Princess Lana: "It's pay or play when a conniving Mother Brain and Dr. Wily use Kevin and some friends to cheat their way into a football game for our lives!"

On the robotic world of Megaland, the evil Dr. Wily is deep inside Skull Castle cooking up mega trouble for Captain N and his friends.

Dr. Wily, Mother Brain, King Hippo, and the Eggplant Wizard were all gathered in Wily's lab.

"My new power vacuum is a work of pure genius, if I do say so myself." Wily said of his latest invention, which the four villains were all gathered around.

"What does it do?" Mother Brain asked, looking at the machine with curiosity.

"It harnesses the greatest source of power in all Videoland." Wily smiled. "Competition energy, generated from playing games!"

"Hmph, never heard of it!" Mother Brain said, not believing Wily's claim.

"Of course not! I just discovered it!" Wily said, raising his arms in the air. "Allow me to demonstrate." He turned. "All right, Metal Man!"

A chamber opened behind King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard, and Metal Man walked out.

"Whoa." King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard said.

The blade on Metal Man's forehead began spinning.

Hippo and Eggy yelled, and Eggy held onto Dr. Wily.

"Don't blow your stem, Eggplant!" Wily said. "All you have to do is defeat Metal Man!"

Eggy turned and saw Metal Man send Metal Blades at him.

King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard ran, screaming, as Metal Man kept firing.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wily's power vacuum was collecting energy.

"Pure, condensed competition energy." Wily told Mother Brain. "As long as they compete, they give off invisible energy." He wheezed. "And the power vacuum mucks it right up!"

"Stop that racket!" Mother Brain ordered Hippo and Eggy.

Hippo and Eggy grabbed hold of each other as some Metal Blades cut into the wall right in back of them.

Then Metal Man stopped firing, and his hands reappeared.

"So, you have a bottle full of competition energy. So what?" Mother Brain asked.

"If I can get this much energy - " wheeze " - from one robot and that idiotic vegetable of yours, think what I can get from Captain Nitwit and his pals! I'm gonna turn his love of games into a curse," he continued, pulling the level on his machine with his left hand, "that'll send him and his whole N Gang - " wheeze " - into the Earthquake Zone!"

The power vacuum started ringing.

Mother Brain smiled. "I like it!"

At the Palace of Power, Kevin was leaning against a window, staring out into space. By the expression on his face, his mind was far away.

Duke barked.

"What a gloomicus." Kid Icarus said.

"I think he's homesick for that California place." Lana said.

Just then, Mega Man skated by on a homemade skateboard. "This'll mega cheer Captain N up." He winked. "Wow, dude! Skaters rule!"

Kevin turned around. He smiled. "All right!"

Kevin put on the elbow and knee pads and the helmet.

He caught the skateboard in his hands. "Cool, did you make this, Mega Man?"

"Just like you told me, mondo nose." Mega Man replied.

Kevin gave him a thumbs-up with his right hand, then took off on the skateboard.

Gameboy came near Mega Man. "Mondo nose does not compute. Please reenter data." He beeped.

"You'll have to get Kevin to teach your Californish, Gameboy." the robot responded.

Kevin skated onto a wall, then back onto the floor. "Check out this inverted kickflip!" he told everyone.

"Whoa, he's mega rad!" Mega Man exclaimed.

Kevin returned to them, got off the board, caught it in his hands, and knelt down in front of Mega Man. "Thanks, Mega Man! I love it!"

"May I try?" Lana asked.

Kevin stood up and handed her the skateboard. "Go for it, Princess."

Dr. Wily laughed, watching Lana clumsily skateboard on his monitor. "You ninnies are gonna game yourselves - " wheeze " - right into the Earthquake Warp Zone!"

He pressed a button on the control panel. A spotlight turned on.

Wily walked onto a small stage he had dressed up to look like a beach. He activated a robot he had created that looked somewhat like a valley girl.

"Oh, really? Like, gag me with a spoon!" the robot said in a perfect valley accent.

Dr. Wily rubbed his hands together. "Time to begin."

Lana was wearing the elbow and knee pads and the helmet as she skated.

"How am I doing?!" she asked, looking to the others with a smile.

The others shouted warnings at her.

