Echo lifted her head when Owen emerged from behind a pillar of smoke. She had been licking a wound on her thigh, but put the activity on hold to acknowledge his presence.

"Owen!"

"Echo. Where are the others?"

"Delta ran into the woods because she's insecure about her body. Barry followed her. I haven't seen anyone else. You?"

Owen gulped.

"I . . . Foxtrot didn't make it."

Echo put her paw over her mouth.

"No . . ."

"We have to find the survivors. Come with me."

Echo's throat began to wobble.

"I don't know if I can. My foot is hurt real bad."

Owen waded through the mucky water and picked her up. She held onto his neck uncertainly.

"I'll get you somewhere safe," he said, "Don't move until I come back with the others."

He carried her to the edge of the water with great difficulty. When he'd placed her on the beach, he tore off the bottom of his pantleg and wrapped it around her bleeding ankle.

"Stay here."

"I don't have much of a choice."

Owen gave her a sad smile as he rubbed the back of her head.

"Good girl. I'll be back for you."

She relaxed her neck muscles, closing her eyes peacefully as she laid her head on the rocky ground. He gave her a final pat, then jogged through the wreckage once more. After searching the debris, he found no one near the train, but noticed movement by a chunk of the robot. He went to investigate, and hearing a fearful chirp, changed direction and lifted part of the robot's right hand. A young raptor was cowering in the shadows. He shrunk away fearfully as Owen gave him a confused stare.

"You look familiar."

"Are you Lily's father?" the raptor whispered.

"I am, and I think I know who you are. Lily ran away from kindergarten once. You brought her back. Your name is Liam, right?"

He nodded.

"Lily's not here. I started looking for her, but the ringmaster walked by . . ."

Owen's eyes went wide.

"We have to find Lily before she does. Are you coming out?"

Liam darted into the moonlight and stood beside Owen.

"Can you protect me from the circus staff?"

Owen let the robotic hand drop.

"Kid, you're a raptor. I'm just a human."

Liam hopped up on a pile of metal and began to dig. He resurfaced with a flare gun.

"You can use this thing to shoot people, right?"

Owen took it from his mouth and aimed it at a tangle of shrapnel. He fired, and the pile burst into flames. Liam's jaw dropped.

"Looks like it," Owen said simply.

***TSJWFEW***

Lily could see something gold. It was like a filament of light dancing in her field of vision. She thought she was hallucinating, but when her eyes began to focus, she noticed that her mother's necklace was dangling from one of her horns. She sat up, and water dripped down from half of her face. It wasn't long before she realized that she was all alone.

"Hello?" she whispered.

There was no reply. Somehow, she was still inside the box car, but a good chunk of it was missing. Splintered wood and bent metal crossed the sky above her, and she remarked that her sleeping quarters had essentially become a bowl-like structure. It was lucky that she hadn't drowned in the water that filled it. Downright miraculous, even.

Blowing away a white feather that was gliding across the water, Lily looked up at the stars to navigate. The necklace slid down her inclined horn and hit her in the eye. She blinked it away, snorting in surprise. Wherever she was, it wouldn't be wise to stay put for too long. Not knowing exactly what to do, she climbed out of her prison and waded through the calm water that stretched out before her. The ripples spreading out from around her body made the moon's reflection waver. She slowed down and stared at the image, then looked up at the real object. Although she felt lonely and helpless, deep down, there was a calmness in her heart. She lifted her head and let out a long, high-pitched moo, like a lone wolf howling in the mountains. To her surprise, she received a reply. It did not sound like a natural moo. It was almost as if someone was trying to use a voice they no longer had. Lily blinked in confusion, then mooed again. The reply came once more, and a scrawny woman pushed out of the forest. When she saw Lily, her eyes went wide, and she dove into the water, nearly tripping several times as she struggled to brave the lake.

"LILY!"

She recognized the voice. It was her mother. At first, she was so shocked that she couldn't move. Then, without expecting to, she ran up to meet her.

"MAMA!"

The two of them crossed the lake, calling out to each other along the way. It was less difficult for Lily to move, because the water only went up to her knees, whereas her mother was buried from the waist down. Eventually, though, the gap between them shrunk, and Claire practically bounded through the water until she was able to collapse against her daughter's shoulder.

"Lily . . . Lily . . ." she sobbed.

"Ma."

"Lily . . . Oh my god . . ."

Claire would not let go of her daughter. She feared that if they broke contact for even one second, she'd lose her again. But Lily did not want to leave. She rubbed her snout against her mother's back, crying softly.

"I'm sorry, Ma. I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have run away . . ."

Claire shook her head.

"No, baby, no. It was my fault. If I had just told you the truth-"

She suddenly remembered what she was. She pulled away from Lily and glowered at her own hands in shame.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

Lily bit her lip.

"Mama, don't be sad . . ."

"No, it's not right," Claire whispered, "I never thought I'd have to be this way again. It's as if everything I liked about myself is slowly fading away. I don't want to be this person anymore. I want to be your mother."

Lily gave her a hug.

"Mama, it's okay. I know you look different, but you're still the same dinosaur that raised me. Nothing will ever make that untrue. I love you."

Claire closed her eyes tightly and buried her face in Lily's shoulder.

"I love you, too. I love you more than anything in the world. I wish I had never given you reason to doubt that."

Lily gulped.

"But I know the truth now. I read your letter-"

She winced.

"Oh, no! There's no way it could have survived the crash . . ."

