The "CHANGES" Miniseries
PART 4
"THE SECOND SIEGE"
Lana quietly walked down the dark corridor, holding her Zapper in her left hand, ready to fire at the first thing that moved. Her face was all sweaty. She turned left around a corner. There was a man standing there. A tall man with short brown hair. "No!" the man yelled, terrified, when he saw Lana. He put his hands up in front of him. "Please, don't shoot!!! I'm not armed!!!" "Down on your knees!" Lana yelled, pointing down at the floor with her Zapper. "Now!!!" The man, terrified, got down on his knees. He raised his hands. They were shaking due to fear. He started shaking his head. "Please...don't." Lana aimed at his chest. "No!!!" the man screamed. Lana fired. The laser beam from her Zapper hit the man on his chest. He screamed in pain, and fell back onto the floor. Lana holstered her Zapper and walked over to the man's right, standing by his head. He started groaning. He turned his head to his right and looked up at the Princess. Lana drew her left leg back behind her, then brought it forward at full force. Her foot crashed into the man's head, killing him. Lana looked down and lifted her left leg. There was blood on her shoe. "Great," Lana muttered in annoyance, "I just had these cleaned!" Then she looked at her latest victim lying dead on the floor. A wicked smile came to her lips. "Murderer!!!" Lana turned around to face the person who had just yelled at her. There were actually two guys there. Both men were tall and had long black hair, tied back in ponytails. "You killed Danny!" the man on the left continued. Lana laughed, amused. "It's my specialty! Wanna join him?" Both men pulled knives from their belts and ran towards Lana, screaming. Lana had anticipated their attack, however. When they were close enough, Lana began kicking and punching. She knocked the one that spoke to her down to the ground. When he tried to get up, she took his neck between her feet and broke it. He fell back down to the floor, dead. The other man came at her again. She kicked him down to the ground. He got up again. The two of them were circling. The man finally kicked her down to the floor. He walked up close to her. Lana quickly stood up on her hands and caught the man's neck in between her powerful legs. She threw him to the floor, landing on top of him. Lana squeezed her legs tightly against the man's neck. "I'll kill you!" "No, please!" the man gasped, nearly out of breath. "Oh, c'mon, Lana, no, please don't! Give me a break!" "Okay." Lana said simply, and broke his neck. He fell to the floor, dead. Lana stood up and turned in the direction the two men had come from. Yet another man was standing there. He was tall and had short black hair. He was also holding a pretty huge gun in his right hand. "Murderer!!! Die!!!" he yelled. Lana held her right hand up in front of her and shook her head. "No, wait a minute! Don't - " "Die!!!" he yelled, firing. Tuesday, June 30, 1992, 1:00 AM
Lana woke and sat up with a start. She was breathing heavily, and had broken out in a sweat. In fact, her hair was filled with sweat, and her gray sleeveless shirt and shorts were soaked with it. She even swallowed some of her sweat that had run down her face and into her mouth. She still was not aware of what had just happened. The last thing she remembered was being fired at. Then,...then she was here. But where was here? Then it came to her. She was in her bedroom. It had all been a dream! Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. "Lana?" came Kevin's voice. "Can I come in?" "Y-Yes!" Lana answered. The double doors opened, and Kevin came inside. He was wearing red shorts and a red sleeveless shirt. He closed the doors behind him. "I was walking by, and I heard you panting. Is everything all right? I mean, I could leave if you were - " "No, Kevin, I wasn't." Lana said, shaking her head. "Please, stay." Kevin walked over to Lana's bed. Lana swung her feet down to the floor, and Kevin sat to her left. "I just had the most horrible dream!" Lana said. "It was a nightmare!" "Wanna talk about it?" Lana nodded. "Yeah." "You know, you should get out of those sweaty clothes before you catch a cold." Kevin advised her. "Yeah, you're right." Lana said, and stood up. Kevin stood up, too. "Go take a shower. I'll bring you some fresh sheets for your bed." Lana nodded. "Thanks, and something to drink, too." Kevin nodded, then turned and left. Lana turned and walked into her bathroom.
