Act II: DESCENT

Chapter XVI: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Ken Khan's Point-Of-View:

"Hello?! Can anybody here me?!"

The voice that played over the phone speaker belonged to Sonia. The fervor of her yell awoke Khan, stirring from his sleep.

He felt his arms in bondage, ropes tying him stuck to a wooden chair. Whipping the hair from his eyes, Khan blinked a few times – the warehouse lights illuminating the room, yet blinding his eyes.

Shaking his head, he looked around – seeing the room full of oil drums. In fact, there was not an inch in this warehouse that was not occupied by an oil drum. In front of him, a telephone was stationed on the top of a metal oil drum – Khan immediately picking out Sonia's voice playing through the speaker.

"HELLO?!"

Khan's heart dropped when he realized the phone was rigged to a bomb – and the timer was going down.

5 minutes left.

"Sonia?" Khan squeaked.

Sonia was sat in a dark room, full of oil drums as well. Whereas Khan's room had lights on, Sonia's did not.

Sonia's voice was cracking, thick with tears. "Oh Ken, thank Gaia you're okay!" The hedgehog sounded desperate, shaking her head rapidly to brush away the tears that were soon to spill – her own arms tied by the ropes.

"I'm alright, I'm in a-" Khan stopped, looking around the room, "I'm in a warehouse, they've got me wired to these oil drums."

"I am too."

Khan's mouth dropped, his once fearful eyes now glazing over with absolute rage.

Sonia was somewhere else, in the same predicament as he was.

And they were forcing them to talk to each other in their final moments.

Shadow's Point-Of-View:

Shadow sped down the highways, his brow furrowed as he stared straight ahead.

Behind him, his entire gang kept on his tail on their own motorcycles, as Silver and Blaze soared up ahead.

"Alright, we're going after Sonia, right?!" Silver asked through their earpiece.

"Yes! She's the target!" Jet replied.

"Should Blaze diverge to where Khan is? Two of you in one spot?!" Rouge asked through the headseat.

"I think that may be smart. Feed me the address he's at!" Blaze replied.

"He's at Belmont Avenue, the Charical warehouse!" Wave replied, earning a nod from above from Blaze.

"Alright, I'm heading that way," the feline replied, as she darted off to the right.

"We need to pick up the pace!" Bark said, earning a nod from Razor as he revved the bike, speeding forward.

Shadow said nothing, his mind was plagued by the situation that lie in front of him.

Absolute rage, fury, and terror took his mind hostage.

Eclipse's Point-Of-View:

"I want. My phone call."

Eclipse sat on the floor of the interrogation room, as Espio stood inside – guarding the door.

"I want it! I want my phone call," Eclipse said again, flickering his gaze towards the chameleon.

"That's wonderful," Espio spat, his eyes locked on the wall opposite from him.

"How many of your friends did I kill?" Eclipse whispered, as Espio scoffed – closing his eyes and lowering his head.

"I have been doing this for ten years – I know the difference between punks who need a lesson and the freaks who just enjoy it."

Eclipse nodded, wiggling his eyebrows as he rolled his eyes. The smirk never left his face.

"And you killed eight of my friends."

Eclipse turned to Espio – the darkling feigned a look of "shock", mouthing the word "Eight?"

Holding Cell:

The grey pig clutched onto the bars for support, gritting his teeth as sweat poured down his face.

A policeman, a young white monkey, walked by the bars – staring daggers at the pig.

"Please…my insides – they hurt. They hurt so bad…"

"I don't really care. You need to back away now."

The pig breathed quickly, his entire body shaking as he gritted his teeth harder.

"The boss said he could get rid of the voices. He said that he could make them go away!"

The pig started wheezing.

"He said he could replace them with bright lights! It would be so beautiful!" The pig began to cackle, wheezing through his laughter.

"You're outta your goddamn mind – step away!"

Suddenly, the pig began choking, grabbing his throat as he shook – before collapsing to the ground.

The white monkey cursed, flicking on his radio. "I need a medic down to the holding cell!"

Opening the door, the monkey led three cops inside the cell, pointing at the other thugs.

"You all stay back! Stay the fuck back!"

Ken Khan's Point-of-View:

"Listen,"Sonia started, shaking her head as tears filled her throat, "We don't have a lot of time…"

The hedgehog stopped, collecting herself.

"They told me – that only one of us was gonna make it. They said they were gonna let our friends choose."

Khan stared at the phone, his gaze full of heartbreak as he began shaking his head rapidly.

