Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 24 – Toad and Toadette

Let's just hope I actually stick to my word and do this quickly and with passion. Results of Toad's Factory (Race 6) are found at the bottom of the previous chapter.

January 25, 2015 – 12:30PM

Toad's Factory, Mushroom Kingdom

And there it was: the scoreboard's current standings. Very little change in positions but the points' difference shrunk due to an unfortunate end to the last lap for the high contenders. Bowser got out of his Flame Flyer, furious and looking for whoever used the shock at the end. Rosalina was also stressed out about it, but Pauline tried to calm her down.

"There's no skill in winning sometimes, this should have been our win!" She groaned, resting next to her vehicle, watching all the spectators keep cheering them on despite the race being over. Many low scoring racers began to leave the track quickly, not willing to look at any of the spectators. Tom and Enrique chilled out for a bit by their vehicle across the line, looking around and listening in to others' conversations with their teammates.

"Was it you?" Bowser shouted at the two whilst they were trying to listen in to Mario and Luigi.

"No, you idiot. We were in first when it happened." Enrique snapped back at Bowser.

"Dad, it's ok. We're going to have an unlucky race some time." Junior pleaded back to his father. "I should have held on to ours." Bowser's anger lowered after hearing from his son. He sighed and turned around back to him.

"Don't worry, I just worry. We could have lost it somehow." His voice lowered, embarrassing himself in front of the others.

"I don't know who did it." Tom calmed him. "But whoever did probably didn't get anywhere with it themselves."

"Still, I will find out." Bowser walked away out of the track.

"Let me know next time we see eachother." Rosalina waved at Bowser as he left. She too was disappointed as she was affected by it. Her team was still in first so she didn't stress for it as much as Bowser did. Tom began to listen in to the conversation he could hear from Mario and Luigi just a few metres away. It looked like Mario was much happier, either due to their sixth place finish or something else Tom did not know about.

"I'm sensing something here." Enrique distracted him. "I think some people are starting to take this more seriously, hence that shock. Whoever did it sparked a lot of havoc."

"Imagine if we were hit by that blue directly." Tom said back. "I'd be very annoyed at myself." Enrique patted him on the shoulder.

"We got fourth, that's pretty damn impressive for us."

"Let's get out of here." Tom got off of their kart and began walking out of the track and through the gap. The walkway out was fenced off on both sides with fans and reporters talking over eachother. They couldn't distinguish any voice. To them it felt just as busy as the first race. Tom headed up the nearby path to the tent on the hill where he was before the race.

It was very empty-looking. It seemed like most people had already left since the drill for the next race may have already been given. Tom then noticed a board up in the main room. Luigi's Mansion: 18:00 – January 27 it read, letting everyone who had read it know when the next race would be, a small message at the bottom of the board also read that everyone was free to leave. Tom then saw the few that were still in the tent. Daisy was talking to all four Toads, and the Koopas were talking to themselves in a different part of the room.

"Nice score that race." Enrique complimented them as he began walking across the room to Daisy and the Toads.

"And the same to you!" Paratroopa felt flattered and cheered him back happily. Koopa Troopa nodded at Tom in response, and then he began talking back to Paratroopa privately.

"So who ended up using that suspenseful disaster of a shock in the end?" Enrique interrogated the group, knowing that it would be one of them.

"This idiot right here." Daisy grabbed Toadbert by the arm and presented him in front of her to Enrique. "He was the culprit who cost us a chance of getting a high spot." She seemed a little annoyed over him still.

"Believe me it was unintentional, I just used it as soon as I got it because we were so far behind."

"You still got last anyway!" Daisy yelled into his left ear. "You'd have been way better off not using it at all."

"Hey, at least I got Bowser, right?" Toadbert pleaded back to her.

"He does have a point, he got all those who were up there, unintentionally." Toadsworth pointed out. "It just angered all of you. But it's best to not let anyone else know."

"You're basically making the competition even closer." Toad stated, still grinning at the event. "It was quite the sight to see. I hope it got recorded, it will be a highlight."

"Whatever... Where is Peach?" Enrique asked just as Tom slowly walked up behind him.

"She's outside, talking to some Koopa Red Martyrs." Daisy replied. "They're probably talking about something that they're running down here."

"Ah, yes."

Daisy looked confused and then it clicked in her head. "You know about this also?" She asked him.

