Not much had happened with the Koopas since Lemmy, Iggy, and Bowser’s little run-in with Mario and Parakarry. Everyone was going about their usual schedule. Some of the Koopas, Lemmy for instance, were bored. Others, like Larry and Roy, were enjoying an uninterrupted day of watering plants or beating up on Iggy.
It was a rainy day that day. As Bowser Junior stared out the window, nearby Morton was singing a familiar (and very annoying) song…
“It’s raaaaaiining! It’s poooooouuring! The ooooold man is snoooooring!” sang Morton. Junior was fed up.
“For the last time!” Junior yelled. “YOU CAN’T SING!!!”
“But I’m serious, though!” protested Morton. “The old man IS snoring!” Morton pointed over at Kamek, who was sound asleep in a chair, snoring loudly. Junior slapped his forehead.
“Just stop singing, okay?!” he said. He continued looking out the window.
“*sigh* I wish something exciting would happen…” he said. “Probably the only excitement we’ve had recently was chasing that crazy Yoshi a few weeks ago…”
Lemmy rolled in on his ball.
“Hey Juniors…” he said. “What’s up?”
“Being bored…” said Junior.
“Yep! Exactly! Of course! Duh! No doubt! Your right! Uh-huh! Absolut—” Morton was cut off by Junior slapping duck tape over his mouth.
“You get the idea,” Junior said to Lemmy.
“Mm-hmm…” said Lemmy. He looked over at the snoring Kamek. He turned back to Junior.
“Well…” he said. “I think I’ll go see if Roy’s done beating up Iggy yet…” With that, Lemmy rolled away.
“I’m gonna go fix a ham sandwich,” said Junior. He walked away. Morton looked out the window at what seemed like an airship arriving at the dock.
“Looks like Wendy’s back from her monthly attack,” said Morton. “Hey! That rhymed! Hmm… That’s gives me an idea! I’ll write a poem!” Morton, happy with his decision, ran off to write his poem.
***
Bowser waited near the door to the airship docks. The door opened, and there stood Wendy, a little bruised.
“They beat you again, did they?” said Bowser.
“Ugh… yeah,” said Wendy. “I’m gonna go lie down… I don’t feel good…” She slowly walked off. Bowser sighed.
“Just once!” he said to no one. “Just once I wish we could be rid of the Mario Bros…” He walked away.
***
A Koopa trudged through Dark Land’s rough terrain. The rain batted against him. He squinted his eyes hard. He was cold. He was hungry. He was tired. But he didn’t seem to mind. He just wanted to get out of the rain. Lightning flashed. He didn’t take much notice. Yeesh! the Koopa thought. This rain is really getting annoying! ... I wonder where I am… He continued walking. Lightning flashed again. This time, he stopped. Lightning flashed again, and he saw a huge shape in the distance. What was it? He wasn’t so sure if going near it was a good idea. Suddenly, lightning flashed again, about twenty yards away from him! He jumped. On the other hand, maybe whatever the shape was meant shelter. He walked towards it.
***
Two Koopatrols, serving as Bowser front door guards, stood outside the castle’s front door. Lightning flashed. They both jumped.
“Ugh!” said one. “I wish King Koopa would just let us come in already!”
“Me too!” said the other. “A few more minutes and that lightning’ll zap us dead!”
Lightning flashed again.
“Huh?!” said the first Koopatrol. “What’s that?!”
“What?”
“That!”
The Koopatrol pointed as the lightning flashed again, and this time they both saw a silhouette walking towards them.
“Who’s that?!”
“I don’t know… but he’s trespassing! Get him!”
They both ran towards the figure and tackled him.
“HEY!!! WHAT’RE YOU DOING?!” cried the figure, a Koopa. “GET OFF!!!”
“SHUT UP, YOU!!!” snapped a Koopatrol. “You’re comin’ with us!”
The Koopa threw the Koopatrols off. One Koopatrol got back up and hit the Koopa in the head hard. The Koopa stumbled a little, enough for the Koopatrols to get a hold on him. The Koopa was about to struggle, but saw that the Koopatrols were trying to drag him into the castle. If he was going inside, out of the storm, then why fight it? He decided to let them take him in.
Upon entering the castle, the Koopatrols threw him down. The Koopa sat up and shook himself off.