He began looking around the room – searching for something, anything, that would save them.

"Alright, Sonia. It's gonna be fine – it's gonna be alright. They're coming for you, they're gonna get you."

"Listen, just talk me – talk me through what's going on with you. Lemme help you!" Sonia replied, running out of breath as tears lined her eyes.

Khan began hopping up and down in the chair, his face exasperated as he looked around the room, attempting to free himself from his bondage.

"Can you find anything sharp?" Sonia asked, as Khan continued hopping up and down.

"I'm trying."

"Can-" Sonia stopped, as Khan began cursing on the other line, the hedgehog listening to Khan's grunts as the noise of his chair began clattering on the line.

"Ken?"

Khan began knocking his body into an oil drum, lunging his entire body into it – before the chair fell to the floor, knocking the oil drum over as he yelled.

"Ken? Ken, what's happening?!"

The oil drum began spilling, as Khan was face down in a pool of oil – beginning to cough it from his mouth as his entire face was now doused in gasoline.

Sonic's Point-of-View:

Sonic drove like a bat out of hell, weaving in and out of any traffic as his sirens wailed.

Amy held on tight, as Tails peeked his head from the window.

"Blaze is up ahead!" The fox cried, as Amy looked up through the windshield, seeing Blaze's trail of fire behind her as she shot through the sky like a comet.

"Then Silver must be heading to Sonia," Amy muttered.

Behind them, Sally drove a car with Julie-su and Cosmo, as Bunnie and Antoine tailed close behind.

Knuckles had Scourge and Fiona, leading the charge as the echidna began to speak through the radio.

"All available units converge to 300 65th Street!"

Two SWAT vans tailed behind, Vector and Mighty driving one, Whisper, Tangle and Charmy driving the other.

Sonic's lip began to bleed – as his teeth sunk deeper into it. His eyes twitched, his hands were tight on the wheel.

His sister was in danger – and Gaia willing he would do anything to save her life.

Eclipse's Point-of-View:

"Espio…"

The chameleon grumbled, keeping his eyes locked on the wall ahead of him.

"Do you wanna know why I don't use a gun?"

Espio shook his head.

"They're just…to fast. I can't savor all the little…feelings with a gun. It's too quick. A knife, however,…allows me to see eeeeeverything I wanna see."

Eclipse waved his fingers, shooting Espio a knowing glance.

"Y – you see. In a man's last moments…they will show you exactly who they really are."

Espio scowled hard, his eyes beginning to twitch slightly.

"So…in a way – I knew your friends better than aaaaanyone else did."

Espio hung his head down, shaking it slightly.

Eclipse cocked his head to the side, licking his lips as he turned to face Espio.

"Would you like to know which of them were pussies?"

Eclipse hung his head down, his piercing, golden eyes staring daggers into Espio's face.

Espio laughed, shaking his head as he began to take off his suit jacket.

Holding Cell:

The cops and medics surrounded the pig – as they had removed him from the cell and placed him on the ground.

They were at the basement of the precinct tower – so they had little time to move him to the infirmary wings.

The medic opened his button-down shirt, revealing that his stomach was horrifically scarred.

It appeared someone had done some kind of surgery on him – and the outline of a device lay inside of stomach.

The police hissed, as the medics pressed onto his stomach.

"Looks like…some sort of contusion."

Eclipse's Point-of-View:

Espio began thundering towards Eclipse, rolling the sleeves of his dress shirt up as he growled at the darkling.

"I know you're probably going to enjoy this," Espio said, his eyes glaring daggers at Eclipse.

The darkling kept his gaze focused ahead of him – refusing to look at Espio as he cracked his neck to the side.

He showed no fear, he showed no hesitance.

"I'm gonna have to try and enjoy it more."

And in a flash, Espio lunged down at the darkling.

Shadow's Point-of-View:

The traffic ahead continued to pile up, but Shadow would not stop for anyone.

Jet drove on top of cars, leading the Rogues over the cars – treating them like ramps.

Rouge shook her head, tapping into her ear-piece, "Guys, no time for fun!"

"It may be fun, but it's also helping us avoid this goddamn traffic!" Storm replied, watching as Razor began tailing Shadow.

"I got your six!" Razor exclaimed, looking up as Silver began clearing a path through the traffic for them.

"Come on, come on! We're almost there!" Silver shouted through his headset.

Shadow cursed, kicking his bike into overdrive as the back boosters roared – the motorcycle hauling down the busy roads, ignoring any door side mirrors he was clipping off.

