Saturday, September 25, 1993, 10:30 AM

Rick and Stacey were walking by a lake not far from their house in Megaland. They were in the middle of a discussion.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Stacey said.

"Look, there's no way Steven Segal could take on the Power Rangers." Rick argued. "Why, they would - " He stopped himself and then shouted: "Look at that!"

Stacey looked where Rick was pointing. It was a warp zone on the bark of a tree.

"It's a warp zone, so?" Stacey asked.

"I know it's a warp zone. It's just that we've been through here lots of times, but this is the first I've seen of it."

"You're right." Stacey agreed. "I wonder why?"

"The bigger question is where does it go? We should tell Lana about this."

The two of them ran back to the house.

Lana was busy in the rec room watching Kevin and Simon playing ping-pong with each other. They were playing like heck, hitting the ball while exchanging insults.

"Prepare to eat dust, Belmont!"

"We'll see, Northridge punk!"

The two continued playing until Kevin said "Hey, Simon, I heard you were getting flakes."

"Flakes?!!!" Simon screamed. The ball sailed right past him. "No fair. You know I have sensitive hair."

While Kevin was laughing, Rick and Stacey came in.

"Hey, guys, you'll, like, never believe what we found." Stacey said.

"What?" Lana asked.

"A new warp zone." Rick said.

"We'll, that's great, Rick." Kevin said. "Where does it go?"

"We totally don't know." Stacey replied. "We were hoping to investigate."

Lana thought for a moment. "Well, I don't want to leave our house unprotected. With Romeo and the others over on Dragon's Den today, we can't spare too many people. The two of you may go through."

"All right!" Rick cheered. "Let's go, Stacey!"

As Rick and Stacey left the room, Kevin picked up his paddle and smiled at Simon. "Rematch?"

Simon frowned. "We'll see."

Hours passed, and Rick and Stacey hadn't returned yet. Lana had a worried look on her face as she looked out the window.

Kevin came up to her. "No word yet?"

Lana shook her head. "No, Kevin, and, frankly, I thinking something went wrong. This was to be a routine investigation."

"I'll call the rest of the N Team back here." Kevin said.

Mega Man ran up to Kevin. "Captain N, what's the mega emergency?"

"Rick and Stacey are missing. We need to find them, but all of us can't go. We still need to keep an eye on Videoland."

"So, what's the planicus?" Kid Icarus asked.

"Mega Man, Simon, and I will go investigate. The rest of you stay here and wait for us."

"Why should I go?" Simon protested. "I don't want to go. We don't even know where we'll end up."

"Say, Simon, doesn't Rick owe you money." Kevin asked.

"So, trying to get out of a debt, eh?" Simon concluded. "Well, I'm going to find him and get what he owes me."

Dr. Right led the trio to where Rick and Stacey were last seen. There it was - the mystery warp. Kevin, Simon, and Mega Man stepped through the portal to another world.

When they emerged, they found thamselves in another forest.

"Well, this doesn't look too bad." Kevin said.

Just then, two gray humanoid objects started bouncing toward them.

"Look out!" Simon shouted.

Kevin whipped out his Zapper and fired several shots. The objects disintegrated.

"More trouble!" Kevin yelled as two flying claws came toward them.

Mega Man blasted them with his Mega Buster.

"What next?" Simon asked.

Unknown to the N Team, at the same time, a tank was rolling along on the other side of the forest. It was red and white, and it had one gun turret sticking out of its dome-shaped body. Inside was a figure dressed in a red and white suit.

"Sophia, any sign of him?" the figure asked the tank.

The tank's computer answered in a female voice: "No, I'm sorry. Scanners do not detect him."

"What about my frog? Do you see him?"

"I do not detect the frog either."

The figure grew slightly agitated. "Anything?"

"Nothing. Wait. Scanners are picking up three figures on the other side of the forest."

"We'd better check it out. This could be trouble." the figure said.

Kevin was walking with Simon and Mega Man when he felt something. He put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

"Captain N, is anything wrong?" Mega Man asked.

"No, I sure it's nothing."

The trio continued.

"Say, guys, this place looks familiar, like from one of my games." Then Kevin felt it again. He even staggered around a bit.

Mega Man grew worried. "Captain N, are you sure you're all right?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a little sick."

Simon started groaning. "Whatever you have, I'm feeling it, too."

The two started having trouble walking straight.

However, Mega Man seemed unaffected. "What's wrong with you guys?"

Kevin and Simon collapsed onto the ground.

"Captain N! Simon!"

Suddenly, a tank approached from behind a tree and came to a stop in front of the fallen N Teamsters. A figure dressed in a red and white suit came out from the top hatch and walked towards Mega Man.

The figure had a gun raised. "You. Help me put them in the tank."

Back at the N Team's house in Megaland, Lana was sitting on the living room couch, waiting for Kevin and Simon to come back.

Kid Icarus flew in. "Your Highnicus, Link is here to see you."

"Send him in." Lana said.

Kid Icarus flew out of the room.

The hero of Hyrule came into the living room. "Hi, Princess. Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Well,...I guess so."