"I am aware of this yes. I believe Peach agreed with Eoréc on a mission he and a few others will be doing in the entire south. He's taking his squadron around all the towns looking for spies. But they too will be undercover, so it's like spies on a mission to look for any enemy spies. Hopefully they will find out more things too." Toad looked back at Enrique, really interested in it all. He began to walk slowly outside with him to look for Peach and the others as the others were still talking about it. Tom soon followed with Daisy, whilst the other three spoke amongst themselves as they watched the workers began to take down the tent and put other things away. Behind the tent were a set of normal looking vehicles and a van. The five Martyrs were in a circle with Peach and Rosalina. Enrique was unsure if he knew she was in with it as well or just curious, since he noticed Pauline also nearby. The group looked very secluded and private, so instead of interrupting them he walked over to Pauline and talk to her.

"Anything you know about this?" She greeted him and Toad, who walked out of the tent first. She looked around from the top of the hill at all of the security guards from all sides. News reporters and fans were outside the circle of guards, taking shots and cheers at the people inside the ring of bodies.

"This doesn't look very secret. Why are citizens still here?" Enrique replied back, looking down the hill as well and letting the Martyrs be with Peach. Toad looked down also, he was surprised to see so many citizens still around. They noticed Peach turn around from her discussion with the Martyrs to blow kisses and wave at the fans. They kept cheering her on like she had won the race, but after some time they started to depart from the small area that they could see her from and eventually leave the factory for the day.

"No idea, but there are a lot of important people outside a race in public, what would you expect?" The three looked back to watch Peach talk with Rosalina and the others, observing what they had to say. After some time Eoréc bowed to Peach and Rosalina and led his squad back to their vehicles, beginning to drive off and head southeast to Sirenna Beach. Enrique also looked back at the factory from the hill and noticed several Toad management workers head back onto the track, in the direction of it and inside.

"Why are the workers going back on to the track, they've already taken off the vehicles and shut down the track." Pauline pointed at the start line, for all their vehicles had already been taken off.

"This is the first time racing here so don't ask me." Enrique replied back to her.

"I know why." Daisy said, approaching them on the hill. "They're assessing the centre of the factory, and doing the last checks on the mess that was made there yesterday. It's where Will stole the Mach Bike."

"Who's Will?" Pauline asked.

"Human friend of Tom and Enrique." She replied. "He went a bit crazy the other day and took it here and then something else happened. I think something took over him."

"Oh that sounds so unnatural! Is he ok now?" Pauline worried a bit.

"I think so." Tom joined in as well. "He's resting in the castle dorms." The four then turned around to face Peach and Rosalina, walking back to the others.

"You know about this too then?" Enrique asked her sarcastically. The seven of them then huddled around into a bigger circle. The security guards and management packed up their things and also headed back towards Mushroom City, leaving the transport left outside the factory with them.

"Funnily enough I do because I actually care about this." Rosalina snapped back at him in spite. "I'm going to be having a look at both sides of this, as well as looking for my brother to see if he has anything to say about it. What about your friends? I haven't seen them for quite some time."

"Well you know how Will is doing." Tom spoke for his best friend. "The others are fine, I'm sure they were watching this race in the penthouse and will be very happy with us and let us know about how they feel the next time we go back home."

"Yeah that's the problem." Rosalina also spoke for Peach. "You're not going back home, or any home for that matter. The group are putting you two on this also, all of us actually, except for Peach and Daisy and I guess me... and maybe Pauline since she's still got a city to run. Wait, that basically means the three of you." She smiled back at the three, all looking surprised.

"Wait what?" Enrique looked confused. "You mean the three of us being me Tom and Toad? Why is he on this too? He's easily going to be caught if he's spying."

"You're so silly. You're not going to be doing the spying. You'll be at the place in between the spies and us. You're going to report all the information and help them if they ever find something suspicious. We need to make it a priority that none of them are on this side of the mountains." Peach explained her previous discussion with the Martyr squad. "As a matter of fact, the Toads inside will all be helping you on this matter, all of you have contact with other allies which should be able to help us with this. The group have headed to Sirenna Beach and will split up from there. You two will be helping out the main group, which are Eoréc and Neodjan. They will be going along the coast. Those going straight through the districts will be you and Toadette." She pointed at Toad. "You two will be in the same group helping out Stan and Rick. As for Toadbert and Toadsworth, they will be informed shortly and they will be helping out the northern coast searchers Kugen and Tori."

