Act II: DESCENT

Chapter XIV: Run Like Hell

C.C.P.D. Main Precinct, Friday 8:55 PM

Khan sat in the large cell, smiling as Amy and Sonic led Sonia to the door.

Sonic unlocked the cell, turning back to his sister. "You really picked a bright one, sis."

Sonia rolled her eyes, stepping into the cell as Amy grabbed Khan's arm, standing him up.

"Sorry, didn't really have time to talk this through with you,"

"What are you doing?!" Sonia exclaimed, as Amy began leading Khan out of the cell.

"They're transferring me to central holding. This is Eclipse's chance – and when he attacks, Shadow and the rest of them will take him down."

Sonia scoffed, "Ken, listen to me. This is way too dangerous!"

Down in the back, Vector stood on a stool, talking to the officers.

"Alright – so we gotta get him to county, and then Eclipse will be our problem. The streets will be cleared on your route!"

"The convoy cannot stop for any reason!" Espio commanded, standing next to Mighty and Whisper.

"Alright, let's go! Let's get moving!" Tangle shouted, as the SWAT officers broke.

Mighty hopped passenger in one of the vans, hoisting his gun in as he turned to the driver. "Hope you've got some moves, pal!"

Sonia walked with Khan and Amy outside, shaking her head wildly. "They're using you as bait! They don't know if they can get Eclipse, they've failed so far!"

Sally and Tails watched as Khan was led to one of the vans, Julie-su standing with Cosmo as they prepped the back of the truck.

"How do you know what he's thinking?" Khan asked, a sense of sarcastic jealousy in his voice.

"I just – I do, okay? Anyways, this isn't just about you!"

Khan stopped, turning around to look at Sonia in the eyes.

"I mean – what about all of the people that depend on you to clean up this city, and do it honorably, and-"

Sonia was silenced with a kiss, as the hedgehog cupped the monkey's muzzle with her hand.

Scourge looked at Fiona in disgust, as the fox nudged him with her arm.

"Sure is tonguin' your sister right in front of you," Bunnie said to Sonic, the hedgehog rolling his eyes.

"Yeah well - I'm used to it."

Khan pulled away, allowing Amy and Julie-su to lead him into the van.

"Ken, just tell the citizens the truth. This whole cop plan doesn't suit you,"

Khan held up a dice block, twirling it. "Odd number I go through with it."

Sonia sighed, "You can't leave your entire life up to chance!"

"I'm not."

The door closed, as Sonia inspected the dice.

Each side had one dot. Four odd numbers.

"Make your own luck, don't ya?"

Sonic came behind Sonia, patting her on the back. "Look – don't worry. This is gonna work. Would I lie to you?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "No – I guess not,"

Sonic smiled, wrapping his sister into a hug. "Vector and the guys are going to get him there safely. We'll be waiting for him over there, alright?"

Sonia nodded as her brother pulled away, the blue hedgehog brushing her stray quills from her face.

"And remember – we still have that dinner plan."

Sonia snorted, "I remember."

Sonic chuckled, planting a kiss on her forehead as he scurried off, leaving Sonia to inspect the dice once more.

Make your own luck.

Main Streets, Friday 9:20 PM

The van with Mighty inside led the convoy, as Khan sat with Charmy and Tangle in the back.

"So, how are you today, Mr. Shadow?" Charmy asked, snickering.

Khan chuckled, "Just dandy, Charmy."

A police helicopter flew close-by overhead, shining a spotlight as the cop cars trailed the two vans.

The roads were all blocked off, giving the police a clear route to transport Khan to central holding.

One semi-truck blared its horn, causing an aggravated cop to walk towards the window.

The driver was an older squirrel in a cowboy hat, gazing down as the irritated cop walked to the window.

"Stop blaring your horn. You gotta wait like everyone else!"

Suddenly, Eclipse popped forward from the passenger seat – firing a shotgun right into the cop's chest.

The darkling cackled as the men fell, Eclipse banging on the dashboard.

"Whoo-hee-hee! Fun, fun, fun!"

The convoy continued making its way down the streets, the streetlights and city lights dimmed and dark – the only source of light coming from the helicopter's spotlight skimming across the street.

Tails and Cosmo were keeping with the route, until the sight of a burning bus blocked off their route.

"What the hell is that…?" Cosmo asked, her brow furrowing as the bus burned and crackled.

Tails fumbled for his radio, clicking it on. "Obstruction ahead! Obstruc- damnit. All units diverge down to Lower Fifth! I repeat, all units diverge down to Lower Fifth!"

