Chapter Text
January was cold in the Central City, and the cold was hard on Reptilian and Insectoid people. So it was, Vector peeled his eyes open at half past 10 in the morning, and uncurled himself with the greatest effort. He kicked the old boiler that ka-chunked into life and filled his room with clattering and sloshing. He kicked into fuzzy slippers, and slipped on his heaviest jacket as he stumbled down the stairs from the converted loft, enjoying the minute increase in temperature on the first floor of the house. He kicked the door to the bunk room as he passed it, earning two groans from inside as he descended to the ground floor.
"Up'n at'em, Chaotix..." He yawned.
Vector half-filled two hot water bottles, one pink and one yellow, filled a once-fancy sencha teapot, then splashed the remainder of the kettle into a chipped mug loaded with instant coffee granules. The water didn't quite stretch, so he winced at the gritty bitter coffee, and pinched a lollypop from a jar on the counter to stir it with. Upstairs, something thumping hard on the ground caused an unhealthy creak, shaking the unshaded kitchen light. Vector reached the ceiling easily, knocking with his fist before steadying the light.
"Careful!" He shouted hoarsely, and was replied with another thump.
"Oi, I said knock it off!" He bellowed into the house as he sat at his little desk. This time, in response, the sky outside roared like a landing plane. Vector looked out the window in time to see a meteor whizzing overhead and straight for the city. A second later it landed with an awesome boom that shook the trees outside - where Vector was already out the door, revving the car.
"And I said, Up and-" He heard another clatter behind him.
"Hit the gas, Vector!" Charmy buzzed over his shoulder, wriggling his Truck pyjamas off as Espio clipped him into his carseat, with the yellow hot water bottle to his chest. Vector cast his head from the unlocked door to the back seat where they sat, then the open window one floor above.
"What have I said- oh who cares," Vector muttered to himself as he reversed too fast into the street, fist flat on the horn
"Good morning to you, too." Espio murmured, holding the pink hot water bottle between his feet, and covering his ears with his hands.
They had to arrive on foot to the site of the meteor, as the traffic was completely stopped up by drivers that had fled their cars, either away from the blast or towards it to get a picture. Vector elbowed his way through the crowd, letting Espio and Charmy follow his trail.
"Comin' through, detectives are on the case, everybody calm down-" he chanted, but the market square that they found certainly didn't invite calm: people who'd sheltered behind their stock were now blocked in by rubble, and several had been knocked backwards into buildings and the fountain. As Charmy started lifting planks off the first stall he found, Vector pulled the least panicked-looking vendor over to himself and Espio;
"What're we lookin' at here, some kind of rocket?"
The older shrew shook her head, pulling on the strings of her Butcher's Apron.
"T'were rainin' rocks, but sideways, then this screamin' flamin' thing went crashing through, it hit on the wall there and bounced 'round 'til it hit turf down 'ere. You seen my boy? He was runnin' over-"
"Screaming, you say? Like a firework?" Espio caught her, earning a haughty look from the Shrew.
"Not a firework, like a person. Aren't you detectives? He's a little lad like yours, and he's-"
"Certainly madame, we'll find him." Vector breezed, pulling Espio aside and away from the shrew. He eyed the torn-up stone street and the big pile of rock and cement at the end of the tear.
"I don't like the sound of 'screaming'." Vector said under his breath, shuffling through the ruckus.
"I'll keep Charmy occupied." Espio whispered, and Vector dismissed him with a grateful nod.
Vector said a half-remembered prayer to himself as he hefted stones out of the ditch - he was alone on this side of the market, where everyone had sensibly fled, but the burning wood stall to his side offered a crackling support. Under half a paving stone, he uncovered a grey pelt.
Vector thanked a god that Espio too was elsewhere, and unearthing the lightly-dented and unknown civilians; not heavily bleeding and unconscious old friends.
Vector swept the cement dust away from his muzzle, and tried not to notice the red now streaking his gloves. He leant down, blocking his up-ear to the noise around. Once he tuned out his hammering heart, he finally heard a very raspy breath.
Vector muttered through a different set of swears and prayers as he sat up and caught his breath.
"Espio, can you clear the road for the car? I think we'll need to get this one home!"
Espio looked up sharpish, instantly pale as he saw Silver's ashy and bloody body in the ditch next to Vector.