"Are these the names of the group who just left?" Toad asked.

"Yes, and you're to meet them in Sirenna Beach in two hours."

"What are we supposed to do with them exactly?" Tom felt confused, mainly since he knew nothing about this recently devised plan.

"Stay in the area, have contact with them which shall be given to you when you are there, and be there when they need you. If they find anything suspicious, report to their call immediately and then gather as much information as you can about it and report it back to us. Rosalina and I will be making occasional visits on the days in between races to Aypyidaw to help them out there and use any of the information we find. Is there anything else you are not too sure about?" Peach finished, smiling back at the others. Daisy moved over to Peach's left, with Rosalina on her right and grinned back at the others as if she had some sort of leadership above them as well. "Good." Peach clapped her hands and dismissed the group. Toad bowed to Peach and headed down the hill to see the other Toads and tell them about what they will be doing. Tom and Enrique were left alone on the hill staring straight and confused, for the others began heading down the hill as well after saying their goodbyes to them, heading back to Peach's Castle. Tom eventually regained his focus and looked back down to them, seeing his own transport for them. Two Toads stood outside the doors of the vehicle waiting for them to stumble down the hill and sit down again for another thirty minutes for the journey. One of them waved back at him. Enrique, who was still looking southward at the trees of the southernmost forest, finally turned around to look at Tom.

"So, we're going to Sirenna Beach again?" He said rhetorically. "This is like the third time this month I think."

"Hopefully someone else will be there, Eoréc bores me." Tom began to walk down the hill with his hands in his pockets, looking up to another day of clear blue sky.

"He's not that bad. I think he's a really caring Koopa. You just have to know him a little bit."

"But he's not human. I don't flow with him at all like I do with Muji."

"True."

The two approached the vehicle and greeted the Toads, who closed the back doors of the vehicle after they had got inside. It drove off rather quickly, going down the path from the factory leading back to the main road. Tom looked out of the window and noticed the much more fashionable transport carrying Peach and the others distancing away from them in the other direction, heading back to the capital. The horizon of the hill made the vehicles disappear as they travelled down the straight busy but fast road southeast.

"Twenty coins says we'll meet them at the detention centre." Enrique joked to Tom in the back of the car.

"We don't even spend our coins..."

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, SOMEWHERE IN SIRENNA...

"Well I don't see any detention centre around here." Tom looked outside of his window as their car slowed down at a set of lights. He could see many Toads and Koopas in the area, including the Martyrs and the Toads from the race. They all stood in a large communal square in what looked like Sirenna Beach's town centre, not that far from the coastline.

"We're not far from the beaches." The driver replied, overhearing them. "Sirenna Beach is also the name for the town."

"Weird." Tom said. "It's not even spelt the same way nor is in Delfino." He got out of the car and looked up to the sky at the bright afternoon sun. He covered his eyes with his arm and then looked straight towards the square and began walking over to the Toads and Koopas. Enrique still sat inside the vehicle, waiting a bit before getting out. Tom approached Eoréc and shook hands with him, greeting Toad and the others shortly after. He assumed that the other Toads were told about the spy missions also, so he decided to blank them when they spoke to him about his journey. Tom turned around to finally see Enrique exit the transport from the other door. He looked back at him directly, squinting due to the sunlight and saying nothing before walking towards him. Eoréc walked back over to Tom and Enrique by the time they had approached eachother.

"I know you two aren't much of talkers around people you don't really know, so here's my phone number. We'll use this instead of pager watches because we'll be talking more low-key if we see anything." He gave them a small scrap of paper with his number. It began with a seven, nothing either of them are used to since their own numbers were switched to start with a six, for humans, followed by eight digits. Numbers beginning with one were given to government workers, two's for Mushroom Kingdom citizens, three for Delfino citizens, four for Wuhu citizens, and five for Résethal citizens. All phones were linked onto a similar terrestrial-looking grid, all powered and connected to the Powerhouse.

"Thanks." Tom said back to him, getting out his phone to fill in the contact 'R M Eoréc' in between R M Archbarn and R M Muji. Enrique instead just sent a text to the number containing only his name. Eoréc then gave them a second scrap of paper containing Neodjan's number.

