Holding Venice firmly against his chest, Sonic raced through the air with Espio at his side. When Silver hadn't responded to their calls they both instantly had grabbed an Extreme Gear from the shuttle and rushed back to the battlefield to find the psychics. Much closer to Eggman's ship than he would have liked Silver had been floating into the air, bleakly staring in front of him and entirely unresponsive as Venice tried to get his attention, panicking. Bringing in the airboard as close as possible Sonic had easily taken him from Silver's weak grip, and Espio had taken the darker grey hedgehog in his arms as they turned around and went back to their shuttle.
Sonic dared risk a glance behind him. On the ground where the bomb had gone off there was a huge crater, the ground cracked and broken beyond repair. The volcanoes were all erupting, filling the sky with their toxic black smoke and flicks of lava. The smaller fleet that had made up most of the armada had been torn apart completely by the sheer force, their demise leaving behind an empty sky that was quickly getting filled by fumes and soot. Eggman's main ship had been heavily damaged, judging by the fires and deep black plumes of smoke rising from it. The fact that it was still flying at all attested to the genius of the man who created it.
Turning his attention back to where he was flying himself, Sonic shook his head. There was no doubt in his mind that Eggman had survived this setback and was already plotting his next moves, for sure irate that also this plan had been foiled. He looked at the unexpected hero of the day, who was sobbing in his arms as he clutched his coat. Sonic tried to mumble gentle words to comfort him, but Venice truly was inconsolable, whimpering Silver's name as he weakly tried to get himself out of Sonic's grip. The psychic had passed out the moment Espio had lifted him up, but the chameleon assured them that he was breathing steadily. They really had been just in time.
"This area is getting more unstable as we speak! Hurry, we need to get out of here!" Tails spoke worriedly over the intercom. "Almost there," Sonic retorted tersely. Flying as fast as they could, the speedster easily foiling Venice's desperate yet fruitless attempts to break free, he and Espio rushed towards the hatch and carefully entered the shuttle. The moment they were safely inside Tails set off, leaving behind the utterly annihilated area and Eggman's ship as they retreated.
"Oh, no," Amy fretted as she rushed over to Silver, who was still in Espio's grasp. Now that they were no longer flying and he had a moment to focus, he could see the unnerving grey on both Silver's and Venice's hands where there should have been a glowing teal colour instead. Clearly both of them had utterly exhausted their powers, though it didn't come as a surprise to him in the slightest.
Sonic tried to place Venice down on his feet as well, but the terrified psychic immediately buckled through them, limp as a ragdoll. Despite the fact that his legs seemed unable to cooperate he still weakly struggled to get to Silver. Sonic clumsily lifted him away to sit against the wall, sliding down next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"There's little point in placing him in the medbay on the shuttle," he heard Espio and Amy discuss. "As far as I can see, he's stable with few physical injuries. I propose we just keep him steady until we're back at HQ and give him more adequate treatment there." With Amy's greenlight, Espio came over as well, peacefully setting himself down on the ground with Silver curled up in his lap with his head against the ninja's shoulder. At the full sight of his friend Venice's sobs only increased more. He futilely reached out towards Silver and shook him a little, but the hedgehog didn't respond at all.
"He's going to be fine," Espio spoke calmly, tranquillity coming off of him in waves. Sonic doubted Venice truly believed him, but after taking Espio in for a good few moments the ivory psychic settled down a bit less stressfully against the wall. They sat in silence, the chameleon with his eyes closed and hand around Silver's wrist and Sonic keeping half an eye on Venice and the other on the knocked-out hedgehog. He tried to scratch the other behind his ear like he knew Silver often did, but Venice flinched away from his touch the moment his fingers travelled up there. He still hadn't taken his intense stare off of Silver, so Sonic decided to let him be for now.
The trip back to the HQ was uneventful, everyone talking quietly among themselves as Tails brought them back home. They had nearly died, Sonic realised. If it hadn't been for Venice removing the Emeralds, the sheer power of the gem-fuelled bomb would surely have blown them all to smithereens back there. Frowning, he let his thoughts wander. Silver had described Frozen City as... well, frozen. He had also said that he had been unable to find any of the magical gems in the now-undone timeline. Was there perhaps a relation between what had happened today and the ruination of the future? It certainly wouldn't be the first time his actions subverted a tragedy.
He'd discuss that with Tails later, Sonic decided as the sky coloured golden with the arising dawn. Landing at the HQ without a hitch, he and Espio set off to the medbay with the two psychics and Amy, while the rest of the Chaotix set off to bed. None of them had had a single moment to rest, and Sonic fell sleepiness swim behind his eyelids. Venice seemed to be jumping around all over the place, no doubt still fuelled entirely by adrenalin due to the day's affairs. Sonic struggled to keep a firm grip on his upper arm, trying to prevent the other from rushing over to Silver. Espio seemed as composed as always, but Amy looked exhausted too, judging by the dark purple bags under her eyes. Still, it had absolutely been worth it, Sonic determined with a small smile as Espio carefully laid their resting friend in a bed.
