A/N: Hello people! this was written and posted ten months ago, to the one-shot collection. HOWEVER, I decided to cut it out of there and make it its own story! Because it's so long and it's kind of my Espilver masterpiece novelette! So it's here, guys. Please tell me what you think! (tbh this was was a gift for thekyuubivixen) And also: Silver obviously has no memory of any previous time-travel-adventures, and I decided to delete the Rivals 2 timeline – as in: it did happen, but no one remembers.

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No Evidence


Go. It'll be fine.

His hand shook as he gripped the emerald, whispering two words for all of the emptiness of the night to hear…

And then he vanished.


The problem was, unsurprisingly, the fact that there were no evidence.

-Which Espio was currently explaining to Vector, weaving through the masses of the main street while keeping a subtle eye on his surroundings. So GUN knows nothin'?, Vector had questioned. Not unless they didn't tell me, had Espio answered. To which Vector said, Well go and look around the hospital then!

And that's where Espio was heading. The traffic stood practically still, the sidewalks crowded, and everyone in the whole city seemed to have decided to go shopping at the same time (of course that wasn't the case - Espio reckoned that actually happening wouldbe much, much worse). It was also a quite beautiful day, so that was probably the reason so many people were about…

He made his way through the city. Many, many hours of mostly aimless wandering had uncovered a few places suitable for shortcuts, and using them, it didn't take long for him to reach his goal: Station Square's main hospital. The largest out of several, and with the most expensive equipment. Everyone just called it the main hospital.

People were leaving and entering, the glass doors constantly swinging open and closing, and Espio went inside, trying to decide whether he should pretend he was there to visit first, and look around, or go straight up to the receptionist and say he's a detective on a case. GUN had called the Chaotix for help after all, so Espio could probably demand them to show him around the place…

Hmmm.

He would start with talking to the deer behind the counter, then. (Since she was the only receptionist not occupied at the moment) He started walking up to the counter, but just then another person stepped forward instead. Espio frowned slightly, but moved to stand behind them. Him? It was a hedgehog, that much could be decided… his fur was blinding white. His clothes had a sort of futuristic look to them. He had bruises and smears of mud scattered over his body…

Espio's interest was piqued, though he tried to push it away. But this hedgehog… he had something peculiar about him…


Everywhere. People. Crowds beside the streets, surrounding the shops… Silver had never in his life seen this many buildings gathered in one place, so many people, languages, cultures put together in… in, what, this place was too much. And… and humans were so tall, the books hadn't said anything – and money? Vehicles? …Directions?

They didn't even write anything like his language in the past. Apparently.

-Silver struggled to pick just one emotion to land on, from his horrifying cocktail of fear, anxiety, awe, wonder, nausea, embarrassment, worry, uncertainty…

Anyway, roaming around this horribl(y crowded and strange)e place and asking just about everyone he met for directions ("You're from abroad?" "Um, yeah. We don't have… have signs where I come from." "…Yeah right."), and then, finally, he somehow ended up in the hospital- at which he dashed up to the counter after a few seconds of nervous looking around, because that deer at the counter could probably help him – or at least that's what she should do, right?

(Easy really wasn't part of this plan, he thought with a growing sense of… something unpleasant. (Take your pick))

-And so he stepped up to the counter, barely registering the fact that there had been a person behind him.

"How may I help you sir?" asked the deer politely.

"I- Could I buy chaos drives here?"

Chaos drives. In his head, he said with an air of wonder. Of hope. Of desperation. Of 'please, please, please, I need to save my friend'. They're the only things that can save her.

And the deer answered, "Sorry, but I'm afraid you can't," with an apologetic look.

No

"Everyone says you can buy them at the hospital!" exclaimed Silver. "Please, miss!"

The deer shook her head, and said, "Well, yes, maybe – but we're all out of chaos drives right now, and the next delivery will not be anytime soon."

"When?"

The deer said with a bit of strained politeness, "In two weeks, if you're lucky, sir."

Two weeks?

"…There's none left? Nothing?" Silver asked at last, quietly, but with the way he said 'nothing', he might as well have been pleading.

She shook her head.


Yeah, Espio had been eavesdropping. And now he was sort of interested. See, his case – which had been sent their way by GUN, for reasons – had everything to do about chaos drives. Missing chaos drives. Very valuable chaos drives, infused with healing chemicals, which were often used in emergencies, and were now all missing, crates upon crates, from the hospital and GUN's storages…

…And also, Espio might be feeling a bit sorry for this guy, though he probably wouldn't admit it if asked.

He stepped up to the counter, and two pairs of eyes landed on him. The hedgehog looked devastated, while the deer quickly asked if she could help him. And he quickly and politely said no, excusing himself to quickly catch up with the hedgehog, who was already heading for the doors-

"Excuse me sir," Espio says, slowing down and touching the hedgehog's shoulder lightly. He stopped, and spun around, looking surprised, his hand flying up as if an instinct. And then his eyes took in Espio, and his arm awkwardly fell, just as Espio remembered to remove his hand from his shoulder.

"Uh… did you need something?"

"Were you looking for chaos drives?" countered Espio, trying not to appear too curious.

The hedgehog blinked, twice, surprised again. "Yeah…" A sigh. "They're all out, though…"

Deciding to be straight-forward, Espio then said, "Actually, I might be able to help you find some. My name's Espio."

The hedgehog looked even more lost. But then something lit up in his eyes, and he said, "Wait – you'll help me?"

"Yes. If you'll help me out later."

