Saturday, October 24, 1992, 9:34 AM

   "You see, Rydia's world and the world of Final Fantasy are in two
different universes. Somehow, a warp was made between our universe and
Rydia's. She must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a
result, she was pulled through the warp when it opened. It threw her into
this universe."
   "Can we send her home?" Kevin asked Dr. Right.
   The two of them were communicating over a viewscreen.
   "Yes. Apparently, someone of great magical power in Rydia's world saw her
go through the warp. He or she then put a magical 'doorstop' in the warp,
forcing it to stay part way open. This is good for Rydia, because if the
warp had closed the whole way, there would be no way for her to go home.
However, Rick and Stacey got the bad end of the bargain. When the warp was
forced to stay open, a disturbance was released. Stacey and Rick were caught
in the tail end of it. Thus, they keep hopping between worlds."
   "What can we do?"
   "I have created a device that will open the warp enough for Rydia to
re-enter. If my calculations are correct, Stacey and Rick will stop hopping
when Rydia has returned to her home, and the warp has closed."
   "That's great, Doc! That solves both of our problems!" said Kevin.
   Just then, Lana burst into the Communications room. "Rydia's been
kidnapped by Dr. Wily!"
   "Wonderful." Dr. Right and Kevin said in unison.

   "Dr. Wily has Rydia? Oh, no! Who knows what he's going to do-icus!" cried
Kid Icarus.
   "He probably wants her magic." stated Mega Man.
   "Never fear, I shall save her!" Simon said with a flourish.
   "Simon, this is serious!" Lana said. "We're all going to Skull Castle to
save her."
   "Oh, all right. But it was my idea!" said Simon.

   Skull Castle was a large and very foreboding structure. Around the
outside were two black and purple spiraling towers that seemed to reach for
the sky. The main area of the fortress was a large skull with its mouth
open. This gave the sinking feeling that the castle was ready to devour
anyone who approached. Unfortunately, the open mouth appeared to be the only
entrance. The N Team warped to right outside the castle.
   Lana turned to Mega Man. "Lead the way."
   Mega Man shrugged and walked towards the open skull. The rest of the team
followed.

   Inside the entrance of the fortress stood the usual assortment of Shield
Joes and hard hats. These were quickly taken care of by Mega Man, Kevin, and
Lana. Kevin and Lana's Zappers and Mega Man's mega buster were much more
effective on their robotic enemies than Simon's whip and Kid Icarus' bow.
   Mega Man glanced around the room, then grabbed a nearby ladder and began
climbing.
   "I guess he knows where he's going." Lana said as she followed him up.
   "Actually, I don't." Mega Man called down. "Wily changes his castle
around often. It's never the same place twice. I'm just guessing."
   "That's sure reassuring." Simon muttered under his breath.
   "You know, I wonder why Rydia doesn't summon something and smash Wily."
Kid Icarus said as he slowly flew up to the top of the ladder.
   "He probably has her gagged. I doubt she can cast spells if she can't
talk." said Kevin.
   After they all reached the top of the ladder, they were presented with
three corridors to go down.
   Mega Man turned to the rest of the team. "Shall we split up?"
   "No." Kevin said after a moment's consideration. "That never seems to
work." he finished with a grin.
   Mega Man chuckled. "All right, then which one should we all go down?"
   "I don't know. You decide." said Kevin.
   "But I asked you."
   "Well, I don't know."
   "Neither do I!"
   "You probably have a better guess than I do."
   "No, I don't."
   "Yes, you do."
   "No, I don't."
   "Yes, you do."
   "Do not!"
   "Do, too!"
   "Will you both stop fighting?!" Lana shouted.
   Mega Man and Kevin froze, their mouths slightly open.
   Lana groaned. "Fine, I'll pick one!"
   Lana turned on her heel and marched down the left corridor.
   Completely baffled, it took the rest of the team a few moments to gather
their wits and follow her.

