Author's Note: This is what I would write as a "sequel" to Miss Inadequate's The Sad Truth, which is really old, but I still enjoy it anyway. This isn't anywhere near the real sequel, but I just wanted to continue this story myself. That's all. Also, I copied and pasted this chapter on, because I couldn't upload the file i had. I'm using open office, and a few months ago I could. Whenever I click the browse button, it doesn't do anything. Please help. Thank you in advance.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hamtaro. I didn't write the story of The Sad Truth.

Chapter 1: Desolate

It was around nighttime, when he came to his decision. The orange and white was dealing with a problem that had affected him for that past four weeks, or so. It was insomnia. The sleeplessness seemed to envelope him whenever he would try to rest. He had tried to do everything he could, but he knew the real problem. It started a month ago, or around that time. He was having his fresh start. He was sleeping almost as well as his owner tended to ignore him. Very well and without trying to. He used to cringe at the thought of his neglecting owner, but now it was a dull ache. Even if it kept on haunting him, it wasn't the problem.

He looked out of his cage and into the barely illuminated environment. The room had changed, and it was less familiar to him than ever. Another problem that could've caused insomnia. He was catching on too slow. It seemed like everything was going too fast for him to realize, and it still felt like yesterday that he was a kid. The ice cream truck incident, the slow corruption of the ham-hams, their neglection, his change to being a punk, Oxnard's death, Maxwell's and Sandy's relationship collapsing, Boss's arrest, and the fresh start. In contrast, it seemed like everything he was experiencing always seemed to freeze or slow down time. He was still taking in everything, how fast everything had changed to and fro. That made him seem apathetic, to less of an extent than before, but in reality, he was still maturing. He remembered the crazy summer and the neglect felt by most of the ham-hams, and Oxnard's death. He had heard of Sandy and Maxwell's relationship exploding in on itself. He was still taking into fact that no one had seen him ever again. "If you really love someone...you let them go…" When he heard that from Bijou, he could feel the empathy rising up inside them.

He tensed. Even alone with his thoughts, he knew inside that he would still think about her. With the new start, he tried his best to let go of those feelings, and start over. He just couldn't though. He didn't want to give in, it's just that he didn't have much of a chance. For a little bit, his smiles were real. Then, Bijou and Stan's relationship developed. As they seemed to fall more and more into love, the more and more fake his happiness was. He had a feeling of hollowness then, but before he realized it, those minutes had become hours, hours into days, days added up into weeks, and finally, a month led them into insomniac was obviously envious, it was just that his close friends were dead or in jail. It didn't help that the ham-hams didn't trust him as much. This, was why he chose to be that guy who sat in the corner with only his thoughts. To him, it was only what he had. His thoughts. Maybe his desolation would drive him crazy and make him insane. Or worse. The only hope was that the relationship was going to simmer out, like Sandy and Maxwell's. That's why he was still putting up that fake enthusiasm and lies, because he had a shimmer of hope. That led him to today, and what happened. He could feel the convoluted mess of emotions bubble up again.

It was another early morning sunrise. Hamtaro was at the clubhouse, just waking up. He chose to sleep with Snoozer, because he found that being with living being helped him rest. The forever sleeping ham didn't care who you were, just that you weren't one with an unkind heart. Hamtaro didn't mind being around him, because the snoring was a constant he found in life. He sat himself up onto the branch of the tree that was on top of the clubhouse, and watched the sunrise. This was a secret place that he went to when he just had nothing to do.

Cappy had been found two weeks ago, saying that he was working at a film company as a cameraman. When they asked him what he was filming, he replied,"Only some documentary of an obscure group of hamsters."

