Act II: DESCENT

Chapter XVIII: Gasoline Dreams

Hedgehog Family Tower, Sunday 1:05 PM

Tails sat alone in Sonic's large living room, his eyes hanging low as he watched the news.

The police station being bombed, as well as Sonia's death and Khan's hospitalization at the hands of Eclipse were headline news for the city.

It shook the very core of the metropolis – and for the first time in three years, the people were terrified.

This force of nature was unpredictable, and it was horrifying. No one knew when, how, or where Eclipse would strike next.

Bobbing his leg up and down, Amy walked into the room – followed by the entire vigilante team.

Tails turned around, his brow furrowing as he saw them standing behind her. "Oh – what are you guys doing here?"

Amy sighed. "They're here to check on Sonic. He should be down here in a second."

Jet sighed, nodding at Tails. "Sorry about Sonia, man. We're gonna crush that little reptile for what he did."

"Amen," Storm muttered, shaking his head.

Tails nodded solemnly, before Sonic stepped into the room with a mug of coffee. "Hey guys – what're you doing here?"

"We came to…check on you," Blaze said, earning a somber glance from Silver.

Sonic sighed, before stepping forward to hug the couple, wrapping their arms around the blue hedgehog as he sighed into their chests.

"You know we're gonna do everything we can for you, Sonic," Silver said.

"I know you are. I'll be there every step."

"We'll get him Big Blue – we always do…" Rouge added.

Sonic nodded, feeling his eyes wander to Shadow – who was staring longingly out of the window.

Sonic cocked his head to the side, walking over to Shadow as he put a hand on his back.

"Hey."

Shadow turned to him, nodding. "Hey."

Then they fell into silence, as Amy and Tails conversed with the team elsewhere. They managed to sneak them into the building somehow, even in the pale daylight.

"I'm sorry, Sonic."

Sonic turned to look at Shadow, who continued staring out of the window. The blue hedgehog sighed, shaking his head.

"We were played, Shadow. Don't – don't put this all on yourself."

"I should have been faster."

"So should I."

There was silence again, as the pair were both now gazing out of the large windows.

"One thing about Sonia is she would never go down without a fight. I know she's going to watch over us from the other side, Shadow. I know she's there…"

Shadow shook his head slightly, blinking back tears. "All I wished to do was protect people. If I cannot protect the one person that I truly loved – then what good is any of this?"

Sonic squeezed the hedgehog's shoulder. "You have done so much good, Shadow. Just because Eclipse is trying to hold some sort of mirror up to you – are you going to let him get away with that? Are we? We can't lie over now."

Shadow shrugged lightly. "I remember the promise I made to Maria. I promised her that I'd get vengeance – but I knew what she truly wanted. She wanted to me to give this city a chance. She believed that underneath everything was a true heart. Underneath the corruption, the organized crime – there was good."

He stopped, before turning to Sonic. "Is there truly any good left now?"

Sonic pondered words for a moment, biting on his lip before returning his gaze. "We are surrounded by good. It's never going to be perfect, but what could we truly do for the people we love if it is perfect? We have to keep trying…"

The black hedgehog nodded, a slight smile stretching on his muzzle before Tails called them to the television.

The pair shared an inquisitive glance, before walking towards the couch, where the entire groups eyes were fixed to the television.

Big was introducing a guest, cladded in a nice grey suit.

"He's a credible source – a lawyer from a prestigious and leading consultancy, and he says he's waited as long as he could for the vigilantes to do the right thing."

Sonic's eyes widened when he saw that the guest Big was introducing was Ray – their leading accountant. Tails turned over his shoulder, looking at the vigilantes as their faces became uneasy and irritated.

"He says now he's taking matters into his own hands. We'll be live with the true whereabouts and story of the Central City vigilantes at 5."

Sonic squinted, shaking his head as he muttered a curse under his breath.

Central City General Hospital, Sunday 4:15 PM

Knuckles, Sally, and Julie-su approached the bed carefully, as Khan hid most of his face from the trio.

Knuckles stepped forward, swallowing as he stared at the ground – watching Khan breathing shallowly.

"We're – we're sorry about Sonia," Sally began for them, earning a slight scoff from Ken Khan.

It was silent for a moment, a blanket of uneasy tension draped over them.

