Enigma of Super Speed

by Amorphous In Black

In an alternative reality of Mobius, Sonic witnesses something moving faster than anything he has ever seen. In exploring his surroundings passed his village and almost getting captured by Robotnik robots, he encounters the being that can go the legendary super speed. As he continues to associate with the individual, he slowly understands the horror how the Ameliorates were evolved

39. Arbitrate Fates, Pt 3

Chapter 39 - Arbitrate Fates, Pt. 3

"YYYOOUUU THINK...THISSSSSS HURTSSSSS?" Abolic growled with a crazy grin on his face.

Placing his hands on the ground, he forcefully pushed himself up. Whiplashing his head back to throw off Speed, the hedgehog jumped up hard before the fast movement. Reorienting himself and landing on the ceiling, the amputee threw himself back down. Turning around to be feet first, he stomped on the monster's face.

"GRRRR!" the creature grunted more in anger than in pain. Unable to withstand the blow, it lost balanced and fell backwards. Cackling out loud, Abolic slammed its hands to the ground causing a loud bang to echo in the red flare tinted hallway.

"NNNOOOOMMMOOOORRREEEHHIIIDDDIIINNNNGG," it howled then slowly got up. "I WILL EAT YOU VERMI-L!"

Before he could finish, his head whiplashed to the right. Chiara barely saw Speed do a wall-to-wall dash. Surprised and alarmed, the hedgehog used his left fist. Seeing it done in a slow blink of an eye, the impact carried enough force to sound heavy despite the large differences between him and creature. Seeing the monstrosity hit the ground again on its side, Vermilion moved back to where he stood before. Stopping and turning to the deformed ape, his face looked vicious. The robotic eye of his seemed more demonic looking in the red-tinted environment.

'...this...' Chiara thought taking a quiet backstep. '...this...can't...be real...'

With the stare down between the two, hear ears picked up shuffled footsteps. Not moving and just glancing around, the prisoners had walked back to their cell doors. Their creepy beady eyes of black and red stared at their prison guard and a former tenant of this place. Her fingers and toes felt cold as she gazed at the environment. Hearing murmurs nearby her, the individuals in containment stated incomprehensible things.

'This place...these people...is this what hell is?' she wondered in stiffened fright.

'I say that...yet...they live here...and in that dungeon as well,' the woman continued. An uncontrollable shiver traveled the entire length of her spine.

'Compared to my past...it doesn't even come close to this cruelty...' Chiara said in her mind.

Feeling her eyes turn toward the ground, her mind brewed in her scared state. The remembrance of when she was outcasted and abandoned from her home came. Anger, revenge, and spite would usually conjure inside of her being. However, given where she was currently, none of those emotions came. The fates of the individuals inside this torture prison were viler and atrocious. It made the treatment she got as a kid look like child's play.

"...!?" the stoat blinked.

Something was rubbing against her arm that felt like a finger or two. Darting her head to the left and staring, it was one of the caged inhabitants. Staring at her with glowing eyes of hunger, its bony fingers were trying to grasp her limb quietly. Seeing it shift a little as if noticing it was spotted, it seethed at her. Uncanny strength and viciousness snatched her left arm. Pivoting on her left foot to face the individual, she clenched her teeth hard.

Resisting the pull the prisoner was doing, her eyes widen. Forgoing all of her thoughts, survival instincts flooded her mind. Having more strength the other, she was able to rip her arm free from its grasp. Seeing the individual rage at her like a primal, it tried reaching at her again. Concentrating on not blinking or reacting, the prisoner screamed at her with a delusional roar. Not even thinking about what to do, Chiara bared her teeth at the trapped individual. With its arms outstretched through the metal bar door, she snatched its wrists.

"YA WANNA PLAY ROUGH!? OKAY!" she yelled angrily at the person.

Tightening her body, she pushed the individual back a step. Feeling the prisoner flailing in attempt to get out of her hold, she lurched backwards. Pulling hard, the person slammed into the containment hatch. The impact sounded heavy as the frame rattled in its locked position. The only other noise was the person moaning in pain.

"GETTING COLD FEET ALREADY!?" the woman blared out loud.

