This is... a situation, Silver thought to himself as he watched the trembling shape of his friend inside the sleeping bag where the hedgehog had gently put him. He had intended to wait for Venice to wake up after he fainted in the library and then talk to him about what exactly had happened, but once the survivor had come around he had immediately started panicking and crying, clutching his head so hard Silver feared he would make himself bleed and haphazardly lifting and moving every small object in the vicinity. Realising that they'd probably not get far this way, he had quickly collected his Miles Electric and all the salvageable books and diaries he could find, shoving them in his backpack for safekeeping as he lifted Venice and quickly flew them back to their hideout. The terrified hedgehog had been in shock all the way, his powers pulsing out of his body uncontrollably. He had curled up into a ball on his side immediately when Silver lowered him in the sleeping bag, the entire shelter getting filled with a teal colour, and he had utterly refused to come out or talk to him for the hours that followed. It made Silver's heart clench with pity and concern.

As he was stirring the soup he was preparing, keeping half an eye on Venice as well, Silver let his thoughts drift. He had seen the psychokinetic marks that he himself had as well on the other's hands before, as vague as they were, meaning it hadn't been a trick of his mind after all. His own experience with his powers had taught him that if he were to overexert them to an insane degree, they would turn grey and he would be unable to access them until they had fully recovered. However, that had only happened to him a handful of times when he was a little kid at best, entirely incapable of controlling his powers the way he could now.

Silver knew that his birthright had developed in an unique manner due to the way he had grown up. In the destroyed, burning future with everything out to get him he had deemed it a necessity for his blessing to be as strong as possible, and as such he had spent torturous hours and days practicing the best ways to manipulate his environment as he saw fit. His efforts had paid off quickly enough, showing themselves even as he had grown older and was able to pull off more impressive feats than he had ever dared dream about; with a chuckle he thought about how easily he had created his Meteor Smash to battle Sonic when they were sparring for the Chaos Emerald that one time.

While Silver had struggled with his powers when he was a young child they were now completely under his control except for the direst of circumstances, where they took over only when he was boiling with anger or in a life-threatening situation. But Venice seemed to be around his age, and yet he had been completely held in the power's grasp instead of the other way around, incapable on getting the slightest semblance of a grip on them... had he simply not been able to practice his powers the way Silver had? Or had he discovered them only very recently? Silver's mind drifted once more to the facility Venice so sparsely mentioned, and he felt his himself tense thinking about what could possibly have happened there to make his friend so terrified of using his power. He could certainly come up with a few scenarios...

Realising the soup was about to boil over, Silver quickly removed it from the fire and put it in two bowls, before making his way over to Venice as he had done multiple times in the past few hours, though all those times it had been to no avail. He hoped that the food would lure him out where Silver's words had failed.

"Venice?" He gently set down the bowls a bit wayward from the sleeping bag, then gave the thing a very gentle shake. Judging by the shifting of the teal light that was strongest at the very end of the sleeping bag he could have sworn that Venice cowered even more, if that was possible. "I brought you some food. Are you hungry?"

His question resulted in a small shuffling sound from the bag, which he considered to be a good sign. Soon enough two blue eyes peeked out from inside its depth. Silver tried to smile as encouragingly as he could muster, trying to push away his worry and concerns for the time being. Although Venice refused to leave his safe haven fully, he did extend a hand with a brightly-shining teal mark for Silver to place a bowl in, and he also didn't crawl back into the sleeping bag entirely. Settling next to him and slurping his own soup, Silver wondered how to best bring up the conversation of Venice's powers. He certainly wasn't planning to sweep it under the rug and pretend like nothing had happened, though he was quite sure Venice would have preferred it that way. What should I do?

With the silence bearing down on them Silver wracked his brain to find a way to talk to Venice. Eventually he just blurted out the first thing he could think of. "Y-you know, having psychic powers is actually kinda neat!" Next to him, he could tell that Venice immediate froze up again, unmoving and still as a statue other than taking rapid breaths. Silver felt the other's power pass through the room like a shockwave as he spoke his words. Well, he couldn't give up now.

"Have you ever wanted to learn how to fly? It's honestly so peaceful and beautiful, to just soar around on the wind and watching the land stretch out below you." At his words Silver could feel his own beloved psychic energy thrum gently inside him, as to assure him he could do this. He leaned back against the wall and continued, glancing at a few objects that came floating by due to Venice's power. "Using them just feels... nice, I guess. Like I can do anything I put my mind to... well, that's literally the case, I suppose." He chuckled at his own joke, and he was certain that he heard a very small laugh from inside the sleeping bag as well.

Glancing over to the sleeping bag, he saw that his friend had revealed himself a little bit more, and the other's power seemed to be a bit calmer too. Now blue pupils and irises were staring up at him, still filled with fear, but he could have sworn that he saw the tiniest spark of intrigue in there. Maybe if he just brought this in the right way, and left out some of the more unpleasant details, like how long it had taken him to even get the slightest grasp on his own powers and the physical and mental exhaustion they had wrecked him with... He thought for a second about the best way to keep talking, then continued.

