Author's Note: Now we move on to episode 3...

Super Mario Sunshine Adventure

Episode 3: The Hillside Cave Secret

Not stopping to chat with the Piantas that were currently inhabiting Bianco Hills, Sonic and Mario made their way along the path that was displayed before them. Bianco Hills was still as beautiful as ever and was much cleaner than before, thanks to an awesome hedgehog and heroic plumber. The duo reached the tightropes and Mario flipped on top of them with his impressive acrobatic moves. Sonic, however, wasn't so successful and decided to just jump to the other side of the river, landing on the grass and going over to the closed flowers to collect some coins. Mario shrugged at this and bounced on the white tightrope, spinning in the air and then flipping onto one of the buildings stylishly.

"If Sonic were right next to me, he would've made some kind of comment about me being a showoff right about now!" the plumber talked to himself as he looked ahead, spotting a Blue Coin on top of the grassy hills that he couldn't possibly reach…or could he?

Jumping and flipping multiple times, Mario did a harsh spin in the air and then quickly used FLUDD's Hover Nozzle to easily hover over to the Blue Coin. Grabbing the Blue Coin, the red-capped hero released a laugh full of glee. He pocketed the Blue Coin and then searched around for his blue companion who was currently down below. After finding him, Mario flipped off of the hill and used FLUDD to softly land onto the ground. Sonic was standing around and waiting for Mario and FLUDD to return, tapping his foot impatiently. When Mario approached him, Sonic turned to face him, arms folded over his chest.

"Took you long enough!" huffed the blue hedgehog. "I've collected a lot of coins so far! I have a feeling that we might need them in the future."

"I agree," Mario nodded. "So, how's it going so far? Did you come across the imposter yet?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nope! Don't you think I would've told you if I did? Anyway, I found out that some of these pink flowers aren't actually pink flowers and are, in fact, Pokeys in disguise! Weird, right?" he rambled on.

"That is odd…"

"Yeah, they're annoying too!" Sonic went on as he and Mario started walking, taking the waterwheel up to the top of the structure that they were standing upon once before. "Right when you give them water, they pop out at you and try to sting you with their prickly bodies! I now officially hate Pokeys!"

Mario shrugged. "Pokeys are always trouble!"

"Now I know."

As one, the duo jumped off of the waterwheel and Mario did a sudden flip, landing on top of one of the towering trees below. He landed on top of the leaves surprisingly. Strangely, the trees' large leaves were stable and hard enough to stand on without flopping about and causing the plumber to fall! It was illogical, but nothing was logical in Mario's world. Anyway, Mario found another Blue Coin in one of the trees and stashed that away with the rest of the Blue Coins he had obtained. While Mario did all of that, Sonic took care of some Mini Pokeys that were blue and actually moved. After all of that was through and done with, Mario and Sonic reunited and started walking towards the big windmill that they had battled Petey Piranha at. Along the way, Sonic and Mario came across a lavender colored Pianta and they noticed that there was something very different about the area…

"You can see the Hillside Cave over there, right?" the Pianta questioned the duo while pointing a large hand in an unknown direction.

Looking over to where the Pianta was pointing at, the two individuals could see a cave build into the side of a hill. There were ropes and platforms leading towards the cave, meaning that Sonic and Mario were meant to venture inside of the cave. When they looked back at the Pianta, they both gave them their answers to his question.

"I see it, alright!" yawped Sonic.

"I do too!" caterwauled Mario.

"A guy came out all covered in goop and ran under the bridge," the Pianta informed them of this news. "I wonder if something bad was after him…How disturbing."

"A guy came out all covered in goop?" questioned Sonic, pondering over the unfortunate matter. "I don't know; that sounds pretty suspicious to me."

"Do you think it was the imposter?" Mario asked his blue comrade, curiosity painting his tone of voice. There was a frown coloring his face as well.

Sonic shrugged. "There's only one way to find out," he said. "I don't think he's under the bridge anymore. He probably went back into the Hillside Cave. We have to get to that cave somehow…"

"But how do we do that?"

The Pianta was listening in on their conversation and he gestured upwards at the platforms and tightropes above that had magically appeared there after Sonic and Mario returned to Bianco Square. "There are some platforms and ropes up there. I think that's the only way how you two are going to get to the Hillside Cave over there," he explained helpfully.

Sonic tilted his head back and gazed up at the towering platforms and tightropes above. Normally, Sonic didn't have a problem with heights whatsoever, but walking on tightropes he did have a problem with! How in the world was he supposed to keep his balance on those things? He wasn't an acrobatic like Mario!

"Hey, thanks for all your help!" Mario thanked the helpful Pianta with a grin.

