CHAPTER 11

The World that was once known as the thriving Megalopolis sat quietly in the mist of darkness as time continued to eat away at any life that was left. Usually during this time of day were chirping birds, flying insects, and hordes of animals that would make the city lush and fresh as time went on. Hardly recognizable now laid out the dying world of this place. Although quiet and still, it was like a victim to a virus that had nearly finished destroying it.

The blackened world lay still once more until loud clanging and roaring was heard in the long distance away. For stirring whatever peace that was left in this world was a great, and intense battle. It raged loudly and struck hard as two forces were forced to bear arms and fight for survival.

Both forces were strong and courageous. One side however seemed to have the advantage in numbers, technology, and power. Roaring and snarling Neo Dragoon's made up the feared army of Darkness. An army created for the sole purpose to take over what was left of Megalopolis and destroy all opposing threats. They felt no pain. They showed no fear. All they were made for was to fight to the death. Their fighting skill was that based upon a lethal Maverick from the year 21XX. One hundred years from the future.

The other side, which fought for the protection and safety of Megalopolis wasn't fairing so well during this fight. They however sported unbelievable courage and their own uniqueness in style of fighting. They had one thing their opponents did not. Willpower. They learned from their mistakes. They sought out the problem, and solved it. They were more than blood thirsty killers. They had souls. They weren't created in some laboratory and sent out to fight. They had a purpose. They are our heroes.

The battle raged on. Even though it was obvious on which side had the most advantages, they didn't care. They knew what they were fighting for. The Neo Dragoon's forced the Megalopolis army to draw back a bit so they could think more of a plan. There already were several casualties.

"This is ridicules, we're fighting a losing battle!" Dark Napalm spoke loudly. He was a large purple, war-like robot. To see him mouth off that they didn't stand a chance was serious. The Sinister Six and Mechanical Maniacs tried to catch their breath. The Neo Dragoon's seemed to keep coming.

"We have to try to wear them down! We can't give up so easily!" Tim roared as he prepared to launch himself back into battle.

"It looks as though they've worn us down..." Gauntlet spoke suddenly. Even the blue ninja was exhausted. "We don't have enough ranks to take our places so we could rest. We have to continue fighting if we are to win this duel." He concluded.

They had very little time to talk as the Neo Dragoon forces penetrated their defending Metools and Sniper Joes, who still ironically were wearing the Magma Dragoon armor. These armors helped the minor forces fight better, but with the combined power of the Neo Dragoons, they started to attack the heroes who had very little time to recover.

"They're already breaking through! Warriors, battle stations!" Lennon called out.

In the mist of the battle a young female Android by the name of 'Quickie' tore through the battle field slashing every which way with her razor sharp boomerangs. Her speed so far had kept her alive. She took down about sever or eight Dragoons, and suddenly was feeling a little over confident in her abilities. She smiled warmly as she assaulted another Neo Dragoon from behind. The large soldier didn't even see the attack coming. Soon though victory was snatched from her as a green blast connected to her left leg and sent her whole body piling to the ground in pain.

"Noooo..." She tried to rise to her feet. She found that her speed was cut short. She couldn't use her left leg to sprint anymore. Britt crawled to a large spiked rock for safely. She armed herself with a Boomerang incase she was attacked while her guard was down. She needed to repair her damage for she was now a sitting duck. Unlike several other warriors, Quickie could fix herself if she was badly damaged.

A Neo Dragoon soldier rose over the spiked rock and loomed at Quickie as she attempted to fix her leg. The Dragoon roared loudly as he prepared to swipe at the unsuspecting victim. Quickie looked towards the horror that was fixed onto her and her eyes lit up in tears, preparing for the end.

A large explosion hit the Neo Dragoon off his feet as a car suddenly lifted up from the wreckage of the streets and literally flew into the Neo Dragoon soldier. The car had hit in such away that its gas tank was ruptured and the sparks of the mass of metal hitting the ground ignited the flammable fuel. It was That which caused the explosion that knocked the dragon clone off its feet.

Standing out from the shadows now was a robot, slightly wide built, but very elegant in its movements. Britt could see the color scheme of orange, green and white... only one Robot Master had that color scheme.

