The next few days went by in a rush. During the day Silver and Venice would train the other's powers, and in the quieter hours of the evening when Venice usually had collapsed with exhaustion already Silver studied the book and files he had gotten from the library over and over. It didn't really seem like anyone wrote down what had happened in detail, in people's diaries and newspapers he could only find some vague mentions of an attack that had taken place. He was willing to swear his life on it that it was Eggman's doing again. Whatever had happened, it had been sudden, presumably followed by a mass panic. Thinking about the despair that his friends must have gone through made him immensely upset, and he squashed down the thoughts about that every time they drifted to the surface.

His sources also mentioned that suddenly the world had gone dark and had frozen over, and with a little bit of sleuthing he discovered it had to have happened at basically the same time as Eggman's assault. It explained why this world was as dark and cloudy as the one where he had grown up, though his original timeline had been burning while this one was freezing. In the former it had been caused by the abundance of ash and sooth in the air from the Ifrit, while the sky in Frozen City was filled with dark snowclouds. As such, he had moved on to the more educational and objective books on the atmosphere and meteorology, to see if he could explain the sudden drop in temperature. He read about volcanic explosions and nuclear winters, and while the pessimistic information they gave him made his skin crawl it did not fit with the attack he also read about. It couldn't have been an natural disaster, and Eggman didn't seem like the type to nuke the entire planet, often happily proclaiming that he wanted to have something left to rule over... or had something gone wrong with his plans, something even the genius could not have foreseen?

Waking up one morning with his head collapsed on his shoulder and his whole body aching from his unfortunate sleeping position, – he had fallen asleep while going over the sources instead of making it to his bed – Silver groaned and rubbed his temples as he resisted the urge to fling the useless brittle books at the wall. Venice was waking up too, freeing himself from the confines of the sleeping bag and yawning as he stared at Silver's grumpy face. Silver just shrugged noncommittally and prepared to make breakfast. Yes, for his own sake and emotional wellbeing, it was time to get back to the past.

------

"Are you sure about this, Venice?" Silver eyed his friend carefully as they stood outside their shelter, presumably for the last time. The two psychics had carefully trained Venice's ability to open the Genesis portals, along with helping him get a better grip on his telekinesis. Silver was not even sure he himself possessed the power to tear apart space-time like that, instead opting to spend all his time focusing on developing Venice's skills rather than his own, since they at least knew for sure that he was able pull it off. With his food storage getting depleted twice as quickly and his backpack getting more empty as the days rushed by, Silver knew that they had to leave soon. While he had kept an eye out for any Chaos Emeralds, it was as if they had disappeared off the face of the planet: he couldn't sense them anywhere near. Venice was their last hope of getting out of here, but Silver had decided to leave that detail out of their conversations; he did not want to put any additional pressure on his friend.

Venice himself was staring out wishfully at the rocks making up their shelter, looking immensely disheartened as he grappled the coat he was wearing like his life depended on it. Silver wracked his brain thinking about what could be bothering the other, before he realised. He gently reached out for Venice, grasping his shoulder and murmuring: "You're going to miss it, aren't you?"

At his words, Venice flinched. "I-I'm sorry... I k-know you don't like it here b-but..."

"No, don't apologise. I get it." Silver wrapped his arm around Venice fully and pulled the other against him. "This is the only place you've really known so far, right? It's not weird that you feel attached to it." He decided to not start about the mysterious facility that he presumed Venice had come from, deeming it massively detrimental for the other's already shaky well-being at the moment. He wondered about what else he could say to say to help Venice. "But the past is beautiful, more beautiful than anything you can imagine. It's certainly a lot warmer and sunnier than here. And my friends will love you, I promise." He gently held Venice for a few moments more.

"...Okay." Wrenching his gaze away from their shelter, Venice took a deep breath as to steady himself. "I'm ready. Let's do this."

Quickly going over his bag as he had done multiple times in the past few days, ensuring that he really had everything with him, Silver let go of Venice and gave him the greenlight. Venice held out his hands in front of him, just as they had practiced, and took another deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing deeply. Silver had faith that Venice knew what to do, they had practiced this song and dance a lot in the past few days, but he still could see the other's hands subtly tremble as purple sparks started to form around them. With bated breath Silver hoped for the best.