"He's clever." Enrique stated, since he wasn't bothered to interact with another Red Martyr.

"Anyway, in case you didn't know already, that's Stan and that's-."

"Yeah we know we were told already." Tom interrupted Eoréc, already knowing who they were. He could already tell who was who, since there were two Koopas, a Pianta and another Human.

"We'll speak to you in a second." Enrique turned around and put his hand on Tom's shoulder, turning him around also. "So I'm telling you this, Rick and Kugen are the Koopas, Tori is the girl, and Stan is the Pianta."

"Ok." Tom nodded in agreement and turned around to speak back to Eoréc, who was slowly walking away from them. "Who is who?"

"Tori's the girl, and Stan is the Pianta." He then pointed to the Koopas. "The one on the left is Rick, and the one to the right is Kugen."

"Good. I thought so." Enrique laughed. He tapped Tom and walked over towards Tori with him. She was talking to some Toads from the area and Toadette. Enrique approached her first. She was mid conversation with one of the Toads but also noticed him back. She ended her conversation early and then looked up and faced the two.

"Hello you two, I hope you are enjoying yourselves here. You know what we're doing then?" She greeted Enrique first, for she had already seen his face early in the morning.

"Hey." Enrique replied rather awkwardly. "I never really noticed you lot, surprised to see a human here with us today... So are you from Earth or are you like Mario and Luigi then?"

"Indeed I am like them, for I am the partner to the well-known Elroy, though I was never much of a tennis player myself. I partnered with him but stopped playing after a scary injury." Tori replied to them. "And now I'm here, I do miss him but I feel like I am much happier as a person helping out those in need."

"That sounds quite unfortunate, shame you're going north. You'd have way more company with us than with those Toads." Tom joked.

"Haha I'd agree with you on that one actually." Tori laughed with the two. "Well now that we've got to speak to eachother, perhaps I can see what you guys are up to afterwards. We need to focus on checking out any suspicious activity." She then said sincerely. Tom nodded in agreement.

"True indeed." She smiled at Enrique, who pretended to agree like he cared. Everyone then gathered in the square after a few minutes for Eoréc and Neodjan to begin lecturing to them about the investigation plan. Nobody else was in sight at the town square, and some Toads who were helping them out were always looking to see if anybody else was watching.

An applause of the audience followed after the end of his speech, most of the Toads who were there for support began to leave and the investigation within Sirenna Beach began. The six martyrs split up and navigated around the area. As for the other six, they all parted ways also, following their respective martyrs. Toad and Toadette headed over to the beaches of the town, led by Rick and Stan. The Pianta jumped over the wall that split the beach to the pavement of the town square. Toad stared at him discussing with Rick, talking about where they would go as they watched all of the families bathing and having fun on the beach. Tom and Enrique stopped to see what they were doing. They watched Toad and Toadette look at the other two by the edge of the beach. They waved back at them signalling their separation. Rick showed his phone telling them that they will call them when he needs to. Toadette then turned around and stared back at Tom and Enrique and began walking over to them. Toadbert and Toadsworth kept travelling northward, following Tori and Kugen.

"I believe we're done here." Toadette said with a bright mood as she looked up to the two tall humans. "I guess we have to make our own way back home though." She then frowned, looking back at where they came from. Tom turned around and already noticed that he could not see his two martyrs in his sight, for they had already ventured somewhere around the southern parts of the town, in the direction towards the detention centre.

"I think our job here is to stay nearby, or at least be at their shoulder quickly when needed." Enrique replied to Toadette. He moved over and got the others to follow him as he found a place to sit on the low wall next to one of the beaches. He felt hungry after seeing Tom get out a baguette he must have bought or got given to by Luke in the morning. As he noticed Enrique look at the food, Tom then got out a second packaged roll from one of his right pockets and tossed it over to Enrique.

"What's in it?" He asked Tom.

"I think cheese, and some other spread." Tom replied, assuming Enrique would be thirsty as well. Unfortunately, he had no water on him, so he shook his head at Enrique, thinking he would be asking for a drink.

"We should get a drink." Enrique suggested back to Tom.

"I agree. I'm getting thirsty too." Toadette inputted, trying to feel less awkward being around them. "There are a lot of cafes around here. Maybe we should see to one of those. It's so hot I believe the water is free." Enrique got up and led the three others into the shade of the building blocks in town.