Link changed the subject. "Say, Lana, where's Kevin? We were supposed to meet on Hyrule for target practice."

"Kevin went out with Simon and Mega Man to investigate a new warp zone. They haven't come back yet."

"This is strange." Link said. "Any word?"

Lana shook her head. "Not yet. Rick and Stacey went through earlier, but they haven't come back either."

Dr. Right and Gameboy rushed into the room.

"Princess, Gameboy and I were analyzing the warp zone when Gameboy discovered something."

"The world on the other side of the warp zone is contaminated with radiation, which, with prolonged exposure, could be fatal." Gameboy beeped.

"That means Kevin, Simon, Rick and Stacey could be in danger!" Dr. Right yelled. "We have to find them!"

"I'll go, Princess." Link said.

"Link, you're as human as Kevin. You'll be affected, too."

"Videoland needs Captain N. It's a chance I have to take."

"I'm going, too-icus." Kid Icarus said.

Link had no argument.

The two of them emerged from the warp zone into the forest.

"The guys must be around here somewhere." Link said.

Just then, a thumping noise was heard, and something big landed behind them. Link and Kid Icarus turned and saw a giant frog.

"Yikesicus!" Kid Icarus shouted.

"Take this frog lips!" Link yelled, and fired his sword.

But it didn't have any effect. The frog shot out his toungue and knocked Link's sword out of his hand. The frog then spat out a fireball, and it brought Kid Icarus to the ground. The frog was ready to fire again.

"Ganon once turned me into a frog." Link said in a worried voice. "Now I'm going to be killed by one!"

Link and Kid Icarus had looks of fear on their faces. The giant frog was staring at them, ready to strike. Suddenly, it shot out two fireballs which connected with the heroes. They fell over, unconscious but alive.

A figure came from behind a rock. "Well done, my pet. These two should do nicely." He turned his head. "Take them back to base. Put them with the others."

Two men dressed in gray armor carried the bodies away.

Kevin was having problems of his own. He couldn't see anything, but he started to hear voices.

One of them was Mega Man's: "Are you mega sure they will be all right?"

But the other voice he never heard before: "I'm pretty sure."

"Look, I think he's coming around."

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kevin managed to open his eyes. He found himself in some sort of small room, like the inside of a tank, but with some computer equipment. He noticed Simon was still asleep. Kevin also noticed that there was a boy with them. He was wearing a red and white suit without a helmet, and he had brown hair.

"Lucky thing we found you before too long. Otherwise, you and your friend might not have made it."

"Well, thanks." Kevin answered. "How did you find us?"

"I helped, thank you." a female voice answered.

Kevin and Mega Man jumped.

"Who said that?" Kevin asked.

"I did."

The boy chuckled. "Sorry. I should have introduced us first. My name is Jason. This is my tank, Sophia."

"I am Sophia Model III. Pleased to meet you."

Kevin snapped his fingers. "That's it! I know where we are now! This is Blaster Master!"

Jason thought for a moment. "Say, aren't you Captain N? The Game Master I heard about?"

Kevin nodded. "That's right, but my friends call me Kevin. Right now, we're on a mission. Say, Jason, do you know why I fainted earlier?"

"Kevin, this world is plagued with radiation. If you're in it too long, you could die. However, we are safe here. Sophia can purge the radiation."

"Jason, what is with the radiation anyway?" Mega Man asked.

"Well, this world wasn't always like that. It used to be a nice place to live, until an evil being called the Plutonium Boss appeared and started spreading his radiation around. Most everybody fled. I would have fled, too, but my pet frog was missing. He hopped out of his bowl and just disappeared. I followed him until I fell down a hole. That's where I found Sophia."

"And you decided to get Sophia to help you find your frog." Kevin said.

"Not only that, but to destroy the Plutonium Boss. I want my home back. By the way, what are you and the other one doing here?"

"Two of our friends came through the warp zone, but never came back. We were looking for them when the radiation overtook us."

"Jason, we must continue our mission." Sophia said.

"I agree. How about this, Kevin? If I help you look for your friends, you help me find the Plutonium Boss."

"It's a deal. Let's get going."

Sophia started back up again and rolled along the plain.

After a few minutes, Jason said "What I don't get is how you were able to withstand the radiation, Mega Man."

"I'm only part human. I'm also part robot. I guess I was protected."

They heard a groaning noise and found Simon recovering as well.

"What happened? Did I use too much spray again?" Simon asked.

"Jason, I'm getting a strange metal on my scanner." Sofia said.

"Okay, Sophia. Guys, I'm going out to investigate. Be right back." Jason slipped on his helmet and climbed through a hatch.

Simon was bewildered. "What's going on? Where are we? Who was that guy?"

"It's a long story, Simon." Kevin said. "What's important is that he's here to help."

Jason climbed back down. "This is what I found outside." He held out a feather and a sword.

"I recognize that sword! It's Link's!" Kevin yelled.

"And that's one of Kid Icarus' feathers!" Mega Man identified.

"They must have come after us, and got in trouble." Kevin reasoned. "We have to find them."

"Kevin, I can detect a recent trail of footsteps. We may be able to follow them to your friends." Sofia said.