Knuckles shifted slightly, still refusing to look at Khan. "The doctors say you're in excruciating pain – but you refuse to take any medication…"

"And refusing skin grafts…" Julie-su added, the only one of the trio looking straight at Ken.

"Do you – do you remember that name you all had for me? When I was over at Internal Affairs?"

Knuckles shook his head, swallowing a lump. "Ken – I…"

"Say it."

Knuckles bit down hard on his lip, sharing an uneasy glance with Sally.

"SAY IT!"

The sudden, vengeful roar from Khan caused Knuckles to jump slightly, his mouth dropping as he stared at the monkey.

Knuckles stared at the ground for a moment before sighing. "Scarface. Ken Scarface."

Khan scoffed. They compared him to a lying criminal. It was cruel, but now? Khan accepted this.

"Why should I hide who I am?" The monkey said, before turning to face them – and the look of shock, horror and disgust on the trio's faces was paramount.

Most of Khan's face was horribly burned and scarred, bones showing, and sockets displaced. Only Ken's left eye and the far left-corner of his mouth was untouched by the scars and burns.

"I – know you tried to warn me," Knuckles began, "I'm sorry."

Khan scoffed again, rolling his eyes.

"We know that – Drago Wolf picked you up. One of our lead cops – was he working for them?" Sally asked, earning no response from Khan.

"Do you know which of our cops picked up Sonia?" Julie-su added, yet no response from Khan once again.

"Ken – we need to know which of our cops we can trust. Which of our cops aren't working for the mob," Knuckles said, tears in his eyes.

"Why would you listen to me now?" Khan spat, a slight growl in his tone.

"I – we're sorry, Ken…" Knuckles began, pursing his lips tight.

Khan turned his head to them, an angry glare in his eyes – rage coursing through his veins.

"No. No you're not. Not yet."

The trio said nothing, just nodded at the monkey as they made their leave. It was obvious talking to him wasn't going to work.

He had nothing more to say – and now? The corruption in this city, and their own department – was going unchecked.

The trio walked from the hospital doors, walking onto the open platform before Knuckles eyes caught sight of four individuals he was disgusted to see.

Leaning against a black convertible was Starline, surrounded by Zero, Surge and Kit. The platypus shook his head, fixing his sunglasses as he patted down his suit.

"This craziness. It's just too much!" Starline mocked, shaking his head with a smirk.

"Should've thought of that before you let the lizard out, Starline," Julie-su spat, glaring at the four.

"Hey!" Surge said, putting her hands up, "We didn't know how far he'd take things!"

Kit giggled, earning a raised eyebrow from Starline.

"You caused this. If you had just ignored him and didn't fund him – you would've avoided all of this," Knuckles replied, stepping closer to Starline.

"Either way – it is your fault for not doing the right thing and arresting the vigilantes," Zero spat, fixing his ruby on his chest.

"It's a little too late for that, Zero. He's about to cause a war," Sally replied, earning a chuckle from Starline.

Knuckles shook his head, turning to walk towards their van before Starline spoke up.

"Well, do you want him?"

The trio stopped, turning their heads over their shoulders as Starline removed his sunglasses, hanging them on his suit jacket.

"I can tell you where he'll be this afternoon."

Shipping Dock Warehouse, Sunday 5:25 PM

Bean and Nack walked inside the warehouse, the weasel smoking a cigar as lower-level mob men followed closely behind them.

The sight they were greeted with was a shock – as the amount of thugs Eclipse had gathered into his army had reached a staggering amount.

The warehouse was full of masked assailants, all toting assault rifles, explosives, knives, and other weapons.

Nack shared an uneasy look with Bean. What the hell was this guy planning?

Bean began to gawk, thudding into the weasel's side as he pointed across the room.

What shocked them the most…was the absolute pyramid of money was stacked inside the room.

This pyramid pile of money nearly reached the ceiling – and atop it was a man tied up in rope, writing as he was positioned atop the tower of money.

"Who the hell is that?" Bean asked, earning a scoff from Nack.

"That's Ferris. He's a big-time city politician. Guess this whack job kidnapped him and brought him here. This shit is unreal…"

As if on cue, behind Ferris – Eclipse emerged, holding his arms out as he held onto a knife, smiling down at the binded man as he licked his lips.