Still holding onto the person's wrists, she leaped onto the door. Upon making contact with the metal bars, the stoat immediately kicked off them. Going backwards and pulling her arms back again, another heavy slam occurred. Letting go of the prisoner's hands, it fell backwards to the cell's floor. Landing on the ground, she stood straight and glared through the hatch. Able to see enough from the flare down the hallway, the inmate was in a fetus position and covering its face. It sounded like it was in agony from its moaning and liquid coming from its face.

"..." Chiara stared down the prisoner with anger still.

Feeling her vitals calm a little to think, she felt a presence nearby. Producing her claws and clenching her teeth again, she did a dash roll forward. Once her feet hit the floor, a hard and large fleshly slap was heard behind her. Flanking around and getting into an offensive stance, adrenaline pumped more through her system. Standing where she was, Abolic was still in his attack position with his hand on the floor.

"...QuIcK...fOr FrEsH mEaT..." the creature spoke. His words came out as if he had lots of liquid in his mouth. Seeing what appeared to be blood coming out from its face, its nose was the most noticeable. It was trickling out crimson in a small stream. Seeing that its glowing eyes were still dulled, she deduced that it hadn't recovered its eyesight yet.

"...hhhheeeeee...unlike...Vermilion...I will skin you first," the monster began and took a crawling step forward. "And savior each morsel...of such spunky...meat."

'He got Speed?' Chiara thought not moving. Keeping her offensive stance and glaring expression, a faint smirk came on her face.

"You got Vermy? Ha! That's a riot," she retorted with a scoff. "What did ya do to hit him? Flail your arms like a blind man?"

"Hhhheeehhh...hhheeeehhh...aaaaa piiity...yyyooouu ddooonnn't...kkknnnoooowww," Abolic sneered. Grinning cruelly at the female stoat, it took another step forward. At the same time, it began to do a slow reach out with one of its elongated arms to grab her.

'Where is that psycho now?' she thought. Glancing to the left and right of the creature, there was no one around. From what she could see in the red flared hallway, nobody was seen killed or decapitation. Seeing the monster move closer, she focused back on it.

'I'm going to freaking slash the shit out of...' the stoat thought.

As if time slowed down, a silhouette came into view above the monster's head. It was running upside down on the ceiling. Jumping downward and flipping, she saw Speed's glowing eyes. Looking like a predator and an element of rage, wild fury projected out of his being. Forcing herself to not react, the slow down feel went away in an instant. The double boot stomp on the top of Abolic's head impacted heavily.

Unaware of the attack, the experimental bio ape dropped to the floor. Its face impacted the ground hard followed by it groaning in pain and immediate anger. Blinking out of reflex, Chiara saw the hedgehog dart to the right. Going fast, he ran up the wall and onto the ceiling. Upside down again, he launched himself downward. Repeating his previous attack, he struck the monster in the same place.

Occurring within a couple of seconds, Abolic didn't have time to recover and get up. A loud crack was heard from its head area followed by a louder moan of suffering. Cringing from hearing the sound of a nose getting broken, something zipped by her peripheral vision. By the time she moved her eyes a little, the amputee had done another ceiling to floor stomp. Hearing more noises of injury from the prison guard, Speed rushed to repeat his act of violence.

Each attack he did became consecutive, harder, and faster. The thud impacts changed to sound like someone kicking a bass drum. As the assault continued, it altered to sound meatier as if beating wet flesh. Chiara slowly loss her defensive edge as she watched the brutal beatdown. Instead of seeing his figure in the tinted red hallway, the hedgehog became blurry. Each impact he did to the creature's head, liquid began to fling out from the face area.

"..." the stoat cringed observing.

Leaning back and clenching her teeth, Vermilion stopped moving. The sound of the last impact came a split second later. A loud flesh splat was heard followed by several bones cracking audibly. In a matter of a few seconds, the amputee had repeated his melee attack a dozen times. Watching the hedgehog step off the monster's head, there was a visible depression at the crown. Thinking that would have killed it, her eyes widen from hearing faint inhaling and exhaling of air.

'That thing is still alive!?' Chiara mentally said in shock. 'H-How the hell can it be breathing after that!?'

