"I said a maximum occupancy of three." Pennington said as he glared at Eggi who was currently being carried by Peach.

"I'm not leaving my baby behind." Peach explained with a pout as she held Eggi tightly.

"Don't think I can handle whatcha gotta say?" Eggi asked shaking his tiny fist. Pennington shook his head before approaching me and placing a flipper on my shoulder.

"Clearly you need my help if you cannot handle such simple code my young detective friend." I just let his comment slide off as he turned to move towards the window, the scenery in the distance moving by as the train clattered against the tracks. Surprisingly, these compartments didn't seem to be affected by the movements of the train, not even a shake or vibration being felt in the cabin. Even the standard cabins were high-end it seems, "Now, while the portly gentlemen may have been our stew thief, I do not believe he is the sticky, yummy malcontent that threatened your group. His room did not seem to contain any clues as to that notion." If Mowz had seen anything suspicious I'm sure she would have told me, "But I must admit that you have a certain knack for detective work."

"Ah, just a passing eye for detail." I downplayed. Not sure games counted as knack for detective work or just a trained eye for out of the ordinary details.

"Nevertheless, I shall give you an opportunity to work as my assistant and develop your burgeoning talent." He turned back to face me, tipping his hat, "To reiterate, my name is Pennington. I am a detective from Poshley Heights. Known in some circles as 'The Penguin With the Improbably Large Brain'. I am sure you have heard of me, so that is all I will say on the subject." He has no concise naming ability. Looking over I could see Peach trying to think up an alternative to that mouthful of a nickname.

"…Oh! How about 'The Penguin PD'?" Pennington mused this over.

"For a small town ingenue, you have a talent for wordplay." At least enough to impress him. Peach beamed a proud smile, "Now, while your name must remain secret lest your secrets fall into the wrong hands, I must be able to call you something." Should I tell him he's got us pegged all wrong…nah, curious how long he'll keep up this story in his head, "But, you look strikingly similar to a noteworthy person I'd seen in a news article months ago…I think I shall use their name to complete the disguise you've chosen…Gareth!" …I…don't know how to feel about this choice. Peach gave a muffled giggle, "Now, about this threat. Our man has declared his intent to yummify the train. A sticky, tasty explosion…that family of Bob-ombs! They are definitely suspects!"

"Not sure they fit the 'yummy, tasty' part of the threat." I brought up.

"Explosions are their bread and butter though. Now let us reduce this case to rudimentary facts and deduce the truth!" Looking out the window, I noticed the sun begin to set over the far mountain view, "And let us make haste before dinner is served."

I was hesitant to enter the Bob-ombs cabin. I could hear two voices bickering incessantly over something to do with money and gifts. With a small knock on the door, I waited for a response, the raised voices continuing their dispute. What greeted us was the small Bob-omb boy.

"Oh, hello again. Sorry about mom and dad, they're arguing over what to get me for my birthday."

"Oh, that's less worrying than what it could have been." I said with a small sigh of relief. "Happy birthday kid." He gave me a big smile. He glanced down the halls before beckoning me forward so he could whisper in my ear. "I saw you hanging out with the penguin guy earlier. Are you a detective now?" I nodded, "Great! Maybe you can figure out what I want for my birthday! Mom and Dad have no idea what I actually want."

"Think you could give us a hint?" Peach asked leaning in to join the whisper huddle. His cheeks turned pink at her smile and he fidgeted.

"O-Okay…it starts with an 'A' and it can be gotten by someone who's always on this train. But that's all you get." Before I could ask anything else, he zipped back into the cabin and shut the door.

"You ever make a criminal spill their guts just by smiling?" I asked Peach. She thought for a moment.

"…One time actually."

Pennington mused on our clues. At this point I was pretty sure it wasn't the Bob-omb family who was threatening us but helping the kid out seemed like the right thing to do.

"Hmmm…I've got it! He wants and autograph!" Well that does start with an A, "And not just from anyone, that celebrity riding on the train, Zip Toad. I doubt he ever leaves his room. That must be the answer."

"Didn't Zip Toad show up when the stew disappeared?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, you accused him of the crime." I brought up. Pennington cleared his throat.