The purple sparks multiplied and became bigger as they suddenly jumped into a beam, which tore away from Venice's hands and into the fabric of reality, pulling it apart into a portal of swirling purple. Silver cheered as he jumped up and pumped his fist in the air. "You did it, Ven!"

"Y-yes." Venice seemed to be a lot less enthusiastic than Silver, staring up at the portal in just as much alarm as the first time this had happened. He looked as if his feet were positively rooted in the ground, making no attempt to jump in the portal as Silver readied himself. The latter, seeing that the creator of the portal just stood gaping at it instead of coming along with him, tipped his head in confusion, turning towards Venice once more.

"Venice, are you sure you're alright?" Silver noticed how the other looked absolutely terrified, gawking at the portal with his mouth open and his face frozen in fear. Taking a peek at the portal showed he that it had begun to swirl more intensely, and he could have sworn it was growing bigger by the second. Silver could feel the instability it brought to the dimensional matrix and grimaced; they had to get out of there soon, before the rift closed in on itself or the space-time fabric got too damaged... or worse. Weighting his options in his head, considering either grabbing Venice and jumping in or trying to calm the other first, Silver decided to go with the quickest approach, though he was sure the other psychic would not be appreciative.

"Ven, I'm sorry for this," Silver said quickly, wrapping his arm around the other's torso and lifting him up, holding him against his own body for support while still having an arm and hand free. Venice cried out in alarm at the unexcepted movement and floundered, which got worse as Silver prepared himself to jump through the Genesis Portal.

"No! No, stop!" While Venice's panicked cry cut through his heart Silver knew they had no choice, the portal would soon be too unstable for either of them to do something about it, and judging by Venice's reaction he doubted he could convince the other to do the whole thing again. Taking a small running start, clasping Venice against him even tighter as the other struggled and wailed to be let go, he jumped into the portal and disappeared in its depths. He turned around just to see it collapse and close behind him, trapping both psychics in the purple void it led to and closing them off from Frozen City entirely.

Silver gulped. While Chaos Control was near-instantaneous and held barely any negative consequences for its user as long as they were experienced, floating through what he could only consider to be the inside of the dimensional matrix and feeling the energies that it contained made him feel sick to his stomach. They pulled at his psychokinesis, making it race through his body as he fought to contain it. He could only wonder how it made the much less experienced Venice feel.

An unexpected though crept into his mind and Silver realised with a jolt that he hadn't considered what to do after they'd entered the portal... Had he really been so stupid to assume that there would simply be another portal waiting for them, to take them directly to Sonic's era!? Silver's eyes went wide at his short-sightedness and he fought to calm himself down. They could... they could just use Venice's power to open another portal. Yes, he merely had to find the correct place for the rift to be opened so that they ended up in the right dimension and time, and then they'd be just fine.

But taking another look at Venice showed him that he other hedgehog seemed to have nearly succumbed to his panic; Silver could hear him hyperventilate as his hands clawed into Silver's arm and he trashed around. Glancing around and deeming the place safe for now, Silver took the opportunity to try and calm Venice down. But as he rocked the other and murmured gentle words in his ears, trying to not show his own unease, it became clear to him that Venice was too far gone to listen, let alone open up another portal. Silver felt his own panic rising at the thought of being trapped here. He couldn't give up now!

Thoughts racing a mile a minute, Silver came up with a new plan on the spot. While he had never done it himself he had helped Venice with learning what to do exactly; if Venice could willingly open a Genesis portal based only on his teachings then he had to be able to as well, and if he wasn't he would make himself be able. He noticed that if he concentrated really hard, he could develop a vague idea where a portal in each position in the interdimensional matrix would lead to. If I can find the place to open a Genesis portal that leads to the past, we're out of here...!

With still-panicking Venice still firmly in his grasp, Silver flew through the dimensional matrix as fast as he could, trying to find the correct spot to open a new portal that led to Sonic's era. It had to be close to where they had entered, right? Almost, almost... Coming nearer, he could feel the specific site call out to him, as if he instinctively knew where he had to be in order to get back to his beloved past era.

There!

