Oct gently floated in the middle of Mero's rooms as Mero guided Caboose to a makeshift seat. Given it was a room designed entirely underwater for aquatic residents, guests were generally expected to float relaxingly in the water or recline against whatever surface they desired. In the end, Caboose wound up sitting on Mero's tragedy table - the merfolk variant of a vanity table, equipped with those things that better allowed merfolk to indulge in a 'tragic narrative' - with his back to her mirror. It was actually Mero's second choice of seating, but Caboose had proved unable to maintain balance on the two present Freckle units, and Mero did not want him accepting Oct's invitation of sitting among her tentacles.

Once everyone was as comfortable as they could get, Mero turned to Oct. "Now, let's start at the beginning, shall we?" she asked gently. She then paused, bringing her hand to her chin. "But...where exactly is the beginning?"

"Well, I think your Lord there hit the nail on the head earlier," Oct pointed out. "Merfolk have been obsessed with the Little Mermaid tragic romance since your people learned of the story, leading to them lining piers and fishing lanes in the hopes of becoming entangled in such a romance...and every so often one would get it into their head to seek out a 'magic user' who could actually 'turn them human' to carry out the entire story."

"And you come across as a mysterious loner living in a dangerous grotto with an odd way of communing with your aquatic environment, leading them to conclude you could use magic?" Caboose deduced curiously.

Oct blinked in surprise. "Well, the 'loner' and 'dangerous' parts only came into play when I got sick of the visits and worked to enforce 'no trespassing'," she admitted readily. "But for the most part, you are correct." She glanced towards Mero. "How is he able to deduce such things so readily?"

Mero smiled softly. "If I had to guess, it would be because your behavior reminds him of Rachnera, who he almost instantly deduced as 'presenting a scary front because she'd been hurt badly before'."

"That's about right, yeah," Caboose confirmed. "Also, things have been making a lot more sense if I think of them like the bedtime stories I read to Suu."

Oct smiled a little impishly. "Adorable," she murmured softly, and a trifle wickedly as she subtly moved closer to Caboose. Speaking up, she continued the narrative. "However, recently rumors have been spread that I've been actively tempting merfolk into such elopements for whatever reason, which is 'threatening the security of the merfolk nation'. I have no idea where the rumors are coming from-"

"I think I do," Caboose spoke up quickly. "Mero, could you lead Oct towards your Mom? I'll catch up in a bit. I need to set something up with Freckle."

Mero blinked in surprise. Caboose hadn't slipped into an angry tone - yet - but he seemed to be thinking far more clearly than normal. He appeared to have a plan for the situation. "Alright, sire," she offered affectionately, swimming up to snuggle him and place a gentle kiss on the side of his helmet before swimming out, leading Oct behind her.

Once the door was closed, Caboose turned to Freckle. "Freckle, you know that project I started to indulge Mero's love of tragedy? The one that Polt said went too far?"

['Tragedy Omega Simulator' data file is complete,] Freckle responded readily. [Adjust for Queen Neptune?]

"Yeah," Caboose confirmed. "Do that."

Mero and Oct stared at the Queen in shock and horror as she finished explaining her reasoning. Mero was especially incensed on hearing the full explanation. Her mother had fallen for a human man, and was deliberately orchestrating a war between the merfolk and humanity - with the side effect of destroying the Interspecies Treaty - just so she could turn that fling into a tragic romance? It was unthinkable.

However, before either of them could get a word out - or the Queen could say more - the room seemed to chill. Ice crystals took shape on the surface of the water as almost silent splashing could be heard.

"So that's it," Caboose spoke up as he stalked across the surface of the water towards the Queen, his Freckle floating at his side. "You're plunging the world into a needless war, tearing apart so many friends and loved ones, causing untold death and destruction...just so you can feel good about not having an affair?"

The Queen flinched back fearfully from the figure that approached her, defying nature by his very existence. "I-I wouldn't necessarily put it that way…" she began hesitantly.

"Yes, she is!" Mero snapped out angrily.

"Meroune!" the Queen gasped in shock.

"Part of your narrative was it being shaped by your duties as Queen!" Mero called back, her eyes as pointed as shards of glass as she conveyed her fury. "And you did tell me I must act the Princess, and not the spoiled child!"

"That's okay," Caboose declared calmly, the rage in his voice turning it into a proclamation as irrevocable as one that emanated from a burning bush. "You love tragedy. I wouldn't deny you that, Your Majesty. But I have a better tragedy for you."

"O-oh?" the Queen asked nervously.