He was still up in the tree, watching as the sky gave way for the sun, and then the first few hams came. He was like the new unofficial caretaker of the clubhouse, but rarely was around. He would use more of his time to replenish the supply of food, clean the clubhouse, and maybe walk outside. Of course, some of the hams questioned why he was doing so much more, and he would respond like nothing was wrong. Sometimes he thought that he was being too detached and was spending too much time with his thoughts. He just couldn't bring himself to try to form a closer friendship with the other hams like before, because it would be too awkward. He watched more hams come into the opening of the tunnel into the clubhouse as he continued to ramble on in his thoughts.

Suddenly, he heard the strum of a guitar. "Hello, Hamtaro. I notice that you've spaced out a lot lately," he said ever so enigmatically.

"There's a lot to think about," Hamtaro spoke steadily.

"I suppose that's a truth for all of us, but I have a proposition for you," Jingle said.

"What do you mean?"

"I've considered it for a while, and I've decided that a third wheel wouldn't be too bad of an idea, and you look like you need to get away from here," Jingle announced. The orange and white ham, though a little degraded, considered the offer.

"I'll get back to you on it, okay?" He decided.

"I'll wait until tomorrow, and then you must have decided."

After Jingle left, Hamtaro went back down to find the clubhouse empty, and found a note, reading:

Hamtaro:

The others and I have decided to go on a field trip, like old times. We decided to have a picnic in Acorn Mountain. If you want to change your mind about the field trip, there's always the map.

Yours Truly,

The Ham-Hams

It didn't matter to him. He just went back to reading one of those books Maxwell had left in the clubhouse. It was called a dictionary, and he always found that if he ever wanted to understand people better, it wouldn't go unwasted. He made an amused expression when he realized how unlike he was to his younger self. This really was the extent of his loneliness. It seemed like a normal day.

Until everything came crashing down on him when he heard the usual tune of the returning ham-hams, and he came outside to meet them. There was a buzz going on, but only until Cappy came running up to tell him about the news. "OHMYGOSHOHMYGSOHHTAAMROYOUSLUHODVEBEENTEHRESATNPSEOORPDANDBJOIUSIADYESAND-" Cappy exclaimed in nearly one incoherent mouthful.

"He means to say that Stan proposed to Bijou, and she said yes," Dexter interrupted.

"They're getting married in three months!" Cappy exclaimed caretaker felt time froze around him as astonishment overtook him. Cappy was immaturely yelling about how he wanted to be the ringbearer in the background, but his words had no effect. There was truly no hope now. There was no point in stopping it, because he knew they weren't going to separate. He couldn't care about the seemingly oblivious expressions on everyone's face, because he now had one wound that wouldn't heal.

He snapped out of it though, and used the rest of his power to say, "Wow, c-congrats, Stan, I wish you and Bijou a happy union. I'm going back to Laura's though, I feel like I should sleep there tonight." Before he, or anyone could respond, he hastily added, "I'm so tired from today though, that I'm going to sleep like a rock. Bye!" He hoped that sufficed.

Even now, he could still feel the full force of the blow. A part of him still had foolish hope, but he didn't tell himself to stop denying that. He wished that all of this was just a joke, and that he didn't have to accept it. A part of him wanted to be like Boss, to enact selfish revenge. He knew that would only result in unnecessary destruction, and that he would have to accept it. Denial would be of no use.

He couldn't though.

It was already enough for him to bear. The insomniac just wanted to go away for a while. Was it really worth it to run away from his problems, or was going with Jingle an opportunity for the self-searching journey that he needed? He crawled out of his cage and looked out the window of his owner's room. He noticed how soundly everything seemed to be in the night, and how serene they looked. They had their place. Then, he noticed the a weather vane changing, and he thought he heard a guitar strum. In a split-second decision, he knew what he had to do. He crawled behind the bed and down through the gutter tube, careful not the wake the vicious dog. Even Brandy seemed to be his lazy, old self while sleeping.

Look out, world, 'cause Hamtaro Haruna is comin'!

"He had a feeling of hollowness then, but before he realized it, those minutes had become hours, hours into days, days added up into weeks, and finally, a month led them into summer."