"Oh, you're very welcome, strange mustachioed fellow!" the Pianta commented with a shake of his head, smiling. However, he frowned when he got a better look at Mario. "You do look familiar, however…"

Mario nervously laughed and then pushed Sonic away from the Pianta, getting as far away as possible from the dude. Sonic was too busy ruminating on the possibility of falling to his death from the tightrope to even notice Mario pushing him.

"Okay, Sonic, let's get to work on reaching the Hillside Cave!" the plumber declared, jumping into the air and performing a tremendous flip, landing on top of one of the white ropes that connected with the platforms. He put his arms out on either side of him and balanced himself easily on the rope. "Come on, Sonic! You're wasting time!"

"Are we in a hurry?" drawled Sonic, not really up for trying to stand on a skinny piece of string.

"No, but the imposter isn't!" Mario retorted, staring down at the reluctant hedgehog. "What's the matter? Are you afraid of heights or something?"

Sonic rapidly shook his head. "No!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"How in the world am I supposed to stand on that piece of string?!" Sonic questioned, flailing his arms about like a child who couldn't get dessert before dinner. "I'm gonna fall into the WATER and the string might broke and I'll still fall into the WATER! I'll get drenched…IN WATER!"

Mario rolled his eyes. "Man up!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"I understand that you're acting like a big baby about all of this!"

"I am NOT a baby!"

"Then prove it by getting your butt up here!"

Sonic scowled and then did a big jump, curling into a ball and jumping a second time in the air. When he uncurled, his feet touched the rope above and Sonic wobbled about terribly, almost falling backwards. "I-I'm gonna fall…!" right when the poor hero was about to plummet down into the water, Mario grabbed his hand and kept him standing on the rope.

"You really can't stand on this thing, can you?" Mario was now giving him a sympathetic expression.

"I told you this already!" Sonic shot back, heart hammering against his chest. He felt foolish for being so scared of water. It was also kind of silly because he could actually control and use the water for offense and defense, but he was afraid of it!

Mario noticed that Sonic was gripping his hand for dear life and cutting off all blood circulation. The plumber winced, but decided not to say anything about how the hedgehog was putting him in great pain. "Okay, okay…let's go! This isn't going be hard just…continue to hold onto my hand and try not to look down, okay?"

"I'm not afraid of heights, I'm just afraid of falling into the water!" Sonic responded, shuddering as he continued to grip Mario's hand tightly.

"I understand…"

So Mario started moving along the white rope while keeping Sonic balanced. Mario suggested that Sonic start a conversation with FLUDD as they made their way towards the Hillside Cave by way of white strings and platforms. Sonic thought that was a great idea to keep his mind off of falling into the water as they continued with their adventure.

"S-So, FLUDD!" began Sonic uneasily as they journeyed on. He desperately tried not to think about all of the water that was beneath them. "How's life?"

"I don't have much of a life," FLUDD responded robotically. "Ever since Mario activated me on the airstrip, my life had started. Now I am spending it on Mario's back."

Sonic frowned. "You don't sound happy…"

"I am happy to be of assistance to you and Mario as you both work together to clean up the island," FLUDD answered quietly, nozzle moving with each word that came out. "I really don't mind spending my life on Mario's back. It's actually quite comfy right here."

"I see," Sonic murmured thoughtfully as they moved along. "So, I have a question."

"And what may that be?"

"Are you a boy or a girl?" the hedgehog queried.

"I do not possess a gender…"

Sonic shrugged. "Nah! I think you have a gender, FLUDD! If I had to choose, I'd say you were a boy!"

"A boy?" FLUDD just stared at the blue hedgehog, not following this conversation at all.

"Yeah," yawped Sonic. "A boy. You don't mind if I refer to you as 'he' instead of 'it', right?"

FLUDD was silent for a long moment before shaking its (HIS) head. "I don't have a problem with it."

Sonic grinned and gave FLUDD a quick thumbs up. "Cool, FLUDD!"

FLUDD was very intrigued by Sonic and Mario. They treated him like an actual person and not just some kind of robotic device that was built for one purpose…spraying water. They treated him like a friend, which was nice.

"We're here!" Mario suddenly announced, breaking their conversation up as they arrived at their final destination. They were now standing on grass, on land and they were in front of the Hillside Cave!

Sonic blinked a few times and surveyed the area, realizing his feet was on solid ground instead of on a piece of string that he could possibly fall off of. Mario, who was now staring at him, tried tugging his hand out of Sonic's grip, but Sonic's grip was too tight and still very strong.

"Uh, Sonic…?"

"Yeah, Mario?"

"Can you let go of my hand now? I can't feel it anymore and it's really numb…"

"Oh! Sorry! Heh heh…!"

