Delfino Plaza, Royal Suite Penthouse, 5:00 P.M.

"Right…" Starlow said, having listened to Mario explain the situation once the cleanup of Bianco Hills was fully in order.

"I'm sure you've figured this by now, but what it sounds like to me is that Luigi's using you yet again." Starlow said in a matter of fact way. Mario blinked, stopping in his tracks. "Excuse-a me?" He said. He wasn't surprised, so much as hoping against hope that Luigi had finally seen that he was the one who deserved the Princess. Mario had firmly convinced himself that Luigi had finally seen sense.

But that Starlow's words cut only too deep was all one needed to see as it concerned Mario's awareness of what was and wasn't likely the truth. "Think about it. Peach wanted to take a vacation after MushroomCon, yet is convinced to show up a whole week early, right at the height of the very event she wanted to avoid? Surely, she knows about what King Pintar and the Deltazar Mafia Family gets up to around this time of year. Yet, she doesn't bring anyone beyond you and the Toad Brigade along?" At this, Mario began flexing his muscles in front of Starlow.

"What-a more does the Princess need?" Starlow blinked, trying not to lose herself at the sight of Mario's sculpted form. She found herself wondering why he was so jealous of Luigi; Mario had most definitely spent enough time in front of a mirror to know full well that he was no less good-looking than his younger brothers.

Before she could find her thoughts going all the way into the gutter, she shook her head to refocus. "Yes, Mario. Peach doesn't need any more than your power to handle this situation. And Luigi knows this. He's aware of who the most powerful Mario Bro is. That's why he uses you to do the job he's too much of a coward to do himself." Starlow reasoned. Having heard this new perspective, Mario's train of thought ground to a halt.

"That… That…" Mario started, as it really sunk in. "That makes too much sense… That sneaky bastard…" Mario had to hand it to Luigi- he was certainly one smart cookie to pull off the ruse for as long as he did. At least, Mario wanted to believe Luigi had been pulling a ruse on him for the last 20 plus years of their lives. But Mario on some level knew full well that Luigi and Waluigi both were always working to some angle in all things they did.

"That's about the only way Luigi can achieve anything. But that's why I'm here." Starlow continued. Here, Mario seems to become quite interested in what Starlow just said. "Luigi thinks he's so clever and strategic, but he forgets that I'm still a Star Sprite, and royalty amongst them to boot. He's hoping his plan will go to perfection, but I can guarantee he didn't account for me showing up when I did. Now, I recently saw the 'trial' the Delfino Isle court system tried to put you through. A show trial if ever I saw one, but it gives away the joker of the Deltazar Mafia's madness." Starlow said.

"What does this have to do with-" Mario impulsively started, before Starlow continued. "As Imperial Princess of the Sprite Kingdom, and as the daughter of Emperor Astero, I am a recognized legal authority, under whom you are directly protected by. Now, this show trial backed by the Deltazar Mafia…" Starlow cringed as she thought about this in detail.

"Man, any amatuer statesman worth the material in his headwear would see this as an act of war, proof or no proof. So Dad would have zero problem with allowing me to not only annul your sentence but also to override Peach's orders." At this, Mario's eyes went wide.

"Defy the Princess?" Mario asked incredulously, as if Starlow just slapped Mario's grandmother in front of him. Starlow shook her head, hoping that the look she felt growing on her face didn't give her away immediately. "I never said that. And I'm not saying that. We'll still fulfill Peach's orders and handle the Deltazar Mafia. But obviously, the cleanup of this island really shouldn't be your problem. If Peach wants to do charity work, she should buy her own FLUDD." Starlow said. "Besides, the Mafia can't make more of a mess if they're all dead, now can they?"

Mario thought for a few moments, before the epiphany dawned on him. "So I just have to find that off-brand version of me running about. Find out who he really is, and if he actually has ties to the Deltazar Mafia." Mario said, all kinds of violent thoughts flickering through his brain as he thought of creative ways to 'interrogate' Shadow Mario once he got his hands on him.

"For now, yes…" Starlow said. There was a whole second part of this plan that Starlow wanted to tell Mario, but she knew exactly how he'd react to it. She needed his cooperation for this to work, so she'd simply surprise him later.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, Shadow Mario was spotted heading towards Pianta Village around this time." She led. And Mario followed. "Of course… Bet he won't be expecting a night raid." He said in a calculated manner. "What do you say we go and welcome him ourselves?" Mario said, his arms tensing in anticipation of violence.

Starlow simply opened a portal to the intended destination as her answer.

9:00 P.M., Royal Suite Front Lobby

"Don't feel too bad, Zume." Peach said, as she led her friends back into the immaculate inn. Zume and Auri both continued to pout. "Maybe it was for the best that all the rides were broken and in need of maintenance." Azuro said with a shrug.

"Yeah, at least this meant Mario couldn't show up and douche the situation up for us all." Imara said happily. "We also know for a fact that Pinna Park's gonna be opening back up tomorrow as well." Peach added.

Zume promptly began to play with Imara and Peach's faces, squishing their cheeks in turn. "What do you mean, speak of the devil and he shall appear?" Peach asked.

"Princess?" Mario called out. Mario's voice broke through the air like a gunshot, and the tensity immediately ratcheted up upon his appearance. "So, I went and investigated Pianta Village and-" Mario's brain skidded to a halt when he realized there were other people with the Princess.

