(The next part of this story may not be as lasting. However, don't ignore the importance of these events.)

Meeting to talk about the Restoration while eating Chinese food turned into a habit for both wolves. Or well, not just talking about the Restoration, since on some occasions, they also did some recreational activities. "The process of producing simulated Hyper-Go-On is going the best it can. There's still a few days left, but I should have a working prototype by the end of the week." This was the last message Tails sent Gabe, who read it out loud for Veloz. Of course, the two of them didn't take long to smile widely as the white wolf finished talking, high-five-ing while exclaiming "woo". "I'm still not used to Miles Prower actually texting me about this kind of stuff… It's surreal…", said Gabe, without losing his smile, but clearly insecure. "To me, it's not.", Veloz rebuffed, "Gabe, your ideas are very good. It's normal Tails is telling you everything.", he concluded. The topic still didn't fail to make Gabe tear up a little, even if he constantly dried them as soon as it happened. "Maybe… But I wouldn't be at this point without you, Vel.", he said, having grown used to the occasional nickname. "You deserve as much credit as I do.", he said with a sigh and getting up, taking the empty dishes and starting to wash them. "But it was your idea, Gabe.", said Veloz with a confident smile. My, was he insistent. "Well, both of us deserve the same amount of credit. Final offer, take it or leave it.", Gabe insisted back, and before Veloz could talk again, Gabe proceeded. "Going once… Going twice… Going–" "Ok, ok, I accept! I accept!", said Veloz, laughing at Gabe's tone, not any different at all than that of an auction's salesman, a laugh which Gabe didn't take long to imitate. However, as soon as they were done laughing, Gabe went back to his insecure and shy self. Though not because of nothing, exemplified by what he asked. "... I was wondering if…", he started to say, "... If you'd want to… You know…", he continued, staying quiet for a few more seconds, as if he had to make an effort to get it out, "... Stay here for the night." Boom. In his mind, in the second Veloz took to answer, Gabe started to ask himself "What the fuck did you just say to him?" a thousand and one times. "Of course, I wouldn't mind at all.", Veloz answered with a smile, approaching Gabe to calm him down, noticing he was tense. It was usual now, one month after having met, to notice when the other one was nervous. "The other one" being Gabe most of the time. "Good…", said Gabe with a smile. "... If you want you can start going to the bedroom, I-I got an inflatable mattress and left it ready for you.", he said, still with that signature nervous tone. "Don't you want me to help with the dishes?", said Veloz, and Gabe looked at him like he just told him the sky was purple. "... I don't want to treat you like a servant…", said Gabe in a low, sad tone. Like always, basically. "It wouldn't be like that… You're being very kind with me, Gabe, it's the least I can do.", Veloz insisted. And when Gabe opposed, Veloz acted. "Going once… Going twice–" The sadness left Gabe's face. "Ok…", but not his voice. "I'll… Oh, when you come, you can take the mattress wherever you want, you don't have to sleep in my room."; said Gabe. Vel didn't answer, just patted his shoulder and wished him goodnight. Gabe headed to his room after drying his hands–which please note is as hard as eating ice cream in winter when they're covered in fur–almost never taking his eyes away from Veloz. Seeing him wash the dishes in his place, the environment felt strangely… Natural… Secure… Almost…

Gabe got rid of that thought by shaking his head and went to sleep, though not fully asleep until he heard Veloz enter the room and lie down on the mattress.

"Meeting room. Now."

