Venice leaned the back of his head against a wall, body trembling and breath wheezing in his chest as somewhere in the distance he heard Silver talk gentle encouragement to him between his angry yells at Sonic. The blue hedgehog had flown away over the path, towing Silver and Venice behind him, the three of them rushing towards Sunset City at a neck-breaking speed. Venice had been hollering in fright at the top of his lungs, hands clawing into Silver to the point he had to have hurt both of them, until they entered a large building that stood proudly in the middle of one of the islands. Once there, Silver had gently lifted him to the ground and he had promptly collapsed against the wall, where he had been recovering for some time now.

Eventually he felt stable enough to lift himself away the tiniest bit, snuggling right into Silver who was crouched at his side. Wrapping his arms around the psychic's shoulder, Silver muttering gentle words in his ear, he was lifted to his feet. They took a few wobbly steps towards the middle of the hall they were in, Venice clutching Silver's shoulders. Sonic stood a bit wayward, grinning sheepishly, and Venice did not miss the seething glare Silver sent at the Blue Blur. But for some reason, he didn't share Silver's anger. Even though he had spent most of the ride fearing for his life it had also been... kind of exciting? While the thought scared him, he couldn't deny that he also felt... intrigued. At the very least Sonic had known what he was doing, skillfully rushing around corners and through narrow streets without causing the slightest injury to himself and his charges.

Sonic stepped a bit closer, and while Venice could feel Silver tense he himself didn't try to hide behind the other psychic this time, instead very warily watching the blue hedgehog as he came over. "Sorry about that, I have a tendency to get carried away at times," he explained, stopping next to Venice while clearly making sure he didn't leave the ivory hedgehog's sight. He gave Venice a thumbs-up, grinning widely once more. "But honestly, anyone would if they were as fast as me!" Next to him, Venice heard Silver growl, but the hedgehog's confident exclamation... amused him? He could feel a small smile creep on his lips.

Very, very slowly, Venice released his grip on Silver, and extended one hand to Sonic as said hedgehog had done in the park. He saw how Sonic's eyes lit up, and the hedgehog wasted no time in grabbing it, giving his hand a calm yet firm handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Venice!" he beamed. Venice mumbled something back, not really sure what to say in return or if his voice would even work. Baby steps, he decided. But when he looked at Silver, he saw the other positively glow with pride, any earlier exasperation with Sonic completely forgotten.

Letting go of his hand and bounding away, Sonic turned towards them and bowed elaborately, his quills flying in the air at the movement. "Welcome to the headquarters of the Restoration, kept together under the watchful eye of the lovely Amy Rose!" Amy Rose, he recognised that name. Silver had mentioned her when they had first met, talking about the food she made for him and how she had given him the coat he was currently wearing. Sonic gestured for them to follow him as he walked further into the hallway. "Come on, I'll give you a tour!"

Silver sighed in chagrin, bristling his quills the tiniest bit before they relaxed. Clearly this wasn't going exactly how he had wanted, but he said nothing as he gently grasped Venice hand to guide him. They caught up to Sonic, who was tapping his foot impatiently at how slow they were being, and fell in line next to the blue hedgehog. Silver walked in the middle, giving Venice the opportunity to stay little bit in the back. He still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. His curiosity had been prickled though, the blue hedgehog and his antics fascinating him as much as they scared him, and he knew he would be unable contain that fascination even if he tried.

"I haven't been gone for long, but how's everyone been?" Silver asked Sonic as they stepped through the halls. Sonic chuckled, and started a long-winded conversation with Silver about all his friends and the antics they had been up to. While Venice recognised some of the names from Silver's earlier stories, he realised quickly that he had nothing of value to add in this conversation, and as such he tuned it out and began studying the building they were in. He was sure Silver would understand if Sonic asked about it.

The only way he could describe the Resistance headquarters was... dreary. It was quite dark inside the hall, their shadows gloomily flowing over the walls as they walked by. The main colours were a drab grey and murky brown, and the lights flickered ominously as they passed underneath them. There were some other people walking around as well, dressed the same way as the civilians who had taken away Silver earlier, but with Sonic's brisk pace none of them had the time to start up a conversation or say anything to him, though he did get the occasional odd stare which he returned out of the corner of his eyes. Did Silver and his friends really fight a war here, for months on end with no idea if they would succeed? He felt a stab of pity go through him at the thought.

They kept swerving through hallway after hallway, occasionally passing an open door which mainly seemed to lead to sleeping chambers or storage rooms. Venice knew for sure that if he was ever left alone here, he'd be hopelessly lost for sure, and he unconsciously gripped Silver's hand a bit tighter. Looking up, he noticed that they had stopped walking and were currently standing in front of a door that was quite a lot bigger than all the other ones, with a yellow and black striped pattern in the middle.

"...and Amy is still busy leading the Restoration from our main hub. Speaking of which..." he heard Sonic say, as the blue hedgehog stepped in front of the door, which slid open all by itself. Venice stared at the door, amazed. How did Sonic do that? The speedster gestured for them to stay put, then leaned inside through the newly-created opening. "Hey, Ames! Look who came to visit!"

Though he couldn't see with Sonic in the way, Venice heard a higher-pitched voice respond from within the room. "This better be important Sonic, I'm busy with- SILVER!" Rapid footsteps came closer to the entrance, then a bundle of pink came bounding out of the room, Sonic jumping out of the way gracefully as it flew at Silver while laughing. Letting go of Venice's hand, which gave him the ability to perturbedly take a step back, Silver grabbed the pink creature and swirled her around in the hallway above his head, laughing also.

