After the incident with the offensive couple, Miia decided she wanted to go back home for the day, since she was worried about Caboose's sudden personality shift. While she loved how he leapt to defend her honor, how easily he could flip between being completely gentle and being ruthless – especially as it almost seemed like two distinct personalities – left her concerned for his well-being, given how childlike he was at most times.

As they sat back at home with Caboose arranging things to prepare dinner, Agent Smith arrived, seeming to appear out of nowhere as they watched TV. "Caboose, I need to speak with you-"

"WAUGH!" Caboose screamed out, leaping into the air and grabbing his gun. Spinning, he pointed it at Agent Smith and had pulled the trigger before he recognized her.

Pfweee! A spray of colorful confetti sprayed out to fall to the floor.

Agent Smith stared at the confetti, realizing that had the gun not been disabled, she would be dead where she stood. She made a mental note that scare tactics with Caboose were a bad idea. They either failed, or courted getting killed. "…I need to speak with you about today's events," she continued, straightening her glasses.

"Okay, scary Smith lady!" Caboose agreed eagerly. "I took Miia out today. We went to a restaurant, and an arcade shop, and an 'in-ta-mate ape-air-all' shop." He carefully sounded out 'intimate apparel' as though it were a set of words he'd been carefully coached on for years. "And then we came home."

"And…did anything unusual happen at the store?" Smith coached, hoping to approach the matter obliquely.

Caboose tilted his head thoughtfully. "I don't think so, no. I helped Miia pick a bra and try it on. That's not odd, right?"

"And what happened after you left the shop?" Smith continued to coach.

"We went home," Caboose repeated.

"Did something happen before you went home?" Smith insisted.

Caboose stared at her for a time. "…oh! I mistook some humans for demi-humans. I think they took offense. I still don't know how to tell the difference."

"And you sent Freckles after them?" Smith pointed out.

"I did?" Caboose asked, confused.

Smith and Miia both stared at Caboose in disbelief. "They were insulting me, remember Darling?" Miia reminded him.

"Oh!" Caboose spoke up in realization. "That! Yeah…I protected Miia. That's my job, right?"

Smith blinked a few times behind her shades. "I…suppose that's one way to look at it." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Still, you should exercise more caution with how you do so. Such reckless behavior is not good for your public image-"

"I thought the public image of the Reds and Blues was all about reckless behavior?" Caboose interrupted. "I mean, that's what Tucker and Sarge say we're best at, and what Church always said saw us through the really crazy stuff."

Smith stared, completely poleaxed. The last thing she'd expected from Caboose was a logical counter argument. She straightened her shades to steady her thoughts. "Still, you need to exercise some caution. Your conditional diplomatic immunity only stretches so far-"

"My what now?" Caboose asked, confused.

"Given your status as a galactically beloved public figure and the nature of your arrival, you have the status of an unofficial Ambassador of Chorus, and thus have a certain amount of diplomatic immunity," Agent Smith explained. "That's the only reason I didn't have to arrange a settlement with the pair you sicced Freckles on. But that will only cover so many things before the government revokes that status, making you persona non grata."

"That's okay, I don't like cheese that much anyway," Caboose replied readily. While Smith was trying to parse the misunderstanding, his helmet beeped and he perked up. "Oh! Polt's got a good running track for tonight. I'll be back in a couple hours!" With that, he turned and raced out of the house.

Smith and Miia were both left staring. "…eh?" they said together.

It didn't take long for Caboose to meet up with Polt, who greeted him with a wave and a smile. She was dressed in the same running clothes as earlier, with only the addition of a green vest with pockets. "Hey Caboose!" she greeted warmly. "Ready to run?"

"Always!" Caboose agreed as they started running together, Caboose following a couple paces behind Polt but still in sight, letting her show him the way. "Can we talk and get to know each other while we run?" he asked hopefully.

"I'd like that!" Polt called back eagerly, continuing to run as she led the way into a nearby forest. "How about we start by asking each other questions?"

"Okay!" Caboose agreed. "Why are you fluffy? I never met a fluffy human before!"

Polt nearly tripped and face planted, but managed to maintain her stride. "Seriously?" she asked in shock.

"Was that a bad question?" Caboose asked worriedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give offense."

"It's okay! It's okay!" Polt quickly responded. "I just didn't expect it. I didn't realize you didn't realize I was a Kobold."

"What's a Kobold?" Caboose asked curiously.

"One of the races of demi-humans," Polt explained.

"Oh!" Caboose answered in shock. "But-" He stopped his voice.

"Did you have a question?" Polt asked curiously.

"Yes, but it's your turn."

Polt laughed uproariously at that. "How come you wear armor?" she inquired.

"Lots of reasons," Caboose responded readily. "Mostly, I'm a Blue!"

"Oh, the Reds and Blues?" Polt responded eagerly. "You guys are amazing!"

"Thanks!" Caboose responded eagerly. "How come you don't have your homestay host? The Scary Smith Lady said demi-humans have to have their homestay hosts with them at all times when out and about."

"That part doesn't apply to Kobolds," Polt explained. "Of all the races of demi-humans, Kobolds have been the most forward thinking and welcoming of the modern aspects of the human world, since it doesn't clash as much with our traditional values as it does with other races. We share our resources communally, with every Kobold pushing their abilities to the limit to acquire more wealth and greatness for the Kobold community so we can help many others." She grinned widely. "I'm working on opening my own extra-species health spa, since a lot of demi-humans will have trouble keeping themselves in shape in the confined spaces of human settlements as opposed to their wide open native environments."

"That is amazing!" Caboose praised eagerly. "I have no idea what most of those words mean, but that sounds amazing, so I'm sure it is!"

Polt chuckled happily, rubbing the back of her head. "Thanks. It's something worthwhile, but I miss being back home with my brothers and sisters. I always had someone to cuddle up to at night."

"I miss my sisters sometimes, too," Caboose admitted sadly. "But I entered the military so I could send them my soldier pay to take care of them. That's good, right?"

"That's very good," Polt praised. "So you have sisters?"

"Seventeen sisters!" Caboose declared happily. "It's a big, happy family."

"No brothers?" Polt asked curiously.

"Nope!" Caboose confirmed. "I'm the only son. Grandma said that means I'm the man of the house, and I need to take care of my sisters!"

"So you're the oldest then?" Polt inquired.

"No I'm not-" Caboose hesitated. "Yes I am. But that was my fault. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough…" His gaze lowered to the ground.

"…Caboose…" Polt began worriedly, moving closer to him to offer comfort.

"But now I'm faster," Caboose continued firmly. "Now I'm stronger. Fast enough, and strong enough, that it won't happen again. It will never happen again." His voice suddenly turned deeper, darker. "No one will ever hurt my girls again."

Polt pulled back in surprise. "…Caboose?"

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" Caboose asked in confusion, his voice back to normal.

Polt decided to change the subject. "How about you tell me about your adventures?"

"Oh, I have lots to tell!" Caboose declared eagerly. "And I can tell them in five minute increments!"