There are people that say that certain bonds are so unbreakable they cross the barrier of reality. It's true. The fact two complete strangers can form a friendship so tight that it lasts a lifetime is a miracle in and of itself, but what they can achieve together is even more so. This story proves it. This story is about two young men that went from being complete strangers to having a bond that many would say was one of the most unbreakable ones on the planet.

Veloz the Wolf's house was dead silent that morning, his dark grey fur barely reflecting the sunlight that came in through the windows. At his side, his father and mother sat. He was a soldier, rough and sometimes moody, but at the end of the day, a good father—Veloz could bet his pinky on that. There was also his mother, almost a complete opposite of him, extremely sweet and kind-hearted. In front of him was a leopard called Dash. The fastest of the family by far, as you are about to witness. He was Veloz's adoptive brother, a little rascal on the outside, but the other three Mobians at the table knew for a fact that the young man had a kind heart. Now. Every family has their traditions, and this one wasn't exception; Every once in a while, they'd participate in a military training regime—One-on-one combat, agility when dodging projectiles, the usual. "Hey, Dash, do you want to train?", said Veloz to finally break the silence. Dash rose his head from his breakfast plate to look at his brother, eyes wide open, since both perfectly knew that Dash wasn't a fan of training, to be subtle, but that wouldn't stop Veloz from trying. "Of course!", said Dash. "I just gotta go pick something up in my room, ok?", he said, starting to get up. Veloz didn't even raise his gaze when talking again. "Ok, but you will come this time, right?", he said suspiciously. It wasn't the first time Dash used the same excuse to sneak out. Veloz wondered why he kept doing this, disappointed. "O-Of course, who do you take me for?", said Dash with a nervous tone that finally made Veloz raise his head. "For my brother, Dash.", he answered, "And this time you're being honest… Right?" Veloz looked straight into his brother's eyes, who started laughing nervously, only to end up whispering a "Well, I'm fu-" Before he could finish the phrase, two things stopped him. One was his father's gaze, warning him not to say the word. The other one was Veloz, who got up. "Dash, I already told you that I won't be as aggressive this time, said Veloz with some sadness—The first time he let himself get carried away and the poor leopard was left with the worst possible impression of the family tradition. "Come on, let's train.", he said, his frustration growing when he watched as Dash backed up a little towards the door. "… For that, you'll have to catch me first. LoveyouallBYE!", he finished saying that quickly before running out like his life depended on it. While Veloz's parents sighed due to the frequency this happened with, the young wolf chased his brother the most he could until he vanished from sight. I told you he was fast. Veloz eventually gave up, growling slightly while he caught his breath. "Next time… I'll get him… Before he starts running…", he said before starting his way back home.

Meanwhile, in a less vivid place, a white wolf woke up from a short nap. Every day it seemed harder to get out of bed for him, particularly in moments like this occasion, noticing one of the other children had entered his room—probably while he slept—and took his glasses' case. The young outcast could only sigh, getting up from the bed. He went down the stairs while he put on his black and purple hoodie, the assistant caretaker holding his glasses in one hand. "Thanks, Ms. Pyjamas", he said, taking the glasses gently and putting them on. "It's nothing, Gabe… I'm sorry the other kids are so… Unpleasant with you.", she said. Gabe only sighed and shrugged. The situation was an almost daily occurrence, whether for good or bad… Mostly bad. He started heading to the office for the main caretaker in the orphanage, knocking on the door. There were classes, but they had to make Gabe have private ones when the abuse from the other children worsened to the point Gabe feared being near them. "The door's open, Gabe.", said the black cat in the room. Gabe obeyed and entered, taking one of his notebooks and starting to jot down the day's date. "Good morning, Mrs. Ebony.", said Gabe with a muffled tone. The cat sat across the young wolf with sorrow and sympathy in her eyes. It had been some time and not many hours ago that, during breakfast. While he drew something in his personal notebook, one of the children took it from his hands. Gabe chased him across the room and one of the kids made him trip. The fact the other children treated him like this only helped the cruelty of the situation, and while thinking about that, Gabe could only cry. He placed both arms on the desk, hid his face on them, and started to cry, with Ebony quickly getting by his side to comfort him. "… I'm pathetic…", said Gabe with a pained smile on his face. "You're not", is what Ebony tried to say, but before she could even do so, Gabe suddenly got up from the seat. "Don't you dare say I'm not! I'm 17! Over twice the ages of them, and in all of the years I've spent here, not one family has wanted me! I'm...! I'm…", Gabe stayed quiet, looking at Ebony, who looked as scared as she looked heartbroken from what he said. Gabe sat on the floor, hiding his face against his legs, sobbing softly. No-one knew why his parents abandoned him one day, and the most probable thing is that no-one ever would. It must've been 10 years since Ebony found him and took him to the orphanage. What he said was true—10 years in the orphanage and not one family had taken him. Reaching this point, that mere fact was the subject of mockery in most of the children of the place, and as such, he was a target for bullying because of that. Ebony and Pyjamas did what they could, but the only thing they did was make the children grow more aggressive in their behavior. At this point, Ebony only held the wolf against her chest, trying to comfort him while he cried.