Vector and Espio laid Silver on the bottom bunk from a stretcher made of somebody's grocery stall canvas. He was dutifully breathing as loud and laboured as a person who'd had their face buried in ash should, but Vector still checked his pulse for the thousandth time as they settled him.
"I'll be phoning the doctor's office." Espio said as he started to leave, but Vector caught him with his tail.
"No, call Tails."
"When did he earn a medical license?"
Vector kissed his teeth and hissed over his shoulder in Espio's direction: "We don't have the cash for a doctor right now."
"We'll make more money. I'm calling a doctor." Espio's knuckles whitened on the door as he growled back.
"We literally don't have it in the bank to do that. Call Tails, because some medic somewhere probably owes Sonic a favour that we can call on." Vector spat at him, then grimaced; "Sorry, I-"
"I'll ring around."
Soon, the bunk-bedroom was packed: Tails sat making notes, and he had brought Sonic and Amy, who had brought a nurse she knew from the resistance. The nurse was a brown arachnid Vector had been sure to be exceedingly nice to, but whose name Espio hadn't bothered to hear. Charmy couldn't bear being left out any more, so he was flitting around Espio's ear asking him questions he also couldn't be bothered to hear. Between the questions from their friends, Charmy's wingbeats, Sonic's foot-tapping and the beeping of various checks the nurse and Tails performed, he thought his head might explode.
And it seemed he wasn't alone.
"Did you say the market is in a bad way, Espio?" Amy called loud enough over his scowl; "Perhaps some of us could go and check if anybody needs help in town..."
"Oh well, I really do want to stay here and see Silver okay, but if you insist - since you pull my arm -" Sonic babbled instantly, halfway out the door when Amy grabbed his arm.
"Thanks, and maybe you'll take Charmy too?" She said with a smile and a too-firm squeeze. He nodded hard.
"Yep, c'mon Charmy; I'll need eyes in the sky - catch you guys in an hour or so!" He called, dashing out of the house with the bee.
"Don't lose him!" Amy shouted down the stairs, before turning back to the room:
"I'll go and get refreshments, shall I? Espio, show me where the tea is?" She said, fixing him with the same forceful stare she'd offered Sonic. Espio frowned at her, but didn't have it in him to resist.
"Best not to get in the way, don't you think?" She tried to smile as she boiled the kettle, and pulled everything she needed out of their cupboards without so much as a question. Espio slumped on the table.
Amy and the Nurse had left by the time Sonic returned with Charmy, who was blessedly worn out from running around at higher speeds than usual. Tails chattered quietly in the kitchen to Sonic, while Vector sat Charmy down to explain at slower speeds and gentler detail. Espio finally snuck upstairs to his room, to his bed, to see Silver.
A concussion, some broken bones, and a pint of lost blood - all things considered, it was nothing short of a miracle. Tails had some theories about Chaos users healing quickly, but they'd needed to cast up everything that looked off to make sure it didn't set wrong. So Silver looked worse now than before, as his snowy white bandages were already grimy with blood the nurse assured them was mostly staunched. Espio's bed would be filthy - not that it mattered, and even if it did they absolutely could not move him again and risk his neck.
Espio stared over Silver, again and again, taking in the wreck.
He was skinnier, too. Whenever he was about in the past, he always ate as much as he could manage to allow for any Bad Future circumstances. They'd last seen him six weeks ago, and the comfortable layer of fat he'd gained had left without a trace.
Someone had taken his shoes and gloves off, and cut one of his long back quills short to better accommodate a bandage. Somehow this made Espio angrier, as nobody had asked Silver if he was okay with these non-essential things happening to him. Where was the dignity?
Espio gathered a small armful of his own things to take from the room, and pulled a spare sheet from the bed to fashion as a curtain around the bottom bunk. He was sure Charmy would peak through it anyway, but it was worth a try.
"See you in a bit..." he whispered weakly, and padded downstairs to set up the campbed.
Espio was lying awake late into the second night in a row when he heard movement upstairs. He pulled Vector's dressing gown over his NinjaMan pyjamas, and crept to the stairwell in time to catch Silver, who seemed to have thrown himself down the stairs.
"What are you doing?" He hissed, as Silver lolled in his arms a moment, before pulling himself up on Espio's shoulders and wavering on the last step.
