Geno just kept on reading that sheet of paper. He could not fathom the title of the transcript: "Seven Star Project". There was dense military jargon after that but it was the title that had Geno fixated. Meanwhile, Captain Toad was conferring with a group of officers who seemed to be of higher rank than him. By the way of their conversation, Geno supposed that things were working out fine. Nodding, Captain Toad walked over to Geno and said, "The hunter confessed. We are very grateful, we may never have found him on our own."

Geno nodded and waved the paper. "Is there more?"

"All there is to know," smiled Captain Toad. "Where the Star Pieces are, when the Star Road came into disuse and what you have to do with the X-Nauts. However, that was all I was permitted to share by my master, the rest is at Toad Town."

"Toad Town? Did you say master?" asked Geno with incredulity.

"A carriage is waiting to take us to him now," answered Captain Toad.

"Maybe next time," said Geno and turned and began to walk out.

"I will have to arrest you if you do not obey," warned Captain Toad. "There is nowhere in the Toadstool Kingdom you can go where the constabulary or my fellow captains are not prepared to take you in to our master." That stopped Geno in his tracks. "You will have to comply or you will have to kill us to maintain what you call freedom. You will continue searching in the wrong place for answers, wasting your gifts as a vigilante and you will never end your pain?"

"What could you know about pain?" asked Geno.

"Compared to you... I've never even felt pain," answered Captain Toad. "What I can do, is give you peace. All you have to do is come to Toad Town."

"Whatever," said Geno, feeling forced.

He had to go, no doubt. There was no way around it, if there were, Geno would have found it. However, he had been stumbling around in the Toadstool Kingdom for about seven years but going in to the capital city? No way he needed that kind of attention. He still did not want to go... but this Captain had what he needed. The location of the Star Pieces. Following Captain Toad in the carriage, Geno was pleasantly surprised by its pace. It certainly was not the fastest carriage he had been on but could have been much slower, especially given how far away Toad Town was and how tumultuous the road. The Toadstool Kingdom had been spared many of the monstrosities of Bowser and the X-Nauts but Geno knew it was far from a perfect place. It had its share of problems, especially with the Toads' devotion to honour.

When they approached the city, Geno was bombarded by the unearthly electric colour of Toad Town's blinding light. His eyes adjusted to the extravagant neon and bombastic billboards. This place was a morphing electric city off of a concrete base. Everything was impossibly clean. Petal Meadows had a small festival for the Gold Celebration, but it had cleaned up quickly. Geno could still see the remnants of Princess Peach's return ceremony almost everywhere.

From the rearview mirror, Geno could see a woman's catlike eyes glancing at him from under a red and white chauffeur's cap which concealed close cropped hair. Taking a glance himself, Geno saw her nametag read no surname, but her first name was listed as Vivian. Riding in the back, Captain Toad pointed to a giant billboard where the ubiquitous face of an old man became visible. "The Mushroom King," said Captain Toad. "My master." The Mushroom King? The ruler of the Toadstool Kingdom... wasn't he ill or something. Out in Petal Meadows, a hermit like Geno did not get much news of the goings in the kingdom but he knew that there was something involving a Ruling Council replacing him.

"He's a big guy," commented Geno. Captain Toad remained silent, clearly sensing that Geno was out of the loop on the fact that the Mushroom King had been dead for nearly two months.

"The Mushroom King's family line is as long as the Kerog's," said Captain Toad. "He has given away more than most Toads, Koopas and Kremlings will ever earn. His kingdom has revolutionized medical research, agriculture and education. His wisdom has shaped our government. The Mushroom King is the Toadstool Kingdom."

"When do I meet him?" asked Geno.

"You will see... him, tomorrow," answered Captain Toad, flustered. Normally, a normal police officer like Captain Toad would never get to enter Toad Town beyond recreation, let alone step foot in the Mushroom King's castle. However, he was the one who found and brought in Geno. He would receive the ultimate reward from his master's family.