//------------------------------// // War For A Better Tomorrow (Part 2) // Story: Tomorrow War // by Battwell //------------------------------// Moon Knight hurled his Crescent Moon blade right into the head of a Chitauri Soldier, blood spraying out of its now split skull. Moon Knight rolled across the dirt, avoiding laser blasts fired with an intent to kill him. He stopped rolling as the dead Chitauri fell next to him. Removing his blade from the Chitauri Soldier's skull, Marc threw his other blade at the soldiers firing upon him. The blade spun through the air before coming in contact with the soldiers, slashing right through their necks. He caught his blade as the heads of the Chitauri fell to the ground, their bodies soon doing the same. Spector rose to his feet, dusting himself off with his hands. He was about to re-enter the fray, when a sudden voice caught his attention, "Um, yeah, so quick note if you don't mind." Marc turned to see his other personality, Steven Grant, sitting on a mound of rubble, "Maybe try and be a little more careful, yeah? Cause in case you're unaware or anythin', Marc, you ain't the only one in this bloody body." Marc rolled his eyes, "I am aware, Steven, no need to remind me." He replied before turning around... Only to face the God who granted him his powers in the first place. "What is it now, Khonshu?" Marc asked in a tone that showed just how little he was willing to put up with these interruptions. "Remind me again WHY we agreed to do this?" The Moon God asked, growing bored of this waste of time. Marc sighed as he placed his blades back into the holster in his chest, "You want me to serve justice to those who have wronged the innocent?" Khonshu nodded at that, his bones rattling, causing Steven to shiver involuntarily. "Well if I DON'T help out here, then a lot of people are going to die. You want that? Cause I could leave if you'd like." Marc threatened, now growing annoyed at the Moon God. Khonshu huffed and stuck his beak into the air, "Very well, Marc Spector." He replied before looking down at his avatar, "But be warned, Marc Spector, I will not take this threat lightly. If your life is in Jeopardy, you are on your own." After making it clear to Marc where he stands in this matter, Khonshu disappeared. Marc sighed, he was really getting tired of these games with Khonshu. But he would have to worry about that later, he had a battle to return to. "Ummm, Marc?" Moon Knight turned around, seeing the swarm of Chitauri and Outriders marching towards him. He didn't make a move for his blades, instead, he just stood there. "You want this or should I handle it?" Marc asked his other personality. As if to answer his query, Steven took control of Marc's body, dawning his Mr. Knight attire with his Batons in his hands. Mr. Knight tightened his grip on his Batons as the swarm of enemies charged at him. "Alright, you lot. Ya wanna scrap?!" Steven roared as he charged forward towards the approaching enemy forces, "LET'S SCRAP!!!" (End song) As Calaeno's airships flew alongside the Egg Fleet past the Helicarrier, Corvus Glaive darted forward, intending on killing Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform dodged the attack by boosting into the air, allowing Iron Man to blast the villain with a Repulsor Blast, sending Glaive sliding back across the deck. As the leader of The Black Order roared in fury, Captain Marvel and Nova Prime boosted upwards beside the Helicarrier as the three fought, firing shots at any ships and Leviathans they saw. The two superheroes flew forward and both punched the face of an incoming Chitauri Leviathan, sending it right into Ant Man's path. The now giant hero punched it to the ground, a few meters away from Chancellor Neighsay, who was standing alongside the Student Six and the CMC. As Neighsay fired various spells to take down the Outriders headed towards him, The Student Six and the CMC were working as a team, letting the Chancellor know what directions the Outriders were attacking from. A few meters away from them, an explosion of power decimated a horde of Chitauri Soldiers. The cause being none other than Celestia, Luna, and Iron Fist. The three nodded towards one another before charging at the incoming swarm of enemies. Up above them, Ice Man slid across his ice bridge as Storm conjured up a hail storm to strike down any opposing forces in her sights. Beneath her, the other members of the X-Men were all huddled together, fending off Thanos' army of Outriders. Doctor Doom tore the body of an Outrider apart, fully aware of the charging Chitauri Gorilla behind him. The Latverian monarch turned around and blasted it in the chest, knocking the beast down. He scoffed before turning to see the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Sinister 6 working together as a collective team, killing any enemies in their path. Doom looked up above him and saw the Egg Dragoon and Metal Sonic flying over him, firing blasts at the enemy ships in the sky alongside the army of Dragons. Victor looked around and saw Asgard's forces mopping the floor with Thanos' army, Odin firing a magical blast from the tip of his spear. Doom heard the sound of a roar behind him and turned to see Black Dwarf standing there, his weapons ready to spill the blood of his enemies. The Latverian villain laughed, angering Black Dwarf. He clenched his fists before slowly marching towards the alien menace. "It appears that you have chosen to throw your life away." Doom stated menacingly before activating his boot thrusters and meeting Black Dwarf head on. (End song) Iron Man fired a Unibeam blast that sent Corvus flying across the deck of the Helicarrier, rolling to a stop as his Glaive clanked against the floor beside him. The alien snarled before making a beeline towards his weapon. But just before he could retrieve it, Shadow swooped in and grabbed it a super speed. Corvus turned to the Hedgehog as he snapped the Glaive in two with ease, inciting a shocked roar from the villain. The two glared at one another as Shadow tossed the two pieces of Corvus' Glaive to the side. The alien let out a roar in an attempt to intimidate Shadow. It did not. Corvus was about to charge at his enemy, and he would have had it not been for the white blade that had pierced his chest. He looked down at the blade before it removed itself