Let's get back with Veloz for the moment. The dark-grey-furred wolf was a couple of steps away from his home, chopping some wood. "Honey—", said a female voice behind him. He quickly turned around, surprised, but calmed down when he saw it was just his mother. "… Hey, mom.", said the young man, continuing with his task. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you.", she said, approaching him a little. "… Veloz… Don't you feel like sometimes you're a bit harsh on Dash?", she asked. Veloz gave one last chop before leaving the ax stuck on the stump. "… Yeah, I'm sorry.", said Veloz, sitting on the grass around his house. "But… He worries me, mom… Every time he runs, he goes far, I'm afraid something might happen to him…", he said with some sadness. The she-wolf sat beside her son, holding him close and petting him. "I understand… How many times have I worried about him, myself?... But try to be a bit more tolerant with him, please…", she said. Veloz sighed, smiling a little. "I'll try, mom… I'll try. He's still my brother, after all.", he said. His mother smiled sweetly and gave him a soft pat on the shoulder before getting up. "Thank you… Well, I'll leave you to your chores.", she said with a smile while Veloz nodded and continued chopping wood. Not a lot of minutes passed until he saw Dash come back. He was about to approach to apologize about earlier… Then he noticed the wounds. The slightly burnt fur, the cuts. "My God…", he said in one breath, leaving the ax on the stump. "Dash, are you ok?", he asked, afraid. "Who did this to you?", he said, trying to examine his brother's wounds, though he gently pushed his hands away. "Some Badniks… Eggman's…", he said, trying to recover his breath—He'd had an encounter with them and had to escape from them even faster, which left him somewhat tired. "They saw me and attacked, but I think I lost them…", he said with a smile on his face… And then he heard the explosions around the village, with which said smile turned to a fearful expression. Veloz, clearly, panicked, but he acted fast. "Go tell dad, I'll keep them busy in the meantime.", he said. Dash nodded and ran inside the house, meanwhile Veloz took the ax with which he was chopping wood, wielding it against the approaching Badniks. Now while Dash could… Well, dash, Veloz wasn't as fast. But his strength lied in his agility. The enemy robots that approached enough started to shoot, keeping their sights on him while he dodged with grace, slicing them in precise points to reduce the robots to metallic scrap. Veloz's father didn't take long to arrive at the scene, but when he did, Veloz had minimal damages on him, taking out Eggman's former forces left and right. The soldier looked at his son with certain pride for some seconds before joining him in destroying the robots that attacked their village. The siege lasted several minutes, but it eventually ended with one last Badnik split in half by the young wolf's ax. "… I think that was the last one.", he said like it was nothing.

A few days passed since then, and news about the attack reached the city, and the ears of certain people… However, the most important persons in all this were Veloz's parents, who sat down to talk with his son one day, suggesting something. "Veloz… Would you consider joining the Resistance?", said the father to the young wolf's surprise. "We saw your skill with the ax… Your father believes you'd be of great help against the forces that threaten us so often.", said his mother with a little smile on her face. Clearly, she was a little divided on the idea, worried that the idea could harm her son… But at the same time, she knew her husband well, and if he said that Veloz had the potential to become someone of remark in the Mobian militia, she knew he was right. Veloz was also pretty divided on the idea, though because of different reasons. His father already spent a lot of time out of their home due to his job, and if he joined the Resistance, he'd probably see them all less… "Look… We'll understand your decision if you don't want to join. We're always gonna support you… You're our son, after all.", said his mother. Veloz's father kept his firm gaze on his son, but nodded, showing that he thought in the same way his wife did.

A while later, Veloz was preparing his things to enroll in the Resistance. His parents would take him to present his information for the enrollment tomorrow. The young wolf's preparation was interrupted by a couple of knocks at the door. With a "door's open" from Veloz, Dash entered the room with a light smile on his face. "Hey, Veloz… So… You're joining the Resistance?", said the leopard with some sadness, getting a sigh out of Veloz. "Yeah… I'll miss seeing you so often, but at least I'll be able to help more people and still be able to live here.", said the wolf with a kind smile, though the leopard didn't seem too cheery about that. "… Besides, look at the bright side. Like this, I won't be here to insist that you train.", Veloz added as a joke, finally making his brother laugh… Only for him to return to his previous less happy state. Finally, Dash approached and sat beside the wolf, resting his head on the latter's shoulder. "… I'm sorry for all the times I've annoyed you about that…", said the feline. There were a few moments of silence between that and the hug they gave each other. "Don't worry… Sorry for all the times I've insisted about the training so roughly…", said Veloz. Dash let go of him a little to look into his eyes, smiling sweetly. "… Veloz… Take care, ok? And, make a friend, too… I don't like the idea of you being a… Excuse the expression, a lone wolf.", said, trying to contain the laughter from the pun, at which Veloz just rolled his eyes a moment. "Pfft… I don't promise anything. I'll try, but I don't promise anything.", he said, unaware of what the future held.