"Sure," the hedgehog agrees, standing straighter. "Anything you want, if you can just help me get some chaos drives." He looks so hopeful. And then realisation hits him, and he awkwardly holds out a hand, saying, "Um, I'm Silver. Nice to meet you."

Espio takes and shakes his hand, saying, "Likewise."

-And then they both realised that they were blocking the doors, and quickly stepped out onto the sidewalk…


So Espio made a kind of deal with the guy, Silver, but maybe he should have planned things better. Though Silver… he really trusted people easily. –Or was it Espio who had encountered too many rotten people through his job?

Sneaking a glance at Silver again, and Espio's gaze caught on the bruises again. It looked like he had been falling, and crashing, and ultimately ended up scraping his legs and arms, getting mud over him too… and then Espio looked away before Silver could notice him looking, and glanced out over the street instead.

They could go to the house-slash-office of the Chaotix – Espio could bring him there and explain a few things. Ask him a few things. Or he could bring him to a café, try and get to know the guy by the power of idle chit-chat. And while they would be walking, Espio could try and justify exactly why he was bringing Silver along… because he sure as hell couldn't be considered a suspect. More like a victim…

…And for whatever reason he so badly needed chaos drives, Espio wanted to help him. Silver looked so lost, so out of place… Espio just wanted to point him in the right direction.

-actually, he wouldn't mind a coffee right now. A café it was, then.

Espio threw Silver one last look, and then told him he knew a café nearby. Silver looked puzzled, Espio silently wondered why, and then he just told Silver to follow him, which Silver almost gratefully did. Espio then set off with the destination in mind, keeping an eye on Silver to make sure he wouldn't lose him in the crowds…

What a strange hedgehog, Espio then thought absently, as Silver stared, wide-eyed and awed, at the trains down in the subway as Espio bought their tickets.


Whoa. This guy was going to help him. He said. –But what in the world is a café? What had happened in the past anyway? …Was this guy really going to help him? ...Was she still alive? She sent him to the past, or well, he sent himself after she gave him the emerald – but Blaze had thought she was going to die! He just couldn't – she couldn't die, he had to get those chaos drives…

"Here," said the stranger, Espio, suddenly, and Silver came to an abrupt halt.

"Here?" he repeated, as calmly as he could manage. He took a look at the building in front of him, eyes quickly going over the signs he couldn't read, the tables and the people, the walls soaked in pastel colours and the flowerpots standing guard, taking in the chatter and clinking of cups.

"Yes," said Espio. Silver nodded. And then he turned to look at Espio, who had apparently been looking at him… "Are you from abroad?"

Abroad? "Uh, yeah. Sure – I can tell you all about it later!" Silver smiled awkwardly, and Espio just nodded slowly, saying nothing.

"Well," Espio said at last, and started heading for the doors of the café. And of course Silver had to follow, because that guy was the closest thing to success that Silver had, and he ought to know the customs of the past, since he lived here… Unless Silver had had the unbelievably bad luck to run into another time-traveller, that is, but really, the odds are like 0.1%...

The doors swung open by themselves as they went in, and a sweet and warm aroma hit Silver the second he stepped in. He drew a breath, trailing after Espio, eyes going over the lights – soft, pastel-coloured – and the baked goods, layered cakes, cupcakes… lots of things Silver had no idea what they were, but looked delicious. Music came from a device in the corner, and Silver almost wanted to laugh – he actually recognised this tune!

-It was absolutely ancient though.

Figures.

There were also lots and lots of signs and posters that Silver couldn't, once again, read. Not that he needed to – what if Espio was an analphabet? He thought with horror – but Espio only walked up to the counter calmly, which was watched over by a fennec fox busy arranging small pastries into a heart-shape.

Silver tried to appear like he belonged in this era, stepping closer to Espio, who said, to the cashier, "Hello." –Easy enough.


The cashier glanced up, plastering on a smile. "How can I help you, sir?"

"One latte, please," said Espio. And then he paused, glancing at Silver… Who was looking out the window, and quite obviously wasn't going to order, thus… "And one hot cocoa, with some… chocolate-chip cookies, thank you."

The fennec fox nodded. "Just a minute," he said, and turned around to begin tinkering with a coffee-maker, giving orders to another fox, rushing about to gather some things, taking out plates… Not really all that interesting, so Espio turned to Silver instead…

…Only that Silver wasn't there.

!

-Though, fortunately, Espio spotted Silver again before he could really begin to question his abilities to sense people moving about. Silver had wandered away closer to the window, seemingly enchanted by the view, which really only consisted of a street… And Espio had promised to get some chaos drives for him… Why?

Why did he need chaos drives? For what? If it was that urgent – an injury, life or death – then anyone in their right mind would have called the hospital…

"Here's your order, sir," said the cashier then, cutting off Espio's trail of thoughts, "It'll be thirty rings."

Espio paid, took the tray, and went up to Silver. He repositioned his tray so that he supported it with only one arm, and used the free one to tap Silver on the shoulder, to which Silver jumped and spun around and – oops, Espio forgot to deliberately make his walking heard and now the tray-

Was sort of hit. And there went the latte and the cocoa, partly sliding and partly flying off the tray but then- they stopped. And Espio quickly took held of the tray with both hands, the beverage just barely staying in their cups, and the cups amazingly enough staying put on the tray, almost like they slid just a little, little bit more toward the middle of the tray…

"Sorry, my bad," Silver said quickly. "I – what is that stuff?"

Espio could help it – he raised an eyebrow. "What are you referring to?"

