Like so many adventures, it began with a knock at the door. Claire and Owen were having supper, and neither of them were expecting guests. To be safe, Claire hid in the closet. It was possible that the person at the door was Barry or Humphrey or some other friend of theirs who visited from time to time, but if it happened to be someone from the nearby town, Claire couldn't allow herself to be seen.

The stranger was, in fact, not Barry or Humphrey: it was Vic Hoskins. He stood in the doorway, dripping with rain. He had a panicked look on his face. Owen invited him in, and he shook himself off. He then placed a strange, white stone in Owen's hands.

"I found a way to make up for everything I've done."

Owen blinked in surprise.

"Vic, you've already given us oodles of potted plants and recipe books-"

Vic shook his head.

"No, you don't understand. This is different. I stole it from the dragons."

Owen's eyes went wide.

"You stole something? From dragons?"

Vic shuffled his feet.

"I'm not happy about it either, but I owe you big time. You see, since I made you lose part of your family, I thought I might be able to help you win back someone else."

Owen frowned in confusion.

"What are you saying?"

Vic gave him a serious look.

"If you use this properly, you can travel through time."

***TSJWFEW***

Elkay soared after Ellie as she dove through the dark clouds. They had crossed over into the Jurassic World in the middle of a severe thunderstorm, and it wasn't pleasant flying-weather. Elkay jumped in surprise as a bolt of lightning cracked nearby. The water weighed down her wings as she flew, though she was strong enough to carry objects thirty times her size. It was the wind that gave her the most trouble, and considering she had featherless wings, she couldn't even begin to imagine how Ellie was holding up.

"Slow down! You're going to crash!" Elkay shrieked.

"We can't let them go back in time. They'll ruin everything!"

Elkay huffed and puffed as she flapped her wings harder.

"But they can fix the past . . ."

"If they knew their future, they wouldn't want to!"

Elkay screeched in fear as a bolt of lightning crossed the sky in front of her, knocking her back.

"Ellie, this is dangerous! Just use your magic to fix it."

"I don't have enough," Ellie shouted with a quaver in her voice, "Just help me get to the-"

Suddenly, a pillar of light shot up into the air. Ellie fell back, temporarily blinded. When the beam disappeared, her eyes went wide.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

She dove down towards Owen and Claire's cabin. The two of them had disappeared, but Vic was slowly making his way out the front door. Ellie tackled him to the ground and snarled.

"Where did they go?"

***TSJWFEW***

Owen tied his outer shirt around Claire's beak, covering her front horn. She made a gagging noise as he tightened the knot.

"Are you sure you can tolerate my sweaty shirt in your mouth all day?" he asked.

Claire snorted.

"Are you kidding? It's always been my dream to have an article of clothing stuffed in my face."

Owen rolled his eyes.

"Well, we can't have them seeing your front horn."

Claire shrugged.

"I don't see why not. Wouldn't they be more willing to follow me if I look like a queen?"

Owen shook his head.

"No, they'll think you're here because of the elephants."

"You made sure that we came before that, right?"

"Yes, but they never knew the exact date. As far as they're concerned, the arrival of the queen signals impending war."

Claire sighed.

"Alright, but if things go wrong, I'm telling them who I really am."

Owen nodded.

"Fair enough. Are you ready to go down there?"

"Yes, but you aren't."

Owen frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not a jerboa anymore. If they see a human, they're going to freak."

Owen rubbed his chin. After a second, he ran off into the jungle. When he came back, he was covered in mud and leaves. Claire rotated her head slowly in confusion. Owen spread his arms.

"I'm a Yeti."

Claire snorted.

"Owen, that's not gonna work."

"The stegoceratopses aren't particularly smart. It'll work."

Claire shook her head.

"You know, for a plan we popped out in five minutes, it's really kind of godawful."

Owen stepped past her.

"Well, we really kind of don't have a lot of time to pull this off. If Ellie tries to stop us . . ."

Claire gave a curt nod.

"Right. Let's go down and save my friends."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire knew that she would be seeing the formerly-deceased stegoceratopses in person, but to experience it for real was utterly shocking. Everyone she had lost was suddenly lumbering to and fro, completely unaware that someone was going to bring about their demise. Claire couldn't help but shrink away in shame as she walked past them, even though they had no reason to hate her at the moment.

"You have to be confident," Owen stated as he marched beside her, "If you walk up to them with your tail between your legs, they'll never listen to you."

Claire squeaked.

"It's just so strange . . . Maybe I ought to tell them who I am."

Owen shook his head.

"We'll try our original plan first."

Claire gave an uncertain rumble.

"Alright, but if something goes wrong-"

"We'll tell them. I know."