...Wind Man. Erik smiled briefly as he tried to help Britt to her feet. "Windman at your service maam. The wind warrior attempted to get her up on her feet....when he found himself surrounded in all directions by the Neo Dragoon's. The large robot lifted Britt and tossed her out of harms way. Erik now was separated from his friends, he was alone. The winded warrior however gritted his teeth and shouted at the lurking enemy. "Come on you bastards! Show me what you've got!" As he armed himself with a Chinese katana.

Then they attacked. Windman brought together his weapons and defended himself for all he was worth. A slice there, a left jab there, the fighting warrior connected with several of the Dragoon's armor. One of which the jaw as immediately broken from a large punch to the mouth. It angered the Neo Warrior because he couldn't roar any longer.

The Chinese robot ducked a roaring fist as it collided into one of its own keen. As Erik ducked the attack he seeped the Dragoon in front of him down to the ground. However the enemy now as all over Windman. Erik's fighting skills was very impressive, but it still wasn't enough as one of his foes struck him from behind. Erik started bleeding coolant from his mouth and even though he was mortally wounded, he slammed his Fan Blades into the nearest Dragoon. They both fell to the ground as Erik jammed the blade further into the warrior's frame.

Erik yelled out as hordes of the blood thirsty killers loomed over him. Erik shot out another fan blade into the nearest Dragoon before finally, Erik was defeated.

Britt yelled out to Erik as tears roared down her cheeks in slow motion. The Orange Clad Topman without wasting any time wrapped his arms around the female robot and carried her off from the massacre with her arms sprawled out. Crying endlessly for Erik. The tide was overwhelming. The Megalopolis army, failing. Only one hope lies.

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Gary moved silently through the brush. His teleporter was drained from the fight with Edward. His wounds however were well enough to heal on their own. Moments before Gary used the meteorite to locate Red's current position. As he did found out a while back, the Meteorite tried to help him before. The peaceful rock helped Gary understand what happened, what cause the rock to fall out of space. What Pulzar's weakness was. Why Red used the monster to wreak havoc here in the city. It was as if the Meteor was trying to help him.

The little Eskimo raced across the putrid landscape. Red was located nearby. But the exact location was a mystery. The Meteor had gotten weak since his last visit. It couldn't pinpoint Red's exact spot, but he could feel in his circuits that the fire god was close by. And remembering Edward's last words.

"Red will find you..." Gary knew this. Edward's phrase repeated endlessly through Gary's mind. The death of his old comrade replayed several times as well, like a broken record. Gary hated himself for resorting to those tactics. Why couldn't he of just knocked him out. Why couldn't he just have talked to him. Gary stopped his running for a few minutes trying to rid of the annoying images flicking on and off through his imagination.

After several minutes Gary continued on his long run. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but he knew his foe was close. He felt Red burning in his circuits. Red may be God almighty, and Gary might have been his copy, but the two are connected with each other, so Gary was sure that Red could feel his presence as well. The short robot leaped over some more brush as it seemed to fall part after his feet touched the earth again. Gary couldn't believe that one person could cause so much chaos. And over such a short period of time. How on Earth could Red live in a world that's dead? What was the reason for this nastiness?

It was then Gary felt it. He was very close now. Very close. Iceman breathed in a large gulp of air and made his way further into what used to be a small forested area not to far off from the Meteorite site. The leaves on the trees were gone now. And the Trees themselves were a dull gray color. It was like walking through a plant graveyard. The grass that the little blue lad stepped in disintegrated under his feet. And it made a nasty crunchy sound as he walked over it.

What made the forest even scarier was the echoing voice that pierced through like an arrow. "So you've come..." Spoke Red's demonic voice through the entire forested area. "I've been expecting you Blue!" Gary jumped in his armor at the sound of it, but brushed it off quickly. "Show your self Red! I'm here!" Gary shouted into the air loudly.

There was a long silence until the wind in the area started to whistle loudly. It picked up harder as Gary's parka started to flutter wildly in the now usual breeze that struck. Gary looked to the skies to see the clouds moving at fast speeds. Even though he was a robot he had to stand upright to be flown back a few ways. The trees started swaying madly, some looked as though, they were about to uproot straight from the ground.