"That!" Silver said, just as abstractly as his previous statement. And then he gestured to the cups. And Espio glanced down. And then a dawn of realisation and disbelief washed over him-

You've never had coffee? Espio almost blurts out incredulously, but manages at the last second to change it to, "Th-that's coffee." Pause. "And hot cocoa. Beverages… You drink it." ...Silver stares. Espio stares. The world laughs at their shared bewilderment. And then Espio exclaims, "How far abroad?"


It looked like mud! Like mud and water! It was a perfectly normal reaction!


Silver avoided the question. Espio noted this quietly, and found them a table, setting down the tray carefully. He slipped into a seat and Silver followed suit, expression somewhere between sheepish and nervous…

Yeah. He was having coffee with a virtual stranger, though that wasn't that exciting in Espio's line of work.

It was the stranger in question who was strange. A bit. And he wanted chaos drives, which were getting stolen faster than they arrived… Ugh, Espio really should have started taking notes earlier today, and… darn it. He forgot to ask the receptionist at the hospital anything. Hell, he didn't even look around for anything suspicious, or look at the storage rooms, or interrogate any CE-healers… His progress rates were getting worse than Charmy's on a bad day…

Well, time to get to work, then.

"So you wanted chaos drives," Espio says, cringing at how much he sounds like a drug dealer or something.

"Yeah," Silver says quickly. "It's – it's really urgent."

"So, assuming it's for medical purposes…" Silver nods. "…then why didn't you just call the hospital?"

"Uh…"


Because there's no hospitals in the future. Heck, there's not even any medicine! There's just – there isn't…There's just… Green. Old buildings laying like chipped and broken cups in the grass, vines climbing up the walls, branches reaching in through broken windows, glass splinters long buried underneath the moss and grass. Flowers invading. Armies of algae conquering the sea. A few travellers, half of them named Hope or some shit, ghosting around like lost souls, weaving in and out of the never-ending woods…

It was paradise. But it was such a fucking wasteland, with no civilisation left either.

-And ooh, Silver should just have brought a bleeding and dying Blaze with him to the past and then called the hospital? 1) No phone. 2) Not very convenient to drag such a…injured… friend around either- 3) There is such a thing as a hospital? What? 4) Again… culture frigging collision. No culture to speak of, versus… gosh

…He needed to get a grip.


Espio waited calmly for Silver's response, silently getting more and more suspicious… Though really? Him? A Suspect? Anyway…

"…I don't have a phone."

You could have borrowed one, Espio's thoughts chimed in. Maybe he just shouldn't pry into that for now… so,

"Okay," Espio said. And then he couldn't think of anything else to say, so took a gulp of coffee instead, which thankfully didn't burn his tongue. And Silver looked at him with such an incredulous expression, so Espio raised an eyebrow, and then Silver said,

"What's that beverage even made of?"

…Uh. "Roasted coffee beans, and… milk?"

He made a face. "That sounds gross." Pause. "And this beverage?" –Silver motioned at his own cup, untouched. (Except for the small incident)

"The same as coffee? And some sugar, and…" Espio sighed. "I'm not a cook; you should ask the cashier."

Silver seemed to realise something else. "Wait – there's like…" Pause. Espio tried to stop his eyebrow from twitching up in a question. Again. And then Silver asks, "So what do you do?"

"…For work?" Nod, slightly too enthusiastic. (Should he tell?) (Well that really just boiled down to: Should I consider this 'Silver' character as a suspect or not?) (…No) "I'm a detective."

"Oh." Silver said simply. And then Espio asked,

"And you?"

"I'm… a traveller, I guess?"

A… traveller? "Oh?"

"Yeah…" Something like a small laugh. "You wouldn't believe me, if I told you all the places I've seen…"

"So how do you get money?" Espio asked, a genuinely curious question.

"Money? I… help people out? Though some places, money isn't really…

-It's not about getting money, it's about travelling. Or something… Wait.

Were you interrogating me?"

Espio also did something which could be considered a Small Laugh. "Isn't interrogating just a harsher word for 'getting to know a person'?"

-Silver gave him a questionable look. Espio wondered how bad that sentence had sounded. Their beverages were going cold. And it wasn't quite summer yet, but the people, everyone, was intoxicated with summer, sunshine, holidays… even though it was only May, still.


After an internal debate with himself, Espio had decided to ask 'So where do you stay?' while navigating the obstacle course that was Station Square main street once again. And Silver had, after awkward silence, admitted, 'Nowhere'.

Nowhere.

…So now what? Should Espio leave Silver to fend for himself? Bring him to the office? Pay for him to stay at a hotel? No. He really wasn't going to pay for someone he had met as late as this afternoon. But to leave him by himself? …Yeah, no… Jeez, when had Silver become Espio's responsibility anyway? –When he introduced himself at the hospital. This really was Espio's own fault, for having to go and… introduce himself? Make a promise?

…Though really, he could not take Silver with him to the office. It just – and hotels were out of question, but then…

"I'm… a traveller, I guess"

And Espio realised. Or remembered, really. The Chaotix usually were pretty quiet – not in that sense of the word – normal – or as far as it went – unless Vector stumbled into trouble or emeralds came their way, or an interesting enough case called them… and then there were the situations. The journeys. And the memories – held in a sort of glory and fondness, but considering to actually do that again…?

-Saving the world, he meant. Or at least the country.

Anyway, point was – had been, before he started reminiscing – that when you were in the middle of something that great and big and urgent, then you didn't sleep. Or go to hotels. Or stop for anything. You just – here it comes – travelled.

