sxmfan's shoutout:

You all should read this. I beg of you.

Road Trip's PROLOGUE is just up. Not the actual story part. PROLOGUE. I was too excited to post it before I finished Daycare Days. Jeez, I'm sorry…

OMG AN UPDATE!!! AND I STILL DON'T OWN HAMTARO! But, for real everyone. I really should have updated this sooner. I'm going to try to make the chapters longer now. Wish me luck.

BTW, my broken pinky healed! HUZZAH!

School has surprisingly not gotten in the way of my long disappearance on this site. Actually, deviantART has been getting in my way a lot. I like drawing a lot, way more than writing, so I'm sorry if I don't update often.

Yay, this chapter is focused on Pashmina, Dexter, Howdy, and Penelope. Yay! Again!

Chapter 7:

A Hamdini Escape

"PASHMINA!"

Pashmina groggily woke up, hitting her head on the ceiling of the closet. For a moment, she had no idea where she was, but as soon as she fell off of her bunk, she seemed to jerk awake at the second her skull hit the floor. She looked up in terror and to her relief, Penelope was sound asleep, breathing evenly and smiling as she dreamt. Pashmina sighed and curled up into a ball, grinning as she watched Penelope sleep. Her thoughts were interrupted by a,

"PASHMINA! GET OUT HERE AT ONCE!"

"Coming, your majesty," Pashmina mumbled as she set the covers over Penelope's neck and then tiptoed out the door. She found Spat sipping his coffee and reading "The Royal Times". Pashmina stood there for who knows long before coughing a little on purpose to grab Spat's attention.

"What?" Spat said as he looked up. His eyes widened as he saw his slave and then he coughed, "Ah, yes. Pashmina, could you close the window? There's a terrible draft in here."

Pashmina puffed out her cheeks in anger and stomped towards the window, shut it furiously, and turned back to her master. He could have woken up poor Penelope over a tiny window!

"You should really fix that window. I expect that from you today after I get back from the town's meeting," Spat said, not looking up from his paper. Pashmina opened her mouth to protest, but the fear of being flogged ran through her mind so, with a struggle, she remained silent.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?!" Spat snapped at her. Pashmina jumped a little before nodding her head and ran out the door, beginning her usual chores around the house. The first part of the day was always to get the water from a well nearby, it was tradition for one of Spat's slaves.

Once out there, she felt the cool morning breeze flow through her fur. Tugging her salmon colored scarf loose a little, she walked towards the well, watching the dew drops on the blades of grass fall into puddles as her toes rustled them. Huffing a little, she heaved a wooden bucket near the well up onto the well's ledge; a couple of loose splinters from the ancient craftsmanship fell into the darkness. Pashmina, with chills burning her spine, stood on her tiptoes to lock her eyes on the damp and cold shadows lurking below. For a moment, she thought Spat might have just come up and pushed her over into ominous space, cackling as she would scream. Shuddering a bit, she quickly sneaked a peek behind her and, to her relief, there was no monstrous hamster behind her. Again, she peered down the isolated hole, a gust of wind blowing against her face from the west. The bucket soon toppled over from the sudden energy and fell down into the well, the darkness eating it as Pashmina sulked at her loss. Surely Spat would punish her for this and being beaten didn't seem to fit with her schedule.

Sighing and turning around, she slid down the well's rocky side, putting her face in her paws. Hopefully, Penelope was still asleep as Pashmina didn't want her best friend to come out and see her like this. After wondering about Penelope, her mind drifted to the bucket trapped in the shadows of the well. Anxiety went up her spine as she thought of herself or Penelope in the well where nobody could hear them or see them-

That's it, Pashmina thought, quickly looking inside the well as if it was her sanctuary and, as quick and quiet as a mouse, she ran inside Spat's house to get Penelope.

She thrust open the door and almost let a cry of relief that Spat was gone, maybe already at the village's meeting. Penelope had peeped out of her room, letting out a small, confused "Ookwee?" before Pashmina yanked her arm, running her out of the closet. She quickly gathered Penelope's pillow and blanket and fled through the back door, Penelope at her side.

"Ookwee, ookyoo?" Penelope wailed, shocked at the urgency of the situation. Pashmina sent out an apologetic look and stopped in her path, leaning down to come face to face with the younger hamster.

"I'm sorry for frightening you, Penelope," she said softly, straitening Penelope's blanket out for her. "But I need to get Howdy and Dexter. Can you stay here and be a good girl? I'll be back in less than two minutes, I promise."

And with that, she ran off, leaving Penelope with the well beside her, her pillow, and her bed covers. The cloaked hamster, sat down, crying a little as loneliness took her into its grasp…

"Dexter! Howdy!" Pashmina exclaimed once she had reached Harmony's house. It was Howdy who answered the door, still looking to be half asleep and gnawing on a sunflower seed.

