"We'll miss you, Kevin." said Princess Lana sadly. "And we'll never forget you either!"
"It mega-stinks to see you go, Captain N." Mega Man brushed a drop of oil from his eye.
"You were our best friend-icus!" Kid Icarus' wings drooped. Duke attempted to cheer him up with a few licks to the face, but it was apparent it wasn't working.
"Even I'm a little sad to see you go, Kevin." Simon Belmont extended his gloved hand and shook Kevin's.
"I'll think of you guys every time I play a video game," Kevin gave the best smile he could muster. "And that's all the time!"
Picking up Duke, Kevin glanced one last time at his Nintendo friends before hopping into the Ultimate Warp Zone and returning home, probably forever...
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"Kevin!" a certain someone's mother called from the kitchen. "I thought I told you to take out the trash! Don't make me come up there!"
Kevin sighed as he reluctantly set down his N64 controller and reached for his jacket. As he did so, he glanced up at the old Nintendo games sitting idly on the bookcase. It had been many years since his adventures in Videoland had come to a melancholy end, and the sight of his old game cartridges only made him feel worse.
He had tried to move on, buying himself the newer system, the N64, to take his mind off of the friends he would never see again, but it didn't help. Mega Man games were now Mega Man X and Castlevania had gone three-dimensional. It seemed that the more he tried to put the past behind him, the more it turned up in his face.
Kevin trudged downstairs with his dog, Duke, in tow. He took out the trash, then paused, staring down at the dog.
"Duke?" he asked. "Do you ever think about Videoland anymore?"
"Rowf!" Duke nodded, his ears perking up at the name of the unforgettable universe, then drooping at the sad expression on his master's face.
"I'd love more than anything to go back there, Duke." Kevin pet the animal on the head. "But I don't know how. Only the Ultimate Warp Zone can take me there."
Kevin returned to his room and plopped himself down in front of his TV like always. He put Conker's Bad Fur Day into the system and picked up where he had left off. It was the only game that didn't remind him of his video game friends, but he knew that he'd get sick of the potty-mouthed squirrel sooner or later.
The TV began to fuzz up. Kevin rapped it a few times on the side to fix it. It was the same television set he had been sucked into Videoland through all those years ago, and it seemed to fuzz up more and more as time went on. Even Duke would sometimes give it several kicks to help his master out. Sometimes Kevin wished it would fizzle out and show Princess Lana and the others trying to reach him again, but it never happened. He set down the controller and rested his head in his hands.
His mother came in and saw him upset.
"What's wrong, honey?" she asked.
"I was just thinking about Videoland again." He sighed.
"Kevin…" she shook her head. "You know as well as I do that there's no such place as Videoland. I don't know where you went all that time that you were away, but a world full of video game characters? Kevin, that's just not possible."
"I've told you, mom, this place is real!" Kevin looked up at her with pleading eyes. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true! Mega Man, Princess Lana, Kid Icarus, Simon Belmont… it was all real!"
No matter how hard she had tried over the years, Kevin's mother could not convince her son that the experience of Videoland had all been just some crazy dream he had had. At first, she just laughed, too relieved that her son had come back alive from wherever he had been. But as Kevin continued to insist that he had been in a world full of video game characters, she became concerned and had taken him to see a psychiatrist. The visits had proved fruitless, though, and even the psychiatrist seemed convinced that Kevin was telling the truth. After that, she had simply given up.
"Get some sleep, Kevin." She sighed. "You have school tomorrow."
*******************************************
Somewhere in the Palace of Power, a lone woman sat staring sadly into her boudoir mirror. A tear rolled down her face as she picked up a framed picture sitting beside her. There she stood, Princess Lana of Videoland, and the hero, Captain N, by her side. Simon Belmont was slicking his hair back as always while Mega Man gave a peace sign to the camera. Kid Icarus was smiling broadly as he sat comfortably on Duke's back. The dog was letting his tongue hang out as he barked happily. Game Boy had the word 'Smile' pixilated across his screen.
Princess Lana set the picture down and cried. After Kevin had left, everyone except Simon Belmont had left for his or her own respective worlds. Simon had continued to flirt with the princess for awhile, but without Captain N as his mental rival for her affections, he too, returned to his proper realm.
The door to her chamber opened, and the person entering was clad in thick, magma-red armor. The individual removed the heavy helmet, revealing a woman with long, curly, blonde hair. The princess looked up from her sobbing.
"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" the armored woman said softly.
"Samus…" the princess uttered as she wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry… I can't help it… I miss Kevin…"
"I know you do." Samus rested a comforting hand on Lana's shoulder. "Had I met him, I'd probably miss him as much as you do. I just wish there was something I could do to help."
"It's not your fault." Lana sniffled. "It's nobody's fault. He came to save Videoland, and that's just what he did. I know he wanted to stay, but he wanted to go home too."
"I bet more than anything you'd just love it if the Ultimate Warp Zone were to open up again." said Samus. "But unfortunately, the only way that's gonna happen is if trouble starts up again here in Videoland, and we know that can't happen. Mother Brain and her lackeys are long gone."
Princess Lana broke down into tears again. Samus felt guilty about bringing up old memories, but remembered why she had come in the first place.
"Hey," she smiled weakly. "You've got a visitor who's come to cheer you up."
