(A/N: Here we are with Chapter 4. In that last chapter, we stayed with Princess Peach. Now we shall rejoin Mario and see what he's been up to since he left Peach's Castle!)


Mario and Cappy were having a pleasant conversation with each other as Mario made his way to Toad Town.

"So, Mario, do you think Bowser's having any fun, dealing with Princess Daisy?" Cappy asked.

"Probably not. She might be acting like a sweet little innocent, like Peach, but she did say she was going to have the kind of fun that is no fun for him. And if he's even suspecting that something is up, he won't find out why Peach is acting that way until the wedding." Mario replied.

"What do you think Daisy is doing to him right now?" Cappy wanted to know.

"She's more than likely putting him through the kind of torment Peach has been wanting to give him but never had the guts to do. Daisy's a tomboy, you know, and she's not one to just sit and take crap from anyone." Mario said.

"I know you said that Daisy slugged Bowser far, far away. She must be one of the toughest princess who ever lived." Cappy said.

"That may be true, Cappy. Daisy's pretty good at holding her own against villains like Bowser. She considers him a mere pushover. There was only one villain she had trouble against, but I haven't seen him since the time I lived in a castle and took him out in the Space Zone." Mario said. (A/N: A little call-back to "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins".)

"So Daisy has been captured before?" Cappy asked.

"Sì, but just once. The one villain that Daisy could not defend herself against was a puny, wimpy alien named Tatanga." Mario said.

"Really? Why not?" Cappy asked.

"I do not know. Neither does she. But do you know what Tatanga did? He not only hypnotized everyone in the different parts of her kingdom, he kidnapped her so he could, you guessed it, marry her!" Mario said. (A/N: That's what the manual for "Super Mario Land" said.)

"I just don't get it, Mario. What makes villains automatically think that they're going to win the hearts of princesses? Or that the princesses will submit in silence? I don't think Peach was silent, and knowing Daisy, I think she was being anything but quiet." Cappy said, a little frustrated with the way villains act when princesses are involved in their evil plans.

"Non lo so. I don't know, Cappy; I have yet to figure it out for myself. But after I rescued her, Daisy vowed that she'd never let Tatanga, or any other villain, for that matter, do anything like that to her ever again. She'll make them regret trying to do so." Mario said as he and Cappy arrived in Toad Town.


The Toads who were out and about were glad to see that Mario had returned to the Mushroom Kingdom, and they all figured that if he was back now, then he must have rescued Princess Peach from Bowser's clutches. And they all wanted to know: what had Bowser done this time? They'd seen his airship all decorated for some sort of occasion, but they didn't know what the occasion was.

As much as Mario hated to say what the occasion was, he told them, and of course it freaked them all out. It was understandable, though; the thought of their kind, sweet, and beautiful ruler getting married to someone she (and all of them) hated more than anyone else was absolutely horrifying!

As Mario told them what Bowser's plan had been, a thought occurred to him: would Bowser have wanted to marry Peach if he found out that she was already engaged to marry someone else? He might not want to marry her until he got rid of her husband-to-be first, but if Mario was the one to whom she was engaged...

"I think it's time for me to do what I should have done back when Bowser lied through his ugly yellow teeth to Bowser Jr." Mario said to himself.

"I'm sorry, Mario, what did you say?" Cappy asked, having heard some of what Mario was saying.

"I... have an errand to run here in Toad Town, and I want to get that taken care of before going back home to Luigi, if that's okay with you." Mario said.

"Sure. And I can understand. You might as well run that errand while you're here." Cappy replied.

"Good. Now let's-a go!' Mario said, and he made his way over to the Toad Town jewelry store.


"Okay, what are we doing here?" Cappy asked as they entered the store.

"For now, we're just browsing." Mario said.

"For what? You want to get something for Peach?" Cappy asked in a whisper, seeing some Toadettes looking at the jewelry in there and not wanting to disturb them.

Mario was glad Cappy was keeping this conversation quiet. He really didn't want to attract any unwanted attention.

"Sì. I want to get her un anello di fidanzamento, an engagement ring." Mario replied in a hushed voice as he found where the rings were displayed.

"An engagement ring! So you're planning to marry Peach yourself, huh?" Cappy whispered.

"Kind of. I've been wanting to for a while now, and I know I'd be a good, loving husband to her. And I also had a thought: what if Peach was already engaged to someone else when Bowser said he planned to marry her? Would Bowser attempt to marry her then?" Mario asked Cappy, still whispering as he looked at the rings.

Cappy thought for a moment before answering the question.

