The Gamer looked at Kevin Keene, who looked back. “Well, do you accept?”

“How should I know? You haven’t even told me your offer!”

“Your point is valid. I shall just say that, if you take me up on my offer you may very well be able to save your dear Princess Lana and billions, if not trillions, of others.”

“How can I? She’s dead!”

“Ah, you are correct. She is, at this time, dead. But if we were to go to other times… would she be as dead?”

“Huh? Are you saying you can make me go back in time?”

“That would be an adequate description.”

Kevin thought over this offer for a moment. “But wouldn’t that mean altering the timeline? That could destroy the universe!”

“You are correct: It could destroy the universe. That is why you must contact yourself, Captain N. Your past-self must be told of all this. I will then contact your self of this time when you have saved all. This will avoid a temporal paradox.”

Kevin frowned. “It’s so dangerous, though.”

“But its rewards could far outweigh if you are successful.”

Kevin sighed and nodded. “I accept your offer.”

“Good choice.” The Gamer pressed the reset button on his NES. Everything changed.

Kevin looked at the area around him. It was similar to where he had been but it was most definitely different. The Gamer stood by him as did the Warp Wagon sit. “What happened?” asked Kevin.

“September 9^th, 1989 is happening. Today you begin to save the universe.”

“But if I go and stop him now a time paradox will result.”

“Correct. That is why you must train. This is the last point in time I could bring you to before the Post-War Plague was released. This is the last point in time before all will be killed.”

“That’s four years away.”

“Correct.”

“Then I have four years to prepare myself for stopping him?”

“Correct.”

“Where do I begin?”

The Gamer smiled. “Where you will end.”