Saturday, December 18, 1993, 5:00 PM

Our heroes drew their weapons.

"Surrender R.O.B. to me now, Princess," Dr. Wily ordered, "and you might not suffer as much before you die."

"Never, Wily!" Lana yelled.

"Then we must do this the - " wheeze " - hard way."

A huge exchange of fire then took place.

Kevin fired at Cuts Man while dodging his deadly Rolling Cutter.

Rick ran and jumped away to avoid a bomb thrown by Bomb Man. Then he turned and blasted the Robot Master with his Super Scope.

Guts Man picked up a huge boulder and threw it at Lana. Lana repeatedly zapped the boulder, and it broke apart and fell to the floor of the cavern.

Elec Man sent electricity at Stacey. Stacey threw her boomerang at the Robot Master. The sharp silver boomerang behaved in much the same way as a Rolling Cutter. It reduced Elec Man's energy by a good deal.

Poor Mike was left to take on both Fire Man and Ice Man at the same time. After running and dodging for a while, Mike pressed the Up button on his Power Pad just as both Robot Masters were about to fire at him. He soared up close to the ceiling. Fire Man and Ice Man fired, and they hit each other, reducing their energy significantly.

Mike landed on a higher ledge and fired from up there. The other N Team members saw it and went up to higher ledges as well. Stacey, not having a Power Pad, had to climb.

When Guts Man threw a boulder at Lana, she dodged, but, in the process, lost her balance and fell off the ledge. She let out a yell.

"Lana!" Kevin yelled.

Lana landed on the control panel of a computer system that was to R.O.B.'s right.

Suddenly, a loud humming sound filled the cavern. Both the good guys and the bad guys stopped fighting. Kevin, Mike, Rick, and Stacey jumped down from the ledges, and Lana got off the control panel.

R.O.B. began to move. He opened and closed his hands. R.O.B.'s light started blinking. The light was solid red.

Everybody watched in amazement.

Then R.O.B. spoke, his voice sounding like it came from the Circuit City commercials: "I am R.O.B. What is your command?"

"Let's play a game. And let's call it 'kick their asses'." Mike said, pointing at Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters.

"Requested task entered. Ready to begin." R.O.B. moved toward the bad guys.

"Retreat!" Dr. Wily yelled.

But before the Robot Masters could get away, R.O.B. had picked up boulders and crushed them all.

He then blasted a hole in the side of the cavern where the previous one had been.

Dr. Wily ran outside, then summoned his flying saucer. By the time R.O.B. and the N Team members had gotten there, Dr. Wily was already flying away.

"He got away!" Stacey said in disappointment.

"Oh, well." Rick said. "At least we won't have to worry about him."

"Don't count on it." Lana said.

"Huh?" Rick asked.

"Dr. Wily doesn't give up that easily. If he wants R.O.B. that badly, which I'm sure he does, we'll see him again very soon."

"You think he went back to Skull Castle to get more robots?" Mike asked.

"That sure sounds like something he'd do." Kevin said.

Just then, an old man wearing a white lab coat with blue buttons, blue pants, and white shoes came running up to them. He was bald, except for some white hair on the back of his head, and he had a white mustache.

"I can't believe it!" Lana said. "That's Professor Hector!"

"I can't believe it!" Professor Hector said. "R.O.B.!"

Lana shook Professor Hector's right hand with both of her hands. "It is an honor to meet you, Professor Hector! I've studied your work for a long time!"

"Well, I'm honored." Professor Hector said with a smile. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Lana Deschain, the Princess of Videoland. These are my friends - Kevin Keene, also known as Captain N, Mike Vincent, Rick Walker, and Stacey Anderson."

Professor Hector faced Kevin and shook his right hand. "So, you're the famous Captain N I've heard so much about!"

Kevin grinned.

"Hey, what are we?" Mike asked.

"Not as famous." Lana quipped.

"Professor Hector, we've got a serious problem." Kevin said. "A bad scientist named Dr. Wily is trying to capture R.O.B. He already tried once and failed, but we know he'll be back with a larger force."

"He's determined to capture R.O.B. and reprogram Him to serve his evil purposes." Lana said. "Won't you please help us, Professor Hector?"

"Of course." Professor Hector said. "Let's go back to my lab."

Professor Hector led the N Team members into his main laboratory, leaving R.O.B. standing guard outside the building.

"Wow! The actual lab!" Lana said, grinning like a little kid at Christmas.

"May I get you something?" Professor Hector offered. "Hash browns? Orange juice?"

"Yes, please." Lana said.

The others also accepted the offer.

Professor Hector left the room, and Lana began looking around.

"This is a dream come true for me. I found R.O.B.! I actually got to meet Professor Hector! I'm in his lab!" Lana walked over to a bookshelf. She gasped and picked up a book. "The original R.O.B. specs!" She began flipping through it.

Professor Hector walked back into the room, carrying a large tray with six plates of hash browns and six glasses of orange juice on it.

Lana turned around. "Professor Hector, forgive me. I - "

Professor Hector laughed. "It's okay. I understand." He set the tray down on a work table. "Well, help yourselves."

Professor Hector and the N Team members sat down around the table and ate and drank.

Suddenly, Professor Hector noticed a green creature walking toward the table.

"Like, what is it?" Stacey asked.

