The sight of Dandelion Brightside was even enough to make Morten stop shovelling.

“Mum?” Gnat squealed with delight. “Mum!”

“Yes, it’s me,” Dandelion said, her voice suddenly warm and familiar. “Your mum.”

“You’re better!” Gnat cried, clawing at her sister’s hand. “Paige, she’s better! Let go!”

Paige held on.

“Better, but not quite best,” Dandelion replied, holding her arms wide. “Come here, you two. Come here and give your mother a hug.”

“But it can’t be…” Paige muttered. “It can’t be.”

“Let go!” Gnat screamed. “Paige, let me go!”

Gnat pulled again, harder this time, and the flight-cycle lurched in the air.

Still, Paige held on.

“Are you blind in the head?” Gnat shouted. “Let go of me!”

“It’s not Mum…” Paige said, tears blurring her vision.

“Mum, tell her!” Gnat shouted. “Tell her to let go!”

Paige squeezed so tightly that Gnat squealed in pain.

“Gnat, it’s not Mum!”

“It is. It’s Mum!” Gnat screamed. “Why isn’t it?”

“Because Mum’s dead!” Paige yelled.

Paige felt her strength leave with those words. Gnat turned to face her sister, wide-eyed and mystified, before giving a final wrench. She broke free of Paige’s grip and raced into her mother’s arms.

“Mum!” she howled, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into her mum’s belly, happy tears soaking into her bodysuit. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Gnat…” said Dandelion, holding her firmly by the shoulders.

“Get away from her!” Paige cried.

“Tell Paige you’re not dead and gone, and it’s the worst thing to say. Are you taking us home? I want to go home…” Gnat wiped away tears as she looked up at her mum. “Me and Paige and Mr Steven Kirby and Scrap. You need to fix Scrap ’cause he helped us, just like you said he would…”

“He did,” said Dandelion. “He was a big help.”

“Give her back!” Paige howled, turning the flight-cycle in mid-air. She jammed her hand into her satchel and pulled out the hunter’s grenade. “I’ll blow us up! I’ll blow everything up!”

Dandelion glanced at Domo, who returned a less-than-helpful shrug. She held Gnat by the shoulders.

“Now, Paige, there’s no need for that sort of behaviour,” she said. “Only naughty girls blow everything up. Isn’t that right, Gnat?”

“That’s actually right!” Gnat concurred, tears running down her face. “Paige, stop it! Stop always nearly blowing everything up!”

“Give her back!” Paige snarled, tears blurring her vision. “Give her back or I’ll do it!”

Dandelion sighed. “I really would have preferred to have both of you,” she said with a rueful shake of her head. “But to be honest, I only need one…”

Gnat gazed up at her mother as the right side of her head suddenly whirred open. She watched in horror as her eye folded out of her head and extended like a barrel. In an instant, a focused blue beam of energy streaked out and struck Paige in the head. She immediately tumbled from the flight-cycle and landed on the floor with a bone-shaking thud.

“Paige!” Gnat screamed as the flight-cycle spun out of control and crashed into a wall. “Paaaaige!”

“What a shame,” Dandelion sighed, her eye cannon retreating into her head. “Oh well, omelettes and eggs…”

“Harmony?” Morten said in a whisper. “That is you … isn’t it?”

“Who else would I be?” replied Highshine over Gnat’s howls. “Don’t worry, Domo will get your case patched up and polished back to its previous Prometheus-ness, just as soon as he cleans up this mess. Thanks for playing along.”

“…Playing along?” repeated Morten, his eyes darting to Scrap’s empty, lifeless case. “But Morten wanted the old case back…”

“You’re not my mum!” howled Gnat, swinging punches in hopeless defiance as Highshine held her tightly. “You’re not my mum!”

“No, I’m not,” the mayor replied. “I am Harmony Highshine, and I am about to become better than your mother in every way.”

As Gnat howled her sister’s name, Highshine held her firmly by the scruff of the neck and surveyed the scene. Scrap’s junk case stood tottering and empty and useless, while his glowing core was discarded on the floor. Paige, meanwhile, lay still and lifeless.

“Domo, be a dear and clean up, would you?” she said.

“Of course, Madame Mayor,” he said. “It’ll be like we weren’t even here.”

“Take them somewhere they won’t be found,” Highshine added. “Somewhere no one will look.”

“Very good,” said Domo, plucking up Scrap’s radiant core.

“And hurry back,” she said, gazing down at the screaming, thrashing Gnat. “I feel an upgrade coming on.”