This is the story about how my life suddenly changed. Not as quickly as a finger snap, but pretty fast if you consider how my life has been so far. Before we start on the actual story, I would like to give you a little in-tell on my early life: I was born in a normal family, and at that time, everyone thought that I was so cute and adorable. But as the time went by, I lost more of my youthful looks (yeah, I know, big surprise), until that day that my family moved and left me behind. I have lived on the streets since then. At first I was just confused: Why would the people that I loved just leave me behind like this? Turns out, that it was just what I needed. If it isn't destiny I don't know what it is. But this event changed the lives of me… and my master.

Chapter 1

Fondue's POV

One day, I was sniffing around in a back alley behind the Constabulary to see if I could find some food (you know, those constables and their croissants) I was so focused on sniffing out something good, that I didn´t notice the presence of an unfriendly guest. Suddenly a loud crash got my attention, as I quickly looked around to find the noise maker. A garbage can a few feet ahead of me was rocking a bit back and forth, a clear sign that it hadn´t been lying there a minute ago. I suddenly got that familiar feeling, an unpleasant felling that someone was watching me, and I didn´t like it at all. I could feel the fur on my back rise, as I stepped deeper into the alley to uncover what was disturbing me so much. A familiar smell reached my nose, and now there was no doubt about it. I prepared myself for the worst, as I quietly said:

"Hello again, Franco." Nothing happened. Then, a dark figure made his way into the dim light there was in the alley. It was a cat, but not just any cat. He had a slim, but muscular body, black fur with grey markings over the back and grey claws. He was missing a bit of his right ear and his yellow eyes were staring right at me. He smirked. That was never a good sign.

"Why, bonjour, Mutt. Having a good day?"

"Yeah, until you came around." Franco shook his head at my comment and slowly started to approach me. The smile became wider.

"Tsch, tsch, tsch, you should really learn some manners. Is that why your family kicked you out?" That got my attention, the whole of it. As I eyed him, I could feel the anger raise inside me, alike the fur on my back.

"Don´t mention that again, EVER! They kicked me out, left me for no obvious reason. I don´t even know if it was my fault or not. They didn't even give a reason, they just….let me off…" I could feel a burning pain in my chest by now. I always had that feeling when I started thinking back. Not far back, just back…back to when I felt loved. Oh, why did it have to hurt so much, this anger, this confusion and this solitude? What did I do wrong, since they just left me? "…Was I not good enough?" I realized that I had said that last part out loud, and as far as I could see, Franco's smile had gotten even wider. Oh crud, here we go again.

"Oh, how sweet, or should I say pathetic! No wonder nobody wants you, you freak! Who would ever love a dog that is as ugly, stupid and weak as you? You have nothing, not even a name! How could you even live with yourself, you lousy, little piece of sh..."

Franco's speech was cut off, as I lounged against him. Despite the surprise attack, he quickly jumped out of the way, which meant that I collided with the garbage bin. I got up pretty fast, but it wasn't fast enough. I felt a stinging pain soar through my body, as Franco's claws pierced my back leg. I shook him off, and lounged at him yet again. This time he wasn't quick enough, and both of us crashed into some garbage bins, which stood near the entrance of the alley. Still dizzy after the impact, I tried to gain focus, as I spun around to find Franco. Unfortunately, he found me first. His claws pierced my skin again, this time at the side of my neck. I couldn't see if it was bleeding, but I knew it wasn't deep. Either way, the red neck cloth around my neck would take the worst blood. Franco looked seriously pissed by now, and I knew I couldn't hold it up much longer. My best option was to make a run for it and finish this fight another day. I didn't have to think twice before making my mind: I turned around and made it for the street. Apparently, Franco wasn't finished with me and decided to follow. As he was gaining, I looked around to see if I could find a way out. I eyed a young boy with glasses. That was my last and only hope. I changed direction and ran towards the human.

Raphael's POV

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

"Ah, finally school's over." I started gathering my school supplies, as the school day was over and a well-deserved weekend was coming up. It really had been a tough week, considering the huge amount of homework that now was done. I heard my classmates talking about what they were going to do in the weekend, and it mostly considered of fun family activities. Bits of the different conversations reached my ears.

"My parents and I are going to visit my grandmother in Montmatre. It's gonna be so much fun!"

"I'm going fishing with my father."

It all sounded like they were going to have a lot of fun with their families. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly have any sort of that possibility. Oh, how I missed them sometimes…

"What about you, Raphael? Raphael? Hellooo?" I suddenly noticed that someone was talking to me. I turned my head to see Michel and Emilé looking at me with a smirk on their faces. Michel was the first to speak. "Raphael, if you keep doing that, people will just think something's wrong with you." I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Apparently my confusion was pretty obvious, because Michel continued. "You totally spaced out, man. It looked pretty creepy."

"Oh, it's just…nothing. I'm fine." That seemed to do the trick, 'cause Michel and Emilé just shrugged and the three of us walked outside. As we entered the streets, I just managed to wish them a good weekend and then we separated. I pulled my backpack further up my shoulder and started to walk towards my apartment.

It was truly a really beautiful day. The sun was shining, the bluebirds were singing and not a wind was moving. Despite the lovely weather, a sudden chilly feeling had caught up on me. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but I somehow felt a bit empty. Maybe it had been the talking of family in the class room that had made me so depressed. You see, I don't have a family, at least not a family that is around. My mother died in a car accident when I was a little kid, so I don't remember her very well. Then it was just me and my father for many years, until one day, he just left me without saying to where or why. I was 15 at that point. All he left me was this weird coin, which I now carry with me everywhere I go. It has this kind of weird symbol on it, like a pyramid turned upside-down and something that looks like wings of some sort. It's pretty hard to explain, but I still keep it with me at any time. Just hoping that it someday will give me a clue to where my father is.