“Watch him,” said a Koopatrol. “I’ll be right back.” He walked away.
The Koopa sat still on the floor.
“Where’s he going?” asked the Koopa angrily. “I still wanna get back at ‘im for hitting me in the head…”
The Koopatrol turned to him. “Look,” he said, “all I can say is, Lord Bowser doesn’t really like unexpected guests.”
Bowser?! thought the Koopa. That sounds familiar…
***
The Koopatrol was walking through the halls back to the front door with Bowser. Bowser was laughing.
“A trespasser, eh?” said Bowser. “Maybe tonight won’t be so boring after all.”
The two were nearing the front door. “All right!” said Bowser. “Where’s this guy so I can fin—” He stopped when he saw the Koopa on the floor. The Koopa had a crimson-red shell with three large spikes lined up vertically. He had six visible fangs. His hair was a slightly untamed Mohawk, starting in orange on the bottom and changing to yellow on top, much like a flame. He had big muscles, and wore gloves that covered all but his fingers. He also had two big scars, one on his right cheek and the other on his right knee. Bowser’s eyes widened.
“… Blaze?!” he said. “Is that really you?!”
The Koopa (I guess I should call him Blaze now) looked up and gasped.
“Well well well,” he said. “If it isn’t Bowser! Long time no see!” Blaze stood up.
“Excuse me for asking,” said a Koopatrol, “but… you KNOW him?!”
“Yes,” said Bowser. “I met him sometime before my kids took over the seven lands, only he was a lot younger.”
“Dude! You got kids?” asked Blaze.
“Yes,” said Bowser. “Let me introduce them to you, and then I’ll let you stay until it stops raining… or longer than that.”
Bowser motioned Blaze to come with him. Blaze did so.
***
“KIDS!!! COME TO THE THRONE ROOM NOW!!!” Bowser yelled over the loudspeaker. The Koopalings (most of them) all stopped what they were doing and rushed to the throne room. When they got there, they were shocked by the sight of Blaze. All but one Koopaling had come. Bowser sighed and went back to the loudspeaker.
“WENDY!!!” he bellowed. “WAKE UP AND GET IN THIS THRONE ROOM NOW!!!”
After a few minutes, a sleepy Wendy walked in. When she saw Blaze, she was fully woken up.
“Everyone,” said Bowser, “I want you to meet Blaze, an old friend I met years ago, who somehow stumbled upon the castle.” The Koopalings all stared in utter silence. This Koopa almost looked like a Koopaling himself, with fangs, a spiky shell, and claws to show for it.
“Blaze, these are my kids.” He began saying their names, but not in the order they were standing. “Lemmy, Wendy, Roy, Morton, Larry, Bowser Junior, Iggy, Ludwig, and… ick… Karma…”
Blaze was surprised by the sight of the Koopalings. He examined each one from his perspective. The first one had four fangs and blue hair that stood upright. The one next to him was bigger and also had blue hair, but it was wild and wooly. Next to him was what looked like a green Yoshi with claws, toenails, a purple shell, and an untamed ponytail. On her left was another big one, with a pink shell, pink sunglasses, and two fangs. The next one was shorter, and resembled Bowser, but wore a bandana with a set of teeth on it. To his left was one that had a huge pair of glasses, a rainbow Mohawk, and four fangs. The one next to him looked similar, also with a rainbow Mohawk, but had no fangs, was shorter, and stood on a ball. Next was one that was, oddly enough, brown, with four fangs and a star over his left eye. The last one was another girl, with a huge pink bow with spots, gold bracelets, and high-heel shoes.
Most of the Koopalings (even Morton) were silent. Blaze was also silent.
“If you guys are done staring…” said Bowser. “I’m letting him stay for… I don’t know… until he feels like leaving I guess… Anyway, I want you guys to make him feel welcome.”
A few of the Koopalings looked at each other.
“Blaze, you can sleep in the media room if you want,” said Bowser. “But first, why not have a nice cup of cocoa? My wife makes the best around.”
“… Oh… sure,” said Blaze. “Thanks…”
***
As Blaze was enjoying his cocoa, Bowser was talking with him. The Koopalings had gone upstairs.
“So what brings you to the Dark Land?” asked Bowser.
