Aster and Captain Scott. Mrs. Bumbrake recognizes Fighting Prawn as her long-lost kitchen boy from Brighton. Stache captures Molly with his razor at her throat. Peter realizes the only way to save Molly is by giving Stache the trunk, although this means he will never leave the island. Stache lifts the lid to find an empty trunk. The water that seeped into the trunk has dissolved the starstuff and it is now diffused into the ocean. Frustrated, Stache slams the lid down on his right hand, cutting it off. He vows to be Peter's foe for all eternity. Hearing Mr. Grin approaching, the Pirates feed Stache’s severed hand to the crocodile. Fighting Prawn honors Peter as a true hero and allows the English to leave. Lord Aster makes Molly a full-fledged Starcatcher. Peter mentions his encounter with Teacher. They realize that Peter, by being dunked in the starstuff-infused waters of the grotto, has been transformed and cannot leave the island. Lord Aster captures the yellow bird and turns it into a pixie to protect and guide Peter. As The Wasp sails away, Peter settles into the eternal present of childhood. Cast of Characters Boy: A nameless and friendless 13 year-old orphan, deeply mistrustful of adults and neglected to the point of never having seen the sun. His adventures allow him to find the hero within himself, and to take on a name worthy of the legend he becomes. Molly Aster: A 13 year-old apprentice Starcatcher desperate to prove herself to her father. Highly intelligent and physically adept, she remains socially awkward and something of a know-it-all, and her relationship with the orphan boys is driven as much by competition as it is by friendship. Black Stache: A highly intelligent but malapropism-prone pirate chief, so called due to the black mustache that is a trademark in his family. In search of a great hero who he can oppose to become a great villain, Stache is given to scenery chewing and anachronistic jokes, and has a hook in his future. The name ‘Black Stache’ is a reference to the pirate Blackbeard. Prentiss: One of the Boy’s orphan companions. Pompous and sarcastic, he is intent on proclaiming himself the leader of the gang of Orphans but is too cowardly to really do anything about it, and usually follows Peter and Molly with only nominal protest. Ted: One of the Boy’s orphan companions, nicknamed