FERN:

...What was he saying?...

CELIA:

Dolphins only lie, wo...er...Fern. Like that old nursery rhyme. A dolphin with Balmer in it probably double lies.

MAGGIE:

...Wouldn't a double lie be th' truth, Celie?

CELIA:

You're not helping.

FERN:

...Wait...when did you guys change back?

STAPH:

Oh, just between layers, dear. Excellent thinking, by the way, how did you know the pool would only overload our conceptual signatures!?

FERN:

I don't have any idea what that means. I just know Balmer's job was to get rid of you all with his poison, and I remember him telling me about the "anomaly"...how it would ruin his plan...how it would have an opposite effect.

STAPH:

...and it would seem he was correct, for once. This new compound is already revitalizing the surrounding tissues.

MAGGIE:

Mmmmmmm-MMMM! I know that smell!

STAPH:

Yes...same as our little campsite...

Miss Fern-World, I believe you have helped us open a significant new door for our manner of existence.

FERN:

...Wait, what about Balphin? What about that...that thing that stabbed me in the gut?! Isn't this stuff dangerous!?

STAPH:

I can smell the Dolphin's tissues destabilizing. He's not coming back...and I do believe we've demonstrated a capacity to handle whatever the anomaly might throw at us.

In any case, our chances of survival are dramatically higher than they previously were under threat of the preservators. Our world may even prove unsalvageable for their purposes, if this reanimation spreads far enough.

Only one thing is bothering me...

...Celia...

CELIA:

...I know.

I owe all of you an explanation, but Fern most of all.

It's...a long story...