Saturday, October 10, 1992, 8:00 AM

In Dr. Wily's lab, the evil scientist watched in pleasure as his new robot drones rebuilt his army. "At this pace, I'll be ready to conquer Videoland by the end of the week with the Koopas' help!" He laughed.

The warp he had made to Dark Land opened, and Ludwig von Koopa and Larry Koopa emerged.

"Greetings, Dr. Wily." Ludwig greeted.

"Ah! Good morning, Prince Ludwig!"

"Ludwig and I have designed a device that will stop the N Team in their tracks!" Larry exclaimed in delight.

"A fear gun." Ludwig said. "It'll make those do-gooding fools run scared into our hands! Ha, ha! We came here, though, because we don't have the required tools in Dark Land."

"All right, sir." Wily said. "We can work on it here in my lab, then."

"Good." Ludwig showed Wily his design specifications, and the three villains immediately set to work.

Larry himself was not a scientist, but he knew what all the tools were and how to use them, so he helped Ludwig by saving him a lot of time.

Kevin and Lana were visiting Dr. Right in his lab, where he was showing them some of his latest inventions.

"And this one," he said, showing them the last one, "will help you detect hidden warps from your home when I've installed it."

"Sounds great, Doc." Kevin said with a smile.

"Sure does." Lana agreed. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all." the good scientist replied.

"Well, then, thank you, Dr. Right. Kevin and I will be going back now."

"Certainly, Your Highness." Right replied. "See you later."

"Later." Kevin said.

He and Lana left the lab.

At Wily's lab, the evil scientist and the two wicked Koopalings had finished the fear device and were watching Kevin and Lana on a monitor.

"Perfect!" Ludwig said.

"We'll warp to their location and test this thing on Captain Nuisance."

"Wonderful!" Wily exclaimed. He got up. "We can use my new Warp Zone Shifter to get there."

"Sure, Doc." Ludwig took the gun-shaped device off the table.

Wily opened the warp, and he and the Koopalings entered.

"So," Lana asked as the two of them walked outside, "were you serious about teaching me more about playing video games?"

"Yeah!" Kevin replied, nodding.

She smiled. "Well, then, let's get back."

"Oh, you got it!"

Kevin and Lana approached Stacey's convertible.

Suddenly, a warp opened, and the three villains emerged.

"Not so fast, Captain Ninny!" Wily snapped.

Kevin had his Zapper out in a second. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"We want a do-gooding guinea pig." Ludwig said. He fired at Kevin, who leapt out of the way.

However, the beam curved to seek its target, and Kevin was not suspecting this. The beam blasted him when he landed.

"Hey! I didn't feel anything at all!" He aimed at Ludwig. "Leave now!"

"It's not working!" Wily shrieked.

"On the contrary!" Ludwig said. He removed a laser pistol from his shell. "Dodge this!"

He fired at Captain N, who cried out and fell over, narrowly missing the shot.

"Yaah!" Kevin cried, full of fear. "Get me out of here!" He sprang up and ran off.

"Kevin!" Lana called, but he didn't stop. She turned to Ludwig. "What did you do to him?!"

"Trust me," Ludwig said, grinning, "you will find out in five seconds if you don't go after him,...and I hope you get my point!" He was aiming his fear gun at her.

"You'll pay for this, Prince Ludwig!" Lana shouted. She ran after Kevin.

Wily turned to Ludwig. "Why didn't it work immediately?"

"It works on adrenaline." Ludwig replied. "It turns action energy into fear."

"Ah! Very effective. I suggest we lure out the rest of the N Team so we can blast them."

"Excellent suggestion, Dr. Wily! We'll use some of your robots, if that's all right."

"Certainly."

Lana finally caught up with Kevin deep in the woods. He was quivering behind a tree.

He heard leaves rustling. "Yaah!" he cried, turning to run.

Lana caught his right arm to stop him, but the momentum caused them to fall next to each other.

"Kevin! It's me, Lana!" She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was terrified.

