Chapter Text
(The Excess Express, Mario's Cabin)
Mario and his partners were on board the Excess Express, on their way to Poshley Heights where the next Crystal Star was located; however, not everyone could stay in just one cabin, so Nathan proposed that there should be 3 groups of 6 and each group would get their own cabin, Mario's cabin was number 5 with Koops, Vivian, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as his roommates, Nathan's cabin was number 4 with Goombella, Joseph, Bobbery, Liko, and Roy as roommates, and Kieran's cabin was number 3 with Ms. Mowz, Flurrie, Carmine, Dot, and Evan as roommates, "Aw, yeah, the Excess Express! This is so deluxe, man!" Joseph said with his hands behind his head, "Yeah, I've never really been on many trains, but this place is really nice." Dot said as she looked around Mario's cabin, "Don't relax yet, there could still be the possibility that Grodus sent somebody here to follow us..." Nathan reminded everyone, "Yeah...Anything could happen over these 3 days. But let's take it easy for now, we deserve it after what happened at Keelhaul Key." Liko said as everyone that wasn't staying in Mario's cabin were about to leave, that's when they saw a piece of paper on the floor, "Uh, hey, was this piece of paper always on the floor? Did somebody drop it on the way in?" Koops asked everyone, nobody responded, "No...Somebody must've slid it underneath the door while we were talking." Nathan said as Mario picked up the letter and started reading it, "So, what does it say?" Goombella asked as everyone else took a look at the letter,
"Don't go to Poshley Heights! Get off the train now, otherwise a sticky, yummy doom awaits you!"
"Woah! What a weird and freaky threat! Who do you think wrote that?" Joseph asked, "I don't know...Must've been an X-Naut..." Goombella thought, "No, it couldn't be, it must've been Dr.Pootis, you know how weird that idiot is." Carmine said, "I'm not sure, maybe Doopliss?" Koops asked, "C'mon, it has to be Marylin based off the threat." Penny said, "No...It has to be Beldam. She's the only one who could write such a thing." Vivian said, "Well whoever it was, this implies that Grodus is now aware of us." Nathan said, "Indeed, we better warn the conductor of this train before things get out of hand, eh?" Bobbery asked, Mario nodded as he placed the note in his pocket and left to go warn the conductor, leaving his partners to do their own thing.
After Mario had warned the conductor and on his way back to his cabin to tell his partners. he saw something odd going on, "Hmmm...Yes, I can say without a slightest hesitation that this smells like a case to me." a penguin that was dressed like a detective said, that's when he noticed Mario, "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...My dear train passenger." the penguin said to Mario, the plumber then pointed at himself, "Yes you. This is a full-fledged mystery, One that impacts you and everyone here!" the penguin told him, "WHAT? A MYSTERY?" everyone else Mario saw shouted, "A mystery, you just say? And, uh, um, er, exactly...What kind of dish is that?" asked a brownish Cheep Cheep wearing a chef's hat, nobody said anything, "I am known as Pennington. I am a detective. At the risk of immodesty, you might say I have a nose for these things." Pennington said to Mario, "Hey, Mario, are you done yet? Everyone's getting worried about you." Nathan suddenly said as he walked out looking for Mario, "Ah, what do we have here? Is this one of your friends?" Pennington asked Mario as he noticed Nathan, "Uhh...I guess you can say that. Mind explaining me what I just walked into?" Nathan asked, confused on what's going on, "Perfect timing, I was just about to explain your friend what's happening." Pennington said, "Really? Well let's just hear this guy out Mario." Nathan told Mario, "You see, I am currently investigating the case of the Pot of Supper Stew that vanished suddenly and mysteriously, and I do believe that I am close to figuring out the suspect." Pennington said in a confident tone, "Playing Detective are we? Sounds cute but we have no time to stick around." Nathan said as he and Mario were about to leave, "The central clue of this case, and the most vital one, as it happens...Is that our perpetrator took the whole pot-stew and all! And so, my esteemed friends...I can only conclude that the one responsible...Is YOU, you gluttonous woman!" Pennington suddenly shouted, pointing one of his flippers at a Toad with purple pig-tails wearing an apron, "WHAAAAAAAAAAT!? ME!?" the Toad asked in a scared tone, "Yes you, you're the one who stole the stew!" Pennington told her, "Are you totally cuckoo!? I have, like, NO idea what you're talking about..." the Toad said, "Don't lie to me, I know it was you!" Pennington said, "Woah, woah, woah! Are you nuts? How could it be her, you don't have any proof." Nathan told Pennington, "Sorry...I felt like I needed to practice my accusation skills, I hope you all understand." Pennington said, everyone gave him a disappointed stare, including Mario, "Mario, what's with all of the shouting? What's taking you so long?" Goombella suddenly came out and asked, "Oh, hey Goombella. Sorry for taking so long, this so-called detective just accused an innocent Toad for stealing a pot of stew. Turns out he was just practicing." Nathan told her, "Detective? Does that mean that there's a mystery?" Goombella asked, "Indeed, I am Pennington. I am the detective currently solving this mystery." Pennington told her, "Omigosh...I've always wanted to solve a real mystery! Mind if we help you?" Goombella excitedly asked Pennington, "My, aren't you excited. Ok, you can help me, what say your friends?" Pennington asked, "What!? Goombella, don't you remember why were here?" Nathan asked her, "Sorry, I couldn't contain my excitement..." Goombella sighed, "Now, Let us get serious, shall we?" Pennington asked.
