"Kevin? Are you all right?" Lana asked.

Kevin had been staring out a window for the past hour. Lana could tell that he wasn't happy.

Kevin turned around to face the Princess. "I dunno, Lana. I guess I just...miss home."

"Then why don't you go back?" Simon suggested, walking into the room.

Lana elbowed him in the ribs.

Kevin smiled. "Hey, why don't I?! I could see my parents, visit my friends, hang out at the arcade - "

"Princess!" Mega Man called.

The robot ran into the room holding a piece of paper in his right hand. Kid Icarus flew in behind him, and Duke brought up the rear.

"What is it, Mega Man?" Lana asked.

"I found this mega neat thing outside the Palace!" Mega Man said. "It's a map!"

"Where does it lead?" Lana asked.

"To a place called Homeward." Mega Man said. He looked down at the map and paraphrased the writing on it as the rest of the team gathered around him. "Homeward is located on a planet far away from here. It's supposed to remind people of home."

Kevin grinned. "Hey, that's just what I need! Maybe then I won't be so homesick!"

"Hold on." Lana said, suspicion in her voice. "Are you sure about this? It feels like a trap."

"Oh, Lana, don't worry!" Kevin said. "Wadaya say, guys? Are ya comin' with me?!"

The others all agreed.

"Okay." Lana said reluctantly.

"This is perfect!" Mother Brain said in delight. She was watching the N Team on her mirror in her lair on Metroid. "Those N Twirps got my map. Once they get to Homeward, they'll be as good as dead!" She laughed with glee, then turned to her minions, King Hippo and the Eggplant Wizard. "Follow them, and make sure they don't leave Homeward!"

The two of them gulped.

"Do - do we have to?" Eggy asked.

Mother Brain zapped them. "Now!!!"

Hippo and Eggy screamed, then ran into a warp.

The N Team was on Excalibur, walking in the direction the map indicated.

Lana panted. "Kevin, we've been walking for three hours now! Please, let's stop and rest!"

"We're almost there." Kevin said. He pointed ahead and to their left. "The warp is in that forest."

So, the group pressed on and went into the thick forest. Sure enough, they soon found a warp zone.

"Here it is! Let's go!" Kevin yelled.

Lana held him back. "Kevin, slow down! It could be a trap!"

"Uh-huh." Kevin answered simply. "Homeward, here I come!" He ran into the warp.

Lana shook her head and ran after him. The rest of the N Team followed.

A short distance from the warp, hidden behind some trees, King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard stood watching.

"There they go." Hippo said. "We'll wait for a half hour, then follow them."

TO BE CONTINUED...