It was strange, Seriama thought, that a person could change their mind so quickly. Once Henry's true identity had been revealed, she thought it would be the end, but now, she didn't really care. He was still Henry, after all, and she adored him. There was no doubt now that they were in love, and their unity ascended beyond circumstance. As far as physical comfort went, they were doing very well for themselves. They had found a nice cave by an open meadow, and Seriama had even located a new patch of sweetgrass. It was heaven on earth, and it was perfect.
Almost perfect.
Henry tended to be a little commanding at times, and although Seriama knew it wasn't his fault, he had very little control over himself. When he wanted something, he expected to get it, and nothing stood in his way.
'Seriama . . . Seriama . . . Seriama . . .'
She tossed her head.
'Not tonight, Henry. I'm too tired.'
He ran his snout across her back.
'Come on. It won't take long.'
He bit the nape of her neck. Seriama winced.
'Stop it, Henry. I don't like it when you bite . . .'
He purred and rubbed against her a little too forcefully. She pulled away.
'Stop, Henry.'
He grabbed her shoulders. Before he could pull himself on top of her, Seriama pushed him away with her tail and growled.
'No.'
Henry snarled in fury. When he saw that she was adamant, he turned and left the cave. Seriama sat down and waited for him to return. He didn't. After a few minutes, Seriama lifted her head and looked around.
'Henry? . . .' she whispered.
No reply.
'Henry? . . .'
He was gone.
Panicked, Seriama stood up and ran out the mouth of the cave. She followed Henry's scent through the forest. Once again, she found him lying on his side, panting heavily. She was about to get his attention, but she realized that they were not alone. Quickly, she made herself invisible.
'Hello . . .'
It was the baryonyx. She slithered towards Henry with a cunning sneer. Henry stood up.
'You're on our territory.'
The baryonyx laughed.
'Yours and the halfbreed's? What do you see in her, anyway? Don't you know that you'd be better off with me?'
Henry frowned.
'I don't like you.'
The baryonyx hissed.
'What does it matter? You're tall and fearsome, and she's useless. You deserve someone who's an asset, not a hindrance. I'm more than willing to join you in taking whatever you want, and besides, I'll never say "no".'
Seriama's heart sank when she saw Henry walking towards the baryonyx. Oddly, though, he hesitated. The baryonyx waited in front of him, her tail lifted. Henry sighed, then turned away.
'I'm going home. Get off of our territory.'
The baryonyx gasped.
'WHAT?!'
'You heard me. Leave. Never come back. I'm staying with Seriama.'
The baryonyx growled.
'You're a fool.'
Henry exhaled.
'Maybe. But I've made my choice.'
Seriama felt her heart flutter as the baryonyx departed. She quickly ran through the forest and down a hill to reach the cave before Henry. When she arrived, she lay down and pretended that she had never left. Henry arrived soon after. He sat down beside her without a word.
'Hi.'
Henry's nose twitched.
'Hi.'
Seriama nuzzled his shoulder.
'Are you okay?'
'I don't feel well, but I'll get over it.'
Seriama smiled.
'Thank you.'
Henry lowered his head and went to sleep.

'I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that we should find you some fruit,' Seriama declared.
'Why?' Henry asked.
'You're a human. Humans eat fruit, right?'
'I'm physically a dinosaur. I don't need fruit.'
'I know, but I thought you'd be happier in a more human environment,' she said as she gave him a kiss.
'I don't need human things. You're a dinosaur, and I love you, so I love being a dinosaur.'
Seriama smiled.
'Don't you miss being a human?'
'Absolutely, but there's nothing I can do. I'm stuck.'
'With me?'
Henry shook his head.
'Not exactly.'
Seriama rubbed up against his side.
'If we could somehow change, would you want to?'
'Yes, but that probably won't happen.'
Seriama picked a sprig of yellow berries from a bush.
'Do you want them?'
Henry shook his head fiercely.
'Those are poisonous, Seriama. The yellow berries are toxic enough to fell a sauropod.'
Seriama tossed them away.
'Sorry. I didn't know.'
'It's fine.'
Henry picked up a discarded carcass and placed it in front of her.
'I'd much rather share something with you, anyway.'
They tore into the meat. The sun was shining brightly, and it warmed their backs. Across the field, a group of hadrosaurs watched over their infants. Seriama observed the tiny dinosaurs from afar. She smiled as they played in the river. Henry twiddled his fingers.
'Seriama-'
He cut off abruptly when he heard voices coming from a nearby path. As they drew near, he narrowed his eyes.
'I'm going to see who it is . . .'
Seriama held him back.
'Don't. It could be dangerous.'
'It'll be fine. Stay here. I'll be back soon.'
Seriama watched him leave with a worried expression. After a few minutes, she followed him into the forest.

