Penumbra thought they had time to flee. She hadn't expected their journey to be so difficult. Bits of earth were eroding away, crumbling until they tumbled into the abyss, or else floated into the heavens. It was disorienting, and more often than not, the path they intended to take would prove too unstable to walk across safely. Many times, they slipped, but they managed to grab each other for balance. It was chaos, but it got a thousand times worse when the ground began to spit fire. Penumbra was nearly scorched by a pillar of lava, but Monsanto pulled her back just in time.

"How much further?" he gasped.

"I don't know! The others went this way-"

She shrieked as a jagged stone pierced the ground, stopping inches away from her snout. Monsanto moved to avoid being stepped on, then leaned against her as she lowed in panic.

"Penny, you have to fly," he whispered.

"What?!"

"Fly. I know you can. Young stegoceratopses can't have their flight muscles clipped. They never took away your ability to fly."

Penumbra shook her head.

"I can't fly. I'm not in the greatest shape, in case you haven't noticed, and even fit stegoceratopses can't hover for long periods of time. These plates won't carry me far. I was malnourished at a crucial point in my childhood, and my bones never recovered. I'm skinny, brittle, and useless."

She spat out these words with a bitter venom that sounded very much like an accusation. Monsanto peered at the edge of the world, which was approaching them quickly, and his eyes became glazed over with hopelessness. Penumbra tugged on his sleeve before he could consider jumping.

"Hey. I didn't mean it. I'm not angry at you, just the world."

Monsanto took a deep breath.

"The world is a bad place because of people like me."

Penumbra pulled him back again, just in case.

"You're not a bad person. You made a mistake. So did I. No one is perfect."

"But how many mistakes involve murdering innocent people? I knew what I was doing. There's no excuse."

"You were just following orders . . ."

He sat down, though it was more of a fall.

"I wanted to prove that I was strong. They caught me giving the prisoners extra food, and I got reprimanded . . . It wasn't a good day for me. I thought if I could show them I was ready to- I mean-"

He grimaced.

"I knew what I was doing . . ."

Penumbra gulped as the earth began to crumble away only a few meters from where they were stationed.

"Monsanto . . . We have to go . . ."

"You have to go."

She tugged on his wrist.

"You're coming with me. You promised."

"I'm sorry, Penny, but let's be honest, here. You don't love me. You barely even know me."

"I know you well enough . . ."

"No, Penny. You just think you're in love with me because I've been here for you. I helped you. I guarantee that once you get out there in the real world, you'll find hundreds and hundreds of people who will do the same. You don't need me."

Penumbra stamped her foot, doing an antsy shuffle now that they were almost out of time.

"I do need you. And how can you say I don't love you?"

She kissed him hard to make a point.

"See? We're in love. It's real."

He shook his head.

"No . . ."

Her face fell.

"You don't love me? . . ."

He looked into her eyes.

"I love you, Penny, but I can't allow myself to. You deserve better. I'll only hold you back."

"You're only holding me back because you refuse to move!"

He smiled.

"Go, Penny. It's okay. More than anything, I want you to be free. That's all I've ever wanted. All these years, I've been driven by the desire to liberate you. Everything I did for the stegoceratops race, futile as it was, was for your benefit. When I saw you on the other end of that ravine, I realized that I could never help you directly, as much as I wanted to. Even so, I did everything in my power to make it right. Now I'm doing it again."

She gnashed her teeth.

"I'm letting you help me. That's the difference. You need to come home with me."

"No."

"Yes!"

"I can't."

"If you love me, you will!"

"I can't love you."

She tossed her head.

"Why not?! Why are you being so stubborn?!"

He looked down, then nodded to the branded side of her flank.

"That's why."

She curled her tail around her body to cover it, then spoke softly.

"That doesn't matter."

Monsanto sighed.

"It won't go away."

"It doesn't have to. We can forget it."

"We can't just ignore-"

"We won't be ignoring it!" she insisted, "We'll be looking past it. Monsanto, I love you, and I think you love me, but this will never work if you don't try!"

"Try what? To make this thing-"

He had placed his hand on the scar tissue as he spoke, and fell silent suddenly when he noticed something peculiar. Where he touched her, dark scales appeared, covering the injury. He stared at his own hands in amazement, then brushed them over her gently until there was nothing unusual about her appearance. She examined her healed flank, and Monsanto fell back with amazement.

"It's gone."

"I let you remove it. Are you coming with me?"

After a beat, he nodded.

They continued their journey, and the path was even more perilous than before. Penumbra couldn't help but feel a little irked that Monsanto had delayed them again, but she was relieved that he seemed to be on her side now. They ran until their lungs were dry and burning, and for a moment, it seemed like they were doomed. Then, a green figure glided down from the sky and landed in front of them.

"Claire!"

"The others are all through. Hurry, or you won't make it out."

Claire flung Monsanto onto her back, then galloped beside Penumbra, who was very confused by her arrival.

"Why did you come back if the others are safe?"

"Your mother told me where you were going. Well, she explained what happened, anyway, and I put the pieces together. I waited for you by the exit, but you were taking so long that I thought you might be lost."

"How did you know I went after Monsanto?"