"...!?" she flinched from hearing a wall of voices.

Getting away from the wall she was at and moving quickly to the center of the hallway, she looked around. All the prisoners were still standing in front of their cell doors. Minus the one she retaliated against, all of them were speaking louder. However, they weren't the only ones that were speaking. Feeling all the fur on her stand on end, her eyes widen greatly with fear.

"Kill...kill...kill...kill," one specter spoke near her. It sounded haunted, hollow, and agitated.

"...the beast...has fallen..." an inmate said across the room.

"Burn him...Scorch him...Set him ablaze," a ghost voiced hovering near Speed. That one sounded angrier.

"...if Abolic dies...then more meat...for all of us," another prisoner concluded while drooling from its mouth.

"BORE AT THE FILTH! END ITS SINFUL CRUSADE!" a translucent figure shouted from the other side of the hallway. Its sudden loud blaring caught Chiara off guard. However, it seemed to amplify the atmosphere in the hallway to something eerie.

"Do it Vermilion!" an individual raised its voice to her left. It shook its cell door making it rattle.

"Kill him!"

"BUTCHER! MAIM! DECAPITATE! GIVE US ITS HEAD!" a shadow silhouette barked from the ceiling. Above where the hedgehog was, it was floating while a faint noose was around its neck.

"SKIN HIS FLESH VERMY! GIVE US SOMETHING TO EAT!" another being shouted from the right wall. It was rhythmically making the metal bars rattle as to annunciate each word that came out of its mouth. The individual sounded unstable.

"SKIN HIM! SKIN HIM! SKIN HIM!"

'...what...the...shit...is...happening,' Chiara thought feeling petrified. Phantoms were appearing into the hallway one by one. They seemed to be feeding off the malicious vibe to the prisoners. It transformed the disturbing and eerie setting into a true representation of a distorted hellhole.

"MAKE HIM JOIN THE POOL OF THE DAMN!" a phantom raged spontaneously to her right.

Protruding her claws quickly, she instantly swiped the figure that was next to her. Not hitting anything, her facial features morphed to terror seeing it transfixed at the downed prison guard. It looked hideous. A deformed and morphed rabbit that was half eaten away. Its throat was open and inners hanging out of it.

"...!?" the stoat let out a short shout and leaped backwards.

Getting closer to the beatdown, she heard and savage growl. Pivoting around and getting into a defensive stance, Speed was shaking in place. His expression looked almost unhinged and barely able to control himself. Baring his teeth while tensing up his entire body, liquid was slowly seeping out his left cybernetic eye. Knowing that eye makes him bleed, she could see a faint red light within the black sclera surrounding the crimson iris. Her blood went cold from seeing something moving in the implant that that made a pulsation movement.

"KILL HIM!" a prisoner raged at the top of his lungs. "KILL HIM!"

"DESTROY! ELIMINATE! DESOLATE!" a ghost blared with the same volume.

"SLAUGHTER HIM! GORGE OUT HIS INSIDES!"

"PAINT HIS SANCTUM WITH HIS CRIMSON!"

"GIVE US HIS MEAT!"

"TAKE HIS HEAD! TAKE HIS PRIDE! TAKE EVERYTHING FROM HIM!" a phantom screamed in heavy distortion and hate. It was followed up with all the inmates suddenly going insane. Screaming incomprehensible things and shaking their cell doors fanatically, the specters matched it to another level.

"...!?" Chiara fell to the ground.

Shaking with horror and only able to stare, she saw Speed closed his right eye tight. Without a wind up, he let out a snarl and shoved his head down. With his mouth open, he savagely chomped Abolic's neck. Feeling her eyes go into micro-vision, his crimson eye was seen. Shaking in place, his face was lost to some untold rage. Seeing him snatch the monster's head with his left hand, he lurched his head back.

Unable to hear the bloody rip, his action made all the shouting chaos crescendo even more. The red tinted environment became distorted from all the phantoms phasing in and out of sight. Seeing that he ripped a portion of flesh out, the hedgehog opened his mouth and screamed. Feeling a tidal wave of goosebumps rush through her entire body, she could hear his voice through the madhouse. It was lower. Deeper and more savage than the others surrounding them.

