Saturday, October 9, 1993, 8:00 AM

"Where's the Kid?" Mike asked.

He and the rest of the N Team were eating breakfast. Kid Icarus was the only N Team member besides Mega Man and Gameboy, who didn't need to eat to live, who wasn't at the table.

"He went to Mount Icarus." Kevin replied. "He didn't say why."

"Everyone likes to be home once in a while. Maybe that was the case." Lana guessed.

Just then, Mega Man ran into the room. "We have a mega message from Dr. Shiroshi! She says it's important!"

The N Teamsters followed Mega Man to the Communications room. Gameboy was already there. Li's face was on the viewscreen, and she didn't look too happy.

"Where's Kid Icarus?" she asked.

"He went to Mount Icarus, why?" Lana asked.

"This is not good." Li replied.

"What's 'not good?'" Mike asked.

"I recorded the messages you got yesterday." Li said. "I'll play the most recent one."

The image of Li disappeared. Dr. Wily's and Judas Icarus' faces were now on the screen.

"I'd be a little more polite if I were you." Dr. Wily said. He called to two of his robots. They came into view with a small child. The child had brown eyes, black hair, and white wings. "Micah's life depends on your performance."

"That creep!" Lana exclaimed.

"We challenge you to an all-out battle in the Mount Icarus coliseum." the image of Dr. Wily continued. "You and Judas will fight each other using only the weapons and armor the gladiators use when they fight in the arena. Should you decide not to show up, the pipsqueak here faces a slow and rather unpleasent death."

The image changed back to Li's face. "The fight takes place at noon today. Kid Icarus and his brother will die unless Kid kills Judas."

"That's awful!" Lana said. "I never would've thought Dr. Wily was twisted enough to think up something so cruel!"

"I have a feeling Wily has a trick or two up his sleeve." Li said. "I'm going to go and see what he's up to."

"We'd better go, too. You might need some help," Kevin said.

Li nodded and ended the transmission.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Judas said.

He and Dr. Wily were in Wily's lab in Skull Castle.

"We had an agreement." Wily said. "Either you kill him, or he kills you."

"I can't kill Kid! He's my son!" Judas was shocked and angry.

"You can and you will!" Wily said. "I can control your actions, remember? You will do as I ask whether you do it willingly or by force!"

Judas opened his mouth as if to reply, then shut it, unable to think of anything to say.

"We must hurry and get ready. We only have one hour until the fight begins." Wily said.

He opened a warp to the Mount Icarus coliseum, and he, Judas, and Guts Man, who was holding Micah, jumped through.

Kid Icarus stood in the coliseum. He wore silver armor that somewhat resembled the armor of a Roman gladiator on Kevin's planet during the time of the great Roman empire.

"Kid!" a soprano voice called. Li ran up to the small archer.

"Li! What are you doing here-icus?!" Kid Icarus asked.

"I recorded the message." Li answered. "I recorded the message you got last night. The rest of the N Team and my robots are gonna see what Wily's really up to while I look for your brother."

"Wily didn't say anything about Micah being my brother." Kid Icarus said.

"He looks almost exactly like Judas. He'd have to be your brother, wouldn't he?" Li asked.

"I guess." Kid replied.

"The N Team will be here soon." Li said. "Good luck!" Li walked away, leaving Kid Icarus alone with his thoughts.

The arena was as packed as a VGM concert. It seemed as if all of Mount Icarus had come to watch its hero fight. The N Team and Li Shiroshi's robots sat nearest to the combat area of the arena. Li was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Li?" Kevin asked. "She said she'd be here."

"She went to talk to the Kid." Michael replied. "Other than that, I have no idea what she's doing."

"I think I see her." Simon had pulled a pair of binoculars from his backpack and was concentrating on a spot on the opposite side of the arena. "Yep, that's her, all right." He whistled.

Lana smiled and shook her head.

"What is she doing over there?" Kevin asked.

"She's in the back rows now. I can't see her anymore." Simon replied, putting the binoculars back in his backpack.

"I hope she knows what she's doing." Rick said.

Li Shiroshi looked around, trying to spot Dr. Wily.

"That S.O.B. sure knows how to hide." Li said to herself. Then she saw him. Wily was seated in one of the middle rows.

"What did you do with my son?" Judas asked.

"I trapped him in some old building." Wily replied. "Guts Man is guarding him. He won't be going anywhere for a while."