'It's perfect, Seriama! We can go back with them and find the Tiger. We can have everything!'
'Henry, no!' Seriama insisted, 'This is too dangerous. We can't leave our home. We have a life here. We're happy . . .'
'We could be happier.'
'Aren't you happy enough?'
Henry frowned.
'Seriama, we can't squander this opportunity. This is our chance to make something of ourselves. We can have everything. Everything!'
'We don't need-'
He placed his hand on her cheek.
'Please, Seriama. You want me to be happy, don't you?'
She held his gaze, trying to channel her reluctance through eye contact. If he noticed, he didn't care. Finally, she sighed with defeat.
'Fine. We'll go. Only if it will make you happy . . .'
'It will.'
'I hope so. I'd do anything for you. You know that, right?'
Henry nodded.
'I know.'
'I love-'
'Let's go. There's no use in dawdling.'

'So, what's your name?' the yellow allosaur asked.
'Seriama.'
'Seri-what?'
'Seriama.'
The allosaurus scratched her head.
'That's a funny name. What does it mean?'
Seriama shrugged.
'I'm not sure.'
'Hm. Well, in that case . . .'
She cleared her throat.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Seriama . . ."

Dashing down the trail with a syringe in her paws, Seriama followed Henry to the underground lab. The plan was to get the machine up and running, change Henry back, and find the blue tiger. Of course, Henry hadn't mentioned anything about changing Seriama as well, but she figured that it had simply slipped his mind.
'Almost there. Don't drop the cure.'
Seriama tightened her grip around the syringe.
'Henry, I'm scared. We're in too deep. You killed one of them.'
'Yes, and you destroyed that nest.'
Seriama whimpered.
'It was an accident . . .'
'Accident or not, they won't care,' he asserted, 'These people will kill you if they get the chance. Don't give them that chance.'
Seriama gulped.
'Henry, I hope you know what you're doing . . .'
'I do. Trust me.'
Seriama bit her lip.
'What if they catch us?'
'They won't. It's going to be okay.'
Seriama stopped running.
'Henry . . . We've done bad things . . .'
He growled.
'Don't go soft. We're almost there.'
Seriama felt tears sliding down her face.
'We shouldn't have come here. We were happy . . .'
'I wasn't.'
Seriama felt her stomach twist.
'You weren't?'
'How can I be happy, knowing that these people got the better of me? They made me a monster.'
'You said you liked being a dinosaur . . .'
'I tolerated it. Now, I can be free.'
Seriama felt tears stinging at her eyes as he grabbed the syringe from her paw. He stuck it in his arm and began to glow. Seriama watched him shrink. When he was human, he opened the door to the lab and closed it behind him. Seriama heard it lock.
'Henry?'
"It's nothing personal, Seriama. You just don't fit into my plan."
Seriama's eyes went wide.
'Henry? Henry, you're not leaving me? . . .'
"I can't understand you. I know you're mad, but you'll get over it."
Seriama pressed her snout against the door.
'I'm not mad, Henry! Come back! Please, don't leave me!'
"Goodbye, Seriama."
She wailed.
'Don't go, Henry! Don't go! I love you! I LOVE YOU!'
She heard a fizzling sound, then silence. Her breaths were shaky and broken, and she could barely speak.
'Henry . . . Henry . . .'
Seriama sobbed and stumbled away from the lab. She didn't care what happened to her. She had lost everything that mattered.

