(A/N: That first chapter showed that both Mario and Peach are feeling horrible. What happens now? Let's get this show on the road and find out!)
It seemed like a long time before the Odyssey finally touched down in the Mushroom Kingdom. And when it did, Princess Peach was ecstatic to see that they they had landed right outside her castle, her home.
"Great! I'm so close to home! Now I can get in there, get my smartphone, and call Mario! At last!" Peach thought in happiness as she disembarked the Odyssey and ran right up to the front doors of the castle. But she had a new problem when she tried to open the doors. They weren't opening. It didn't take long for Peach to realize that the doors had been locked for the night.
"Oh no!" Peach groaned. How was she going to get in there now? If Mario was with her, he could triple-jump his way to her balcony and get into her room through the French doors (which were unlocked), and then make his way downstairs and unlock the doors so she could get in. Unless he gave her a power-up that allowed flight so she could get to her balcony that way.
Oh wait, she knew where there was a spare key to get into the castle in case this sort of thing happened. All she had to do now was find where it was. So Peach looked at the bricks by the door on the right. One of them was not like the others, and that was the one that contained the key.
"Okay, where is it...?" Peach asked herself as she looked at the bricks.
"What are you looking for, Peach?" Tiara asked in confusion as she watched her friend.
"I'm trying to find the spare key to get into the castle. It's hidden inside one of these bricks." Peach replied.
"Which one?" Cappy asked.
"The one that isn't like the others." Peach said, touching the bricks.
"How is this particular brick different from all the others, Peach? Tiara and I can help you find it if you tell us what to look for." Cappy replied.
"Okay. The brick I'm looking for is slightly lighter in color, and it's made of plastic." Peach replied.
So Cappy and Tiara started to help Peach find the lighter, plastic brick. It wasn't too long before Tiara said, "Peach, this brick here doesn't feel like the other ones. I think this may be the one you're looking for."
"Let me check." Peach said. She touched the brick in question and smiled brightly. She said, "Yes! You found it! Thank you, Tiara!"
Then Peach removed said brick from the wall, and sure enough, she pulled the key out of it.
"Wow!" Cappy and Tiara said. They never would've guessed that there was a fake brick hiding a key to get into the castle, and that it was barely noticeable.
"Here we go!" Peach said as she inserted the key into the lock, and quickly unlocked the doors. With that done, Peach replaced the key and the brick, and entered the castle with Cappy and Tiara right behind her. Then Peach locked the doors again.
"Where are we going to sleep, Peach?" Tiara asked as they followed the princess upstairs, to her bedroom.
"If you want, both of you are welcome to sleep in my room, on my bed. It really is too big for just me alone." Peach replied.
"Okay. That sounds good enough." said Cappy.
When they got to Peach's room, Cappy and Tiara flew over to Peach's bed and made themselves comfortable on the soft, pink velvet bedspread. Peach, however, walked over to her desk, where her pink smartphone sat, unplugged the phone, and had it dial Mario's cell number as she down sat on the edge of her bed. She hoped he'd be willing to answer her call.
"Please, Mario... Please pick up..." Peach quietly pleaded as she heard the phone ring.
Meanwhile, with Mario...
Mario was now on his way to New Donk City with Mayor Pauline. He was still having difficulty believing what was going on.
"Sono un tale idiota! I am such an idiot! The woman I love more than my own life... a princess, no less... and I drove her away by behaving no better than the person we both hate...!" Mario groaned.
"Mario, don't beat yourself up over this. My guess is that Peach was most likely very upset and she just wanted to leave the Moon Kingdom in the worst way. And who knows? Maybe she realized that you're not with her, and she feels awful for leaving you behind." Pauline said, trying to reassure the plumber.
"Tu non c'eri! You weren't there, Pauline! You didn't hear the way she demanded 'Enough!' You didn't see the look on her face when she said it! And you... you didn't see the way she stalked away from me and Bowser!" Mario said, feeling upset as he remembered how it all fell apart.
"You made a mistake, Mario, and so did Peach. Everybody makes mistakes from time to time. I've also made mistakes even after I became the mayor of New Donk City, but I always make up for them. And even though the princess made the mistake of leaving you behind when she took your ship home, do you still love her?" Pauline asked.