Fixing his eyes on a particular spot in the matrix that to the outside eye looked no different from the rest, Silver shifted Venice from his arm onto his back, feeling his backpack get pressed unpleasantly into his back and the other's trembling hands claw into his shoulders. He desperately hoped the hedgehog would not let go. Deciding to have faith in Venice, Silver closed his eyes and held his hands out in front of him, thinking about how he had explained the use of their powers to Venice. In his mind's eye, he imagined grasping the fabric of space-time itself with his powers, and ripping it apart. He could feel his palms start to tingle, the sensation becoming more intense as his focus increased. Just a little more... The power rushed from his mind to his hands, the sparks forming into a purple beam that tore away from him, right into the matrix. Gasping, his eyes flying wide open and his body arching due to the exceptional feeling, Silver watched as a Genesis portal ripped the spot apart. Taking barely a second to check if both his backpack and Venice were still there, Silver flung himself at the rift, passing through and crashing into a grassy field on the other side. Jumping up and reaching out with his powers once more, he grappled the portal and closed it with such force he knocked himself right on the ground on his back, where he laid for a multitude of seconds to try and catch his breath as his heard hammered in his chest and his greatly diminished powers frantically buzzed throughout him. That had been too close, but they had made it... Venice!

Rolling over on his side and then his stomach so he could prop himself up and look around, Silver frantically looked around for the other psychic until he saw him. Venice had landed only a few feet away from him, and was now staring at him with one eye closed, pressed on the ground, while the other was filled with clear betrayal.

"Ven... are you alright?" Silver hoisted himself up painfully and wobbled over to the other, collapsing once more next to him. Venice scrambled away hastily, hackles raised and looking both very frightened and very angry at the same time. Silver's little stunt probably betrayed his trust a lot, but it wasn't like he had had another choice... He just hoped the other hedgehog would hear him out.

Venice bared his fangs at him and hissed: "Why did you do that?! I told you no!" His anger dissipated and got replaced by a look that was filled to the brim with sadness. "Why didn't you listen to me...? We could have died in there."

Silver moved over to him once more, praising himself lucky that Venice allowed him to come closer and stroke his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ven. But it was the only way I could think of for us to get out of there."

"'s Okay." Venice seemed to have deflated completely, not protesting as Silver sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him for a hug, though he didn't attempt to hug back. Silver gently rocked him as he had done so many times before. He had tons of questions burning in his mind...

"Venice... why are you so scared of the Genesis portal?" The other stiffened immediately. It made Silver immensely suspicious, and his answer only made it worse.

"...No reason."

"Come on, Ven, you don't seriously think I'm gonna buy that for even a single second," Silver spoke sternly. He had always respected the other's secrecy, but after nearly getting stranded due to the other's panic, he now wanted answers. "Have you travelled inside one before?"

"It's none of your business," came the frosty reply. Venice seemed to be getting quite worked up once more, but so was Silver.

"If you had told me you were scared, I'd have looked for a different way for us to get back to the past! I don't want you to suffer!" Feeling himself hit a breaking point, Silver jumped up and started to pace around agitatedly to get rid of the extra energy, under the angry glare of Venice. "I don't even know what happened to you, and you keep refusing to tell me! And I want to help you, but I can't since you keep being tight-lipped about yourself! And look at the result, we nearly got stuck in there! If I had known that you'd be too frightened to I wouldn't have made you! I know you're afraid, but if you just talked to me, then-"

"SHUT UP!" Venice had jumped up as well, eyes blazing and his hands balled in fists. "I can't tell you, I'll never tell you! You're gonna hate me!"

"Haven't we gone over this?! I promised I'd take care of you! Nothing you can tell me is going to change that!"

The two psychics stood opposite of each other, eyes blazing and quills raised. Neither said anything until Silver took a very deep breath and loosened his stance, his earlier intensity entirely lost. "We're not going to get anywhere like this," he concluded sombrely, turning away from Venice and gesturing for the other to follow him. "I won't ask again, if you don't want to tell me. I suggest we just go to the headquarters of the Restoration now, and don't talk about it again." He took a few steps towards a path he saw intersecting the clearing, then glanced over his shoulder again as he noticed Venice made no attempt to follow him. "Are you coming?"

"I-I..." Whatever Venice had wanted to say was clearly unable to come out of his mouth, and as such he just nodded towards Silver shakily before falling in line behind him. Silver got painfully reminded of how Venice had been in the first few days after they had met, terrified and utterly unable to stand on his own two legs. He grabbed the Miles Electric from his backpack and began to look for their location to keep his mind away from it.