About an hour later, Seriama lay flat on her side in a large building. The yellow allosaurus returned from the kitchen with a large chunk of meat. She dropped it into her hand and held it out for Seriama.
'You hungry?'
Seriama shook her head.
'I don't think I'll ever eat again. Thank you, all the same.'
The allosaur sat down beside her and started eating the meat. Seriama felt fresh tears flowing down her face.
'I'm sorry for stepping on your nest.'
The allosaurus looked at her sadly.
'It was an accident.'
'Yeah, but it was a terrible thing to do. You ought to kill me.'
'Don't be silly. I wouldn't kill you.'
Seriama blinked.
'You wouldn't?'
The dinosaur shook her head.
'I don't think I'm capable of murder. Besides, you were just following orders.'
Seriama felt a lump in her throat.
'What am I gonna do without Henry?'
The allosaur scoffed.
'Probably a lot of things. Good things. Now that he's gone, you're free to be a good person.'
Seriama wiped her eyes.
'Henry's not a bad person. I've seen him be good. I know that there is goodness in him, but his ambition gets in the way . . .'
The allosaur stopped chewing her meat.
'Good? Henry Wu? Never.'
Seriama's lip quivered.
'I wish he wouldn't do this. If he was nice to you, like he's nice to me, you'd like him. He deserves to be liked.'
The allosaurus frowned deeply.
'HE LEFT YOU.'
Seriama nodded.
'I know. I should have expected it, I guess. Everyone's just sitting around, waiting to leave me or shock me with a taser. People don't like me. I ruin things.'
The allosaurus laughed.
'Oh, that's NOTHING. If you could see everything that I've ruined, you'd feel a lot better about yourself.'
Seriama sniffled.
'You're probably better than me. You have friends.'
The allosaur chuckled.
'Yeah, because they put up with me. They really do like me, though. You could have friends, too.'
Seriama blinked.
'I could?'
'Sure,' the allosaur beamed, 'You seem nice. We should hang out sometime, when the fate of the multiverse doesn't hang in the balance . . .'
Seriama smiled.
'Really?'
'Mhm. You're, like, super-cool, with emphasis on the "super". You can change color, fit in small places . . . You're like a lava lamp, if lava lamps could change color and fit in small places.'
Seriama raised her eyebrow.
'Thanks? . . .'
'No problem. I've always wanted a friend with superpowers. You're like one of the X-Men.'
'The what?'
The allosaur waved her claws.
'I mean, I'm not implying that I'd be Wolverine or anything, since I'm a girl, but I guess I'd be like a mix between Wolverine and Rogue. You'd be Storm. Ellie would be Phoenix. Man, that would be cool . . .'
Seriama didn't really understand what the allosaurus was trying to say, but she was glad to have a friend. Even though she still missed Henry, she felt a little better. These people seemed to be friendly, understanding, and more than willing to accept her, should she choose to be one of them. It seemed like nothing could draw her away from the group.

"Hello."
Seriama lifted her head. She was surprised to see a strange creature looking down at her. It was tall and yellow and scaly, but it wasn't a dinosaur.
'Who are you?'
"I'm a lot of people, but that's not important. I have something to tell you. Henry's back. He's on this world's Sorna."
Seriama felt her heart flutter.
'Is he safe?'
"He's blind, but otherwise, I'd say he's doing rather well. He might be a bit depressed . . ."
'Oh, no!' Seriama gasped, 'Can I see him?'
The creature nodded.
"Yeah. If you're willing to swim to Sorna, that is. Don't you want to stay with your new friends?"
Seriama sighed.
'Yes, but Henry needs me.'
"Needs you? He LEFT you!"
Seriama nodded slowly.
'I know. Even so, he has nothing. We were always there for each other back home. Now that we're here-'
"You have something, and he has nothing. He kind of deserves nothing, though. He's been bad."
Seriama stood up.
'He can be good. I know he can. Of all the people he's hurt, he's hurt himself the most. If I give him a chance to be better, he'll take it.'
The creature's ear twitched.
"You think so?"
Seriama smiled.
'I know so. Henry is good inside. He needs to be loved.'
The creature turned away.
"Alright, but don't be disappointed if he fails."
Seriama watched the strange animal fly away. When she was gone, Seriama ran towards the ocean with a determined stride.
'He won't.'