"There are lots of types of psychic powers, but ours is called telekinesis specifically. I prefer to use the term psychokinesis though, since I can do more than only move stuff with my mind. With psychokinesis, you can manipulate the environment in any way you want. Take me, I can use my powers to lift up small things, but also really big, heavy things, and myself when I want to fly. And it allows me to feel things around me without actually having to see them! My friends say it means they give me good spatial awareness, but all I know is that it's really useful for grabbing objects from behind you. And I don't only use them for myself, they're also really nifty to help other people! They're always amazed when they see what I can pull off with them, and so grateful when I aid them with something..." he trailed off, watching Venice's reactions intently. The other had crawled a bit closer still and in his eyes he could see both terror and fascination. Silver smiled inwardly. He almost got him...!

Playing coy, Silver continued as if he hadn't seen Venice shift closer or eat up every word he said. "My powers are a part of me, and using them makes me feel exhilarated. I'm sure if you learned how to work with them, they'll make you feel ecstatic, too. If you want, I could teach you how to use them?" He turned towards Venice completely and extended his hand. The other looked at it, frozen entirely, every object that had been floating in the room suspended in the air as well. Silver could clearly see the battle between Venice's terror and curiosity go on inside his head. After a few moments, that to Silver felt like they lasted forever, Venice extended his hand to Silver's, gently clasping it and taking a deep breath. "I-I t-think I would... I w-would l-like that."

Silver smiled widely as he squeezed Venice's hand back. Hook, line, and sinker.

------

It had been a few days since their one-sided talk, and Silver had no words to express just how proud he was of Venice and the progress he had made in such a short time. They had started out the way Silver had as a child, focusing only on small objects such as pebbles instead of the much more daunting crates and cars he himself could move so easily. While Venice at first was too afraid to even try grabbing and lifting whatever Silver pointed out to him, and often lost control of the situation, with the hedgehog's tips and encouragements he had quickly moved up from small rocks to consecutively larger pieces of debris and some crates. Despite his desire to get back to the past, Silver had considered himself lucky that they were in a ruined world with no other inhabitants; while he could easily hijack Venice's powers when they got out of hand, he couldn't prevent the occasional toppling-over of skyscrapers and extra damages to the buildings in their already pitiful state, and he dreaded thinking about the damages Venice would have caused in the populated world. Well, he had started out in a similar manner; due to Venice's older age and with Silver's help he picked up the necessary skills much easier and with a lot less fuss than Silver had.

His teachings also had positive effects on Venice's personality, he had noticed. While it had been clear that his friend had been terrified to step out of line or speak his mind from the moment they had met, with Silver's praise and every new good experience he had with his powers Silver could see him bloom and flourish. He talked a bit more and stuttered less now, on occasion even showcasing some of the smugness and cockiness Silver knew he also possessed. It made him worry he wasn't as good of a role model as he had wanted to be, but on the other hand he could only encourage the shift in Venice's personality from a frightened teen to someone much more wide-eyed and confident.

According to his Miles Electric it now had been 15 days since he had entered this future. Between practicing with Venice, cooking and sleeping, and studying all the documents he had found in the library more than a week ago, groaning frustratedly at every dead end and undecipherable riddle they resulted in, Silver honestly felt too busy to even worry about anything else. But when he was practicing with Venice in the afternoon, he suddenly realised that he needed to find a way to take them both back to the past. Tails had told him that he had been working on an invention that allowed the user to travel between time and dimensions freely, but so far the contraption was still much too dangerous to use and as such he was left needing other methods.

"Watch out!" Lost in thought, Silver nearly got hit by one of the crates Venice had flung away, only managing to punt it to the side at the last second with his own powers. He stared at the other, eyes wide and his quills raised in defense. Venice just looked back at him with concern in his gaze.

"Are you alright, Silver?" He had probably appeared very scatter-brained... He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Yeah, sorry. Just mulling over some things." Silver could tell instantly that his words had not convinced his counterpart, who walked over to him and gestured for them to sit down.

"May I ask what is on your mind?" Venice asked softly, looking at him intently. Silver sighed. He needed to tell his friend about his plans to travel back with him to the past anyway. He had no idea how the other would react, but this was as good a moment as any, he decided. Rolling the words around in his head, he decided on how to best bring it.

"So... you know I'm a time traveller trying to save this world, right? I need to find a way to go back to the past in order to do so." Venice seemed to follow, but his gaze had become unreadable. That was a bad sign, but Silver couldn't discern any problems with his words, so he went on regardless. "Remember how I told you about the Chaos Emeralds once, the mystical gems that you can use to create miracles? I need to find one of those, but I have no idea where to look and- hey!"