So that was Amy... she was pretty, Venice decided. Her quills were styled quite differently from his and Silver's, and she wore a red dress compared to his black coat. The bright smile she was wearing especially made her face shine. "Hey Amy! I haven't been gone for that long," Silver teased Amy as he put her back on the ground. She puffed her cheeks in indignance, though clearly not as bothered by Silver's words as she wanted to pretend.

"Nonsense, it's always good to see you!" She reached out to Silver once more, grasping him in a firm embrace which Silver eagerly returned. They let go after a few seconds. "So tell me, how was..." she trailed off, having noticed Venice standing a few feet away. He cowered a little under her gaze, but then she beamed brightly at him, bouncing over to him as well with her hand extended. "Ooh, who are you? Are you a friend of Silver's? I'm Amy Rose, it's nice to meet you!" Somewhat confounded by her enthusiasm, he slowly extended his own hand to Amy's and shook hers, just as he had done with Sonic. He still didn't trust his voice to carry him through this, so he shot a begging glance at Silver, who luckily picked up on it immediately. "This is Venice the Hedgehog, he's my friend from the future!" Silver explained to her.

"Venice? That's a beautiful name!" Amy laughed as she shook his hand, her grip somehow a lot stronger than Sonic's had been. But then her eyes grew thoughtful as she looked him over. "Hedgehog, you said?" Venice stared back at her, eyes wide. Sonic had had the same reaction... But also Amy didn't comment on it further, instead letting go of his hand and skipping back into the room she had burst out of. "It's so good to see you! Come in, come in, just ignore the mess!" Sonic shook his head while grinning and followed her, as did Silver. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Venice followed suit.

Shuffling up to Silver, Venice listened to the whistling noise his friend produced. "Whoa, Amy, did a bomb explode here or something?" While Venice didn't really understand what Silver meant, even he could tell how disarranged the room was. Huge stacks of paper that towered over everyone in the room were strewn about, as were crates, the occasional blue screen, and dozens of empty mugs and cups. It reminded him a little of Frozen City and the rubble and debris that had beset its ruins, though with different objects here. Amy sighed disheartedly as she made her way over to the table located in the middle.

"Things have been... kinda rough," she said in a tiny voice, staring at no point in particular on her computer screen. "There are still many people missing after the Metal Virus debacle, and rebuilding is not going as fast as we hoped..." Venice felt compassion curse through his entire body as he looked at Amy, who somehow appeared a lot smaller than she had been when she came crashing out of the room to meet them. Glancing at Silver told him the grey hedgehog felt exactly the same.

Silver walked over to Amy and placed a gentle hand on her back, rubbing up and down soothingly. "Don't worry Amy, Venice and I can help out a lot now that we're here. Right, Venice?" Venice saw him look inquiringly and nodded his head firmly, pushing down the spark of doubt that was ever-present in his body. So far Sonic and Amy had been nothing but friendly to him, the Blue Blur's prank aside, and Silver had always described them as true, selfless heroes. If he could do anything to make them and Silver feel better he would do so with no hesitation.

Amy seemed comforted by their dedication, standing the tiniest bit straighter. "That's very sweet of you two," she said with a smaller, wobbly smile on her face this time, "but there's a lot that needs to be done!" She gestured aimlessly around herself. "I can't work in this mess. I propose we start with cleaning this up first, and then focus outwards step by step."

"That's easy!" Silver shot up, lifting the entire mess in the room up in his powers. "Just tell me where these need to go, and I can put them there no problem!" Amy smiled fully now, immediately starting to give directions which Silver dutifully followed. Watching them, not knowing what to do with himself and as such not making any plans to get moving, Venice jumped slightly when Sonic suddenly stood next to him.

"What do you say we leave those two to do their thing and see if we can help out somewhere else?" Sonic asked, looking at him calmly. Venice felt himself freeze up, the familiar panic beginning to form at the back of his mind, but he tried to suppress it immediately. His curiosity had been piqued and was steadily getting the better of him... he wanted to learn more of this world and its people, and what better way to do so than with one of its inhabitants himself? Sonic seemed like a pretty kind guy, though mischievous, but if he wasn't kind then surely Silver wouldn't speak of him so highly. Yes, Venice convinced himself, he would be in safe hands with the speedster. He nodded timidly towards Sonic, getting a bright smile in return. "Great!" Turning towards Amy and Silver, who was now juggling a dozen crates with at least five stacks of paper, Sonic added: "Hey guys, Venice and I are going for a small trip. We won't get in trouble, promise." Although, the impish smile on his face told Venice that the Blue Blur certainly was anticipating at least some trouble.

At his words Silver turned towards them, distrust clear in his face. "Is that alright with you, Venice?" he inquired, yellow eyes drilling into Venice's blue ones. Clearly Silver had his doubts, but Venice had already made up his mind, and declining now would definitely be scarier than just going along with it. Standing up a little straighter himself, Venice thus nodded once more. Silver kept looking at him for a few more seconds, clearly having an internal battle, before his face softened and he smiled gently, too. "Make sure Sonic doesn't do anything stupid, okay? You have my permission to drag him back by his quills if he gets too annoying."

"Hey!" The offended hedgehog in question stroked back his prized quills. "No-one touches these!" But Venice could see that he also was amused by Silver's exasperated exclamation. Silver shook his head and continued with rearranging the crates, grinning at the recipient's jested displeasure. Sonic turned back to him once more, reaching out with his hand balled in a fist and very softly bumping it in his upper arm. "Alright then, Ven! Time to rock and roll!" Venice swallowed, earlier confidence deflating quickly. What had he gotten himself into?