from his chest. Coughing up some blood, Corvus fell to the ground, dead. Tony retracted the blade back into his suit and walked over to Shadow, "Nice job breaking his Glaive apart." The billionaire complimented before a sudden explosion caught the attention of both heroes. They turned to see that The Sanctuary II had used its massive cannons to completely obliterate Calaeno and her fleet of airships. They both glared at the warship as the battalion of airships crashed onto the ground in a blaze of glory. Tony folded his arms as Shadow continued studying the massive ship, "We're not going to have a chance of winning this if that ship is still up and running." He observed as he began scanning the ship with his scanner, "If we're gonna take that thing out, then we're gonna need something big. Something powerful. Something-- ARGH!!!" Tony was interrupted by a blast to the back. Shadow lowered his arm as his hand ceased glowing, "Something Ultimate." He finished before he began removing his Inhibitor Rings. Tony groaned as he turned to lie on his back, glaring at Shadow as the Hedgehog levitated himself into the air, "Sorry, Tony, but I can't let you stop me." Tony was confused by that statement, "Stop you? Stop you from...." And then it clicked in his mind, "Shadow, what you're planning on doing... The amount of power it would need would be too much for your body to handle. You'll die if you do this." Shadow said nothing as he looked up at the ship, various laser blasts being shot down towards the ground. The Hedgehog closed his eyes before focusing his Chaos Energy, "If I don't destroy that ship then we lose the only chance at stopping Thanos. I promised Maria that I would protect the planet that she loved." He remined Tony in a tone of sorrow. Shadow looked down at his ally, "I don't intend on breaking that promise." "Hang on, there's gotta be a--" "Keep being a hero, Stark." Those were the last words Tony heard the Hedgehog say before he teleported off of the Helicarrier. "SHADOW!!!" Shadow reappeared in the sky, flying right toward The Sanctuary II, his form starting to crackle with red electricity. He dodged and weaved through the various explosions in his path, not deterred by the battle in the sky in the least. A Leviathan flew in front of him, trying to chomp him down with its giant maw, but Shadow simply teleported out of its way and continued towards his target. Sonic, who had been fighting alongside Twilight in the sky, took notice of Shadow, specifically noticing how his aura changed from that of gold to red. His eyes shot open in horror, he knew what that meant, Shadow was putting too much strain on his body. He wasted no time in shooting up towards his rival, much to the confusion of Twilight. "SHADOW!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! STOP!!!!" He pleaded towards his friend as he boosted up to Shadow at impossible speeds. Shadow glanced down at Sonic and actually gave his rival a kind and genuine smile as his fur changed from yellow to black. Sonic looked in shock before being blasted in the chest by Shadow, spiraling down back toward the ground. The Ultimate Lifeform continued on his path before raising his wrist and activating his communicator, "To all who are listening, this is Shadow the Hedgehog. Let it be known that what happens next is of my own volition, I'm doing this for the betterment of our world." Rouge kicked an Outrider away before tapping her earpiece to listen to Shadow's message, "I know I've made mistakes. But I'm hoping that what I am about to do will rectify that. To my... Friends in Team Dark, do not mourn for me, I wish for you all to live with the second chance that I am giving you." Rouge covered her mouth with her hand as tears began brimming her eyes. She looked up to the sky to see a red light hastily approaching The Sanctuary II, "I wish for you to be happy. I am, knowing that I am fulfilling Maria's last wish." Cap panted as he fought off the various aliens that came his way, all the while listening to Shadow, "I want you all to continue fighting the good fight. I want you to keep Maria's home safe in my absence. If you wish to honor me in any way, then keep this world safe." Shadow blocked out any source of noise besides his own voice, speaking his final words into the communicator, "I know you will honor my final wishes, just as I have honored Maria's. And Sonic, I know that we haven't gotten along, but I can honestly say without a doubt. That I am a better man thanks to you. You have truly shown me what it's like to have a brother, even though I may not have expressed such feelings." Shadow gazed forward as he came up towards The Sanctuary II. "I believe that my time is up. Remember, Dying is the easy part. The real heroes are the ones who keep going. Good luck.... And goodbye." And with that, Shadow shut off his communicator and closed his eyes as he awaited the blissful silence that came with his sacrifice. Shadow smirked as a single tear fell from his eye, "I kept my promise, Maria." "I kept my promise." Shadow hit The Sanctuary II. Both he and the ship exploded in a red blaze that shook the very foundation the battle was taking place on. Everyone looked up as The Sanctuary II exploded. Rarity had tears falling from her eyes, Amy covered her mouth with her hand, Knuckles looked down mournfully, Rouge let out an agonizing scream as tears streamed down her face, completely unaware that Omega was hugging her from behind. Sonic crashed onto the ground and rolled to a stop. He groaned as he scurried back onto his feet so he could save Shadow. But when he looked up into the sky, he saw that he was too late. Too slow to save his friend. As the dawning reality hit him with full force, he fell to his knees and punched the ground multiple times, tears streaming down his face as his failure hit him like a freight train. He slowly looked up to see The Sanctuary II crash down in the distance. Sonic grit his teeth and clenched his fists as his entire body shook. He looked into the distance and saw the one responsible for this. He saw Him. Thanos was marching through the warzone, slashing his blade and using the Stones to pass through to find the Power Stone. One thing was for sure in Sonic's head, Shadow would no die in vain. He was going to honor his sacrifice. By finishing this. Whatever it takes.