Espio preferred to observe, to carefully put information together, piece after piece, until he had enough evidence to prove someone guilty. To use and show off his skills to their full extent, invisible until suddenly, he would strike. With skill and flourish. Or maybe just with a calm sentence, a too good reply, an argument won with calm and quick words, with all the evidence needed, carefully gathered… It was a reliable method, which worked in 90% percent of the cases. But it was also a slow method.

Vector, holding suspicions for himself, observing and noting and then landing one lucky guess after another, always noticing the smallest detail everyone else overlooked… It was fast. It was efficient, it was as awesome as in the movies, but Espio just didn't have that in him. Besides, that method only worked in 60% of the cases, compared to his 90% one…

Though this time, it seemed like Vector's method would be the best way out… If Silver even knew how to solve a case or have an adventure. Silver… didn't seem to have any street-smarts whatsoever, any idea how to manage in a city, grasp of money, culture… anything. Who had bruised knees, didn't know what coffee was, didn't know how the subway worked, didn't-

"I'm… a traveller, I guess"

…Ugh. Espio had already decided, anyway.


Later…

It all glowed. Buildings, signs, large windows to stores, rows and rows of smaller windows going up into the black sky, lights on vehicles, phones, lamp-posts… And Silver had to look at it like he had seen it a dozen hundred times before, and not like it was his awe-stricken first time in a city. And pretend he wasn't alone. Without anywhere to go, and alone.

Espio didn't really count – not like Blaze had. Had. A lump in his throat – she's still alive, of course she is-

"We should get something for those bruises."

Silver looked up, almost startled by Espio's presence. Since he had been so quiet. And oh yeah, he had said something which was…

"Oh, it's not necessary," Silver quickly replied. He swallowed. And then he almost smiled, because he was distracted. "It's nothing."

Espio nodded. "Well then," he said, expression changing slightly, though Silver didn't catch what. They were walking, having done so for a while, though Espio had only asked him a single thing before then going quiet. Silver didn't know enough about detectives – and people in general – to know if he should just act normal, or be on his tip-toes around Espio… not that he had been relaxed for a single second since he got here.

-Or well, it had been better at the café. Talking always felt good.

And now Espio was quiet, and Silver didn't know what to say, and Blaze was back at home and bleeding and dying and-

"Have you ever," Espio then stopped his train of thoughts, "Been involved in an investigation?"

"…No?" Silver replied, thoughts retreating again. Espio just hummed as an answer, seemingly lost in thought as they then proceeded to a crossing. People crowded there, waiting for the green light as traffic thundered past. A sign was counting down from 22, 21, 20… and so on, and after a few seconds Silver realised that it must be counting down to green light.

Espio had sort of taught him to wait for that light, but mostly Silver had to draw his own conclusions. Of course. He didn't want to stick out, but there wasn't any traffic back in his time – he still wanted to flinch away from the sounds. The lights. The force, how the wind hit when a truck went past. He just tried to wait calmly like everyone else, and went across like everyone else, and then, on the other side of the street, he stopped and stood and waited…

…Where was Espio?

Not here, felt like a jolt and Silver looked around, trying to stay calm as he surveyed the street, the sidewalk, the sleeping vehicles, the people who weren't Espio, the buildings…

…And he couldn't find him. Oh Iblis burn it all – he couldn't find Espio and now he really was all alone and what if Espio had ditched him or maybe he had just taken a turn and stupid Silver hadn't noticed-

There

Relief felt like a stab when Silver spotted him, and Silver just rushed over to him where he came going around a corner across the street, looking around he too, but then-

Then, he could feel that something was wrong, feeling each of his footsteps like –

Everything was too loud but he could hear nothing.

Traffic – honking and shouting and – lights – shit shit shit

Car, in front of him. Trucks, everywhere. Someone yelling

Silver! SILVER!

Jerk. Step away. Back. Back. Away. Stop. Freeze. Concentrate. Stop. Stop! STOP!

A shudder went through Silver. Every disgusting and warm and exotic scent the city had, he could smell. His pulse was pounding in his ears, and he felt vaguely aware of how noisy it was, but not really hearing anything, because shit – where had all this traffic come from? All these vehicles? All this everything?

Stop

Silver still held up his hand, another shudder going through his body as he started to back away. Cyan sparks jumped between his fingers, and the vehicles glowed eerily and so familiar, Silver almost stumbling and why was everything closing in- he could literally see the looks on their faces as they sat there in their frozen contraptions and-

-and he turned and ran, letting go. Tires screeched and then there were more noise and screams and unknown sound, but Silver was out of the way, away and away and his power flooded back, like flowers when they open again in daylight, and away AWAY – he had to

He could hear his own breathing so loud. Someone shouted.

"SILVER!"

And he stopped, halting and spinning around, raising his hands as energy surged through him-

"Silver!"

Purple. Big, yellow thing. General I-am-rushing-towards-you-so-sit-tight.

Espio.


The situation went from 'fuck fuck FUCK' to 'what the fuck WHAT' with just a snap of Silver's fingers, quite literally, and Espio had never shouted this much in a row in his whole life- (we are so not counting the 'Charmy and the Toaster Situation') (Or the time they almost died, and-)

"Silver!"

Silver's head flew up so fast, hands following, moving just slightly like he was drawing in the air, like he was preparing for a fight, and sparks of cyan trailed after them, around them, and instinctively Espio tried – though his abilities weren't that good – to feel his chaos energy…

But found none. And just as shock hit him, Silver's eyes locked onto his, and then Espio realised that their eyes were the same colour: Striking gold… Also, Espio couldn't move. Literally. Risking a quick glance down and – blue sparks, eerie glow-

Dammit.

