As the train rattled down the tracks, the sun illuminating through the open window, I did some morning stretches to limber up for whatever the day would bring. Even if we were on a train, it seemed like this wasn't any less hectic than what we were dealing with in our last few adventures. In the top bunk, Peach was combing out her hair and humming to herself. A nice small peace before the inevitable chaos that would ensue soon. Eggi had taken up…what I could only describe as morning shadow boxing…given his size though it was more throwing his body all over the room in a mock fight fashion. I guess that was his way of getting some exercise in the morning.

"So, what should we do today?" Peach asked as she put the back of her hair into a loose ponytail.

"Breakfast first! Then bad guy hunting!" Eggi spoke up plopping down with an exhausted sigh.

"We probably need to meet back up with Penington." I said, feeling something give a slight pop on my last stretch and making my body loosen; ah, that's the stuff, "He's still our best bet on finding the person who sent us that threatening note."

"Agreed. But after we find them, I recommend we take advantage of the train's many luxury commodities." Peach suggested, pulling out a small brochure. The luxury of this train wasn't just due to its clean interior and quality rooms, this place was PACKED with luxurious amenities that put yachts to shame. I had been running around the train cabins so much yesterday that I had only seen the five-star dining car and kitchen but this thing apparently had a spa car with personal masseuses on standby, "I HAVE to get all the girls together for a spa treatment, try to get some color in Vivian's face, poor girl is so pale."

"Might have something to do with her being a shadow witch." I brought up.

"What's that?" Eggi asked pointing to one of the cars on the map.

"Looks like…a casino? On a train? I thought everything was comped on this trip?" I asked. Peach scanned over the brochure and pointed at a small asterisk in the bottom corner, "*Complimentary service does not include any gift shops and/or gambling services provided by the Excess Express Corporation and its affiliates."

"Can we check it out?"

"I think you're a bit young to gamble."

"Boo." Trust me Eggi, not as much fun as it looks.

After a hearty breakfast we made our way Pennington's car, catching a conversation taking place as we slid the door back.

"I see, that is quite the conundrum. Ah, Gareth! Your timing is impeccable! A new case has arisen! Mr. Businessman, please explain the facts to my assistant Gareth." Right, forgot about that name mistake…this is gonna be a long day. The businessman in question appeared to be the ratman from yesterday's stew mishap. He seemed extra frazzled this time though, probably because he was the one being wronged this time around instead of accused.

"Ok, ok, here's the deal…when I woke up this morning, my briefcase was gone! It contained all the contracts for our next deal, and even our new product prototype! If I don't recover it, I'll lose my job, at the LEAST!"

"Sued at the worst?" Peach asked and his face visibly whitened. Fair to say she hit the nail on the head.

"Take a breath." I said to calm his tense nerves. "Anything else I need to know?"

"W-Well, the product in question is called, 'Nitro Honey Syrup'. Used properly, it's an amazing product that can even raise the dead." Not a comforting idea, "But if mixed with the calcium from a seashell and a bit of gold, the results could be EXPLOSIVE! The resulting goo-blast would immobilize everyone here in a sticky, yet yummy, shellac!" Sounds like our perp would live up with the earlier threat…seashells? Wasn't that waitress missing seashell earrings? I wonder if someone on this train is missing something gold.

"Pennington, has anyone on this train reported missing something made of gold?"

"Sharp, my apprentice. Yes, the lady, Toodles, has lost her gold ring!" Then it's likely our perp has everything they need for their sticky blast.

"Well, the train hasn't stopped since we all got on yesterday morning. And these missing item reports only started coming in after we had already taken off. Our perp has to still be on the train."

"I-Indubitably!" Pennington spoke up. "That was just what I was going to say."

"If somebody was robbing passengers then they must have been spotted by someone." Peach said. "There's not a lot of places to hide."

"Then we need to talk to the only people who have been all around this train since yesterday." I said making my way out the cabin.

"G-Good luck my apprentice…I'm glad to spark your investigative spirit!"

With breakfast still being served, tracking down Koops and Mowz was easy enough. They had been stationed at each end of the dining car so all we had to do was wait for everyone to finish breakfast, at which point we had the car to ourselves.

"Any suspicious people?" Koops asked. "I don't think so, at least nobody not on the passenger list." He reached into his shell and produced a scrap of paper with a list of names on them. It included all of the passengers and the small handful of staff that had been allowed onboard…except Mowz…who apparently had taken the place of someone named Grace.

"Then the perp has to be one of these people." Eggi added, slapping the paper making Koops drop it and scramble to pick it back up. Grabbing a spare napkin and a pen from my bag, I wrote down all the names on the list, excluding our group and poor replaced Grace.

"We can cross off Penington and Mr. Business." Peach said.

"Right, also the two ladies who were stolen from along with the portly Toad. We already searched his cabin yesterday." I added.

"In that case, we can probably also cross off the chef too."

"The engineer hasn't left his post since the train started moving." Mowz informed us. "Last night he was even sleeping in the driving cabin."