It was then Gary saw him. Fire burned around the blackened figure as he emerged from the dark sky. When he landed everything, even the wind came to a sudden halt. Gary felt that he suddenly lost all contact with the outside world, as it all went quiet. It was an odd feeling, but it was obvious that Red wanted his blue twin all to himself.

Gary sucked up all the courage he could muster. He had to admit. He was scared. He was scared that he would fail and the whole world would perish. But he knew, that giving up wasn't the answer. He had to find a way to defeat Red. All odds were against him, but at least he could do was try.

Red stared down Iceman for what seemed like an eternity before Gary decided to speak. "Do you realize the chaos you've caused Red, why? Why destroy the planet!"? Gary raised his voice as loud as he could even though he knew Red could hear him just fine. The area surrounding the two robots became ill silent. Anything outside this area could not be heard. It's as if the world outside didn't exist.

"I'm just trying to build a better world. A world....full of CHAOS!" Red's body started to glow with burning flames. Red's eyes looked like they were bleeding as they couldn't get any deeper red. "I've finally reached full power! All those fights, all those past battles were only practice! Now onto the real stuff!" Red cackled loudly causing the whole area to shake violently.

Gary only grumbled under his breath. He had more questions to ask. A world full of chaos? His motivations weren't clear. What was Red trying to accomplish by creating an army. What was his goal? Gary pondered these questions until Red spoke again. And as if the android could read minds, he indeed answered Gary's questions.

"Why'd I brainwash your gullible friend?" Red smirked. "It's a shame you had to be annoying and put him down. He was such a good little servant." Red knew he hit a vein when he spoke this. Gary clenched his fists as the cute, lovable parka bearing lads once proud and joking face became full of anger and hatred.

"You bastard..." Gary tried to restrain himself from moving into attack mode. "Why'd you turn him against us. What were you trying to prove?" Gary's fists were clutched so tightly that small coolant started to leak straight from them. Gary knew that Red had caused so much chaos in the past. He destroyed the X-Force. Banished the Insidious Six to another realm. Took Ben's son and manipulated him. Along with Edward. All this time he though his friend was dead. But it turned out Red just used him to get to the Sinister Six. This made Iceman's blood boil. Red's reign of terror had to end.

"That's right. I needed to brainwash a lot of people to do my bidding. I needed to create an army not for world conquest, but to strike fear, and cause chaos to those who oppose me. And once I destroyed all opposing threats, I'd collect the souls of the dead and become even more powerful." Red finally concluded as Gary stood listening to Red's most dire and evil plot. Red really was the work of evil. How can something be so sinister to eat the souls of the dead?

"So are you going to attack me or what. Your friends are dying. My army will be through with them soon enough." Red sneered watching Iceman grit his teeth in anger. Gary didn't say much more as he knew that Red was right. His friends right now were fighting for their safety. The longer he 'chatted' with his foe, the quicker and swifter their end will be. A bright glow soon erupted in both of Gary's hands. His anger fueling these balls of light.

Iceman knew he couldn't continue chit chatting, so he did what no logic could explain. He charged his adversary with frozen fists of fury. Shards of spiked ice formed on his fists as Gary attempted the attack that took out Edward.

Gary however was stopped short as there was a sudden increase in speed and was flown in the air backwards. The spiked ice on his fists had shattered. The blue warrior didn't know what happed as it all moved so fast. Gary landed with a metallic thunk onto the grass below. He looked straight forward towards Red's direction, who oddly enough hadn't moved an inch since he landed. Confused on what the heck hit him, Gary rose to his feet and attempted another attack. Only this time from a distance.

Using his trademark attack, The Blue Eskimo shot out razor sharp Ice Slashers at his foe. They flew through the air, cutting it like butter. As they approached the Maroon Parka Bearing foe, they seemed to stop dead in their tracks. The Ice Slashers caught on fire, and then out of the ordinary, the flames started to circle him. Red without making any movement, sat across the field with his arms crossed. Gary couldn't believe it. Though worried, he still didn't stop his attack.

