(A/N: So, in that first idea, Pauline invited Mario to go with her, so he was at the Wedding Hall as the wedding began, stopping Bowser's fun before it really had a chance to begin. But this story will go a little differently! I'll start it right away so you can see how!)
"It's-a nice of you to think of inviting me to go with you to the wedding, Pauline, but I would really like to try and recover Peach before the wedding." Mario said to his friend.
"All right, then. I understand. You really do love her, don't you?" Pauline asked.
"More than I've ever loved any woman." Mario replied, a dreamy smile on his face as he thought of the princess with whom he was in love. Then he suddenly remembered that he was talking with Pauline, with whom he used to be in a relationship, and he said, "No offense, Pauline."
"None taken. I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy." Pauline said. She was the first one to see that their relationship wouldn't last in the long run, so she was the one who had called it off. But she didn't see why she and Mario couldn't be just friends. And Mario didn't complain; he knew that she was right. And he liked having her as a friend. The break-up didn't hurt, either, so he was all right.
Then Pauline added, "If you love the bride as much as you say you do, then you should go for it. I'm going to wish you luck with getting her back from that brutish monster. But before we part, I think that perhaps we could exchange phone numbers so we can keep in touch a little more often than we have."
"That sounds good to me." Mario said. He and Pauline quickly exchanged their cell phone numbers, adding them to their contact lists, and giving them a suitable ringtone and text chime.
"Okay. Now we can keep each other up to speed as we go along." Pauline said.
"All right. I'll talk to you later." Mario said. Then he and Cappy made their way to the Odyssey and started making their way to the Snow Kingdom.
Pauline sighed and got ready to go to the Moon Kingdom for the wedding. But before she left, she remembered that she was going to be attending a wedding. Even though she was sure that Mario would stop it from taking place, what if he decided to use the reception to celebrate the rescue of the bride? Receptions, and parties of all kinds, need music. She quickly went to the auditorium in City Hall and asked the band if they would like to attend the wedding with her.
"You got it, Mayor!" the guitarist said. They packed up their instruments and boarded the transport ship with her and another man, who said his name was John. And then they were en route to the Moon Kingdom, for a wedding they really didn't want to see. They were prepared to object to the union.
As Mario and Cappy arrived in the Snow Kingdom, they learned that there was a pretty nasty blizzard going on in the area. They began to wonder if continuing the adventure was the right choice. Mario was able to keep himself pretty warm in the aviator ensemble, but he still felt like he was freezing his fanny.
"M-maybe we sh-sh-should've accompanied P-Pauline to the w-w-wedding! A-and I'm not just s-s-saying that because of my c-crush on her!" Cappy said, shivering fiercely on Mario's head.
"I know, Cappy. And I don't blame you for feeling that way. It's-a below freezing out here!" Mario replied.
They found shelter from the storm in Shiveria Town, but the Shiverians there were all upset for some reason. Mario figured that maybe he could help them out. He was about to ask a Shiverian what was wrong, but then he looked at the big screen on which their races were shown and immediately saw the reason why they were so sad, and it was not good... Bowser's airship was here!
"Mama-mia! Don't even tell me!" Mario groaned, but it was apparent that the Shiverian didn't hear his request, because he said, "That monster stole our racing prize, the Frost-Frosted Cake!"
"What? You're saying that Bowser actually stole a cake? Why... How..." Mario was so angry, he couldn't even speak! He knew Peach was a wizard when it came to baking delicious cakes and cupcakes. Why in the world would Bowser steal a cake when he could simply ask the princess to make a cake for the wedding?! Sure, she didn't want to get married to him, but still! She'd probably be glad to do so if she was asked.
"Okay, now I'm not sure if coming here was a good idea, or a bad idea. If we had gone straight to the Wedding Hall with Pauline, you wouldn't be this angry." Cappy said.
"Non adesso! Not now, Cappy!" Mario grumbled.
"Sorry..." Cappy said. He didn't mean to add to Mario's anger.
Mario realized that Cappy felt bad, and he let out a heavy sigh and said, "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I'm not mad with you, buddy, I'm just... frustrated that Bowser would even think about tormenting these kind people by stealing their cake when the bride knows how to bake cakee; the kind of cakes that can make you dream."
"It does sound stupid that he would steal a cake when the bride is an expert at baking delicious cakes. And who in their right mind would want to eat a wedding cake that's been frosted with... well... frost?" Cappy asked.