"I'm gonna go ahead and cross off the Bob-omb family. We solved that case yesterday." I spoke.

"Oh, right! The gift shop attendant isn't allowed to leave the gift shop for any reason." Koops piped up. Hope there's a bathroom for him in there. That left us with two suspects left. The manager for Koops and the celebrity Zip Toad.

"You think it could be your manager?" I asked.

"I don't see how. Our personal lockers aren't large enough for any of the stuff that's missing. The only place he might be able to hide them that nobody would look for them would be the lost and found." Considering we had spent a decent time in there last night I probably would have at least seen the earrings…but I didn't. Even then the only reason we got out was because Koops was able to get the keys. I imagine he would have been more careful with them if he were hiding something in there. Which leaves…

"Have either of you seen Zip Toad wandering around?" Koops and Mowz thought for a moment.

"…I did see him spending extra time in the dining hall chatting up the little waitress yesterday morning." Mowz brought up, "It was before the whole missing stew fiasco though so I wrote it off as celebrities being vain.

"When I was making my rounds last night, I found him coming out of Madam Toodles room but…I didn't want to assume anything…unseemly." Koops's face was turning beat red as he kept talking, Mowz's smile grew wider.

"Spicy~!" More suspicious given the line of events so far.

"Peach, Eggi, I think it's time to give our celebrity guest their appearance credit." Peach gave me a confused look, "N-Never mind. Line doesn't work in this setting." At least not this reality…do they have a Law-and-Order Style show here?

Sliding open the door to cabin one, Eggi barreled in and pointed his finger out accusingly.

"WE KNOW IT WAS YOU!" Unfortunately for him, he jumped the gun. The room was devoid of the person we were looking for. Eggi stood there dumbfounded as his hyped-up energy dissipated without any target. Peach picked him up and placed him in her sack as he dejectedly looked over her shoulder. The room was empty, which was strange considering the amount of stuff I've seen celebrities bring with them on trips. But there wasn't even a suitcase or backpack stuffed with clothes, at was as though nobody had ever been in this room. The bedspread wasn't even disturbed…hang on.

"What's this?" Sticking out from under the pillow was a white sheet that almost blended in with the fitted sheet. The paper itself was flush with technical jargon and fine print wording that I had to skim through just to avoid giving me a headache. I did recognize a string of words on it though, 'Nitro Honey Syrup', "We need to find him now."

"Let's sweep the train!" Peach suggested getting pumped up for the man hunt.

"We should grab Vivian and Goombella then to do a simultaneous sweep." She nodded in agreement and we quickly rushed out to head to their cabin.

As we enter the car, I had to skid to a stop before I almost ran into Goombella. She jumped backwards slightly before giving a small sigh.

"What's got you in such a rush? You look like you're on a timer…wait, are you? Is there a bomb on the train!?" I don't like the excitement in her voice as she said that.

"Have you seen that famous toad guy?" Eggi asked.

"No. Is he a bomber!?"

"Please sound more worried." I said trying to impart the bomb threat stakes she had set up. "We just checked his room for him but found nothing." She gave me a quizzical look.

"But…I thought I just heard your room door slide closed a few minutes ago." That information immediately put me on edge. I move quickly and quietly over to our room and peaked in through the window finding it empty…

"He must be somewhere else, come on." As I said that, I motioned for everyone to stay where they are. With my best hand gesture work I could muster, I tried to signal to Vivian to slip into the shadow and slip into the room to catch them…unfortunately she gave me a confused look, so I whispered it to her. With a confident nod, she fell into the floor and her shadow slipped under the door. If Goombella just heard the door, odds are they were still in there.

"…Gah!"

"Ah!" With the simultaneous sound of surprise, I ratcheted open the door to see Toad Zip sitting stunned in the center of the room with a frazzled looking Vivian behind him. Eggi burst out of Peach's bag and leapt at Zip Toad trying to grab him in a chocker hold.

"We've got you now!" Eggi exclaimed as he tried to reach his tiny arms around Zip Toads' throat as he flailed and panicked. Reaching down, I grabbed both by the scruff of their necks. I never realize until I get an opportunity like this but Toad's are only half my height. Placing Eggi back in Peach's arms, I held Zip Toad out for Goombella to tie his arms behind his back.

"Who's my strong little guy?" Peach cooed as Eggi huffed.

"…I am."

After he was restrained, we brough him back to Pennington's room as the sun began to set. Along with the stolen paperwork and experimental honey syrup, we also found the Waitress's earrings and the high-class woman's gold ring. Seems he fully intended to create the sticky bomb we had been threatened with when we got on yesterday.

"I see, Zip Toad is our mastermind…or is he!?" Pennington whipped around and pointed dramatically, making everyone gasp in shock despite him not revealing anything yet.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"His discolored nostril hairs gave him away. Clearly, he cannot be the real Zip Toad." …Really? I want to refute that but I also don't want to look up some guys' nose.

"Curses!" Zip Toad(?) exclaimed. "My plan would have worked if I had managed to get off at Riverside Station!"

"But the train is non-stop." The business ratman brought up.