"S-stay away from me!" he cried, backing away.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kevin. I'm your friend."

He sighed. "Sorry. I'm scared of everything."

She got up and helped him to his feet, and she hugged him warmly. "Kevin, are you okay?"

He put his arms around her tightly. "I don't know." he replied, still quivering. He looked into her beautiful eyes. He sighed. "Lana, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He put his right hand to his head. "Heck, I can't remember all that happened!"

"Ludwig shot you with some strange new ray. I think that had something to do with you fleeing, because you were terrified when he shot at you with that laser pistol."

"I sure was!" He started to feel angry, but it suddenly turned into terrible, flooding fear. "No!" he shouted. He grunted as he forced himself to rein in the fear. "Lana, I think he's changed the function of my adrenaline!"

"Why, of course! Turn your agression into flight. Oh, no! And he's probably planning to shoot the others! We have to get back!"

"No!" he cried, pulling away. "I'm not going after him! I'm too scared!"

Lana sighed. "Kevin, please try to control your fear."

"I am! But it's way too powerful!"

"I can't face them alone, Kevin. Come on. Try to be brave. Remember? I've told you you're the bravest person I know."

Kevin shut his eyes and frowned in concentration. "I remember." he said softly. "Okay, I'll try."

Lana smiled. "Thank you. Do you want to kiss me?"

He looked into her inviting eyes. His love for her started to take precedence over his fear, and he appreciated that. "Sure, Lana."

They had a good, short kiss before they left.

Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Simon were in the Communications room in the house when an alarm sounded.

"There's mega trouble in the capital!" Mega Man exclaimed. "A lot of Wily's robots are converging in the central town square!"

"Uh-ohicus." Kid Icarus said. "Just when Kevinicus and Her Highnicus are out!"

"We'll just have to take the team and go without them." Simon said.

"Simon's mega right." Mega Man said. "You guys get Rick, Stacey, Julius, and Romeo while I leave Mike, Gameboy, and Duke in charge, and then we'll mega warp to town."

In town, Ludwig, Larry, and Wily were leading the army of robots on their destructive rampage through the middle of the city. At city hall, Dr. Wily jumped up to the podium at which the mayor had been addressing the populace.

"So sorry, Your Honor." Wily said. "The Koopas and I are in charge of this megalopolis now! Ha, ha!" He wheezed.

"You'll never succeed with this plot, Wily!" the mayor snapped. "The N Team will stop you!"

"Oh, take this fool away before he makes me sick!" Wily instructed.

Guts Man and Hard Man grabbed the mayor and took him down to the other robots.

"Now, people of Megaland, I turn your attention to the soon-to-be Ruler of Videoland, Prince Ludwig von Koopa!"

Ludwig and Larry stepped up to the podium.

"Greetings, people of Videoland." Ludwig greeted. "In mere minutes, I shall capture Princess Lana and usurp her power. Lord Wily, Doctor of Dastardly Sciences, shall henceforth be the ruler of Megaland."

"The N Team will stop you!" various people called.

Ludwig laughed. "I am counting on their arrival! Just sit back and enjoy the show!"

A warp opened on the sidewalk next to the hall, and the N Team emerged.

"Yo, Wi-whoa!" Mega Man cried. "Ludwig?!"

"That is me, Mr. Man." Ludwig said.

"Robots!" Wily called. "There's the N Team! Sic 'em!"

The robots began to converge on the N Team.

"Uh-oh! Mega defend yourselves!" Mega Man cried.

He and the rest of the team used their weapons and repelled Dr. Wily's robots. There were basically seven groups of robots, each group susceptible to one particular member of the team. Thus, the N Team split up to battle the robots.

Wily grinned wickedly. "A good suggestion this was, Ludwig!"

Ludwig aimed his fear gun at Mega Man. "I prefer to know my enemy." he replied, grinning. "Especially easy now that I've read Eggy and Hippo's puny minds!"

He fired, and soon the heroic android ran screaming away from the robots he had been assaulting.