Espio took a deep breath, calming down. Now how was he going to- oh wait. He could move again.

His eyes quickly flew up again, just as Silver turned tail and ran – again.

"Silver!" Espio shouted after him, stumbling and catching himself. He cursed and broke into a run, chasing after Silver, not giving the street behind them a second glance…

-Where a truck had just ran off the street and into a building, windows cracking and cracking and sirens already wailing in the distance – someone swore that there had been a ghost here – glowing hedgehog – was that Sonic? – holy being – or something, while the people who were drawn there by disaster just stared – some in horror or shock, and then the ones who looked amused or curious. And no one really believed the rumours, which started spreading like wildfire, but everyone could see that there had been a car crash…

-Oh wait.

Two car crashes…


"Silver!"

A flash of white turning around a corner, footsteps thudding.

"SILVER!"

A trash can – no, two, three – suddenly falling and clattering down on his path. Espio jumps.

"SILVER! STOP!"

Ah-ha. Espio knew this neighbourhood – buildings towering over you, trash can after trash can, a few damp, dark alleys ending in dead-ends, stray cats and grime.

"Silver!" He was panting. Goddammit – Espio was made for stealth, not for chasing…

Stumble. Clattering sounds. Espio slowed down, trying to get his breathing back under control.

"Silver…" Espio stumbled around the corner. A dead-end. Silver looked just as tired as him, glancing up at him quickly before raising his hands again and- "Please."

Espio aid quickly, and also held up a hand, breaths still coming too quick and shallow. Silver looked at him, hesitating, and then Espio used his best trick. His best form of self-defence, attack, and means to impress people: his hand vanished, just like that, and then he too. Invisibility.

Silver's breathing hitched.

Three seconds passed. And then Espio turned back to normal, seemingly blinking back into existence.

He looked at Silver again, who had let his hands fall, and now raised one – instinctive tensing on Espio's part – to then rub his face tiredly against it. Espio relaxed slightly.

"…So how far abroad, exactly?"

A smile just between 'we're all on drugs' and exasperated, and a twinkle of gold as Silver let his hand fall. "…I'll tell you later."


They just sat there, in that dirty, dark dead-end for a while, with their backs against a garbage bin. Their breathing gradually slowed down. Espio tried to just go over everything that happened and store it away somewhere in his mind, and he guessed Silver was doing something similar to that…

A plane flew by overhead, Espio noted absently.

Suddenly Silver let out a sort of giggle, startling Espio, and soon it turned into a sort of choking sound. Espio quickly glanced up to see if he was alright, but Silver just looked up into the darkness with an almost dazed look. And then he said, "Alright. Alright – I guess those ruins are discovered."

"…A proverb?" Espio guessed.

"Yeah. Oh ughhh," Silver moaned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm so tired. And look, powers are apparently totally normal here, so just – could we forget that this ever happened?"

"No," replied Espio. "I mean – you're unusual."

"Oh," said Silver simply. "Fantastic." …Whoa. Espio didn't think Silver knew about sarcasm.

"Your powers… They are unusual." I've never seen anything like it. (Or had he…? He couldn't remember)

You don't even use chaos energy.

I can't even feel your energy.

Espio knew his chaos sense was bad, but not this bad. In terms of chaos energy, Silver was a walking corpse. In terms of power though…

"What was that?" Espio had to ask.

"Oh that," Silver said, sinking back against the bin. "It's just psychokinesis." His face flushed. "…Sorry."

"No," Espio replies. "It's I that have to apologise," he continues before Silver can interrupt. "I'm sorry for suspecting you, and for leaving you behind." I'm sorry for almost getting you run over by a car "I'm sorry for wasting so much time."

Pause. Silver looks at him, and Espio stares back. "…So you're trying to salvage your honour?" Silver then says, looking amused.

"Oh yes," Espio replies, playing along. "Everything for one's honour."

"Everything," Silver agrees. He snorts. "So is this the point where you beg for forgiveness?"

"Ah, no. This is the point when we'll go to inspect the storage rooms of the hospital."

"…Wait, what?"


How much information was Espio willing to share? Almost everything about the case that he had so far. And Silver listened intently, and once Espio had finished – didn't take long – he said, "So that was why they were out of chaos drives."

"Yes," Espio replied, sneaking a glance at Silver to see his expression. –Why did he want chaos drives so much? Why didn't he just call the hospital? For what did he need the chaos drives? Those questions kept tugging at Espio's attention, but he didn't see the need nor have the time to bring them up right now…

-And Silver didn't look upset, so Espio glanced away again.

"We should get going," he then stated, drawing himself to his feet nimbly. Silver murmured a 'yeah' and pushed himself up from the ground he too, briefly using the garbage bin for support. Espio started to lead the way, Silver following quietly. He led them back the way they came, mostly recognising his surroundings, and taking a guess the few times he didn't, and soon, stores started to appear, glowing signs and cars and people, and then suddenly they were back at Main street, everything bright and colourful and normal just-

-no, wait.

Coming to a slow stop, just stopping to walk because now he had to stare, Espio then tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

Further down the street, a blockade had been made, police cars with blinking lights and people and cars slowing to a stop, confused. Signs telling you to leave were being put up, and tape to keep people away was being wound over the street by two officers. And… a car wreck. No, two, three… A smashed storefront. A disaster which kept drawing people near.