This was the message every rookie from the Restoration got. Some got scared, others were confused, but all of them attended as soon as possible. Once there and when everyone sat down, Gadget, leading the meeting, took out a letter. "It's typed.", he said, "And I found it on my desk as soon as I arrived. Did any of you leave it?", he asked. Veloz and Gabe said no, as they had been eating at the latter's house all night and never stopped by Gadget's office, an alibi several other rookies confirmed. The same thing happened with several of them, either due to not being around the place or not having a typewriter at home. Gadget sighed and opened the envelope, taking out its content. He adjusted his glasses and read out loud. "In this place is where their order was. I'll wait for you there, but there's no need to run. Don't fly either, I'll be where I've always been, look in the dark… Where the 7 were." All of them observed with a hint of confusion in regards to what their leader had read. "Any ideas?", he asked. Maybe a bit uncharacteristically, Gabe took the chance. "Besides saying the writer isn't a poet?", he joked, successfully relieving the tension with the soft laughter most of the people there let out, Gadget and Veloz included. The latter, however, soon suggested something. "Well… The 7 could be referring to the Chaos Emeralds. Maybe it's referring to Angel Island?", he proposed. Gadget leaned his head for a moment, quickly exhaling through his nose. "I thought the same thing, but the 'don't fly' part gives me the feeling it's not that.", he said. After a few seconds of thinking, something popped up on Gabe's mind. "... Ok… What if it's referring to Mystic Ruins?", he said. "Angel Island fell there during the Chaos incident, so at one point, the "order" of the Emeralds, the Master, was there. 'In the dark' could mean a dark place, or a place under Angel Island's shadow.", said the white wolf. Everyone went from looking at him to looking at Gadget, wondering if the hypothesis made any sense… And Gadget, as if knowing that's what everyone thought, he nodded. "It could be…", he said, and smiled. "Thanks, Gabe. Everyone, get your Wispons, we're going to Mystic Ruins!", he said while leaving the room. Veloz and Gabe were the last ones, arming themselves with the necessary things, Veloz with an ax, Gabe with a self-defense Wispon. "You have brilliant ideas and you also do well with riddles… I didn't expect anything less from you.", said the ash-colored wolf, laughing a bit when seeing his partner lower his ears, wrap his tail around his legs, and blush. "It's not that big of a deal, Vel… But thanks…", said Gabe with a sweet smile.

The rookies separated into several groups to cover a big part of Mystic Ruins. Suffice to say the two wolves were with each other, looking around several caves with their flashlights. "... Have I ever told you I'm kind of afraid of the dark?", said Gabe to break to silence, verifying the statement's veracity with his tone. "No, I don't think so… I don't blame you, though I don't share it.", said Veloz. "Ever since I was younger, I got used to walking around my house in the dark, at night… In other words, I was too lazy to turn on the lights.", explained, slowly crossing over to chuckling along with Gabe. "I wish I had your determination towards being too lazy to turn the lights on.", said the white wolf. "It's just the feeling that something could be there. It's illogical, but still–" He explained, so focused on that that he jumped and exclaimed, startled from hearing something crunch when he stepped on it. Veloz held back the laugh and leaned to see what it was. An envelope on the ground, with some strange symbols on the front that looked strangely familiar. "May I?", asked Gabe, extending a hand. Veloz nodded and handed him the envelope, after which Gabe held the flashlight with his teeth while opening the envelope and getting the letter out of it. Once it was out he went back to holding the flashlight on one hand and reading the contents of the letter out loud. "The most resistant material you'll find isn't from this world. It's found locked away, in the lands of the withered guardians of the end… But one man got close. They say that in the Netherworld, it's so cold it burns. Start from there… P.S.: The envelope has a clue.", once he finished reading it, Gabe turned the envelope around to see what it meant, seeing the symbols. They were lined up in a way that it looked like it formed two phrases, three words each. He was about to tell Gadget when Veloz gasped. "One moment…", he said, taking a notebook out of his hoodie, passing through the pages until he reached a pair in which several of the same symbols were on. "It's standard galactic alphabet! Or, enchanting table language for the not-so-experienced.", he said, sounding excited while Gabe looked at him more confused than ever. Despite this, both of them helped each other mutually, to decipher what the envelope said, until Gabe did and read it out loud. "My personal laboratory… Underneath the city…", he said, followed by a "hm". "I'm still confused… But hey, thank Chaos you knew about this, if not we would've ended up on a dead end.", he said with a small chuckle. Veloz laughed as well, but he soon focused on the riddle again. "Let's see… 'So cold it burns', dry ice is at sub-zero degrees, but it burns at the touch due to how cold it is… We're looking for a base under a snowy city.", he concluded. The two of them thought for a moment… And then Gabe snapped his fingers. "Winterburg.", he said. "We have to go to Winterburg… Yay…", he said, clearly not too happy about having to go. "What's wrong? … Don't like the cold?", Veloz asked with a bit of concern, and Gabe nodded, but shrugged. "I guess that means we'll have to go buy a scarf before going, heh…", said the snow-colored wolf.