"Wh- Espio? What are you doing here-" Silver mumbled, cutting himself off as his face moved from pale to green and he wobbled dangerously. Espio leant lower to take all of Silver's weight, and gently lifted him off the step, carrying him to the sofa, where he sat bent forward and breathing heavily. Espio stuck the flickery light on and grabbed a bowl from the kitchen to hold beneath his head, but Silver waved him away.
"'m all good. Nothing in me." He mumbled. Espio eyed the blackened matte of fur and bristles on the back of his head, where he was sure a bandage should have been, and instead filled the bowl with warm soapy water.
Silver jumped as Espio sat next to him, trembling hard. So he sat in silence next to him for a few more seconds before he moved again.
"Your hair's... tangled, can I clean it?" He said slowly, as though it were the most natural thing to do next.
Silver barely lifted his head to blink at Espio, but Espio could already see the shaking of his pupils, and red spreading from one corner of his eye.
"Where am I?" He managed, wincing as he moved his bruised cheeks."
The Chaotix' house. January 10th. 2023. Actually, the time is a quarter past three, so it's now the 11th, forgive me."
Silver put his head in his hands again, but as he tried to use the one in a cast he yelped and gave a violent involuntary shake. Espio let him settle before he continued:
"You're on the sofa on the ground floor. Our house is in the 14th municipality of Central City. You landed in Masons Corner Market, 2nd Arrond, on the 9th. Your casts can come off in a week, we are told. Can I clean your hair?"
Silver was breathing heavily again, but seemed to nod - or just quiver. Espio took this as a chance to mop him up, and detangle the bandage that had become encrusted with muck. To his dismay, the split in his head was still bleeding, but slowly. Parts were scabbed over, but one seemed to have reopened in his fall. Espio hummed quietly, pulling as much dirt out as he could before rinsing the bowl.
"Sit very still. I'll be right back." He hushed, but Silver jerked his head up again.
"I need to go back! I didn't mean to be here, I-" He started, too loud and too quick, painting himself pale and queasy again. Espio firmly leant his head back onto his knees, and placed the emptied bowl under his head.
"Please enlighten me - in just one minute."
Silver was asleep again by the time Espio had returned with the cotton bandages, but he woke up with a start as the tape went on.
"Wha- where am I?" He tried to get up in a hurry again, but Espio was prepared for him, and pressed an arm firmly across his shoulders.
"At the Chaotix' house. Central City, 2023." He said, slowing his speech down. Silver held his head hard and groaned.
"Sorry, you did say that..."
"I'm nearly finished here, then I want you to go back to bed." Espio said firmly, tugging at his poor handiwork on Silver's bandage. Silver's good hand shot behind his head too, and he winced as he touched it.
"Ah, thank you, but I really need to get going, I was in the middle of something sometime else, so-"
"Then you can travel back to it any time. You're not to do anything strenuous, we've been given very strict orders." Espio shut him down harshly, but when Silver trembled under his hands, he gulped.
Still, Espio laid a grubby towel back behind Silver and pulled him back gently on the sofa. He saw Silver wince at the light in his eyes, and quickly covered his forehead with a cloth. As Espio flitted around, Silver went very quiet and still, but when Espio tucked a blanket over him, he started awake again.
"Sorry to wake you, Silver; you're in the Chaotix' house, in 2023, and you're unwell, please remain still." Espio sighed.
"I... did remember that..." He mumbled, but he sounded unsure. Espio stifled a yawn, and pulled his blanket up onto the sofa and around himself. But Silver was shaking, so he begrudgingly lay it on top of the other that was already on Silver, and tucked his toes under himself.
"Sorry it's so cold. The middle floor is the warmest, when you're ready we'll go back upstairs." Espio mumbled, but Silver gave half a raspy laugh.
"Cold? What are you talking about? It's toasty in here!" Silver managed, and shook some more; "I'm not shivering, just wobbly."
"We get cold." Espio sniffed, pulling the blanket he just placed on Silver back onto himself.
He watched Silver breathing heavily for a minute, registering every shake, until they seemed to be less intense, before he asked:
"Can you remember what you were doing before you fell?"
Silver's hand found his head, and he hissed a little as he rubbed his eyes through the cloth.
"Yes... I was in my time... or the future. It was a 'good' future, as far as I could tell. Everything was okay, nothing seemed funny for anyone else. But I was... worried."
Silver pulled the cloth off his face and blinked at the ceiling, shaking his head slightly. He slowly stretched his neck out and looked around the room.