After interacting with the detective Pennington, Mario returned to his room, now tasked with finding the one responsible for taking the Pot of Supper Stew, "So let me get this strait, some random penguin detective named Pennington is here trying to solve some mystery, and it's because of Goombella that we're helping him?" Carmine asked, "Yes..." Nathan sighed, "Goombella, we don't 'ave time for such silly little games, the fate of the world is at stake." Bobbery told her, "I know that...But c'mon, doesn't that sound like a good change of pace?" Goombella asked everyone, "Now that you mention it, it does sound like a good change of pace, especially after the stuff we've been through." Liko said, "Exactly; besides, it's just some little mystery, it's not like anything bad is going to happen." Goombella said, "Listen, I don't care if this mystery means the fate of the world or not, I'm not doing it." Nathan said, "C'mon, what's wrong with solving a mystery?" Liko asked him, "Look, it's not that I hate mysteries like this, it's just that I enjoy the thrills of battle and the feeling of adventure. So when I'm forced to do stuff like that, I just want to get it done and over with so I don't have to waste time." Nathan told everyone, "I understand that, but can't you make an exception just this once?" Liko asked him, "Why are you insisting me to join on this mystery so badly? Don't tell me you're going to help are you? " Nathan asked her, "Of course I am. This is a chance to take it easy after the stuff we've been through. Do you really enjoy everything we did up until this point?" Liko asked him, "Not really but, it's was exciting. You guys go have fun of something..." Nathan told her before leaving to his cabin, "Just forget about him Liko, even though he's you boyfriend." Goombella told her, "Really? I feel bad for trying to force him to help us..." Liko sighed, "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be over it the next time you see him." Goombella assured her, "Are you sure?" Liko asked her, "Yeah! Now are we done talkin'? Cause I want to solve this mystery!" Joseph suddenly said, "Huh, Joseph? Since when did you say you wanted to help?" Goombella asked, confused as to why Joseph wanted to help, "I'm just interested to see how this'll go." Joseph simply said, "Well, I guess you can help us..." Goombella reluctantly said, "Hell yeah! I won't let you down!" Joseph excitedly said, "Alright, is everyone ready?" Goombella asked, Mario responded with a nod, "Alright, let's go help Pennington out." Goombella said as she left to go help Pennington with his mystery, Mario and the others who wanted to help behind her, leaving everyone else to do their own thing.