   The Princess' corridor of choice lead the team to a bed of deadly spikes.
The only way across were three moving, floating platforms that could only be
reached by leaping.
   Lana grimaced. "Maybe this was a bad choice."
   Kevin smiled. "Don't worry, Lana. It's all in the timing. If we jump at
the right moment, we can't lose!"
   "But what if we don't jump at just the right moment?" Lana asked, then
shivered.
   "I'll scout ahead and see if there are any traps." Kid Icarus
volunteered. The little archer took to the air and flew across the bed of
spikes. He reached the other side and landed. After looking for a few
moments, he returned to the team. "There are a few cannons on the other
side-icus."
   Mega Man frowned. "Wily's hoping to hit us and make us fall into the
spikes."
   Lana looked at Kevin. "I don't think our Zappers have enough range to hit
the cannons from here."
   "Can you destroy them with your bow?" Simon asked Kid Icarus.
   "I don't think so." Kid Icarus answered.
   Simon turned to Kevin. "Why don't you lend him your Zapper? He could fly
over and - "
   "No, Simon." Lana interrupted. "He isn't proficient with a Zapper. Plus,
if he gets hurt, we won't be able to help him."
   "She has a point, Simon. We'll just have to avoid getting shot." Kevin
said.
   Simon grimaced, but said nothing.
   Mega Man decided to make the jump first. He turned towards the bed of
spikes and waited. When the platform closest to him came near, he leaped
with all his strength and landed in the center of the platform. He stood up
and waited for the others.
   Kevin went next. When the platform containing Mega Man came near enough,
he pressed the Jump button on his Power Pad and landed neatly beside Mega
Man.
   Lana went after Kevin, albeit a bit more hesitantly. She also made use of
the Jump button on her Power Pad.
   Simon made use of his whip by snapping it out and wrapping it around a
pipe on the ceiling. Then, he simply swung over.
   Kid Icarus glided over easily, using his wings.
   Mega Man smiled. "One down, two to go."
   Lana turned to the next platform. Once again, she used the Jump button to
gracefully leap the distance between the platforms. After successfully
landing, she turned back to rest of the team and smiled. Because of this,
she didn't see the beam that the cannon fired at her until it was too late.
It hit her square in the back, making her unconsciously jump forward towards
the edge of the platform. She screamed, waving her arms in a circle,
attempting to maintain her balance. It wasn't enough. The Princess fell over
the edge of the platform, but was able to grab hold of the edge. There, she
swung helplessly over the spikes.
   "Kevin!!!" she screamed.
   "I'm coming, Lana!" Kevin shouted and reached for his Power Pad.
   "Don't." Mega Man said. "I'll bet that that cannon is equipped with a
motion detector. If you try to pull her up, it will fire at you, and you
won't be able to dodge. You'll both go over!"
   "We can't just leave her!" Kevin protested.
   "Guys! I can't hold on much longer!" Lana shouted.
   "What if we were to pull the platform over here? Would the cannon fire
then?" Kid Icarus asked.
   "Probably not. But how do we pull it over here?" asked Mega Man.
   "Simonius can grab it with his whip, and you can pull it overicus."
   "Kid Icarus, that's brilliant!" Kevin exclaimed.
   Simon wasted no time and snapped his whip out towards Lana. The whip
wrapped around a narrow section of the platform. Simon tugged it a bit to
make sure it was secure before handing it to Mega Man.
   "Hold on, Your Highness!" Mega Man called as he began to pull on the whip
with all of his might.
   Slowly, the platform responded by obediently floating over to the team.
   When it was close enough, Kevin jumped to the Princess' platform and
pulled her up.
   The rest of the team quickly jumped over to join them.
   "That was a close call!" Lana exclaimed as she rubbed her arms.
   "What was a close call?"
   The team whirled around to see Rick standing on the platform they had
just vacated.
   "Rick! Lana nearly fell into the pit!" Kevin exclaimed.
   Rick looked down at the deadly spikes. "Yikes! That would've hurt!"
   "Hey, I just realized something. How are we going to get to the next
platform?" Simon asked.
   "Oh, no! By pulling the platform over, we widened the gap between
platforms. It's too mega big a jump for us to make now!" Mega Man said in
dismay.
   Rick put his fingers to his temples. "I think I'm about to skip out of
here."
   "All right. Good luck. We'll figure it out." Kevin said, already deep in
thought.
   Rick laughed. "You sound just like our old Chemistry teacher. You
remember Mrs. Grould? She was always saying 'I'm sure you'll figure it out',
but no one ever did." Rick laughed again before popping out.
   Kevin thought for a moment, then his eyes grew wide.
   "What is it, Kevinicus?" asked Kid Icarus.
   "Simon, what all do you have in that backpack of yours?" Kevin asked the
vampire hunter, his face lit up with hope.
   "A lot. What do you need?" asked Simon.
   "Gunpowder."
   "Hmmmm . . . " Simon said, and began digging through his pack. "Extra
clothing, mirror, my portrait, mirror, rubber ducky, - ah-ha! Here we are!"
Simon produced a small black bag. "A gift from Commander Ryhan of Battle
World!"
   "Perfect!" Kevin exclaimed. "Still need a few more things though."
   "Like what?" Simon asked.
   "Oh, a toilet paper roll, a candle wick, baking soda, some lemon juice,
. . . "