[Playing 'Tragedy Omega Simulator' data file, format Queen Neptune,] Freckle intoned firmly, a beam of light shooting from its optic to the Queen's head as it broadcast visuals to go with the story it now told. [This tragedy will unfold thusly. Captain Caboose has heard the confirmation of your intent to create world war 'so you can feel good about not having an affair'. Captain Caboose will carry this knowledge to the surface to disseminate to the world, and all the other races of demihumans. It is beyond the power of your forces or technology to prevent this. This will result in war...when the entire rest of the world makes war on the merfolk to unseat you from your throne, as one so clearly unbalanced cannot be allowed to remain in a position to work such horrors.]

Mero's mother flinched back from the declaration and the images that accompanied it. "W-well, I-"

[That is Act One,] Freckle interrupted calmly. [Act Two is the war itself. As long as there is civilization, there will be those willing to take advantage of other individuals for profit. In the confusion of the war, any merfolk that go missing will be assumed as casualties, and thus no one will be able to save those captured by humans for nefarious purposes, because they will not know. And when the war is over and Queen Neptune is imprisoned and Lieutenant Mero has claimed political sanctuary with Captain Caboose to escape the conflict, the merfolk will be without a leader they will trust, or one the rest of the world will trust. The 'harvesting' will continue, with any claims of it happening in the numbers it is shrugged off as 'merfolk tragedy mongering'. No one will know to save them.]

Mero was pressing bother he hands to her mouth, her cheeks alternating between white and green as she visualized the fate of her people in such a tragedy. Oct was staring at Caboose and Freckle with her eyes wide...though whether from the tale or the fact Caboose was walking on water it was hard to tell. The Queen was huddled on her throne, futilely trying to block the transmissions. "P-please...stop…" she pleaded weakly. "N-n-no more…"

[In Act Three, the merfolk make a last desperate attempt to force the world to see the truth by making war against the humans preying on them,] Freckle continued mercilessly. [However, by this time their numbers will be depleted to the point that they will not stand a chance. The merfolk as an independent culture will be wiped out, the only survivors those kept by off-world humans as lab experiments or entertainment, Lieutenant Mero whose romance with Captain Caboose becomes tragic in that it's at the cost of her people, and you...trapped in your cell having witnessed the fall of your people, and knowing you have no one to blame but yourself.] The beam held for a few moments more, then cut off. [Tragedy Omega Simulator terminated.]

The Queen remained huddled on her throne, her tail wrapped protectively around herself as she desperately tried to hide from the revelation that had been forced on her. "No...no...don't...I can't…"

"No, you can't," Caboose spoke firmly as he walked up to her. "You are a leader. That means your first concern must be what is best for those who lead. You cannot have the same pleasures, the same joys, the same indulgences that those who look to you have. You must sacrifice your own freedom to indulge for their well being."

"That's what it means to be royal...isn't it, Mother?" Mero asked softly, still reeling from what she'd heard, knowing that her mother must have had it far worse.

"Y-yes," the Queen managed to say, carefully uncurling on her throne. "Y-you're right. I was...so focused on my own selfish desire for tragedy...I forgot what I owe my people. I...I cannot act so freely. I can...never again forget the weight of my crown." She turned to Caboose. "T-thank you, My Lord, for reminding me of my true duty…"

"You're welcome!" Caboose offered happily, his voice - and the temperature - returning to normal.

The Queen turned back to Mero. "And this is the one you desire to be with, daughter?" she asked carefully, managing to gather her composure.

"Yes, Mother!" Mero affirmed devoutly. "I love him with all my heart, and wish to spend the rest of my life by his side!"

"Then far be it for a mere Queen to stand against one such as he," her mother offered ruefully. "So long as he knows that is your desire, I doubt my forces would fare any better against he alone when he sought to 'rescue his imprisoned Princess' than in the...scenario...his Device presented me with. I will...have the appropriate paperwork filed by the time you return with him to your new home."

Mero's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mother!" she cried out in joy, throwing herself at her mother in a warm embrace.

"Yay!" Caboose declared happily. "Everything's better now! Who knew making someone super duper sad could make lots of people happy? I thought that only worked on or for bad guys!"

Oct watched the event that had unfolded speculatively. While she didn't have magical abilities as the Little Mermaid stories suggested for one like her, she did have a much stronger connection to her environment than other aquatic beings, and she had felt what Caboose's cold wrath had done to the energy fields with his mere presence. She knew of only one thing that could cause such a reaction...and was fascinated. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to learn how one such as he could exert such control when he was so...foolish. And if the strength of the aura gave any indication of what was beneath the armor...she wanted him. She turned towards the Freckle thoughtfully.

[Compile a list of accommodation requirements and submit it to this unit before departure,] Freckle offered calmly. [Then accompany Captain Caboose to Blue Base. Your paperwork for an Interspecies Exchange Student ID and Assignation Application have already been processed. An appropriate chamber will have been built or arranged by your arrival...Lieutenant Oct.]