"Of course…just a test of your memory. I'm sure you can find the answer on your own." Pretty sure that was going to happen anyway…an autograph sounds right though. Someone who's always on the train…

"I think I have an idea. Need to check something first." Stepping out of Pennington's cabin, I looked around for Mowz, finding her in our cabin.

"Found me on my break." She said with a smile.

"Well then, while you've been 'working' have you seen a little Bob-omb boy wandering around?"

"Oh my yes. Cute little kid, always sneaking up to the front to spy on the train driver." That clinches it.

"Thanks. Also, if you want to maintain your cover, you should go help Koops. Dinner is getting made and there are a lot of dishes." She gave a sigh before getting up and making her way to the dining car.

After a quick walk, Peach and I came to the front of the train where the engineer was currently stationed.

"Excuse me." I said stepping forward. He turned around and gave me a wave.

"Here to see how the train works? Lucky for you, it's smooth sailing for the next few hours." Glad we weren't interrupting his work.

"We were actually hoping to get your autograph for the little bob-omb kid." I replied as Peach pulled out a notepad and pen from her backpack. The engineer gave a look of surprise before smiling as wide as he could and signing his name across the page.

"Wow…I never expected anyone to want my autograph. That felt fantastic!" And like all signatures, I can barely tell what his name is outside of the C and the A in his first name…huh, finished it off with a star, cool.

I have never seen a kid so ecstatic to receive an autograph from a train engineer. He looked so over the moon about it and even gave Peach a big hug.

"Yeah, we showed that case!" Eggi cheered as he popped his head out of Peach's bag. "What's next? I bet we can handle it! Nothing can…can…" He slowly started to wind down before suddenly dozing off. Peach let out a quiet squeal.

"He's all tuckered out. It's so cute~!"

"Maybe we should take him back to the room for the night. We can report to Pennington in the morning." Peach nodded in agreement and we made our way back to our cabin. As we did, I noticed the waitress in the dinning car, scanning the floor. Motioning for Peach to keep going, I stopped to tap her on the shoulder, she turned with a pensive expression before smiling.

"Hey! You're that guy who caught the stew guzzler!"

"Um…yeah? Are you looking for something?"

"Actually, yeah. See, my ex-boyfriend gave me a pair of shell earrings when we were together, and I've been hanging onto them because of their, like, sentimental value and junk. But I lost them somewhere on this train, and I have, like, no clue where they are." That's a bit of a tough request without a lead.

"I'll make sure to keep an eye out for them."

"Really!? Like, thanks! I've already looked all over the dinning car and haven't seen them. They must be somewhere else on the train." Hm, still not enough to do a full search.

"If I find them I'll let you know."

"You're a sweetie! Thanks~!" Giving her a wave, I made my way to the door to the next cabin, before immediately crashing into someone else and getting knocked onto my back. Sprawled on top of me was Vivian who's cheeks turned pink before dissolving into the floor under me and reforming back on her feet in front of me.

"S-Sorry!" I quickly got up and dusted myself off as she fidgeted in place, glancing around and over her shoulder.

"Something up? You look a bit frazzled."

"U-Um…something weird is happening in the room next to mine and Goombella's room. Moans and weird sounds keep coming out of it…b-but nobody is in there when we look inside."

"Creepy." Looking around, I noticed Koops cleaning up the tables and beckoned him over, "Hey, any reason for the empty room?"

"Apparently it's haunted." He answered. "I asked about it when I got on and they said someone died in it. They don't sell that room anymore because of the incident."

"So…it's a ghost?

"G-G-Ghosts!?" Vivian seemed to shrink at this revelation.

"M-M-Maybe?" Koops replied looking equally withdrawn.

"We delt with boos. This isn't too different." I explained.

"B-B-But these are…lingering spirits." Vivian said whispering those last two words.

"What's the difference."

"Malice creates power." Koops added still shivering. "K-Koopie Koo reads those ghost stories about people who died too soon coming back to take revenge on those who did them wrong…or those who disturb their resting place."

"Wait, so if you die without regret then do you become a Boo?" Koops shrugged. This was just going to get more confusing if I kept poking holes, "Let's figure out what we're dealing with before we lose our heads. Koops, can you ask your manager about the room?"

"On it." Koops rushed off to find his manager.