"...a...living...demon..." the stoat uttered shaking in place.

Watching him rush back down, he bit the neck area again. Instead of whiplashing his head back, he continuously chomped down at the wounded area. Seeing him rip out more flesh and fling it to his right like a rabid dog repetitively, the voices around them were still shouting at deafening volumes. As if he made his last bite attack and stopped, his head slowly came up. The sight of how he looked made her immediately scoot backwards.

A glowing and icy crimson eye was dripping with blood. His mouth covered with the iron-stench liquid. His teeth filled with gore and loose pieces of what appeared to be organs. Seeing a haggard exhale through his clenched teeth, his body was positioned like how a primal out in the wild would be. The chaos of all the prisoners shouting continued even after seeing their want of brutality. All phantoms around began to distort and glitch rapidly in and out of place.

In fear of something catastrophic exploding in front of her, she laid flat on the floor. Face down, she covered the back of her head with her arms. Clenching everything in her being, the madness around her sounded like it was buckling to a climax. Feeling her fur spike to new heights, a massive chorus of high pitch shrilling imploded. Lasting only several seconds, it abruptly stopped.

"..." the female shook uncontrollably from the sudden quietness. Flinching hard from hearing a thud near her, there were other sounds of agony.

"..." Speed continued to haggardly breathe.

Opening up his right eye, the effects that were swimming in his head were beginning to fade. Forcing himself to untighten his muscles, he slowly wiped his cybernetic implant. Hearing the wet friction of sliding liquid off the glass lens, he could see less patches of red. Spitting out of the flesh and inners he clenched in his teeth, his jaw was still tense. Easing himself to a standing position, his ears picked up the noise of falling objects.

Looking at Chiara and seeing the state she was in, he moved his eyes toward the cages. All the hyperactive inmates were slowly decaying. Some appeared to be holding their chest with weak fists. No air seemed to emit from those in that deathbed position. The others that seemed to be struggling to breath, they were trying to choke themselves. Unsure if they completely went insane or they didn't want to live anymore.

'...more pieces that I don't recall or remember...' the hedgehog wondered. Looking at his bloody hand, he narrowed his right eye at it.

'Yet...when the implant eye began...injecting something into my...brain I think...it triggered memories.'

"...more things...to ponder..." the amputee muttered to himself. Walking away from the dead ape monster, he headed for the woman. Stopping a good distance away, the flare was still illuminating the hallway enough to see. Seeing her fidget in place, he blinked his right eye.

"...Chiara..." he called in a normal tone as possible. Still having blood in his mouth, it tasted bitter. Turning to his right and spitting again, another morsal of iron-liquid hit the floor. Turning back to her, she moved a little. Seeing the female barely look up, she was boring at him with fear.

'...where...where did the...ghosts go!?' she thought to herself. Her eyes never swayed away from the hedgehog to look around. As far as she knew, he was the biggest threat to survival down here. Blinking, he saw him gazing at her with the same cold killer expression.

"...I am...going to retrieve...the food container..." he stated then lifted his bloody hand to the surroundings. "...the remaining supplies...here...is yours...if you want."

"..." Chiara stared at him without moving. Feeling herself less shaking, she waited to see if he was going to go ape shit on her. Instead of him continuing to look at her, he calmly turned around. Walking in the opposite direction, his boots didn't make much clicking noises. However, the image of his figured being bathed in the reddish crackling flare and blackness of shadows still depicted him as a demon. When he got four cell doors away from her, the stoat acted.

"H-HOLD IT!" she barked loudly.

Her voice echoed down the hallway making it sound it was from something bigger than she was. Forcing herself to stand up, she tried pushing all her fear into agitation and anger. Walking toward him felt like going through water. All of her muscles and senses were still hyped up in wanting to flee and stop. Seeing him stop, he did not turn around.

"W-WHAT...THE FUCKIN' SHIT..." the female continued with yelling. The closer she got to him, her gut began to tighten itself into many knots. Him not speaking or turning around made her royally uncomfortable. Deciding if she was going to die in this hellhole, she was going out swinging and fighting. Getting in front of him and getting into his face, she resisted becoming nauseated from his iron stench.