Lana looked straight ahead again. "Huh?!"

She was heading right for the living room doors.

Simon walked by with a bowl of popcorn and the remote control. "Hey, fellas, it's time for - " He gasped.

Lana smashed right into him, and they both fell through the double doors!

Simon yelled.

"Uh-oh!" Kevin yelled. He and the others rushed into the living room.

"Castlevania Bandstand!" Simon finished, turning on the TV with the remote.

He had landed on the couch, and Lana had landed right on top of him!

Lana looked at the TV with the others.

"They are Videoland's cold-cold-coldest new group - the Ungrateful Undead!" the host announced.

On the TV screen, a band of zombies were performing.

Then the picture fuzzed up.

Simon sat up. "Darn, that's my favorite song!"

The robotic valley girl Dr. Wily created appeared on the screen. "Oh, like, get in on this totally tubular offer - seven tickets for a rad day on California Games world! It's, like, so much fun! Just vidspeak me the name of California's most gnarly valley!"

Kevin pointed at the TV with his left index finger. "Hey, I know that! The San Fernando Valley!"

The robot pointed at Kevin with her right index finger. "Yo, dude, way to go!"

The picture fuzzed up again momentarily, then the Ungrateful Undead were shown performing again.

Tickets came out of a slot below the TV screen. Kevin went and got them.

"Seven tickets! That's even one for Duke!" Kevin said, walking back over to the rest of the N Team.

Dr. Wily laughed. "Of course! I wouldn't want you to leave that mangy mutt behind!" He pressed a button on his control panel, then spun around in his chair and got up. He walked over to a warp. "All right, line up! Time to get movin'!"

A whole bunch of Dr. Wily's robotic creations went into the warp.

Dr. Wily rubbed his hands together as he laughed. "Captain Nitwit's gonna be one sorry California dude!" Then he jumped into the warp.

Unaware of Dr. Wily's evil plan, the N Team arrives on the sunny world of California Games.

A warp opened, and the N Team came out.

Kevin and Simon were dressed only in swimming trunks. Kevin's was green with a while stripe. Simon's was green with yellow smiley faces. Simon also had a white towel around his neck. Lana was wearing a green and pink bathing suit, her crown, earrings, necklace, and bracelets.

Kevin smiled. "Hey, this is cool! Just like being back home!"

Duke barked in agreement.

"All right, dudes and dudet, surf's up!" Kevin yelled, running to the surfboards. "Geronimo!"

Duke, running along with Kevin, barked.

Kevin grabbed a surfboard, and he and Duke ran out to the water.

"Oh, I'm so glad Kevin's happy again!" Lana said. "That means he'll stay with us a little longer!"

"I certainly hope not!" Simon replied.

"Oh, Simon, we're on vacation! Let's just have fun!" Lana said, running to catch up with Kevin.

The N Team had a blast! Kevin and Lana went surfing - on one board. Simon screamed as he was being chased by a shark. Mega Man was rollerskating, dodging the banana peels in his way. He didn't dodge the beachball, though.

He fell and was thrown forward on his stomach. "Whoa! Waah! Waah!"

Duke smiled as he passed Mega Man and crossed the finish line, winning the race.

Kevin skateboarded up one side of the ramp, marked with the word "RAD", then back down again. Then Kid Icarus skated up, then down again. Kevin skated up the other end of the ramp, then back down again. Kid Icarus skated up - and kept going! He used he wings to fly upside-down in the air.

Kevin stopped and stood where he was, watching in amazement. "Huh?!"

Dr. Wily had set up base in the basement of a hot dog stand.

Right now, he was sitting in front of a monitor.

Wily laughed. "Good work, Ninny Team!"

He picked up a small energy meter in his left hand. The meter had four large dots on it. Two of the dots were lit.

"You're building up enough game energy for me to knock ya right into the Earthquake Zone! Because, thanks to my new map of Videoland, I can open and shut warp zones at will!" He wheezed. "Just as soon as all these energy jars are full!" He got up and smiled. "Time to up the competition a little!"

There were two large blue doors in the wooden floor. Wily opened them.

Two robots that had clown faces and one that looked like a monkey came out.

"Go to it, my lovelies!" Wily said, pointing at the ladder.