Claire gave a look of consternation as they passed by her old cave. Owen placed his hand on her side.

"Don't think about it. By the time we're done here, it will have never happened."

When they walked over the crest of the next hill, they saw a very familiar face. Rock was grazing by a small pond in the field below. At least, it looked like Rock. He was a lot younger, and both of his horns were intact. Claire approached him slowly. It was like being near a ghost. He lifted his head and snorted when he saw them coming.

"I've never seen you before."

Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm Cl- . . . Clarice. This is my friend . . . Yetiman."

Owen crossed his arms.

"My parents were abnormally cruel in naming me."

Rock narrowed his eyes.

"Alright. What do you want?"

Claire cleared her throat.

"We've come to tell you that it's safe to leave the valley."

Rock blinked.

"And? . . ."

"We're going to lead you away from here," Owen stated.

Rock scoffed.

"Sounds too good to be true. You'll have to take it up with our leader, I suppose."

Claire did a double-take.

"Wait . . . You're not the leader?"

Rock shook his head.

"I'm flattered that you would think that, but the real leader is Earth. I can bring you to him. I have nothing better to do."

After a moment, Claire nodded.

"Alright. Show us the way."

Rock began to lumber off. Owen and Claire trailed after him, staying far enough to whisper without being heard.

"Rock isn't the leader, Owen. Do you think we've already changed the past?"

Owen looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"I don't see how that's possible."

"It's the butterfly effect," Claire insisted, "Just by being here, we've changed the continuity of this timeline."

Owen shook his head.

"That's impossible. We've been here for a half-hour, tops. What could we have done to make it so that Rock isn't the leader?"

Claire bit her lower beak.

"It makes no sense. Still, we're bound to change something."

"What if we erase our own destinies?" Owen asked grimly.

"As long as my friends are safe, I don't care what happens to us."

They entered a hidden clearing in the woods. In the middle was a small (by stegoceratops standards) den. The structure was covered in wildflowers, and a thick web of bramble protected the entrance. Rock jogged over and stuck his head inside.

"Earth? We have visitors."

A deep voice laughed from the depths of the cave.

"That's very funny, Rock."

He shook his head.

"No, really. They're from the outside. They say it's safe to leave."

Rock backed up, and a dark green stegoceratops stepped out of the den. He looked at Claire, then at Owen.

"You're from the outside?"

Owen nodded.

"We've come to lead you to safety. The valley is no place to live. Outside, there's a stretch of land untouched by man. You'll be far safer there."

Earth shook his head.

"I can't just lead my people into unknown territory. Your offer is tempting, but I'm afraid that I'll have to scout it out myself."

Claire winced. If they wasted too much time, Ellie might find a way to stop them from succeeding in their plan.

"Can't you just trust us?" she whispered.

"Sorry, no," Earth said sternly, "My people are more important than anything in the world. It's my duty to protect them until the Stegoceratops Queen arrives."

Rock snorted.

"You honestly believe in those fairy tales? Good luck with that."

Claire's jaw dropped. Rock was acting nothing like he had when they'd first arrived in the valley. Hadn't he been one of the most devoted supporters of the legend?

"I have faith in our destiny, Rock," Earth said, "But if these newcomers have a way to ensure that we are safe, maybe I ought to scout it out."

"I'm coming too," Rock said.

"And I."

They turned and saw a golden female step into the clearing. She smiled at Claire.

"If these friends come from the outside, they know better than all of us what's out there. I trust them."

Earth shook his head.

"Sun, you can't come with us. It might be dangerous."

Sun gave a musical laugh.

"I'll be fine. I'm not letting my pigheaded husband make life-changing decisions on his own. Behind every successful man is a woman telling him when he's being too stubborn."

Earth rolled his eyes.

"Very well. You can come."

Sun smiled and leaned against him lovingly.

"I knew you'd see things my way."

***TSJWFEW***

When they reached the exit to the valley, Claire could tell that something was horribly wrong. Where there should have been a cave, there was a massive pile of boulders that reached all the way up the side of the cliff. Claire placed her front foot on one of the stones and frowned.

"I don't understand. There should have been a tunnel here."

Earth gave her a confused look.

"Did you come in this way?"

Claire shook her head.

"No, but . . . Wait a minute!"

She dug her horn into the pile. When she removed it, several rocks cascaded downwards. Claire smiled and looked up at the cliff.

"The exit is here. We just have to dig it out."

Earth placed his front foot on a collection of pebbles and twisted his beak.

"That would take an eternity, even if we worked together."

Claire looked up at a massive boulder that was teetering at the very peak of the cliff.

"Not necessarily."