Mighty squinted, the driver keeping steady. "Lower Fifth? We'll be like sitting ducks down there."

Between the two streets was an exit that led down into the streets underneath the city. The convoy trail diverged down, the helicopter flying overhead.

Sonic looked out his window at the burning bus, earning a hiss from Amy.

"Wonder who that's from!"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "Yeeeeep."

The first cop car, containing Scourge and Fiona peeled off onto the street. Scourge kept the car steady, until a garbage truck began to gain on him.

"The fuck…?" Fiona muttered.

Suddenly, the garbage truck smashed into the side of the car, as Scourge's car battered across the median, stopping in the middle of oncoming traffic – until yet another garbage truck battered him off the streets.

"Gaia! What the hell!?" Scourge exclaimed, slamming the wheel as the car spurred.

A large semi-truck appeared behind the van containing Khan, slamming into the back as Ken nearly fell off the seat, Charmy catching him.

"Woah! Hey, Mighty and the driver-person! We got an issue!"

"I got it!" Mighty exclaimed, reaching for his radio. "Hey, listen – we need backup! We got company!"

Vector answered his radio, driving the second van as Espio loaded a rifle in the front seat – as Whisper conversed with the SWAT officers in the back.

"Get locked and loaded boys!" Vector started, "We got trouble!"

"Whisper," Espio said, turning to the back, "You might need to get perched up top."

Whisper nodded, pulling her helmet down. "Affirmative."

As the convoy continued, the garbage trucks were gaining on both sides – ignoring the cars that were oncoming, the citizens having to veer out of the way.

Antoine cursed as he looked ahead, scratching the hair on his scalp. "Good Gaia – zhis is already bad."

Suddenly, a semi-truck appeared as it battered into a SWAT van, smashing it's bumper completely as the van veered off of the road and into the ocean.

"Fuck! Lost one! Damnit!" Vector exclaimed, stepping on the gas as the van roared to a faster speed.

The semi-truck whipped onto the wrong side of the road, smashing into civilian cars as horns blared, the semi veering in and out of traffic, smashing cars onto the side of the streets.

"What the hell is that?!" Mighty exclaimed, eyes flickering between the semi and the garbage trucks.

A sliding door on the side of the semi was pulled open, and standing inside the semi's container was Eclipse, surrounded by three men in clown masks. Eclipse pranced about inside the container.

Eclipse licked his lips, squinting as he pulled an automatic pistol from the back of his coat. Cocking the gun, he began firing towards the van that contained Khan, Mighty and the driver ducking away from the bullets.

Khan leapt to the bed of the truck as the bullets dented the sides, Tangle ducking as she began loading her gun.

"Christ, it never ends!" The lemur exclaimed.

"What the hell is happening?! Is that Eclipse?" Sally exclaimed, turning to Julie-su in the driver's seat.

"Looks like it. Where the hell are the vigilantes when you need 'em!"

Eclipse let out a groan, throwing the pistol in the back as he pulled out a shotgun, taking one knee as he began firing it towards the van.

A garbage truck battered into the back of the van once more, as the cop cars attempted to gain speed on the van.

Eclipse cocked the shotgun, blasting rounds into the side of the van. Khan ducked for cover, as Tangle cocked her assault rifle.

"Bah!" Eclipse exclaimed, firing the shotgun wildly as its bullets pierced the sides of the van.

"These vans are built for that, right?!" Khan asked.

"Ohhhh, yeah. He's gonna need something a lot bigger to get through this!" Tangle exclaimed.

Eclipse cocked his head to the side, holding his hand out as one of the thugs placed a rocket-launcher in his hand, hoisting it over his shoulder.

"What the hell is that?" Mighty asked, leaning over to look out of the driver-side window as the semi stayed on their tail across the median.

Eclipse aimed down the scope, licking his lips.

Vector tapped into the radio, "Guys – I think Eclipse has…a bazooka?"

Sonic cursed, looking at Amy. He radioed Tails frantically. "Tails, Eclipse has some sort of launcher. You need to speed up, now!"

Tails gasped, slamming on the gas as Eclipse fired the launcher – the rocket firing as it exploded between the van and the car, Tails' car spinning slightly as a trail of fire raged from his tires.

"Holy shit!" Cosmo exclaimed, grabbing onto the door for support.

Eclipse loaded it again, licking his lips passively as he cocked his head. Firing it, the rocket exploded on the back of Tails' car, the car lifting onto its side as it flipped over, before turning back onto its wheels – the rear smashed to bits.

