"Court is now in session! The honorable Judge Kukui presiding!"

I was sat in the Delfino Plaza Courthouse, but this time, I was in the Defendant's chair, Peach and Toadsworth right beside me as my attorneys.

An attorney read out the case file: "As you are no doubt aware, someone has been senselessly defacing fair Isle Delfino using some paint-like substance. The accused is charged with polluting our beautiful home and yes, endangering our very way of life."

He rolled a projector in and brought down a screen from the front of the Judge's stand. "Indeed, how can one not be aware of what is going on?" He moved to the first slide, which showed Delfino Plaza, shrouded in darkness. "Though it is daytime in Delfino Plaza, our poor residents tremble beneath a veil of darkness. Expert Shine scholars have determined that this darkness has arisen because all of our guardians, the Shine Sprites, vanished from their gathering spot at the Shine Gate five days ago." He moved to the second slide, which showed a Shine Sprite. "The reason? It's quite obvious. This horrible graffiti is to blame! Behold Exhibit A: the sketch of the perpetrator based on the only eyewitness description we have, which came from a colorblind Pianta named Steve."

He moved to the third slide, which made me gasp. The sketch was of me!

"And Exhibit B, the graffiti laid down upon our beloved airstrip."

He moved on to the fourth and final slide, which showed exactly that, but from a bird's eye view. I was shocked when I realized that the paint also looked just like me!

"The truth is obvious: The guilty party sits among us. It is none other than Mario!"

Everyone in the courtroom gasped, myself included. The attorney sat down.

Judge Kukui turned to Peach and said, "Does the defense wish to make a statement?"

"He didn't do it!" Peach blurted out.

"Calm down, Princess," Toadsworth pulled her back, "and let me handle this."

Toadsworth stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I must say that, while the evidence does stack heavily in his favor, the plaintiff has not given the full story. We arrived on the Delfino Airstrip at 09:00 hours this morning, far later than the given time of the Shines' disappearance. And as soon as we arrived, Mario took no hesitation in clearing up the goop there."

The jury muttered amongst themselves.

"So, with due consideration, I do hope that you will find my friend not guilty of the crimes charged."

Toadsworth sat back down.

"The prosecution calls Princess Peach Toadstool to the stand!"

Peach walked up the stand and swore to tell the truth and so on.

"Now, Miss Toadstool —"

"You can just call me Peach."

"Right. Peach, where were you at 09:00 hours this morning?"

"I had just arrived at the airstrip on my plane."

"And you're certain that your friend Mario did not create the graffiti?"

"Yes. In fact, I have an idea as to who did."

Mario and Toadsworth looked at each other apprehensively.

"Really? And might I ask who?"

"The shadow man, of course."

There was audible chuckling coming from the jury. The judge glared at them, and they stopped and started to mutter amongst themselves. Toadsworth put his face in his hands.

"I can show you him! Bring up that travel advertisement!"

The attorney shrugged and obliged, pressing some buttons until the projector showed the ad.

"Pause it at the end!"

The attorney did so, and she pointed at the shadow. "See?"

The attorney looked at the fuzzy shape. "No, that's just Background Brandon. He likes to appear in the backgrounds of things. Like this court proceeding." He gestured to the corner of the room where, indeed, Background Brandon was.

"I- what?!" Now Peach was starting to doubt herself. Was she just still on edge from all the kidnappings?

"So there you have it: a woman who believes a shadow man is impersonating her boyfriend. Not to get too political, but it doesn't really seem fitting for her to run a country, does it?"

"Objection!" Toadsworth called out, "Improper impeachment!"

"Sustained. Mr. Openshaw, please sit down."

The prosecutor sat down.

"I'm not sure about this," Toadsworth said to them, "It seems like they've got this."

"Oh, have a little faith," Peach told him, "I'm sure they'll see that Mario's as innocent as a newborn baby!"

Toadsworth chuckled. "You obviously haven't met my grandkids!"

"Has the jury reached a decision?"

"We have, your honor."

We looked on in anticipation.

"We find the defendant guilty."

I gasped, finding myself unable to move from the shock.

"I hereby sentence the defendant to clean this entire island and locate every Shine. Until Isle Delfino is completely free of his vile handiwork, and all 120 Shines are returned to the Shine Gate, Mario shall not be allowed to leave! Court adjourned."

The Pianta cops then took me by the arms, and I was led out of the courtroom.