The three robots climb up the ladder, out of the basement.

Kevin and Lana were racing on bicycles outside, with Kevin on Lana's right.

The two clown robots followed them on bikes of their own.

One of them passed Lana on her left. The other passed Kevin on his right.

"Off the road, you N Team slowpokes!" the one that passed Lana told them.

"Hey, what are Geargoyles doing here? They're from Megaland." Kevin said.

"I don't know, but they're not gonna make a clown out of me!" Lana said, and she sped up to try and pass them.

Dr. Wily was looking at his energy meter. "Wonderful! My lovelies are doubling the energy!" He wheezed. "I'll be filled to capacity in no time flat!"

Kevin, Lana, Simon, Kid Icarus, and Duke gathered together.

Kevin coughed. "Our vacation is turning into a real bummer!"

Mega Man and Gameboy came by. Mega Man was on rollerskates. Gameboy was wearing giant sunglasses.

Suddenly, two flying robots with propellers came behind them and pushed them.

"Look out!" Kevin and Lana yelled.

They all ducked as the robots flew over them.

Mega Man landed on his stomach again, and Gameboy's shades were crooked.

Mega Man raised his left fist in the air. "I'll bet Wily's behind this!"

Lana sighed. "Oh, they spoiled everything! The games just aren't fun anymore!"

"No, no, no, no, no, don't stop! I need more energy!" Wily yelled, then he laughed. "I guess I'll have to switch to my backup plan." He switched some cables on his newest invention. "It'll use up some energy, but at least I can put my Warp Zone Shifter through a little test run." Wily laughed again. "This'll keep 'em on California World for as long as I want."

The N Teamsters had dressed back in their normal clothes, and they were packing up to leave.

Just then, they heard a sound.

Kevin looked in the direction it was coming from. "I don't believe it!"

He stood up as the others asked what was going on.

A building was appearing on the beach!

"That's Northridge High!" Kevin yelled, and took off towards it. "That's my school!"

The others were following him.

It was a white building with blue windows and doors. On one of the walls, written in red, was "NORTHRIDGE HIGH GYM".

Pretty soon, the N Teamsters left the sand of the beach, and their feet touched the green grass surrounding the gym.

They arrived at the steps. Four people were standing there.

On the left was a huge fat guy. Some of his teeth were visible, even though his mouth was closed. He was wearing a football uniform. His pants were a light-blue. He was wearing a dark-blue belt. His jersey was red. His number, written in white on the front, was 00. The jersey had a white trim at the neck area. The guy was wearing a blue neck protector of some sort. He was wearing a pair of gray fingerless gloves on his hands. He was wearing a red football helmet. There was a white stripe going from front to back on the center of the helmet. On both sides were a large white dot with a blue "N" inside it.

To the huge guy's left, there stood a shorter black guy. He was still pretty tall, though. He had short hair, and it was shaved from ear to ear in the center of the back of his head. He was holding his football helmet under his left arm. His pants were a light-blue, his belt was a dark-blue, and his jersey number was 12. He had white bands around his wrists and a white towel tucked into the front of his pants.

To his left was a blonde girl dressed in a cheerleadering outfit. It was blue. Her long sleeve sweater that she wore over it was red, and it had a large white "N" on the front. She was wearing long gold earrings, kind of like Lana's. Her long blonde hair fell on both sides of her neck, down over the front of her sweater. It was long in the back, also. Some of it was kept in a blue hairband near the top of her head.

Standing in back of the black football player and the cheerleader was another guy, taller than the black guy. He had short blond hair and some freckles on his face. He was holding his football helmet under his left arm. His pants were white, his belt was a dark-blue, and his jersey number was 51. He was also wearing a blue neck protector, and he had white bands around his wrists.

The girl smiled. "Hey! Aren't you that video game whiz who helped me study for my Algebra test?!" she asked. She definitely sounded like a valley girl.

Lana frowned as she watched Kevin. This girl obviously knew him.

Kevin ran his right hand through his hair. "Hi, Stacey! You remember! It was just that one time, and when I asked you for a date, you were busy, but - "

"Your name's Kerwin, right?!" Stacey guessed.

Kevin laughed. "Uh, no, Kevin. Kevin Keene."