"It's a Smick." Professor Hector replied. "Those killer bugs lie in waiting. They like to eat people."

Stacey shrieked, placing her hands on Kevin's chest.

"Relax." Professor Hector said. He took a turnip out of one of his lab coat's pockets and threw it at the Smick. "As long you give the Smick a turnip, his favorite food, he won't attack you."

The Smick began munching on the turnip.

"Now, Professor Hector," Kevin said, "what are we gonna do about Dr. Wily?"

"More importantly, what are you going to do about R.O.B.?" Lana asked.

The professor shook his head. "I'm not sure. I still think he's too powerful and would be a great danger to humans if he fell into the wrong hands."

"We learned that two years ago." Kevin said. "I agree with him, Lana."

"Me, too." Rick joined in. "We can't allow Dr. Wily to steal him."

"Let's, like, take him back to Earth with us." Stacey suggested.

Professor Hector shook his head sadly. "No, I'm afraid there's only one option."

"What?" Lana asked.

"I must destroy R.O.B."

Lana gasped. "What?!"

"How dare you?!!!" a voice screamed.

A man walked into the room. He look exactly like Professor Hector, except he had orange hair instead of white. He also wore an orange lab coat and orange shoes instead of white.

Everyone at the table stood up.

"Professor Vector!" Professor Hector yelled in surprise. "Where have you been?!"

Professor Vector walked toward them. "After you sealed up R.O.B., I went into hiding. I didn't want to be associated with you at all. Then, today, I detected R.O.B. going online, and I went to investigate, but you had already left the mountain. So, I assumed you'd brought him here."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." Professor Hector said, placing his hands on Professor Vector's arms.

"What's this I hear about you planning to destroy R.O.B.?!" Professor Vector demanded. "Are you mad?!!!"

"I've been accused of it." Professor Hector returned with a smile. "But destroying R.O.B. is for the best. Trust me."

"Anyway, what are we gonna do about Dr. Wally Wick?" Mike asked.

"How much force is he coming with?" Professor Hector asked.

"We don't know, but a lot." Rick said.

"I'm sure R.O.B. will be able to handle it." Lana said, supporting the robot she loved so dearly.

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of an attack outside.

"Looks like we're about to find out!" Kevin said.

They all ran outside the front door of the laboratory.

Dr. Wily was flying overhead in his spaceship. On the ground were the Mega Man 2 and 3 Robot Masters - Air Man, Bubble Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man, Metal Man, Quick Man, Wood Man, Gemini Man, Hard Man, Magnet Man, Needle Man, Shadow Man, Snake Man, Spark Man, and Top Man.

R.O.B. was already fighting the Robot Masters, hitting them with his arms. "I could use some help here."

"We'll help you, R.O.B.!" Lana yelled.

She and the other N Team members ran and joined in the battle, fighting the Robot Masters on Professor Hector's front lawn.

"We'll hit 'em for a while, then you totally crush 'em, R.O.B.!" Stacey yelled.

"Understood." R.O.B. said.

And so the battle continued. The five N Team members wore down the Robot Masters, and, when they were sufficiently weakened, R.O.B. would crush them with some nearby rocks.

"Here, try these!" Professor Hector tossed each N Team member some dynamite.

Kevin, Lana, and Mike lit the fuses with their Zappers. Rick used his Super Scope to light them. Stacey used her sharp boomerang to light them, which wasn't an easy task. They would toss some dynamite every-so-often at the Robot Masters. The explosions further damaged them.

Finally, all the Robot Masters were destroyed.

"No!" Dr. Wily yelled. "I'll get you all for this!" Then he flew away in his saucer.

"Damn, he got away again!" Stacey said. "No fair!"

"So, Professor Hector," Professor Vector asked, "what were you saying about destroying R.O.B.?"

"What?!" R.O.B. asked in shock.

Professor Hector laughed. "Hmm, what? I didn't say anything. R.O.B. is a fine robot, and he will stay here at the lab."

"With us." Professor Vector added.

Lana screamed and jumped up and down in delight. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Kevin smiled. "I guess we'll have a happy ending after all."

Lana hugged R.O.B. "You're the real Robot Master, R.O.B.!"

"Awww..." R.O.B. said. If he were human, he would have blushed.

That evening, Captain N & The Video Game Masters performed a concert on the world of Gyromite. In fact, it was in front of the mountain that they had found R.O.B. in. Many of Gyromite's citizens came to hear the band play, but the bigger reason they came was to see Professor Hector and R.O.B.

Kevin, Lana, Mike, and Stacey - dressed in their black band attire - turned on their microphones.

"Good evening." Kevin said. "Our concert tonight is dedicated to our three new friends - Professor Hector, - "

A loud cheer and applause came from the crowd.

" - Professor Vector, - "

A few people clapped their hands.

" - and R.O.B., the Robotic Operating Buddy!"

This time, the cheering and applause were extremely loud.

"Let's do it!" Kevin said. "1, 2, 3, 4!"

The band started off by playing the title screen music from Gyromite. Then they played the music from the Test and Direct Modes. After that, they played the Game A music and the Game B music. They played all of that three times, then played the music that you hear when the screen comes up showing how many lives you have left. They concluded with the two notes on the Select screen.

The crowd gave a massive cheer and applause. The band members took a bow.

"You guys are great!" R.O.B. said.

They grinned.

GAME OVER