"...I never said I stopped." Mario replied, tears forming in his eyes. The first time he kissed Princess Peach, Mario knew that he could never change the way he felt about her.
"Then perhaps she still loves you, too. Let's look at it like this: It was your ship that she went to, not Bowser's." Pauline asked.
"Yes, but... but I d-didn't expect her to... to t-take the Odyssey home... w-without me!" Mario said, trying not to lose it again.
"Mario, if she went to your ship, she might be realizing what she left behind." Pauline said.
"Ne dubito. I doubt it." Mario said.
At that moment, the theme music for Peach's Castle was heard, and Mario recognized that tune. It was the ringtone he had assigned Peach whenever she called him on his smartphone.
"What's that sound?" Pauline asked.
"Oh... that's the ringtone I assigned Peach on my smartphone..." Mario replied as he took his red smartphone out of his pocket and looked at screen. It was displaying Peach's cell number, and a picture of her pretty face.
"What did I tell you? If she's calling you, she must have realized her mistake and is calling to make sure you're okay, and to say that she's sorry for leaving you stranded like she did." Pauline smiled.
"Spero tu abbia ragione... I hope you're right..." Mario thought as he nervously accepted the call. He answered, "Ciao?"
"Mario, is that you?" Peach's concerned voice asked.
Hearing her sweet voice made Mario's chest ache, but he managed to reply, "S-sì, Peach. It's-a me, M-Mario..."
"Mario! Oh, thank goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave you at Honeylune Ridge! Please forgive me!" Peach burst out on the other end, crying in relief.
"Peach, i-it's okay. I-I'm okay. How are y-you?" Mario asked, trying not to break. Hearing her cry was about to make him start again. It was bad enough he cried in front of Pauline at the Moon Kingdom; he really didn't want Peach to hear him cry.
"I feel awful, Mario! I just wanted to get away from Bowser so badly that I... I wasn't even thinking about asking you to come with us! Please don't be mad at me!" Peach pleaded.
"I'm not... m-mad at you, Peach... I-I'm blaming myself..." Mario told her.
"Don't do that, Mario. It's not your fault; it's mine. When I was leaving, I should have called out to you, to let you know that I wanted to go home." Peach said.
"But P-Peach... I... I-I'm the idiota who-" Mario started, before being interrupted by Peach, who said, "You're not an idiot, Mario, and don't think you are! I'm the one who went and took your ship, your ticket home, without telling you. If anyone's an idiot, it's me."
"Peach, you are not an idiota. You're una principessa, a princess, and I should have treated you with the respect a princess deserves, rather than act like you were some prize to be won, and I'm sorry..." Mario said, still feeling bad about what he did.
"I... I guess I can't argue with that, Mario. When you're right, you're right." Peach said. She realized that Mario wasn't forgiving himself for doing what he did. She would be ready to forgive him for taking responsibility and apologizing if they could see each other again and talk. Then she asked him, "By the way, you're not still stuck at the Moon Kingdom, are you?"
"No. No, I'm not. I'm actually on my way to New Donk City for the night, courtesy of Pauline." Mario replied.
"Pauline? Who is Pauline?" Peach asked, suddenly sounding nervous. She knew that 'Pauline' was a girl's name, and she was afraid that after what she had done, Mario might have fallen out of love with her. She couldn't bear the thought of Mario not loving her anymore. He was the first man she had ever fallen in love with, and she didn't want to lose his love.
"She's un amico, a friend. Don't you remember her from when we celebrated the grand opening of Super Mini Mario World?" Mario asked.
A few beats of silence passed before Peach said, "Oh yes. I remember her now." She remembered attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony of that park, and she saw Pauline there, getting captured by Donkey Kong. She completely understood how Pauline had to be feeling when that happened to her, having been through that sort of thing with Bowser many times before.
"She's now the mayor of New Donk City. Bowser invited her to the wedding for some reason we can't figure out, and when she saw that I was stuck at the Moon Kingdom, she agreed to take me to the city for the night." Mario said.