In the train towards the snowy city, Gadget looked at the envelope and letter. "We're lucky to have you on the team. I'd never heard about this…", said the crimson-furred wolf. "I'm already lost with the riddle itself. Withered guardians of the end?", he added with confusion. "Yeah, that confused me for a moment as well, but for a different reason.", he said, with Gabe and Gadget's looks centered on him. "... There's no Withers in the End. Nor Netherite.", he said with a smile that turned to laughter when the other two wolves gave a confused sound.

Once again, the group separated to look around the town, both in and out of it. Even with the thicker coat, scarf, full gloves and a snow hat, it was still noticeable how Gabe trembled from the cold. And in regards to Veloz, he wore a coat, gloves… And that's it. "How?", Gabe asked himself, justifiably. As it seemed to become usual, the two of them eventually found a part of the snowy floor that one, sounded hollow and metallic when stomping on it, and two–Actually, the first part was already obvious enough, as soon as they heard the metal they removed the snow as they could and voila, a trapdoor that when opening it, led to some sort of hallway. "This brings back family memories about bunkers.", said Veloz. Remember, military family. As if reading Gabe's mind before he asked about it, he explained. "Cousin was staying with some comrades in a bunker after the enemy made a deal with some criminals for a bombing. That's why they had to stay in one… That's the summed up version, if you want I can complete it later.", he said with a smile while starting to go down. Gabe followed him, careful not to close the trapdoor in the process. "I'd love to.", he answered. "With everything you tell me about your family, you become more and more… Fascinating.", he added.

The slim hallway wasn't that long. You could see a door nearby, and the place, as it was underground, was slightly warmer, things that Veloz took notice of and said "How curious is nature.", to which Gabe followed with a "True… But I, personally, am more curious about that door.", he said, pointing to it with his Wispon. There was a brief silence until Gabe said, quickly; "For the love of Chaos, tell me that line sounded good." Veloz laughed, patted his shoulder and nodded. "Don't worry, it did… Now, get behind me.", he advised, to which Gabe nodded. If there were any traps, he trusted Veloz would have the reflexes to see them coming. Though again, as if reading their minds, the door opened, a paper visible on the other side of it. They approached with utmost care, Veloz keeping his ax at hand (how he carried it discreetly is left up to your imagination, dear readers), until they could read it. "No traps. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fun.", is what the paper read. The two of them, still not trusting it, stepped into the room… And nothing happened. Though they didn't lower their guards, since the palace didn't give a good vibe. "Let's search the place, be careful.", said Gabe, with Veloz responding via a nod. The room was small and clearly built long ago. However, there were signs that it had been used not too long ago, the main piece of evidence being what Gabe found. A laptop in a drawer of a small desk, which he found along with a folder labeled "Project M.V." Sound familiar? "We can take it back to the others and extract the information in it.", said Veloz about the laptop while trying to boot it up. Of course, it was protected by a password, and in the meantime Gabe looked at the folder. And he found–what a surprise–a sheet stapled on with a riddle. "You're near the end. Search for the yellow road and you'll find the truth. Where is it, you may ask? I say you should think outside the box.", read Gabe. "Yellow road? Like from the Wizard of Oz?", said Veloz. "I'll have to read the books again when I get back.", mentioned Gabe. And while the two of them talked about the surprising existence of several books about Oz, the password bar filled up by itself and logged into the desktop. There were only the icons of the default programs, along with some folders, all labeled "Project 1", "Project 2", and that of a red circle, which the cursor selected, opening a window in which both wolves saw themselves, though from behind. A silent panic set itself in their minds when they looked back, incapable of seeing any cameras. Once they turned, the cursor had opened a notepad in which it started to type. "I can see you and hear you.", is what the mysterious user typed. "Solve this riddle by yourselves. If you tell your boss or anyone else before you reach the end of this, there'll be consequences.", they added. The two wolves looked at each other, nervous as they'd never been before, and indecisive. Should they take a chance and disobey the orders? Or obey, and risk something to happen to the Restoration? After some seconds, the two rookies sighed. Alright… We didn't find anything here.", lied Veloz, to which the user mockingly typed "Good boy." "The… The riddle must be the key… But, think outside the box…?", said Gabe, looking at the paper. These doubts and nerves accompanied them in the train back home while Gadget said they'd resume the search tomorrow.

