The gunshot would have killed Owen, but luckily, the earth trembled, and their assailant was knocked off of his perch as he fired. He tumbled down the mountainside, and as he did, he dropped his gun, but he quickly snatched it up when he hit the sand. He got to his feet and was joined by a woman. Claire's face fell.

"Penumbra . . ."

She stalked over to the unfamiliar man, who was pointing his gun at Claire.

"Yes, I've returned. You didn't seriously think I'd let you get away? . . ."

Claire stamped her foot. It didn't make much noise, because she was standing on sand.

"Penumbra, don't. If you kill me now, I'll never be able to free the stegoceratops."

The man with the gun gave Penumbra a side glance.

"Penny . . ."

"She's lying," Penumbra hissed, "She can't free the stegoceratops. No one can."

Owen crossed his arms.

"You're wrong. Claire is going to save them all, and if you shoot her now, you'll be screwing yourself over. Where did you get a gun, anyway?"

Penumbra sneered.

"Found it. Anyway, I'll save you my speeches. As much as I want to bask in this moment, I'd much rather kill you right away so that nothing goes wr-"

Suddenly, she was knocked over by another stegoceratops, or rather, a stegoceratops-human hybrid with wings. She landed in the sand, spinning around before giving a vicious snort and pawing at the ground.

"Mom! She's trying to kill you!"

Claire's jaw dropped.

"I know, Lily! And what are you doing here?! I told you not to follow me!"

Lily gave a sheepish rumble.

"Well, I wasn't following you: I was following Luke . . ."

Claire bellowed.

"LUKE'S HERE?!"

Lily shook her head.

"Not anymore. I got him out safely. Kind of."

Claire frowned.

"Lily . . ."

She avoided making eye contact with her mother.

"It's not my fault, okay? You know how much Luke loves those stories about June, so when he realized where you were going, he tagged along. Now, he has antlers, and they're both out."

Claire took this in, her eyes flitting back and forth like sparks.

"June . . . June is out?"

Lily nodded.

"Mhm. And Luke has antlers."

Owen rubbed his chin.

"What's up with these wings and antlers? Seems like everyone is sprouting 'em today."

Lily noticed his wings.

"Daddy . . ."

"I know, sweetheart. It's strange for me too. Don't-"

There was a shot, but no one was hit. Penumbra had wanted to get their attention, and now that she had, she handed the gun to her friend, who was looking less certain than before. She didn't seem to notice this, however.

"Finish the job. I want to see Claire die, and then we can go."

"She has a daughter . . ." he whispered.

"She's not dangerous."

His hands were trembling. He could barely hold the gun straight.

"Penny . . ."

She snarled.

"Just do it! You said you were with me on this, regardless of circumstance. If we die, we die, but I just want to see her brought to justice."

He was holding his weapon out too far in front of him, and Claire was absolutely still. Neither Lily nor Owen dared startle their attacker. All they could do was pray that he would reconsider. But Penumbra was determined to make sure that that wouldn't happen.

"Monsanto-"

"You said my name was Corona."

"Corona, do this for me. You promised. You promised you'd do it . . ."

Tears trickled down his cheeks.

"You never said she had a daughter . . ."

"It shouldn't matter."

"I can't kill a mother. Do you know what it's like to see someone you love die?"

"I do, as a matter of fact, but let's not bring up the past. What matters now is that you put an end to this. Claire Dearing has to die, and if you love me, you'll be the one to execute her."

Monsanto lifted his gun a few inches, staring at his soon-to-be victim. He did not know what Claire's eyes were expressing, but there was a serenity to her gaze. His finger touched the trigger, but Lily gave a quiet whine, and he paused. He let out a breath, but was no calmer for it. Penumbra leaned forward with expectation. He lowered his weapon.

"I can't. I just can't, Penny."

She gnashed her teeth.

"So you're just going to betray me? You really are a coward."

He shook his head.

"Penny, if you want to kill her, you can, but I can't bring myself to do it."

"Why not?"

Monsanto closed his eyes.

"I can't do it because . . . this is how it happened before. I shot a stegoceratops who was about to escape from the camps. It was only after she fell to her death that I realized her daughter was waiting for her in the forest. I can't kill this woman because if I do, history will be repeated. I promised myself I wouldn't harm another stegoceratops, and even if this woman is an imposter, the pain of knowing that I've robbed another person of their mother will forever haunt me. I'm not strong enough to survive that. I'm sorry."

There was no life in Penumbra's eyes. She had only now discovered the true nature of her pointless, harmful, hypocritical quest. Everything she had believed in since she swore vengeance was now proven wrong, and she had no reason to continue her mission. It was over. Penumbra knew this, Claire knew this, and even Lily and Owen had some idea, but Monsanto did not. He was not aware of Penumbra's true identity, and for this reason, he handed her the gun, hoping that this gesture would be enough to win her trust again. She backed away from him at first, not wanting to come any closer to the traitor, but after a pause, she took the weapon. There was no way to know what she was thinking as she turned it over in her hands. Perhaps she was pondering whether to kill Claire, Monsanto, or even herself. In the end, she let her arm drop and tossed the gun into the water, where it was swallowed up by the tide. Monsanto saw this as a peaceful action, but when he attempted to follow Penumbra as she lumbered away, Claire held him back. She told him what had really happened. Owen and Lily watched, not hearing her words, for the slowly escalating grief on Monsanto's face drowned them out. After learning who his only friend was, he fell to his knees, completely and utterly broken. He ran his hands along the ground, hoping to find the gun, but it was long buried. All he could do was watch Penumbra, now a stegoceratops, moving down the beach, lamenting the loss of what very well could have been true love.

His tears became one with the ocean.