PHEONIX

I had a lot of fun researching for this fic. : This chapter will be relatively short, more like an intro.

EDIT: Just realized all my dividers were erased lol. Fixed.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hamtaro.


The sky rumbled above the bustling Japanese city one afternoon. Though it was the middle of the afternoon, the sky has grown dark and the clouds had turned a bluish hue. Despite the appearance, there was no rain but only thunder. This was especially disappointing due to the fact that there had been a shortage of moisture lately. It was prime drought conditions, which was unusual for the area.

Suddenly a concussive boom shook the town below - a thunderstrike so loud it could be heard for at least a mile. A bolt of electricity had struck a tree on the mountain and splintered the bark, sending hot sparks and pieces of wood in all directions. Unfortunately, the underbrush all around provided sufficient fuel for the sparks to rise into full flames. It did not take long for the fires to spread all about.

After receiving many calls and reports about the bright orange band of flames on the mountainside the fire department was called in quickly to control the spread, but it had already consumed more than half of a square mile of forest. Thanks to the efforts of the highly trained and specialized firemen the wildfire's progress had been stopped within hours, but it would be many days before the ashes would die out completely.


"Alright, show's over guys. No one's going up into the mountains today or probably for a long time," Boss, the natural leader of the Clubhouse, bellowed. "The hike and picnic are cancelled."

"Aww, Boss! But we already brought all the food! It's no fun to eat it here!" Oxnard complained.

"Yeah, c'mon! We had it all planned! The fire's out, it should be perfectly fine!" Dexter said.

Boss butted in. "Nope. Besides, it's all burned up. There's nothing to look at and all we'll do is get our fur full of ash. We'd be better off sticking around."

Everyone collectively sighed. There was nothing they could do to get the hardheaded Boss to change his mind was he was set in an idea. Panda was especially disappointed. He wasn't planning on going on the trip with the ham-hams, but had wanted to stay back to plan out his latest invention. He had been working on blueprints for a new model of the Ham-Ham Train's engine - one that would run automatically with fuel and not require hamster pedaling. It was going well so far; he was basing the design off of the engines of human cars. Though he was more skilled as a carpenter than a mechanic, he was learning. He was excited to unveil his new development to the ham-hams when he was finished. He had canned many other projects in the past due to repeated failures but was very hopeful on this one to work.

Despite not having complete solitude to work on his project, Panda decided the next best place would also work - Maxwell's library. He definitely sympathized with the man for having to deal with the noise all the time, as he also frequently complained about it and often disappeared into the room specially reserved for him. Panda walked up to Maxwell to see if he could use his room for a while. The tall brown hamster had been talking to Sandy when he approached.

"Hey, Maxwell," he started. "Would you mind if I borrowed your library for a little bit to work on my blueprints? I just wanted some peace and quiet, that's all."

"Why, sure! You can use it anytime," Maxwell said. "But all of us ham-hams are going outside to play a game, don't you want to join?"

Panda considered for a moment, but politely declined. "That's alright. I'm a bit sore from the last time we went out, anyway."

"Suit yourself! C'mon Sandy, let's follow Boss!" he said. Panda watched as all of the hamsters filed out the door and into the long tunnel leading outside. Blueprints in hand, he walked up to the secluded room to begin his work.


Meanwhile, Boss had already made his way outside far ahead of the ham-hams. He looked around the area, taking in the environment. It was warm outside, though slightly muggy, and clouds covered the sky in all directions. It wasn't the nicest day to be out but it would give them something to do.

Boss heard voices from behind him in the tunnel but ignored them to enjoy his surroundings briefly. He was enjoying himself. The only thing that seemed off was the fact that there was a noticeable scar in the mountainside from where the fires has consumed the woods.

Suddenly, Boss sensed that something was off. His ears twitched around, picking up signals almost like a radar while he sniffed. He looked up and gasped.

Up ahead was a wide brown shape circling the sky around the clubhouse. Its silhouette looked almost like the crows that sometimes frequented the area only much, much larger. The bird's head scanned the ground as it soared about high in the air.

Boss stumbled backwards into the tunnel and stopped the ham-hams before they could pour out into the opening. "STOP! It's not safe!" he panted. "It's an eagle! A huge eagle is out there!"

"A what?" Hamtaro said.

"No time! Back to the main room!" Boss ordered. A commotion had been raised amongst the group as they quickly moved back. Once they had settled back down everyone was trying to talk over one another.

"An eagle?" Maxwell asked. "But they don't fly around the city! Are you sure it wasn't a crow?"

"Positive! It was enormous!" Boss said. "It was brown and had a big yellow and gray hooked beak! It was circling right over the clubhouse!"

"It must have been a golden eagle," Maxwell said. "I've studied a bit of Ornithology in my time. Those kinds of eagles are native to the wilderness here, as well as many others, but that one matches your description."

"Yeah, but what does that mean to us?" Howdy interrupted.

"Maxwell, what do eagles do?" Sandy asked.

"Eagles, as well as other birds of prey, are extremely dangerous for hamsters. Most eagles eat mainly rodents, you see, which of course includes us. To hunt they circle around until they see a something like a little mouse, then they dive and catch it in their talons before the prey has a chance to react," he said, gaining an audible gasp from the group. "And to top it off, eagles have amazing eyesight. You don't want to be outside when one is overhead."

"What'll we do?" Cappy asked fearfully, pulling his hat over his head. "We can't go home with that thing flying around!"

"We'll have to use the tunnel system," Boss said. "It's extensive for a reason, and there should be a path that leads pretty close to each of your houses. I wouldn't worry much once you get out of the park, but watch out."

"My best advice would be to stay by humans," Maxwell said. "An eagle probably won't approach one as they're afraid of them."

"Why are they here, anyway? Don't the eagles stay in the mountains?" Pashmina asked.

"Normally, yes. But the recent fires may have driven them out. With the land up there destroyed it's hard for them to hunt. All the animals have had to relocate themselves."

"Makes me glad we live the good life with our owners, eh guys?" Howdy added. They agreed.

Panda had heard the commotion from inside Maxwell's library. At first he was irritated but soon became nervous after hearing what they had seen. He didn't come out to join the conversation but stayed and listened. He would have to listen to Boss's advice and take the tunnels home tonight, but not before working more on his invention. It looked like he would need to find some other place to work in peace.


Stay tuned for chapter 2! Reviews are always appreciated.