"Wanna go somewhere else and then to your place?", Veloz proposed. When getting back to the city, the sky was starting to darken. Really, he was just trying to find a way to distract their minds from what they just witnessed. The white wolf sighed and just approached Veloz while walking. "I don't have the energy for it… Maybe when we solve this.", said Gabe in response. Veloz nodded slowly and patted his shoulder once both got to Gabe's place. "... Call me if you need anything.", said Veloz to Gabe. "Ditto.", said Gabe to Veloz. With a hug, the two friends said goodbye and walked away towards their homes. Not long after Gabe was on his bed, incapable of falling asleep. Still unable to get his mind off the experience from that day, as well as his partner in big part. Don't get the wrong idea, but the wolf answered the phone at a speed that would surprise Sonic when he saw his friend calling him. "Gabe… I think I know what the riddle's referring to." The phone buzzed when Veloz sent his current location to Gabe.

"It's a literal yellow road…", said Gabe, as, effectively, outside the city–"And outside the box meant the city!", Veloz added, was a yellow-colored path leading into the depths of the first. "Is it bad part of me is having fun with this?", asked Gabe, and Veloz, as friendly as ever, shook his head no. "If I'm being honest, I'm having fun too.", the ash-colored wolf confessed. The two followed the yellow road, not any different from Dorothy Gale, only instead of finding the Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the end, they found a shed that had seen better days, a yellow X on the door. "X marks the spot" was written above the door. "... This gets creepier with each riddle solved.", said Gabe. "Not to me. More family memories come to mind.", said Veloz. Of course, Gabe looked at him with total confusion. Regardless of that, they soon took the same position as in the bunker, Wispon and ax and everything, and on the count of 3, they went in. The place was completely dark, only illuminated by the moon that went through the door. Or at least it was until they found the switch. Some creepypasta would then say that the room was blood red, but no, what they found instead was a shrine–Not to some demon, no… But one to Eggman. Several figures of his greatest inventions decorated some shelves, three in particular on a table. In order, they were Metal Sonic–which Veloz took to examine–, the Death Egg and Eggmanland. And among everything, a book in the middle that Gabe leaned to look at. "The Return of the King… By Tolkien.", said Gabe, curious. He didn't touch it, just in case–He'd already had a mini heart attack when Veloz grabbed the Metal Sonic figure–and instead started to think. "I think we found Eggman's only fan… But let's see.", said Veloz, starting to slowly put the puzzle pieces together. The first riddle talked about the Chaos Emeralds… The second one was about arrogance and led them to a "personal lab". And the riddle they'd found there had taken them to this place. It didn't take them long to notice, shouting, in unison; "TINKER!"

