I never thought I’d be back in the sky.

After all that happened—the fire, Muntz’s fall, Kevin’s chicks chirping safe in their nest—I figured it was time to go home. Russell got his badge. I gave him the Ellie Badge, just like she gave me that bottle cap when we were kids. We flew back in Muntz’s old airship, quiet most of the way, both of us staring out at the clouds like they held answers.

But then, three days ago, Dug barked at something on the radar. A signal. Faint, repeating. From the Crown.

Kevin’s been restless ever since. She keeps nudging her chicks toward the edge, like they’re supposed to fly somewhere. And Russell… he showed up at my door last night with a map. Said he couldn’t ignore it. Said we left something unfinished.

Now we’re here, hovering above the mist, the airship creaking in the wind. Below, the ruins glow faintly under moonlight. Somewhere down there, a machine is still running. Muntz’s machine.

Russell turns to me, eyes wide. 'We have to check it, Mr. Fredricksen. What if it’s hurting them?'

I grip the controls. Ellie’s scrapbook is in my pocket.

Do I take us down into the unknown again?