3- Saved

"Wow! Look at that cave over there!" Mario peered over at the cavern from on top of a large hill. It looked interesting… interesting as in suspicious.

Sonic also peered over at the cavern, using one of his hands to shield his eyes from the sun. "I wonder if Eggman's in there?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"You got that right!" said the hedgehog with a wink. "Let's go check it out!" Sonic sped off, with Mario following behind.

They ran down the hill and came to a waterfall. Mario looked down, a lake was at the bottom of the cliff. Looking further ahead he found another ledge at the other side. With the gap between them being too wide to simply jump, he began to search for something to help the two of them cross. Luckily he spotted a vine hanging over the ledge from a branch. It looked sturdy enough for them to use to swing across.

Mario jumped up and grabbed the vine. He swung backwards to bring it back to the edge where Sonic had watched him with his arms folded.

"This should work," Mario held out the vine. "You first?"

Sonic shook his head. "After you."

"Okay." the plumber shrugged. He took a step back and began to run towards the cliff. Mario gripped the vine tightly before jumping and swinging over the gap. He landed on the other side and swung the vine back to Sonic, who swiftly caught it.

"Your turn."

Sonic walked over to the ledge and looked down at the lake below. He quickly looked back up, took a deep breath, and began moving a few steps back before running towards the edge – like what Mario did. As soon as he was close to the edge he closed his eyes and jumped, swinging over the gap. Mario watched him, if his eyes are closed, he won't know when to let go of the vine. Mario held his arms out, looking as if getting ready to catch the hedgehog as if he was falling.

"Let go of the vine!" Mario called. "It's safe to land!" Sonic nodded and released the vine, with his eyes still closed.

Mario planted himself in that spot and kept his arms out. Sonic landed in his arms, and Mario merely stumbled due to the impact. The hedgehog's eyes were still closed while tightly holding on to the red plumber.

He chuckled. "You can open your eyes now."

Sonic slowly opened his eyes and found himself in Mario's arms… in bridal style. He also noticed how he had his arms around the plumber's neck. He looked at the plumber who was looking at him as well. The uncomfortable silence lasted for only a minute when Mario began smiling and laughing hysterically. A vivid flush spread across Sonic's muzzle, which remained after he jumped out of the plumber's arms.

"Heh… Don't know where that came from…" With a nervous chuckle, Sonic rubbed his arm in an awkward manner.

Mario released another chuckle. "Don't worry about it, it happens." Similar situations involving him and Luigi on some of their adventures came into mind. He was used it.

"I owe it to you anyway." Sonic smiled. Mario returned it.

"Let's get going." Sonic nodded, before smiling at the plumber once again and taking off. Mario began running before smirking to himself.

...

Luigi continued to use the large stick to help row the lily pad down the river. When the lily pad began to float in a quicker pace, Luigi decided to take a break and placed the large stick on the lily pad. He was tired from walking around aimlessly, and had just found this lily pad from a small pound and the stick to use as a paddle. After that, he went back over to the river where the animal still laid unconscious.

Speaking of which, he felt kind of bad for treating it the way he did. It all started out as a misunderstanding , but then turned intentional after it fought back. He only though that the thing was about to take him off to who knows where… It was all just an act of defense.

Soon he heard a faint crashing sound nearby. Luigi peered ahead, seeing a cliff. 'What is that?' He asked himself in his mind. What could this mean? A cliff… Splashing sounds… 'Ah! Oh no! That's a waterfall!' Luigi's eyes widened as he picked up the stick and began to row the other direction.

But it was too late.

The river was pulling the lily pad and Luigi towards the waterfall. Seeing that the stick wasn't helping, Luigi tossed it into the water and almost began using both of his hands. In his mind – if he was to do that, he could risk falling off and into the water… It didn't seem like the best choice. The flow of the river increased as Luigi got closer to the edge.

'I'm doomed…'

He began to scream, which was being drowned out by the waterfall nearby. The panicking plumber's eyes began to scan the area around him, in desperate hope to find something he could use to save himself. Unfortunately, he was too far from land. He peered at the waterfall ahead once again before he spotted something long and green hanging over the edge.

Finally, he found something.

It appeared to be a vine, which he could grab onto and use to get on land. As soon as he was close enough to the edge, Luigi jumped up and grabbed the vine while the lily pad fell down the waterfall. He held on to it tightly before wrapping his legs around it. He was now safe…

…That is, until he heard the sound of something crackling nearby. He looked around, trying to indicate where it came from. He heard another sound, one of the same type. Swallowing hard, he dared to look up.

The branch that the vine was hanging from was forming gigantic cracks.

Luigi glowered bitterly. 'Great… What perfect timing…' Without another warning, the branch finally snapped. The green plumber screamed as he was falling down the enormous waterfall. As he was getting closer to the body of water below, Luigi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

SPLASH…

He floated under the water with his eyes still closed and his mouth now shut. Once he finally opened his eyes, he quickly swam to the surface. He first gasped for air before grabbing the wet lily pad he rode down the stream. Luigi took small breaths while scanning his new surroundings. It was a small area with a tree in front of the pound, which had mushrooms growing right next to it.

Luigi swam to land, only to be greeted by a hand that had stretched out him. Slowly his eyes traveled up the black and red arm to meet the gaze of the hand's owner. His eyes widened in surprise at who he just saw.

"Need a hand?"