"I just had a feeling, like something..." He muttered to himself now, squinting into nothing. Espio cuddled into his blanket almost imperceptibly, hands at the ready as Silver rocked slightly, as though at sea.
"So I tried to ignore it, until today. I was holding a bridge, and my powers just-" He snapped his fingers on his good hand, and listened to it resonate; "intercepted by something. And the bridge started to fall, so I tried to fly over, and my power shorted out again, so I fell... And I just kept falling, didn't hit water. Must've been through a portal, but I didn't make it, and I just kept going faster and faster, so-"
Silver huffed, looking around the room and wincing as he turned his head:
The Chaotix house was decidedly different than the other homes he had seen in this time, but he supposed he never really saw the outer city. It was an old building in a terrace, with earth-toned decor that looked incredibly tired, and he'd guess was older than any of its inhabitants. The newest thing he could see was the red-and-blue console plugged into a little screen - both looked fairly ragged too. He could just about peep through to the galley kitchen, which was more lino and fake wood, and a tiny yard through the window with no grass. Every surface was covered in papers, books, CDs and knickknacks: The oldest piles now had trinkets crowded on top of them, like stalagmites; threatening to either collapse under their leaning weight, or touch the ceiling if left unchecked. An enormous old bookshelf stuck out too prominently in the room, and its top had been chopped haphazardly to make it fit: it was completely flush to the ceiling, so firmly wedged it could have been a supporting beam. A folded-out canvas was squished in next to the sofa where they sat, with some piles of laundry and junk as tall as them.
"2023, huh?" He asked finally, feeling Espio's eyes on him; "I was here... three weeks ago, then..."
Silver took his head in his hand again as he tried to think.
"Six." Espio hummed, crossing his legs. He grimaced internally as Silver's eyes returned to roving the scruffy sitting room. He tried to catch his gaze, but found it shaky and unfocussed.
"How long has it been for you, then?" He pushed. Silver rubbed his brow for a moment, and groaned:
"Six months, I think? It was already May." Silver balled his unbandaged fist, smacking it into the other.
"That's so annoying, I was trying to progress time here and there in equal parts. Now I'm gonna have to make months back up out here, and I don't wanna do that in one go, so it'll be ages before I'm-"
"Silver, slow down." Espio said, pacing his own words carefully; "You're shaking the sofa."
Silver recoiled in on himself, as the sofa was indeed quivering with him. He flicked his eyes around the corners of the room again.
"S-sorry, there's just a lot I've got to do. I really do need to get going."
"It sounds like you've been busy in the future, that's the longest you've gone since visiting us. On your time, at least." Espio levelled himself, and if any strange bitterness was audible in his voice, Silver certainly didn't seem to notice; he was staring over Espio's shoulder.
"It was a good future, but there's still a lot to do." Silver closed his eyes as he spoke, but they peeped and darted open, spying into the Kitchen over Espio's head; "Even in my time, most people can't do what I do."
Espio eyed his bony fingers as Silver rubbed his temple.
"If the future is good, why weren't you eating?"
Silver drew his mouth into a small line at the question, and placed the cloth over his eyes.
"I have been."
"Lately?"
"Sure. Loads."
"But your stomach's completely empty?" Espio pointed, and Silver frowned; "Plus, I can see your ribs."
Silver ran his good hand over his own chest.
"Ah. I might have skipped breakfast."
He did not have to look to feel the withering stare.
"I didn't feel like eating, I had too much to do. Gotta concentrate!" He pulled the cloth away as he tried to declare, but it came out far too feeble. Then he tried to laugh instead, which was more like choking, but that was a bit more normal.
"What can I make you for breakfast?" Espio asked as menacingly as a person had ever offered. Silver shook his head, pulling the cloth off his eyes to check the corners of the room again before smiling weakly at Espio.
"I don't think I could eat 'til the world's not spinning. I'll grab something when I go back to my time. Don't worry!"
Espio sat up straight, puffing his chest lightly, as intimidating as he could; "You're not going back to the future. You can eat something, or you can go to sleep and eat when you get up again. Anything else you try I will oppose, and I - unlike you - can actually stand up." He thought his voice might have betrayed that he wanted to smile, but Silver didn't laugh - he deflated.
"I don't suppose you'd look the other way, as my friend?" He tried.
