Thursday, September 26, 1996, 7:30 AM

All of the N Teamsters woke up at the sounds of their alarm clocks. They were filled with excitement! Today was the big day!

After getting dressed, they all met in the kitchen for breakfast.

Everyone poured themselves a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, added milk, and sat down at the kitchen table.

Rick grinned. "You ready for today, Kev?"

Kevin returned the grin. "Definitely!"

"What's the special occasion?" Lana teased. "You're finally getting your driver's license?"

"No." Kevin replied, annoyed. "You know today's the Nintendo 64 launch."

"Yeah, I know." Lana admitted with a smile. "I wonder how good it'll be."

"Yeah, I'm eager to try it out myself." Samus said.

"I can't wait to try it out." Stacey said.

"Everybody's got money, right?" Mike asked.

Everyone except Samus said yes.

"Not me." Samus said sadly.

"I'll buy you one." Lana offered.

Samus smiled. "Thanks."

"Well, let's get going." Mike said, standing up. "There might be a line."

Stacey drove her convertible into the Wal-Mart parking lot and parked in the first available parking space she could find.

Everybody got out of the car and got at the end of a long line.

"We should've gotten here sooner." Lana said.

At 8:00 AM, the doors opened. Everybody ran inside.

Kevin, Lana, Rick, Samus, Mike, and Stacey ran to the Home Electronics department.

They each grabbed a Nintendo 64 box with Super Mario 64 and a copy of Pilotwings 64.

After they paid for their purchases, they went back to Stacey's convertible and drove to Kevin's house.

Stacey pulled her car into Kevin's driveway.

Everybody got out of the car.

Kevin took his Nintendo 64 and Pilotwings 64 box out of the car with him. Everybody walked into the house.

They walked up the stairs in the living room. They went down the hallway. They walked into Kevin's bedroom. Samus closed the door behind her.

Everybody sat on Kevin's bed. Kevin opened the Nintendo 64 box. He took out the console and hooked it up to his television set. He turned on his TV. Kevin unwrapped Super Mario 64 and put the cartridge in the Nintendo 64 console. He pressed the Power button and turned it on.

Kevin started playing the game. After a while, he handed the controller to Mike, who played for a while. Then Rick, Stacey, Lana, and Stacey each had a turn. After that, the six of them each had a turn at playing Pilotwings 64.

"Let's go to Videoland." Lana said finally.

Kevin shut off the power to the Nintendo 64 and his television set. He disconnected the Nintendo 64 from his TV set. Kevin gathered up his purchases, and everybody left the room.

They walked up the hallway, down the stairs, and out the front door. Samus locked the door behind her.

They all got into Stacey's convertible. Stacey took out a warp zone opener and opened up a warp. She drove through it.

Everybody took their Nintendo 64s and their games to their rooms.

Lana, Mike, Stacey, Samus, and Kevin entered Rick's bedroom.

Rick was sitting at his computer. He had hooked up his Nintendo 64 and cartridges to it.

"Whatcha doin', Rickster?" Stacey asked.

"I'm creating an emulator for the N64, and I'm makin' ROMs of the carts." Rick replied.

"Rick, that's illegal. I'm going to have to report you." Mike said.

"Okay."

They both chuckled.

"There, done." Rick said. "Now to upload them onto the VIN."

Rick logged onto the VIN and uploaded the emulator, the ROMs, and the scans he did of the cartridges and boxes.

"I bet people will be rushin' to get this." Rick said.

Rick logged off, disconnected everything, and shut off the computer.

Lana looked at Stacey. "Stacey, can you come with me?"

"Sure, Lana."

Lana and Stacey walked into Lana's bedroom, with Samus, Rick, Mike, and Kevin right behind them.

"What's up, Lana?" Stacey asked.

Lana reached for a painting of Faxanadu's lands. She carefully gripped one corner and pulled, revealing the hinged frame, and, more importantly, the safe behind it.

She entered the confirmation code, and the iron door slid open with a hiss. Inside the safe was an object. Lana took it out.

"Close." Lana said.

The safe slid shut. Lana moved the picture back into place. She turned to face the others. They were staring at her.

"The other prototype for the Power Glove." Lana explained.

"Why didn't you ever tell us about this?" Kevin asked.

"I was afraid the power would consume you." Lana replied. "It's quite a powerful weapon." Lana held it out to Stacey. "I want you to have it, Stacey."

"Me?" Stacey took the Power Glove in her hands. "Why me?"

"We are beginning a new era." Lana said. "The dangers we will face will be greater than any we have faced thus far. You will need more than a mere boomerang to survive in the upcoming battles. I fear for your safety, Stacey. Therefore, I bestow upon you the Power Glove." Lana shrugged. "Besides, I think it'll look good on you."

Stacey smiled and shrugged. "Okay,...thanks."

Stacey put the Power Glove on her left hand. She looked at it. The Power Glove was red instead of black, but it still looked good.

"Neat!" Stacey said.

Just then, they heard five tones.

"There's an incoming call." Samus said.

They all left the room.

They entered the Communications room.

"Receive call." Lana said.

The viewscreen turned on.

"Hi, Lana."

The N Teamsters gasped.

"Peach!" Lana exclaimed. "What happened to you?!"

Princess Peach Toadstool was on the viewscreen, but she looked very different. Peach was rendered in Nintendo 64 graphics.

Peach giggled. "Come on over. I'll explain."

The viewscreen went blank.

"Well,...let's go." Lana took out a warp zone opener and opened a warp.

Everybody went through the warp, and it closed.

The warp opened, and the N Team exited it. The warp closed.

"Whoa!" they all exclaimed.

They were in the Communications room in Princess Toadstool's castle. The N Teamsters were rendered in Nintendo 64 graphics. As they looked at their surroundings and each other, Peach watched them, smiling.

Lana looked at her. "Peach, this is amazing!"

"The release of the Nintendo 64 must've done this!" Rick realized.

"Why?" Lana asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Think about it." Rick said. "When Mega Man 7 took place, didn't Megaland become more colorful and vibrant than it was before? In fact, all game worlds in the Super NES era look better than game worlds stuck in the NES era. The same thing is happening again. Game worlds are upgrading to 64-bit graphics!"

"I like cartoons better." Stacey pouted.

"Still, it's probably just a coincidence." Lana decided.

Peach handed Lana a mirror. "Take a look at yourself."

Lana looked in the mirror and saw herself rendered in 64-bit graphics. "I look cute!"

Stacey took the mirror from her and looked at herself. "Me, too!"

Samus took the mirror. "Me, three!"

Rick took the mirror. "I'm the man!"

Kevin took the mirror. "Awesome!"

Mike took the mirror. "I'm...too sexy for this world, too sexy for this..."

"Well, the N64 era has begun!" Kevin declared. "Get N or get out!"

GAME OVER