Eclipse's Point-of-View:

The cops began shouting, raising their guns in the air as Eclipse made his way into the main precinct, holding Espio at knifepoint.

"Whoa, whoa!"

"Drop the weapon! Drop it now!"

"Put the weapon down!"

"It's my own damn fault!" Espio exclaimed, writing in Eclipse's grasp, "Just shoot him! Take the shot!"

"Put the knife down!"

"Put it down!"

"What?! Sorry?!" Eclipse spat, pretending not to hear their instructions.

"What do you want?!" One of the policemen asked, his gun shaking in his grasp.

Eclipse looked around, cocking his head slightly, "All I want is a phone call."

The cops began looking at each other – confused, terrified glances at the darkling's request.

"Your…phone call?!" One man asked.

"Uhhhh-huh. Ain't I supposed to get a phone call?" Eclipse replied, digging the knife closer to Espio's neck.

Ken Khan's Point-of-View:

Khan continued coughing, the oil spilling from his mouth as Sonia called for him over the phone.

"What's happening?! Ken, talk to me – what's happening?!"

Khan spit more gasoline from his mouth, writhing on the ground against the gasoline as the binds kept him tied closer to the chair.

"Just – talk to me. Talk to me, Ken!"

Khan couldn't respond, allowing the oil to plunge itself across his face.

Eclipse's Point-of-View:

"Alright! You can have your phone call!" One of the men said, as Eclipse held his hand out.

Fishing in his pocket, the cop threw the phone to Eclipse – who began dialing a number.

Espio writhed in his grasp, as Eclipse hoisted the knife closer to his neck.

Espio gasped, earning a grunt from Eclipse.

"Oh – sh sh sh sh sh," Eclipse hushed him, before pressing the call button as the phone began to dial.

Down in the holding cell block, the device inside the pig's stomach started beeping.

The group jumped back slightly, watching as the device beeped inside of his stomach.

"What…is that?" One of the policemen asked, scowling.

And in a flash, the device inside the pig exploded, the explosion billowing throughout the police precinct, rocking the building as the blast ruptured the tower.

The cops were all knocked to the ground, the blast shacking the building as Eclipse was left standing – papers flying throughout the room as the darkling looked left and right.

The precinct had been bombed, and now Eclipse was free to roam and cause more chaos once again.

The Light That Never Goes Out:

"Mount the curb!" Knuckles exclaimed, as Scourge drove the car onto the sidewalk.

"Follow him!" Amy shouted, Sonic whipping the wheel to the right as the line of cars began speeding across the sidewalk.

"Keep it steady!" Julie-su exclaimed to Sally, loading her pistol.

Shadow roared his motorcycle to a stop outside of the building that Sonia was held in, kicking the stand down as he hopped from the seat – beginning to dart towards the door.

"Move in, move in!" Bark commanded, his gang chasing after him quickly.

Silver landed, fixing his gauntlets as he was prepared to hold back any interruptions that were to occur.

"Ken, just in case," Sonia began – tears beginning to spill down her muzzle, "Just in case, I wanna tell you something, okay!?"

"Don't think like that Sonia, they're coming for you!" Khan responded, his voice crackling through the phone.

Sonia choked back a quick sob, "I know they are, but I don't want them to."

Shadow kicked the door open, Rouge following behind as she began calling for Sonia.

Knuckles parked the car in front of the building that held Khan, running forward as Sonic and the force began following closely after.

"I don't wanna live without you, Ken. I – I do have an answer for you. My answer is yes, Ken. Yes – I want to marry you!" Sonia cried out, one last teardrop rolling down her muzzle.

Shadow kicked open the door, his eyes meeting a room full of oil drums.

However – any searching for Sonia was in vain – as his eyes lay upon Ken Khan, laying on the ground.

Shadow stopped, his mouth hung open as he realized…

Eclipse had switched the addresses.

He failed. He didn't save Sonia. He failed.

He failed.

"NO! NOOOO, NOT ME – WHY ARE YOU COMING FOR ME?!" Khan yelled, spitting oil from his mouth as he screamed at Shadow.

Rouge's eyes were wide, as Jet cursed under his breath.

Sonia listened in – realizing that they had gotten to Khan. Her heart plummeted to her stomach, shaking her head as her breath shook.

Shadow carried Khan by his back, hoisting his arms around his frame as he attempted to drag him from the building – however, Ken fought in his grasp, writhing in absolute agony.

