Hamster's ear

First of all, I just adore the little hamster King picked up. (I made about the same face as he did). And I'll name it 'Squeaky'. This is mostly a monologue of Hawk, telling his story to this little rodent.

Hamsters Ear:

"Wow, Mr. Lee did a great job reconstructing the place." Lioness said, looking at the front of the building.
"Yeah, although that new window looks a tad to familiar." Hawk said, pointing at the hole Axel created in the building which was turned into a window. It looked alright, but still it left some memories. Axel looked down.
"Dude, it's not that bad. The place needed a renovation anyway." Shark tried. This didn't work. A mailman walked by.
"Wow, did a plane crash in the building?" He said, now Axel was sulking in a corner (Anime style!). "Did I... say something wrong?" The mailman said, seeing all the angry looks.
"No, it's alright. Just go away." Axel said from his corner.
"Okay, just one thing; does one Zach Galbacci live here?" The mailman asked.
"Well, we do have a Zach... but his last name is Hawkes." Axel finally came from his corner, but now Hawk was backing away.
"Oh yeah, his dad told me he might use a false name..."
"It's not a false name!" All of a sudden, Hawk was back on the front. "And that guy's not my dad! He's my stepfather." He added softly.
"Anyway, here's a letter for you." He offered a black-rimmed letter, Hawk snatched it away. "I'll be going now..." With that, he left. Hawk opened the letter.
"Oh, that guy's uncle died." Hawk said, not showing any emotion.
"With 'that guy', I assume you mean your stepfather." King asked, Hawk nodded. "We're sorry to hear that."
"Nah, it's alright."
"But what's this stuff about your name? What's wrong with the name Galbacci?" King asked.
"I just don't like it, okay!" Hawk said, suddenly angry.
"Then where does the name Hawkes come from? Your mother's maiden name? Or did you think it was better nickname material?" Shark joked, angering Hawk further. Axel noticed the letter being crumpled by Hawk's fist.
"Hawkes was my name, until my mother married that Galbacci bastard! I hate them, they're so selfish..." Hawk shouted.
"Now we know where that came from." It was out before Lioness realized it, and she clapped her hands in front of her mouth. Hawk just growled and stomped off.
"I just hope my room's still there..." He muttered, before slamming close the front door. All this time, Squeaky the hamster watched from King's shoulder, but now he jumped off and followed Hawk. Squeaky heard King yelling at him, but he continued until he was at the front of Hawk's bedroom. He carefully entered trough the tiny opening, and scooted over towards Hawk, who was sitting at his desk, head in his hands.
"Leave me alone you stupid rodent." Hawk said to him. Squeaky just sat up.
"Squeeh?" He said, cutely turning his head.
"No, there's nothing wrong with me!" Hawk shouted, Squeaky just said there and turned his head again.
"Squeeh?" He asked again.
"Alright, maybe there's something wrong with me, but for that, you need to hear the whole story. You up for that?" Hawk scooped up the hamster and put it on his desk. "It started when I was ten, when my real father died... Well, actually it started a lot sooner, but I was to young to know what was going on. It happened at a party my parents threw because my father earned the 'Golden Eagle', the highest title in the air force. I was five, I had a brother who was twelve at the time. I remember the house was packed..."

"Hey, Zach!" Charles Hawkes yelled, and his little brother came running. He was dressed in shorts and a red shirt, with messy red hair and sparkling green eyes.
"What is it?" He asked his bigger brother.
"Where's mom? Could you help me look?"
"Okay." And Zach was off. After a few minutes he heard some noise from the basement. There were guests in the basement? But his mother said... maybe mom was there! With that simple assumption, little Zach entered the basement. Once there he saw a site that would haunt him on a later age; his mother was being pinned against the basement wall by a man he knew as Hal Galbacci. But mom was giggling, that meant it was alright, right...?

"It was so obvious a few years later..." Hawk leaned back. "But at that time, I believed babies came trough the chimney and cheating was something you'd do at a board game." He sighed. "Maybe... if I told someone, but I didn't. It went well for a few years, an average, happy life. But when I was ten, the accident came... Both my older brother and my father were flying together... and they crashed. My father died, and my brother was scarred both physically and mentally. And low and behold, guess who mom brought home; Galbacci. They married three months after his funeral. I didn't like it... and my brother even less.

