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Disclaimer: No, I don't own Hamtaro, and I never will.
Chapter One: Restoration
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A tiny white-and-chestnut hamster flitted through the brambles and low-hanging branches, eternally unsure of where she was going. Jangling aound her neck was a golden locket, the perfect size for a hamster. At the end dangled a metallic heart frame. It dinged and clanged as she ran. For the last two years, she had wandered what seemed to her to be the whole world, but had never really gotten anywhere. For two years ago, she had lost the two people who were most dear to her and meant everything to her. The two beings that she would give her life for without a second thought. One of those were her human, Mina. The oher was her best friend, whom she could hardly even remember anymore. That fact broke her heart; she had always loved him, and it tore at her soul to lose him.
As she ran, she remembered the day which would never stop tormenting her.
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September 23, 2000
The laughter vanished, and was replaced by cries and screams for help. Suddenly the owl lost its grip and the female hamster dropped, crying and shouting, onto the branch of a pine tree, a half-mile from her home. She dropped down through the branches and needles until she hit the ground and blacked out.
Two hamsters chased eachother in circles, before finally collapsing in a heap in the middle of the forest floor. Laughing and panting, they didn't notice the shadow descending overhead. In an instant, they both had been grabbed up by the evil, tearing talons of a great horned owl.
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The hamster kept running, small tears forming in her eyes. She ran a lot now, and she had the feeling that all this time she had been running from everything and nothing at the same time. She had a lot of time to think these days, but through all the thinking, she could never figure out what her purpose was anymore. She had nothing to live for. So she just kept running.
Finally she stopped and sat at the base of a pine tree, just like the one she had tumbled through all those years ago. Looking up, she remembered watching the ground come ever closer, and then unconsciousness took her. When she had come to, she had no idea where she was... or what had happened to her friend. Maybe he escaped... it was always possible.
Suddenly something caught her eye. It was an unnatural looking pile of leaves. Curiosity overcame her judgement and she went to go examine it more closely. When she tried to move the top leaf, the rest went with it- they were attached! She moved the whole thing aside and, to her astonishment, found herself staring down a long, dark tunnel.
Once again, her insatiable curiosity clouded her common sense, and she slowly descended down the tunnel. After five minutes of wandering, she began to wonder if the tunnel actually went anywhere. But, at last, she saw a light. I must be near the end! She thought excitedly. But suddenly, she remembered that she had no idea what might be down there, and for a fleeting instant, she was afraid. But she quickly recollected her confidence and reminded herself that she had dealt with a lot of things in her two years alone in the wild world.
She finally reached the end of the tunnnel and peeked in. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. Hamsters! At least a dozen- she had only once seen another hamster since she was carried away, and he was particularly brusque and rude- she was very excited to see so many more of her own kind. Remembering her locket, she quickly stuffed it behind her back so that, once she was noticed, they wouldn't see it.
Over at a table, immersed in conversation, were five hamsters. One was a creamy white with vermillion-colored splotches on his head and back, and he looked excited. Another was pale white with round gray spots all over- he was carrying a delectable-looking sunflower seed. He looked rather bored and sleepy. Another was rather tall with a brown back- he was furiously searching a book, apparently to find evidence to support his theory- whatever it was. The fourth one was also referring to a book, and he had brown glasses perched on his nose. The last was white with the exception of his dark-brown ears, and he had a green cap on his head.
In the corner were four more hamsters- one rather handsome one was shamelessly rattling a pair of marracas- he was orange with dark brown stripes. There was another (She looked female) who was totally identical except for a maroon ribbon at the base of her tail. She was looking rather embarrassed at the one with his marracas. The third was the tallest hamster in the room, and he was tan with dark brown spaces and had a yellow-and-green hat with a crescent moon on it. The last hamster was tan and white with a flashy red apron around his waist. These two were clapping and laughing.
The last group of hamsters the intruder noted with interest. They were all female and were playing some sort of clapping game. One had a snow-white glossy coat and had two blue ribbons on either side of her head, which held tufts of fur in place. Another was white and tan with a magenta scarf, and the last hamster was just watching. She looked very young, younger than all the others.
There were only two hamsters left. One was asleep in a tiny sleeping bag in the far corner, and the other appeared to be hammering something- his back was to her. The female hamster at the door just watched for a while. She bent forward to get a better look at the rest of the room, and stumbled. She caught herself just in time to keep from falling- but one hamster noticed. The female with the pink scarf spotted her in the doorway.
She gasped and stopped clapping. She bent forward to whisper something the her partner and pointed. The younger one noticed too. "Ookyoo!" she cried. Evetually, all of the hamsters had seen her, except the sleeping one. One hamster, with white-and-orange fur, came up to her, with a giant grin on his face.
"Hi!" he said pleasantly. "My name's Hamtaro. Do you live around here?"
"Um, no, not exactly," replied the intruder. "And my name's Keona. I just kind of found this place." Looking around, she added, "Do all of you live here?"
Hamtaro shook is head. "Nope. Just Snoozer over there," he replied, nodding toward the sleeping hamster. Keona was about to say something else when the hamster who had noticed her first stepped forward and shook her hand, saying, "I'm Pashmina! Good to meet you! And she-" she added, pointing to the youngest one, "-Is Penelope." Penelope smiled and said "Ookyoo!"
The glossy white one with the blue bows quickly shook Keona's hand too, smiling, "I'm Bijou!" She had a thick french accent.The rest of the hamsters introduced themselves one by one as Boss, Cappy, Maxwell, Sandy, Oxnard, Stan, Dexter and Howdy. Finally, when Keona was getting tired of shaking hands, the last one came forward, the one who had had his back to her.
"I'm Panda. Nice to meet you." He said quietly, looking rather embarrassed. Keona blinked. He was very handsome. In fact, he was downright gorgeous. After closer inspection, Keona nearly collapsed; she felt so strange... as if she were in love.
And there was something about him that reminded Keona of something... but she couldn't place it. She didn't have much time to think about it, however, because Hamtaro rushed forward and said breathlessly, "C'mon! I'll show you around the clubhouse!"
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Chapter Two: Peace