Back in Car Three, Mario, Goombella, Joseph, and Liko decided to help Pennington out with his mystery, "Well, look who's back. I see you brought more of your friends, are they here to help solve this mystery?" Pennington asked Mario, "Yeah, we're here to help you." Liko told him, "Hmph, well then...Let's get to the bottom of this, shall we?" Pennington asked in a confident tone, Mario responded with a thumbs-up, "Excellent! We should start by scearching for clues around here, anything here that catches your eye?" Pennington asked as Mario and the others looked around the cart for something suspicious, only to find nothing out of the ordinary, "Well, did you find something interesting?" Pennington asked them, Mario nodded his head, "If we did found something, we would've told you Detective Defective." Joseph told Pennington, "Now, now, there's no need for such aggression...Have you guys checked every nook and cranny of this cart?" Pennington asked again, "Y-you already told us that..." Liko said, confused on why Pennington is asking this after they looked around, "No no, you guys only LOOKED around, not searched. There's a difference." Pennington told them, "Is it too late to leave? This guy is getting on my nerves." Joseph sighed, "C'mon Joseph, you wanted to join us didn't you?" Goombella asked him, "I did, and now I'm regretting it..." Joseph sighed as Mario looked around the room, that's when he noticed something on the floor, "Hmm, did you find anything Mario?" Pennington asked as Mario pointed at what looked like reddish stains on the floor, "Whoa, what is that stuff? Is that blood?" Joseph asked in a slight grossed-out tone, "Don't be ridiculous Joseph, it has to be the stew. What else could it be?" Goombella asked him as she took a look at the stain, "Excellent observation! If we follow this trail, then it should lead us to the thief. There's no time to waste!" Pennington told them as he suddenly stormed off, following the trail of stew, "Hey, wait for us Pennington!" Goombella shouted as she ran off to catch him, "Goddamnit not again!" Joseph shouted as he, Mario, and Liko rushed off not only to catch up to Goombella, but also to Pennington.
Mario and the others followed the trail of spilled stew to the cabin of the one who stole the pot of stew, which brought them in front of the door of cabin 2 and to where Pennington stormed off to, "Here we are, the culprit we are looking for is just beyond this door." Pennington said in a confident tone, "Pennington, can you warn us the net time you storm off like that?" Goombella asked as she finally caught up to the detective, "You're one to talk..." Joseph said, exhausted as Mario and Liko also caught up with them, "Pardon me, I was simply too endorsed in the moment..." Pennington apologized, bowing as he did so, "That's ok; besides, are you sure the culprit is behind here?" Liko asked, "I'm sure of it, a detective is always right." Pennington assured them, "Well, If you say so...Is everyone ready?" Liko asked, everyone nodded in unison, "Alright, would you kindly do the honors?" Pennington asked Mario as the plumber knew what he was talking about, he placed on of his hands on the doorknob and turned it, opening the door and on the other side, they saw a rather chubby Toad with striped blue and light blue overalls holding a spoon and fork, "Whoawhoawhoawhoa! W-what do you want!?" the Toad sacredly asked, confused on why some random people suddenly barged into his cabin, "Good day sir. My name is Pennington, I'm a detective currently investigating the case of the Pot of Supper Stew that vanished suddenly and mysteriously. do you-" before Pennington could finish asking his question, "*BUUUUUUUUUURP*!" the Toad suddenly let out a loud burp, startling everyone in the room, "Oops...Sorry about that...Now, what were you saying about a pot of stew?" the Toad asked, "Well...What I was saying was, do you happen to know what happened to the pot of stew, or are you the one who stole it?" Pennington asked as he regained his focus, "Oh, I get it! Food gets stolen and you blame ME right away with no evidence! NOT NICE! Why call yourself a detective if you just loosely accuse people for a crime they didn't commit? " the Toad scolded Pennington, "Well, how come there was a trail of stew stains leading to your cabin?" Pennington asked, "What? Drops of stew on the floor outside that lead to my cabin? N-no...I wouldn't know anything about that! No! Don't you know people spill stuff!?" the Toad nervously asked, "Hmm, I see...Do you mind if we take a look around your cabin just to make sure you're telling the truth?" Pennington asked, "WHAT!? No, no, no! There's no need to look around my cabin, especially in the drawer, there is nothing suspicious in my room! You won't find a thing!" the Toad told them in a panicked tone, trying his best to prevent them from finding his secret, "Are you sure?" Pennington simply asked, "Y-yes! Now leave!" the Toad told them, "In that case...Mario, how about you check his drawer just to make sure he's telling the truth?" Pennington asked Mario as he went to go check in the drawer, that is