"Apparently, the Shiverians would." Mario said.
"Well, they can have that. I would much rather have chocolate frosting on my cake." Cappy replied.
"Hey, so would I! Finally, someone who understands!" Mario cheered, taking Cappy off of his head and giving him a big hug, which cheered up the Bonneter.
But the Shiverian also mentioned that Bowser had blocked the entrance to the race course. Mario had to go through four different caverns to undo the barriers. He was fully prepared to do that.
After undoing the barriers, Mario heard "Jump Up, Super Star!", playing from his smartphone, and he knew that Pauline was trying to call him. He took out his smartphone and answered, "Ciao!"
"Hi, Mario! I thought I'd let you know that the transport ship has just arrived at the Moon Kingdom." Pauline said.
"Okie-dokie. Did you have a nice ride?" Mario asked.
"Yeah, it was quiet and uneventful. What have you been up to?" Pauline asked.
"I'm in the Snow Kingdom. Bowser was here, but now the Shiverians who live here tell me that he just left with their racing prize in tow: a cake!" Mario said.
"You weren't able to stop him?" Pauline asked.
"No! Nor was I able to stop those stupido rabbit henchmen of his from stealing it! Those idiotas always seem to be one step ahead of me, stealing a kingdom's treasure right before I arrive just so they can taunt me about it! The little jerks!" Mario said.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. And as much as I adore good cake, not the packaged stuff, I don't really want to eat any of that cake." Pauline said.
"Good. I was hoping you wouldn't want to eat it. It's-a been frosted with... well... actual frost, so it probably won't taste very good." said Mario.
"You may be right about that. Anyway, the main reason I'm calling you is to warn you that I'm going to silence my phone when we enter the Wedding Hall, so don't try to call me. However, I will put the phone on 'vibrate', so we can text each other if we really need to talk." Pauline said.
"Oh. That's really smart, Pauline." Mario told her.
"Thanks." Pauline smiled.
After ending the call, Mario and Cappy went back to work. The pair made it through the Snow Kingdom well enough (the blizzard cleared up after they finished the Bound Bowl Grand Prix and won a Multi Moon), and then it was time for them to visit the Seaside Kingdom, which was a lot warmer than the Snow Kingdom.
Mario started sweating the minute he disembarked the Odyssey and looked around the Seaside Kingdom, so he ran back into the Odyssey to change. After changing into something more suitable for the warmer, beachy climate, Mario didn't see Bowser or the Broodals anywhere around, but he did see... Bowser's footprints in the sand. Well, that told him that Bowser had been... and gone.
"I know why he walked around in the sand here in his bare feet. That freak really thinks the wedding is going to happen, and he still wants Peach to learn how to take care of him! And that involves cleaning his disgusting feet!" Mario said.
"Gross! I feel really bad for Peach, but while we're here, we've got to get that big greedy... thing... whatever it is... off of Glass Tower. And we have to succeed. It's stealing what's left of the Sparkle Water after Bowser and the Broodals stole some." Cappy said.
"That's the plan, Cappy. You know that I'm not going to leave a kingdom until the main problem has been sorted out." Mario promised.
Mario's other clue that Bowser had been here was the corked-up fountains. The pieces that held the corks down had Bowser's symbol on them. Still, they uncorked the fountains, fought and defeated the greedy creature, restored the Sparkle Water, and collected lots of Power Moons before making their way to the Luncheon Kingdom.
As usual, Mario was too late to stop the Broodals from stealing something for Bowser's wedding, and this time, it was Stupendous Stew, the kingdom's famous dish. Only it wasn't really ready yet, since the meat hadn't been added, and the Volbonans were afraid that the giant bird flying over their stew pot was going to make off with it.
"Those stupid rabbits! If they want some Trix, they can forget about it!" Mario grumbled as he and Cappy began toiling away in the Luncheon Kingdom.
"I wonder what Pauline is up to at this time?" Cappy said as they reached the Meat Plateau.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to ask her." Mario said. He remembered what she said back in the Snow Kingdom, so he sent her a text message.
Pauline was currently standing around in the Wedding Hall, waiting rather impatiently for the ceremony to begin, or at the very least, a text message from Mario, saying that they could leave. She also wondered how Mario was doing. At the exact moment she had that thought, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She quietly pulled it out and looked at it. Mario had just texted her, asking, "What's up?"