"He's not injured physically, so I'm afraid there is little we can do for him," the ninja murmured as Amy carefully tucked Silver under the sheaths and ran her hand over his quills. The hedgehog scrunched up his nose and flicked his ears in his sleep, making the three friends laugh a little. Yes, he'd be fine. Venice, freeing himself from the grasp Sonic had on him the moment the blue hedgehog got distracted, clambered up on the bed and shot under the covers. Judging by the shape formed underneath the cloth Sonic could see he had curled himself against Silver's chest, his head right on top of the resting psychic's heart.
"You rest too, okay? If there is anything, just call for me," Amy told the lump as she smoothened out the disturbed bedding.
"...Okay," Venice responded very quietly, which was followed by the noise of a huge yawn and then silence. Tiptoeing over the head of the bed and peeking underneath the covers, Sonic saw that he had already fallen fast asleep. Amy giggled softly and Sonic grinned, while Espio appeared to be feeling surprisingly affectionate. They snuck out of the room without a noise, letting the resting psychics be for a while.
---
Venice lavishly stretched out his muscles, ears flicking lazily as they were stroked by the rays of the afternoon sun. It had been two days since their brush with death, and everything had gone mostly back to normal. Both he and Silver were still contained to the medical bay to recover physically and mentally, to the dark grey hedgehog's great disdain. Amy had forbidden him from going out or using his powers until they knew for sure that he had fully healed them, though Silver seemed determined to be stubborn about that. Venice had quickly figured out a way to keep his complaining friend under control, to his great delight and Silver's faked contempt. When the latter got difficult the psychic would simply flop himself fully on Silver's stomach and refuse to budge, giving the other no chance to do anything but obey. The mental image of Silver's face, split evenly between affection, indignation and aggrievement as he was forced to lie there and give his friend cuddles, made Venice snicker even in his drowsy state.
Unfortunately Silver had easily figured out a way to foil his genius, namely by gently digging his fingers into Venice's sides until the other was forced to jump up with a squeal of laughter. As the giggling psychic scampered away to get rid of the feeling it gave him enough time to escape and for Venice to give chase, both of them running around the medbay like maniacs until one of them tired out and they returned to bed for a nap. Right now they had compromised, Silver laying on his back and Venice using his torso to prop up his head, and they were both idly dozing. If he could spend every moment like this, just lazing around and having fun with Silver at his side and few worries looming on the horizon, he would without hesitation. As long as the days were harmonious, he could pretend the nightmares that plagued him as he slept and the fear that crippled his entire body every time he was left alone in a room were non-existent, mere phantoms made up by his mind to torture him further. But still, he knew that the time traveller would be itching to go back to his own era after this. He had already decided to cherish the moment of relative peace he experienced right now, and see what life had in store later.
Body heavy and limp as he dozed, mind flicking in and out of consciousness and purrs rumbling in his chest, his reverie was interrupted when quiet footsteps made their way over to him. Fingers gently trailed over his hand and he tiredly opened an eye, fixing whoever was daring to interrupt his nap with a sleepy glare. Sonic stared back, hanging an inch in front of his eyes with his usual smirk on his face as he shook Venice a little more forcefully. "Wake up, you sleepyhead," he chuckled as Venice closed his eyes again and unsuccessfully tried to block him out.
Silver fared no better, also brusquely and cruelly getting woken up by Sonic's prodding and none the happier about it either. "I have great news," Sonic proclaimed as he lifted himself up on the bed as well, taking in most of the available space at their feet and pointedly ignoring the scowls the two psychics sent his way. He lifted the Miles Electric he was carrying a little. "The results of your DNA test came back," he informed them with a wink.
"Ooh!" With that, Silver was awake instantly, scrambling up to sit next to Sonic and watch the screen. "What did they find?!"
While Silver's sour mood has dissipated instantly and been replaced with intrigue, Venice didn't share his enthusiasm in the slightest. Feeling quite antsy with the unanticipated news, he curled in on himself a bit more, raising one ear so he could hear what they were talking about while staring intently at the sole of Sonic's shoe near his face.
"So basically, Silver's genetic makeup is pretty much entirely of a hedgehog," Sonic began his explanation, moving his finger over the screen Venice couldn't see. "There is a bit more genetic variation between you and the data we have on anthropomorphic hedgehogs in this era, but Tails say it's because you're from the future. Something about mutations and changes over time, I dunno. Never once was someone for genetics."
"You've truly come in here prepared," Silver deadpanned, snickering at the mock-hurt face Sonic pulled. The blue hedgehog put the back of the hand to his face in a sweeping gesture. "Forgive me...! I've never been to school, but Tails said I had to tell you since Venice trusts me more," the speedster dramatically explained as he swayed back on the bed. Well, Venice liked Tails too, but he did indeed feel more comfortable around the Blue Blur.
Silver prodded Sonic with his elbow. "I wanna hear about Venice now!" he urged the other, who had to laugh at his impatience. "Alright, alright," Sonic complied as he settled on the bed more comfortably and looked at Venice, who stared up at him.
"So, I don't know if Silver has told you this yet, but we suspected that you are a hybrid."
"I know," Venice muttered back softly, shifting his gaze away to look anywhere but the two hedgehogs sitting on the bed. He really wasn't sure if he even wanted to hear this.