until the Toad suddenly stood in front of him, body blocking him from the drawer, "WHAT PART OF THERE'S NO NEED TO LOOK DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?" the Toad yelled out loud, trying his best to prevent Mario from checking his drawer, Mario tried to get past him, but the Toad just wouldn't let him through; suddenly, an egg came flying and hitting his face, knocking him down on the floor, "That's enough of that fatty! Mario, quick, check the drawer!" Joseph told him as Mario went to the drawer and looked around, he mainly found several gourmet-food magazines, one of them being an issue devoted to the food of the Excess Express; however, there was something underneath the magazines, "So, did you find anything interesting?" Pennington asked as Mario took out what they were looking for, an empty golden stewpot, "That's it! That's the pot of stew that went missing!" Pennington pointed out as Mario took out the pot and closed the drawer, "...Alright, you win! It was me, I ate it all! I'm SORRYYYYYYYYY!!" the Toad cried out as Liko helped him up off the floor, "So you finally confess...Don't you know that stealing is wrong?" Liko scolded the Toad, "Listen, I was so enamored by the stew that I wanted to devour more..." the Toad sadly told them, "And you thought stealing it was the best option? How the hell did you even steal it given your size?" Joseph asked, "I stole it when the chef was chopping shallots...I'm sorry, it was a brief moment of weakness..." the Toad sighed, "Don't worry, we all have our moment's of weakness, but promise that this'll never happen again, ok?" Goombella asked him, "Yes, I promise it won't happen again..." the Toad said, "Ahahaha! Justice has once again been served! Very satisfying! May this terrible crime never recur! Thank you all for your assistance." Pennington triumphally said, placing his flippers on his sides, "Glad we could help. It was a nice change of pace after the stuff we've been through." Liko said, "Hold on, before we part ways, there's something we need to show you." Goombella said, remembering about the mysterious note they found eariler, "Hmm, what is it you have to show me?" Pennington asked as Mario took out and handed him the mysterious note, Pennington began to read it to himself, "So, do you know anything about this weird note?" Goombella asked as Pennington finished reading it, "Hmm...I see...I would like to continue; however, we cannot speak in here. Find me in cabin 6 so that we can discuss this in private, don't bring any of your partners...Remember to return the pot back to the chef, if you could." Pennington told them as he left, presumably to cabin 6 like he said, "Well, that was a fun change of pace, wasn't it?" Goombella asked, "Yeah, it was. But we still need to figure out who sent us that mysterious note..." Liko said, "Yeah, Pennington did asked us to visit him in cabin 6 later...Do you think he'll help us or is he just screwing with us?" Joseph asked, "I don't know, but he did say that we're not allowed to go with Mario." Goombella said as they wondered why Pennington wanted to see Mario alone, "Umm...Can you guys please leave my room now? This is sorta awkward..." the Toad asked them, "Oh, sorry. We'll leave you alone now." Liko told him as Mario and the others left his room.
(Mario's cabin)
After having solved the mystery, Mario followed on Pennington's words and talked to him in cabin 6, Pennington said that he will help Mario on solving the mystery on the mysterious letter and after their talk, it was almost nighttime, so Mario decided to head back to his cabin and get settled into bed, inside his cabin he saw everyone inside doing their own thing, Nemona and Arven were polishing their respective weapons, Koops and Vivian were talking to each other, and Penny was on her phone, presumably looking at photos or texting somebody, then noticed Mario, "Ah, Mario, welcome back. How did it go with Pennington?" Vivian asked, Mario responded with a thumbs-up as he took off his shoes, "That's good. So, did you manage to figure out what the deal was with that weird note?" Arven asked, Mario shook his head, "No? Well did you at least enlist the help of Pennington?" Koops asked, Mario nodded, "Perfecta. I'm sure with his help, we can figure out who sent that note, even though it was for sure one of Grodus's minions." Nemona said as Mario took off his hat and hung it on the hook on the bed, "Yeah, but we don't know who sent it. My money's on Dr.Pootis." Penny said, "Let's not think about that right now; for now, let's focus on getting some sleep." Arven said as Mario jumped into his bed, covering himself with the bed sheets, "You getting ready for bed now Mario?" Vivian asked as Mario tossed out his clothes from behind the sheets before laying down onto his bed, covering himself with the sheets, the plumber responded to her question with a thumbs-up, "I thought so...Alright, good night everyone." Vivian said as everyone collectively went to bed; not Mario however, he wondered what would happen tomorrow before going to bed, he wondered for a few seconds before he drifted off to sleep.