Jago: "I'm sorry George. He slipped out of my grasp. I couldn't keep him from falling in."
Litefoot: "I'm just glad he didn't drag you down with him."
Lambert: "Help me! For God's sake, get me out of here!"
Jago: "After all you've done? Not on your Nelly. Why should we help you?"
Lambert: "I can cure you. There's an antidote, in my lab, already synthesized. That blue liquid there. Now get me out."
*Tiger snarls*
Litefoot: "I'm not sure we can trust you, Lambert. How can we be sure that this elixir will revert us to our old selves?"
Jago: "I don't think we have much choice Professor. He's got nothing to lose now, neither do we."
Lambert: "Exactly! See? Trust in the wisdom of an owl."
Litefoot: "Then let me try the cure first. If it works, and doesn't kill me, then we'll help you out."
Lambert: "Anything! Anything if it helps you make up your mind. Just hurry and help me!"
Jago: "I have one small alteration to the plan George. Let me test the potion."
Litefoot: "But Henry..."
Jago: "I'm sorry George, but it makes sense. I was infected before you, so I've got less time left before this change is permanent. Besides, in case it fails, in case it's a poisonous trap, in case I die... You stand the only chance at crafting a cure for Quick and Ellie."
Litefoot: "I can't ask you to do this, old chap."
Jago: "I'm not asking, I'm insisting. Now let me through before I come to my senses and change my mind."
Litefoot: "Good luck, Henry."
Jago: "Bottom's up, eh?"
*Jago gulps deeply, then begins to groan and convulse*
Litefoot: "Henry!"
Lambert: "Leave him. He'll be alright, in time."
Litefoot: "You bounder! He's far from alright!"
Lambert: "Look closer! His feathers should already be beginning to recede. The reversal of the process is more immediate than the original. He'll sleep for a while, but he'll wake up back to normal."
Litefoot: "He's right Jago. If you can hear me, it's working! You're looking like your old self again. Sleep well, my friend."
Lambert: "These tigers are getting close. Help me now Litefoot!"
Litefoot: "Help you? You've tortured my friends. You've carried out sick and depraved experiments unethically. You've murdered who knows how many innocent people, as victims of your scheme, not to mention those killed by your failed creations. Why should I save you when you have so little respect for the sanctity of life?"
Lambert: "Because you are an honourable gentleman. You're a doctor, a man of medicine. The Hypocratic Oath compels you to help save those in distress."
Litefoot: "You would really sink so low? To question MY honour? Why, the Oath is merely an ethical and moral guideline of my profession, not a summons. And furthermore, a product of human creation. No, I think a man like yourself deserves to play by the rules of the animal kingdom instead."
Lambert: "You can't leave me here!"
Litefoot: "I'm sorry, but you've clearly chosen to live by a different creed. If you disagree, try asking those test subjects you're trapped with to parley, not me."
Lambert: "No! You can't! Noooo!!!! My leg! Aghhhhh...."
*squelching of tearing flesh and crunching of bones*
Litefoot: "Survival of the fittest."
***
Jago: "What? Where? Who?"
Litefoot: "Calm down, Henry. Take it easy. You've been asleep for a few hours now."
Jago: "Professor! A sight for sore eyes if I ever I saw one. And speaking of sights, you've looking healthier than ever. Not a hair out of place."
Litefoot: "Take this mirror, Henry. I'm sure you'll want to check on your own condition."
Jago: "Haha! Firmly and fully feather free! Finally! But, where are we? What happened to Lambert? Last I remember, I was drinking that foul curative."
Litefoot: "Lambert... didn't make it out in time unfortunately."
Jago: "As bad as it may sound, he's no great loss to the world."
Litefoot: "Indeed. After he had passed, I dragged you out of his circus and bundled you back to my home via a passing carriage. I made sure Ellie and Quick got enough of the elixir for themselves and the other semi animalistic victims, then took a dose myself."
Jago: "Many thanks, George. What would I do without you?"
Litefoot: "Probably you'd have quite the extensive tab at the Red Tavern. But there's no need to thank me for helping a friend in need."
Jago: "What about the other unfortunates? The ones who turned fully into animals?"
Litefoot: "Rounded up by the Zoo authorities, and housed as comfortably as possible. There was no way to revert them, and their human minds were long since lost to animal urges."
Jago: "A sick scheme, but it's behind us now. Unless that Julian is planning something."
Litefoot: "Undoubtedly, but I don't believe he'll use Lambert's virus. That was Sidney's personal project. Julian, or whoever he is, just used Lambert as a means of introducing himself."
Jago: "An introduction far eclipsing anything I could ever hope to perform on the stage. He certainly made himself known. If this was just his 'hello', how can we hope to confront his actual schemes?"
Litefoot: "The same way we ever tackle a problem, Henry. Together."
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