Venice had abruptly jumped up, lips trembling and pain clear in his eyes. He looked just like he did in the first few days when Silver had met him, any made progress completely gone. For a few seconds they stared at each other, Silver feeling surprised and Venice clearly suffering, before the latter wailed out an "I knew it!" which resulted in all their crates and other practice material getting thrust away, breaking and scattering as they got flung against buildings. Silver could feel the road they were standing on tremble, and he jumped up as well, holding his hands out in a gesture of peace.

"Venice, what's wrong?" His concerned question seemed to make the other only more upset. Silver noticed pebbles and grit getting lifted up, and knew from experience that the other was experiencing such strong emotions that he could no longer control his powers, just like what happened in the library. He had to treat carefully.

The other psychic seemed too dismayed to be able to form any full sentences, all Silver could make out were words and fragments between his cries. "You promised... you said... care for me... going to leave me ..." Silver felt shocked at the other's words.

"Venice, I'm not gonna leave you! When did I ever say that?!" He reached out for the other in hopes of calming him down, but Venice just cried out "NO!" and pushed him away with his powers like he had done with the crates. Silver had expected that, catching himself gracefully with his powers before he got even close to smacking into a skyscraper, but when his eyes fell on the other's hands he felt his mouth fall right open. Instead of the teal colour that Silver knew from both himself and Venice, purple sparks were flying from the other's palms instead. "Venice, your hands!"

Silver could tell the other had been fully prepared for Silver to rush back to him again, but at his flabbergasted exclamation Venice's eyes fell on his hands as well. In an instant the anguish had shifted to pure fear, and he cried out as the sparks increased in size and intensity. "No, no...! Not again!"

With Venice's wail, the sparks manifested in a beam that shot out of his hands. Silver was at his side in an instant, looking in amazement at what happened before them. He felt reality tear, opening up into a portal coloured bright purple. Was that... a Genesis portal? Venice's cry of despair that followed shook him out of his stupor, and he quickly went over the possibilities of what he could do. If such a thing could be opened with psychic powers, then maybe he could use them to shut it as well. He wasted no time. Focusing his mind on the swirling void and grabbing it with his powers, he willed it to close. To his immense relief, the portal obliged, shrinking as he brought his hands together and disappearing entirely when he clasped them.

With the portal gone, all that was left on the road they were standing on were a very surprised Silver and a whimpering Venice. All Silver could manage to utter out was a "Wow...", before shaking his head quickly and deciding to focus on the matter at hand first. He would have enough time to wonder about what happened later. Reaching out for Venice, Silver carefully shook him a little. "Venice, are you alright?" He got an terrified glare in return. The other gasped for breath for a few moments more before he calmed down enough to respond.

"Why did you not jump in that... you could have used it to leave me," he heard the other muttered bitterly, staring down at the ground dejectedly. Silver gently placed his hand on Venice's cheek to lift up his face, then gave him the most stern, disapproving glare he could muster.

"I never said I was going to leave you, that's what you made of it." He pulled Venice into a hug, and was immensely relieved when the other didn't push him away this time. "Why would I want to leave you, silly? You're my friend, and friends don't abandon each other!" Venice went slack against him, wrapping two trembling arms around his midriff and mumbling in his shoulder.

"I'unno... I guess... you just said that... and I just assumed..." Silver waited patiently for him to find the words. Eventually Venice lifted himself out of the chest fur around his shoulder, though he didn't look Silver in the eye. "I guess I just assumed that you had gotten tired of me. And that you didn't want me around anymore. And that you'd be sickened by me because I can't control my powers." He lowered his gaze for a second, then looked up to Silver. "I'm... sorry."

Silver was speechless, unable to say anything for a few seconds before he could find his voice again. So that's why he is always so scared... His heart welled up with pity for the other. "It's alright, Venice. You will be able to control your powers soon enough, you don't sicken me at all. And I swear, I wasn't going to leave you behind."

"...Do you promise?"

Silver smiled. "Yes, I promise."

"And..." Venice went silent for a few seconds, staring intensely at Silver's shoulder instead of his eyes. "D-do you also promise that you'll take care of me? Even when we go back to the past?"

Silver chuckled softly. "Have I not been doing that for the last two weeks? It would be my pleasure. You have my word." He pulled Venice closer, allowing him to bury his face in his shoulder once more, and very gently moved two fingers behind his ear to scratch it. He could have sworn that the other started to purr a little. A few minutes passed, wherein Silver massaged Venice's ear and Venice pressed his face into Silver, relief coming off of him in waves, before they parted fully. To Silver's immense relief, Venice seemed to have calmed down entirely, chewing his lip in contemplation as he stared at nothing in particular.

"You said you needed to find a Chaos Emerald to travel, right? Do you know where to find one?" While Silver had wanted to discuss the inevitable hunt they would have to go on with Venice before the other's breakdown, an idea had started to develop in his head during their hug. He smiled boldly.

"Actually... I think I have a more solid plan than hunting for the Chaos Emeralds now."