Simon took up his whip and snagged a bouquet of roses from nearby. He walked up to Stacey, smiling, and bowed. "And I'm Simon Belmont, Vampire Hunter, at your service!"

Stacey screamed, moving closer to the black guy and putting her hands on his chest. "You hunt vampires?!"

The black guy gasped, then put his right hand on his chin as he thought.

Then he smiled. "Yo, now I remember! You're on the junior varsity swim team, right?"

Simon was busy smiling and smelling the bouquet of roses.

Kevin pointed at the black guy with his right index finger. "And you're Rick Walker, captain of the varsity football team!" He spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Hey, welcome to Videoland!" he told the four of them.

"Yeah, right, Videoland! And I'm the King of California!" the huge fat guy said sarcastically.

He shook the blond guy's right hand with his right as they both laughed.

"Huh?" Kevin asked as Lana walked forward.

The Ruler of Videoland bowed. "Welcome, Your Majesty! I'm Princess Lana!"

"And if I'm dreaming, don't wake me up!" the blonde guy said. He was in love.

Kevin laughed. "It's no dream! I dunno how you got here, but you're here!" he said, pointing at them with his right index finger.

"But this doesn't make sense." Rick said. "A minute ago, we came out of the gym for Saturday football practice." He and Stacey looked around. "Now we're at the beach?"

Mega Man turned and looked at Kevin. "I've got a feeling mega trouble's coming, Captain N."

Stacey held onto Rick again.

"Duh, who's Captain N?" the huge guy asked. He pointed at Kid Icarus. "This short kid in the fairy wings?!" He laughed.

"Of course not. Kevin is Captain N." Lana said with a smile.

Kevin ran his right hand through his hair again. "That's - that's kind of a nickname they gave me around here."

Then the entire N Team turned and gasped.

A trio of Lightning Lords, robots of Dr. Wily's from Megaland, were flying toward them.

"Hit the dirt, everybody!" Kevin yelled.

Everyone except Rick ran away, yelling.

Rick made a fist with his right hand. "This better not be some kind of joke!"

Kevin turned around and ran to Rick. "If it is, the joke's definately on us!"

He pushed Rick down, and they narrowly missed the Lightning Lords' fire.

The Lightning Lords continued flying and firing at all of them.

Kevin and Rick looked up and gasped.

When the Lightning Lords turned and came back again, Kevin stood up and fired at them. The three robots disappeared with a blipping sound.

"Huh?!" Simon asked.

Stacey gasped.

Kevin holstered his Zapper. "Those lugnuts were just a nuisance before, but now they're getting downright nasty!"

"Man, you're sure not the Kevin Keene I remember!" Rick said.

Kevin smiled, running his right hand through his hair again. "Uh, I - I think we'll be safer inside." he said, pointing at the gym doors. "Whoa!"

"I think maybe you're right." Rick said, then turned and ran. "Let's move it, guys!"

A giant mechanical bulldog was running toward them.

Kevin motioned to the others. "Go, go! I'm right behind you!"

The others ran inside the gym, screaming.

Kevin faced the bulldog again, and yelled.

When the bulldog got closer, it breathed two fireballs out of its nose at Kevin.

Kevin dodged them and fire his Zapper twice at two palm trees.

The palm trees fell to the ground.

The bulldog breathed two more fireballs. They hit the palm trees and set them on fire.

Kevin gasped.

The bulldog ran through the fire, unharmed, and continued towards Kevin.

Rick was holding a door open for Kevin. Kevin ran inside.

Rick looked at the bulldog. "Yeow!" He closed the door, right before another fireball arrived.

Dr. Wily was looking at his small energy meter. Only one of the dots were lit now.

"Stop that!" Wily yelled, then wheezed. "I used up half my energy supply getting Captain Nitwit's friends here!" He wheezed again.

Mother Brain was watching Wily on her mirror on Metroid. "Do I have to be with you every single second to get things done right?!"

"Yes, Mother Brain." Eggplant Wizard replied.

King Hippo looked at him angrily.

"Uh, I - I mean, no Mother Brain!" Eggy corrected.