Lana stopped her crying for a moment and stared up at Samus inquisitively. The bounty huntress made a gesture to the open door. A yellow, mouse-like creature with a lightening bolt for a tail hopped in and looked up at the princess. Samus gently picked the animal up and set it on her friend's lap.
"Pikachu?" the creature piped.
"Aren't you cute?" Princess Lana managed to crack a hint of a smile as she pet the pokémon between its ears.
The pocket monster made an attempt to smile in hopes that the princess would do the same, but it was no use. No one in all of Videoland could liven Princess Lana's spirits. The only person that could wasn't there.
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"I am the Great Mighty Poo…" sang the dung pile in Kevin's game. The gamer laughed lightly at the action going on in the game as his on-screen character grimaced in disgust. Duke cocked his head to one side, wondering what an enormous turd was doing singing opera in a video game.
The screen fuzzed again, and Kevin sighed, annoyed as he reached over and tapped the TV again. It was the third time it had happened in the last 10 minutes, and the boy was starting to get rather irritated by it. Duke contributed to the effort, lightly kicking the opposite side of the TV set. The fuzzing cleared out a bit, but failed to disappear completely. Kevin just shook his head in dismay; as soon as he saved up enough money, he was going to have to get himself a new set.
*******************************
By a river in Hyrule, a Zora fell lifeless to the ground, its mouth open in a permanent, silent scream. A tall, dark, shadowy figure sheathed its bloodstained sword as it snickered evilly and continued on its way. No one would know its sinister intentions until it was too late to stop them. Ahead of it, a cuckoo crowed as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the cliffs of Death Mountain.
****************************
"Hey, Your Highness!" a rather pumped-up fellow in racing attire strut into the princess's room. "What's gonna be on the table toni-"
Captain Falcon cut himself off as he took note of the melancholy scene before him. Samus glanced over her shoulder at him, giving him a cold look for being so rude at a time like this. Even Pikachu, who had been trying to get the princess to stop crying, glared at the newcomer, his cheeks sparking with electricity.
"Whoa!" the racer put up his hand defensively. "Did I come at a bad time?"
"I'll say ya did, you inconsiderate jerk!" Samus cracked her knuckles threateningly.
"No," Lana sniffled as she wiped more tears from her eyes. "It's ok. What is it, Captain Falcon?"
"Well, I was just coming by to let you know that there's a messenger from Hyrule here to see you, Your Majesty." Falcon stepped back. "It's kinda urgent."
"I'll be out in a minute." the princess replied.
*********************************
Kevin growled as he repeatedly pounded on the TV. The fuzzing refused to go away, and everything he tried to fix the problem wasn't working. Duke chipped in as well, kicking the television harder. The sound was starting to go as well, making Sloprano's singing difficult to make out. What Kevin failed to notice were the little sparks emanating from the wires connecting the N64 to his TV set.
*********************************
"It's the fifth murder that's occurred this week, Your Highness." Said the messenger as he bowed low before the princess.
"What could be going on?" Samus blinked as she let the new information set in.
"Pikachu…?" the yellow pokémon shared her confusion.
"Is there any way of knowing who could have done this?" Lana asked worriedly.
"No, Your Majesty." the messenger shook he head. "The Hero of Time has looked everything over carefully, but could not decipher who could have done these terrible deeds."
Princess Lana bit her lip nervously. It had been ages since there had been any major trouble in Videoland, and this new threat had her worried. Since even before he had been appointed captain of the army of Hyrule, Link had shown a great deal of skill in dealing in matters such as these. The few lingering monsters that inhabited the countryside after Gannon's demise were nothing that Link couldn't handle on his own, so what could be causing these murders? A chill shot up Lana's spine, making her twitch.
"Are you alright, Princess?" Samus asked.
"I'm ok…" Lana nodded. "Just thinking about those poor people…"
A blood-curdling scream was silenced abruptly just outside the throne room doors. The door was kicked open, the tall, sinister person stepping in with his blade dripping fresh blood. He grinned smugly at the onlookers before him. The color drained from everyone's faces as they recognized the villain.
"It's not possible!" the princess whispered in terror.
**********************************
Kevin glared angrily at his still-fuzzing television set. Despite countless efforts, the set refused to work properly. Even Duke, who had rapped on it repeatedly, was laying down in defeat next to his owner. Kevin was about to hit the set again when Duke suddenly jumped up and barked at the screen.
"What is it, Duke?" Kevin stared at the screen intently.
The fuzzing seemed to be clearing out, but not into the images of the game. As Kevin squinted to see through the blurring white, he felt Duke nudge him with something, then bark wildly again. Looking down, Kevin saw that the dog had retrieved his Nintendo Zapper. Immediately whipping his attention back to the TV screen, Kevin saw a scene unfold before his eyes as the white disappeared completely.
Princess Lana was sitting terrified on her throne as what appeared to be Samus, Pikachu, and some other character were facing something horrible out of view.
"PRINCESS LANA!??" Kevin cried incredulously.
The screen quickly fuzzed from a white mess into beams of light that reached out and took a hold of him. Too startled to struggle, Kevin and Duke were pulled into the television set and out of sight. In complete silence, the TV fizzled once, then completely shut off.
~~~~~~~~~
This is Chapter 1. Where would you like to go next?