"Well, Eclipse! Guess you ain't as crazy as you look!" Nack exclaimed, taking a hit from his cigar.

"I told you…I'm a man of my word!" Eclipse exclaimed, before jumping as he slid down the pyramid of money, knocking bills out of the way as he treated the pile like a slide.

Landing, he reared his head back, before throwing his arms up again. "Where's the platypus?!"

C.C.P.D. 5th Ave Precinct, Sunday 5:07 PM

After having to move to the 5th Ave. Precinct, due to the bombing, Knuckles rounded up their men.

Espio directed the SWAT loading weapons into their vans, standing with Mighty and Whisper.

Knuckles shared a look with Vector, as the echidna began explaining the plan.

"All tactical units will converge on the location in 20 minutes! I want all auxiliary units with the SWAT to cover any possible getaway routes!"

As Knuckles explained, Scourge, Vector and Cosmo watched the television – as Ray was being interviewed by Big as they accepted phone calls from the city.

"This is our chance – I want Honey alive! Eclipse, either way!" Knuckles finished.

"How much are they paying you to give out this information on the vigilantes anyways?" One caller asked Ray, earning a scoff from Vector.

"Can't believe Mighty's little bro is doin' this," Scourge said.

As Vector watched, he turned to Knuckles – beckoning him over. "Knux, get a load of this!"

Knuckles titled his head, before setting over to the television.

"Ken Khan didn't wanna give into this maniac – do you really think you know better than him?!"

Ray sighed, before stuttering on. "I think – if we could speak to Ken Khan today…he may feel differently."

Big interrupted, looking towards the camera. "And – we wish him a speedy recovery. Because Gaia knows, we need him now – more than ever."

Shipping Dock Warehouse, Sunday 5:27 PM

Eclipse grabbed a handful of money stacks, as he began hurtling it towards Ferris atop the pile. They money was thrown directly into Ferris' face – the darkling laughing as he threw them.

Nack took the cigar from his mouth, pointing it at Eclipse. "Wait – Eclipse. What're you gonna do with all this money?"

Eclipse sighed, pulling a gun from his coat-pocket as he pointed it around. "You see – I have a simple taste. I enjoy…dynamite!"

As Eclipse talked, he began walking backwards, a mocking grin on his face. "And…grenades. Gunpowder – and…gasoline!"

Turning away, three of his men began pouring gasoline on the money, dumping it from the oil drums as they drenched the stack of money in fuel.

Nack and Bean shared an anxious look, as they began stepping forward.

"A-ta-ta," Eclipse toted, pointing the gun to the pair as he allowed his men to continue dumping gas onto the money.

"Oh – and you know what those things have in common?"

Eclipse stepped forward to the pair, holding his gun to his own muzzle. "They ain't expensive."

Nack glared at him, the cigar hanging from his mouth. "You said you were a man of your word."

Bean glared at the darkling, as Eclipse licked his lips. "Oh, I am!"

The darkling grabbed the cigar from Nack's mouth, inspecting it. "I'm only gonna burn my half!"

Turning around, Eclipse threw the cigar onto the gas-drenched money, igniting the entire pyramid of money into flames – as Ferris began screaming from the top as the flames consumed him whole.

Nack and Bean watched in horror as the money – which was easily upwards of 500-600 million dollars – burned right before their eyes.

"Allll you care about is money," Eclipse began, leaning forward as he stared into the weasel's eyes.

"This city deserves a better class of criminal – and I'm gonna give it to them!"

Nack gritted his teeth, biting down as he gave the darkling an enraged look.

Eclipse pointed his gun into Nack's chest, taunting him. "You tell your men they all work for me now. This city is mine."

Nack shook his head, scoffing with a grin. "They won't work for a freak."

"A freeeeeeak?" Eclipse mocked, before switching a blade out from his pocket, twirling it slightly.

"Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and throw those into the fire too, huh?"

Suddenly, the mob men that came with Nack and Bean grabbed them, dragging them off as the pair fought in their grasps, cursing at the darkling as he chuckled.

Fumbling in his pocket, he grabbed a phone, cracking his neck. "It's noooot about the money…it's about sending a message!"

Twirling his phone, he looked down at the number.

Central City News Station.

Time to give Ray a little on-air phone call.

"Everything burns, friends!" Eclipse exclaimed, as the fires crackled and raged behind him.