Zach was sitting next to the door in the living room, on the other side, in the kitchen, his mother and brother were fighting.
"How could you do this! You're staining not only father's memory by marrying this corrupt S.O.B. but Zach's childhood as well!" It was Charles.
"You're overreacting, Hal is a wonderful husband." His mother was yelling now.
"But he's a lousy father. You think I didn't I read the papers? How his first wife sued him for mentally neglecting their daughter! Oh... wait up, you two are perfect for each other."
"Don't talk about your own mother like that."
"It's true, isn't it? Dad was the parent here, you just came on by when everything was fine, having all of the joys, but none of the burdens. And Zach was a burden..."
"Shut up!" This wasn't Charles or his mother, this was Zach, standing in the doorway, crying. "Both of you, shut up!"
"It's okay, honey, mommy's here." His mother tried.
"I don't want my mommy, I want my daddy!" Zach shouted. His mother knelt down and held his shoulders.
"That's why mommy's marrying Hal, so you can get a new daddy." She tried again, but Zach would have nothing of it, already hating the name Galbacci.
"No! I want my old dad! My real dad! I'd rather have no dad then Hal!" With that he ran to his room, and cried himself to sleep.

"Kinda sick, isn't it?" Hawk said to Squeaky, realizing he was crying right now as well. "A kid who hates his own mother? Well I did, and still do. Because they did what Charles predicted. After they got married, all they could think of were themselves. Sure, I had enough food, clothing and education, but they were never there when I needed them. I wasn't their son, I just inconveniently lived in their house." Hawk wiped away his tears. "I would spend most of my time watching TV... and I envied all those celebrities I saw... they were loved and adored by everyone. And I realized; That's what I wanted, be famous. So that everyone loved me." He smiled. "But my plans changed slightly when my brother asked me to apply for the army. Because my dad and he both were in the army, I wanted it to. You know... keep a family tradition. And it turned out pretty well, I met my first real friend there; Bogey." Squeaky's ears perked up and he looked at Hawk strangely. "Yeah, that's a familiar name. Now he can be called my nemesis, but back then, he provided me with something important; friendship, from the first day we met."


"Alright, name?" A lady at the desk said, taking names from youngsters who wanted to join the air force.
"Zach Hawkes." Zach answered, this caught the women's attention, as she started typing.
"Hmmm Isn't your last name Galbacci?"
"No..."
"But this file says your stepfather's last name."
"But my real father's name is Hawkes."
"I'm sorry, but you're still underage, and according to the law..." She started, Hawk sighed.
"Hawkes! You're a Hawkes?" Someone from behind said, and Hawk turned around to see a boy his age, with a denim jacket and trousers, a bleu shirt and fingerless motorcycle gloves. But the most prominent feature was his jet-black hair, more specifically the single bleu lock in the front. "It's no miracle you don't wanna change it. That name is a legend!"
"It is?" Hawk asked, he knew that the name 'Hawkes' was well known, but legendary?
"Yeah! About every guy from the Hawkes family who joined the air-force, became famous. Or in the case of Charles the Condor, infamous." The boy kept telling in rapid speed, obviously enthusiastic.
"Now that you say it..." The woman at the counter said. "I heard several amazing stories about your predecessors. I can make an exception..."
"Yes please!" Hawk said, the woman smiled.
"Alright, welcome aboard, Zach Hawkes." Hawk smiled back. "The barracks are this way, and the education will begin tomorrow morning at five." Hawk nodded and left for the barracks.
"Hold on!" The boy ran after him after he subscribed.
"Hey, thanks for the heads-up. I hate the name Galbacci."
"You do huh? Oh, by the way, the name's Brian Logey, but everyone calls me Bogey." Hawk couldn't help but snigger.
"Bogey? You got it bad, everyone calls me Hawk."
"Heh, at least mine's original." Now they were both laughing. "Hey, I found out we share a bunk bed. And I've got the feeling the two of us are gonna stick together for a long while."
"You know what? I've got the same feeling." Hawk answered him, and the threw each other's arms over their shoulders, walking towards their future.

"And that's how Bogey and I became friends. And we stayed friends for a long while. At first I overlooked his reckless behaviour. Later, I tried to talk to him... but about then, he did the most terrible thing possible; he betrayed my trust. It all began when his reckless behaviour got us in a spot of hot water."