"One thing good about this place..." Enrique said to himself. "...It's never humid here, I love it." Toad tried to understand what he said, so he nodded.

"Me too." Tom smiled as they cruised down the bricked paths of the town. Neither of them had ever been to the northern part of Sirenna Beach town. There were no vehicles in sight and the buildings were made of marble and sandstone, with a rustic theme. The paths were wide and the walkways were filled with open space. It wasn't too dense of people nor too isolate. To them it seemed like a nice peaceful town, empty from danger and crime, being made up for having the detention centre in the south, housing several prisoners. The four of them later came across a road filled with shops and cafes with tables and chairs outside each block. Families and friends sat down and enjoyed their company, eating afternoon tea and drinking beverages together. They all looked the same, but the four visited the quietest looking place on the road to have refreshments. Toadette went up to the front to get the drinks with Toad, whilst Tom and Enrique sat down slouching on their seats. They received many stares and some cheers from the Toads and Piantas from outside. A family of Toads came inside the cafe from their table outside and approached them as they were sitting down.

"Hey!" The Toad mother greeted them with excitement. "Can my sons get a picture with you two?" She asked them, looking uninterested in their seats. Both the kids looked to be under the age of ten, with both of them pointing towards Tom. "Wow, it seems like they want to have one with Tom!"

"Sure." Tom got up from his seat and looked at Toad and Toadette who were still at the counter. They looked to be already in conversation with the cashier. He met up with the two sons and stood in between them and smiled. Enrique grinned looking at him facing the camera that the Toad mother had to take the picture. She took a few and then lowered it down signalling that she was done, followed by another smile. One of the sons waved back at Enrique, who gave a soft, effortless wave in response.

"Thank you." The kid said quietly, smiling at them.

"Come on now let's finish our dinner." The dad thanked the two and went back outside. Tom sat back down on his chair and watched the Toads at the counter still in conversation with the cashier. Eventually, Toadette took two glasses and a large bottle of water and delivered them to the two at the table.

"There you go." She smiled at them and then walked back to the counter to stand with Toad and the cashier. Enrique looked across the table and noticed Tom texting on his phone.

"Who are you talking to?" He asked him, getting up and moving his chair around the table to sit next to him.

"George." Tom replied. "I'm telling him that I won't be able to see him tonight back at the penthouse. He told me that Will's back resting with them now. Apparently he was discharged from the castle and 'exiled' from Toad Town also. It seems like Peach and Daisy are not happy with what he did." They both looked at the texts and watched Tom send another in response. He told George in text about what they were doing in Sirenna Beach. George also sent another text that he had tickets for Toby, Luke and himself for Shy Guy Falls on the 29th.

"Hopefully we'll see them then." Enrique said to Tom. "Oh, and also tell him to check Will's back or any area where he might have a mark. Peach has it on her back and I briefly touched it yesterday when we were in Aypyidaw." Tom gasped and looked into Enrique's eyes. "Don't worry." He continued. "I cut it off from the tip of my finger, hence the bandage." Enrique showed Tom his finger.

"Yeah I forgot to ask you about that one." Tom laughed with relief. "I kind of just looked at it and forgot about it straight after." He was just about to put his phone away until he received another text... from 'R M Eoréc'.

Nothing here looking suspicious, we'll be heading southwards now towards Luthar and then Ricco Harbour. Follow the roads of take the train to Ricco Harbour if we find anything.

Luthar was a small town just a few kilometres from Sirenna Beach. It was not connected to the train lines, only roads. Tom took the bottle of water and put it into one of his pockets. They both finished their glasses and got up and began heading out. Toadette waved back at them as they were heading out.

"We got a text." Tom said to the two at the bar. "We're going to head out for a bit."

"How are you going to find a place to sleep?" Toad asked him before they walked out the door.

"We'll be here tonight." Toadette added, smiling to the cashier, implying that they got a connection with the cashier.

"We'll find a way, surely." Enrique waved at them before heading out first. The family outside had left a while ago. The sun had set in the southwest and the sky was a mixture of dark blue with a haze of red. Some clouds were to the north but the southeast coast looked as clear as it could get. Lanterns were lit up on the southern beaches where Enrique and Tom began walking towards.

"What should we do for dinner?" Tom asked Enrique as they walked along the pavement against the beach.

"Didn't we just have those baguettes an hour ago or so?"