"Shut up!" Mother Brain yelled. "I better get to California World before Wily ruins everything!" She laughed as her jar began to spin, and she went down through the floor. "I always wanted to go to high school!"

Hippo and Eggy yelled as an explosion occurred. They looked down into the floor, then they yelled again as a bright light appeared.

"Huh?" Eggy asked, looking at Hippo.

Mother Brain was riding on a three-wheel motorcycle! She was using her tentacles to control the handle bars. The words "BRAIN LORDS M.C." were on a sign on the top of her jar.

Mother Brain laughed. "Just call me Big Momma Prom Queen!"

She lifted up the front wheel. King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard yelled and ran away. Mother Brain drove away.

Kevin, his friends, and the rest of the N Yeam were gathered in the gym.

"You expect us to believe we're inside a video game?!" Rick asked. "That's pretty hard to swallow, Keene!"

"Hey, I didn't believe it either when I first got here!" Kevin admitted.

Stacey put her left arm near Kevin's neck and her right arm around his back. "Well, I think it sounds just too, too romantic! Tell me more, Kevy!"

Lana, her arms crossed, looked away in jealousy.

"Captain N!" a voice called.

Kevin and Stacey turned, and they and Lana looked to see where the voice had come from.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the voice continued. "I've called a short time-out."

Mega Man opened the right door, and they came out of the gym and onto the steps. It was Dr. Wily. A huge hologram of him from the waist up was in the sky.

"Time-out from what, Wily?" Kevin asked.

"Why, from our contest, of course. The winner-take-all version of the California Games! My team against yours." Wily wheezed. "If we win, we get the Palace of Power and the Throne of Videoland."

"I know you got some dirty trick up your sleeve, Wily." Kevin said. "We won't play, no way!"

"Oh, yes way!" Wily said, then laughed. "I'll give you five minutes to think it over. While we wait, perhaps you'd like a little...entertainment." The hologram disappeared.

The same two robots with propellers that had knocked Mega Man and Gameboy down earlier now came by and fired purple-pink laser beams and everyone.

They all yelled as they ran back into the gym, and Kevin closed the door behind him.

They put tables, chairs, and mattresses in front of the doors and some of the windows so they couldn't be opened.

Parts of the roof crumbled and fell.

Lana and Stacey picked up another red mattress.

The blond guy came by. "Stick close, ladies. I'll take care of you." He took hold of the mattress, and Stacey let go.

Simon came by and took hold of the mattress. "Her Adorablenesses don't need you to take care of them when Simon Belmont's around!"

Lana let go of the mattress, also.

Stacey folded her hands together, smiling. "Oh, my! You're both so gallant!" She had put the stress on the second syllable. "Which one should we choose, Lana?"

Lana laughed. "Be my guess, take both of them!" She winked.

Stacey put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"Let go!" Simon yelled, pulling on the mattress.

"I had it first; you let go!" the blond guy yelled.

Lana walked over to Kevin.

Just then, one of the propeller robots smashed through a window and flew into the gym.

When Simon, Stacey, and the blond guy noticed it, they ran away, yelling.

"Somebody help!" the blond guy yelled.

"Get that thing away from me!" Simon yelled. "My hair!"

The robot began firing at them.

Kevin, Lana, and Gameboy gasped.

The robot continued chasing the two of them across the gym, firing.

"Maybe he needs a netting lesson." Kid Icarus suggested. He fired one of his net arrows at the robot.

The tip came off, and the net expanded. It covered the robot.

The robot, unable to fly any longer, fell down into a trash can, where it exploded.

Everyone just stood, looking at it, for a moment.

Then the blond guy walked back over to Rick and the huge guy. "Rick, we gotta bust out of here and make a run for it!"

Rick tapped the blond guy on the back of the head with his right index finger. "You been playing without a helmet again, Romeo? Where we gonna run to?"

The huge guy looked at Rick. "Duh, let's crunch 'em!"

Rick looked at him. "How? Those roboprops have got us outmanned and outpowered."

"Captain N will know what to do." Mega Man said, walking past them with a huge stack of mattresses.

The huge guy stood up, threw down the chair he was holding, and walked over to Kevin. "Duh, no computer wimp on the tiddly winks squad is gonna tell me what to do!"