"Ha, ha, ha! It even works on Mega Man!"

He blasted the other N Teamsters, and they each ran screaming away from the robots they had been assaulting. Unwittingly, the seven members of the N Team converged at the same point and crashed into each other. They were absolutely petrified as the robots closed in.

"Dr. Wily, I do believe that we have won!"

Wily's eyes widened. "Hey! Where's Mike Vincent?"

"If he gets any wise ideas, we'll blast him with this! Now, let's transport these guys and the mayor to Dark Land and hold them there."

Wily turned to him. "I trust your siblings won't let them escape again."

"Don't worry." Larry said. "I shall personally oversee the guarding. By the time the fear gun's effects wear off, these fools will already be behind bars."

"Very well, then. Attention, robots! Obey Larry and Ludwig as you would me unless I specify otherwise personally."

Larry addressed the robots: "All right, robots! Confiscate Simon's backpack, Kid Icarus' bow and arrows, and the others' weapons."

Wily called: "Guts Man, catch this!" He tossed a device down to Guts Man, who caught it. "Place this around Mega Man's upper body to prevent him from firing."

Guts Man fought with Mega Man and succeeded in his task.

"Now, robots, escort the N Team and the mayor to Dark Land behind me."

Larry opened a warp to Wily's lab, which he entered; there, he went through the warp to Dark Land. Following the young Koopaling, the robots prodded the N Team through.

Thanks to the newscast, Dr. Right was able to watch the events. He was already working on a device that might counteract the effects of Ludwig's fear gun when Lana and Kevin entered.

"Where were you?" Right asked with concern. "Dr. Wily and Prince Ludwig have taken over Megaland! Ludwig used some sort of fear gun to subdue seven of the N Team!"

"Oh, great!" Lana cried. "Ludwig shot Kevin with it just as we were leaving. Kevin ran scared into the woods, and I went after him; I managed to drag him back."

"Doc, I think it turns our adrenaline against us." Kevin said. "I feel so tired, fighting back all this fear that's been building up." He found a chair and sat in it.

"That would explain why Ludwig didn't shoot the team until they were already fighting Wily's army of robots."

Kevin's eyes widened. "Army of robots?!" he cried in terror. Suddenly, he clamped his eyes shut and tried to fight the fear again. "No! I can't let this...happen to me!"

The door opened, and Mike Vincent, Gameboy, and Duke came in.

"Hey, Doc!" Mike said. "Did you see the - Kevin! What's up?"

"Mike, Dr. Wily or Ludwig has invented a fear machine." Dr. Right said. "They first used it on Kevin, and now on the other seven N Team members who went to town to try to stop Wily's invasion of robots."

"That invasion was probably to lure us out in the first place!" Kevin reasoned. "With all opposition literally running scared, there's nothing to prevent their conquest of Videoland!"

"Don't talk like that, Kevin!" Lana said. "You can stop him!"

Kevin jumped up. "Lana, it's damn hard enough controlling my fear as it is!" he snapped angrily, using a word he was normally opposed to using. "I'm not going to try to go into their domain with this fear to contend with!"

"Are you turning into a coward?"

"Cowardice is one thing. Being a fool is another!"

"I've been working on a reverse-effect ray to counteract Ludwig's ray." Dr. Right said. This got everyone's attention. He finished some tinkering with a gun he was making. "With Kevin's idea that Ludwig's ray is linked to adrenaline, I've completed the prototype. Kevin?"

"Please." Kevin said.

Dr. Right fired the ray at Kevin, and the flow of anger that hit him was powerful - and painful.

"Yow!"

"How do you feel now?" Right asked.

"I feel like kicking Ludwig's butt!" Kevin retorted angrily.

Mike grinned.

Right looked at the monitor, which still showed the front of city hall. "Ludwig and Wily are still there."

"Good!"

Right handed Lana the antidote gun. "Here, Your Highness. Use this on the other N Team members. They've been taken to Dark Land. I'll make another in case this one gets broken, and the power in this should last for a while."

