Saturday, April 5, 1997, 9:00 AM

Ultratech - a world of weaponry and mega business. It is the place where the giant corporation with the same name as the city produces huge profits out of its weapons. It is the place that last held its fighting tournament ten years ago. With the tournament known to the citizens of the world as Killer Instinct, it was only four hours away from start. But all was not well. Ever since Eyedol, former grand champion of Killer Instinct, was destroyed by a young female secret agent known as Black Orchid, a new evil villain has come unto the scene, not only to win the KI tournament, but to rule all of Ultratech.

The president of the Ultratech corporation has been missing for several days. That was ever since their test model for weapons and machinery, known by the name of Fulgore, was destroyed by a young ninja named Jago. He was rebuilt into an improved model for the next KI tournament by Gargos' henchmen.

"It is only four hours from the beginning of world domination!" Gargos seemed confident that he would win the tournament.

But then, one of his henchmen brought in bad news. "Bad news, master. We don't have enough fighters to officially proclaim Killer Instinct a tournament. We need six more according to the stats!"

Gargos almost blew his temper after hearing the news, but he calmed down as he quickly came up with an idea. "Contact the N Team! Those six should fill up our roster very nicely."

It was a regular, peaceful day in Megaland, home of the N Team led by President Lana Deschain.

The N Team was in the Communications room when a call came in.

"Lana, we're receiving a call from a world called Ultratech." Samus called over the intercom.

"Ultratech, huh? Never heard of it." Lana said. "Receive call."

Gargos appeared on the viewscreen. His scary face frightened the N Team.

"Whoa, who or what is this gargoyle thing?" Mike questioned.

Lana hesitated a little, then spoke: "Identify yourself, please."

"So sorry I scared all of you off. Now allow me to introduce myself. I am Gargos, new leader of the decaying city of Ultratech. Our city hosts a fighting tournament called Killer Instinct, where it will take a killer instinct to win. I invite all six of you to come to the city of Ultratech and participate in the tournament - or else!"

"Or else what?" Rick asked.

"If you don't show up within three hours, I will have no choice but to create new weapons from Ultratech and use them to conquer Videoland! And did I mention that Ultratech is the worldwide leader in weaponry? So to make it short, show up or kiss your world good-bye! I await your arrival."

The viewscreen shut off.

"I guess we have no choice but to warp to Ultratech and enter the Killer Instinct tournament." Kevin said.

"That's the only choice we have!" Lana said. "Samus, get the coordinates so we all can warp to Ultratech and kick Gargos' butt!"

Samus then punched some buttons on the control panel, and in no time, the coordinates were copied into a warp zone opener.

Just before Lana could give the signal to go, Rick was pondering something. Kevin noticed him.

"Hey, Rick, you okay?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah. But I think I've heard that name Gargos before. It might be from an N64 game." Rick answered.

"Hey, no time for thinking. We've got an appointment with Mr. Gargoyle!" Kevin said.

"All right! I'm ready! Let's go! We all got our weapons?" Rick asked.

"We're armed and totally dangerous!" Stacey exclaimed.

Everyone else on the N Team giggled as they all warped to Ultratech.

When the N Team arrived, they noticed the sights around the city.

Stacey was the first to speak. "It's, like, creepy around here."

"I guess the fighters are getting warmed up for the tournament." Kevin said.

Then, the team saw Gargos again. "That's because you're standing on the relaxation grounds. Welcome, N Team. This is where all the fighters relax before we decide who fights who. I suggest you use your break time wisely, because you won't get much of it! I will see you all again."

With those words, Gargos vanished again.

"This Gargos character is really getting into my senses." Lana said.

"You got that right."

The N Team turned around to see who that voice belonged to, and they saw a black man with blue pants, red boxing gloves, and a tank top with All-American colors.

Mike quickly recognized the character. "Hey, aren't you TJ Combo, the champion boxer of Ultratech?"

"Former champion boxer." TJ corrected. "After winning five straight UBF heavyweight titles, they found me trying to use cybernetic arms to enhance my fighting abilities. They banned me from competition for life. I've been trying for years to find another league, and now I'm just a poor man. I'm here to become the rich man I once was again."

Stacey quietly asked a question to Mike: "How do you know this dude?"

"I've played this game before." Mike silently replied.

"Sorry to hear that story. Anyway, I'm President Lana Deschain of Videoland and Captain N, and these are my friends, Kevin Keene, Mike Vincent, Stacey Anderson, Rick Walker, and Samus Aran." Lana introduced herself and the team to TJ.