Lana was just walking out of the bathroom. She was wearing a towel. Kevin was standing in her bedroom, holding a large glass in his left hand. Kevin smiled. "Pepsi!" He handed the glass to her. Lana smiled. "Great, thanks!" She took a large gulp. They sat on Lana's bed, which had fresh sheets on it courtesy of Kevin, with Kevin on Lana's left. "What was your dream about?" Kevin asked her. "I was walking down a corridor...in the Palace. I had my Zapper drawn and was ready to fire at anyone I saw. I shot and killed one man, and killed two others by breaking their necks. Then a fourth guy came and shot me, and then I woke up." "Whoa. That sure is a nightmare, all right!" Kevin said. "Ya ever dream somethin' like that before?" Lana shook her head. "No. No, this is the first time. And the thing is, it didn't seem like a dream. It felt completely real. From the sweat on my forehead to the warmth of my Zapper when I fired. The walking, fighting, all real. I was so confused where I was when I woke up. I thought I should be dead!" "It must've been very intense." Lana nodded. "I'll say!" She lowered her head and thought for a moment in silence, then she looked back up at Kevin. "Kevin, I killed them!" Kevin placed his hands on Lana's shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey, it was just a dream, nothing more!" Lana stared at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said finally. "But still, it was murder. I committed a cold-blooded act of violence for no good reason! No reason at all! I mean since I dreamed it, what if...it's really inside of me? What if I'm capable of doing something like that?!" "Lana, everyone is capable of doing something like that. Whether or not you're willing to admit it, every person has the ability to murder. You're a good person because you choose not to." She smiled at him. Kevin smiled also. "Try and get some rest." Lana shook her head. "I can't sleep. I'm too awake." "Then do something." Kevin suggested. "Keep yourself active." "Okay." She handed him the glass. "Good night, Kevin,...and thanks!" Kevin took it. "Good morning, Lana,...and you're welcome!" Then they hugged and kissed for about thirty seconds. Afterwards, Kevin stood up, turned, and started to walk away. "Close the door on your way out." Lana called after him. Kevin did. Lana then stood up and let her towel drop to the floor. Then she lied down on her bed, on her back.
Dr. Wily was sitting in his lab deep inside Skull Castle. He was working at one of his many computers when one of the doors to the lab opened. Dr. Wily turned around to face the door. Guts Man and Elec Man walked in. But they weren't alone. They had Mike Vincent with them. Guts Man was holding Mike's right arm and Elec Man his left. They had dragged him in, since he refused to walk. Dr. Wily grinned evilly. "So, you've come back to me, huh?!" "We caught him walking around a few miles away." Guts Man explained. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk." Mike said. "All of a sudden, your robotic nitwits grabbed me and brought me here. I was dragged for three miles! You're gonna pay for my jeans, man!" "No, you're gonna pay for betraying me!" Dr. Wily countered. "And it hurt, too!" Mike continued, ignoring Wily's remark. "Not as much as a few gigawatts are gonna hurt!" Elec Man threatened. "No!" Mike yelled, suddenly frightened. "No, wait! How 'bout I work for you again?!" "Do you really expect me to trust you now?" Wily asked. Mike just looked at him. "Very well." Wily decided after a moment's thought. "But you will be kept under constant surveillance, you will have limited access to the Castle, and you will not be allowed to leave the Castle." Mike nodded. "Deal." Dr. Wily nodded to Guts Man and Elec Man, and they let Mike go. "Okay, Doc, so what's up?" Mike joked. "First take a shower and clean your pants, then I'll tell you." Mike nodded, then turned and walked in the opposite direction. Guts Man and Elec Man walked after him. Mike stopped, then turned his head to his left and looked at Guts Man. He then turned his head to his right and looked at Elec Man. "Okay, you guys can follow me, but the shower's off limits, got it?!" He then walked out the door, with the two Robot Masters following him. Dr. Wily then went back to work on his computer.
"So, what ya doin', Doc?" Mike asked when he came back into the lab, with Guts Man and Elec Man right behind him. Mike had taken a shower and had his clothes washed and dried. Dr. Wily stood up and nodded. "All right, come with me." Mike and the Robot Masters followed Dr. Wily over to a wall. Wily pressed his left hand against it, and a section of the wall rose, revealing a secret passageway. Do all mad scientists' castles have secret passageways? Mike thought to himself. Wily walked inside, followed by Mike, and then the Robot Masters. They were in a long dark tunnel. Mike was surprised there weren't torches on the walls. They walked for a few minutes in darkness. Finally, Dr. Wily put his hand on the wall they came to, and it rose. Mike and Dr. Wily squinted as their eyes adjusted to the light. Finally, Mike looked around. They were standing on the top of a flight of metal stairs. Below them was what was obviously a factory. Dr. Wily led the way down the stairs. "This is what's up, Mike. I'm building up my forces to conquer Videoland!" "Oh, I thought you were building 'em 'cause you like the company." Mike said. He didn't, of course, but it seemed like a good joke. As Dr. Wily gave Mike a tour of the factory, he described everything that they went past. "I had this factory built shortly after King Charles' death, when I went on the news. In here, my robots are building an army for me!" "How much is an army?" Mike asked. "Thousands an hour." Wily replied. "My robots are mass producing Metools, Bladers, and all my other creations, new and old, including thousands upon thousands of copies of my old Robot Masters, plus some new ones, as well!" Mike knew he had to get this information to the N Team somehow, or they'd be dead meat, but he couldn't think of a way right now. He also needed more information from Wily. "So, when does the war begin, Doc?" Mike asked. "Today is June 30th. At noon, my new Robot Masters will attack various cities in Megaland, setting up strongholds. Dr. Right will undoubtedly call Mega Man and Captain N for help. While they are diverted from the Palace, my forces will attack!" He then laughed madly while Mike watched worriedly.