"I'm at the Wedding Hall, and I'm bored. How about you?" Pauline replied.
"I'm working in the Luncheon Kingdom right now." Mario told her.
"The wedding hasn't started yet." Pauline told him.
"I figured as much." Mario said.
"Just the guests are here, but it's not like we want to be." Pauline said.
"I don't blame them." Mario replied.
"Good luck." Pauline said.
"I'll need all the luck I can get." Mario said, not realizing how true those words were.
After finishing up in the Luncheon Kingdom, Mario and Cappy knew it was time. They were finally ready to go to Bowser's Kingdom, but they ran into BIG trouble on the way there. Apparently, the Broodals must have told Bowser that Mario and Cappy were still alive, and this time, it seemed that he meant business when he knew he had to stop them from ruining his wedding.
"No...!" Mario gasped when he saw a huge dragon, being controlled by none other than... BOWSER HIMSELF!
"Where in the world?!" Cappy gasped, shocked. He only thought dragons existed in mythology, or in fairy tales. They weren't supposed to be real!
"How did he...?" Mario began, unable to finish his sentence.
"Let's see you survive this, plumber boy!" Bowser snarled as the dragon shot down the Odyssey not with fire, but lightning!
Back in the Wedding Hall, Pauline suddenly had a bad feeling that she couldn't easily shake off, and she began walking out of the building.
"Mayor, where are you going?" asked the trumpeter, noticing that she was leaving.
"Out. I'll be back soon." said Pauline shortly. Her bad feeling was about Mario, that he was not okay, and she turned the sound on her phone back on before going to her contact list and dialing Mario's cell number. As the phone rang, she prayed that he would pick up.
Mario woke up when he heard "Jump Up, Super Star" playing from his phone. The sound of that song brought a small smile to his face, for he knew that he was alive if he could hear it. But then he knew that he was hearing it because Pauline was trying to reach him! He pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered, "Pauline?"
"Mario, thank goodness!" Pauline said in relief.
"What's wrong? Why did you call me? I thought you had your phone on 'vibrate'." Mario said.
"I did, but I just had a bad feeling about you. I walked out of the Wedding Hall so I could turn on the sound, call you up, and make sure that you were okay." Pauline replied.
"If by 'okay', you mean 'alive', then yes. Thanks for helping me to figure that out." Mario said.
"What happened?" Pauline asked, not sure if she was going to like the reason why he said that. But she figured it was a good thing that Cappy hadn't answered, saying that Mario had 'been better'.
"You won't believe it. Bowser just attacked us again." Mario started.
"No! Not again!" Pauline facepalmed. She heard about how he shot them down after the fight in the Cloud Kingdom, and she couldn't believe how cruel Bowser was.
"And guess what? He is really off the wall!" Mario told her.
"No surprise there." Pauline said. After what he did to her city, she knew that he was off the wall.
"Oh, but here's the real surprise: he used a DRAGON to try and do us in!" Mario finished.
"A WHAT?!" screamed Pauline. She always thought dragons were mythical creatures. According to Mario, not so!
"You heard me! He tried to kill us with un drago, a dragon!" Mario replied.
There was dead silence on Pauline's end of the phone, and Mario didn't know if she was still there or not. He asked, "Pauline, stai bene? Are you OK?"
Pauline had been stunned to silence by what Mario said, but when she heard him ask if she was OK, she was able to answer him.
"Oh my gosh! I knew Bowser was a sick and twisted creature, but... doesn't that freak ever give up?!" Pauline asked, completely gob-smacked at what she'd heard. Now she hated Bowser even more.
"No, he doesn't, and do you know why? Because he doesn't want Peach to be happy! He prefers to have a miserable princess who will be a willing slave, content to just lurk in the background and do everything he says... or else!" Mario replied.
"Geez! She doesn't deserve a tyrant like him for her husband! She needs a man who respects her, like you! In fact, I think you're obviously the better choice for her!" Pauline said.
"Grazie. Thank you." Mario said.
"I'm going to put my phone on 'vibrate' again after we finish this call. Let me know if you rescue the bride." said Pauline.
"I will. But if I don't, please tell me when the wedding starts." Mario said.
"Don't worry. I'll tell you if that's the case." Pauline promised.