"Well... probably not right away. First, he might want to find the man she wanted to marry, so he could kill him, and then he'd have Peach all to himself." Cappy replied in a whisper.

"Sì, but what if I was the one to whom she was engaged?" Mario asked, keeping his voice loud enough for only Cappy to hear.

Cappy quickly put two and two together.

"Mario, you're not going to ask Peach to marry you just to get Bowser to leave her alone, are you?" Cappy asked, trying to keep his voice quiet enough for only Mario to hear.

"No, Cappy. I want to marry Peach not just so Bowser will leave her alone, but because I really do love her with all my heart. I mean it. Now the news that Peach is engaged to me might really shock Bowser, and that will give him no choice but to give up. He's never beaten me before. He knows he cannot defeat me." Mario whispered back, browsing among the rings.

"But what about...?" Cappy started in a quiet voice, remembering when Mario was sent flying from Bowser's airship, landing in the Cap Kingdom.

"That was just a cheap shot, Cappy! Bowser won't get that lucky again!" Mario promised in a loud whisper.

"Okay, if you say so." said Cappy.

"Hmm..." Mario said as his blue eyes scanned the rings for a 3rd time. Cappy, sensing that Mario might need help finding a good ring, decided to look, too.

As the pair of them looked at the rings, Cappy said, "I see a lot of nice-looking rings in there, Mario. How are you going to pick just one?"

"I don't know, Cappy. I see a lot of nice rings, too, but I have to pick the right one." Mario replied.

"How do you know which ring is going to be the right one?" Cappy asked.

"I'll know it when I see it. It has to be one that I know she's really going to love." Mario replied.

Suddenly, he found it.

"Aha!" the plumber exclaimed in a whisper.

"What is it? Did you find the one?" Cappy asked quietly.

"Yup! That one! Right there! That's the ring I'm getting her!" Mario whispered, pointing at a 14-karat gold band set with a heart-shaped ruby.

"Wow! That's beautiful! I think Peach is going to love it!" Cappy replied in a hushed voice.

But before Mario bought the ring, he asked the jeweler in a quiet voice if they had it in Peach's size.

"Oh, for sure!" the jeweler replied, also whispering. Then he realized how quietly they were talking, and he asked, "Why are we whispering?"

"I want that ring in Peach's size, because I'm thinking of asking her the big question real soon." Mario whispered.

"You're planning on marrying her?" the jeweler asked in an incredulous whisper.

Mario whispered, "Sì, but don't tell anyone about this. I want to surprise her, and I don't want anyone to be spreading rumors that get to her before I can ask her."

"My lips are sealed." the jeweler promised as he took the ring and placed it in a black velvet box. Then he handed the box to Mario, who paid for the ring with no fuss.

"Grazie. Thank you." Mario replied as he took the box and placed it in his pocket.

"Happy to help, Mario! Good luck!" the jeweler said, waving to Mario as he left the store.

"That didn't take long at all!" Cappy said when they were outside the store.

"And now that that's been taken care of, I think I'll call Luigi and let him know that I'm coming home." Mario said, and he pulled out his cell phone.


At Luigi's Mansion, Luigi was in the kitchen. He was cooking lasagna for lunch, and it was ready to be taken out of the oven when Luigi heard what sounded like the "Super Mario Bros." theme music. Realizing that the sound was coming from his cell phone, he knew that he was getting a call from Mario. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?" Luigi answered.

"Hey, bro! It's-a me!" Mario replied.

"Mario! Did you save Peach?" Luigi asked.

"You bet I did!" Mario said.

"Can you tell me how it went?" Luigi asked.

"I'll tell you when I get home. I'm on my way there now." Mario said.

"Great! I can't wait to see you again, and to hear what happened!" Luigi said.

"Just promise not to kill me when you find out what we did to save Peach..." Mario thought. But instead of saying his thoughts out loud, he replied, "I know. And when I get back, I'll have un nuovo amico, a new friend, with me."

"A new friend? Who?" Luigi asked, surprised at this bit of news.

"Someone who helped me to save Peach from Bowser. You'll meet him when we get to the mansion." Mario responded.

"Okie-dokie. I'll see you soon, then. And just so you know, I'll be in the kitchen. I fixed some lasagna for lunch. It's got to cool before we can eat it, but at least you'll get to have some." Luigi said.

"Sounds good. See you in a few minutes, bro." Mario said.

"Bye." Luigi said, ending the call and putting his cell phone away.

"Bye-bye." Mario said, ending the call, too.

Then Luigi turned off the oven, put on his oven mitts, and took the food out of the oven. He had to let the lasagna stand for a bit before he and Mario could dig in.