"Pashmina?" Howdy said, a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," Pashmina huffed, out of breath from the run. "Can you get Dexter now?"

"Sure," Howdy said immediately, but stopped as he started for Dexter. Eyeing Pashmina suspiciously, he asked, "Wait, what do you want Dexter for?"

"Ugh, never mind," she answered, annoyed at the immaturity. "Dexter!" she called, cupping her paws around her mouth. Dexter came whirling around the corner, his eyes lighting up as he saw Pashmina at the doorway, just waiting for him. And the look on Howdy's jealous face was enough to make him cry out in laughter. He took off towards Pashmina, his love, his hamgirl, his-

BAM!!!

And just like that, his fantasy ended when Howdy had shut the door on him, making Dexter collide full force with it. Slowly, Howdy opened the door and Pashmina was red the face, figuring out what Dexter was thinking.

"Ouchichi…" Dexter said, but gasped. What had he said? It was a word that had never come across him and Howdy and Pashmina had the same confused look on their faces.

"What was that, Dex?" Howdy cackled dryly. "What's ouchichi mean? Dang, I think you hit your head harder than I thought. Sorry about the closing the door on you thing, it was too tempting-"

"No, wait!" Dexter said, astonished and still on the floor. "That was the first word that came to me, I didn't mean to say it…"

"Why does it matter?" Pashmina interrupted. "I think I found a way to finally become free!"

"You did?" Dexter and Howdy said simultaneously, gawking at her.

"Yup!" Pashmina exclaimed, clapping her paws together. "Spat's gone right now and I just had the idea this morning. You know what place conceals anything from night to day, month to year?"

Howdy and Dexter looked at each other, relying on the other one's answer. Five seconds had passed before Pashmina had answered before them.

"The well! Penelope and I are going to hide in the well and when Spat goes to bed, we'll meet up with Panda and Cappy since you two said they were at Prince Hamtaro's castle!"

***

"Okay, what's that, Midnight? Sparkle's castle is that way?" Oxnard cooed to the cat he stood upon, feeding it a sunflower seed that the cat, strangely enough, gobbled down quickly. The black cat purred and started kept his path straight at the sun rising in the east.

"How can you understand him?" Boss asked, sickened at the very thought of Oxnard talking to a cat. The chubby hamster shrugged and continued to talk to the cat, sometimes whispering in its ear.

"That's nothing," Jingle interrupted, lying down smack in the middle of the cat's back. Strumming his guitar, he continued, "I can talk to birds and pigs, just not leaves and twigs."

Boss rolled his eyes and pouted, ignoring the poet. "Are we almost there?"

Oxnard turned to speak, but Boss cast him a dark look that proved the chef otherwise. He turned to Hamtaro who perched himself on top of Midnight's scalp and the prince said, "I think we're getting close. Sparkle said she lives at that old castle, right by the river. I think…"

Hamtaro's voice drifted off as he ears perked up, twitching as the hamster strained to hear a slurred noise rushing off into the distance. It sounded like when the water would be running in his bathroom, trickling out of the spout and flooding the space, but he didn't hear Maxwell's voice chastising him, he heard different hamsters, whispering…

"H-Hams!" Hamtaro suddenly called out, almost tripping over his feet as found the discovery. "I think that we're at the castle. I can hear the water of the river!"

Sure enough, after he finished sentence, Midnight had pushed his way through the trees and a full view of a gigantic river flew into their eyes. All of their mouths dropped with awe as they took in the scene. The river streaked across the rocky shores it weaved through, foam from the current splashing onto the grass nearby and oozing into the dirt. Only Midnight didn't look skeptical and leaned down for its passengers to dismount. Hamtaro, on all four paws, crept off of Midnight's head and continued to gap at the nature and beauty of this place. Then, as soon as he though of the voices, he could hear the hamsters again, whispering in a strange language that Hamtaro could and couldn't understand.

"Do you hear that?" Hamtaro asked his companions. Boss shrugged and Oxnard shook his head violently. The prince looked quizzically at Jingle. "Jingle, do you hear…" His voice trailed off as he caught sight of Jingle's expression. The traveler had his eyes wide open in a puzzling state, his arms falling lifelessly to his side.

"Jingle?" Boss questioned, a little worried himself.

Jingle shook his head, Mohawk waving back and forth. "I can hear these voices, they make sense and then… they don't make sense. Like they're combining two languages."

"I hear them too," Hamtaro said softly, stepping in line next to Jingle.

"There's no time for this!" Boss bellowed, walking up to the river. He pointed to the monstrous castle across from them. "That's Ham Wizard Castle and we're so close! We just have to cross this river and then save Bijou, piece of cake right?"

"I guess so…" Oxnard said slowly and his knees starting shaking. "But… We don't know what's in there, hams. What if a giant dragon is in there and he didn't even have lunch!"