***TSJWFEW***

The sun was blazing by noon. Claire grunted as she pulled herself up onto a large boulder, feeling the heat creeping across her scales nauseously. They were making progress up the side of the cliff, but stegoceratopses weren't known for being particularly nimble. Earth and Rock were keeping up with her, but Owen was trailing behind with Sun, who wasn't a very good climber. Claire turned around to check on them, then kept moving.

"Don't you think you're going a little fast?" Earth asked.

"No!" Claire snapped, "I think we're not going fast enough!"

She slipped, and a large rock was dislodged from the mountain. Sun leapt out of the way as it rolled by.

"I can't keep up!" she shouted, "Maybe I should head back."

Earth nodded.

"I think we all should. What's the point of opening this tunnel? We're perfectly safe in the valley."

Claire shook her head.

"No. No, you're not. You have to trust me."

"Why should we?" Rock huffed, "You just showed up from out of nowhere, telling us that we should leave our ancestral home. Call me crazy, but I think you might be lying to us."

Claire frowned. She took a deep breath and dug her toes into the gravel.

"You want to know why you should trust me? I'll show you."

As she reached up to untie the shirt that was concealing her horn, Claire heard a deep crack. It was like a boat moving through ice. The group looked up at the peak with wide eyes. The giant boulder was tilting forward. They were in its path.

"Everyone, get to the side," Owen said calmly, "We can make it out. Just don't panic."

Suddenly, the rock slammed down against the cliff, creating an avalanche. They all ran down the mountainside as fast as their legs could take them. Halfway down, Sun gave a pained cry.

"My foot! It's stuck!"

Earth rushed forward and tried to pull her to safety. He managed to get her leg free just as the largest boulder came crashing down. Claire didn't see what happened next. Something hit her head, and the world went dark.

***TSJWFEW***

"Claire? . . . Claire? . . . Wake up . . ."

Claire opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out Owen's face.

"Owen . . . What happened?"

He put his hand on her cheek.

"There was an avalanche. You got knocked out."

Claire shook her head dizzily. She was lying on a pile of scattered pebbles. The rockslide had carried her to the base of the cliff, and . . .

"We opened the tunnel!" Claire gasped, "Owen, we did it! We-"

He shook his head. Claire's smile disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

"They didn't make it."

Claire covered her mouth.

"Oh, god . . ."

Suddenly, there was a loud fit of coughing, and Rock pulled himself out of a cluster of loose debris. He shook himself off, sending dust into the air. When he turned his head, Claire was horrified to see that his left horn was broken.

"Earth . . . Sun . . ." he wheezed.

Owen ran over and helped him up. He pushed him away and started shouting.

"Earth! . . . Sun! . . ."

"They're gone," Owen said quietly.

Rock's face fell. He looked down, and for a moment, he didn't move a muscle. Then, he turned to Claire and lowed in fury.

"You did this! You killed them!"

Claire backed up quickly.

"No! I didn't mean to! I just wanted to open the passage . . ."

Rock snarled.

"It's open now. If you know what's good for you, you'll walk out of this valley and never return."

Claire started hyperventilating.

"But- but the others-"

"The others are staying here," Rock declared, slamming his foot against the ground, "We are going to live in this valley and wait for our queen."

Claire frowned and tossed her head.

"You can't do that! They won't be safe!"

Rock growled.

"They'll be safe in my care. I'm their leader now."

Claire dashed forward and locked horns with him.

"You have no right to tell them what to do."

Rock flung her to the side with ease.

"Earth was my brother. I'm next in line."

Claire backed away, breathing heavily.

"Rock . . ."

He glared at her.

"Leave this place . . . before you do any more damage."

After a beat, Claire turned away with tears in her eyes. Owen followed her as she ran out of the valley for the last time.

***TSJWFEW***

Claire didn't remember returning to her own time, but at some point, she did. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still overcast. Owen rubbed the mud off of his face as they walked up to their cabin. Neither of them spoke. They walked through the front door with solemn faces. Owen sat down on the chesterfield in the living room and watched the empty fireplace. After what felt like an eternity, Claire took a deep breath and walked up to him.

"We shouldn't have gone back."

Owen closed his eyes, and two tears ran down his cheeks.

"I should have known that there was no way to bring them back."

Claire wrapped her tail around him as he put his head in his hands.

"It's my fault, Owen. I thought we could do this."

He started shaking.

"I wanted to save her. I wanted to save Flower."

Claire held him against her chest as he sobbed.

"We ruined her life, Claire."

"No, no, we didn't . . ." she whispered gently.

Owen coughed and buried his face in her scales.

"You're wrong. We've done a terrible thing. Earth was Rock's brother."

"So?"

Owen took a shaky breath.

"Flower was Rock's niece."