"So, Marcus is it?" Rita asked as she walked out of the house and took a seat opposite him on their porch. She smiled at him, but it was a smile full of confusion. Or at least, Marcus surmised, that's what she was trying to play it off as. He was fairly certain that he saw worry in her eyes. "I've been told that you have been filled with some…. Rather odd notions about my nieces. Mermaids, was it?" Rita forced a laugh.

Marcus smiled pleasantly at her. He reached down to scratch his leg, or that's how it appeared. His shoes were still waterlogged from pushing the boat off of the beach and it took very little effort for Marcus to cover his palm in a thin layer of water. "Well, yes." He answered. He paused and grimaced comically. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Santos." He offered his hand.

Rita smiled back at him and took her hand in his own. The second her skin came in contact with Marcus's she realized his trap and her mistake. She tried to pull away, but Marcus's grip was like that of a vice. "Sorry about this." He told her. "But if I have to deal with you guys trying to keep the secret when I already know it, this whole conversation will take a very long time. And I need to fill you in on what you missed."

A few seconds later Rita tipped over in her chair, her tail having appeared in a very awkward position. She fell to the ground and the others moved forward. Marcus immediately stood up from the table and raised his hands into the air. Ondina and Zach must have taken this as a sign of aggression as both of their hands shot out and Marcus was sent flying back through the glass door leading to Rita's kitchen. He landed on the kitchen staring in surprise up at the ceiling. On the counter, clearly not disturbed by the violent entrance, was Poseidon. The cat stared calmly down at Marcus as the man got to his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nice to see you too, Poseidon." Marcus said, wincing. He pulled a small shard of glass from his neck and tossed it to the floor. He walked back out to the porch at the same time that Rita was regaining her legs. Massaging his aching neck, Marcus very slowly raised his other hand. "I might have deserved that. But I wasn't using magic."

"I think we should take this conversation elsewhere." Rita said, walking around the table and into her house. Marcus followed after her, the others acting like escorts of sorts. He pulled his hand away from his neck and frowned at the blood that seemed to still be dripping from his cut. Rita selected the book that acted as the button for her secret chamber and the door slid open, revealing the tunnel entrance. Marcus frowned and examined his hand, until he saw Rita looking at him expectantly.

"I've seen this before." He explained, clamping his hand back down on his neck. "I'll explain when we get to the grotto."

Rita said nothing, but simply swept down the stairs. Once downstairs, she sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. Her students took seats on either side of her while Marcus stood in front of them. He felt as though he was about to give a school presentation, something he was not overly fond of. He shook off the similarity and smiled at the people assembled before him. "I know that you don't remember me, but I remember you." Marcus began. "It's going to be hard to believe, but I've met all of you before. This exact day in fact. But not this one."

"That doesn't make any sense." Zach frowned. "Today, but not today? Just tell us how you know about us. Who told you?"

"All of you did." Marcus said simply. "I've lived through this day twice now."

"How is that possible?" Mimi wondered, her voice clear that she did not believe Marcus at all.

"Two words." Marcus told them. "Merman chamber."

Instantly the mood in the room changed from skeptical to disbelief and anger. "What do you know about the chamber?" Ondina demanded, shooting to her feet. Her hand rose halfway from her side and Marcus's mirrored her action.

He sighed when he remembered that he no longer had the magical means to counter hers. Marcus heaved a great sigh and shook his head disappointedly. "Listen, all of you." He told them his voice suddenly severe. "I'm not your enemy. I'm your friend. Or at least I was. I don't know. But I came here to tell you what happened. But if you want to accuse me of being some sort of traitor or something every five seconds you can forget it. I'll go back to Mako and go take a dip in the Moon Pool. I fell into the Moon Pool the first time I ran through this day. The only reason I didn't jump through that hole in the top of the chamber was because I wanted to talk to all of you first."

"You've been in the Moon Pool?" Rita asked, shocked. She got to her feet and made her way across the room. She grabbed something out of a metal case and strode quickly back over to Marcus. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask something when Rita tossed a handful of silver powder in his face. He immediately began to cough violently, his vision swimming. He tried to wipe the powder off of his face and gave a start when he saw his hands. His veins seemed to be glowing with an odd silver light, the same color as his tail. "It's true. But… Silver?" Rita murmured, her eyes losing focus and becoming lost in thought.

"What is it with you and those damn powders?" Marcus managed, still coughing. "But if you believe me… whatever."

"Start from the beginning." Rita told Marcus finally. "Tell us everything, starting from when you fell into the Moon Pool."

Marcus looked to Ondina, who had not lowered her half-raised arm or taken her eyes off of him. He suddenly felt sad and sighed. "Alright." He told Rita. "But… You're going to have to bear with me. It's a lot to tell, and I only want to tell you once."

"That's fair." Rita nodded. "Go ahead, we won't interrupt."

And so Marcus began his tale, for the second time in as many days. He detailed his fall into the Moon Pool, both times, and his attempt at keeping the secret from them. He even went into detail about his growing relationship with Ondina. He told them of his meeting with Erik. He told them everything that had transpired since he had arrived on Mako.

When he finished, the others exchanged long looks filled with meaning that only they could understand. Marcus stood quietly to the side, awaiting their thoughts on his tale. He wasn't sure what they would say, or indeed if they would believe him. "Is it possible?" Ondina asked finally.

"We know almost nothing about the merman chamber." Rita answered. "But, based on what I have been told yes it is possible. The lessons that Marcus said he sat through are correct for what I was planning on teaching you this week. As far as I can tell… He's telling the truth."

"Well, now that that's out of the way…" Marcus raised his arms, shooting a glare at Ondina as though daring her to use her powers. "What now?"