Saturday, September 5, 1992, 10:00 AM

"All right, guys." Kevin said, stepping up to a metal table in Dr. Right's laboratory. "It's time for you to choose your weapons."

Following Kevin up to the table were Rick, Stacey, Romeo, Julius, Lana, Mega Man, and Simon. They all looked at the many various weapons lying on the table.

Rick smiled, reaching to pick some objects up. "I see the ones I want!"

Rick chose a black belt that had a Power Pad on it, but it wasn't the same type as Kevin, Lana, or Mike's. This Power Pad was white and gray. It had a curved shape, rather than a rectangular one. It did have a cross key and two black buttons like the others, but it had four round buttons instead of two. The four round buttons were in a 2x2 pattern, and they were purple instead of red. A neon blue power meter, similar to Lana's except for the color, ran along the top of the Power Pad.

Rick had also picked a long, bazooka-style weapon, which was different shades of gray.

"Ah, those are two of my inventions!" Dr. Right, who was standing on the opposite side of the table, said with a smile. "The new Power Pad design is something I've been working on for the past two months. The added buttons allow more special features!"

"Like what?" Rick asked, curious.

The scientist grinned. "You'll see! The other item you selected I call the Super Scope. It fires a powerful laser blast!"

Kevin looked at Rick and laughed. "Man, I'm jealous!"

Stacey picked up a long, shiny, silver boomerang. "Wow, like, check this out! This is mine!"

Romeo's eyes scanned the table. He picked up a black remote control. "What's this, Dr. Right?"

Dr. Right smiled. "Ah, that's another new invention of mine. It has all of the Power Pad and Zapper's functions on one device that looks like a remote control."

"What's it called?" Romeo asked.

"A Remote Control."

The others laughed.

"The symbols on the buttons are self-explanatory: Up, Down, Left, Right, Jump, Run, Pause, Laser, Freeze, Heat."

"He'll need the symbols." Simon said to himself.

Lana, who overheard, elbowed him.

"Duh, a football!" Julius exclaimed happily. He picked it up off the metal table.

"Not just any football!" Dr. Right said with pride. "You throw it or kick it at the enemies, and, upon contact, it electrocutes them!"

"Are you sure that's simple enough for him?" Simon commented, to himself again.

Kevin elbowed him this time.

"I gotta try this!" Julius said. He reached back, then threw the football towards the wall with the door in it.

"Everybody out!" Kevin yelled.

Everyone except Julius ran out the door. It closed behind them. The football hit it, gave off some sparks, and fell to the floor.

Rick and Mega Man exited the warp and found themselves in the Drill Man stage in Megaland.

Rick looked at Mega Man. "We're not going to another world, Mega Man?"

"This place will be mega great for you to practice in, Rick." Mega Man said. "Dr. Wily doesn't have much of a force left after the war. In fact, you can't even really call it a force. He's probably got only a minimal amount of robots here patrolling this stage." He laughed. "All that firepower of yours will be great for trashing them!"

Rick laughed and took his Super Scope, which he carried on his back, in his hands. "Well, then, let's get to it!"

The two of them started walking.

"So," Mega Man asked, "what are you doing during the week when you're on Earth?"

"Well, Romeo, Julius, and I are going to college. We're sharing a dorm on campus. Our parents don't know we travel to another universe on the weekends. We get our homework done during the week, so we're free to come here every Friday night and stay here until Monday morning."

"What about Captain N, Mike, and Stacey?"

"They're back in high school."

"You're kidding!" Mega Man said in surprise.

"Nope!" Rick said, smiling and shaking his head. "Kevin was able, due to all the stuff he learned here in Videoland, to skip the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades by taking a special state test. Mike did the same to pass the eleventh grade, which he didn't complete, due to being pulled into Videoland last year. So, Kevin, Mike, and Stacey are all in twelfth grade, and they'll graduate next June!"

"That's mega fantastic!" Mega Man said.

"Whoa!" Rick said suddenly, pointing with his right index finger.

Mega Man looked ahead. Three robots were coming toward them.