"That was about four hours ago."

"What time is it?" Enrique got out his phone and checked the time. "Fucking hell time goes fast."

"Can you warp?" Tom then asked him.

"Do I look like Duncan?"

The two then walked back into town, hoping that the coins they had on them would be enough...

THE FOLLOWING MORNING...

Just before sunrise, Tom gave Enrique a text letting him know that he was going out onto the beach to wake himself up in the morning. They didn't have contact of any of the four Toads or their martyrs, so he didn't know where any of them would be this morning. He decided to call Luke instead of text, because he knew that he would be up this early. Tom sat on the wall next to the beach and watched the sunrise.

"Hey Tom, congratulations on that fourth place yesterday, by the way. How is everything going?" Luke greeted across the phone.

"Things seem pretty good, but a little confusing. I told George to check on Will to see if he had any marks. He didn't reply last night, do you know anything about it?" Tom replied.

"Marks? I don't think he had any. We were unable to check him thoroughly though, all he's been doing is sleeping since he became in our hands."

"Fair enough, how's everyone else doing there though? You looking after everyone well?"

"Yeah we're stocked up. Jap's out of the house at the moment. How was your sleep?"

"We stayed in a friendly hostel. Enrique's still asleep."

"I thought so. It's quite early for him haha." There was a small pause between Luke's sentences. "As for the princesses, I'm not quite sure what they are up to. Hopefully we'll see eachother in three days though. George told me a lot about what you're doing."

"Yeah it seems a bit late noticed but it seems very important. We're just waiting on what our spies have to report to us."

"That sounds good. I'm going to be making breakfast for the others now. Is there anything else you'd like to ask about?"

"Have you heard much from Jack and Ronald recently?" Luke paused.

"Nope, nothing at the moment." He eventually replied.

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon." They said their goodbyes before Tom hung up. He kept watching the sunrise until someone began to approach him. Tom turned around to notice the familiar blue-shelled Koopa he last saw a few weeks ago and more often just under a month ago.

"Hey Koops, I didn't expect to see you around here." He said to the Koopa and shook hands with him.

"How are you doing? I live here now actually. I don't like how busy the capital is looking. Plus I kind of retired that whole agent business with the Brigade also. It's too dangerous working for them." Koops replied to Tom, explaining his current state. He got a little suspicious as to what he would be doing now here now that he's no longer working on the inside with the Brigade. "It's kind of funny actually. Ludwig once told me about three weeks ago that he would let me sign up to the races and find someone to partner with me. Ever since he said that I haven't seen him since. Do you happen to know where any of the Koopa kids are these days?"

"You'll have to ask Bowser himself about that. Actually, I don't even know if he knows either. I was told they were taken off secretly onto a sky ship and sent away westward." Tom still stared straight into the sunrise.

"So what brings you here then?" Koops then asked Tom back. "I was just going for a morning bathe in the sea and all of a sudden you show up here."

"I'm here on a certain business, outside of the races as a matter of fact. I'm spending the day along the coast until tomorrow when we go back into the eaves to Luigi's Mansion. Every day when there isn't a race I've got to be helping out these other guys, so there's a lot of travelling for me to do each day. Thankfully most tracks are local for now." Tom got up and followed Koops on to the beach. He helped him carry his towels and his summer bag containing all his essentials for the morning. "How are your friends doing then?"

"I hope they're doing fine. They got tickets for Mushroom Bridge and watched that. They said that race was awesome. They're going to see Shy Guy Falls too, and I think Coconut Mall? Not too sure."

"How comes you're not going to the events with them. Did something happen in your group?" Tom looked at Koops concerned as they were strolling through the cool morning sands. Koops set up one of his towels on the sand just before the flat part against the smooth waves and sat down for a bit before taking off his shell.

"I needed a bit of alone time from them to be honest, as weird as it sounds." Koops sighed. "I had a bit of a small argument with Koopie but the others are fine, they just want the fun with her more. They also have much more convenience with their jobs also, since they weren't working on the inside like I was." He began taking off his shell, getting ready for a swim. It was a bit cloudy this morning, and less bright compared to yesterday. The temperature was average however; the sea breeze was not cold enough to be a problem for him. Tom walked over towards the waves first and stood just before them, not quite reaching his shoes.

"I don't think they're as much of a government supporter as you are though." Tom pointed out, waiting for Koops to walk over.