No one present had bothered putting their outerwear back after the swim they had, hence why Mario's eyes had been glued to Peach's body in her bikini. He wished he had approached her from behind, not only for the view, but also because this would have meant he'd have seen Zume first.

"-What the bleeding fuck are you doing!?" Mario said, upon seeing Zume's hand was on Peach's face, squishing her cheek. "Unhand her, you retarded pervert!" Mario demanded. One would have sworn Zume was touching Peach's butt as opposed to her face based on Mario's reaction.

Zume blinked, before his eyes focused on Mario. He promptly squished Peach's cheek again, as though daring Mario to do something about it. Mario's fists lit with flames, as he threatened the mute, cognitively disabled man before him. "I said-" Mario started, before Peach stepped between him and Zume.

"Enough, Mario!" Peach said sternly, glaring down at the short tank of a man. He hesitated, before dropping his fists and extinguishing the flames around them. "You're causing a scene. And you owe Zume an apology." Peach commanded. Mario's eyes lingered on her curves for just a moment, before sighing. "Yes, Princess…" Mario said. He then looked at Zume, whose floaty-eyed stare and slack-jawed grin had returned.

Mario sighed, clearly trying to work past his own ego and rage at Zume touching the Princess enough to try and force an apology out. After a few moments of struggling, someone else finally has enough.

"Okay, stop!" An unseen voice sounded. Everyone else looked around, except for Peach, Zume and Auri who looked right at Mario's belt. Starlow promptly appeared from the FLUDD emblem around his waist. "Starlow?" Peach asked incredulously. As usual, Luigi never spoke lies and his intel was infallible. Seeing the yellow ball of power that was the Princess of the Sprite Kingdom in her more utilitarian form, Peach and the others had no choice but to believe it.

"Yes." Starlow said. Before she continued, she promptly assumed human form, and the yellow sphere cracked open like an egg. Out 'hatched' a 5'3", shapely young woman whose hair and lips both were as golden yellow as her Sprite Form. She had clearly also gone for a swim as well, because just like Peach and her female friends she too was clad only in a bikini, though Starlow's included a frilly skirt.

"And I've had enough! This spoiled slut stands here in that pink thong of hers, talking down to Mario like a child. She commands Mario to do all of her dirty work, leads him on and emasculates him while she screws around with other men right in front of him." Vituo betrayed himself by letting a guilty look cross his face. Zume's eyes focused, though his head continued lulling to the side and his goofy grin remained. Kira, Imara, Betty, Auri, and Peach all tried not to giggle at Starlow's attempt to shame Peach's choice of bathing suit.

That is, until Vince spoke up outright. "Tell me, Tinkerbelle, what would you call what you're wearing under that skirt?" Vince asked simply. Starlow's eye twitched in anger, not only at hearing the teenaged scientist call her that hated nickname but also implying that he might have been using one of his Nanodroids to look under a lady's skirt.

"My name is not Tinkerbell!" Starlow said shrilly. "And none of what you just said about Peach was true, either. Figured we were saying things that are untrue." Vince countered. Peach's bikini bottoms did indeed cover her more than almost anyone else. And definitely far more than Starlow's bottoms did. In fact, just like most outfits she wore, Peach's bathing suit was the perfect balance of ladylike, classy, racy and enticing. It was a perfect way to signify who the woman herself actually was.

"Look at how she cows and emasculates this man! Look how she leads him on! How many of you boys have slept with her this past week alone?" Starlow ranted. Mario's fury returned at this moment, the thought of Peach fancying another man angering him despite knowing the truth deep down. Hearing it said just made it that much more painful for him. Zume and Auri now normalize their grins, before those two fade as they hear the pain in Mario's thoughts.

No one else present felt the need to jump in. Vince was handling this perfectly well. "Seriously, Tinkerbelle? Mario isn't going to love you, because he's too busy trying to get Peach to see him as anything other than a friend." Vince then turned to the seething Mario. "Not that she ever did, and after your little outburst in Toad Town even that has been in question ever since." If Mario could read minds, Peach's inner cheering would have betrayed her at this moment.

"You're… You're wrong. You're just a stupid teenager who knows nothing of love." Mario said, his Fire Energy turning Atomic at this moment. Peach looked uncomfortable at these words, as Vince laughed mockingly. "A stupid teenager that can see what's right in front of him. She never accepts your advances. She's always more interested in Luigi when he's around. She literally rejected your wedding proposal on livestream."

Zume himself laughs outright at this, the memory of Peach putting her foot down being one he'll never forget. "Get a clue already. Both of you." Vince said. Starlow interjects.

"Where do you get off kid?" Starlow berated. "Kid? You're only three years older than me, Tinkerbell." Vince scoffed. "And what about you, doc? While you're defending Peach's honor like the brave hero you're posturing yourself to be, what have you been doing about the situation here? Mario has been doing all of the work with not a single iota of input from any of you!" Starlow berated. Vince simply shrugged.

"Well…" Vince started, before he conceded that point entirely. "Okay, fair enough on that, at least. We'd probably get more done if we all did our part to clean up Delfino Isle. Probably solve a few… other… problems while we're at it." Vince said.

"So?" Starlow said, looking first at Kira, then Runjo and Betty, then Imara and Azuro, then Vituo and finally settling her gaze on Zume, Auri and Peach. "Who's all with us?" Starlow challenged. Everyone present looked right at Peach for the answer. She seemed to think for a moment, before giving her answer.

"In that case, here's what we should do."