"WAS ALL OF THAT!?"

"...a past reality...of misery...torture...and death..." Vermilion spoke in a neutral tone. "...everyone who resided...here...perished."

"..." Chiara reacted with staring wild-eyed at him. "...b-but...those prisoners...t-the ones in cells...they are still-"

"...were..." he emphasized with turning his head to the left. He stopped looking at a nearby cell.

"They are being...kept alive...by nostrums...nothing more."

"...nostrums?" she repeated in anxiety. Her stomach felt worse making her fold her ears back and wincing a little.

"...medicine...drugs...narcotics...all came from...the Sisters of Sanctum."

"...t-they made d-drugs that kept the prisoners alive at near death!?"

"...the...elixir used...was a composite," he began then turned to her. Despite seeing her queasy face and declining terror, he didn't shred any emotion from the information.

"...of pre-war chemicals...and fermenting lost souls...in vats."

"...!?" the stoat looked shell shocked and increasing sick.

Unable to contain herself, she turned around and threw up onto the floor. Feeling weak, she stumbled to the wall at her right. Catching herself and breathing heavy, she spat the remaining bile stuck in her throat. Shaking her head, she forced herself to turn around. Seeing the amputee standing in the same spot he was before, only his head turned to her.

"...w-w-what...t-the fuck..." Chiara stammered still feeling the shakes. At the same time from not having her life threatened, her body and mind began to feel the drop off of adrenaline. It was as if a whole body suit filled with weights suddenly was applied on her. Feeling her mind turning from the mental and emotional barrage, the stoat clenched her head.

"This is so fucked up!" she shouted. Looking up at him and seeing him staring at her, the flare flicking environmental made something click in her head. Moving her hands away from her head, she pointed at the hedgehog.

"...y-you...you have to be...a d-demon...or s-something."

"..." Speed blinked at her. Instead of getting annoyed, he turned toward the hallway. Continuing on his intended destination, he headed for a passageway going right. About halfway there, rapid feet came behind him.

"W-W-Wait asshole," Chiara sputtered out near him. Going passed him and turning around, the female could not see his face. The flare was at the other direction of the hallway. It only casted shadows when facing the other way. However, the amputee's cyber implant was the only color seen in the shadow.

"W-Where you goin'?"

"...like I said...the food container...then leave," the amputee answered without breaking his stride.

"W-What about the others here?" she questioned while backing up.

"...what...about them?" he asked without emotion.

"...you...you seriously just going to...leave them here to die?" Chiara asked sort of startled at how detached he was. The brutality he gave of ripping out someone's throat and listening to chaos didn't seem to faze him at all.

"...then free them..." Speed stated flatly.

Reaching the opening to the hallway, he turned right to enter it. Seeing the darkness down it consume all light, the flare's illumination could not reach. Only the faint and short fan haze of red from his robotic eye lit the immediate surrounding area. Despite not wanting to be lost in the prison and the surge feeling of apprehension at him, she immediately got beside him. Feeling her senses heighten from the sudden environment change, not seeing the hell in the previous area helped a little.

"Aren't they...ya know...your fellow sufferers or something?"

"...tell me Chiara...how was Oastial Harbor...when you came here?"

"...how...it was? What do you mean?" she asked a bit confused. The talking in the passageway echoed a lot. Not much volume was needed for their voices to carry throughout the length of the corridors and pathways. In distance ahead, she thought she saw faint movement on the walls. Stepping closer to him, she resisted her gag reflex from the murky blood smell on him.

"...was there...more activity in...the city...to keep authorities...busy?" he asked calmly.

Reaching an intersection, without warning he opened his mouth. Inhaling, he let out a deep, blustering bark. Flinching hard from not seeing him doing that, the female froze. Listening to the sound ricochet off the walls while traveling down the hallways, it sounded monstrous. In the distance, more movement was seen. It appeared to make it scurry away instead of waiting for their arrival.

"..." Chiara reacted with a tense scowl. Getting next to him, she punched him hard into his left shoulder.