Rick aimed his Super Scope at the robot on the left. He fired. A bright blue laser beam shot out at the robot. The Super Scope kicked a little, like a shotgun does. Rick recovered and aimed at the next robot. He fired. He then recovered, aimed at the third robot, and fired. He recovered again and lowered the Super Scope.

All three robots were gone. Rick was pleased.

He looked down at the Super Scope. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

Julius and Kevin exited the warp and found themselves in the town of Brecconary on Dragon's Den - in a well, as a matter of fact.

Not only that, but a peasant woman was about to fetch some water, when, all of a sudden, these two guys appeared.

"Duh, hi!" Julius said happily.

The woman ran off screaming.

Kevin looked from the woman to Julius. "C'mon."

The two of them got out of the well and began to walk down the street.

"Your football's great, Julius, but we also need armor and magic herbs to do battle on this world." Kevin said. "We gotta find a weapons store."

"Duh, is that one?" Julius asked, pointing.

Kevin looked at the sign on the blue-bricked building Julius was pointing at. The sign was red. It had a picture of a black spiked ball on top of a yellow banner on it. The word WEAPONS was below that.

"Why, so it is. So it is. And a very familiar one at that." He waved at Julius with his left hand, indicating to come inside with him.

The two of them walked into the store.

The store looked exactly as Kevin remembered it.

"Uh, hello!" Kevin called.

The shopkeeper walked up to them. "Hey, what can I do for ya?"

"Uh, I was here about three years ago." Kevin said.

The shopkeeper looked at Kevin's belt. "Oh, yeah, the guy with the fancy weapons."

Kevin smiled. "That's me. My friend and I need some armor and magic herbs."

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Okay, but don't try to give me any junk in return, like when you tried to pay with that Amakeran stuff last time."

Kevin chuckled. "American. May we look around?"

"Sure. Let me know if you need anything."

Kevin nodded, and then he and Julius walked over to a nearby table.

Kevin selected two pouches of magic herbs. Then something caught his eye. He picked it up.

It was a digital watch. A thought came to him. He turned it around. One word was engraved on the back: KEVIN'S.

Kevin turned around. "Excuse me."

The shopkeeper came up to him. "Yeah?"

Kevin held up the watch. "How much for this?"

"Ha! You can take it! Nearly three years and I haven't been able to sell it!"

Kevin looked at the display. "All right! It still works!" He strapped it on his right wrist.

"Is that all?" the shopkeeper asked, indicating the herbs.

"Uh, we don't really need any armor, do we, Julius?" Kevin asked, looking at the football player.

"Duh, what?" Julius, who had been looking with fascination at the objects on another table, asked, turning around to face the Game Master.

Kevin smiled and shook his head, then turned back to the shopkeeper. "Yeah, just the two pouches of magic herbs." He dug into his front right pocket. "I don't think Lana gave us enough for much more anyway."

He pulled out some gold coins and handed them to the shopkeeper.

Romeo and Simon exited the warp and found themselves in a town on Castlevania.

"Castlevania, cool." Romeo said, then smiled. "My favorite game series."

Simon smiled. "You have great taste - both in women and in heroes!"

Romeo laughed.

"Before we go out to battle evil, I gotta do some shopping." Simon said. "Follow me."

Romeo did. As they walked, he looked around, amazed with this world. The town seemed so peaceful and happy. He knew that things would be different once they got out of town.

Finally, they stopped in front of a store.

"'Honest Dave's Bullwhip Shop'?" Romeo asked, noticing the sign. "I don't remember this place."

"My favorite store." Simon said with a smile.

They went inside.

The two N Team members walked up to the salesman behind the counter.

"Hi, Simon!" the salesman greeted with a smile. He offered his right hand, which Simon shook. "How's it goin'?"

"Good." Simon said, returning the smile. "I'm training a new member of the N Team today." He looked at the football player standing to his right. "This is Romeo Roberts."

The salesman looked at Romeo. "Ah! Off to fight the Count, huh?!"

"Nah, he's too easy!" Romeo joked.

The three men laughed.

"I'm looking to buy a spare whip." Simon said. "The best you got."