Sonic did not comment on his apprehension, turning his attention to the screen as he used his finger to scroll over it. "As it turns out, we were right. The test said that you're a hybrid between a hedgehog and a mink."
A long silence stretched after that, in which Venice mostly watched the floor. Surprisingly, his head was entirely void of thought, unable to focus on anything as he stared, and stared, and couldn't move. He didn't really know what he had been expecting, or even what he had wanted it to be. With everything that had been going on for the past three days he had completely forgotten about the conversation he had overheard. Considering how weird everyone acted about hybrids, maybe he had secretly hoped Sonic and Tails were wrong and he was a hedgehog after all. A small rustle caught him by surprise and made his ear flick, only for them to fall flat against his head as Silver curled up around him. With his friend's arms around his torso Venice sucked in a shaky breath. "...Oh," was all he could manage to bring out.
Sonic laughed at his tame reaction, shifting closer as well to ruffle him over his quills. "Tails and I already did tons of research on minks, and we found so many cool things! Ya wanna hear it?" he inquired with a wink.
"I sure do!" Silver responded enthusiastically as he nuzzled into Venice a bit more. Sonic laid down on Venice's other side and lifted the Miles Electric in the air in such a way that all three of them could see it ("Don't drop that on your face, I can't save you," Silver muttered with an eyeroll), scrolling through pages and pages of pictures and words he couldn't read. Still, Venice relaxed the more Sonic told him, finding many similarities between himself and the minks in the picture. They all had his rounded ears and long tail, and general silky fur combined with fluffiness. But he looked like a hedgehog too, especially with the quills on his forehead. All three of them had to laugh when they found out his tail was as pointy as a hedgehog's and as long as a mink's. One thing that surprised him was how all the minks in the pictures had eyes like Sonic and Silver, while his were split up. After nervously bringing up that topic, Silver came to the conclusion that it was caused through his powers, and they left it at that.
"Huh, apparently minks are semi-aquatic," Sonic noted as he read some small text underneath a picture of a river. "That means they live partially in water... Oh, and they're fond of seafood!" he explained at Venice's confused glance. The hybrid could have sworn he heard Silver mutter something about Sonic nearly letting him drown once as he pulled Venice a bit closer, but other than a guilty-looking grin the Blue Blur didn't react to it. Swimming had been easy, certainly more easy that curling into a ball. He would like to try that again sometime.
Eventually, as the sun sunk further into the horizon and the light in the medbay turned more orange with every passing minute, even Sonic ran out of things to talk about. With no-one chatting at the moment, Venice contemplated everything he had heard as he stared at the flickering light on the ceiling, his head resting against Silver's chest. None of them had judged, they had all been immensely supportive and answered all his questions, but he had also heard Silver say that it was impossible for hybrids to exist. Yet, he existed anyway, with no idea where he came from or how that was possible. "But... what now?" he blurted out unexpectedly, shattering the peaceful silence in the room.
Sonic looked at him from where he was sitting, tipping his head a bit sideways. "Yeah, what now?" he asked playfully. Venice frowned at him, not sharing his upbeat mood in the slightest. "Like... what now about this?" he asked, vaguely gesturing to himself. What in the world was he supposed to do with this information? How would other people react if they found out?
"Ah." Sonic's gaze turned softer at that. "Well, for starters, you're still you, right? You're still Venice." The hybrid had to mull over that a little, ears flicking. It was true, he was indeed still Venice, but at the same time it felt as if there was something that had irrevocably changed about him. He was the same person he was before but there was also something different about him... although, maybe that difference fitted him better than what he had been before? Now that he knew more about minks, it did feel right that he was at least partially one. But being part hedgehog felt right, too. Not entirely sure how to respond to Sonic, he simply shrugged.
Silver wrapped his arms around him from behind and rocked him. "If you don't know, then you need to find out somehow," he added. "There will be tons of things you'll like and are good at, because you're part hedgehog and part mink. Why don't you try to see if you can find any?"
Venice gulped at the unexpected idea. "You'll be there too, right?" he asked timidly. The world was very big and daunting, and he had no idea where to even begin looking. Silver always knew what to do... surely he'd know this time as well. "Of course," his friend promised him, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief as he leaned against him a bit more deeply.
"Speaking of trying new things, I'm starving," Sonic dramatically exclaimed as he jumped from the bed. "We can go to the kitchen and grab ourselves a feast! And Venice can try some things and see what he likes, too!" The edges of his mouth curled upwards, and he flicked one ear playfully. "Technically neither of you are allowed to get out of here yet, but if we're sneaky..." Venice had to laugh at the mischievous grin that had etched itself right onto Sonic's muzzle.
With an overly-exaggerated sigh Silver got up too, hoisting himself onto the ground as well. "You're setting a bad example for Venice," he bemoaned, not coming across as serious in the slightest. Grabbing the hand that was stretched out to him Venice got up last, giving it a gentle squeeze as they tiptoed to the door and into the hallway. He would be brave and face this new challenge with courage, and try to make the best out of it. As long as he had his supportive friends at his side, maybe being a bit different wasn't so bad after all.