I am!"

"Then what's wrong?" Ellie barked.

"Dragons have a long gestation period."

Ellie froze. She let her grandmother go, and they both changed back into organic beings. Elkay was crying. Ellie slid off of her and looked away guiltily.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you."

"Tell me that everything will be okay."

"But I don't know if it will be . . ."

"Tell me anyway."

Ellie shook her head.

"You have to deal with this maturely. You can't just deny that something is wrong. That was your problem last time."

Elkay sniffled.

"Can't I just find a nice couple and-"

"Not this time," Ellie said harshly, "You have to do this yourself."

"Why?"

"Because dumping your kids on other people didn't work the last hundred times you tried it."

Elkay looked down. Then, she sighed.

"Will you help me?"

"Of course. Everyone will help you. But you have to do most of the work yourself."

Elkay nodded.

"That's fair."

She curled her tail around her feet and hunched her shoulders.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Not all accidents are mistakes."

There was a moment of silence. Ellie put her hand on Elkay's arm.

"You can do this."

"Maybe," Elkay sighed, "I guess we'll have to wait and see."