EPILOUGE

The 2nd Army of Darkness soon arrived over the hillside. The Battle was now within sight. The moment to charge head first was now upon them. Take down the opposition. Destroy all enemies. Then something shot through their circuitry. The command to go forth was deleted. Their master, destroyed. With no further commands, the Dragoons stopped where they were. For they will never reach the battle. The Dragoons then started falling part, for whatever power that held them together was gone now.

Back down at the battle field, the Megaman Community, or what's left of them cheered loudly as their voices could be heard echoing though the entire valley. Somehow, they had won. The rest of the Neo Dragoon's had simply stopped what they were doing and fell apart right in front of the Megalopolis Army. To make sure that the enemy was destroyed several community members blasted their weapons into the remains.

However unknown to everyone, the original Neo Dragoon, the general of the Army had vanished without a trace. For Red's power over him was simply the hypnosis. When the power wore off, a confused Neo was left, and seeing hordes of warriors around, he quickly retreated into nothingness. Maybe someday to return. Maybe not. Nobody knows what he'll do next.

As for The Mechanical Maniacs, they quickly regrouped and sat down in the brush to recharge.

"Whelp, looks like Red is dead. I guess Gary won!" Topman spoke with excitement. The other Mechs nodded in agreement.

"Well, not to jinx it or anything, but how exactly can you take down a God-like Robot?" Hadrian asked with curiosity. The other Mechs pondered this too. Gary wasn't that powerful. No way. Or was he? The Mechs wanted to ask the Sinister Six if their little comrade had some sort of hidden power that they didn't know about. Gauntlet didn't think much, but commented best he could.

"Ice found a way. I'm sure Red had some sort of weakness." Gauntlet sputtered trying to make sense of the situation. The Sinister Six hearing the conversation not to far off approached the relaxing Mechs. The Sinister Six were incredibly happy with the situation. Even Tim who this time joked around for once.

"Sitting down on the job again Gauntlet, jeeeeeez, don't you guys ever work?" Tim joked as the other Sinister Six laughed heartedly. Gauntlet simply mocked back with a "Ha. Ha. Ha. Good one Timbo." as the Mechs also let out a warm hearted laugh. Tim's lantern Jaw couldn't bend any higher with a smile, so it creaked silently as he tried.

"Whelp, What are we all waiting for! Let's contact Gary and ask how he did it!" Tim perked up not wanting to forget about their savior. The other Sinister Six couldn't wait either. They were very anxious on how the little Eskimo could defeat such a powerful foe. The Mechs continued sitting back healing whatever energy needed to be done.

Tim opened a channel to Gary's signal which was connected to his armor. The Sinister Six chatted with anticipation to see their comrade again and quickly hushed to await Gary's answer. There was static.

"Hmmm...that's odd, I'm getting static here. His signal should be online." Tim stated worriedly. The Sinister Six wondered what could keep Gary. Why would he turn off his signal? Wouldn't he report Red's demise? The Mechs rose to their feet and looked to Tim's signal too.

"Well, maybe he's taking a breather, and wants to be left alone. Why don't you two go out there and investigate?" Gauntlet suggested to the worried Sinister Six members.

"Yeah, I suppose we should go over there and check it out. I hope we can find it." Tim said getting ready to head out. The other Sinister Six agreed to follow along and see what they could find. The Mechs started to walk in the other direction. "Don't worry, you should find it rather easily, just follow a trail of a massive battle. We'll stay here and attend to the wounded and those who have parted." Gauntlet said as he led his team in the opposite direction.

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The battle where Iceman and Red had fought seemed hardly recognized. There was a hint that a battle took place, considering a large part of the forest was somehow evaporated. All was left of the fight was a large hole that cut into the earth very deep. Nothing really was left there. No smoke, no steam. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a large hole. When the Sinister Six arrived they couldn't believe their eyes.

"Wow...talk about some fight...the signal is coming from here!" The team looked around for any traces of life. Any traces of their sixth member. Upon further investigation they found nothing at first. The Forested area around the battle site seemed to go on as normal. The Sinister Six split up and called out for their comrade, only to get silence and echoes in return.

"Where the heck is he?" Jason wondered as he searched down into the blankness hole. Again he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hey guys! Over here! I see a strange light or something!" IRA suddenly yelled not to far off. The Sinister Six dropping what they were currently doing ran over to the Fire-stove headed robot and stared blankly at what he was looking at. Down by his feet was a small patch of a glowing light. The Five figures glanced down at it. They weren't sure what to make of it. But it looked like the object was trying to catch their attention. Tim being the leader, decided to pick it up in his hands. Immediately Tim felt something. Something weird. Something warm.

