Chapter 6 Sage and Hailey

The next day was a beautiful day. The sun shined, a warmth that wasn't too overpowering or toxic made itself known in the Koopa Kingdom. The people were happy for the most part too. Even those who weren't usually in the best moods smiled as they made their way through their day-to-day lives. Today was both beautiful and normal, a day where no one wanted or asked for anything.

At least, that was the case for most people. For two people who were currently entering Stonebrim, the world was practically ending and they had to do everything in their power to save it. The two people in question were a boy and a girl. The boy, fifteen years old, towered over the girl, who was about ten. The boy had an ultra-serious face as he and the girl marched through the town. He had magenta hair with yellow streaks, violet eyes, a golden head that was the same color as the rest of his body, and a magenta shell the same color as his hair. What was interesting about his shell was that, unlike most koopas, it lacked spikes. Further inspection also made it clear that he lacked a tail, an oddity for a koopa.

The girl who accompanied him was just as colorful. She had purple hair with red streaks that was done up in pigtails. She had red eyes, a pink head, and unlike the boy, her purple shell had spikes with red circles. However, she also lacked a tail.

The two made their way into a restaurant. As they talked to the host, the boy looked almost jumpy. If one looked at his arms, one could see that he had goosebumps. The girl was not unaware of this, and it made her whimper. As the host led them over to a table, the boy took in a shaky breath. When he took his seat, he rubbed his arms, his nervousness strong enough to kill someone. The girl kept her eyes on him at all times as she sat across from him. The boy ran his hand through his hair before looking her right in the eye.

"Well… we're here."

The girl nodded. "Yep." She looked down into her lap. "I almost can't even believe it. It feels so unreal."

The boy snickered. "Well, this isn't something a lot of people get to experience." He ran his hand through his hair again. "You know, Stonebrim looks REALLY different."

"Yeah, it does!" The girl smiled. "It's pretty."

"Pretty?" The boy snickered. "You think Stonebrim of all towns is pretty?"

"Well… okay, it's not going to win any beauty contest, but at the very least, it's a lot nicer than when we were here for the first time."

The boy laughed. "Can we even use the term 'first' in this scenario? Given the circumstances, I'd say that was our last time and THIS is our first time."

The girl giggled. "That is true." She shook her head. "This whole thing is difficult to wrap your head around, isn't it Sage?"

"You can say that again, Hailey." Sage and Hailey chuckled as the waiter came around. When they put in their drink orders, and the waiter went away, the two of them stayed silent for a little bit. A sort of heaviness overtook the scene, with Sage biting his lip and Hailey twiddling her thumbs. Both looked uncomfortable. Both WERE uncomfortable.

"Sage?" Sage lifted his head, seeing that Hailey was sweating as her brow furrowed. "Do you think this will work?"

Sage gripped his hand into a fist. "It has to. We can't go home if it doesn't."

"I know. That's what makes me so worried." Hailey whimpered. "Everything is on the line, so if we fail…"

"We won't," Sage said firmly. "We WON'T fail. I mean, think about it. The fact that we're here at all means that we must've done something right. Right?

"That is true, but…" Hailey whimpered. "I still worry."

"I know. Believe me, I know." Sage looked down at the table. "Maybe we shouldn't focus on whether or not we will fail. Maybe we should focus on how cool this situation is." He smiled. "We get to see everything differently. I mean, take this restaurant. It's different from the last time we were here. We get to see where it all began, how it changed over the course of the years that have passed. And…" Sage grinned, the expression somewhat cheeky. "We get to see how the Koopalings are at this point in time. I bet they're really different than how we know them."

"Hmm. That is true." Hailey lifted her head. "I think Iggy is about your age right now."

"I think so too." Sage laughed. "That's so weird to think about."

"It is!" Hailey laughed. "I don't know if I would want to meet him right now though. I have heard he was very… uppity at this point in time."

"I heard the same thing," Sage said as he smirked. "Oh, how the times have changed."

The two laughed. The waiter came by to get their food orders, and they happily told him what they wanted. He was all smiles when they talked to him, a perfect reflection of how great the day was outside. Once he was gone, Hailey gave Sage a sparkling grin. "You need to give him a good tip. You NEED to!"

"Don't worry, I will!"

"I hope so." Hailey smirked. "You have been known to give one measly coin for tips…"

"Hey! That was only once, and the waitress I did that to was MEAN! She kept giving Mom dirty looks; don't you remember?"

Hailey blinked. "I… don't actually." She shrunk back. "Okay, okay, so maybe you aren't as stingy as I thought."

Sage chuckled. "Yeah, you've gotta give me some credit, Hailey!"

"I give you tons of credit! I constantly tell you how great of a brother you are, don't I?"

Sage snorted and waved his hand. "You only do that because Dad would yell at you if you don't."

"No! I don't!" Hailey's voice rose as she glared at Sage. "Dad has nothing to do with it; I really do think you're a good brother! WHY WOULD YOU THINK…!"