Gary again opened his mouth, only this time light blue dust started to flow into his mouth. His body started to glow rapidly, and in a few seconds, Gary released the ultimate Ice Attack. The attack was large and wide, as a blast made out of solid ice fragments shot straight for the Reddish figure. The attack bursting with energy was about to hit its mark when it suddenly faded away into dust particles. A surprised Iceman grunted and anger and frustration.

"Damn it! Won't anything work on this guy!" Gary threw his hands up in rage as the Reddish Figure began laughing a nasty taunt. "I told you the next time you'd see me, it would be for real." Red taunted as he grinned at Gary. "Your pitiful powers are nothing to me." He crossed his arms again and puffed out small flames from his mouth, as if teasing the Blue Eskimo into thinking he was useless.

"We'll see about that..." Gary groaned as he gathered up all his strength and shot out beams of blue light at his adversary.

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The battle with the Army of Darkness didn't seem much better as the Neo Dragoons continued to advance upon the army of Megalopolis. The Neos were still very many even with their losses so far. The Megaman army on the other hand, had losses of their own. But unfortunately their losses piled up fast seeing as they started with 300 warriors, plus 100 sum extra minor robots. Things were looking very dim.

A very tired Ben was able to catch a breather as the rest of the Wily's Warriors were able to hold off a small pack of the Dragoon's. Rainer, Shadow Blade, and Starnik eventually were forced to draw back as their weapons had very mild effect. The fire-powered Ben ignited himself in hellish blaze as he charged into the pack helping to even the odds a tad.

Several members of the Sinister Six were cornered around a large matt of rocky boulders. Scott attempted to trace bombs every which way to keep the horde back. Unfortunately the Neos were onto the plan and kept their distance from the explosives. IRA flamed what Reploid attempted to approach. Though with their fire-based weaponry, they quickly attempted to the heat and soon IRA was forced into retreat as well.

Until something large approached from the behind the boulders. The large yellow-ish Cyclops-like creature shot out a massive red laser which caused several of the Neo Dragoons to leech backwards and fetch missing body limbs. Super Chaos appeared and ran into the thick of the crowd as he used his over sized fists to plow Neo Dragoons sky high.

"Super Chaos!" Jason shouted in the strangest irony of being happy to see his enemy actually being an ally. The Yellow Cyclops indeed was a hell of a force to be reckoned with as the Neo Dragoon's were caught by surprise to see such a massive opponent enter onto the field. It was a sure fire way to even the score.

"Let's help him, come on!" Tim shouted as he and the rest of the Sinister Six charged into the field. However Tim noticed something strange. "Where's Gary?" He motioned suddenly, just now noticing that the Eskimo was no where to be seen.

"He's out facing Red." Gauntlet suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke. "Alone I'm afraid, but I have confidence in him." Gauntlet winked as he puffed away again.

A sudden worry flew into Tim's mind. How in the world would Gary be able to handle Red on his own. The menace totally whipped out the Mechanical Maniacs a while ago. Tim smashed a large fist into the closest Neo Dragoon and ripped off its left arm. "Good luck Gary..." He whispered as a Neo Dragoon successfully slashed off a piece of Tim's armor. Groaning in pain, the big robot lifted the monster into the air and threw him into a stash of Dragoon's advancing onto him. Tim prepared for the worst when several blasts were shot into the fray. Several Dragoons were forced to endure the small blasts as others fell and tripped onto each other.

Tim quickly glanced back and suddenly smiled widely as a large squadron of Metools came pouring in. Lead by the Metool King himself, Xardion. The Metools formed a line and released a barrage of plasma shots into the approaching Dragoon army. With the command of the black Met himself the Metools in clever formation proved just how formidable they could be.

"Glad you can make Xar!" Tim stood by the Black Metools side as his small army raided into the Dragoon's like a horde of insects attacking vegetation.

"Heard you could use some help, plus I could use some action! Hah!" Xardion laughed wildly as he and Tim formed their own little defense line. Metools soon flew in on wings, and others came marching in with large Mechs. Xardion out did himself with quite a bit of fire power. The additional help was indeed welcomed by the Megalopolis army. Super Chaos's large size and Xardion's slay of advancing Metools helped tide over the storm for a while longer.