A few minutes later, Mario came walking up to a big mansion.

"Is this where you live?" Cappy asked.

"It's Luigi's mansion, but he allowed me to live here, too. We call it our 'Super Mario Bachelor Pad'." Mario replied as he walked up the steps that led to the front door.

"That's so cool! Have Peach and Daisy been here before?" Cappy asked.

"Sì. When the place was built and Luigi and I moved in, Luigi had a house warming party, and he invited Peach and Daisy to it. They both showed up, and it was a lot of fun." Mario said.

"How did he get this mansion?" Cappy asked.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to tell you if you ask him nicely." Mario replied as he opened the door.

They entered the foyer, then Mario entered the first floor's hallway. He went past a few doors before opening one and entering the kitchen, where he saw Luigi sitting at the table, waiting for the timer he set to beep, indicating that the lasagna had stood long enough, and was ready to be eaten.


"Hi! Hey, Luigi!" Mario called out, getting his brother's attention.

Luigi turned to see Mario, and he smiled.

"Mario! I got really worried when you sent me that text, saying that Peach needed rescuing, but I'm relieved that you and her are both okay." Luigi said.

"Yeah. We're okay." Mario said.

That's when Luigi realized that Mario was alone.

"Well, that's funny. You said you were bringing un amico, a friend, with you. Where is he?" Luigi asked.

Mario explained what happened to his hat, and how his friend was from the Cap Kingdom, acting as his hat.

"His name is Cappy, and he's a Bonneter. The Bonneters look a little like hat ghosts, so don't freak out when Cappy shows you what he really looks like." Mario said.

"If he's a friend of yours, then he's a friend of mine." Luigi replied.

Cappy relaxed when he heard that. That made his eyes show, and Luigi, of course, got a little spooked by that.

"M-Mario... y-your hat... it has..." Luigi said, at a loss for words.

"Lo so. I know, Luigi. Those are Cappy's eyes you're looking at. But Cappy won't hurt you. I promise." Mario said. He looked up at his hat and said, "Cappy, show my brother what you really look like."

Cappy disappeared from Mario's head and assumed his Bonneter form.

"Ohhh boy..." Luigi said, not knowing what to say. He hadn't expected this at all.

"It's okay. Mario and I were working together because not only did that fiend capture his girlfriend and destroy his hat, but he also attacked my homeland and kidnapped my little sister, Tiara!" Cappy explained.

"What did he need your sister for?" Luigi asked.

Mario and Cappy quickly told Luigi what Bowser's plan was, and Luigi couldn't believe it.

"Again?! Seriously?! When is that idiota going to learn that Peach never will love him enough to marry him?!" Luigi asked, annoyed that Bowser was trying it again.

"Hopefully, he'll have learned it by now. This is the 4th time he's tried to marry her. And you know what they say: The 4th time 'round is the last time 'round." Mario said, referring to some of the last words in the song "Shooting Shark" by Blue Öyster Cult.

"What? Are you serious? What happened the other 3 times he tried this?" Cappy asked.

Mario and Luigi quickly explained the events of "Do You, Princess Toadstool, Take This Koopa...", the "Super Mario Adventures" comics, and the beginning of "Super Paper Mario" to Cappy.

"He sure is persistent. If the 4th time really is the last time, then he'd better learn to face facts." Cappy replied.

"Yup." said Mario.

"So, what else happened? Can you tell me how you finally saved Peach from having to marry someone who really doesn't love her?" Luigi asked.

Mario and Cappy said that they got the idea to trick Bowser.

"Again? You tricked him again? And it worked?!" Luigi asked.

"Sì, but I wasn't about to ask you to do it, because I'm not sure you could've pulled it off for a third time. Also, I didn't want to ask you to throw away your dignity like you did at Joke's End." Mario replied.

"Grazie. Thanks, Mario. I really didn't want to dress up like Peach again, and I'd hate to leave Doggy home alone." Luigi said.

"Who's Doggy?" Cappy asked.

"Luigi's ghost dog, whom I mentioned to Daisy. But he's a good boy; he won't hurt you. Speaking of, where is Doggy?" Mario asked, not seeing the dog in the kitchen.

"He was taking a nap in my room, last I checked." Luigi replied.

"I could go check to see if he's still there, since I feel like I need a shower after that adventure, and since your room is near the bathroom..." Mario said.

"Ce la puoi fare. You can do that, but first, I'd like to know who you got to pose as Peach." Luigi said.


Uh-oh! What is Luigi going to think when he finds out who they got to trick Bowser? Don't ask me, 'cause I'm only going to tell you to stay tuned if you wish to find out!