"Shit, Tails!" Sonic exclaimed from the back of the convoy, beginning to speed up.

"Sonic, be careful!" Amy cried.

Eclipse grabbed onto the side, lifting his head out as his spines flurried in the wind, his eyes squinting as he heard a familiar sound.

Shadow's tank-like car began roaring down the street – heading towards them. Overhead, two streaks of cyan and orange began flying over the ocean across from them.

"Welllll…this makes things interesting!" Eclipse exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

"I did not sign up for this!" Espio shouted, as Whisper perched herself at the top of the van, aiming down the scope.

She placed a shot, the bullet dinging off the side of the semi as Eclipse whipped his head back in, hollering with laughter.

"Look out…" Mighty started, seeing Shadow's rumbler heading towards them.

The van didn't budge. Mighty leaned over, grabbing the wheel. "Look out!"

Turning the wheel sharply to the right, Shadow's car veered past them, ramming into one of the garbage trucks as it hoisted into the air.

Silver flew in, grabbing the truck telekinetically as he pushed it off the street, slamming it into the wall. Blaze flew by, Silver following behind.

One truck down.

The convoy continued speeding through the streets, the semi across from them staying on the lead van's tail.

Shadow's car spun around, speeding up to gain back with the convoy.

Eclipse situated, aiming the rocket launcher towards the van.

"Gaia – pick it up! We gotta pick it up!" Mighty exclaimed to the driver.

The semi clipped a car, causing Eclipse to lose his footing.

Hearing the engine of Shadow's car roaring, Eclipse stuck his head out, smirking.

"Hmmmmmmm." The darkling muttered, before hoisting the launcher back onto his shoulder.

Eclipse aimed down with the launcher again, training it on the van. "Time to snuff out a monkeyyyyy…"

Shadow's car sped up, the back boosters kicking on as it lept over a car. Eclipse fired, and the missile exploded on the back of Shadow's car – the debris of the explosion knocking into Eclipse's face as the semi-truck's driver began veering across the road.

The trail of fire blazed from the back of Shadow's car. Silver flew forward, grabbing the flames telekinetically as Blaze hurled them towards Eclipse's semi.

Eclipse ducked behind the container wall, grabbing one of his thugs as he kicked him into the fireballs heading towards the truck.

The semi smashed into the side of the walls alongside the roads, knocking their driver unconscious.

Shadow's car began quickly malfunctioning due to the blast, as it smashed through debris – stopping out of the tunnel-roads where the convoy had been driving.

The van containing Khan spun uncontrollably, smashing into the side of the street barricades.

Vector slammed to a stop, fumbling for his radio. "Hey, come on! Their semi is down, we gotta get moving!"

The driver managed to pull the van out, turning the wheel sharply as the van continued its trek down the street.

Eclipse hopped from the container of the semi, beginning to sing as he opened the passenger door.

"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny Khan! Oh, excuse me! I wanna drive!"

Eclipse opened the driver door, pushing the unconscious driver out of the truck as he slammed the door shut, the passenger loading a gun as Eclipse pressed on the gas – the semi-truck roaring to life.

The semi roared out onto the road, the convoy forced to stop behind it.

"Shit!" Sonic exclaimed.

Amy dialed in on her radio, "Hey! Did Tails and Cosmo get attention?! Their car went down!"

Sally responded, "Yes! They're okay – they're being taken to the medical wings!"

Sonic let out a sigh of relief, "Well – we're sitting ducks. What do we do?"

Antoine's voice crackled through the radio, "We need to reconverge on the topside streets. We have to get back to the vans!"

Sonic nodded rapidly, beginning to step on the gas. "Alright, let's get moving!"

Eclipse's semi tailed the vans, the truck rattling at the top speeds.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-dum!" Eclipse sung loudly, before veering the truck to the left as he smashed into an innocent driver, pancaking the car into the barricade.

Mighty watched this from the mirror, as Vector's van tailed the semi closely.

"Alright, we gotta get back to the main city roads! We need topside support!"

The driver nodded, turning sharply as the van returned to the city roads. Eclipse's semi followed, the container smacking into the side of the pillars holding the top-roads up,

"Ooh, I like this job! I like it!" Eclipse exclaimed, licking his lips wildly.

Shadow's car beeped loudly, stationed on the outskirts of the tunnel streets. Silver and Blaze landed behind it, as multiple motorcycles pulled up.