…And then Espio saw exactly where it had happened, realised exactly what had happened-

"Is that…" Came Silver's voice the from behind him, Silver hesitantly stepping forward. He swallowed, and Espio prayed that he wouldn't realise- "…What happened?"

"…An accident," Espio looks away. "Let's go."

He starts to walk away, assuming that Silver will follow… which he does not, because Espio listens after his footsteps and hears nothing. Except that then there's a sound, like Silver begins a sentence, a question, but stops before the words can come out and makes a choking sound instead. Which has Espio turning around and rushing up to him, just as Silver says,

"Smoke. There's… smoke is rising."

Espio is awfully quiet.

"What…" Silver begins but stops. And then he whirls around and demands, "What happened? I kn-know I stopped those machines b-but why is there smoke?"

"I… I'm not sure, but I think some people driving those 'machines' must have… lost control of their vehicles, and crashed them." Said Espio, calmly, while praying that no one had died because- because it was just an accident. And surely several had already called the hospital so if anything had actually happ-

No

It hits Espio like a bucket of slush.

If someone was badly, badly injured, even if someone had called the hospital, then the hospital wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it since they had no chaos drives for emergencies. They could still use normal technology and medicines, but those weren't a worth a shit compared to chaos drives

And all chaos drives are missing

And what was the detective assigned to the case doing? –Nothing. Nothing at all, and now Espio felt sick. Dammit – why was he so incompetent?


Silver could only guess what a 'car crash' would do to the people involved. But here they had hospitals, and those other buildings where they sold medicine, and people able to help, and other resources and such.

It would probably be fine. Probably.

In any case, he was already stressed out enough about Blaze and time-travel and detectives and culture clashes, so maybe he could just ignore this. It was like, 1 am or something anyway, and – he hadn't meant to cause this much destruction


Later…

It was with a sort of quiet, cold, burn of determination in his mind, at his heart, that Espio now led the way to the doors, which slid open neatly. He entered and Silver followed him, not asking anything or saying anything, just trailing after him…


-Because Espio, the detective who could turn invisible, was still Silver's best shot at saving Blaze. Or at even surviving in the past, for that matter… And they were sort of friendly (friends?) with each other, Silver assumed, since well


Anyway, going straight for the counter this time, since there was no one else there except for a couple who seemed to have fallen asleep on a sofa, Espio then ignores the human receptionist's 'how can I help you sir' and just shows his permission from GUN, which he carries around at all times since it's immensely useful.

And the receptionist blinks, looks at the card, pauses, and inquiries, "You work for GUN?"

"No – I'm from Chaotix detective agency." (Ah, how much Vector hates to explain that)

"…Okay," says the receptionist after a moment. "Well, I… uh. Did you want to see anything or-?"

"The storage rooms," Espio cuts in swiftly. "If you could show us, then it would be most appreciated." Us. Yeah, Silver was part of the investigation now. How weird and unbelievable – but Espio would like to see more of Silver's strange powers, try to figure out just what was so strange with him… and, of course, Espio had promised to help him, and Espio wouldn't dare to go back on his word, that much self-respect he had…

"Um, well." The receptionist pauses again. And then she turns to shout at a coyote behind another counter 'I'll be going away for a bit, Lynn, watch my counter please' and opens a drawer, takes out a bunch of keys, selects two, puts the rest away, and finally she turns to Espio again.

"Are you really sure you-"

"Yes."

The receptionist hesitates, so Espio says swiftly, "No, this won't get you in trouble with your superiors, and yes, this is a legitimate case assigned to me by GUN."

She blinks, opens her mouth, closes it, and says finally, "Fine. Okay, sir, just follow me and I'll take you there…"

And mentally Espio made notes, such as: could any of the receptionists be the culprit? Or be helping the culprits?


The corridor looked boring, white walls and bleak light, and had four doors, two on each side. When they got there – using one of the keys – the receptionist then stopped to ask, "Do you want to see all of them or-"

"Yes, please."

The first was dark, and when turning on the lights it still had nothing more interesting to reveal than a couple of boxes, two old beds without bedding and a nearly empty bookshelf.

The second room was small and crowded with cleaning equipment and empty boxes, mops and detergent and bottles, two vacuum cleaners almost falling out on them as the receptionist opened the door.

The third was much larger than the previous, with counters lining the walls, dusty sinks and rags spread out over the wood. The floor was tiled, and as if someone had cleaned it just recently. Three big boxes stood in the middle of the room, with a very recent delivery date – the receptionist said that it probably was the plastic glove delivery, and some new comforters.

The fourth one was apparently the one they still used frequently…

It was the largest of all three, white tiled floor going on and out and disappearing somewhere in the darkness. When the receptionist switched on the light, rows and rows and rows of shelves and cupboards became visible, the furniture building a small town before at last stopping at the far away wall. Silver looked surprised, and even Espio had to admit that the room was a pretty impressive size…

"It's the newest one," informed the receptionist. "We keep all spare equipment here, sir."

Espio nodded. "Would you mind showing us where you keep the chaos drives?"

"Not at all," replied the receptionist politely, and led the way to the back of the room. They walked past a seemingly endless number of shelves and boxes, all neatly marked and stacked, and at last they reached three vey empty metal cupboards with glass doors. A sign to the side with glowing blue letters informed them about the obvious: zero chaos drives in storage

What a surprise!

"Okay, thank you," said Espio, looking over his surroundings. A door, more boxes… another door. Lots of places to disappear… And no cameras. Typical… though, "Is there any way to enter this room without a key?"