"As my friend, you won't ask me to."
Silver had no answer to that, he seemed to melt into the sofa a little, and returned the cloth to his face.
"Just give me a minute... I'll go back to bed. Sorry I woke you up." He sighed, sounding a little teary. Espio moved to put a hand on his shoulder, but since everything near there looked broken, he pulled it back.
"I couldn't sleep anyway."
"So that's why you're in here. Where do you sleep? And Vector? I think I was in Charmy's room."
"Vector sleeps in the roof, it's small and cold, so we thought you'd be better in the bunk room."
Espio said carefully. Silver took several seconds to compute, then tried to sit back up and look at him again, eyes shaking harder.
"Oh no, am I in your bed, Espio? You should take it back, I can sleep anywhere, I promise!" He pleaded, and Espio smirked a little.
"That's no way to treat a guest. Although sharing with Charmy may not be a much better offer, in truth. He buzzes, even in his sleep..."
"Oh that was him, I thought it was just my head. But I can still hear him, so maybe it is..."
Espio grinned briefly and privately, as Silver seemed to be more himself the more they talked. But that joy fell when he caught Silver's eyes peeping over his shoulder every few seconds.
"Is something the matter, Silver?"
"No, no I'm great, great..." Silver stumbled.
"Is there something in the room with us right now?" Espio said casually, but Silver squawked.
"Why would you say that! What, you think I'm going crazy?"
Espio shushed him, and leant him back against the sofa where he had tried to sit up.
"Not at all. I ask because you are looking at something."
"I'm not. Believe me. I'd tell you."
Silver's eyes darted to the corners of the room, and he flexed his good hand anxiously. Espio put his own out, then in again, then back out and rested it on Silver's.
"There's nothing of value in this house but the people, and we're our own security. Vector's put hundreds behind bars and not one has given us more than a few moments of trouble once they're released. This house is safe." He said, squeezing Silver's trembly hand for emphasis: "Rest now, and you'll be back to your time in no time."
Silver nodded his head once, but took his hand out of Espio's to fumble in his chest fur. He then surged forward in a panic.
"Where - where are they? Did you take them?" He hissed, eyes bulging and face pale. Espio gripped his shoulders again instinctively, but Silver shook himself loose, and pushed himself half off the sofa.
"Stop that, you'll make yourself worse!" Espio sprang up next to him as he managed to throw himself off the squashy sofa.
"My - Espio where did I land, I have to-" he cut himself off, as his eyes rolled a little and the queasiness overtook. Espio plonked him back down unceremoniously, leaning his head back over his knees and the bowl.
"Can't you see you're in no shape to travel, let alone time travel?" Espio growled a little now, and they listened to Silver's shaky breathing, and the echoes of the house.
"Tell me what you need, I'll get it."
"Necklace, with 7 colourful beads. I hide them in my fur... Sentimental."
He huffed a little, but no wave of sickness came, just shaggy breaths and a shiver that didn't stop. Espio narrowed his eyes, but accepted the line.
"We'll find them tomorrow." He said abruptly, squeezing Silver's shoulders too firm; "Don't forget you are in the care of detectives. It'll take no time at all."
If Silver was as unconvinced as Espio, he was polite enough not to show it. He pulled himself up a little, elbows onto his knees, nodded, working his way up to Espio's eyes.
"Espio, I..." he started, and something in Espio's throat squeezed at his wobbly voice.
"I'd like to use the bathroom, please?"
Espio blinked, shook himself and hopped to his feet.
"Just raise your arms up so I can take you-"
"I meant where is it, I don't want help!"
"You've done an excellent job not being sick so far, Silver - and I thank you for that, but don't combine walking and the kitchen. There's food in there."
Silver groaned, but put his arms up to be carried. Espio had no delusions about his personal strength, but he was sure he'd carried shopping bags heavier than Silver. He deposited him in the bathroom, shut the door, and busied himself tidying the kitchen.
Silver partially steadied himself on the bathroom sink; the world was spinning in jutters, as rolling waves kept overtaking his vision just as it righted itself, and his head thumped like a drum. He wanted to see nothing, but his eyes kept darting to the shower curtain, the dark corner, and the view out the frosted window, which for a second seemed far too shadowy, but when he looked again was warmed by an orange streetlight.
"I don't see you right now." He whispered, and his ragged reflection shook back at him.