The light was very bright. Tim's surroundings started to fizzle in and out. The other Sinister Six were also seeing the once destroyed Forested area turn into a hollow, lighted area. "What the...?" Andon suddenly spoke but was quickly hushed by Tim who was staring at a strange image.

"Shhh...look!" He pointed at the image. It was a fizzled shot of Red. The other Sinister Six stared blankly. Then suddenly the image started to move. It showed Red commanding his army. Then showed the fighting scene between the two armies. The images quickly started to move into play. It showed Iceman approaching Red's power. Then the whole battle between the two appeared and went on.

As the 'movie' played, it reflected off the eyes of the watching Sinister Six members. Some starred blankly with mouths wide open, not believing the hell that Iceman had to go through. Some were impressed with Gary's new attacks. Tim felt that Gary did more than just fight for his life. He fought for everyone.

And finally as the ending came near, and Ice and Red's death came to a close. A small shot of lightning spurred out and struck the Sinister Six. The tears and sorrow fell silent as the smoke cleared and The Sinister Six were granted with their own Transmetal Armor. A gift from Iceman no doubt.

The White area soon vanished and a mourning Sinister Six was left. Tim's didn't last long as he totally ignored his new armor and fell to the ground, pounding it with anger. This couldn't be true. It was all a dream. He would wake up in his bed and see Gary's smiling face looking over him. With some annoying prank not far behind.

The other Sinister Six were in heavy tears. They couldn't mouth off any words, let alone breath very well with the amount of tears and bawling that was being released from their eyes and mouths. 2 hours later, they held each other closely as they left the sight in pieces. Their new Transmetal Armor glittering in the sun.

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Weeks later flowers started to bloom, and the skies were shining a healthy blue. Vegetation slowly started to grow back, and everything seemed to go back to normal. Slowly but surely the world will heal itself. The damage done by Red was severe. Some parts of Megalopolis may even have permanent damage. But the city can be rebuilt. New Heroes will rise. And a new world will be anew. Maybe even for the better.

To commend those who perished during the war with Red, a large funeral was held at the Megalopolis Sanctuary. Everyone showed up to it to give respect to the dead. The ones who died bravely in battle were listed on a statue made of gold. "Edward, Ridley, Kano, Gigaman, Mr. Doomsday, Victries, Gary, Erik, Britt, Shortcut, Pixel Boy, Fushidane, Groovy Kat, Drizl, Sola, Iron Maiden", the list surly had gone on. All of which will be missed to this day.

Later at the Sinister Six base, Forte-Chan walked around the courtyard, helping those cope with their losses. The poor girl had never seen so many people needing comfort. It was her forte, nonetheless but she too couldn't help but feel for those who hurt inside.

The Mechanical Maniacs showed signs of sadness for their losses. Groovy Kat was once an old acquaintance. Iceman being a very close friend. Their losses struck hard on team. Never to think that they would perish. But they knew they had to move on to other things.

Inside the Sinister Six Mansion, the Sinister Six, or now Five sat around the Mansion, moping and feeling sorry for themselves. Andon soon came into the room and noticed that none of them really seemed interested in being outside with the others. Andon sighed heavily as he hated to see his fellow Sinister Six members like this.

"Come on guys. Cheer up. It's not the end of the world. We'll get through this somehow..." Andon spoke hoping to reassure the Sinister Six out of their slumps. They didn't move, or say anything. Andon sat down opposite side of them and again tried to have his luck at them.

"You guys have to understand, that people die. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Even those very close to you. Who you think will be in your company forever. We have to learn to move on in life, that's what our friends would want. Gary would hate to see you just sit here and sulk for the rest of your lives. He would want to see you guys do great things!" Andon paused a moment and continued. "Continue the team that he started! Go for the gold! Live on! Keep the Sinister Six alive! He would have wanted that." A tear fell from Andon's eye. "He would have wanted that...." He finished.

Tim wasn't listening to Andon's speech much. Yes they would fight on another day, yadda, yadda. Whatever. But right now Tim just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Slowly, he began to wander around the base, letting his feet take them where they would. He didn't know if he could live on without the founder of the team. The one who started it. It wouldn't be the same without him. Without his smiling face. Without his crazy laughter. Tim sighed silently to himself.

With out realizing it Tim had brought himself to the section of the base that held their rooms. Shaking his head and perhaps wanting confirmation of the events that had just occurred recently, Tim walked up to the door that lead into Gary's private chambers.

He slowly opened the door and peered into the prankster's room. Laying heavy eyes upon its contents. Tim wanted to look away, but he didn't. Emotion welled up, truth fell into place. Gary was dead, and this was no prank. Feeling a tear fall down his cheek, Tim absent mindedly wiped it way as he closed the door. The last things he saw before the door shut with a final click was an old portrait of the Sinister Six taken years ago...and Gary's favored mallet propped against his desk.

THE END.