"That's the biggest misconception; I never was." He dipped his feet into the cool shallow sea and eventually started to walk slowly deeper in before leaning forward and beginning to swim in the waters. Tom felt shocked on the inside, paying attention to what Koops said about not properly being a supporter despite working for them. He grew suspicious. Perhaps this could be one of the first spies he would be looking for. Tom didn't want to make it obvious that he was going to interrogate him, so he sat by the edge of the shore thinking of how to approach Koops with questions. Eoréc and Neodjan had already left the town, but the real question was to let them handle it or ask about it himself.

"You were there when the Larry and Ludwig had Enrique held up didn't you?" Tom asked his first question to Koops whilst he was breast stroking in a circle in a shallow bit of water not far from him.

"Yes I was, but I didn't really do much after that. Their mess wasn't in my hands anymore. I only had him in when Koopak III was lurking around in the city. I also don't know where he is either. Some people said he's gone back home to Delfino." He went underwater, giving Tom some time to wait before he could ask his next question. He then realised that Koops' service to the government and spying on them wasn't to report back to the north but towards the allies of Bowser, which was not a direct source of information he could get about the north.

"Do you know anything about the northerners then?" Tom asked, trying to see if he could gather anything Koops would know.

"Why would you ask me that? I've never been there before actually." Koops gave a surprising yet believable answer. "Except for when I was younger and we'd go and visit Koopol's family a couple times... but those don't happen anymore."

"Yeah, he got disowned or something." Tom replied, watching Koops go underwater again. A wave finally approached Tom's shoes. He decided to take two steps back and sit down on the dry flat sand. Some bits stuck on to his backside but he knew to clean them off later with one of the towels.

"What really concerns is where both Koopaks are at the moment. When was the last time you saw Koopak II?" Koops asked after rising up from the surface again. He began to freely float in the same spot, looking towards Tom.

"If I can recall it was a brief moment during that incident he made on the castle." Tom looked up into his thoughts. "That's about it." He looked back down to Koops. "It seems like a lot of other important people in this day and age that seem to be off-grid or missing. I don't know where Marrec is, I don't know where the twins are, I don't know where Jack and Ronald are."

"Don't talk to me about Jack. He's probably wanted right now just like Duncan is." Koops laughed, slowly swimming back to the shore.

"Where is Jagem?" Tom then asked just for interest purposes.

"He's with the others. Nothing different about him since New Year's." He nodded back at Koops and passed one of the towels over to him. "You might see him at Shy Guy Falls, who knows."

"That's nice to hear. I still can't believe what happened to him just before with Jack. I should speak to him about it the next time I see him." Tom watched Koops wrap the towel around himself and let him sit next to him on the other towel.

"Yeah that would be good, and if you see Jagem let him know that I asked how he was doing for me. It would be much appreciated... and to the rest of them. I will see them whenever I can if they are up for it." Koops put his shell back on and packed up his bag. The two walked back to the open pavement area just beyond the beach before the town square. Tom got out his phone to receive a text from Enrique. 'Where r u' it read.

"Enrique's looking for me. Do you want to see him?" Tom asked Koops after they cleaned the sand off their clothes. He texted Enrique, telling him to meet by the wall, separating the beach. Afterwards, Tom sat down on the wall that separated the square and the beach.

"Sure." Koops replied with a bright mood. "I guess we can come to good terms now." Within a few minutes Enrique appeared from the side of a block, coming from the way to the hostel. He stopped and noticed Koops with Tom, surprised about him being in the town.

"Why is he here?" Enrique asked after walking over to the two. Koops looked embarrassed, waving briefly at him. "Isn't he wanted or something?"

"No, I think I'm fine!" Koops went over to shake hands with Enrique, but he was blanked as Enrique walked past him to stand in front of Tom. "Rude." Koops mumbled behind him.

"Don't be like that to him." Tom spoke in Koops' defence.

"No hard feelings Koops." Enrique turned around and re-offered the handshake. "We're a bit busy here."

"With what?" Koops shook his hand, feeling slightly better.

"We're on patrol looking for spies." He said confidently and ignorantly to him. Enrique knew Koops was definitely not a spy to the north and it didn't matter to him if he was a spy for Bowser still. "We're trying to find out of there are anybody from the north here illegally and trying to spy on the people here, especially Toads of this Kingdom."