Kevin tapped him on the chest with his right index finger. "It's the swim team, dude!"

The huge guy grabbed hold of Kevin's jacket with his left hand. "Well, la-dee-da! How'd you earn this? Doin' a belly flop?!" He laughed.

"Hey, chill, will ya?!" Rick said, walking forward. He pulled the huge guy away from Kevin.

Lana walked over to them, her hands on her hips. "Hey, we asked for the best from your world, and the Ultimate Warp Zone chose Kevin as our Game Master!"

The other N Teamsters shouted their support of Kevin, as well.

Rick looked at Kevin. "Okay, Keene. A good quarterback knows when to fall back. Let's see what all that video game playing taught you." He pointed at Kevin with his right index finger. "It's your call."

"Well, I - I - I say we fight!" Kevin said. "Only let's play a game we have a chance at winning." He raised his right arm. "Football!"

Rick was surprised.

So was the rest of the N Team.

Dr. Wily was watching this all on the monitor to the right of his Warp Zone Shifter.

He laughed and wheezed. "Just a few moments more,...and they'll all be mine."

A warp opened in the basement of the hot dog stand, and Mother Brain rode out on his motorcycle.

Dr. Wily pressed his hands against her glass jar.

"Wily, when do we pass the Nuisance Team into the Earthquake Zone?" she asked impatiently.

Dr. Wily threw his arms into the air. "As soon as those N Jerks start playing again!"

"I don't want any slip-ups!" Mother Brain warned.

"Trust me. When the jars are full, the Warp Zone Shifter will shut down every warp on California World but one." He pointed at the map of Videoland with a pointer. "This one," he said, laughing, "right here in this hot dog stand."

"So, while they're running around here looking for a warp door out of here, we'll be long gone!" Mother Brain caught on.

"Just remember, we only got sixty seconds," Wily said, then wheezed and picked up a golden whistle with his right hand, "from the time I blow this whistle." He blew it, and his white hair flew wildly.

Mother Brain drove Dr. Wily to the school.

Wily hopped off. "We've come to get your answer, Captain Numbskull!" he called, then wheezed. "What'll it be, play or pay!"

Kevin looked at his friends and smiled. "C'mon, we better get outta there before the Brain Lord blows a gasket. Helmets on!"

Kevin, Simon, and Mega Man got dressed in football uniforms, and Rick, Romeo, Simon, and Kid Icarus put their helmets on.

Kevin was wearing jersey number 7. Simon was wearing number 61. Mega Man was wearing number 3. Both Kevin and Simon wore blue neck protectors.

As the others started to go outside, Kevin was about to put on his football helmet.

Then Stacey walked by on his left. She closed her eyes and kissed Kevin on the cheek, real audibly.

Kevin's eyes widened. He blinked and blushed.

Stacey smiled. "Kevin, I just want you to know: whatever happens," Stacey covered her mouth with her right hand, "I think you're terrific!"

"Uh, thanks, Stace." Kevin said. He looked at her with a smile as she went over to Lana.

Stacey took hold of Lana's right arm and giggled. "C'mon, Lana! We can do a cheer while the boys play ball!"

Lana pulled her arm away and returned the giggle. "No, thank you, Stacey. I'm gonna see what Dr. Wily's really up to."

Stacey shrugged and walked outside.

Kevin and Lana watched her go.

"Uh, I better tell Gameboy to keep an eye on her." Kevin said. "She could get in trouble." He ran his right hand through his hair again.

Lana turned to him and smiled. "I hope that means you're gonna keep your eye on the game."

Kevin became serious and took his hand off his head. "Promise you'll be careful, Lana."

Lana faced him. "I will. You, too, okay?"

Kevin nodded, smiling, and walked outside.

The players were standing in front of the gym.

"Okay, Wily, we play. But only if it's our game - football!" Kevin said.

Dr. Wily smiled. "Whatever you say, Captain N. Oh, I forgot to tell you..."

The players looked to their right and gasped.

All of the Robot Masters from Mega Man II came out of a warp and were coming towards them.

"Geez. I hope I know enough cheers!" Stacey said worriedly.

The good guys were in a huddle near a goalpost, a good distance away from the Robot Masters.

"I know you explained football to them, Kevin, but are you sure they understand?" Simon asked.