Sonic quickly released Mario's hand and laughed sheepishly, not realizing that he still had been holding the plumber's hand. After that, Mario waved his left hand about, trying to put the feeling back into it, but it was taking a long time.

"I sure hope I don't have to decapitate it…" muttered the plumber, frowning.

"Come on! The Hillside Cave awaits!" the blue hedgehog told Mario, quickly running into the dark cave without a care in the world. He didn't seem concerned about what would be inside of the cave.

Still shaking out his numb hand, Mario followed his adventuring companion into the cave.

Mario, Sonic, and FLUDD all found themselves in some kind of white place. It was just completely white everywhere as they fell downwards into the nothingness.

"Where in the heck are we?!" Sonic boomed, searching around with his eyes.

"I don't know!" Mario exclaimed, still shaking his numb hand out. He was starting to get worried about it now.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Shadow Mario appeared and snatched FLUDD right off of Mario's back. Gasping, Mario and Sonic turned their heads to see the imposter holding FLUDD and waving at them mockingly. Then he was gone, disappearing within the whiteness that was surrounding them.

"FLUDD!" Mario and Sonic yelled out in unison.

Soon after, the hedgehog and plumber were now standing on a platform in some kind of other world. There were now wooden blocks that were moving back and forth in front of them. Glancing down, Sonic and Mario could see that there was an endless abyss below them. If they fell…it would be GAME OVER for them.

"What do we do? How do we get FLUDD back?" Sonic questioned, worried about the little robot device that was always occupying Mario's back.

"I don't know, but that fiend has him!" Mario looked upset that his awesome water device was now taken. "Now I don't have anything! I feel naked without it!"

Sonic shook his head and eyed the wooden blocks that were constantly moving back and forth. "We can't do anything right now except to move forward. Come on. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing another Shine Sprite soon."

"This looks dangerous, Sonic…" trailed Mario as he stared at the moving wooden blocks. How in the world was he going to be able to float and stuff without FLUDD?

"I do dangerous stuff all the time when Eggman's up to no good!" Sonic informed him as he jumped up on top of the first moving block. After that, he reached the third, the fourth, and then reached the platform that wasn't moving at all. "Come on, Mario! It's easy!"

Sighing, Mario complied with the hedgehog's wishes. He did a backflip and landed onto the first block. He barely made it to the second and he reached the third with ease. On the fourth block he almost fell to his death, but managed to grab onto the edge of it. He pulled himself up and then joined Sonic who patted him on the back.

"Good job, pal!" the hedgehog chortled.

"Thanks," wheezed Mario.

Next the duo came across several moving blocks, but these were much smaller than the wooden ones and they weren't just moving back and forth. They were moving in almost all directions and they were all over the place. It was much easier to get past this part because there were so many blocks moving about that they could jump onto. When they reached the end, they were standing on a green block with a long path that stretched ahead. There were large blocks spinning around the path, attempting to knock anyone who dared to cross right off!

"This looks difficult," Mario stated, uncertainty coloring his voice.

"Nonsense!" Sonic hopped in place for a few seconds before taking off at supersonic speed, reaching the other side in less than five seconds.

Mario threw up his hands. "Why didn't you take me with you!?" he complained.

"Sorry!" Sonic dashed back over, completely avoiding the giant blocks. He grabbed Mario's wrist and then hurried on back across with his amazing speed, pulling Mario with him.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it!"

Then the two of them were met with two star platforms that were extremely easy to get across from. They reached the last platform and there was the Shine Sprite! This time, Sonic grabbed it and he struck a pose, grinning from ear to ear. Mario grinned and nodded his head in approval, happy that they found another Shine Sprite.

[Back with the others…]

Amy placed her hands onto her hips and gazed out at the endless ocean before her. Her bare feet was stuck in the sand beneath her and she was wearing a frown. "Well, Sonic and Mario want us to enjoy ourselves, so we might as well do so!" said Amy to Peach who was standing next to her.

Peach was donned in her pink swimsuit, looking at Amy and nodding her head. "Yeah, I guess," she commented quietly, still thinking this was an awful vacation. "I don't think I'll even be able to have fun knowing Mario and Sonic are struggling to clean the whole island."

The pink hedgehog sighed at the princess' words and she glanced down at Baby Daisy and Baby Peach who were on the sand building sandcastles. They were giggling and having lots of fun. Toadsworth was currently walking around Delfino Plaza with the other Toads, just doing some sightseeing.

"Well, we can still make this a better vacation, Peach," Amy told her. "It doesn't have to remain a bad one."

Peach was still gloomy and downcast no matter what her pink friend said. She lowered down into the sand and just sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest. The princess felt so bad about Mario and what he had been through all because she had invited him to go on vacation with her to Isle Delfino.

Oh, what was she going to do?