"Is there anything else about this? Or is it just something set up by you two?" Koops walked over to the two and stood on top of the wall to look the same height as them.

"We're responding to two high-ranking Red Martyrs, they are currently going to Luthar, but I think we will be seeing them later today in Ricco Harbour once they get there." Enrique felt confident with sharing their plans and information to Koops, which surprised Tom because of what he said about their terms.

"Luthar? The coastal town that way?" He pointed.

"Yes, I feel like I've talked about this three times now."

A few minutes later, Tom received another text from Eoréc.

Nothing suspicious in Luthar, moving on to Ricco Harbour. It's a big town so we may need you here in advance.

"Eoréc's texted. He wants us at the Harbour just in case." Tom looked up to the others.

"Take the train." Koops insisted. "You'll get there quickly, within fifteen minutes I believe." He knew that this would be another goodbye to them, so we got down from the wall and waited for their response to him.

"Good idea." Tom stated. He thanked Koops for his morning company and started walking back into town with him until they reached the main square. The station was to the south nearing towards the detention centre, and Koops' temporary home was situated in the northern edges of the town.

"Best of luck in the races to come." Koops departed from the square and began heading back home. Tom and Enrique then turned to the south and headed towards the station. On their walk towards the southern edge of the town the two stumbled across the same four Toads from yesterday. They were all eating breakfast at a table outdoors and outside another cafe. Toad was the first to notice them as they were walking down the road. He waved at them and made them notice eachother, happy to see them once again.

"Tom, Enrique! Where are you two heading off to?" Toad noticed where they were going. He and Toadette were not given any response back from their martyrs, so they were just spending the morning chilling out with the others.

"Off to Ricco Harbour, thankfully we were the first to be given a response from our martyrs." Tom stopped to speak to the Toads. They all smiled back at him. Enrique soon stopped afterwards, but didn't feel interested in having a conversation. He kept looking forward to peer into the distance, having a look at train times for the southern coast express. In the distance he saw three trains on the board. The first one was heading for Toad Harbour via Super Bell Subway in four minutes, one heading to Seven Farms via Elhelm in six, and the third going to North Port Village. This meant the train they were to catch was the opposite platform train going to Seven Farms, since he knew that Elhelm was on the southern coast.

"Tom, we gotta catch our train. It's in a few minutes." He interrupted Tom whilst he was having a discussion with the Toads. Enrique didn't listen to anything the Toads said back to him, even if they were positive comments.

"All the best! See you tomorrow!" He overheard Toadbert cheer for him. Enrique smiled, and then led Tom up the stairs into the station. The two headed towards the other side of the station and then down the stairs towards the other platform. The opposite platform was busy, for it was still the morning rush for work in the capital. Their platform only had two other Koopas on it, and since there were no trains on the platform as they got there, most of the citizens waiting on the other side began to stare at Tom and Enrique. They received many waves, but not as much commotion as they expected. Tom also noticed the banner against one of the walls on the other platform, showing a picture of Funky Kong and Cranky Kong.

Eventually the train arrived and the two boarded. Most of the people on the other platform had already disappeared, getting on the Toad Harbour train and getting off at South Port to switch over. The direct train to Mushroom City East was still closed down after the chase incident three weeks ago.

This is the Platform 2 service to: Seven Farms via Elhelm. Calling at: Ricco Harbour, Meterene, Isle Port Station, Elhelm, Frinméy Beach, Ardror, Gelato Beach, Winnick, Swanland, Uproost, and Seven Farms. This train will call at additional stations for peak times, so please take extra caution if the train becomes overcrowded.

Thankfully Tom and Enrique were only riding along for one stop. After a few more the train then became overcrowded for the amount of busy citizens heading off to work in Seven Farms: one of the busiest modern-day cities and a huge junction for other services.

Sirenna Beach was also a termination spot for some train journeys. It had four platforms. Two for continuing journeys and two for trains leaving and arriving. The two boarded on the southernmost platform, where the train began its journey. The carriages were empty for them, so Enrique decided to nap for a short while as the train made its way southwest along the shore, passing Luthar on its way.

EOC: Well this was quick. Hopefully I can get another done in a week or so, this final part was written on the 23rd which was 2 days after I released the previous chapter. By the time you see this I am for at least 3 more spare chapters in the bag. That way I could also release faster.