"Well, then, you're in luck! We have a sale today!"

Stacey and Lana exited the warp and found themselves in a small space in a tree. They looked at each other for a moment, then crawled out.

They stood up and looked at their surroundings.

Stacey looked at Lana. "Bayouland?" she guessed.

Lana looked at her and nodded. "Yeah."

"Why'd you pick this world?" Stacey asked, purely out of curiosity.

"Well, this is basically a wilderness world. You have to learn how to use some non-powered weapons if ya wanna survive out here." Lana chuckled. "Just ask Kevin. Anyway, this'll be a perfect place to try out your boomerang."

Stacey nodded.

"Okay, first we gotta get some power items." Lana said. "We can find some in the trees."

Stacey followed Lana over to a tree. Lana knocked on it with her left hand. An ape's hand came out of a hole in the trunk, holding a first aid kit.

Lana took it. Stacey stared in disbelief. Lana looked at her, smiled, and gave her a wink.

Rick and Mega Man approached a door after going through a corridor.

"Drill Man's chamber?" Rick asked.

"If he's here, we're ready for him." Mega Man said. "Open it."

Rick placed his hand on it and did.

They walked into an empty chamber, and the door closed behind them.

Then Drill Man came down from the ceiling.

"Welcome to my domain." the Robot Master said. "Prepare to be screwed."

"Oh, shut up." Rick said, and began firing.

Suddenly, Drill Man did a leap and came falling towards Rick.

Rick quickly felt his Power Pad with his left index finger. He pressed the bottom right round button.

Rick rose into the air. He quickly pointed his Super Scope down at Drill Man and fired a few rapid shots.

Drill Man exploded in circles of light.

Rick landed on his feet.

"Great job, Rick!" Mega Man congratulated with a smile.

"Whoo!" Rick said. "I gotta make a record of this day when I get home!"

Mega Man grinned. "You were going to do that anyway, and you know it!"

"Oh, just look at this beautiful thing!" Simon said, kissing the long, beautiful whip he had just bought.

Man, this guy sure does love his weapons! Romeo thought, but said nothing.

The two of them were walking down the dirt road that led out of town, where only warriors dared to venture.

Simon's trusty whip, which was coiled at his side, made a sound that indicated it might actually be jealous!

"Oh, my little whip, I haven't forgotten about you!" Simon said in a soothing, caring tone. "You're my precious - "

He was cut off by Romeo's scream.

Simon looked ahead of them. Three Skull Knights were headed right for them.

"Okay, Romeo, this is what we came here for!" Simon said. "Do your stuff!"

Romeo leapt into action.

A Skull Knight walked towards Romeo. Romeo, his new Remote Control in his right hand, aimed at it. He pressed the laser beam button, which had the illustration of a blue laser beam on it. A blue laser beam came out of the front of the Remote Control. It hit the Skull Knight, which crumbled to pieces on the ground.

"Not bad!" Simon said with a smile.

The other two Skull Knights came at Romeo from opposite directions.

Romeo firmly gripped the Remote Control and pressed the Up button, marked with an Up arrow.

Romeo soared into the air, screaming. He regained his composure in time, though, and pointed the Remote Control down at one of the Skull Knights. He fired the laser beam at that Skull Knight, then at the other. Both crumbled into a pile of bones on the ground, right next to the other one.

Romeo landed on his feet, right on the pile of bones.

He held the Remote Control up high and got into a victory stance. "Yah!"

"One thing I don't get." Stacey said as she and Lana were walking along a few minutes later. "Why did you volunteer to be my instructor? You really only use shooting weapons."

Lana smiled. "Well, I do have some experience with boomerangs."

They walked along a few more steps, then Stacey looked up and screamed.

Lana looked up also. A snake was on a tree branch. When it noticed the two teenagers, it reached out toward them.

"All right, Stacey, go for it!" Lana said.

Stacey drew her boomerang, which she kept in a kind of holster on the brown belt she now wore around her waist. The holster held half of the boomerang. It was on her left, but she drew it with her right hand. Stacey, who had never thrown a boomerang in her life, threw one now, and it landed on the ground a few feet away.

