(A/N: In the previous chapter, Mario recorded proof that he was indeed framed, and the cops now know the truth. They're also willing to help him. What will Bowser and his son think when they find out that the truth is out?! Let's start this chapter and see for ourselves, shall we?)


Meanwhile, with Princess Peach...

Princess Peach was unhappily sitting on a gigantic rubber ducky in a pool of steamy green lava. Bowser and Jr. were able to relax in the stuff as though they were in a hot tub, but Peach knew that if she went in there, then the rest of her life wouldn't be very long. She would be dead.

"Bwaaaa ha ha! The water's great, eh, Jr.?" Bowser happily asked his son.

"Sure is, Papa!" Jr. happily agreed with his father, before turning to Peach and saying, "Come on in, Mama Peach!"

Peach realized that Jr. didn't seem to think that he was asking her to kill herself by joining them in that horrible liquid. Peach wanted so badly to yell at Jr., and call him insane, but to consider doing such a thing would be a very dangerous move on her part, because his father was right there and would never let her get away with talking to 'their son' like that. So she thought for a moment before simply replying, "Ummm... I think not."

That's when Mario showed up on the ledge of the pool. Or, at least, Peach was hoping that she was seeing Mario. It was so hot in there, she wasn't sure if she was suffering from heat exhaustion and hallucinations, or if this was real. To make sure she wasn't seeing things, the Princess happily exclaimed, "Mario!"

"You again?! Don't you ever give up?" Bowser Jr. asked, clearly peeved that Mario had the audacity to show up here to take his so-called mother away again.

"Mario! How dare you disturb my family vacation?!" Bowser shouted, before letting out an angry roar.

Although Peach never enjoyed hearing Bowser yell at Mario, she was happy about it this time. This proved that she wasn't hallucinating; she really was seeing Mario! If her boyfriend was here, she was going to be saved at last! She knew Mario would never let her down!

Mario was furious! Now Bowser was implying that not only was Peach the mother of his child, she was his wife, too! That did it for him.

"Look, boneheads! I know all about your scheme to take Peach away from me this time, and I'm going to warn you right now, it's-a not working! The way I see it, you have one of two choices. You can either surrender Peach now... or you can suffer the consequences. Take your pick, and make sure you choose wisely." Mario said.

"Please, Bowser... Please just let me go with Mario... I can't stand this heat much longer..." Peach quietly pleaded. She wanted to get out of Corona Mountain in the worst way. She couldn't handle the heat as well as Bowser and Jr. could.

"No way, you big bully! I'm not going to let you take my mama away from me and Papa ever again! I told you to give up and stop following us, so you need to do it!" Jr. said to Mario.

Mario rolled his eyes. It was obvious that the Koopas had heard him, but they were deliberately refusing to obey his orders.

"Mario, if you think you're going to take my kid's mother away from him again, you've got another thing coming! Besides, in case you're forgetting, you're still Isle Delfino's most wanted criminal! There are no consequences for us, just you! So if you think you can take Peach back, I advise you to think again!" Bowser said, sure that Mario would give up now.


To the surprise of the three in the pool, Mario smirked and said, "I was hoping you might say that, Bowser."

Peach thought she was hallucinating for sure when Mario said that. She never thought Mario would say those words to Bowser and his son!

"What does Mario mean by that, Papa?" Jr. asked his father quietly.

"Nothing, son. If Mario's saying that, he's trying to make us think he's got some plan to take your mama away again. But don't you worry; he's just bluffing." Bowser assured his son.

"Oh, so I'm bluffing, am I? Then go ahead and call my bluff now!" Mario thought. Still smirking, Mario pulled out the walkie-talkie from the cops and said into it, "Come on in, boys! The party has just begun!"

"Roger that, Mario." came the reply.


Suddenly, ropes came down from above, and down each rope came a cop. They all stood around the pool and got their bazookas at the ready, aiming them right at Bowser and his son.

"Both of you put your hands on your heads!" the cops demanded.