“Oh… just roaming,” said Blaze. “But it has its ups and downs. Rain is definitely a down.”
“No kidding,” Bowser laughed. “Geez! It’s been years. I remember the first time I saw you. You were a bad boy, always fired up about something! Bwahaha!!!”
Blaze sipped again. Bowser looked at him. “Is my talking disturbing you?” he asked.
Blaze looked up at him. “No no no!” he said. “Keep talking. I haven’t talked to anyone in a long time, and hearing you talk is… relaxing.”
Bowser’s eyes widened.
“So,” continued Blaze, “what kingdoms have you tried to conquer since I last saw you?”
Bowser began telling Blaze about the various conquests they’d tried. Blaze felt, of course, relaxed.
***
The next day after breakfast, the Koopalings all had Blaze stuck in their minds. Larry was busy watering his plants, but all the same he kept thinking about Blaze. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. He went to answer it. There was Wendy.
“Oh… Hey Wendy,” said Larry. “What’s up?”
“Ah…” said Wendy. “I’m thinking about last night. That Blaze guy kinda creeps me out for some reason…”
“Well,” said Larry, “it may be just because we don’t know him yet… but I dunno… he creeped me out too a little.”
Meanwhile, Lemmy and Iggy were also talking.
“So Iggy,” said Lemmy, “what do you think of that Blaze?”
“He’s got big muscles,” said Iggy. “I hope he’s not another bully… That’s the last thing I need right now! I think I’ll just stay clear of him.”
“… Well, they say you can’t be too careful… but oh well…”
Meanwhile, Ludwig and Karma also had their thoughts…
“You know,” said Karma as she watched Ludwig touching up his invention, “I don’t know much about that Blaze guy, but I gotta say, he’s got some cool hair…”
“You’re not fooling,” said Ludwig. “YOUR hair is ridiculous!”
“MY hair?! YOU NEVER COMB YOURS!!!”
“Oh really?! Vell THAT’S the VORST ponytail I’ve EVER seen!!!”
***
Larry was strolling into the area of the castle where the indoor basketball court, tennis court, swimming pool, soccer field, and wrestling ring were located. Suddenly, he stopped. There was Blaze, standing near the tennis court, looking around. Larry shivered a little. What was this guy like? Was he cool? Was he mean? There was only one way to find out… talk to him. Larry slowly walked toward Blaze, but slipped on a loose tennis fall and fell on his shell with a “thud”. Blaze jumped and looked back.
“Woah…” said Blaze. “Dude… You okay?”
Blaze went to him. Larry got up quickly.
“I-I-I-I’m fine!” Larry stuttered. “What’re you doing down here?”
“Oh… just lookin’ around… What’s up with you?”
“Well… not much really…”
Blaze bent down and picked up a tennis racket near his foot.
“Say,” he said. “You like tennis?”
Larry’s eyes widened.
***
Roy and Morton were entering the sports area.
“I wonda what dat Blaze guy’s like,” said Roy. “He looks cool but… I dunno…”
Morton couldn’t answer, as his mouth was full of sock. Suddenly, they both stopped when they saw Larry playing tennis with Blaze. They walked over to the tennis court. Larry looked over at them, and was hit by the ball. Blaze laughed.
“Dude! Keep your eye on the ball,” laughed Blaze.
Larry rubbed his head. He turned to Roy and Morton. “Bros,” he said, “this guy’s good! ... Wanna play doubles?”
Roy and Morton looked at each other, then at Blaze, then at Larry.
“Okay! You’re on!” said Roy.
“Mmmpphhhh!” said Morton.
“Um… Why does he have a sock in his mouth?” asked Blaze.
“We’ll explain later…” said Larry.
***
After a long game of tennis that ended with Larry and Blaze winning, Blaze was strolling through the hallways when he suddenly heard loud screaming and yelling coming from the next door. He walked over to the door and slowly opened the door to see Ludwig and Karma yelling at each other. Blaze narrowed his eyes in an annoyed way. He stepped into the room. When Ludwig and Karma saw him, they stopped.
“Um…” Blaze said, “Not to be rude… I don’t think… But anyway, could you shut up?!”
Blaze walked out. Ludwig just stared. Karma glared.
“YOU shut up!” she called through the door. Seconds later, Blaze walked back in.
“What did you say?!” he asked impatiently.