All the help didn't come in the shape of Super Chaos and Xardion either. As another ally came to the aide of Megalopolis. "Don't fear Sinister Six! Ridley has come back to help you!" The engaging young thief from another universe landed by several of the fighting Sinister Six members. He rose to his feet, drew out his sword and posed. Jason groaned with annoyance.

"Weren't you off fighting some serious, nasty evil in China?" Jason asked the human menace. Before, just to get the human wannabe out of the Sinister Six's hair, they would make up a story that a big, nasty evil was uprising way far off. Far away from them. The last time was telling him to help an evil in China way back when Andon was transported inside his own computer!

Sinister Six: Andon gets Engergized

Ridely, being the brave incompetence that he was, always fell for the stories and would vanish without a trace for months, before he ultimately came back to annoy again.

Claiming he was the 'seventh' member of the team was just as irritating. Ridley posed again before he spoke back. "I went, I saw, I defeated. And I won! I defeated all of China and became their king!" Ridely laughed a very annoying laugh as he approached a Neo Dragoon.

"Now to prove my worthy skill for the team by slaying this ugly Dragon! Just like in my home world!" Ridley rose his sword and jabbed the waiting Dragoon in the chest. However his blade being from a much less sophisticated world, shattered upon impact immediately.

"No worry, I shall use my incredible fighting skills..." The young lad was cut short as the Neo Dragoon opened his mouth and devoured Ridley whole. Jason's eyes flickered in surprise to see the kid gone, just like that.

"Hah! Don't have to worry about him anymore!" Shouted IRA showing little worry over what just happened. Jason although felt sorry for the boy, did crack a small smile. Scott, who was not to far off, simply rolled his eyes at the situation. He half expected Ridley to pop out from the Dragoon and say 'Tis only a flesh wound.' The Sinister Six continued fighting until something was heard through the field.

One of Xardion's scouts came clomping through the battle field and approached his general. "Sir! I've got some terrible News!" He blurted off in rapid binary that only Metools could understand. Although the look on the small yellow workers face got Tim's attention right quick. The Metool continued talking in very fast tones of binary. Once Xardion was able to interpret the message he turned to Tim with the same look on the Metool's face seconds before.

"We're in trouble man...Skippy here said he spotted even more Neo Dragoon's marching this way. How many you said?" Xardion quickly turned back to the beeping and bopping Metool.

"Ten thousand more..." Xardion's eyes lit up in fear. Tim's lantern jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Was this true? How was Red able to create so many in so little time? This was very bad.

"I donno how we're going to win this..." Tim said as he turned back into battle.

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The Explosion rocked the field sending power and destruction all over the place. The forest rocketed, the ground shook, and steam hissed from the impact of the wrath that ensured. The little warrior Iceman stood catching his breath as the last recent attack had tired him. He couldn't see Red ahead due to the clouds of steam and vapor that arose from the explosion.

He hit Red alright. He hit him hard with an Ice Blast that would instantly freeze the target, and exploding everything around it. It was a clever move that he learned a ways back. Gary gritted to get a better view of the field as the clouds started to phase from the field. And as they evaporated Gary saw that Red remained where he was standing. Totally unmoved by the attack. Red stood calmly in a crater created by the attack, as ice pieces were formed around the center. Red however was unscathed.

Gary cursed to himself. There's nothing he can do. He can't put a scratch on him. Gary bit his teeth. 'Nooo! Don't give up, that's what he wants you to do!' Gary scolded to himself. 'There has to be a way, everything has a weakness, you just got to find it!' Gary glared at Red who starred at him blankly.

"Still got some fight in you eh? " Red smiled again. "What a waste of energy. It would be so much easier for you to join me than to fight me." Red offered a hand to Gary. "Imagine this. Unlimited Power, at your disposal. Think of it Blue!" Red was about to speak again before Gary had interrupted him.

"Screw you." Gary yelled angrily. He didn't like what he was hearing. It was madness. Red groaned impatiently as he again tried to persuade the Eskimo.

"Do you enjoy saving the world, time and time again, just to see it get into danger all over again!" Red paused a bit before continuing his speech. "Why save the world for a bunch of people who don't even appreciate it!" Red clutched his fist as if the whole world was his enemy.