"Like I said before, I put the pieces together."

"But didn't it surprise you that I'd do such a thing?"

"No. Lily had been following you for quite some time before you reached the castle. Considering what she told me, as well as what your mother said, there was no doubt that you intended to save him."

Penumbra ran in silence for a while, then took a deep breath (as deep as she could manage while running, anyway).

"I'm sorry for everything I did, Claire."

"Don't be. I understand. And you were right about many things. All three of us share a common goal, you know. Once we get out, I promise to help your people in any way I can."

"Do you know what to do?"

"I have a few ideas. I own quite a bit of land in the country, so the first logical step would be to relocate you there. I know some people who can whip up decent housing-"

The earth fissured in front of them. Claire lifted Penumbra across with great difficulty, then landed on the other side and continued to run.

"Maybe we should discuss this later."

They tore across the land until a glowing loop appeared through the dust. Claire gave a loud trumpet.

"There!"

The portal was at the top of a rocky hill. Penumbra barely noticed the slant. She could see a clear blue sky, and nothing was about to get in her way as she pursued it.

But then she was pulled back by a giant, cloven hoof. At first, she thought the entelodon had returned, but when she looked up, she saw the face of a bull.

"You belong to me."

Claire had almost leapt into the other world, but she noticed Penumbra's absence and turned to help her. Monsanto attempted to follow, but she pushed him through the portal and gave him a warning snort. Penumbra writhed around under the bull's hoof, reaching out for Claire as she drew near.

"Let her go!"

The bull growled.

"Never. She's mine."

"Then I'll fight you."

The bull released Penumbra, instead charging towards Claire. She flew away from the portal, leading him deeper into the all-but-destroyed world.

"RUN!"

Penumbra scrambled up to the portal. Claire made a loop, but the bull was hot on her tail. Literally. He caught her by one spike, holding her in place. Penumbra watched helplessly as she was dragged backwards in midair.

"Claire!"

"Go! I'll be fine! Hurry!"

Penumbra stepped through the portal, but waited for Claire on the other side. Claire was released from the bull's grasp, but when she reached the exit, she did not go through.

"Penumbra, he's right. He legally owns you. I have to fight him."

"You'll be killed!"

"Either way, you'll be free. I hope you can forgive me, someday."

The portal closed suddenly. Penumbra couldn't believe her eyes.

"Wait! Claire! Don't go!"

She fumbled around for the doorway, but it was gone. There was nothing but grass. Grass from the world of the living. It didn't feel as sweet as she had anticipated.

"Claire! I forgive you! Don't go! I'm not worth it!"

She felt tears stinging at her eyes.

"Oh god . . ."

Monsanto put his hand on her shoulder.

"She chose her death long ago. There's nothing you could have done."

Nearby, Owen noticed their sudden appearance. He jogged over with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey. I see you made it out okay. The others are just over that ridge. Where's Claire?"

Penumbra wailed and covered her eyes. Seeing her distress, Monsanto spoke for her.

"Claire is still in the other world. She's fighting a giant bull."

Owen's eyes went wide.

"Oh my god! She'll never survive a fight after using so much magic to bring us there in the first place! What were you thinking?"

"She chose to stay behind. We had nothing to do with it."

Owen lifted him by the collar, spitting as he spoke.

"My wife is in danger. This could have been prevented. Tell me everything you know, so I can go after her."

Suddenly, there was a shrill scream, muffled by a layer of rock and fire. A burning object that looked very much like a meteor was cutting across the sky, and its trajectory seemed to indicate that it would be a good idea to duck in a few seconds. The object collided with the earth, sending clumps of dirt flying. From the smoking crater, Claire emerged, brandishing a fresh pair of antlers instead of her usual horns.

"I'm alive! I'm ali-i-i-ive!" she croaked.

She swayed to and fro like a drunkard, and Owen dashed forward to hug her neck.

"You won!"

She shook her head dazedly.

"No. I lost. Quite badly, in fact. But I'm back now. And I have things on my head."

"Antlers?"

"Yeah, that."

Penumbra sniffled and wiped her snout with the back of her front foot.

"Claire-"

"It's alright. I heard you. Everything is going to be okay. We just have to walk a few miles, then the stegoceratopses can settle . . . What's the plural of stegoceratops? I've just been saying stegoceratopses . . ."

"That's fine," Penumbra said with a gentle laugh, "You can call us whatever you want. You're our Queen, after all."

Claire shook her head, still dizzy from the fall.

"No, no. That's not right. I shouldn't."

Penumbra shrugged.

"You're Queen of the Universe, which makes you our Queen. I'm okay with that."

Claire smiled and tried to put her front foot on Penumbra's shoulder, but missed by a mile. She fell on her side and moaned.

"Oh . . . I came back too quickly."

Owen smiled and lifted her. He was like a toothpick supporting an olive.

"I'll carry you the rest of the way. You've done quite enough already."

Claire nodded vacantly and curled up in a ball to make his task easier. She peeked over his shoulder at Penumbra, who trailed behind them with Monsanto by her side.

"Does this mean we're friends now?" Claire slurred.

Penumbra smiled.

"Yes. I think it does."