"Indeed…unless he sabotaged the schedule."

"I think Riverside is just before a chasm connected by a bridge." Goombella brought up, holding open the Excess Express brochure she had gotten at the start of the trip.

"Then the only reason the train will stop is because that bridge is up!" Vivian deduced. So he's not working alone? Moving forward, I picked the fake celebrity up to look him in the eye.

"You couldn't have done that yourself. Who are you working with?" He began to chuckle, his pitch rising into a maniacal laughter.

"Like I'd ever tell you!" Before my eyes, he exploded in a cloud of smoke, shocking me into letting him go. I couldn't see a thing as the train lurched slightly and the loudspeaker came on.

"Attention passengers. We apologize but we must make a brief stop at Riverside station. Please wait while we see to the small delay. Thank you." The smoke cleared once the announcement stopped. At the door to Pennington's room, I could see Doopliss giving a wicked grin.

"See ya later slick!" With that final taunt, he rushed down the hall as I booked after him. He turned to the open door off the train and jumped out. As I followed after, I burst out into the evening sun and whipped my head around to find him, only finding an expanse of desert and mountain in my view.

"Damn, he got away." I grumbled as the others caught up to me.

"What a confounding individual." Pennington said.

"You think he actually did something to the station?" Peach asked. I looked over to find a bridge raised in front of the train and a bunch of toads arguing about it near a building just to the side of it.

"He at least got the train to stop. That's what he wanted."

"D-Do you think…" Vivian began looking a little conflicted. "…Is he working with Beldam?" That consideration made sense, but it didn't put me at ease.

"…Can you two find Mowz and Koops and do a sweep of the train to be safe?"

"S-Sure…"

"We'll be thorough!" Goombella assured me, dragging Vivian back into the train. I looked to Peach who was focused on the large building.

It was clear just from looking at it that it had fallen into disrepair; whatever stop this had been before wasn't the case since they made it a non-stop ride with the Excess Express. The Toads working on the door were even struggling with the rusted lock, pulling at it to try and snap it off as whatever key they had put into it had broken in the lock.

"Yoo Hoo!" Peach and I looked up to see Flurrie floating down towards us on her cloud, Bobbery clinging to her the whole time. When she landed, Bobbery flopped off still shaking and took a deep breath.

"I'm a man of the sea. I was not meant to fly through the sky at such high speeds…almost ruins the gentle sea breeze I loved so much." I placed a sympathetic hand on his back and he picked himself up from his first flight.

"I must admit to feeling a bit bored with the travel myself darlings." Flurrie spoke up.

"Don't worry. One more day and we'll be there. I'll even make sure you guys get cabins back." I promised, waving the stack of golden tickets I had gotten from Don Pianta.

"Thank ye." Bobbery said on the verge of tears…maybe I can set them up in the ghost cabin for now. Odds are we delt with the major problem for the trip with the whole Doopliss thing. But now we needed to get the bridge down.

"…Hey Bobbery, feel up to explode?"

"In more way than one boy." …Gross.

After a cup of tea, curtesy of Peach, Bobbery's nerve had been calmed enough for him to blow the door off its hinges.

"…Sorry." He tipped his sailor caps to the awestruck Toads. Aside from the door debris, the inside seemed as untouched as the exterior. Based on the schedule boards and booths this was an old station for the train and what appeared to be a cruise ship that traveled along a nearby canal. Must have been why they made a drawbridge.

"Ah, I remember that cruise ship." Flurrie said wistfully. "I was on its maiden cruise and its final cruise." Feeling a pang hit my brain at this comment, I scanned around and swiped up an old pamphlet.

"…Flurrie, how old are you!?" She gave a dark giggle.

"Soren, you should know better than to ask a woman her age." Well…this puts her higher than I expected, "Such a sad state for a regular spot…I'll never be able to enjoy the noodle shop that was so popular here ever again." She let out a sad sigh.

"The bridge controls should be in this station somewhere." The conductor mentioned. Looking behind the ticket booth counter, I noticed an elevator in the back-office room. Hopping over, I tugged at the elevator door and only met with the click of a stuck latch.

"Guess we're not using the elevator." I spoke.

"Can't we just blow it open?" Eggi asked.

"Not unless we want to destroy the elevator."

"I found some stairs over here!" Bobbery yelled from another end of the office.

"Must be down there then." The conductor mused looking a bit worried.

"We can take care of this for you." I quickly offered.

"That be a big help."

"On one condition." Peach interjected. "Would you mind setting up a room for Miss Flurrie and Admiral Bobbery on the train? It would only be to Poshley Heights." The conductor gave us a conflicted look as he thought over the compromise in his head.

"Ah…alright. We might have a free room for them…we just typically don't use it."

"Perfect!" Peach clapped her hands together and the Toad went quiet. Peach seemed to have an unnatural skill at making sure a deal ended when she wanted it to. "Now, shall we go?"

"You realize you booked a haunted room for an already frazzled sea navigator, right?" I brought up.

"Shall we send him back into the air then?" …I'd lose the shirt off my back negotiating with her, wouldn't I?