On the motorcycles were Shadow's gang, whipping off their helmets.

"Is the boss alright?!" Storm exclaimed.

Suddenly, the car fell apart as Shadow roared out on a motorcycle – blazing down the streets.

"Well – that answers our questions!" Jet exclaimed with a chuckle, kicking his motorcycle on.

"No time to waste!" Rouge exclaimed, "Follow him! Silver, Blaze, you got us from up top?!"

"We got you!" Silver replied, grabbing Blaze's hand as they soared into the sky.

Razor gritted his teeth, roaring out first as the rest of the motorcycles followed.

The police helicopter whirred overhead; a sniper positioned inside as the spotlight shone brightly in the sky.

"That's what I'm talking about! Air-cav!" Mighty exclaimed.

Vector's van followed closely behind, only to be tailed by Eclipse's semi.

Whisper attempted to fire shots into the glass, but Eclipse's manic driving caused her shots to miss every single time.

"Is it too much to ask that he keeps the truck steady?!" Whisper exclaimed.

"For him, yes!" Espio replied on his radio.

The helicopter flew forward, as Eclipse spotted them through the window.

Picking up his walkie-talkie, he flicked it on. "Okayyy! Rack 'em up, rack 'em up, rack 'em up!"

From across two apartment buildings, two men in clown masks were situated, firing grappling hooks as they crossed, hooking onto opposite fire escapes – creating a wire blockage for the helicopter.

As the helicopter began descending, it was caught on the wire, the helicopter tipping in the air before it began to spin out uncontrollably.

Mighty watched the helicopter begin spinning, his mouth dropping. "That's not good…"

The tail of the helicopter smashed through skyscraper windows, shattering them in succession as it continued tumbling towards the streets.

"Okay, not good! Not good!"

The helicopter spun out more, before it crashed into the streets, exploding into brilliant flames as the van slammed into it, smashing the debris of the destroyed helicopter out onto the streets.

"WAH-HAHAHAHAHAH!" Eclipse cackled, banging on the steering wheel.

Shadow, leading his motorcycle gang, smashed through back-alleys – storming onto the main streets. Shadow kept his gaze locked steady, his eyes darting up as Silver and Blaze flew overhead.

Eclipse chuckled through a closed mouth, muffling his laughter as he slammed harder on the gas, tailing the two SWAT vans closely.

Suddenly, out of the back alley – Shadow soared through, turning his motorcycle sharply as he began speeding towards the semi – his gang following.

"Ohhh – now theeere's a Shadow," Eclipse said, his eyes hungry and manic.

Shadow continued speeding forward, gritting his teeth tight.

"Oh, you wanna play?! Come on, come on!" Eclipse hissed.

Shadow continued gaining, reaching closer and closer to the semi.

"C'mon. C'mon." Eclipse stated through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, Shadow and his gang sped past the semi – however, grappling hooks had already been fired from Shadow's motorcycle across two lampposts.

Eclipse followed them, cocking his head.

"They missed!" The passenger shouted.

Suddenly, the van slammed into the two ropes, the force stopping the semi as Silver landed, grabbing it telekinetically and flipping it off the street.

Holding the semi with all his strength, the truck began plummeting back towards the ground, Silver's eyes wide as he attempted to cut contact.

"Silver!" Blaze exclaimed, soaring forward, and tackling him out of the way – as the semi thudded onto the ground, now upside down.

The couple smashed into some trash bags that were lying on the streets, dazed.

Shadow skidded his motorcycle to a stop, turning to his gang.

"Did we get him?!" Wave exclaimed.

Shadow hissed slightly, turning his furious gaze back to the truck.

"Stay here. I'll handle him."

"Shadow?" Bark asked, but before he received a response, Shadow had already begun speeding down the street.

The driver stopped the SWAT van, grabbing his shotgun.

"Wait! We can't stop here!" Mighty said, as the driver kicked open the door.

Vector's voice cracked on the radio, "Why are you stopping?!"

"No idea!" Mighty exclaimed, cursing as he kicked his door open.

Eclipse flopped onto the street from the semi, landing on his back as he groaned loudly.

The truck smoked, utterly smashed from the impact of slamming onto the streets. Eclipse hobbled up; his movements frantic as he twirled a sub-machine gun in his hand.

Attempting to stand, he lost his balance – his machine gun firing as he caved onto the ground, rolling over as his legs kicked in the air frantically.

Standing up, Eclipse cracked his neck loudly, letting out another groan as his coattails flapped in the wind.