"All right, Doc." Lana said.

"Let's go!" Kevin called.

He and the others entered the warp to the city hall area.

"It isn't even supper time yet!" Ludwig laughed. "By this time tomorrow, all of Videoland shall be under our control!"

Wily laughed wickedly. "Yes!"

A warp opened, and Kevin, Lana, Mike, Gameboy, and Duke came out.

"Hey, Ludwig!" Kevin shouted. "Release our pals, or you'll be sorry!"

"What?!" Ludwig demanded. "How in the Hell of Eternal Commercial Interruptions did you get over your case of fear?!"

"Ooh, it must have been that Dr. Right!" Wily snapped. "He's always making inventions to counter mine!"

Kevin fired his Zapper and knocked the fear gun out of Ludwig's hand.

"Yow!"

The gun fell to Mike.

"Aah! No!"

Mike grinned. "Okay, twirps! How'd you like to run scared?!"

"Good luck!" Wily snapped.

He quickly pulled out a pad linked to his new Warp Zone Shifter, and a warp opened next to him. He and Ludwig ran through.

"Aw, nuts. I was gonna have some fun."

"Let's go to Dark Land and get our friends out." Kevin said.

Everyone nodded. Kevin pulled out a warp zone opener and opened a warp to Koopa's Castle in Dark Land.

The robots had just succeeded in shutting the frightened N Teamsters into their cells. All seven of them were shouting or screaming in fear.

Larry sighed; what inconveniences his brother put him through!

Also there was the mayor of the capital of Megaland. He was uncooperative, but at least he was rational.

"Okay, robots." Larry said. "Return to Wily's castle; we can take it from here."

"Yes, Prince Larry." Cuts Man said.

He and the others returned to Wily's castle.

Larry giggled wickedly. "You guys have yet to face true torture!"

"What has your brother done to us, mega creep?!" Mega Man yelled in utter horror.

"Yo, Larry!" Kevin's voice called from the hallway.

Larry whirled. "Yaah! I thought you were quivering in fear in Megaland!"

Kevin aimed his Zapper at Larry. "How's this for quivering?" He stunned the second-oldest Koopaling with a well placed Zapper blast.

He and his friends then ran into the Prison room.

"Kevinicus!" Kid Icarus cried.

"Kevy!" Stacey exclaimed, terrified. "Get us out of here, please!"

Lana addressed them: "Dr. Right has made an antidote gun. You won't be afraid when I've used it on you."

"Mega please!" Mega Man begged.

Lana blasted all seven of them, and Kevin opened the cell doors.

"Let's go before the other Koopas get here!" Kevin called. "Mr. Mayor, please come with us."

They did so.

Kevin nearly collapsed on the couch. "Ooh, what a day."

Lana sat next to him, to his right.

"Lana, thanks."

"Sure, Kevin." Lana said, her left hand on his right shoulder. She kissed his lips for a second. "I'll always be there to help you when you need me."

Kevin returned the kiss. "Thanks, and I'll always be there for you. Well, let's go meet Mike and Stacey and get ready for our next concert!"

The Megaland concert hall held the next concert of Captain N & The Video Game Masters. It was packed tonight, with the N Team in the front row, as usual, accompanied by the Mario Brothers.

The crowd applauded wildly as Kevin, Lana, Mike, and Stacey came on stage. They got their instruments ready in record time; they turned on their microphones when they were ready.

"Good evening." Kevin announced. "It's good to see so many of you here tonight. What we'll be doing first is a medley of the underground and castle music from the Super Mario Bros. games, three for the Nintendo and one for the Super Nintendo; let's just call it the Super Mario Dungeon Medley." He turned to his three friends and saw they were ready. "All right, let's hit it! One, two, three, four!"

The group gave a super rendition of the dungeon music and castle music from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. They reharmonized the simpler ones slightly to increase the tension in the music, though they did not alter the melodies a bit. And they received cheers and applause from the greatly-impressed audience.

GAME OVER