Speaking of which, it's about time we got back with Gabe. The young wolf was coming back to the orphanage after running some errands when something caught his eye. "Join the Resistance!", read the poster, the silhouette of a certain red wolf adorning its center, the symbol of the Resistance revealing his golden eye. "Note: If you need help with finding a home, we can take care of that. We just ask for a contribution of 500 rings to help with the expenses.", it said at the end. Making sure no-one was looking, Gabe took the poster from the wall and hurried back to the orphanage, immediately heading to Ebony's office, so agitated he only knocked a couple of times before going in. "Ebony… I need your help with something.", the young wolf started. This was—he supposed—his only chance, so he prayed silently so the kind woman would help him with this. After all, who was going to adopt a 17-year old teen? Ebony, still surprised by Gabe's sudden entrance, told him to speak through a gesture. The wolf took a deep breath and showed the poster to the only other person in that place who loved him. "… I have 250 rings saved up… I know soldiers earn a lot, and I'll return each one.", he said, nervousness clear in his voice. "I-I'll understand if not, but—" "You don't have to give them back.", interrupted Ebony. Before he could even make a sound, she spoke again. "In fact, I've been saving up to get you a present… And, if you want to join the Resistance…", she paused to nod, "then I can give them to you for that… I want you to be happy, Gabe.", she said with a kind smile on her face. Gabe struggled to keep the tears at bay, but he couldn't help dropping the poster, run towards her and hug her tightly, repeatedly saying "thanks" over and over. That same night, Gabe started preparing the things he'd be taking with him, among them Ebony's number—the only condition was that he had to call to let her know he was ok. After a few days, with Pyjamas' help, Gabe had sent his information to the Resistance along with the 500 rings.

At this moment, the gears of fate began to spin. Gabe had been introduced to his new home, and after a few days, he headed to the Resistance's HQ for the opening ceremony… One hour early. The young man looked with attention at every new recruit that arrived, though careful not to stare for too long, afraid of giving a bad impression. The last one to arrive was Veloz. By a mere wish to be kind, Gabe looked at him for a little longer and waved at him, smiling, a gesture that the grey wolf returned before sitting down… Right beside him. Not long after, the ceremony started with a big part of the crowd of recruits murmuring when recognizing the Mobian that took the podium. He cleared his throat and adjusted the mic connected to his headset. "Good morning, recruits. My name is Gadget. Gadget the Wolf.", he said. "Like you know, the war against Eggman and Infinite caused severe damage to our world. Today, the consequences of the conflict caused by these two are still noticeable. Sonic and the others definitely are our safest bet to defend ourselves… But they can't do it alone, right?", he shook his head. "Of course not. That's where we come in. When joining us, you assume the responsibility of restoring this world's old glory and fight against any threat that threatens it again, and for that, we need to work as a team… Now, you'll be divided in different squadrons with different superiors, yours truly among them.", he said while taking a paper sheet out of one of his belt pockets. "I have a list here of the ones who'll work under my command. Those I name, stand up." With that, Gadget started reading the name list slowly. Some couldn't help but giggle, some out of nervousness, others from comparing the formality to the Oscars ceremony, or with a school roll call. "Veloz the Wolf.", said Gadget, and the dark grey wolf got up. "And last but not least… Gabe the Wolf.", he concluded. "Welcome to the Resistance. The rest of your superiors will be with you shortly. In the meantime, may the recruits I mentioned follow me?", said the red wolf, and the new recruits of the Resistance followed him back into the headquarters. They were given a little tour of the place, such as the various training rooms, supply area—rations, Wispons and protective gear mostly—, a room to contact other Resistance bases spread through the world (or G.U.N., if needed), etc. The tour ended with the recruits being taken to a room deemed for "socialization". "Talk with one another. Teamwork is ideal when it comes to helping people in need, so it won't hurt getting to know each other before your first mission. I'll come back later.", said Gadget, after which he left them in that room. First few seconds, most of the recruits were already chatting… Everyone, actually, except for two. Veloz felt like everyone already seemed to be friends, so he decided to sit against the wall, distancing himself from the rest. Gabe remembered the many incidents caused by the orphanage's children, so he refrained from trying to join a group out of fear. But of course, it didn't take long before his and Veloz's eyes connected again. He smiled kindly and approached him, sitting by his side. "Hey…", he started shyly. "Hey. My name's Veloz, Veloz the Wolf. You?", said the grey wolf, offering a handshake. "… Gabe. Gabe the Wolf.", he said, and shook his partner's hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

And with the exchange of these four words, is how the story starts. The story of how two complete strangers could become inseparable. Become friends.

Become a team.