"Vivian, let's see if we can flush out a ghost."

Vivian was way more powerful than I think her sisters gave her credit for. Or maybe this was just standard Shadow Siren powers, but I was thoroughly impressed with Vivian's ability to make the floor above her shadow pocket transparent from our view. Although her pocket still had us crammed together awkwardly; the best sitting position being Vivian basically in my lap.

"…H-H-How long do we have to wait for?" Vivian asked avoiding eye contact with me for some reason.

"Shouldn't be too long. It was almost night when you told me and now the whole room lit by moonlight. If that's not ghosting hour then nothing is." She gave a small hum of thought and looked back up at the room. "…Oh!" I looked up at what she had seen and noticed a wavy form of a Toad come into view. I tapped her shoulder and she shot us up into the room, startling the ghost who quickly tried to phase out of view.

"Hold up phantom!" I said scrambling to my feet. "We're here to help!" He stopped phasing away and slowly came back into view.

"…Foooooooolish mortals…for your hubris…you shall be CUUUUUURRRRRRRSSSSSSEEEEEDDDD!" Vivian gave a sharp eep and retreated into her shadow pocket.

"YOU ARE DOOOOOOOOO- *hack* *cough*." He let out a series of cough and hunched over to take a deep breath. "…Sorry about that…standard protocol."

"Seems counter-intuitive if you're looking for help." I looked down to see Vivian hesitantly poking out of her shadow pocket. "Any reason you decided to give my friend here a heart-attack?"

"It's not my fault I'm stuck here. I just need to finish my business on this train."

"I think your ticket has expired already."

"I need my diary back. I must have it before anyone reads it."

"And it's on this train?"

"Yeeeeeesssssss." I thought for a moment.

"…One second." Moving to the wall that separated Vivian's room and this one, I gave it three quick knocks and two slow ones. A few seconds later the door to the room opened and Goombella rushed in.

"You find it!?" She asked excitedly. I pointed to the ethereal Toad and she zoomed over, notebook in hand. "Amazing! So different from the standard ghosts…what is your diet?"

"Miiiiisssseeeeerrrrryyyyyyy."

"He's looking for his diary somewhere on this train." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out blueprints for the train. "…I really need to introduce you to Lily when I get the chance."

"If it was collected after you died then it's probably in the cargo hold of the train."

"That's not gonna be easy to get to. We can't just get back there anytime we want."

"What about Miss thief?" Goombella asked.

"I don't know. She's made it clear more than a few times she only steals badges."

"I suppose I could be…persuaded to help." I jumped slightly and turned to see Mowz looking over my shoulder.

"Do you do any work?" Goombella asked with a scowl.

"Enough to avoid 'the talk' with my 'boss'."

"You'd actually help us?" Vivian asked.

"Well, normally I stay away from anything that isn't a badge. But this is less theft and more…returning a lost item. Besides-" She held up a large ring of jangling keys. "I need to return these to the manager and he's inspecting the cargo right now, so this is perfect timing."

"…Did you go looking for badges on the train?"

"Would you believe there wasn't a single badge anywhere on this train? It's so rude for rich people to not carry such high-class items with them!"

"Actually, this is the perfect opportunity. Koops went to find the manager so he might be able to cover both of us."

"Wait…you're actually going to help me?" The ghost asked. "This is a first. Most people just run in terror."

"Don't worry, we'll get your book back." I assured him.

"Well…thanks! Oh, just make sure not to read my diary, or I really will curse you." There was a serious tone in his voice on that last part.

With Koops distracting the manager, it was easy enough for Mowz to slip his keys back on his belt and for me to slip into the lost and found section of the hold…but apparently the journal wasn't the only thing to be left on this train. There were all kinds of knickknacks and comfort items left over from past travelers…including a figure of Bowser…and one of Peach; guess someone was working at a collection…shame it's two figures short now.

"You find it?" Mowz asked and I sighed.

"This lost and found is crate sized and jammed with stuff nobody is coming back for." I replied yanking out a busted umbrella and tossing it into a broken pile I had accumulated in my search. Deciding to go all in, I smoothed my hands into the pile and began to feel around for anything rectangular shaped and made of smooth material like leather. "…Hang on, I feel something…" Gripping my fingers around it, I gave a gentle pull, trying to pull it out without bringing anything else with it.