"Well, look on the bright side, Simon." Kevin said. "At least we won the toss!"

Stacey was standing in the bleechers, and Gameboy was standing to her right.

Gameboy protected a bright, multi-colored hologram that read "N TEAM".

Stacey was holding her red and white pompons. She waved her arms and legs and did a cheer. "Gimme and 'N'! Gimme a 'Team'!"

The rest of the N Team also cheered.

Mother Brain and Dr. Wily were in the bleechers opposite Stacey, as well as some other monsters. The monsters were cheering for the Robot Masters.

"C'mon, play ball!" Mother Brain said impatiently.

Bubble Man ran up and kicked the ball. It went into the air.

Kevin caught it. He started running, with Simon and the huge guy in front of him.

Unfortunately, Air Man came by and blew the latter two away.

Kevin dodged Air Man's blasts of air with his Power Pad.

But then Quick Man threw his Quick Boomerang and knocked the ball out of Kevin's hands.

"Ow!" Kevin yelled.

Quick Man caught the ball and began running with it.

Kid Icarus swooped down, grabbed the ball, and flew back up again.

But then Wood Man shot out a vine, which curled around the archer's right leg.

Kid Icarus dropped the ball.

Rick was running to catch it, but Crash Man threw a Crash Bomb at him.

When Rick was knocked away by the blast, Crash Man caught the ball.

Simon and Mega Man chased him to the goal post, but Crash Man made a touchdown anyway.

The other monsters cheered, while Mother Brain and Dr. Wily just watched.

Romeo was running, and Kevin threw the ball to him.

Unfortunately, Heat Man fired at Romeo.

Romeo was hit in the butt and launched into the air!

Bubble Man intercepted the ball.

"No fair!" one of the monsters yelled.

Mega Man chased after Bubble Man, but the Robot Master blew a bubble at him.

It hit Mega Man in the face, and he fell on his stomach again, yelling.

Bubble Man made a touchdown.

Kevin was running with the ball, and Rick was running to his right.

But then Metal Man shot out Metal Blades at them.

Rick moved to his right, but the blades were still coming at him.

Kevin knocked him out of the way, but that meant he lost the ball.

Simon, however, caught the ball with his whip.

He held the ball in his left hand as he ran and made a touchdown.

Stacey jumped excitedly. "Gimme a 'Team'!"

The rest of the N Team also cheered.

Stacey waved her arms.

Gameboy was also excited. He only had a black "N" on his screen now, though.

The good players came together.

"We're getting clobbered out there, guys!" Kevin said.

Rick came up to him. "Hey, don't take it so hard, kid! We're holding our own!"

Kevin smiled. "Well, that's not good enough! I've got a better idea!" He turned to Mega Man. "Mega Man, do you think you can make it back to Megaland and bring back some firepower from Dr. Right?" he asked, making his right hand into a fist.

"I can sure mega try!" Mega Man said, and went off.

"Well, boy, looks like you're our eighth man!" Kevin said, putting a football helmet on Duke.

Duke barked happily.

Rick gave Kevin a thumbs-up with his left hand. "With your game moves and our grid-eye, we can't lose!"

"Well, then, let's do it!" Kevin said, giving Rick a high-five.

The team got in a huddle.

The large mechanical bulldog was asleep in front of the hot dog stand.

"I hope you like chasing things as much as Duke does." Lana said, and she threw a pink frisbee at it.

The dog woke up, barked, and took off after it.

Lana ran into the hot dog stand.

She knelt down on the floor and peered into the basement through the square hole. "What in Videoland is Wily up to now?!"

Lana climbed down the ladder. She looked at the energy jars.

"Oh, whatever it is, he's not gonna get away with if I can stop him, and I will!"

She turned to the Warp Zone Shifter and began pulling some cables out.

Mega Man came by on a small flying scooter. He dropped some type of climbing machine and another disc, then he took off again.

Kevin jumped on the disc. "I could use a lift about now."

He had the football and took off.

Rick was sitting on the climbing machine and trying to work the controls.

It was shaking.

"Whoa! This is what I call on-the-job training!" Rick said.

As Romeo and the huge guy were running on the ground, Kevin was hovering above them.