Hawk and Bogey both said in the locker room of the building, awaiting their destiny. It all started out so well. For being top of their troops, they got permission to test out two state-of-the-art, million dollar planes. Bogey got a little over-excited, and on that day's evening, both planes were destroyed in a ball of fire. Hawk and Bogey were uninjured, but now had to explain what happened. Hawk was pacing back and forth, while Bogey sat down on a bench, head in his hands and going crazy with fear.
"Would you stop walking around!" He shouted, Hawk stopped, knowing that Bogey had it bad. Hell, two minutes ago Bogey went to the toilet and threw up his lunch.
"Hey... take it easy." Hawk soothingly said.
"Easy for you to say. This time, I can't talk around it; I screwed it up. The noose is around my neck and when I enter the court, I hang."
"It's not that bad. And I've got your back." Hawk said, putting a hand on Bogey's shoulder. "We're friends, don't you forget that."
"O-okay..." Bogey said, and Hawk was glad to see a sparkle back in Bogey's eyes. A private opened the door.
"You are expected." He said, and both Hawk and Bogey followed him to the court.
Once they entered, the silence was deafening, and they just stood there.
"So..." The leader of the court said, sounding hostile. "Do you two have any idea how much damage you've done!" He literally shouted.
"We do, Sir." Hawk said.
"And who of you two might be considered the responsible party? Or are you both so inept to crash to BILLION-dollar planes!"
"Well..." Hawk was ready to take part of the blame, but about then Bogey did something unexpected.
"It was all Hawk Sir, I had nothing to do with it." He said, disrespectfully pointing his finger at Hawk, who was stunned with shock. This... couldn't be happening, Bogey... just sold him out. "You know how reckless he can become." Hawk snapped out of his trance.
"Me! It was your idea to hold the bloody race! And the one who started to bump my hull. If anyone's to blame it's you!" Hawk shouted back, pointing at Bogey.
"Don't you point that thing at me!" Bogey threatened.
"Both of you stop!" The leader shouted, halting the fight. "You two are both out of this army! And if I can help it, you two will never fly a plane again!" It was like the ground was disappearing underneath his feet. He just got kicked out, and if that man was right, he would never soar trough the air again.
The man pointed to the door. "I give you two three hours to pack your belongings and leave the area." Both Hawk and Bogey saluted (For the last time, Hawk bitterly taught) and left. Once back in the locker room, it only got worse; Bogey started laughing!
"Phew, that guy almost burst a vein there. I guess we're lucky to just have been kicked out." This made Hawk (Finally) explode.
"We only got kicked out!" He roared, slamming Bogey against one of the lockers, it bended out of shape due to the force. "Thanks to you, my career is ruined!" He roared.
"Hey, you said I could do this."
"I said we would SHARE THE BLAME! Not use me as a fucking SCAPEGOAT! How could you! We were friends, Bogey." His anger lessened, now he was overcome by sadness. "You were my best... and only friend..." He leaned against Bogey, still holding him. "How could you? How could you!" He sobbed.
"In a world like this, it's every men for himself. No one is more important than me, not even you." Bogey answered him, and shrugged Hawk off. "I'm off, bye Hawk." And he left, Hawk just stood there for what seemed like hours, feeling more lost then he ever had.

"That's pretty much the story of my life." Hawk sighed. "Out of the army, I started chasing my childhood dream again; being famous. That pretty much kept me busy, and still is." Hawk looked at the small hamster, who had listened intently the whole while. "I feel so much better now, thanks for listening to me." Hawk bounced up from his chair, took the hamster and prepared to join his pals again. "I just hope they don't wanna hear the whole story as well..." He opened the door, and Axel, Shark, Lioness and King fell in. "I guess that won't be a problem." Hawk smiled, looking at his friends, still lying down and smiling apologetically. "You guys desperately wanted to hear my life-story, huh? Couldn't wait for another time?" Now they got up, Lioness was the first to talk.
"Not desperately! But yeah... we were kind off curious.""Heh, that's better then I expected of you, Lioness." Hawk smiled, and he knew that was true. But still, Lioness was a friend, everyone who stood in front of him now was. They would be better friends then Bogey ever was. Now and forever.

End.

So, that kinda settles my vision of how Hawk became Hawk. And it also contains some facts I will use in some upcoming A.T.O.M. fics. Feedback please!