"Look, Papa! The cops are here!" Jr. exclaimed.

"Great! Look, officers! Mario's here! Now do us a favor and arrest him!" Bowser said to the cops.

"No way! He's an innocent man!" said the rookie.

"What?! No, he isn't! He vandalized your island, and not only that, he's trying to get away with the mother of my child!" Bowser said.

"I'm not his mother! How many times do I have to tell you that before the news gets through that thick skull of yours, Bowser?!" Peach shouted in anger, having had enough of the Koopa King's lies for one lifetime.

"Shut up, crazy lady!" Bowser said to Peach.

Peach gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, shocked that Bowser would say such a thing to her. Tears also filled her eyes, because she never thought Bowser would stoop to calling her crazy!

Mario, on the other hand, was furious at that. He wasn't about to let Bowser keep her in his clutches so he could continue upsetting her like he just did. He quickly leaped over to the rubber duck Peach was sitting on, lifted the saddened Princess into his arms, and jumped back to the pool's ledge.

"It's-a gonna be okay, principessa. I know for a fact you're not crazy..." Mario whispered to Peach before gently kissing her on the cheek.

"H-how did I get so lucky... to have a... a m-man like you... M-Mario?" Peach asked Mario in a whisper, knowing that she was not hallucinating now as she hugged him around the neck.

"Sono io il fortunato. I'm the lucky one." Mario corrected Peach in a whisper, holding her even closer to him.

Peach burst out crying happy tears as Mario held her in his big, strong arms. She couldn't help it. She was so happy to be with him again.

"Th-thank you, M-Mario... I... I-I love you... s-so much..." the Princess wept.

"Anch'io ti amo, principessa... I love you, too, Princess..." Mario replied in a whisper, giving Peach another loving kiss on the cheek.

(A/N: The only reason Mario is whispering to Peach is because he doesn't want Bowser to hear the sweet words he's saying to her in Italian, as well as the English translation. If Bowser hears Mario's loving Italian words and what they mean in English, he might pick up on them and start using them on Peach the next time he captures her.)


"Did you see that?! He just went and took my kid's mom again! You have to arrest him!" Bowser said.

"I don't think she looks upset about being taken by him. Looks to me like she's happy to be with Mario. If that's the case, then he didn't take her away after all." said the rookie, seeing how close Mario and Peach were. There was no doubt in his mind that Mario and the Princess really were in love with each other.

"Add to that the fact that she says she's not your kid's mom. And, unfortunately for you, we believe her." said the Chief.

"Did you all take stupid pills this morning?! She's obviously lying because she's crazy! The heat is what's making her crazy!" Bowser said.

"Really, now? If you know that the heat is making her crazy, then why were you crazy enough to bring her here in the first place? Care to explain that?" asked another cop.

"Uhh..." Bowser really didn't know how to answer that question.

"Just as we thought. You and your son are both under arrest!" said another cop.

"What?! What are you arresting me for?! I didn't do anything!" Jr. said.

"Oh, yes you did! You framed Mario!" said the Chief.

"I did no such thing!" Jr. replied.


Mario smirked again, set Peach on her feet, and said, "If you didn't do it, Jr., then I must ask you to explain this!" And with that, he pulled out his smartphone and played the video of Jr.'s reveal and confession.

The sound of Jr.'s confession played loud and clear inside Corona Mountain, and everyone heard it.

Jr. was shocked as he listened to the sound of his voice confessing everything! He realized, to his horror, that Mario hadn't been taking selfies like he thought, but recording him!

Peach was surprised as she found out that Mario had found the perfect way to prove his innocence to the police! He was finally off the hook!

But Bowser was flabbergasted! His son dug himself a deep grave by not only confessing, but allowing Mario to record the whole thing!

"Okay, Jr. Now that we know you did it, you can start explaining." Mario said when the video ended.

"Mario, you're so amazing!" Peach whispered to Mario as she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Mario was blushing like a madman as he put his smartphone away.