"Just don't hurt him." Judas said.

"Of course not." Wily promised.

Li tried her best to keep her anger from showing. She made sure no one was watching her, then left the arena.

Guts Man leaned on the door to an old house, blocking it. The other exits were blocked as well.

"You can't keep me in here forever! My brother will save me!"

"Shut up, kid!" Guts Man yelled. "Your brother will be dead within five minutes!"

"That's what he thinks." Li whispered to herself. She pulled a device out of her lab coat pocket. "This holograph disguise had better work. I've spent the past three months on it."

Guts Man heard footsteps ahead of him. Dr. Wily ran up to him, panting heavily.

"The N team is attacking Skull Castle!" Wily said.. "Stop them! They'll ruin everything!" Dr. Wily opened a warp to Skull Castle, and Guts Man jumped through. When the warp closed, Wily disappeared and was replaced by Li Shiroshi. "Micah? You okay?" she asked.

"Who're you?" Micah asked.

"My name is Li. I know your brother." Li replied. "You might want to move to the back of this building for a minute. Wily did a good job of bolting this door shut."

Micah's footsteps could be heard as he moved back. Li took a few steps back, aimed her gun at the door, and fired. The door exploded from the laser's impact.

"You can come out now." Li said.

Micah walked through the doorway. "Where's my brother?"

"In the arena." Li replied.

"He's gonna die, isn't he?" Micah asked.

Unless Judas comes to his senses, Li thought. She kneeled beside Micah and places her right hand on his left shoulder. "No one's gonna die, not if the N Team and my robots can help it." Li led Micah back to the coliseum.

Kid Icarus and Judas stood facing each other in the center of the coliseum, about a meter or two apart from each other, waiting for the signal to start the fight. It was obvious Kid Icarus wasn't too happy about the idea of fighting his own father. Judas looked somewhere between worried and nervous.

A flare arrow was shot, signaling the beginning of the fight. Dr. Wily pulled his mind-controlling device from his lab coat pocket. Judas screamed in pain and began attacking. Kid Icarus was prepared this time. He used his sword to block all of Judas' blows. Kid Icarus didn't attack back. He just couldn't bring himself to fight his own father.

"Is this the best you can do?" Judas asked.

"I won't fight you." Kid Icarus replied, blocking his father's sword with his own.

"I think you would if you knew the truth about what happened to your mother." Judas said.

"How would you know what happened to Mother?" Kid Icarus asked, ducking to avoid an overhead blow.

"Wily told you, remember? I was there." Judas answered. "Dr. Wily had me take charge of six of his robots and had me go through a section of Mount Icarus. I had orders to kill anyone and everyone who opposed Wily or helped the N Team."

"No! You didn't!" Kid Icarus exclaimed in half-shock, half-anger as what Judas was conveying sank in.

"Yes! You'll be happy to know that she died honorably." Judas snickered.

Kid was too shocked to speak or react in time to block Judas' next blow. Kid Icarus was whacked on his left wing and shoulder by the side of Judas' sword blade. Judas had Kid Icarus backed up against a wall. He drew back his sword, then hesitated, as if an invisible hand had kept him from thrusting the sword into Kid's heart. Kid Icarus didn't notice the hesitation. He dropped his sword.

"I guess it ends here-icus." Kid said, taking his helmet and armor off. He was now wearing his usual toga and sandals. "Let's get this stupid fight over with."

Judas thrust his sword into the arena wall, just above Kid's right wing. He threw his helmet towards the opposite side of the arena. Kid thought he could see tears in Judas' eyes.

"Father?" Kid Icarus looked up at his father with concern.

Judas hugged his son, sobbing. "Kid, please forgive me."

"Father, it's okay." Kid tried to comfort his dad.

"What are you doing?!" Wily shouted from his seat. "Kill him!"

Judas threw a money pouch across the arena. "Take your money! I quit!"

"That's what you think!" Wily said. He searched his lab coat pockets. "Where is that thing?"

"Lookin' for this." Michael held what used to be Dr. Wily's mind-control device.

"You'll pay for that!" Dr. Wily exclaimed.

He got to his feet. Eight robots kept the N Team busy while Guts Man flew by in Dr. Wily's saucer and teleported the evil scientist up.

"Now what?" Lana asked when the last of the robots had been destroyed.