Claire kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry. I remember what I wrote. I could never forget the things I love about you . . . Plus I have an extra copy at home. Your father tends to accidentally destroy things."

They both laughed. As Lily shook, the necklace slid down her horn and hit Claire's face. She removed it tenderly and undid the clasp.

"Lily, I know I've already said it a thousand times, but I really do love you. You will always be my perfect baby girl, and I never want you to doubt that fact. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I will always be proud of you, and we will always be a family."

She clipped the necklace around Lily's wrist.

"Happy birthday."

Lily cocked her head.

"It's not my birthday yet . . ."

Claire shrugged.

"I don't know how long I was unconscious for. I'm guessing midnight is long gone. I'm sorry your birthday was so . . . whatever this is . . ."

Lily shook her head.

"No, Ma. It's fine. I found out that we'll be a family no matter what, so there must be some value in that . . ."

Claire smiled.

"I'll make it up to you. When we get home, I'll buy you an extra big cake."

Lily laughed.

"That's not important to me. I have everything I need right here. I'm sorry I wished for you to change, though. I know we're still a family, but the last thing I want is for you to be unhappy."

Claire stroked her snout.

"It's okay, Lily. I can learn to live this way."

She looked down with remorse.

"But we were so perfect before, and I was too stupid to realize it."

Claire kissed her forehead.

"You're not stupid. What's done is done."

"I wish you were happy."

"I'm always happy when I'm with you."

"Then I wish you were a stegoceratops again."

The water around Claire began to glow. She stepped backwards in fear, landing in the moon's reflection. Jets of water began to spiral around her, concealing her from view. Lily gasped.

"Mama!"

When the water fell away, Claire was a stegoceratops. She patted herself down, spun around to get a better look at her tail, then grinned and scooped up Lily in a hug.

"You did it! I'm me again!"

Lily frowned in confusion.

"But that's impossible! Tess told me that I wasn't allowed to have another wish."

Claire beamed.

"Well, she doesn't have the power to take away your birthday wish, does she?"

They laughed in unison, relieved and filled with new life. Together, they swam back to shore, shaking the water off before trotting into the forest. The sound of their footsteps caught the attention of Charlie, who leapt out from behind a nearby bush and hugged both of them at once.

"You're alive! And Claire, you're a dinosaur!"

"I sure am."

Charlie purred happily.

"Everything is back to normal! . . . Oh. I guess I'm a raptor."

As she began to limp away with her head held low, Claire pulled her back with one arm.

"Where are you going?"

Charlie blinked.

"Well, I'm not human anymore . . ."

Claire stood up and shook her tail.

"Does it look like we care?"

They all shared a hug, but it was short-lived. A malevolent cackle made their hearts drop simultaneously.

"So that's how it is, huh? You're all a happy family."

Claire gave a deep rumble.

"Blue . . ."

The raptor stalked out of the forest, her claws tapping the ground as she strutted towards them. Her saurian shape suited her well. The hatred in her eyes was practically burning Claire.

"I'll make this easy. Charlie, come with me. We're going to find Owen. The hybrids aren't invited."

Charlie shook her head.

"No, Blue. We're going to find him together. That includes Claire and Lily."

She smirked.

"We don't need them. As a matter of fact, they interfere with our plan. I don't seem to recall cows being members of the original squad . . ."

Charlie hissed.

"We don't need a squad. We're a family now."

Blue laughed.

"Isn't that sweet . . . Wait, no it's not; it's repulsive, because you're letting yourself be governed by the lesser species!"

Charlie growled.

"Shut up, Blue. Even if it was possible to go back to the way things were, I wouldn't want to. I don't like being part of a pack. When you're at the bottom, you're always trying to appease the higher-ups because they have the power to kick you out. A family wouldn't do that. No matter how many mistakes you make, they'll always be there for you. Together, we're stronger than you'll ever be."

Charlie stood protectively in front of Claire. A flicker of doubt crossed Blue's face, but it evolved into an even deeper sneer.

"You've always been weak, Charlie. But I don't need you. No matter what you think, Owen is not your father, and given the choice, he'll choose a Beta over a wife."

"You're wrong," Charlie snarled, "All this time, you've been lying to us. You said that we'd be able to pick up where we left off, but now we have something better. You can choose to be a part of it, or you can choose to be alone."

Blue growled and started to advance, but Claire gave a loud snort and stepped in front of Charlie.

"Don't even think about it, Blue. This isn't the time to fight. You're outnumbered. Back off."

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

"Because if you touch either of my daughters, I'll make you wish you hadn't."

Blue scoffed.

"You're threatening me?"

Claire pawed at the ground like a bull. Blue chuckled in amusement.

"I find it funny that you're all so willing to protect each other. Did it never occur to you that you might end up dying for another person?"

"That's the idea," Charlie declared nobly.

Blue shrugged.

"Fine. Once I've dealt with this hunk of lard, I'll rip out your treacherous heart."

Claire blocked Charlie from view.

"You won't get that far."

Blue sneered, then made a dash for her exposed neck. Claire whacked her with one horn, sending her flying. She fell on her side, whining pathetically, then curled her foot against her belly like a wounded bird. Claire's face softened, and she moved forward to help the seemingly injured raptor. As she drew near, her whimpering dissolved into cackling. Claire was confused at first, but when she saw Blue stretching out her leg, she knew that she'd been tricked. It was too late. Blue gave a piercing shriek and sunk her teeth into Claire's throat.