Thank Chaos for the 24-hour taxi services. It was the early hours of morning, but both were en route to Windmill Village, with Gabe every so often hurrying the driver from stress. Veloz wanted to calm him down, but, is it necessary to say he understood him and was just as stressed as him? They were both teenagers. Rookies. Just enrolled, and were dealing with someone who wanted to bring back one of the most dangerous men ever known. At 1:00 am or so, they got to Windmill Village, tired from running the rest of the way, but even still, Gabe went directly to Tinker's door while Veloz caught his breath. And though tired, he knocked hard on the door until the man opened. "What's with-Gabe? Veloz?", said the poor fool, happy yet confused to see them. "What are you doing here? At this time, too?", he asked. In turn, Gabe and Veloz spoke almost in unison, raising their voices to say; "Someone's coming to kidnap you! You must hide!", the man was confused and scared, yet before he could ask about what they meant (and invite them in for a nightly snack to calm them down), something made of glass was heard breaking. Behind them, just a few steps away, there was an oval-shaped container, letting a gray liquid out that seemed to dissolve the grass it fell on. Veloz moved away on time, Gabe and Tinker… Not so lucky. It wasn't precisely corrosive nor toxic, but might as well have been with the stench it gave off, forming a fog that also made their reddened eyes tear up. "Damn. I missed.", said a rough voice. From the shadows in-between two houses, two skunks came out, one with a device similar to a backpack, another one with what seemed to be a robotic tail. Veloz recognized them instantly–Gabe was still trying to catch his breath, coughing. "Well… I wasn't expecting to see you two here.", said the ash-colored wolf while putting his goggles down onto his eyes. "And we weren't waiting to have to deal with two low-level mutts when collecting our… Heh. Paycheck.", said Rough, looking at Tinker, who was still on the porch, just finishing catching his breath. "Yeah, we're referring to you, old man!", said Tumble, causing Tinker to go back into his house and Rough to rub his eyes in frustration. "Tumble… That was obvious enough.", he said with an irritated voice. Meanwhile, Gabe raised his voice–already recovered–and readied his self-defense Wispon. "You're not taking anyone!" The two skunks just let out a simple dry laugh. "Let's see how much of a fight you can put up, pups!", said Rough in answer. "... I'll get Tumble.", Gabe said to Veloz before the battle started. "I'm not approaching Rough again." With several residents of the village as audience, the fight started… If it could be called that. Gabe led Tumble away from Rough and Veloz, a good start. In the meantime, Veloz, ax in his hand, was dodging Rough's projectiles… Until he got an idea. He breathed in and stepped aside once one of these projectiles fell, and once the fog it created dissipated, he hid. Rough could say whatever he wanted about his brother and his intelligence, but he wasn't that different in that regard, as he didn't notice nor hear Veloz get behind him before getting an ax to the backpack-device he carried. Rendered useless and unable to fight from the explosion the device caused, Rough disappeared after a red vortex appeared below him. Veloz looked on in confusion and took the goggles off once the fog dissipated. Half of the threat neutralized, he turned to Gabe, opening his eyes wide when seeing how every shot Gabe took was immediately blocked by Tumble's robotic tail. Gabe tried to think desperately about what to do when the skunk, with one hit, sent him flying until he crashed against a house's wall, across Tinker's workshop, where the man was hiding. Veloz took things into his own hands, abandoning the stealth as soon as he saw how he got near to finish Gabe off. With a shout of "Hey", Tumble turned around and attacked him, with Veloz dodging him. Hit after hit from the rodent, Veloz dodged, with Gabe looking on, vision readjusting after the blow, aiming his Wispon at Tumble's device. "One last shot, Gabe… Don't screw it up.", he said, and shot. Bullseye… On Tumble's (shorter than a worm) tail, not the device. "Ow! HEY-" As Tumble turned around, Veloz growled when he cut off the device, causing an explosion again.

Imagine this. At the moment he was turning, Tumble was facing Tinker. So, the explosion propelled him towards the scientist. Every heartbeat of all four individuals marked what happened; Tumble holding onto the man, the latter screaming for help, Gabe and Veloz shouting "no", and the skunk and the human falling through a red vortex, similar to the one from earlier.

You don't have to imagine it anymore. Because that's what happened. Now, every resident of Windmill Village was awake. And several walked out to see what had happened. Several were sad over Tinker's disappearance, but definitely, none were more sorry than Gabe. In his mind, once again, those thoughts were repeating. "If you'd done something else, if you had more skill, if you'd reacted on time, they wouldn't have taken him. And now, what's going to happen?" Between the fear of the uncertainty and resentment towards himself, Gabe tried not to cry, but when Veloz approached… "Gabe, are you alright?", said the ash-colored wolf, interrupted by the other one, who hugged him tightly. "I'm useless…", said Gabe. "Those two… They were right… Though, just about me…", he added amidst sobbing. Veloz hugged him back. Was part of him scared? Yes, definitely. But now, he wanted to focus on helping Gabe, his friend, his…

"Gabe, don't say that… You brought us here. You helped with the riddles, without you, we wouldn't have been able to come…", said Veloz. "B-But… They took him, Vel… And it's my fault… The people saw it, everybody can confirm it!", said the wolf with snow-white fur.

There comes a moment you know someone's not gonna get better as much as you tell them things. Veloz certainly had those moments before. In the darkness of the early morning hours, the two waited for the rest of the squad to arrive, time during which Veloz never let go of Gabe.

He wouldn't have let go of him for anything in the world. Much less at this moment.