Kasper winces as he feels his every, single scale being gently ripped from his body, the tension in the room was palpable as he squeezes Prince Ethan's hand and one of Jackson's tentacles. The two goons are quick to grab the bloodied scales and wash them off while their master works. The hermit places a balm then wraps up his tail, taking the scales that are now in a small, glass bottle sealed with a cork to his desk and examines them, talking quietly to himself while writing things down. Kasper tries to flex his tail, hissing in pain, and the protective prince bristles, glaring at the back of the ominous fangtooth merman. After making sure the hurt siren is okay, Prince Ethan swims to the other mer who was studying the scales and clears his throat, giving him a stern look.

"We kept our end of the deal, now tell us what you know." The strange researcher sighs, prying himself away from the item of his obsession and grabs the things he will need.

"Where shall we start?" Kasper gets up, limply swimming towards the two, acting nervous and he bites his lip while timidly asking.

"Am I really the only one left of my kind?" The menacing fangtooth hums in thought, going through everything he has about sirens just to make sure.

"Weelll, there is just a thing called the Siren Migration, but I doubt that would interest you." The lonely siren gasps, getting overly excited and he swishes his tail around in excitement, almost knocking things over,

"The Siren Migration? Wait, that means...There is more of me!" Kasper quickly leaves the cave as not to destroy anything, dancing around erratically and shouting about how he was so happy to know he was not the only one to no one in particular. Jackson clears his throat, fiddling with his hands awkwardly.

"So, where could we find them if they migrated? And why?" Herman scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? They migrated so they don't get hunted, probably somewhere even more remote than they already were hiding." The friendly octo mer nods in agreement then looks at the other smaller merman in uncertainty.

"If they did migrate, where did they go?" The unnamed fangtooth mer shrugs, closing a book on sirens he was reading.

"It's not my problem. I just gave you the info, you'll just have to figure that out yourselves." The bad-tempered fire shrimp merman groans in pure frustration, face palming while grumbling sarcastically.

"Greeat, what a big help you are."

"But." He lets out a yell of exasperation, throwing his hands into the air as the mysterious experimenter continues talking.

"There is a theory out there. It says that once the siren's home became in danger of being found, they left to the most mysterious and dangerous deep waters there is." When the incredibly happy siren comes back inside, he notices Prince Ethan has become ghost white and is slightly sweating, he looks with growing concern.

"What did I miss?" Herman answers angrily with his brows furrowed.

"We got our answers in the vaguest way possible, so now I guess we can try to find the sirens." Kasper picks up the small, disgruntled mer, spinning him around in his arms while the other complains loudly.

"That's great! We should start our trek right away!" He grabs Jackson's hand while holding Herman, ushering them hurriedly out the door, and the happy yet curious prince gestures to them to wait, turning his attention back to the weird fangtooth merman.

"There is one more thing I have to know." The abnormal potion maker sighs, raising a brow while leaning against his desk.

"What it is?" Prince Ethan gets awkward, looking away and scratching the back of his neck.

"Ever since I first saw Kasper, I have had this feeling. It is like a tug, like I need to be with him, and he felt it too." The enigmatic fangtooth makes a noise of acknowledgement, searching through all his research and books frantically, his eyes wide in eagerness.

"That sounds like, no...it couldn't be." The Sturona prince looks interested, trying to look at what the other mer is leafing through.

"What is it?" The very bizarre merman turns around quickly, an odd glint in his eye,

"There is barely any information but there is something called 'True Mates'. It is super rare, other merpeople and humans alike have said that fate themselves have destined the couple to be together forever." That caught the attention of the siren, letting go of the two stunned mermen and swimming to float next to the royalty.

"Is that what this is? But I thought something like that only happens once in a lifetime." The wicked looking mer nods at what the siren said, putting away his notes and books.

"Yes, it seems like that moment is now." The two soon to be bonded mermen gave each other a look of puppy love, silently communicating. Jackson coughs into his fist, breaking the silence.

"So, I guess since all our questions are answered, we should get going. Who knows when the sirens will migrate again." The group agreed, saying goodbye to the fangtooth experimenter and his minions, and he calls out to them before they leave.

"The only way to know for certain if you are 'True Mates' is to find the oldest siren and ask them, good luck!" As soon as they leave the fangtooth merman stops smiling and waving goodbye, becoming serious and headed back inside his cave home.

"You two follow them, make sure they stay on course. This may be my last chance for more research and business opportunities, now go!" The underlings gulp in fear, glancing at each other quickly and then leaving in a rush. The boss of the two sighs, going back to his work, mumbling to himself while furiously writing things down.