The black car drove down the empty road. It was still dark outside, and dawn wouldn't arrive for another half-hour. The radio was turned on, and a woman was giving a news report. "This just in: An adolescent boy was found dead on the sidewalk outside of an apartment complex a few minutes ago. Police have yet to identify him, so as yet, the boy is without a name." "I know his name." Osiris Runes, the driver of the car, said as he put a CD in the CD player. He selected a track and fast-forwarded a bit. Queen's 'Gimme The Prize' replaced the news reporter's voice:
Here I am! I'm the master of your destiny! I am the one, the only one, I am the god of kingdom come! Gimme the Prize! Just gimme the Prize!
"He's my brother!" Anubis Runes frantically explained to the cop, who was going through his duffel bag. The cop pulled out a box of M&Ms, a Sony Discman, a cellular phone, and a 9mm pistol. He stopped at the pistol and examined it with his flashlight. "You got a permit for this, kid?" he asked, shining the light directly into Anubis' face. Anubis began to get up off the dusty roadside. "Get down, you little punk!" the cop yelled, dropping all the stuff back into the bag and reaching for his revolver. "If you can't produce some legal ID, you're gonna visit the little old police station, kid." Anubis lowered himself back onto his stomach. "Call me kid again, and you're gonna have a really bad night, man." "Is that a fact?" the cop asked, laughing. "What are you gonna do about it,...kid?" A sly smile came to Anubis' face. "Have you ever played 'blind man's bluff'?" He let the cop have it in the eyes with a handful of sand. "What the - " The cop grabbed his pistol and aimed it in the direction where Anubis was last laying. He fired three times, but Anubis was already on his feet and grabbing his stuff. "You little - " was the last thing that the cop muttered as Anubis gave him a swift kick to the nuts. In the distance, but closing fast, was the wailing sound of a fleet of sirens. "You called for backup on a freakin' jaywalker?" Anubis asked the cop. Anubis turned and ran as the cops gave chase. He jumped over the jersey barrier and ran off after Osiris.
Osiris was already at the warehouse that housed his new, strange toy. He took a moment to touch the shell of the Warp Zone Shifter. "You're gonna help me become the world's greatest assassin!" He stated, and began to flip switches on the main console. Anubis kicked open the door. "You!" he shouted. "Oh," Osiris said calmly, "Anubis, my brother, you're just in time for my performance." "Cut the - " Anubis began. Osiris typed in some coordinates on the console, then turned a dial. A swirling blue warp opened up in front of him and his brother. "Isn't she beautiful?" Osiris asked, gazing at the swirling warp. "What did you do, Os?" Anubis asked in shock. "You can come with me, if you'd like. It's not too late, 'Nubis! We can go anywhere in the world with my machine!" "Anubis, and I'll never go anywhere with you, unless it's the land of the dead! Dorian is dead because of you, and - " "'Nubis, 'Nubis, please!" Osiris cut in. "You must let the past remain in the past! Dorian's dead! Trying to kill me isn't going to bring him back!" "Maybe not," Anubis shouted as he swung up his pistol to let his brother taste hot lead, "but it sure as hell will make me feel better!" Osiris grabbed something that looked like a remote control off the main console, along with his rifle, and dove into the swirling warp. "Then see ya in the land of the dead!" The warp closed. Just then, a gang of state troopers came through the door behind Anubis. "Freeze!!!" shouted half the unit as the room continued to fill with people. "Aw, man!" Anubis sighed as six men came towards him with handcuffs and automatic weapons.