"Oh, yes, Jr. Please explain to me why you not only told Mario what you did, but why you let him record you as well!" Bowser roared at his son, angered.

"I... I-I told Mama Peach only! And I didn't think Mario was recording me! I honestly thought he was taking selfies! He was constantly posing and smiling and changing the angle of the phone!" Jr. exclaimed, clearly upset.

"You seriously thought I was using my smartphone to take selfies?! How stupid can you get?!" Mario asked as Peach continued to kiss him. Mario was glad that he had proven himself to be not only a handsome, heroic plumber with whom Princess Peach was in love, but a highly intelligent man who could easily stay one step ahead of the Koopas.

"Surrender now... or else!" the Chief said to the Koopas.

"Never!" Bowser roared, and he was just about to start breathing fire at the cops. But before he could, the cops standing behind him were ready, and they fired their bazookas! Neither Bowser nor Jr. were prepared for that! The Bullet Bills hit Bowser and Jr. and put them to bed.

"Nighty-night, villains!" Mario happily said, which provoked a slight giggle from Peach.

The hot-air balloon that the cops arrived in came down a little more, and a giant cage attached to the bottom of the basket touched the ledge of the pool. With Mario's help, the cops managed to shove Bowser and Jr. into the cage together. Then the balloon took the Koopas' cage to jail, and another hot-air balloon showed up (this one matched Mario's tropical shirt). The balloon landed on the ledge of the pool, and the aeronaut in it explained that he had shown up to take Mario, Peach, and the cops out of Corona Mountain.

Now that they were all out of the volcano at last, some of the cops went back to work, a few other cops decided to escort Peach to the island's best hospital to be treated for possible hyperthermia, and the Chief and the rookie were taking Mario to the courthouse so he could prove his innocence to the judge and the prosecutor.


On their way to the courthouse, Mario and the cops saw Toadsworth and five very worried Toads running up to them. The Toads were all asking Mario if Peach was okay.

"I... I don't know..." Mario replied, feeling upset. He hated not having a good answer for their questions about Peach's current state of health. It made him feel useless and helpless, and he really didn't like feeling that way.

"The Princess is being taken to the hospital to be treated for exposure to extreme heat. She was inside of Corona Mountain, the volcano, for who knows just how long." the Chief explained.

The Toads all gasped in shock, and Toadsworth was so scared he looked like he was about to fall over backwards in a dead faint.

"She was in a volcano?!" screamed the Toads.

"Oh, my word! Can you... can you please take me to see her?" Toadsworth asked, worried sick about Peach.

"Take them to the hospital to see the princess. I'll take Mario to the courthouse." the Chief said to the rookie.

"Okay, then. The cops taking her told me which hospital she's going to. Follow me, and I'll take you there." said the rookie to Toadsworth and the Toads, and they all followed him.

"I hope she's okay..." Toadsworth said to himself, praying that Peach was going to be fine.

"Good thing they're all going to the hospital. If Toadsworth goes into cardiac arrest from being so worried about Peach, then that's the best place for him to be." Mario thought as he watched Toadsworth and the Toads follow the rookie.


The Chief, meanwhile, led Mario into the courthouse and said to the judge and the prosecutor, "Mario here has something the two of you, as well as the other people on the island, need to see."

Mario pulled out his smartphone once again and played the video for the judge and the prosecutor while handing the walkie-talkie he'd used back to the Chief.

When the video was over, the judge and the prosecutor felt as stupid as the cops did for blaming Mario. They also knew that Jr. had to be lying about Peach being his mother. The Chief explained that fact to them when that part of the video played.

"We were wrong, Mario. There were things we honestly should've done at that trial that we were too stupid to think of doing. If we just had done them from the get-go, then perhaps we wouldn't be feeling like idiots right now. We're so very sorry..." said the judge.

"And we can't apologize enough for treating you the way we did at the trial. We will, however, do our absolute best to make everything up to you." said the prosecutor.