It was a while before Mario heard from Pauline again. He had failed to rescue the bride before Bowser left his kingdom with her, so he knew that the wedding was going to happen, much to his complete dismay. He came close to reclaiming her, but that fruity hat of Bowser's punched him away from the ship!
So now Mario was at the Moon Kingdom, knowing that he had to stop the wedding. However, he wasn't dressed in his usual attire; he was wearing a new white wedding tux from Cappy, who was playing the role of the top hat for him to wear. Peach was going to have difficulty resisting Mario in this outfit.
Mario was just about to enter the Underground Moon Caverns when he heard his 'text' chime from Pauline, which was the sound of Mario grabbing an item in the arcade version of "Donkey Kong".
"Pauline just texted you! What does she say?" Cappy asked. He'd heard the sound during their earlier texting session, and it was familiar to him by now.
"Hold on! I'm checking!" Mario said as he pulled out his phone and brought up Pauline's text. The message read, "Mario, the wedding is starting!"
"I know! I can hear the bells!" Mario replied.
"Hurry!" Pauline said.
Mario knew that he was hurrying as fast as he possibly could, but Grambi knew how long it was going to take him to reach the Wedding Hall. What if he wasn't quick enough? He knew what to do.
"Pauline, I want you to do me a huge, Bowser-sized favor!" Mario texted.
Pauline's eyes lit up when she read the message! She wanted to repay him in the worst way for helping her out in New Donk City, and this was her chance. She eagerly replied, "You name it, and I'll do it!"
"Find a way to STALL! THAT! WEDDING!" Mario texted her.
"Stall the wedding?" Pauline asked herself with a slight frown after reading Mario's text message. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able do that... until she looked at her band. They had long since unpacked their instruments and set them up, just in case they were going to be needed.
"That's it!" Pauline thought, smiling now as the bride and groom reached the altar.
"WAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIT!" Pauline shouted, bringing the entire ceremony to a standstill!
"WHAT?!" asked Bowser, furious that some woman had the gall to interrupt his big moment.
"You two can't get married yet!" Pauline said as she put her smartphone away.
"You got that right!" Peach said, getting cheers from the guests.
"Hey! Let me make this perfectly clear: blushing brides should be seen, not heard!" Bowser scolded Peach. That remark caused the guests to stop cheering in an instant. They started to yell insults at Bowser. They said things like, "Boo! You suck! Get outta here!"
"Go soak your head, you creep!" Peach unhappily muttered under her breath as she turned away from Bowser with her arms folded across her chest and an angry look on her face.
"Look at the bright side, Peach. The guests don't agree with him. They know he can't marry you if you're not allowed to be heard. The minister needs to hear you say 'I do'." Tiara said.
"I'm not going to say 'I do'. Not to a jerk like him. But you're right, Tiara. Bowser has proven to everyone that he's as dumb as a stump, and not worthy of having me as his little wife!" Peach said. She agreed with her little friend.
"You see, Bowser... there's a... brand new tradition... going around for weddings! Yeah! And you can't tie the knot until you carry it out!" Pauline said.
"Oh really? And what is this fruity little tradition of yours?" Bowser asked, getting up in her face in an attempt to make her back down.
"First off, I didn't come up with it; someone else did. And secondly, it's going to be a lot less fruity than your wedding attire, that's for sure." Pauline replied, making everyone except Bowser laugh.
"Be quiet!" Bowser snarled, causing everyone to go quiet.
"The tradition is that before they join together in holy matrimony, the bride and groom must pledge their love to each other through a song. Each of you picks out a song, and then you sing it to the other one, which makes saying "I do" a lot easier in case one of you is very nervous." Pauline said, looking over at Peach, who looked most unhappy.
Bowser thought about this. He had a good song (an erotic one, no less) in mind, and he said, "This tradition sounds like it could be fun. Okay, I'll start!"
"No, you won't, dummy!" Pauline stopped him.
"Why not?! And I'm not a dummy; I'm a king! I outrank my bride!" Bowser said. His back was to the bride, so he did not notice that Peach was giving him the finger on both hands. (A/N: I know that action might seem OOC for a prim and proper princess like Peach, but can you really blame her for doing it? She's being FORCED to marry him, and he's been trying to MURDER her boyfriend right in front of her!)
The guests all noticed what Peach was doing to Bowser, and while they agreed that he earned that sort of treatment, they had to keep quiet. They didn't want him to see that she was flipping him off.