   After about fifteen minutes of searching through Simon's backpack and
assembling the items, Kevin held up a makeshift rocket.
   "Mrs. Grould taught us how to make these." Kevin explained.
   "How does it work?" Lana asked.
   "Well, you just light the wick here, and the flame will travel up into
the rocket and make the gunpowder explode. I hope it will have enough force
to take us to the other side." Kevin took the rocket to the end of the
platform and taped it down securely. "Simon, how about some matches?"
   Simon began rummaging through his pack again.

   After a few minutes, he said "I don't have any."
   "What?!" Kevin exclaimed. "Do you have anything that could start a fire?"
   "I don't think so." Simon said, shaking his head.
   "Now what do we do?" Mega Man asked worriedly.
   "How about one of my fire arrows?" Kid Icarus asked.
   "That might just work!" Kevin exclaimed.
   "Two bright ideas in one day. You'll wear yourself out, Kid!" Simon said
as he playfully ruffled Kid Icarus' hair.
   "Okay, here's the plan. Kid, I want you to hover over the platform when
you make the shot. The rocket will set off quickly, so I don't want you to
get hurt. The rest of you, hold on tight, and jump when I say." Kevin
explained.
   "Jump?" Lana asked worriedly.
   "Trust me." Kevin said as he and the rest of the team laid down on the
platform and grasped the edge opposite the rocket.
   Kid Icarus flew up above the platform and nocked a fire arrow. He let it
loose with a twang.
   The arrow sailed unwaveringly towards its target and hit the wick with
deadly accuracy.
   The wick caught fire and quickly disappeared into the rocket.
   A few seconds later, the rocket exploded.
   The platform shot out across the pit with breathtaking speed. The team
screamed in perfect unison. It sped past the third platform in a flash.
   When the platform neared the wall, Kevin shouted "Jump!"
   The team leapt off the platform right before it smashed into the cannon
that had hit Lana earlier.
   "We did iticus!" Kid Icarus shouted joyfully as he few over.
   "Everyone all right?" Lana asked.
   "I think so." said Kevin.
   The team took a few moments to catch their breath before exiting the room
through the door.