"She did? Well, that's really nice of her." Peach said, before asking, "Will you be back in the Mushroom Kingdom tomorrow, Mario?"
"I think so. Pauline said she would arrange a ride home for me tomorrow morning." Mario replied.
"Okay." Peach said. Then she realized something and said, "Mario, I just remembered something really important. I'll call you back in a few minutes." Peach promised.
"Oh! Okay, Peach. I'll be waiting for your call." Mario replied.
"Bye, Mario." Peach said.
"Buh-bye!" Mario said as the call ended.
"What did she say?" Pauline asked, trying not to sound too eager.
"She said she was sorry, she wants me to forgive her, and she's going to call me back soon." Mario told her.
"So I was kind of right. I know she didn't say the words you wanted to hear her say, but it seems to me that she's still in love with you." Pauline said with a knowing smile.
"Perhaps you're right." Mario said, feeling a little better.
"As for the words you want to hear, I think she'd rather say them to you in person." Pauline said.
"That's probably it." Mario replied.
Back with Peach, she was dialing another number on her smartphone. She was calling someone for help with something.
Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade were busy exploring the Moon Kingdom when the captain heard his smartphone ringing. He pulled the red smartphone out of his pocket, and boy, was he surprised when the Caller ID showed him who was calling.
"Princess Peach?" Captain Toad asked as he answered the call.
"Hello, Captain Toad! Where are you?" Peach asked him.
"We're at Honeylune Ridge, Princess. Why do you ask?" Captain Toad asked.
"Good." Peach said to herself, before asking him, "Do you think you could do me a huge, castle-sized favor?"
"I suppose so." Captain Toad mumbled. He noticed that his men had all gathered around him when they heard him say the name of the princess, and he asked, "What do you want us to do?"
"Is Bowser's airship still around there?" Peach asked.
Captain Toad looked around, and he spotted the airship anchored near the Wedding Hall. He wasn't sure why Peach was asking this, but he replied, "Yeah, it's still here. Why do you ask, Princess?"
"Because I was on that ship earlier, in wedding attire, and the clothes I was wearing when Bowser kidnapped me are still on that ship." Peach said.
Captain Toad was starting to realize what Peach was saying, and he replied, "My lady, you're not suggesting we-"
"I'm sorry, Captain Toad, but I am. I need you and the Toad Brigade to infiltrate Bowser's airship. All you have to do is get in, get my things, and get out." Peach said.
"Easier said than done..." Captain Toad thought. Peach had just given him and his men a very tall order. He was feeling highly nervous about doing so, but he knew there was absolutely no denying an order from the princess. That would be a bad idea. So he replied, "A-all right. If th-that's what you want us to do... w-we'll do it."
"I also wanted to ask if you can pick up Mario from New Donk City as well." Peach said.
"Mario is in New Donk City? What is he doing over there? Isn't he with you, Princess?" the captain asked.
"No, not exactly." Peach replied sadly. She told him the whole, sad story, ending it with how she found out where Mario was going before now.
"Oh, Princess, did you really take Mario's ship without inviting him along? That wasn't a very nice thing to do..." Captain Toad said.
"I know that! You think I don't already feel awful enough for having done so?!" Peach asked, getting a little upset.
"Whoa! I'm sorry, Princess... You and Mario must have been through more than enough for one adventure this time." Captain Toad said.
"I didn't mean to get upset with you, Captain, but as sad as it sounds, it's true. Mario and I have been through a lot more than usual this time around. Will you be able to pick him up from New Donk City? Please?" Peach asked.
"I think so." Captain Toad replied.
"I'll call him, let him know that a ride has been arranged now, and have him text you the address of the place he'll be staying at tonight so you'll know where to go to find him." Peach promised.
"Okay. We'll let you know when we've finished this tall order you've given us, and when we're ready to start on the easy one." the captain promised.
"Thank you, Captain. Good luck on your mission." Peach replied.
"Thank you, Princess." Captain Toad said as the call ended.
So Peach apologized to Mario, but she and Mario may not be working things out until they are together again. If you want to see it, then stay tuned!