When Kevin and Lana walked into the kitchen that morning at dawn, Kevin was wearing his Captain N clothes, sans his jacket, and Lana was wearing her royal clothes. Kevin always found it strange to see Lana with short hair and wearing her royal clothes at the same time, but he never said anything of it. "That's odd." Lana said. "Usually there's someone here getting something to eat for breakfast." Kevin laughed. "They're probably getting our surprise party ready!" Then, Stacey, Rick, Romeo, and Julius walked in. Stacey walked up to Kevin and without a word curled her arms around his neck and kissed him. Kevin put his arms around her. Lana frowned. After thirty seconds, Stacey broke the kiss and smiled. "Happy birthday, Kevy!" Kevin smiled back. "Same to you." "Where are the others?" "That's what we were wondering. I think they're getting our birthday party ready." Stacey laughed. "Let's act surprised when we find them." Kevin nodded. Then they let go of each other, and the six of them said happy birthday to each other. "Let's try the Throne room." Lana said afterwards. "That's where our last few surprise parties were held." Yep, Lana's 15th, and her and Kevin's 16th and 17th birthday parties were in the Throne room. It became rather predictable. Kevin nodded, laughing.
Sure enough, as it was every year, the lights were off. Everything was dark and silent. The group walked into the Throne room, and, as expected, the lights came on, and everyone yelled: "Surprise! Happy birthday!" The six weren't surprised, of course, but they acted the part very well. The rest of the N Team was there, of course, as well as Link, Zelda, and Lyle. There was a pink banner on the wall over the throne. On it was printed in black letters: "HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, KEVIN, LANA, AND STACEY;", under that: "20TH BIRTHDAY, RICK AND ROMEO;", and under that: "22ND BIRTHDAY, JULIUS!" Actually, only Stacey, Rick, Romeo, and Julius were born on June 30. Kevin and Lana were born on June 23, 1974, but, because they had traveled one week into the future back in 1989, they had to shift their birthday celebrations down one week, for they didn't physically turn eighteen years old until June 30. Simon, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Duke had to do the same to their birthdays. After all the party throwers shook hands with or hugged the birthday boys and girls, Simon and Link stepped aside, revealing a tall chocolate fudge cake on a cart. Lana beamed with delight. Kevin looked at the Princess. "Uh, you're drooling, Lana." Lana looked at him quickly. "Huh?!" She wiped her mouth and chin with the back of her right hand, then smiled. "Sorry. I love chocolate fudge!" Simon handed Lana a large knife and a plate from the cart. Lana cut herself a wedge, then took a fork and a napkin from the cart.
In a distant corridor of the Palace, a warp opened, and Osiris fell out. Osiris stood up, and the warp closed. Then he started to freak out. "What the - where - h-h-h-how - " He finished the grammatically incorrect sentence with a loud scream. I'm a cartoon! he thought. A freakin' cartoon! Suddenly, an alarm began to sound. Back in the Throne room, Lana was very annoyed at the sight of Kevin and Stacey feeding each other cake. "There's an intruder!" Lana yelled. They all dropped what they were holding and ran out of the room. Osiris picked up his rifle and warp zone opener, then began running. The N Team and friends were heading down a corridor, and when they neared the end of it, they saw Osiris run by in the connecting corridor. "There he is!" Link yelled. They gave chase. Everyone that had a weapon had it ready. Osiris found a round door on a wall. He opened it. There was a swirling blue warp inside. Everyone turned left into the corridor in time to see Osiris jump for the warp. They walked up to the warp, and Lana closed the door. "Who was that guy?" Zelda asked. "Yeah." Link added. "Whoever he was," Kevin answered, "he just went to Skull Castle."
Osiris exited the warp, landing on the ground in front of Skull Castle. He stood up and started brushing himself off. Then he looked up at the huge structure. "Skull Castle?!" "Hey!" someone called from behind him. Osiris turned around. A Robot Master was standing right behind him. "Air Man?" "A trespasser! Dr. Wily will wanna see you!" He grabbed Osiris by the collar and started pulling him towards the Castle. Air Man had gotten inside the front gate of Skull Castle with Osiris in one hand and his weapons in the other. Osiris didn't like being dragged - especially by something that was out of a video game. He managed to break out of Air Man's grasp. Air Man wasn't about to let the invader go for fear of what Wily would do to him later. Osiris began to run back out of the Castle when a huge gust of wind flattened him against a side wall. He was suspended by Air Man's air shooter but didn't bother trying to escape it. Air Man walked over to him. "Very impressive." Osiris said, as calm as usual. "I'm anxious to meet your creator. Dr. Wily, am I right?" "You'll meet the doctor soon enough." Air Man responded as he grabbed his prisoner by the arm and escorted him deeper into the Castle.