Shadow's motorcycle roared through the streets, speeding up faster and faster as Eclipse began walking.

"Come oooon, come oooon."

Eclipse began firing his machine gun wildly, the bullets spraying on a random driver's car, as the driver veered off the road and crashed into a lamppost, the windows smashed out as Eclipse fired frantically.

"Come on, come on – I want you to do it. I want you to do it. Come on!"

Eclipse began firing again – not even looking where he was aiming. His bullets sprayed onto random cars, causing them to crash into each other.

Shadow continued speeding towards him, gaining faster and faster – appearing that Shadow's aim was to ram into Eclipse at full force.

Eclipse stopped, watching as Shadow barreled forward faster. Eclipse's face was enraged, though a frenzied hunger lie in his eyes.

"Cooooome on, come on, come on – I want you to do it. I want you to hit me. Come on – hit me."

Shadow sped forward faster.

"Come on, hit me. COME ON – HIT ME! HIT ME!"

Shadow roared, speeding his motorcycle faster towards Eclipse.

"HIT ME!" The darkling roared again, before Shadow turned sharply, the motorcycle skidding across the street until it slammed into the wreckage of the helicopter, the motorcycle tipping over as it launched Shadow from the seat, the hedgehog slamming and rolling across the ground.

Eclipse cocked his head, rolling his eyes as he licked his lips. He placed a hand in his coat pocket, beginning to saunter forward.

Rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out a knife, flicking the blade up.

One of his thugs turned Shadow on his back, reaching for his neck.

"Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum!" Eclipse sung, skipping across the street like an overjoyed child.

The thug touched his neck, however a gadget fixed on Shadow's collar shocked him, sending the man flying onto the street with a yelp.

"WAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!" Eclipse cackled loudly, hopping over Shadow as he placed his foot on the thug's neck – shaking him wildly.

Eclipse gibbered, making frantic "shocking" noises as he shook the thug about.

The darkling spat on the man, before bending over Shadow.

Twirling the blade in his hand, he reached forward – until a shotgun was placed on the back of his neck.

"Arrrrgh. Can you at least just give me a minute!"

The driver threw Eclipse to the ground, pulling off his helmet…

To reveal Knuckles.

Knuckles pointed the shotgun at him, his dreads blowing in the wind as he spat.

"We got you, you son of a bitch."

Eclipse flopped his hand on the ground, the knife clattering out of his hands.

The cop cars roared to a halt, Sonic peering through the window as his eyes widened.

"Holy shit! It's Knuckles!"

"And he caught him!" Amy replied, the pair leaping from their vehicles.

The force began darting forward, as Knuckles hoisted Eclipse to his knees, the darkling licking his lips maniacally.

Sonic grabbed him, watching as the SWAT commanders apprehended the thugs.

Knuckles opened the back door, Khan turning around in fear – but his eyes peeled open as his gaze met Knuckles.

"Knuckles?!"

Knuckles laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well – you played this one close to the chest, huh?"

"We got him, Ken," Knuckles said smiling, turning around as he saw Sonic kick Eclipse up to his feet.

Knuckles smirked again, turning to face Ken Khan.

"We got him."

As they cleaned up, news people converged quickly – cameras flashing at Khan as reporters asked him loads of questions.

"Mr. Khan! Mr. Khan! How does it feel that you are this city's hero?"

Ken scoffed, rubbing his neck. "Ah – no. It isn't me. This city's police – they are your heroes."

"Your office has been working with Shadow and the vigilantes all along!"

"Not quite," Khan started, "I just knew he'd do the right thing."

"Which was?"

Khan stopped for a moment, before smirking.

"Saving my sorry ass."

"Alright, that's enough! Let's let him be!" Amy exclaimed, leading Khan to the car that was waiting for him.

"Thank you, Amy. I've got a date with an upset girlfriend."

"I sure know how that is," Amy said with a chuckle, her eyes flickering to Sonic.

Opening the door, Khan shook her hand – offering her a smile.

"Thanks."

"You got it, Ken."

As Ken got into the car, Amy closed the door. She knocked on the window of the driver – however the man didn't respond.

Amy tilted her head, until the car began peeling off.

She watched the car drive off into the city, ignoring the pesty news reporters.

Her gut did a somersault, and Amy felt off.

Very off.

She wasn't quite sure what it was, because the driver was Drago Wolf - a cop they had trusted for a long time.

But...something still was off, and she could bet money it was something to do with Drago.