"Cause if you don't save the world, it will fall into utter chaos. And that's not a world I'd like to live in Red." Gary uttered back, trying to make a good point to his reddish double.

"Harrumph" Red scolded. "Help people, Save the day! And would they do the same to you if you need help! Course not! I grow tired of talking with you! Join me or die!!!!" Red's eyes burned bright red and it was obvious he wanted one simple answer.

"No." Gary's worded calmly as he went into thought. 'Red's going to want to fight, but the moves I've used had no effect.' If you can't overpower him with energy attacks, go for physical attacks. Learning from the other Sinister Six, and the Mechanical Maniacs, Gary knew various forms of Martial Arts. Sparring with Magma Dragoon and Shadowman helped him develop his skills quite nicely. But would they be enough to overwhelm Red? One way to find out.

Like lightning Gary charged into Red and started throwing various moves of close range attacks. Gary thought he connected a few, but he found that all he could hit was air as Red dodged very punch he could throw. Gary didn't give up however as he moved steadily and tried any move he could think of. Red dodged a certain way that put himself in line with one of Gary's next set of punches. Gary brought his arm around and actually hit metal as he sunk his fist into Red's shoulder.

"Wow, you're faster than I thought. But look! Not a dent!" Red showed where Gary had hit then thwacked the little Eskimo with his own fist. This caused Gary to stray back a little. The punch hurt, but it didn't stop him. Again Gary bolted back towards Red who was ready for him. "Come on Blue, show me whatcha got!" He muttered with a grin as he began dodging Iceman's attacks.

Left, Right, Gary moved side to side hoping to make some sort of damage to his adversary. Red however always seemed to be one step ahead of him. "One, Two, Three! Come on Icy, you're making this to easy!" Red rhymed with mockery as he ducked one of Gary's shots. Gary rounded his other fist and attempted to uppercut Red to the jaw.

But Red caught his fist and then scolded with his finger. "Nah ah...naughty, naughty." Red mocked at Gary again. Using Iceman's fist, Red lifted the robot into the air and slammed him down into the ground. Then he picked him up again and tossed him away, some 10 feet. The ground shook when Iceman landed roughly in the dust . Red continued to chuckle as he looked at Iceman slowly rising.

"Try your luck again, or just give up and join me?" Red said at the little Eskimo. Gary's armor now was getting badly dented up. However Gary fought these pains and again started on the attack. Gary reached his foot out in hopes to take out one of Red's stubby legs. But Red again blocked with his foot and then gave a round house kick to Gary's gut. Gary found himself on the ground again. The Eskimo looked up to welcome a red boot coming down at lightning speed.

Gary rolled out of the way and felt the foot thrash into the ground, causing a shock-wave the drove Gary into tumbling frenzy. He rolled until he hit the side of one of the trees, and there he lay. Mixed thoughts rushed into Gary's brain as his sensors rushed into frantic beeping and alarms blared off in his head.

Gary remembered back when he was created, and how his family loved him. Dr. Light gave him a warm smile. "Welcome Android 005. This is your home." Dr. Light gave him a welcoming hand and Gary rose to a sitting position. Rock, Roll, Tim, and Jason were all smiling at him. And then Gary felt a smile run across his own face.

Another memory flashed in as Gary played back several flash backs. His eyes flickered on and about until finally....he stopped moving completely.

Red Hovered over his immobile body. "That's all you have? And to think that we are even related." Red blurted out in disappointment and rejection.

Iceman's body lay still. Coolant leaking from the back of his head where the Tree was impounded. Was this really the end?

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Back at the fight, various Megaman Community warriors have taken serious wounds and have fallen, while others attempted to help them, but only to meet their own fate. Mechanical Maniac members were breaking. Sinister Six warriors were losing hope. Close allies were being driven apart. The Neo Dragoons roared and raised hands in the air as if already sealing their victory at hand.

Miles away, a 2nd army of Neo Dragoon's marched fully where the ones before had penetrated. In a matter of hours, they'll reach the battle beyond, then for sure, all hope will be lost for our heroes.

And back in the forest, Iceman lay still. He lay motionless at Red's horrific feet.

With the Army of Darkness growing stronger by the minute, and our hero's dropping one by one, it seems that Evil has finally won.