It's been about a year since father left me. I have lived on my own since then. I still had to eat, so I got myself a job at Simon's shop down the street. He is really nice and he is very satisfied with the work I am doing. But I really go down sometimes, when I am thinking about my father.

I was so lost in my thought, that I hadn't noticed where I was going, which meant that I hadn't turned down the main street and now found myself behind the Constabulary. I had to laugh at my own consciousness.

"Huh, look what happens when I have my head in the skies." I was about to turn around to head back to the main street, when I heard a loud rambling about 20 meters in front of me. I took a few steps down the street, while I adjusted my glasses. It appeared the noise was coming from a back alley. I suddenly heard a loud screech, but I quickly recognized as a cat. Short after I also heard a whine, but I couldn't figure out what could have made that sound.

Suddenly, a white creature was running towards me at high speed. It was a dog, a dog with a…neck cloth? That looked pretty weird, considering that most dogs had a normal collar. I suddenly noticed a big, black cat in hot pursue of the dog. And boy, was that cat mad. The dog had run up behind my legs and looked up at me with a pathetic look in his eyes. Someway I felt sorry for the little guy, so I decided to help him. I stepped forward towards the pursuer, and the cat stopped. The feline hissed at me while its claws were scraping against the pavement, so I aimed a half-hearted kick towards it. I didn't intend to hit it, only scare it, and lucky for me, it worked. The cat stepped back a few feet, hissed again and took off. It went back into the back alley where it and the dog had come from. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the dog. I kneeled down in front of the dog, which immediately started to lick my hand.

"You know, dogs are supposed to chase cats." The dog looked at me, tail between its legs. "Maybe you're part chicken." The dog whined, it sounded really heart-aching. I took a closer look at the dog. He had a few scratches (probably from that cat) but except that he seemed to be in good shape. As my finger crossed the neck, I noticed something.

"Hmm, I don't see any collar." A thought hit me. "Did somebody abandon you, boy?"

"…Woeuf." Apparantly, he had been through a bit.

"I can't just leave you like this… You wanna come home with me?" The answer came pretty quick.

"Woeuf!" I was starting to like this dog, he had a unique kind of energy, and he was somehow a bit like me, also abandoned for no obvious reason. I decided to tell him something, even if he didn't understand me.

"Tell ya the truth, I was abandoned, too." I picked up my backpack and gesticulated to the dog to follow me. "Well, I hope you're not too hungry, 'cause I don't have a whole lot of food to give you." The dog whined again. I couldn't help but sweat-drop a little.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Another though hit me. "Pathetic or not, you're gonna need a name." I stopped for a moment to think of some names. The dog just looked at me curiously.

"How about Sam? Too boring?" The dog just tilted his head a bit to the right.

"Okay, what about Max?" He then tilted his head to the left.

"Hmm, something with attitude…I know! Ulysses!" Either school really had been tearing on me mentally, or I could have sworn that dog had dead-panned at me at my last suggestion.

Fondue's POV

It was unbelievable. I had just run out of a back alley with a pissed-off cat hot in my trails, I run up to the first human I see, and he actually protects me. At first I didn't even bother to think of him. He would probably like all the other humans, despising me and turning me down, on after the other. But to be sure, I still pulled out the old "Look-sad-and-really-pathetic-to-win-their-hearts- Trick." It worked like a charm. When he had chased Franco away, I just wanted to get going. Still, I felt like I had to thank him somehow. So when he kneeled down to check on me, I licked his hand as a token of my gratitude. I noticed his hands came closer, probably to punch me or hurt me in one way or another. But as I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, I just felt a slight brushing against my fur. I opened my eyes. The human was still there, but examining my body for wounds and scratches instead of harming me. I was even more surprised, when he started talking to me. He asked me questions like I was an equal, not just a random animal. He asked me if I was abandoned, he told me about himself (turned out that he was abandoned, too.) Maybe it was because of that piece of information, or maybe it was something else, but I felt like that we were… connected somehow. Maybe this was the chance in life that I needed. To stay with someone who actually liked me and treated me nicely.

As he took his backpack, I made up my mind. I decided to follow him home; at least I would now have a nice, warm place to stay for the night. There was just one thing that got my attention. The boy turned his head towards me and said:

"Well, I hope you're not too hungry, 'cause I don't have a whole lot of food to give you." Aww, man! That had been the part I was mostly looking forward to. I whined a little at this statement. The boy just gave me an unimpressed as he mentioned that I was pathetic. He then started talking again.

"Pathetic or not, you're gonna need a name." I looked curiously up at the boy. I was kind of exited: I haven't had a real name for a long time. I got rid of my old name myself, when the family who named me kicked me out. Seeing that this human was young, I couldn't imagine the creative names that he could come up with.

"How about Sam? Too boring?" Okay, maybe I was a little too quick on that one. I gave him another chance. I tilted my head a bit to show him my doubts about that specific name.

"Okay, what about Max?" That wasn't a better suggestion. I tilted my head the other way, hoping that he would catch my drift. Apparently, he did.

"Hmm, something with attitude…I know! Ulysses!" Okay, that's it. I dead-panned right at the spot, wondering how the heck he could come up with that!? As I followed the boy home, I couldn't help but wonder if this was such a good idea after all.