High above Emporia, Dante stared at the blue-green ocean of the water world below. He'd been waiting for Mattheus to give him a word, some word to do something, but so far, it all seemed to be really quiet.
It was so quiet that Dante was starting to wonder what in heck he was doing here on Emporia when he could be back at Slate's Raptor 600, having breakfast with his bride.
"Your Royal Highness," a warrior approached him from behind. "There is a transport pod that will arrive within the next ten minutes."
Dante waved a hand.
"Matt." He called out.
"Hold on Man. I'm just a little bit busy here." He could hear the sound of Mattheus doing something that involved a lot of huffing and puffing.
"Sounds like a lot of physical activity. I hope you're enjoying it at least."
"Oh very much so." Mattheus laughed.
Five minutes of more strange noises and Mattheus finally popped up onscreen.
"Whooohh. It took us awhile to get things set up."
"Pray tell." Dante gave a dry smile.
"No need to tell. Let me show you."
Slowly, the view panned outward.
Dante's brows furrowed as he stared at what seemed to be a shadowy shape swirling in some kind of liquid.
"What in the world is that?" Dante asked.
"That, my friend, is a merman who's stuck in a large glass cylinder filled with water. Meet my newest aquarium fish!"
As the view continued to pan outward, Dante could finally see the shape that he couldn't recognize. It was the tail of a long green fish, on top of which grew the torso and head of a man.
He was floating inside the cylinder with his palms touching the surface of the glass. His dark green hair sloshed about with the current of the water, making him look almost like an eel.
It was obvious he could see Dante from where he was. His miserable desperate eyes implored for help as he stared at the visual call's monitor.
"Can he breathe in there, or are you drowning him?" Dante asked with a grimace.
Mattheus laughed. "Take a look." He pointed to the side of his own face, near his earlobe. "See these slits? That's so I can breathe under water."
"Ahh. So you're keeping the merman in the water."
"Yes, and he will remain a merman for the rest of his natural life, which will be rather long since I plan to keep him healthy and safe from harm."
"How are you able to prevent him from transforming back into humanoid form?" Dante scratched his head.
Mattheus pointed to the top of the cylinder where the water line went all the way to the lid.
"I filled the water all the way up to the top and shut the lid. If he transforms into a human, he will definitely drown because his human lungs need air to sustain the humanoid body."
"And you're keeping him in fish form. Why?"
Mattheus shook his head. "It's too dangerous for him to be in humanoid form. In this form, he won't be able to hurt anyone else."
Dante nodded. Whatever Mattheus did to the former King, it was richly deserved and none of his business.
"I have a pod that's docking just about now. Is that the woman and her daughter?"
Mattheus nodded with a grin. "Do with them as you please."
Dante nodded, but he had one more question.
"I came all the way out here with you, man, and all I did was stand around. What is your plan exactly and how does it involve me?"
Mattheus smiled. "I had enough forces to take back my kingdom any time I wanted. My biggest issue is legitimacy."
"With you standing beside me, you don't even need to lift a finger and you've done exactly what I needed. Had I reclaimed my throne without buy-in from the Erenveil Empire, I would be considered a Pirate King who stole a kingdom from its legitimate ruler."
"I would basically be doing what I've been doing all these years, enlarging the space pirate empire by one more world." His eyes grew fierce. "I DO NOT want my beloved ancestral home Emporia to be a pirate world!!!"
"Since Erenveil has assisted me in reclaiming my kingdom and my world, I can reestablish myself as the rightful monarch and continue normal business dealings with other worlds."
"I can maintain all critical infra-structures and extra-structures without having to fight battle after battle to claim dominancy and damaging everything with weapons of destruction." He smiled at Dante.
Dante nodded. Fair enough. Nothing was changing.
They were basically exchanging the old King for a new King, one who actually had a legitimate claim to the throne.
"I look forward to doing business with you in the near future. Emporia could use a couple of nice resorts."
"Yes it could. It would bring a higher echelon of tourists into our world and make both of us money."
Dante nodded. "I'll have one of my representatives touch base with your people in the near future. I'm thinking of creating a new theme park everywhere called Candiland."
Mattheus laughed. "Your wife is going to love having theme parks named after her."
Dante grinned. "Well I'd love to chat with you longer but my men are telling me I have some guests who have just arrived inside my hangar."
Mattheus's eyes crinkled. "Have fun but be careful. Some mermaids have what's known as a 'siren's call'. It's very ancient magic that can mesmerize you and make you do things, and you will not have any idea you've done it."
"Thanks man. I'll have my men wear earplugs."
He signed off and gave his men the order to put on earpieces before walking into the hangar.
The transport pod carrying the women was parked within the hangar but there was no sign of activity around it.
"Open the pod." He spoke into their earpieces.
"Yes Sir."
Several men approached the pod and released the hatch, opening the door.
From within, he could see two forms. They had been strapped into their chairs with gags in their mouths.
It was the former Queen and her daughter, looking bedraggled and definitely worse for wear. They were still in their human forms, but their smeared make-up look was definitely not appealing to anyone.
"Take them into the brig." He waved a hand. "And make sure you men keep their mouths gagged and your earplugs in."
"Yes Sir."
Dante switched channels, connecting directly into the command deck.
"Take us back to the area of Raptor 600. I have a payload to deliver to the Princes Jason and Jared."
Beatrice was rightfully his to deal with since she was the one who caused him to lose his Crown Prince title, but out of respect for the twins, he would let them do what they will with their aunt.
As for the daughter; Candace had dealt out just punishment, so he didn't have to do anything more to her.
Perhaps Mattheus' method was the best. Keeping her in a display case would not be a bad idea.
She would make good amusement park attraction at the very least. He could charge a single token for visitors to see a real mermaid princess in her natural habitat.
Working in that way, Helene could slowly buy her independence back after a few years being the star attraction of a colorful aquatic display.
Hmm. One token was too cheap. Maybe ten tokens…
He was still mulling all this around in his head when the alert sounded.
"Your Royal Highness." A voice called within his earpiece. "There are a dozen avian warships headed our way."
Dante raised an eyebrow. He had with him a hundred warships. What could a dozen avian ships do to him?
"I'm on my way. Open communication channels. See what they want."