"Warn me next time dickhead," she whispered. Hearing nothing, she saw the mild red haze move forward. Moving back to beside him, she thought about his question.

"...I think...yeah...there was a bit more activity going on. Both legit and crime stuff. Why?"

"...what about...now?" the amputee continued. Turning to the right showed another pathway. Continuing to walk, shuffling feet came quickly followed by a hand grabbing his left elbow. Thinking Speed would stop from the action, he didn't. Annoyed that he was treating her like she was a pest again, she didn't have the nerve to try fighting him.

'This is a hell he lived in...and now is the top dog here...pissing him off would just make him leave me here. And to hell getting lost in here with cannibalistic psychos,' the stoat thought. Swallowing down her pride and ego, she pondered his question.

"...now...I think there's less now. I know the owner of the apartment place stated the number of shithead renters on the ground floor lessened over the years...you saying that the criminals were captured and imprisoned here over the years?"

"...one of the...underground entrances...to the Sanctum...was across the street...from your place of...occupation," he informed.

"One of them?...how...many were there?" Chiara asked both curious and scared to know.

"...four...entrances...in city alone."

"...how...were they captured? Baited?"

"...those that entered...the black-market building...and pub...were marked."

"That...kind of makes sense," Chiara agreed. Feeling they were distancing away from the prison cells, their footsteps were the only things making loud sounds. Feeling him turn to the left, there was something faint down the hallway. It seemed a bit far away, but she had a feeling he was going there next.

"But...no one in their right mind...would try to mess with the gang in that place. Let alone try to rat out the pub. That seems like an ideal den for those shithead tenants on the ground floor."

"...perhaps..." Speed answered blinking his right eye. The sensations from killing off Abolic seemed to have calmed down completely. Focusing back to looking forward, he tried to remember where he placed the food container last.

"If they were marked...how did they get dragged...here or in the other place?"

"...the pub staff...the black market thugs...all were former...lost souls of...the Sisters of Sanctum," he began. Flashbacks came to him quickly remembering how many people came when he was trapped. The memory made him pull one corner of his mouth down into a half frown.

"They...would be rewarded...from bringing in...the customers."

"F-F-Former!?" she reacted with shock. "B-But in that dungeon! In here! What those psycho bitches were doing..."

"...Polio and Sars...conceived a rehabilitation...concept and center...conformed followers to run...the system," he explained. Walking further down, both heard shuffling of feet. The female felt there were many eyes staring at them coming from the darkness around them. Passing through, she swore she could hear the essence of hunger breathing around them. Willing herself to get closer and become nauseated, she held his arm firmer.

"That crazy bat cultist too. Right?"

"...no..."

"No!?" she repeated out loud. In response to her mild outburst, metal rattled around them. Hearing moans and groans, small movements of wind were felt. It as if a hand was swiping and trying to push air at them.

"That psycho was the leader of them!"

"...she was...a puppet..."

"A puppet? You mean they messed her up too!?"

"...they used her...due from her unstable...war fallen mind..."

"..." Chiara veered back looking at him. All the information he was stating just sounded hard to believe. At the same time, he was the only one that seemed sentient enough to explain what was going on down here and in the other dungeon area. Shaking her head, she tried to see if she could push more information.

"Since when did you play detective?" she spoke in light-hearted matter.

"...you asked...explained what was...witnessed," Speed answered with indifference.

"These souls...what keeps them alive...the nostrum...Sars stated once...to revitalize...a damned soul...life and miracles...must be feed into them...to free their binds...and to repent their sins."

"..." Chiara opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. Staring at the darkened silhouette of him, her mind hurt from all the information he stated.

'...how...how far does this shithole situation...go?' the female asked herself.

Continuing to walk near him and hold his arm, she kept quiet. Wanting to get out of here, she couldn't muster enough courage to let go and try to find a way out. The periodic calls of suffering and incomprehensible whispers from the darkness made her stay put. Also, she didn't want to be nabbed again from an unstable emaciated prisoner again wanting to bite her flesh off. Nor encounter another ghost party shrilling their heads off of wanting blood and murder. Pressing her teeth together and shaking her head hard, she followed him to keep herself sane.