"Is that so? Well, guess what? It doesn't matter if you rank higher than the bride. The old saying goes 'ladies first', and because the word 'bride' comes before 'groom' in alphabetical order, your bride is going to be the first one to choose her song and sing it to you! So you ought to be happy that she's going first!" Pauline said. She then motioned for Peach to come stand over by her and the band.
Peach smiled as she stopped flipping off the groom, then walked over to Pauline and her band, feeling happy that this woman was stalling Bowser's wedding. She was also glad to be able to get away from Bowser for the time being.
"Thank you, ma'am. I owe you for this." Peach gratefully whispered to Pauline.
"You don't owe me anything, and don't thank me yet, Miss." Pauline whispered.
"Call me Peach, please." Peach replied, still whispering.
"All right, Peach. I want you to tell me: what song do you want to sing to the groom?" Pauline asked in a whisper.
"I'll tell you right now that I can't think of any love songs I want to sing to him, because I don't want to sing him a love song! I hate him with a burning passion!" Peach replied in a loud, angry whisper. Luckily, Bowser wasn't listening. Unfortunately, he was daydreaming about Peach liking the song he had in mind enough to treat Bubblaine like a nude beach during their honeymoon.
"That's fine. I was hoping that you really wouldn't want to sing him a love song, anyway." Pauline whispered back, which made Peach smile. She had a really pretty smile, and now Pauline could see what helped Mario fall in love with her. Then she whispered, "Can you think of any good songs that involve not being in love with someone?"
Peach was quiet as she thought, and she nodded as she whispered, "Yes. I have two songs in mind."
"We only need one song. Tell me what they are, and then we'll figure out which one is the best." Pauline whispered.
"Well, one of them is "Release Me" by Engelbert Humperdinck." Peach whispered.
"Ooh, that's a good one!" whispered Pauline. It was one of the best songs for a woman to sing to Bowser. It seemed to have everything that Peach wanted to say to Bowser.
"And the other one... is not one you would really expect a princess to like." whispered Peach, blushing a little as she thought about the other song she had in mind. She was afraid Pauline might not believe her if she told her.
Pauline smiled and whispered, "After finding out just how bad that monster really is, try me."
Peach took a deep breath and leaned close to Pauline's ear. She whispered in a voice so soft that only the mayor could hear it, "The other song is... "You Give Love A Bad Name"... by Bon Jovi."
Pauline's face lit up like a Christmas tree (much to Peach's great surprise) when she heard that response. And while the mayor couldn't believe that a princess happened to like that particular song, she understood why Peach picked it.
"That's perfect! Not only is that song Bowser all over, but I don't think he's going to expect that you like such a song! And my back-up band loves to play that song in their spare time! They'll be glad to play it for you!" Pauline excitedly whispered.
"They will? Then that's the song I'm going to choose!" Peach whispered just as excitedly. Then she asked, "Can you also help me sing it? I don't really think I can do it alone."
"Of course I will!" Pauline whispered back, grinning. This plan was turning out better than she anticipated! She turned to the band and told them in a whisper, "The bride has chosen her song. It's "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi."
"Really? She wants to sing that one?" whispered the drummer, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Yes." Pauline replied, nodding her head in case they did not hear her whispered response.
"Oh yeah! I was hoping we could play a rocking tune for this wedding, and that's the perfect one!" whispered the guitarist.
"She picked out a good song, for it seems to fit the groom perfectly." whispered the bassist.
"All right, then! Let's get started!" whispered the trumpeter.
Bowser couldn't hear what Peach, Pauline, and the band were discussing, but he didn't really care. Not when his mind was in the gutter. It felt like an eternity before Pauline finally addressed him by saying in a loud voice, "Bowser!"
"What is it?" Bowser asked, snapping to attention.
"Your bride has chosen the song she wants to sing to you. Are you ready to hear it?" Pauline asked.
"You bet I am!" Bowser replied with a big, stupid grin on his ugly mug. But then he wondered if this was really a good idea. What if Peach chose one of those 'cheesy' little Beatles songs she liked so much? He hated those songs. And he had a feeling that she was probably going to think about Mario while she sang it, and he was supposed to be dead. But then he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. It was him she wanted more than a puny plumber.
We'll let Bowser convince himself that this little lie is the truth until Part 2 arrives! Stay tuned if you want to see him get some much-needed comeuppance!