"No, sir," answered the receptionist. And then she blinked, and exclaimed, "Wait, you're not accusing me of anything are you?"

"No, ma'am, I just asked."

And Silver, who had been quiet so far, now piped up with, "And it's not that hard to steal a key, right?"

…"Are there any cameras in the lobby?" begins Espio, possibilities raining down. "No, forget that – who all have keys to the storage rooms? Where are their keys kept?"

"How difficult is it to break in without a key?" offers Silver. "How many keys-"

"-are there? In total?" finishes Espio. Both mobians look at expectantly at the receptionist who, once again, blinks.

"I… Uh. Yeah, there's a few cameras in the lobby… I don't know how many keys there is, but most of the staff have one, or knows where to borrow one…" Pause. Sigh. "And I don't know how to break in here, since I've never tried to... sir."

Too many keys to get any clues… "Could I get a list of all the people who uses the chaos drives in their work?"

"I… wait, everyone?"

Espio nods, and Silver lingers behind him wordlessly. The receptionist sighs.

"Well, there's the ambulance drivers and workers, the CE-healers, the surgeons, the assistants, those healers from GUN, the ones working in emergencies…" she trails off, and it's silent for a moment.

And then Silver comments, "That's a lot of people?"

Yeah.


And GUN had already checked for any evidence at the crime scene, like fingerprints or whatever, but they had found nothing… as Espio had already explained to Vector…


There's no stars, Silver thought when looking up, past all the thousands and thousands of windows and into the smoky blackness. There was a breeze, and foreign smells, and so, so many lights on the buildings and vehicles. There was so much people, even though it was night. There was almost no plants, no trees or grass… there were so many buildings and structures. Sleek, polished or dirty, windows and glass or concrete, everything artificial…

-And then suddenly he walked into someone, who of course was Espio, and they both stumbled forward, Silver instinctively shooting out a hand and focusing, managing to catch himself, Espio doing some sort of weird looking step to avoid falling.

"Uh, what?" said Silver as he straightened himself up.

Espio shrugged, and turned around to sit down on a bench that Silver hadn't noticed. Looking around now, Silver could spot some shabby grass, a lamp-post with the bench beneath it, and a nearly empty street. The buildings were really small out here, and Silver could even spot a tree behind a chain-link fence…

The harsh yellow light coming from above painted everything in sharp shadows, and softer colours washed into yellow, fading to orange. There were trash scattered over the sorry excuse for grass, and garbage bins tucked into corners, a rusting vehicle leaning against a fence. Barely there breeze smelling of smoke, and something disgusting, and something sharp and perfume and other man-made scents, blew into Silver's face as he turned the other way, and a single, almost angry thought snuck into his mind; why did they turn the past into something so vile?

…Though what he missed the most was, of course, Blaze. Wise and nimble Blaze, who always knew what to do, and

Go. It'll be fine

Panic, panic, panic, his hands were shaking so bad-

Go, Silver

No, no, no. The emerald – her blood – he couldn't-

Go!

Silver!

"Silver!"

"Silver!" And he spun around, hands flying up, mind reaching to grab for the nearest thing which was a – a… an… uh…

"Silver?" Said someone, and then Silver's eyes caught up and-

"…Espio?"

The chameleon nodded, stepping closer – since when was he standing anyway? – looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"…Yes?" Silver lets his hands fall, ears starting to turn red. "I'm fine."

Espio nodded, and sat down, and that could have been it, the end of the discussion, but instead Silver chose to say quietly, "I need the chaos drives for a friend."

And Espio looked up, calm and almost expressionless as usual, and said, just as quietly as Silver, "You didn't need to tell me."

"Or well, I thought you were going to keep it secret for at least two days more." And Silver's lips twitched up at that, as he absently realised that yes, it had only been one day in the past so far…

And he sank down to sit on the bench with Espio, the detective turning his phone just slightly more to Silver's side so that he could see, beginning to then summon up pages of unreadable text for him to see… But well, Silver hadn't exactly told Espio that he couldn't read anything here…


Eventually Silver dozed off, slouching against the back of the bench with his head lolling to the side.

Espio got tired just by looking at him.

And that was why he had resolved not to look at him.

And to instead mindlessly scroll pages up and down, in particular the Station Square Main Hospital's website, and some other sites… Though really, he was just prolonging the inevitable. A sigh. Damn, Espio was disappointed in himself – he had got information today, sure, but the only direction that pointed him in, was to the land of 'this case is still no closer to being solved'…

Though he really had to call Vector, before his boss started to put up 'Missing' signs or something…

So he did. Several beeps passed – what time was it? …More beeps passed… And some more…

…"Chaotix detective agency, and do you have any idea what time it is?!"

"…Hi Vector," answered Espio, almost shocked at the fact that he actually answered.

"Espio!" shouted Vector, at once sounding much happier. "Where the hell did you disappear to?"

…"Just walking around the city."

"This late?"

"…It may have gotten later than I realised."

"Damn straight! It's…" Pause. Shuffle. "-it's THREE THIRTY-TWO AM!"

"Again, I didn't plan to be out this late."

"Well, duh." Pause. "…Oh yeah! How's the case going?"

"…Sort of." Espio stared out into the night, Silver giving a faint snore beside him. "…Well, I'll call you back later."

"Hey! I was-" click.