"Then let's do it." Kevin said.

Jason took the wheel, and they were off.

In a cave somewhere, Kid Icarus and Link were sitting in a cell surrounded by a force field.

Link awakened. "Where are we?"

"Not home. That's for sure-icus."

"Kid Icarus, is that you?" a male voice asked.

Kid Icarus looked to his left and, sure enough, in another cell were Rick and Stacey! "Rickicus! Staceous! What happened to you?!"

"I don't know. We were walking when we felt sick and were ambushed by a giant frog." Rick said.

"I'm glad to see you've awakened." a new voice boomed. A man dressed in orange armor entered from an opening. "Now, which one of you is Captain N?"

"I don't know what you meanicus."

"Don't give me that. I've heard about your N Team and how you can travel to different worlds. Now, is one of you Captain N?" He looked at Link and Kid Icarus. "No. You're an elf geek and an dwarf. No way either one of you could be the Game Master. He's still out there."

"What do you want with him anyway?" Link asked.

"You'll see." The man left the room.

Sophia parked outside the cave.

"The entrance is too small for Sophia to fit through." Jason said. "We'll have to go inside ourselves." He handed some suits to Kevin and Simon. "Put these on. They'll protect you."

The four departed from the tank and went inside the cave.

They were greeted by three soldiers wearing grey armor.

"A welcoming committee." Kevin said.

Jason fired his ray gun at the soldiers and destroyed them. Metal eyeballs flew in and shot laser beams.

"These are mine!" Mega Man shouted, and his Mega Buster destroyed them.

They entered another room. The door closed behind them and locked.

"Where are we now?!" Simon wailed.

A block appeared and started rolling past them.

"I don't like the mega looks of this."

Suddenly, it stopped, and another block appeared and started rolling. It stopped, and another block appeared, this time firing laser. The team dodged the shots before the block stopped and another one appeared.

"I remember this part!" Kevin yelled. "The blocks are trying to crush us! We have to destroy them!"

They fired at a block, but, when it disappeared, a new block appeared.

"Keep it up! It can't continue forever!"

The blocks kept reappearing, but soon they stopped coming. When the last block was destroyed, a door opened, and the four went through it.

Kevin saw the cells containing his captured friends. "Kid Icarus! Link! Rick! Stacey! You're okay!"

At that second, the orange man appeared and asked "So, are you Captain N?"

"Yes!"

"Good. I'm the Plutonium Boss, your new master."

"You're no mega master."

The Plutonium Boss replied "Maybe not yet." He turned to Kevin. "Now, tell me about warp zones so I may conquer other worlds. I will flood them with radiation, forcing the people to bow to me."

"In a pig's eye!" Simon shouted.

"Then you have sentenced yourselves to death."

He called for his giant frog. It started to shoot its tounge at the foursome.

"This isn't my frog, so let's toadally trash him!" Jason yelled.

Mega Man fired his Mega Buster, but it had no effect. Same with Kevin's Zapper. Simon's whip didn't work either. Jason started flinging grenades, and they hit the frog in the mouth, causing it to yelp.

"Toss another grenade. I got an idea." Kevin said.

Jason fed the frog another grenade.

Kevin yelled "Pause!" and pressed the Pause button on his Power Pad just as the grenade started exploding.

While everyone was frozen, Kevin ran over and turned off the force fields, freeing the N Teamsters.

The pause wore off, and the frog disintegrated.

"What?! How did - " the Plutonium Boss began.

Jason stared firing at the Boss. He fell back in pain, weakening from the blasts. Rick recovered his Super Scope and helped Jason.

Soon, the Plutonium Boss started to disintegrate, but he hit a button. "I may die, but you're coming with me!"

The cave started to shake and crumble.

"Time to go-icus!" Kid Icarus shouted.

The good guys ran from the cave just as it caved in. The group was relieved, except Jason.

"It sure is mega good to see you guys again." Mega Man said.

"Right back at ya, buddy." Rick said.

Kevin noticed Jason was just standing there, looking at the ruins. "What's wrong, Jason?"

"You found your friends, but I never found my frog." Jason said sadly.

Then he heard a small ribbit, and a small frog hopped from the rubble.

"Fred!" Jason cried, and ran over to get his frog.

"I guess we did find everybody after all." Kevin said with a smile.

The Megaland concert hall was once again packed with fans as they waited for Captain N & The Video Game Masters to begin. In the front row sat Jason on top of Sophia. Even Fred was in a glass case on top of Sofia.

The band members walked on stage and took their places. They got their instruments ready. Then they turned on their microphones.

"Welcome to our concert tonight." Kevin said. "To start, we are going to play a medley dedicated to our new friends, Jason and Sophia. It's from the Blaster Master video game." He looked at the other band members. "Let's do it! 1, 2, 3, 4!"

Kevin, Lana, Stacey, and Mike played the music from Level 1, Level 3, Level 5, and the Game Over Music.

The audience loved it. They cheered and applauded.

Jason looked at Sophia. "What did you think?"

"I'm no music critic," Sofia answered, "but I liked it."

GAME OVER