"SONIA! SONIA! NOOO! SONIA!"

Sonia sighed again, her eyes full of tears, "Ken…"

"NOOO! SONIA! SONIA!" Khan screamed, his voice cracking as he shook violently in Shadow's grasp, Storm and Bark running up to help him. Khan was drenched in oil, whipping in the hedgehog's grasp.

Sonia sighed, her eyes accepting what was due to come. "Ken, it's okay…"

"SONIA! SONIAAA!"

Sonia sighed, shaking her head as she squeezed back tears. She continued listening to Khan's guttural screams – aching out one last breath.

"Ken, it's okay, it's okay. Listen…"

Opening her eyes, she smiled.

"Somewhere, we-"

And her hair blew to the right as the bombs went off inside.

Knuckles fell to the ground as the warehouse exploded, blasting into a brilliant ball of flames.

Blaze cursed, her gauntlets sparking as she threw up a shield. "TAKE COVER!"

The force ducked down behind the barricades, watching as the warehouse went up in flames.

Sonic stood up, his eyes wide with tears as he began running forward – Antoine and Scourge grabbing him as he fought against their grasp.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"Sonic! Sonic, stop!" Antoine exclaimed.

The hedgehog broke free from their grasp, running towards the building as Mighty and Vector grabbed him again, holding him back.

"SONIC, STOP!" Mighty commanded, as the hedgehog fell to his knees – his hands clutching the dirt ground.

Shadow led a screaming Khan from the warehouse – however once the bombs went off, Khan was launched to the ground.

"GET DOWN!" Silver exclaimed, throwing a cyan hue around the explosion as he attempted to contain it.

Shadow flung to the ground, Khan clutching his face in screaming agony as the gasoline that was doused on his body caught fire.

Writhing in screaming pain, Khan clutched the flames on his face, as Bark and Razor attempted to stop him from moving.

Shadow stumbled back, his mouth hanging open as he felt his legs weaken, falling to his knees.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried, grabbing him as she watched three teardrops roll from Shadow's eyes.

The hedgehog planted his face into the ground, his body racking with sobs.

He failed.

He failed.

Amy planted her hand on Sonic's back, as the hedgehog punched the dirt, bruising his knuckles.

He failed.

He failed.

Eclipse's Point-of-View:

Eclipse stood in the blacked-out police precinct, as wires sparked from the explosion.

Rummaging around on a table, Eclipse found the keys to the cell, looking over as his eyes met Honey – who was clutching on the bars.

Eclipse began slithering forward, shaking, and jiggling the keys in his grasp as he smiled wide towards the cat – who was huddling in fear inside the cell.

Eclipse pressed his forehead to the cell bars, licking his lips. "Hello there."

Honey said nothing, her eyes wide as she stared at the deranged darkling.

"Youuu owe me some money…Honey."

The darkling cackled, hopping up and down excitedly. "Hey! That rhymed! HEEHAHAHAH!"

Honey backed closer to the cell walls, biting down hard on her lip.

"Whaddya say you and I pay the mob a little visit…so I can go collect my half, hm?"

Knuckles' Point-of-View:

As Knuckles surveyed the fire department hosing down the warehouse, he shook his head, stepping through the ash that scattered across the ground.

Vector stepped forward, rubbing his neck. "Espio called. Eclipse is gone."

Knuckles cursed, hanging his head low. "From where?"

"From the Crime Unit," Tangle stated.

"Did he take Honey?"

They didn't say anything, allowing Whisper to give Knuckles a nod.

Knuckles shook his head, his breathing quickening. "Eclipse planned to be caught. He wanted me to lock him up in the Crimes Unit!"

Knuckles began running towards the car, Vector nodding to his group as they followed closely behind.

Eclipse:

Honey veered the cop car in and out of traffic, as Eclipse rolled the window down from the backseat.

He stuck his head from the window, licking his lips as the wind pushed onto his face.

His spines blew in the breeze, throwing his head back as he hung his head from the window, smiling widely.

Four cop cars followed behind, all driven by his thugs that had escaped – their sirens blaring as citizen's steered out of the way.

Eclipse licked his lips, moving around as he hung from the window, shaking his head rapidly like a dog – a smile plastered all over his face.

A sick, sick smile.

Throwing his head back, he watched the streetlights pass him by, snickering to himself.

His manic laughter grew louder, and louder, and louder…

Until all he could hear was the shrieking sounds of his laughter as the car blazed through the night.