Metal Man was on the roof of the gym. He converted his hands to fire.

Rick used the machine to climb up the side of the building.

Metal Man backed away and began firing as Rick reached the roof.

Mega Man had the ball now. Both Heat Man and Wood Man missed him.

But Quick Man didn't.

His Quick Boomerang hit the scooter. Mega Man fell off and dropped the ball.

Duke made a leap and caught it, however. He carried it right over the goalpost, scoring a touchdown.

His bite also made a hole in the football, and all the air came out.

"Your rusty-brained clunkers are letting them win!" Mother Brain yelled at Dr. Wily.

Suddenly, Dr. Wily felt a burning pain. Black smoke was coming out of his lab coat. He screamed.

Then Wily took out his energy meter. All four dots were lit.

"Who cares?!" Wily said excitedly. "The energy is peaked!" He wheezed. "It's time!"

The good guys cheered their victory in the football game, and Kevin and Duke hugged.

Dr. Wily blew his golden whistle.

The good guys looked at the bad guys.

"What's that, a timeout?" Kevin asked.

Kevin, Rick, Romeo, Simon, and Kid Icarus took off their football helmets and watched.

The bad guys were all leaving the bleachers.

"All right, they're giving up?!" Rick asked.

"So long, suckers!" Wily called.

Simon walked over to Kevin and stood to his left. "Boy, they sure are sore losers!" he said with a smile.

Mother Brain was driving to the hot dog stand, with Wily standing on her bike for the ride. The Robot Masters were running with them.

The hot dog stand was giving off blue electrical sparks.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Mother Brain asked Wily.

The hot dog stand flashed, and a bright yellow ball of energy rose from it. It went over and covered Mother Brain and the rest of the bad guys.

Mother Brain yelled.

The bad guys were pulled towards the hot dog stand and began circling it clockwise. Soon, they were moving so fast, they couldn't even be seen.

"Oh, wow! That's really rad!" Stacey said.

She and the football players were watching from a safe distance.

Then the hot dog stand exploded.

The huge football player pinched his nose closed. "Oh, pee-yoo, what's that stink?!"

"Yuck!" Simon said, pinching his nose closed, too. Then he sniffed the air. "Oh, I've only smelled that putrid scent once before. It comes from the Landfill Warp Zone."

Kid Icarus laughed. "Maximum stinkius! That's where are the garbage in Videoland ends up!"

Everyone laughed.

Then that familiar sound was heard.

Stacey became worried. "Oh, no! Are we going to the Landfill World, too?!"

Just then, Lana came running by. "Don't worry! Dr. Wily's Warp Shifter just shifted into reverse! You're going home!"

"Duh, I'm outta here!" the huge guy yelled, turning and running back to the gym.

"Later, dudes!" Romeo said, following him.

Rick and Stacey started to follow them, then stopped and turned around.

"You're coming back with us, right?" Rick asked.

Kevin looked away and thought.

Stacey frowned. "C'mon, Kevy, what are you waiting for?!"

Kevin looked at them with a smile. "Not this time."

Stacey grew very sad, and her face showed it.

"I don't blame you, Captain N." Rick said. He walked over to Kevin. "I'll never forget this." He placed his right hand on Kevin's left shoulder and shook his left hand. "Look me up when you get back."

Then he and Stacey ran to the gym.

The others all took two steps back.

The familiar sound was heard, and Northridge High School disappeared, to be replaced by a rocky cliff.

Lana sighed. "They will, you know."

Kevin looked at her. "Will what?"

"Forget." Lana said. "It's automatic." She grew sad. "Well, so will you...when you go back."

"Uh, well - well, we won't have to worry about that for a - for a long time." Kevin assured her. He looked down at Duke with a smile. "Will we, Duke?"

Duke barked in agreement, smiling also.

Lana picked up a pair of pompons off the ground. "Kevin, are cheerleaders chosen for their nobility where you come from?"

"Uh, not exactly."

"Well, you seem very impressed with this...Stacey."

"Oh, well, I used to be, until I met you!" Kevin smiled. "Well, then life got twice as cool, and, and ten times as exciting!"

Lana placed her right hand on her right cheek, smiling. "Ah!"

GAME OVER