"Now what in the heck is Videoland?" TJ asked.

"We'll, like, explain later." Stacey said.

After Stacey said her words, the team heard another female voice behind TJ: "Later would be too late in a tournament like this."

The woman who spoke emerged from the shadows. She was wearing a green swimsuit with long green boots and strange weapons mounted on her back.

"Who are you?" Samus asked.

"Black Orchid, secret agent. I know what it's like to fight in Killer Instinct. I was one of many who participated in the last tournament, which was held ten years ago. I advanced all the way to the finals to face Eyedol, and I nearly lost, but my determination gave me the guts and instinct to defeat Eyedol, sending the evil Ultratech Company into financial problems. Now, Gargos has taken control of Ultratech Company, brought it back to life, and plans to take over the entire world if he wins this thing!" the woman said.

"Maybe we can help you. We're the N Team!" Lana said.

But Orchid answered back: "Thanks, but no, thanks. I'd rather save the world myself."

"Ha! You?! Save the world?! That's a joke, right?!" the voice was from Glacius.

The N Team saw his ice-covered body while Orchid reacted.

"So, you've returned for the next KI tournament, huh, Iceboy?" Orchid snapped.

"Well, my ship crash-landed again, ironically here in Ultratech. That's how I got in the first tournament, and by entering this tournament, I will repeat history!" Glacius said.

"Yeah, whatever, but you got lucky in the last tournament, until I drove you crazy, which allowed me to save Ultratech from Eyedol's treachery." Orchid said.

"And what makes you think you can save the world twice? Gargos is unlike Eyedol, you know." Glacius said.

"I've heard of their legend, so it's my job to defeat Gargos, and nobody else is going to do it!" Orchid said.

Before they could argue again, Gargos appeared in the sky, with his voice echoing through the air so the rest of the combatants could hear: "Attention all fighters, report to the relaxation area at once!"

All the other fighters came through warps and gathered around to hear the words of Gargos.

"We'd better not ask who Eyedol was." Lana said quietly to her teammates.

"Totally." Stacey agreed.

Gargos then gave his speech: "Welcome! You sixteen fighters have been chosen to put your skills, guts, and, more importantly, killer instinct to the test in Ultratech's annual fighting tournament, Killer Instinct! Returning after a ten-year hiatus due to the death of one of Ultratech's greatest warriors going by the name of Eyedol, we expect the best to move through the tournament and advance to the finals, where they will face me! We have set up the double-elimination tournament bracket, and all fights will be held at Ultratech's famed Killer Arena. In Round 1, the first battle will be Maya VS Spinal! Will those two fighters enter the warp right now? Once you arrive at your destination, you will wait for me. Now go!"

With those words, Maya and Spinal walked through the newly-opened warp to wait for the command to fight.

"Second battle: President Lana Deschain VS Tusk!"

Lana and Tusk took the next warp.

"Third battle: Kim Wu VS Samus Aran! Fourth battle: Defending KI champion Black Orchid VS Fulgore II! Fifth battle: Sabrewulf VS Stacey Anderson! Sixth battle: Jago VS Rick Walker! Seventh battle: TJ Combo VS Mike Vincent! Eighth battle: Kevin Keene VS Glacius! And now, let Killer Instinct begin!"

All the fighters, including Gargos, had now warped to their chosen locations.

Inside Killer Arena were many fans, eager to see all the action of Killer Instinct. The action from Round 1 of the tournament got heated inside the arena.

Maya defeated Spinal by magically dropping an elephant on top of him.

The battle between Lana and Tusk had Lana defeated by Tusk's 29-hit ultra combo.

Kim Wu used her heavy-duty firepower to defeat Samus and knock her out of title contention.

Orchid used her weapons to electrocute her arch-rival, Fulgore II.

Stacey overcame her fear of scary wolves by defeating Sabrewulf using her new Power Glove.

Jago defeated Rick and let him live, since Jago was not used to killing people as much as others were.

TJ Combo knocked out Mike with his high-profile boxing moves and finished the job with a 31-hit ultra combo.

Kevin used his Zapper to zap Glacius out of the picture.

Round 1 of the Losers Bracket started with Lana blasting Spinal out of the tournament with her Zapper, Samus outpowering Fulgore and knocking him out of commission, Rick blasting the heck out of Sabrewulf with his Super Scope, and Mike learning the secrets of an ultra combo to knock Glacius out cold.