Lana threw Stacey and herself down to the ground and rolled over to the boomerang. She picked it up, stood up, and threw it.

The boomerang hit the snake. The snake disappeared with a blipping sound. The boomerang returned, and Lana caught it in her left hand.

Stacey got up, and Lana handed her her boomerang.

"Thanks." Stacey said, then sighed. "I dunno, maybe I picked the wrong weapon. I mean I've never even thrown a boomerang before. I'd probably have more luck with that football!"

"Hey, don't get discouraged!" Lana said, putting her right arm around Stacey's shoulders. "It was your first time, and you screwed up. It happens! That's why we're a team! We help each other in times of crisis!"

Stacey smiled.

Lana smiled, also. "C'mon, I'll show you how to throw this thing."

By noon, Stacey had learned how to throw her boomerang. She also killed twenty snakes, ten alligators, three metallic buzzards, and the Frog Man.

"Okay, Julius, we gotta keep a lookout for dragons." Kevin said as he and Julius were walking along.

They were well out of town by now.

"How will we know when they're coming?" Julius asked.

Suddenly, a large burst of fire went right between them, narrowly missing them both.

Kevin and Julius screamed and rolled off in separate directions.

"That could be a sign!" Kevin yelled.

They saw a large brown dragon flying down toward them.

Kevin pulled out his Zapper and fired at it.

The blue beam missed the dragon, but it was angered nonetheless. It spit a burst of fire at Kevin.

Kevin rolled out of the way and dodged the flames. He fired three more shots. All three missed.

Kevin got to his feet and used the Jump button to do a huge leap out of there right before another burst of fire arrived.

Julius got up and started running towards the dragon. "Duh, no one picks on my buddy and gets away with it!"

The dragon landed about twenty feet in front of Julius and began breathing flames at him.

Julius dodged them all without losing much speed. He pulled his arm behind him, then threw it forward, hurling the football at tall, brown, and ugly.

The football hit the dragon in the stomach. The dragon screamed as it was zapped with electricity. Finally, it began to fall forward.

Julius started to run away, but he wouldn't have escaped in time.

Kevin arrived in time, though. He grabbed hold of Julius with his left hand and pressed the Right button on his Power Pad with his right. The two of them escaped two seconds before the dragon landed.

They arrived a safe distance away. They stood there and looked at the dead dragon. It disappeared with a blipping sound.

Kevin looked at Julius. "Thanks!"

"You, too!" Julius said. "Duh, did you learn how to move like that on the tiddly winks squad?"

"It's the swim team, dude!" Kevin yelled, upset. "And no."

That evening, thousands of people gathered in the Megaland concert hall to hear Captain N & The Video Game Masters perform.

"So," Mike asked as they gathered offstage, "how'd the testing go? Everyone pick a weapon they like?"

"Yeah, it went good." Stacey said with a smile.

"I think we got some awesome new members for the team!" Kevin said.

"I couldn't agree more." Lana added.

"Let's get out there, guys!" Kevin said.

The four band members walked on stage from the right. They received a tremendous amount of cheering and applause. Their popularity had grown immensely since they performed their first concert on July 6.

They took their places and went through their setup routine.

Finally, they turned on their mics.

"Good evening." Stacey said. "Today, four of the new members of the N Team, myself being one of them, picked our brand-new weapons that we're gonna use! And in honor of this totally awesome day, we'd like to play some totally awesome music from the totally awesome games whose totally awesome worlds we were on today."

"Totally awesome!" Kevin said, then faced the audience. "All right, - "

"Let's, like, do it!" Stacey finished.

"Hey!" Kevin yelled at her.

Stacey smiled at him and shrugged. "2, 3, 4!"

They started off by playing 'The Silence of Daylight', the town music from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Then they got into Background Music A from Bayou Billy. That was followed by the castles theme from Dragon Warrior. They concluded with the Drill Man music from Mega Man IV. All four of those tunes had been seemlessly blended into one piece of music.

The band members enjoyed a very nice amount of applause and cheering before they went on to their next tune.

GAME OVER