When Silver was shook awake, his head hurt and his mouth tasted metallic and salty, the world seeming as if it was encased in cotton…


Later…

In the end, Espio got them both to a hotel. It was four am when they got there – Travelers Hotel – but thankfully they had empty rooms there. After a bit of annoying talk about keys and checking in and checking out and – yes, I have a credit card – and no thanks, no breakfast, two beds, yeah, no, no luggage, yes, I do still have a credit card-

-then they finally got to their room, and Espio didn't even bother switching on the lights, just closing the door after Silver and collapsing on one of the beds, since the hotel also very thankfully had empty rooms with two beds, so that this night wouldn't have turned into some clichéd bed-sharing like in those horrible TV shows that Vector sometimes watched – though admittedly, the one with the spy had been pretty cool…

Espio rolled over on his side, closing his eyes and tugging the quilt over him. Silver's footsteps sounded so far away, barely so that Espio noticed them… or cared, for that matter… and then Silver spoke, shattering the peace with, "So if you were a shadier person, then this is when you would've killed me, right?"

What? Said Espio's sleep-addled brain. "…Maybe. Yes, probably."

"Okay," said Silver. "Okay…"

Espio waited a moment, but when Silver said nothing more, he decided to succumb to his exhaustion… After drawing a kunai and subtly slipping it under his pillow, that is…


They ended up staying the whole day at the hotel, Espio thinking and researching, writing notes and planning, occasionally calling Vector or watching TV. Vector didn't ask why Espio didn't just return to the office, but then again, Espio didn't tell him that he was staying at a hotel. And he didn't tell him about Silver either. Silver, who sat around the room, watched TV, and disappeared and returned so frequently that Espio decided to just give him the key to spare them both the trouble…

And yeah, maybe Espio was getting a bit irritated about this case… He really shouldn't have this hard of a time figuring things out, but now he couldn't even come up with an idea on how to catch the culprit…

Except for…

Well, meh.


Restless, restless, restless…


The day after that Espio checked out from the hotel, and then he, and Silver, always following, proceeded to the hospital. He only came there to ask when the next delivery of chaos drives would be, and they told him it would be in three days. Three days.

-Espio still couldn't come up with anything good, or any plan he could use before the chaos drives were delivered. His thoughts went to Silver too often, because Silver kept so many secrets, and Espio might as well try and figure him out, with nothing better to do, since all useful parts of his brain weren't doing a shit.

…He brought them to another café, this one a modern, polished thing at the bottom of a skyscraper, everything going in blacks and whites. It was the quiet part of an afternoon, and there weren't many customers.

Since Silver had been so repulsed by the hot cocoa – he didn't even try it – Espio now bought him a strawberry milkshake and an apple, choosing a latte for himself – he had been through many, many lattes since this case begun.

He picked a table near the panorama window, and Silver sat down next to him, silently. Sneaking a glance at Silver, Espio was surprised to see how… uninterested? Tired? Sad? Silver looked…

"I need the chaos drives for a friend."

-He had to hurry things up. But oh, he couldn't actually do anything before the delivery arrived – and he was so worked up about this, because it concerned Silver personally, and he had promised Silver to help him ASAP and time was just dripping away like the rain outside, pointless and dull and- three days still, so he just had to wait…

Patience is a virtue

Espio released a breath. Took another. Released.

You're a detective. Patience, observation and finesse is everything.

Espio turned to Silver, who used his straw to swirl around in his milkshake. His hairstyle was quite odd, Espio thought. Of course he had noticed it before, but he had been sort of busy with other things to really notice… quills standing up oddly, hiding his ears, with two longer going down his back… (Actually, it fit him)

White fur. The colour of innocence. Or death, depending on which culture you picked…

He didn't have an accent. Or… well, there was a faint sort of lingering on certain letters, a lightness to some others, but Espio couldn't place exactly what it was for the life of him.

"I'm… a traveller, I guess"

"…Does now count as later?"

Silver looked up, looking confused. "Uh, what?"

"You said you'd tell me about where you're from later. Remember?"

"Oh… yeah…" Silver looked away, glancing out through the window. "It's… Do you know about the Chaos emeralds?"

…One single sentence, and now Espio understood everything. The fucking Chaos emeralds. Silver could be from another galaxy if he had used them, or an alternate dimension, or – anything was possible. He could be a 4000 year old alien hedgehog from a parallel dimension who worked in a retail selling wands and tarot cards, for all Espio knew…

"Yeah, I know about them."

"Oh, good…" Silver was still looking away, so Espio decided to look at him. "It's… I… you'll never believe me," he said, and suddenly he turned to look at Espio, golden eyes so intense…

"Try me," replies Espio, just one beat too late. "I'm a detective. I've seen some weird things in my life." –saying that and sounding like he actually was any older than sixteen, but hey, everyone assumed he was an adult, so no one bothered him about age restrictions.

Anyway, Silver gives him a look, and Espio stares back, and then Silver says, "I'm from the future."

The future. Espio… hadn't known you could travel through time with the emeralds. This… wow.


This is when he laughs at you, insisted some part of Silver, while another shouted, you've fucking spilled all the beans you ever had. Okay, really, what had Silver to lose?

1. His dignity

2. A chance to get chaos drives

3. A friend

…Well, he can't take back his words, so from this point forward it's really just ride or die, right?

Espio looks taken aback, and Silver waits for him to say something. And when it finally comes, calm as always, it's an, "I believe you." And then Espio almost smiles. "So that's why you didn't know what cocoa was, or cars, or anything."

And Silver smiles, grins, snorts, giggles, laughs…

"Yeah. That's – I can't even read the letters here."

So now he still had:

1. His dignity - intact

2. A chance to get chaos drives

3. And a friend