Round 2 of the KI tournament was exciting.

Maya used her magic to drop an elephant onto Tusk, which not only knocked him off the KI tournament bracket, it left him with one heck of a headache.

Orchid had enough strength to defeat Kim Wu and move on to the semifinals of Killer Instinct.

Jago spared Stacey to move on to the next round of KI.

Kevin knocked out TJ Combo to take him out of the KI tournament, ending his dreams of possibly reviving his boxing career.

In Round 2 of the Losers Bracket, Tusk was still suffering the effects of the headache, and as a result, Lana scored an easy win and moved on to the next round of the tournament. Samus and Kim Wu both carried heavy firepower, but Samus sparked out Kim Wu with her moves and knocked her out of the tournament. Stacey defeated her friend and teammate Rick to knock him out - with a spare. Finally, TJ Combo defeated Mike in their second battle of the KI tournament.

Now it was on to the semifinals of Killer Instinct. The first fight was between Orchid and Maya, and the fight began with Orchid quickly knocking Maya to the ground with her series of Flik Flaks, Ichis, and Tiger Slides. Maya constantly fired her shrink ray, but Orchid kept jumping all over the place, dodging the rays and hitting Maya in the face with every chance she could get. When Maya was feeling weak from all the beating and banging, Orchid transformed herself into a fiery cat and lunged towards Maya to bite her. Maya got bit by the tiger Orchid, and down she went.

Orchid got into the finals and waved off Maya with one of her favorite quotes: "Play sneaky with me, and you get burned!"

Meanwhile, Kevin and Jago were already starting their battle. Jago wasn't attacking much and was getting hit a lot by Kevin and his Zapper.

"Very impressive, young man." Jago said.

"Glad you like my skills, now show me yours already!" Kevin said.

They went back into battle, sparks flying everywhere, and Jago was still hardly attacking Kevin. But it would be for good reason, as Jago now had enough energy to unleash his super move, the Ultra Tiger Fury. Jago made contact with Kevin on the attack, and Kevin was now huffing and puffing for a break. Jago was about to slice him so he could put the finishing touches onto him, but he just put his sword away, as he has done throughout the KI tournament.

"You spared me?" Kevin asked.

"Killing is not my style. I fight because I want to. I fight because my Tiger spirit wants me to. Fighting is in my blood, not killing." Jago said.

"Well, thanks. My girlfriend wouldn't like a scratch on my face." Kevin said and then warped to the Losers Bracket.

Before the final match of the KI tournament could get started, the Losers Bracket had to be taken care of. After a bunch of battles, tournament finishing positions 3-8 were decided. Lana finished third, TJ Combo fourth, Kevin fifth, Maya sixth, Samus seventh, and Stacey eighth. Those that didn't make the top-8 were Spinal, Tusk, Sabrewulf, Glacius, Kim Wu, Fulgore, Rick, and Mike.

Orchid and Jago were ready to face each other in the finals of the Killer Instinct tournament. Whoever would win this fight would not only win the whole thing, but they get the chance to fight Gargos in an effort to save the city. The fighters exchanged some words before the fight began.

"It is my destiny to defeat the gargoyle menace of Gargos!" Jago said.

"You better take that back, buster! I defeated Eyedol, and I'll defeat Gargos!" Orchid said.

"Whoever wins will face me! Let the fight begin!" Gargos said.

The fans were excited as Gargos watched the fight from the sidelines.

The two fighters attacked as Jago unleashed his Wind Kick at Orchid, but Orchid countered with an Air Buster. Orchid threw her Tonfa Fire at Jago, but he too countered with a ninja slide. Jago then began to go into an 8-hit awesome combo, but Orchid broke through the momentum with a combo breaker. Orchid quickly unleashed a 5-hit hyper combo that would give Jago a warning for the rest of the match. Jago fired his "Endokuken" fireball to knock down Orchid, but she quickly got up and started a 9-hit blaster combo with her Ichi move.

After all the sparks and smoke had settled, Orchid was left standing.

Suddenly, Gargos got between the two. "Wait a minute, you two. Just why are you eliminating each other?"

Orchid and Jago were confused.

"You two don't even know that you're family." Gargos said. "Oops! Did I just spill the beans? Oh, yes, I did. Yes, Black Orchid and Jago, you are brother and sister, and both of you will soon be terminated by me! Hahahahaha!"