“You heard me!” retorted Karma. “I said shut up!!! So what’re YOU gonna do about it, fathead?!”
“WHAT?!”
Blaze stomped towards Karma angrily. “You wanna say that in my face?!” he taunted. “Hmm?!”
“Okay…” said Karma. “SHUT UP!!!”
Immediately after saying so, Karma was punched hard in the stomach by Blaze. Karma stumbled around with her hands on her chest.
“Dude and dudette,” said Blaze. “Let’s keep this down, ok? I don’t wanna have to beat anyone up right now…”
Karma didn’t speak, nor did Ludwig.
Outside the door, Iggy, Lemmy and Bowser Junior were all peering inside the room.
“G-g-g-guys…” stuttered Iggy. “He just shut Karma up! With his… FIST!!! Now I KNOW this guy’s dangerous!”
“C’mon, Iggy,” said Lemmy. “So what? I’m starting to think he’s not all he seems to be…”
“Me too,” agreed Junior. Suddenly the door opened. Blaze walked out and saw Iggy, Lemmy, and Junior. Iggy shivered.
“Oh, hey guys,” he said. Iggy jumped back.
“Y-y-you!” he stuttered. “K-k-keep aw-w-way from me! You c-c-can’t fool me w-w-with your f-f-fake f-f-friendliness!!!” Iggy ran away yelling. Blaze was puzzled. He looked at Lemmy and Junior as Wendy walked up towards them.
“Don’t mind him,” said Lemmy. “He a little… shy…”
“Oh,” said Blaze.
“What was all that about?” asked Wendy. “That’s was weird…”
Bowser walked up. Blaze turned to him.
“Oh, hey king dude!” said Blaze.
“Hey,” said Bowser. “I see you’ve gotten to know him a little.”
“You shoulda seen him!” said Junior. “He’s the first guy I’ve ever seen stop a Ludwig-Karma fight!”
“Oh! I was wondering why those two stopped!” said Wendy. “Oh well, at least now maybe we can get some piece and quiet!”
She walked away, as did Junior.
“See ya, Blaze!” said Lemmy. “I gotta go find Iggy and calm him down.”
Lemmy walked away. Blaze turned back to Bowser.
“Larry told me about your tennis game,” said Bowser.
“Yeah,” said Blaze. “That was awesome! I hadn’t played any sports with anybody for a long time.”
“So how long are you planning on staying?”
“Hm… Dunno really… But however long my stay is, I’m enjoying it. This is the first time I ever had a chance to talk to anyone in a while… *sigh*. Since I first met you, I’ve been roaming around on my own…”
***
Iggy was sitting on the couch in the media room, breathing heavily.
“Okay Iggy,” he said to himself. “Calm down, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re safe in here… yep… safe…” Iggy grabbed the remote, thinking maybe some TV would calm him down. He turned on the TV and sank back into the couch, feeling a little relaxed.
Later, the other Koopalings (minus Karma and Ludwig) came in to play Super Smash Bros Melee. Iggy was still watching TV.
“Move ova, Iggy!” Roy yelled.
“Yeah!” said Larry. “We wanna play Super Smash Bros!”
“MMMMPPHHH!!!” agreed Morton. Blaze came in.
“What’s going on here?” asked Blaze.
“Iggy won’t move!” said Wendy.
Iggy tried his best to keep his eyes off Blaze. Suddenly, the program he was watching was switched to a news update.
“WHAT?!” screamed Iggy. “COME ON!!! WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT?!”
The other Koopalings and Blaze looked at the TV. The reporter, a green-spotted mushroomer, was speaking.
“This just in,” said the mushroomer. “The runaway suspect who calls himself El Koopa de Blaze is still on the run. Guards have been searching and searching for him but have found no trace of him yet. If you see El Koopa de Blaze, call the Mushroom Kingdom authorities immediately. This Koopa is dangerous.”
While speaking, a portrait of a familiar-looking Koopa was shown. The Koopa had six fangs, a crimson-red forehead and shell, flame colored hair, and a scar on his right cheek. It looked like Blaze. Was it Blaze? It sure seemed like it. They all looked at Blaze with blank faces. Iggy was shaking.
“Blaze…” Lemmy spoke. “I think they’re talking about… you!”
Blaze squirmed.