"Shh! Tone it down, tone it down, we're in a restaurant!" Hailey shrunk back, making Sage frown at her. "Look, you're right. I was just being a jerk. You are genuine when you say that; you're right. I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Hailey let out a breath. "But seriously, give the waiter a nice tip."

"I will." He snickered. "He might be confused when he sees the date on the coins though."

Hailey burst into laughter. "He might think that there's some magic shit going on."

"Hey! No swearing!" Sage glared at his sister. "Only Mom and Dad are allowed to swear."

"Hey, if they're willing to swear in front of us all the darn time, they shouldn't think it's that big of a deal when we do it. And besides, Mom and Dad aren't here right now."

"True, but considering that we're going to see them later on, I think you should watch your mouth."

"Pfft. It's not like they're going to care."

"You don't know that."

"No. But it's most likely."

Sage sighed and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you, Hailey? You're turning into a real delinquent."

"Well, I learned from the best," Hailey said with a snort.

"Oh, so you think I'M the delinquent now?" Sage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course! You and Dad are one in the same!"

Sage gave her a confused look. "Since when is Dad a delinquent? He's actually really nice."

"Really? You think that about the guy who constantly likes to advertise how tough he is?"

Sage shook his head. "You and I both know Dad wouldn't even hurt a fly."

"Eh. Maybe." Hailey snorted. "I mean, that would mean all the times he's gone to the gym would be a total waste."

"Depends on your point of view," Sage said. "If you're looking at it as Dad simply trying to stay in shape, then no, it's not."

Hailey stuck out her tongue at him. "Whatever. You keep saying that."

Sage chuckled right as the waiter came by with their food. Sage licked his lips when he saw the lasagna; with the golden cheese up on top and the smell that would make anyone happy, Sage knew that he would have the time of his life eating it. Hailey wasn't disappointed either; the ziti that was served to her was cooked to perfection. The young girl giddily picked up her fork and took a bite.

"Oh man. Now THIS is incredible!"

Grinning, Sage took a bite of his lasagna. "It is." He laughed. "Now I know why the Mario brothers love pasta so much."

Hailey laughed. "Yeah. Considering they use uncooked pasta as a breakfast cereal, there'd better be a good reason why they like it."

"Hailey, that's just a rumor."

Hailey snickered. "A rumor that ninety-five percent of people believe."

"True, but it's still a rumor." Sage took another bite before smiling. "I can totally see them doing that honestly."

Hailey laughed. "I mean… it makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

"It does. It makes too much sense."

Hailey nodded, and the two of them continued eating. They mostly ate in silence, which helped Sage to think. He specifically thought about the mission that they were going to partake in. It was REALLY important, more important than everything else that he had done in his life up to this point. A lot was riding on this. Too much was riding this, so if they failed… no, no. He wasn't going to worry about failing. Not only would that make him a hypocrite considering what he said to Hailey, but it would also cause him unnecessary worry. Now wasn't the time when he should be worrying. He needed to keep his head on straight. He needed to approach this situation carefully, and he would. He was going to take on a leadership position, because… well, eh kinda needed to.

"Okay, so the gameplan," he said once he was halfway done with his lasagna. "You are going to go down to the Patch-Marksmite house, and I'm gonna go to Bowser's Castle. You're going to talk to Celia, and I'm gonna talk to Roy, see if there's anything we can do to help them."

"Yeah, I know." Hailey took another bite of her ziti. "They love each other; they just need a push in the right direction."

"Yes. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it." Sage looked down at his lasagna. "And… we aren't going to stop until they're together. We aren't going to rest until they know for certain that things can work out."

Hailey sighed. "That might be a little hard."

"Will it though? I mean, we know what they're like. We know what makes them tick, and we know what they think of each other. How hard would it be to set them on the right path when we know them so well?"

Hailey put her hand to her chin. "I suppose that's true." She blinked before groaning. "Oh man, I'm gonna have to walk ALL the way to the Mushroom Kingdom. That'll be… ugh."

"Well, would you rather go talk to Roy?"

Hailey seized up. "Uh… no. I don't think so."

Sage smiled. "That's what I thought." He sighed and stood up. "Okay, so we know the plan. We know what we need to do."

"Yes. We do." Hailey gave him a mischievous expression. "Now, about that tip?"

Sage groaned. "You REALLY aren't going to let that go, are you?" He reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a bag full of coins. "Here. He has the entire bill plus a two hundred percent tip."

"Two hundred percent? That's WAY too much! Give him a thirty percent tip!"

Sage groaned. "Man, women are just impossible to please." He reached into the bag and, after doing the math in his head, took out the money. "There. Happy."

"Yes." Hailey pushed one of her pigtails back and sighed. "Well… good luck, bro."

"Good luck, sis." With that, they went their separate ways, each one super determined to complete their mission. They WOULD do it. They had to.