With that laughter, Gargos warped out of the arena, and Orchid quickly followed.

"Orchid, where are you going?" Jago asked.

"To save the world! I don't need your help!" Orchid said.

The warp closed, and Jago left the arena, hoping his sister would be okay.

At the top of the Ultratech Company building, Orchid and Gargos were facing each other.

"All right, Gargos, I'm giving you one chance to call off your mission to destroy Ultratech!" Orchid said.

"I will never turn back on my plan! You will pay for defeating my partner, Eyedol, ten years ago! It is time that your young life come to an end!" Gargos exclaimed.

"Let's make a deal." Orchid said. "If you win, you take over the world, and I become your partner. But if I win, you must shut down Ultratech Company immediately. If you don't comply, it will mean your death."

Gargos immediately became interested in the offer. "It's a deal. Now let's fight!"

With those words, the fight for peace on Ultratech was on.

Back outside the arena, the N Team gathered around.

"Well, that was fun." Kevin said.

"I loved to beat up those people! I'm the best fighter around!" Mike exclaimed.

"You didn't even make the top-eight." Lana said.

The rest of the team laughed. Just then, Jago joined the group.

"Yo, Jago! Who won KI?" Rick asked.

"You're not going to believe this. Orchid did defeat me, but Gargos came and revealed to the two of us that I am Orchid's brother!" Jago explained.

The N Team was shocked, but they let Jago continue with the story.

"Now, Orchid is facing Gargos, hoping to save not only Ultratech, but all of Videoland as well! I fear for her safety." Jago said.

"Don't you know where they're fighting?" Stacey asked.

Jago shook his head. The N Team just about lost hope.

"Wait! I got an idea! I finally remembered what N64 game Gargos appears in!" Rick said. "It's Killer Instinct Gold!"

"So?" Lana asked.

"I remember that the winner of the tournament goes on top of the Ultratech Company building to face Gargos! If we warp there, we can surprise the heck out of Gargos and save everyone!" Rick then turned to face Jago. "Including your sister, Jago!"

"Sounds good to me!" Jago said.

"All right, let's make it happen!" Lana said.

"And hope we're not too late!" Kevin added.

"And kick Mr. Batboy in the butt!" Stacey added.

The rest of the N Team stared at her.

"Was that good enough?" Stacey asked.

The others broke into quick laughter.

Samus then opened a warp that would take everyone to the top of Ultratech Company building, and everyone ran through.

When they arrived, they saw Gargos holding Orchid over the edge of the building. Orchid was out of energy.

"Wait. What...about our deal?" Orchid asked, trying to find the energy to speak.

"I don't need a partner. I have the power to rule Videoland all by myself! Good-bye, little one." Gargos said.

Just then, Samus used her grappling beam to pull Orchid out of Gargos' hands while the N Team blasted Gargos just to distract him.

"You okay, sis?" Jago asked the fallen Orchid.

"I said I didn't need your help!" Orchid exclaimed, now back to full strength.

"Now, I wouldn't let my sister down, would I?" Jago asked.

"Well, I guess you're right." Orchid said.

"Well, well, well. I knew the N Team would come to the rescue." Gargos said.

"Surrender, Gargos! Nobody can beat the N Team!" Lana said.

"Nobody, huh?" Gargos asked.

With that, Gargos spitted out a fireball that headed straight for Lana, but Jago got in the way and slashed it out of sight.

"What?!" Gargos exclaimed.

"You heard the girl." Jago said. "Good always wins."

Jago then unleashed his Ultra Tiger Fury to knock Gargos high into the air, and as he was coming down, the N Team blasted him with each of their weapons, and they capped off the attack with an aerial Super Flik Flak, sending Gargos over the edge. After Jago, Orchid, and the N Team heard Gargos' final roar, a huge explosion finally came.

"Whoa, that's a backbreaker." Mike said.

"We killed Gargos. That's the last of Mr. Batboy! Not to mention Ultratech Company, too!" Rick said.

"Totally cool move, Jago and Orchid!" Stacey said.

"Thanks." Jago and Orchid said.

"Well, we better go home." Kevin said.

"Come visit us one day!" Lana added.

"Oh, we will!" Jago said.

"And we'll bring our killer instinct, too!" Orchid added.

The whole N Team laughed as Samus opened up a warp. The N Team waved good-bye to Orchid and Jago as they took the warp back to their home in Megaland - with a killer instinct.

GAME OVER