"Hey, guysicus!" Kid Icarus and Judas walked up to Li's robots and the N Team. "Where'd Wily go?"

"He retreated, as usual." Simon replied.

"Where's Micah?" Judas asked.

"Right here." Li replied as she and Micah ran up to the group. "Where's Wily?"

"He, like, flew the coop." Stacey replied.

"What do we do now?" Lana asked.

"I say we go home." Kevin replied. "We still need to practice for tonight's concert." He used his warp zone opener to open a warp to the N Team's house.

The N Team, along with Judas, Micah, Li, and her robots, jumped through the warp.

"So, Judas, what are you going to do now that you're not under Dr.Wily's control?" Lana asked.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking about visiting Kongoland. It's just about the only video world I haven't ticked off."

Lana, Judas, Kid Icarus, and Mega Man were sitting on the living room couch. Judas, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus were all short, so there was plenty of room for each person. Micah was asleep in Kid Icarus' room.

"You were under Dr. Wily's control when you lead those attacks." Kid Icarus said. "I'm sure they'd forgive you if they knew."

Judas shook his head. "I'm not so sure. Not everyone is as quick to forget as you."

Lana put her left hand on Judas' right shoulder. "Everyone back in the coliseum saw you turn against Dr. Wily. They heard him when he talked about controlling you. Would you place blame on someone who wasn't at fault?"

Judas shook his head.

"Hey, Lana." Kevin walked into the room. "Come on, we need to practice for the concert tonight."

"Right." Lana replied. She stood up, and she and Kevin left the room.

"Practice for what?" Judas asked.

"Captain N, the Princess, and two of their Earth friends have a mega band that playes every now and then." Mega Man answered. "One of their concerts is tonight." Mega Man stood up and left the room, leaving Kid Icarus alone with his father.

"Why'd you join Wily's side in the first place?" Kid asked.

"At the time, a week after Lana trapped Mother Brain in the cellar of Baseball World, Dr. Wily visited Mount Icarus." Judas answered. "He had me and a few others convinced that he had turned to the good side and asked us to join him to elimate another threat. He put something in my brain which forced me to fight on his side regardless of whether I wanted to or not." Judas shrugged. "Your archery skills have improved since I first taught you."

"That was six years ago." Kid Icarus said.

"Six long years." Judas said.

"I knowicus." Kid said. "Never was a dull moment during the war."

"Which one?" Judas asked.

"Both." Kid replied.

"A lot happened during the wars." Judas said. "Many lives were lost."

"And many were changed." Kid Icarus added.

"I remember the day you joined the N Team." Judas said.

"That was a week after I defeated Medusa." Kid Icarus said. "I remember first seeing Mega Man. That was my first encounter with a roboticus. Scared the heck out of me!" Kid Icarus laughed.

Judas also laughed. "What do you think my first reaction was?"

The Mount Icarus coliseum was filled to capacity. Every seat was taken. The N Team, along with Dr. Right and his robots, Judas and Micah Icarus, Li, and her 'bots sat in the front row on the side facing the band in the following order: Simon, Duke, Gameboy, Li, Kid Icarus, Judas Icarus, Micah Icarus, Mega Man, Proto Man, Mega Girl, Riff, Rush, Eddie, Beat, Chord, Michael, Jazz, Tempo, Rick, Romeo, and Julius.

The band members were standing in the center of the coliseum. Kevin, Lana, Mike, and Stacy were dressed in black pants, black shoes, black t-shirts, and black leather jackets. They were talking about the concert and whatever else came to mind.

"Remember when Judas told Wily to take his money back?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah." Lana replied. "What about it?"

"It just came to me." Kevin replied. "There's a story back home about a man named Judas Iscariot who betrayed someone for thirty silver coins." Kevin chuckled. "Talk about a coincidence!"

Everyone laughed. They turned on their microphones.

"Our first tune tonight is, like, dedicated to one of our fellow members of the N Team, Kid Icarus!" Stacey said.

The crowd cheered and applauded.

"His father, Judas!"

More cheers came from the crowd.

"See? They've forgiven you already." Kid whispered to his dad.

"And his little brother, Micah!" Stacey finished.

The crowd cheered and applauded again.

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

The band played the beginning and ending theme music from the NES Kid Icarus game. When the tune was finished, the audience stood and cheered.

GAME OVER