"So, you have brought me an intruder from the Palace, Air Man. I am very proud of you." Dr. Wily praised his robot. "Now get back to work!" "So what's your name, dude?" Mike Vincent asked. "I am Osiris Runes, from Indianapolis, Indiana. And you are?" "I am Mike Vincent, from Northridge, California. So you're named after a god, huh?" "You can call it that, if you believe in that sort of thing." Osiris answered in a voice more calm than usual. "So, what's going on here? Why are we all cartoons?!" "You are in a dimension called Videoland." Dr. Wily explained. "I don't know how you got here, but the only way you're leaving is on my terms." "Don't ya mean our terms, Doc?" piped the other teenager. "Yes. Well, I am the, uh, good guy, you see, and Mike and I have - " "I don't do that good side garbage. I'm outta here." Osiris stated firmly. He began to leave. Mike stepped in his way. "Okay, look, we're not the good guys. Dr. Wily and me are trying to take over Videoland. This is his homeworld - " "Megaland." Osiris spoke softly. "Yeah." Mike said. "We're planning an invasion on the place you came here from. The Palace of Power." "Maybe I'll stay a while, if the price is right. If I can't own a piece of my own dimension, I'll take a few pieces of this one." "I'll take you to your room, Os." Mike said, but before they left, he whispered to Dr. Wily: "I don't trust him. Keep an eye on the little punk." "You're in charge of him." Dr. Wily told Mike softly. Mike nodded, then took Osiris to a bedroom.
Anubis sat on a battered crate next to a cop, who was holding his duffel bag. He could see through the open door the sheriff, who was speaking into the radio in his squad car. What could be taking so long? Anubis thought as he laid back against another crate, still handcuffed. He gazed at all the cops and then moved around. He began to get up to stretch when the cop next to him gave him an angry stare. He tried to reposition to get comfortable again as he sat back against the crates. He stared long and hard at the machine. His gaze started to wander around as he looked at boxes. "Can you, uh, uncuff me?" Anubis asked the cop standing to his left. "Not on your life, kid." darted the rather corpulent cop. "Aw, c'mon, Kinipo. He can't get out with all of us. He'd have to fly out of here!" answered another cop. "I saw it on COPS once. They didn't cuff a guy because they didn't think he was dangerous." Anubis added. The cop released Anubis, and he brought his hands around and stuffed them into his front pockets to await the results of his trial. The sheriff came back in with the news. "Your story checks out, kid." He held up a clipboard and read the info he had gotten from the station: "Anubis Runes, Age: 15, Height: 5 foot 11, Eye Color: Green, Hair Color: White. Two brothers. Osiris Runes, Age: 16, Height: 6 foot 1, Eye Color: Black, Hair Color: Brown. Dorian Runes, Age: 17, Height: 6 foot 2, Eye Color: Brown, Hair color: Brown. All three of them are currently residing in this city." "That last part's not quite right." Anubis said. "As I told you, Dorian's dead." "We believe you, kid, and we've got people out looking for Osiris right now, but we're gonna have to bring you in for brutality on the officer you ran from and the piece you were carrying." Oops, Anubis thought. Just then, a man in a white overcoat came through the open door. He had long, silver hair and was holding some sort of tracking device. Anubis looked at him for a moment before the whole police force aimed and cocked a pistol, shotgun, or rifle in the man's direction. "There it is!" the man exclaimed upon spotting the Warp Zone Shifter. "Who are you?" demanded the cop with an exceptionally large automatic rifle aimed at the man's face. "Oh, I'm Bob!" the man replied cheerfully. Bob looked at the kid sitting on the crate with his hands in his pockets. Anubis took advantage of the situation to stand up off the hard wooden box. "Who are you, boy?" Bob asked. "I'm Anubis Runes." he answered. "My brother is the one who stole your machine. Osiris." "Yep, that's the little punk that stole it!" "Who? This kid?" asked the officer with the gun, nodding at Anubis. "No, that guy he's talking about. That Osiris!" "So where is he?" implied another cop, this one with a shotgun. "He warped! I told you!" Anubis yelled. "He could be halfway to Florida by now!" "Yeah, yeah, sure, kid. Keep talking like that, and your parents will have you locked away in a nut house." Anubis looked at the scientist with sad eyes. Bob figured out what he was trying to say. He began to flap his arms lightly as he tried to explain what the machine was for. The police listened to him. The explanation seemed to almost make sense. "And now to show you how it works." Bob finished. The officer next to him grabbed his right arm and pulled it away from the machine. "Look, buddy, we don't need you to blow us all up if this might be a bomb or somethin'." "All right!" Bob said as he tossed his hands into the air. He brought his arms down slowly while looking at Anubis. Then he turned and slammed a fist on a button on the console before the cop could stop him.