   And so it went. The team crushed all the resistance it met. They had a
few more arguments, but no other real problems.
   That is, of course, until they reached the gate.
   It was of the standard model. When touched, the gate would rise. After a
few seconds, the gate would slam back into place and lock itself.
   This wouldn't normally be a problem, except that in Wily's castle these
gates meant only one thing.
   "Robot Master." the team said in unison.
   Silently, Mega Man walked up and touched the gate. It swung open without
protest. The team entered the gate, which slammed shut after they had all
entered.
   They found themselves in a corridor with another gate at the end. They
repeated the procedure, and found themselves in an empty room with no exit.
   Unfortunately, it didn't stay empty for long.
   Suddenly, a robot dropped down from above and landed on the opposite side
of the room.
   "Snake Man!" Mega Man exclaimed.
   "Hello, you little blue pessssst. I sssssee that you have brought your
little friendsssss, too. Thisssss will be fun!" Snake Man said, hissing on
his 's'es.
   Snake Man let out a volley of Search Snakes. The team jumped aside.
   "I've got them!" shouted Lana as she shot the snakes that were crawling
down the wall.
   The battle continued. Lana, Kid Icarus, and Simon took care of the Search
Snakes, while Kevin and Mega Man dealt with Snake Man.
   Normally this battle would be a lot harder, Mega Man thought as he dodged
another of Snake Man's snakes and retaliated with a shot of his own. By
myself, I would have to worry about both the Search Snakes and Snake Man.
With the rest of the team to back me up, though, Snake Man is at a big
disadvantage.
   Indeed, after a few moments, Snake Man was defeated. He exploded in a
flash of light. When the light died, not even his body remained.
   "Everyone okay?" asked Kevin.
   "No major damage." said Mega Man.
   "Yeah, we're fine." said Lana.
   Simon looked around him nervously. "Mega Man, the gate that we came in
won't open again, right?"
   "No. Why?" Mega Man asked.
   "Because," Simon said grimly, "I don't see another way out of here."
   Mega Man opened his mouth, then slowly closed it. "But that means - "
   Kevin looked up, finally understanding. "We're trapped!"
   "How are we going to get out of here-icus?" Kid Icarus asked worriedly.
   "My teleporter will only take us outside." said Mega Man.
   The team turned their attention to the gate. However, after a minute of
pulling, pushing, and firing, they slumped against the wall in defeat.
   "There's gotta be another way out." said Kevin.
   "Oh, man! Now where am I?!"
   "Stacey?" the team asked in unison, turning.
   Stacey, who had just appeared, whirled around to face the team. "Oh! Am I
back in Megaland?"
   "Kinda." started Kid Icarus.
   "Are you guys redecorating or something?" Stacey interrupted. She glanced
around the barren room. "Ugh! Look what happens when I'm not around! You
guys really need my decorating expertise!"
   "Um, . . . Stacey, . . . we aren't at the house." said Kevin.
   "No? Then where are we? I need to talk to the owner about taste! I can
do, like, wonders for this place!"
   "I doubt you'll want to do that. We're in Wily's castle." said Lana.
   "Wily's?! Oh, great, just great!" Stacey huffed.
   "Unfortunately, we're kind of stuck in this room." said Mega Man.
   "Oh, . . . it's happening again." Stacey said, rubbing her temples. She
leaned against the wall - and fell through!
   "Stacey? Where'd you go-icus?" asked Kid Icarus. He flew over to where
Stacey had vanished. Gently, he placed his hands where Stacey had
disappeared, and pushed. His hands went through. "Hey! I think Stacey has
found the way out!" exclaimed Kid Icarus.
   The team all went through the illusionary wall. None of them were really
surprised that Stacey was no longer there. After all, she had said that it
was 'happening again'. They found themselves in a small room with a six foot
tall capsule at the far end.
   "A telporting hatch." Mega Man said knowingly.
   "Where's it lead?" asked Simon.
   Mega Man shrugged. "Beats me. Some place better than here, I hope."
   "What? You mean we should just use it, having no idea where it takes us?
Well, I'm not going to take that risk. Who knows? It could land us in the
middle of a fire pit. My hair would be ruined!" Simon protested.
   Lana groaned in frustration. "Fine, Simon, you can stay here if you want.
But keep in mind, you won't rescue Rydia while you're sitting around in this
room." she finished, placing her hands on her hips.
   "Oh, . . . all right, you win. Well, let's get going! Last one in is a
. . . a . . . " Simon looked to Kevin with a quizzical expression.
   "A rotten egg?" Kevin suggested.
   "That's it! Last one in is a rotten egg!" Simon said as he jumped in the
teleporter.
   The rest quickly followed.

TO BE CONTINUED...