They had been walking in silence for a while on the path, Silver in the front and Venice a few feet behind him, before the latter suddenly stopped walking. Silver, missing the sound of the nervous patter instantly, turned around once more, putting his Miles Electric away quickly and tipping his head to the other as to ask him what was wrong. Venice stood entirely rigidly for a few seconds, hands balled into fists held up to his chest, before a wail passed his lips and he rushed at Silver, sobbing desperately. The hedgehog, having expected this to happen, caught him in his arms and pulled him close in a soul-crushing hug, both stuttering out apologies to the other. Eventually Venice calmed down enough to be able to talk.

"I w-want to tell you... I'm s-scared..." His words lapsed into whimpers.

"Venice." Silver lifted his friend's head up a little bit so they looked each other in the eye, glancing at him sternly like he had done in Frozen City. "I promise, whatever you tell me won't diminish my opinion on you the slightest bit. I might not know what happened exactly, but I know you've been hurt, and I want to be able to help you. But I can only help you properly if you tell me what exactly is going on. I won't get mad, I promise."

Venice relaxed into the hug, relief coming off of him like waves. He was quiet for a few seconds more, in which Silver waited patiently for an answer. "...O-okay... I'll tell you."

Silver settled them comfortably on the grass next to the road, wrapping his arm around Venice while pressing the hedgehog's face into his chest fur and placing his own hand on the back of the other's head. "I'm listening."

Venice chewed his lip in contemplation, his brows furrowing as he stared at Silver's shoulder. "...I'm not even sure myself, but I think I come from... a science facility. I... I have little memories of where I'm really from, and who I am, or what they did to me and what happened... They used to do experiments on me, making me use my powers, and just... studying me? Even though I didn't want to..." Venice's stare had become a lot darker, and Silver pulled him against himself a bit more. "It hurt."

"But you got out of there, didn't you?" Silver murmured gently into the other's quills. The other chuckled darkly.

"I barely even remember how. They were talking about doing more experiments, and I knew I was going to suffer. I just had to get out of there. Everything inside me just went... haywire. Like in the city when I thought you were going to leave me."

Silver hummed in understanding. "And to get away... you subconsciously opened a Genesis portal then." Everything started to make a lot more sense to him now.

"I must have... I don't know what happened to them when I escaped." His gaze had gotten even darker still, and he shakily grasped Silver's back. "I hope they all suffered. I hope they all perished."

And Silver understood. Gently stroking the other's head, he patiently waited for him to recover and continue with his story.

Venice took a deep breath. "I was so scared inside that purple void... I thought I was going to die. My powers went out of control once more, and they ripped open a new portal that I fell through. And then I ended up in Frozen City. I knew it was unsafe there too, I kept tripping and hurting myself, and it was just so cold... But mostly I feared they were going to come after me, so I hid."

Silver chuckled, thinking back to when he had found Venice. "And then your local time traveller plucked you from underneath your pile of rubble and took you with him." Venice smiled quietly and settled himself a little more comfortably into his chest fur. "So he did."

Silver mulled over what the other had told him. All Venice's anxieties, his fear of his powers, and his general skittish behaviour definitely made more sense now. There was still one thing on Silver's mind, though based on what Venice had yelled at him he could imagine what the answer would be. "Why did you not tell me this before? I could have helped you so much earlier..."

The other sniffled. "I-I thought... if I were to tell you... I thought you'd make me go b-back, or that you were g-going to hurt me, and then I thought you'd h-hate me, for w-wanting them d-dead... and I d-don't e-even know if they..."

"Shh, shh, it's okay, I understand. If they're still out there, they won't find you here, and if they do I'll protect you. They'll never be able to hurt you again," Silver soothed. Venice stifled a sob as he buried his face on the white fluff entirely, taking a few shaky breaths to compose himself. Eventually, he stood up fully, fiercely upright despite Silver being able to see his limbs trembling. Silver lifted himself up as well, gracefully landing on the ground and shooting Venice a grin.

"What do you say we set sail towards Restoration HQ now? My friends would love to meet you, I'm sure." As he spoke Silver glanced out over the rest of the road, trying to determine where it would lead to. In the far distance he thought he could make out a city, though he had no idea which one it was. He hadn't been able to determine much with his Miles Electric. Well, they could solve that problem once they got there; all he wanted now was to find a safe place for him and Venice to get something to eat and then sleep for hours, preferably in a warm location. He was thoroughly sick of cold weather conditions for now.

As if he knew what he was thinking, Venice chuckled softly. "Let's go, then." They walked away in the direction of the city on the horizon, but this time, they walked next to each other.