"How?" Mario asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

"Well, first of all, weeing that you were framed, you're off the hook. The real villain, however, is not going to be getting off so easy. He'll be taking over the clean-up of Isle Delfino." said the judge to Mario.

"We'll also have to play that video you recorded on the news tonight, so everyone will know that you're as innocent as Roger Rabbit was." said the prosecutor.

"To top it all off, we're dropping the charges, and as of now, your criminal record no longer exists." said the judge.

"Mille grazie! Thank you very much!" Mario replied, sounding relieved and looking happy.

"No problem!" said the judge.

"We've got the bad guy and his father apprehended, and they're at the station at present. When they wake up, you can put the kid right to work, and force his father to watch him." said the Chief.

"And just to make things harder on the kid, he doesn't get to use the same thing you've been using to clean up the island." the prosecutor said to Mario.

"What are you going to make him use?" Mario asked.

"The last thing he'd ever want to use." the prosecutor said.

Mario wasn't quite sure what Jr. was going to have to use, but he shrugged it off and said, "Okie-dokie. Now I'd like to make sure that la mia principessa, my princess, is going to be okay."

"All right, then. You may go." said the judge.


The Chief then took Mario to the hospital where Princess Peach was being treated for extreme heat exposure. When they arrived, they learned that the Princess was in the bathroom of one of the examination rooms in the ER, resting in a bathtub filled with ice, to help bring her body temperature down.

"She doesn't have any burns on her... does she?" Mario asked the doctor who had finished checking on Peach, as he had been doing periodically since her treatment began. Mario was ready to ask the Chief to tell the judge to worsen Jr.'s punishment if the answer was yes.

"No, I checked her out as she got herself undressed before getting in the tub, and I saw no burns on her body. I've been checking on her every few minutes, and there are still no burns. From the looks of her, I'd say you and the cops got her out of Corona Mountain pretty quickly." said the doctor.

"So she's going to be okay?" Mario asked, making sure.

"She's going to be just fine." the doctor assured the plumber.

"Grazie. Thank you." Mario said.


By that evening, Peach's body temperature had gone down, and still no burns had appeared on her body! After drying off and changing into cooler clothes, she was ready to leave the hospital.

The group then took the boat to Hotel Delfino at Sirena Beach, and after checking in, they joined Peach in her room and watched some television. At that moment, the news was on, and the reporters were talking about how Mario was not the real culprit like everyone thought. They even showed the video Mario recorded with his phone, and now everyone knew who the real culprit was.

Mario felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and the Toads cheered as they learned that Mario had been able to prove that he was innocent.

"You should be getting apologies from everyone come tomorrow." Peach said to Mario, who slept easily that night, not just because his innocence was proven, but because his girlfriend was safe and sound, and he was able to sleep in a nice, comfy bed, rather than in a cold, lonely prison cell.


When tomorrow came, everyone apologized to Mario, and they glared daggers at Bowser Jr. as he sheepishly but angrily began cleaning up the mess he made... using his own toothbrush!

Mario also called up Luigi and got to talk to Professor E. Gadd, who said that the paintbrush was indeed his, but he never gave it to Jr. According to the professor, the paintbrush was a prototype invention that had been stolen from his lab! With that in mind, the cops made sure that the paintbrush was sent back to its rightful owner. If that wasn't enough, Bowser was then put to work as well, not just for lying, but he also admitted that he had stolen the paintbrush for Jr.!

So Mario and Peach finally got the fun vacation they were hoping to have, and Bowser and Jr. were kept working on Isle Delfino from before sunrise till long after the moon rose each day. Not only that, but they also got to watch Mario and Peach have fun together, enjoying each other's company. And it was all thanks to Bowser Jr. for opening his big, fat trap!

The End


And now we know how Jr. screwed up everything for himself and his father! Well, they had it coming, and Mario proved that he's smarter than they'll ever be! I hope you all enjoyed seeing the Koopas get some much-needed comeuppance!