"I see someone has a delicate technique with their hands." Mowz teased and I chuckled with a roll of my eyes before pulling out the item I was looking for. It was a small leatherbound diary, it had an aged look to the leather with parts falling off or with faded color.

"This must be it." The sound of a door shutting took me out of my good mood as it was followed by the turning of a deadbolt. I rushed to the door of the cargo cabin and pulled at it, finding it locked shut. I moved to bang on the door but was pulled back by Mowz.

"Considering we're here against the rules, it might be better for us to not alert anyone." She had a point. Getting found would make this whole thing way more complicated and strange then it already was.

"Then…I guess we wait until Koops comes back." Pulling out a few of the coats and clothes left over in the lost and found, I set up a small pile to sit and lean onto. Mowz joining and placing her head on my chest as she leaned into me…

"Mind if I ask a few questions?"

"You can ask. No guarantee you'll get an answer you want."

"You're…very flirty with me…are you like that with other people?" She gave a surprised look before giggling.

"Considering the way you act; I wasn't expecting you to be jealous! It's cute! But…no. Others aren't quite as fun as you on that. I can tell just by looking at them."

"You really do have a sharp eye, don't you?"

"It's how I choose a mark. You can tell a lot about a person just by their eyes. Like you." She sat up and grabbed my face, looking me in the eye very closely, "There's a confidence in your eyes that is contrasted by a gentleness and caring gaze. I suppose that's why you're willing to put so much on the line for this friend who was captured. Now, what do you see in my eyes?" Despite my flustered feelings at her being so close, I examined her eyes.

"…W-Well, there's a shifty nature to your gaze…like you're not being 100% honest…but I can see drive…and…kindness." She smiled and moved down to place her head back on my chest as she snuggled in, "…You only rob those who deserve it don't you…is that why you didn't grab any of the badges in that lost and found…because you don't know if someone kind is still looking for them?" She gave a small sigh and closed her eyes.

"The world is bad enough without hurting others who don't deserve it…Mincy and Mic escaped that life for a reason…and they don't want to condemn it to others who don't deserve it."

"…Then I'll be sure to do plenty of business with them when we get back."

"They'll be glad to hear that."

An hour of silence and Min- Mowz's quiet snoring before Koops was able to come let us out with the Manager's keys. After waking her up, the three of us made our way back to the ghost cabin and handed him his journal.

"Finally! I can move on to the next life peacefully!" He slowly rose into the air, "Fare the well, may we meet agaaaain in another liiiiifeeee." He rose, and rose higher…before floating back down. "A-Actually…I kind of like it here…m-maybe I'll stay a little longer. I can leave whenever so it's not too big of a deal." I let out a defeated sigh, feeling like the last hour of my life was wasted.

"Just don't spook the cabins next to you. Okay?"

"No problem. I have my diary so I have no reason to haunt anyone." With the situation resolved, all of us made our way back to our rooms…wait.

"Goombella, you coming?" I asked looking back at the Goomba girl who was still in front of the ghosts, jotting something down in her journal.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'll head back soon. Just have a few more questions. What does being a ghost feel like?"

"Hollow and unconnected."

"Sounds bleak."

"Sometimes." Okay. Closing the door, everyone headed back to their rooms. But before Mowz left, I grabbed her arm.

"Ah, have you finally decided my teasing was too much for you? Is passion in our future?"

"I know you're doing good for Mic and punishing those who deserve it but…I hope that I can help you in some way that you don't have to rob others anymore…Mincy." That mischievous smirk fell from her face and I saw that mouse girl I had bumped into my first time in Rogueport. She gave me a genuine smile.

"If you keep talking like that, you'll make it less fun to tease you." Her tail came up and smacked my nose lightly, startling me and causing my grip to loosen, "I'll hold you to that." With those last words, she dashed off down the hall.

With a weary sigh, I made my way back to my room, Peach and Eggi sleeping in the top bunk peacefully. Popping off my boots and buttoned t-shirt coat, I lied down on my bunk; feeling the exhaustion of the day hit me almost instantly before dozing off to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow I could actually relax on the luxury train.