"So wait, you're telling me that we have to interrogate everyone on the train?..." Janis sighed as he rubbed his forehead
"What part of everyone don'tcha you get Janey?" Cindy chuckled "So you all know the plan, you got your section of the passenger list, get crackin, the doorknob thief has to be on this train somewhere."
Kurt raised up a single claw in objection "Why are we looking for a bunch of doorknobs in the first place again?"
"Because as the train is already moving, you have nothing else to do, and if you don't I'll freeze you so fast, it'll give new meaning to the term freeze frame"
"Alright alright I get it, I'll be in car 3 if anyone wants me for some unknown reason" he walked off mumbling to himself a bit
"Good, now do either of you have any questions or complaints about the matter at hand, or do I have to go over everything toot-sweet?" Cindy passed a knowing eye over her two remaining cousins
"Um no not at all madam cuz bro"
"Me, I'm already gone." Janis ran off to his designated area followed quickly by Jack, both quick to get to out of range of the ice cold touch of their Ice "sister"
Asking a total stranger forceful questions, especially about doorknobs is not a fun or an easy task. Sure the minions of Bowser have experience in said area, most commonly asked questions where "Where's the Princess!?" "Where is Mario!?" and "Have you heard the good News today?". But to ask about doorknobs, stolen doorknobs? This was whole new territory that none of them had ever breached before, and none of them could lie, it felt pretty awkward.
"So, like dude, your promise you didn't steal the knobs?"
"Ehhhhh, whats that?"
"The doorknobs, you didn't steal em right?"
"Floorhobs? Sonny you're going to haveter explain to me whatta a floorhobs is and why I'd want to an eel with one" the old Bombomb leaned forward, to the point where he fell over, rolled to his feet hit the floor again and, booped Jack's torso
"... Er um ok, I think I got it… so um older bombomb dude-" he forgot to ask the guy's name, he was always forgetting things like that, he didn't mean to, he just did sometimes, and he hated to be rude… "So um yeah, let me start over right? Did you eel any floorhobs?."
The old bombomb squinted at the koopa "Sonny are you accuse-anating me of stealing doorknobs? That's just silly, I can barely jiggle a doorknob leta lone steal one." the elder explosive didn't seem angry, just amused really
"Well alright, sorry to bother you sir um, what's your name dude?"
"Eh my mane? I don't have a mane sonny boy! You best be going along to the next booth to find those floorhobs."
Jack just chuckled as he turned around to leave "Cool, cool, jeep it fool older guy." he left with finger snap
"You keep it "fool" too sonny boy, huehuehue…" the bombomb chuckled, holding his new boomerang behind his round back
"Oh so's I'm a bandit, I'm your prime suspect eh?... I see how it is with you authority types, always casting your stereotypes on us all eh?" the green hooded Bandit kept poking Janis in the chest, who just had almost an amused look on his face
"Well, to honest I always thought you Bandits stole chump change and a few random items now and again, but Doorknobs come on? That's a pretty specific field"
"Oh, so's you're not saying you're asking me about the knobby-wobblies because I'm a bandit?" The hooded hoodlum took a step back, giving the fire koopa a bit of breathing space
"I have to ask everyone in this part of the train, gotta cover all my bases you know what I mean. But yeah, being a Bandit does make you a prime suspect, comes with the name and all" Janis chuckled "Unless of course you're the rare type of Banit that band's things together?" Janis nudged him a bit, winking to boot
The non-banding Bandit was not amused "Whatta getting at buster? You calling me somethin I'm not, eh? You think I'm suspicious because I'm a bandit, eh? Well I didn't steal your blinking precious knobbly-wobblies, because they's for saps, you sap" the tallish shyguy-ish being stuck his tongue out at the koopa as his final magnum opus in his long line, of short insults
"Ok, ok so you didn't steal the doorknobs, but you can't blame me for asking, catch you later Bandit, maybe even in the act" Janis chuckled some more as he walked away going into the next booth, and quickly out of earshot.
"In the act, eh? Still suspicious, eh?...We'll see about that…" from his robe the self proclaimed innocent pulled out a walkie talkie "This is Little B to Big P, the Cow is spooked, I repeat the Cow is spooked, over…."
"Badges?... You're looking for badges?" Kurt was lost, very, very lost. He come in asking about one random object and now he was asking about another. What ever happened to the simple missions like, Get the Princess, or Stop Mario? Sure they were dangerous but at least there was a knowable goal, this, this was harder than locust wood for a kitchen table
"Mmm hmmm hmmm hmmm, you're still confused as ever aren't you, turtle dove?" the white squeek or as some might saw a small mouser mirthed at the poor dazed koopa
"Yes! Yes I am, I came in here asking about doorknobs, why I don't know because someone stole them from this train? Why? I don't know. And now you're talking about badges! Yes I am confused." in an act of frustration he put his face to the wall and sighed
"My you are a feisty one." the mouse jumped up and patted the Koopa's shoulder, like everything was going to be ok after all "Making this train ride a little interesting I must say."
Kurt slowly peeled his face from the wall from which he planted it "I'm not feisty, I'm just confused, did you, or did you not steal the doorknobs?" How many times am I going to say that today…
"Of course not silly dove, I told you I'm after badges." the squeek openly admitted, much to Kurt's dismay
"Ok ok ok, what are badges exactly? Like Koopa Kid badges? Police badges? What?"
The female mouse just threw her tiny head back in laughter "... Sure dove, let's go with that."
Kurt frowned "You know with that red mask of yours...and your mannerisms make you awfully suspicious…You are you anyway?"
"Oh? Me, Mmmm Hmmm Hmm, well that's for me to know and you to find out."
"Wait wha-" he was too late and too slow, she had hopped up, smooched his cheek and in a dashing feet of acrobatics was already balancing on the open window sill
"Here's a hint, watch out for doorknobs of a royal nature, Oh and stay confused turtle dove it suits-" with a wink and a flash she was gone, out the window and presumably out of Kurt's dazed and confused life
"...Wait a second, was I just kissed by a mouse?... How should I feel?..."