"Well, that's what you agreed to when you tagged along with us!" Boss laughed, slapping Oxnard on the back. "You do, of course, expect to run into a few monsters, don't you, Oxy?"

As Oxnard tried to reply without stuttering, Hamtaro blocked their voices out and focused on the whispers carried in the wind. He wanted to kick himself right about now. The words banging against his eardrum were so mysterious and yet, so clear. The language the hamsters- or whatever was speaking- nagged the back of his head. Why, he thought, did these words make so much sense? It was like he had really become himself and he fought back to try to make out the words himself. However, when he looked up, his brain seemed to jerk back into his skull as he saw his crew already crossing the unstable bridge to Ham Wizard Castle.

"Guys, wait for me!" Hamtaro called out, the voices dying out as panic overcame him. Boss had led the pack, with Jingle behind him and Oxnard bringing up the rear. Holding a paw out to them, Hamtaro screamed, "That bridge won't be able to hold all of you! Boss, listen to me!"

Boss sighed and shone a glare out into the prince's direction. "Hamtaro, you worry too much-"

It was then that the muscular hamster realized that Hamtaro had been right (For the first time in months) and the wooden planks under his feet gave way and fell down into the empty moat below. He gulped as he clung to the ropes that had held the fallen pieces of the bridge and looked down into the darkness below him, seeming to stare into the face of his doom.

"Have you all got mad cat disease?!" Hamtaro yelled, panicking as more pieces of the bridge collapsed into the emptiness. "Get out of there!"

"W-We can't!" Oxnard sobbed, still clutching to his seed. "We're gonna die!"

"Don't be so melodramatic," Jingle chastised, but his face proved the exact opposite and the ropes that he had held were soon stretching apart, turning weaker and weaker by the second.

"Don't worry!" Hamtaro announced, making his way towards the bridge. "I got you!"

"No, Hamtaro!" all three of the stranded rodents yelled as Hamtaro carefully made his way towards the three of them.

"We're screwed," Boss said, closing his eyes. "We're doomed. We're dead. We're alive, but we are so dead."

"Call your stupid lover over here!" Jingle yelled at Oxnard, one of his paws slipping. He nearly barreled over the edge of the loose rope and his face turned green when he stared down.

"My what?"

"The cat, fat boy!"

Oxnard stared at Jingle. "No need to be hurtful," he said quietly. Then, in a louder voice than Hamtaro or Boss had ever heard, he yelled, "Midnight! Come over here!"

Midnight, like a little puppy, trotted over to the edge of the bridge and wagged his tail. He seemed to think that everyone had been okay, even if they moved an inch, they would fall to their death.

"Can you help us, boy? Can you hold the rope and save us?" Oxnard cooed, smiling weakly.

"I can't believe I ever decided to help you all," Jingle sighed. "I just had to be the guy in a story or play that comes in to show the hero people around and I never even get credit. I should have just stayed at my mom's house and I could have been in a nice warm bed and a bowl of hot soup next to me."

"Jingle, I love to you break to you, we're kind of in a do or die situation," Boss snarled, starting to lose his balance. "It would help if you wouldn't describe your hurt or your life's desires, probably because there's nothing we can do about it right now."

"Midnight!" Hamtaro called to the jet-black creature. "Can you help us out of here?"

Midnight turned his head the side, as if thinking of the idea. After a while, he shook his head, his neon green eyes depressed. Hamtaro frowned and looked around. By the looks of it, they were a tight spot. But the bright side was the rope seemed to be holding fine right now and at that moment, his brain hatched an idea.

"Midnight!" Hamtaro called again and Midnight's eyes perked up. "Go get Maxwell to send some help! He's out by Hambridge in my castle. Tell them to come to Ham Wizard castle to help the prince!"

Midnight nodded and dashed off into the trees, disappearing into its eeriness. A cold silence swept upon the four hamsters as they prayed for the rope they situated themselves on would hold until they had gotten help, but rescue looked bleak. Twilight had settled and their paws started to burn as they squinted into the distance, looking for any stretch of black whisking across the forest before them. Soon, the stars had peeked out from their sanctuary's to begin their work and Hamtaro gazed upon the twinkling lights.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might," he whispered softly to the navy blue heavens. "That Bijou is okay."

He looked down below him and his wish started to echo off of the cliff's walls, fading farther below as was his hope.

"Just whatever you do, make sure Bijou's okay."

***

"Zhere 'as to be a way out of 'ere!" Bijou screamed as she kicked the cell wall, tears forming in her eyes. She desperately swung her arms to rid her wrists of the chains and after five minutes of struggling, she slid down the mucky wall. The agony of wanting to be free, to run into her hamboy's arms, to look into his brilliant chocolate brown eyes was unbearable for her. Then, the horror of him being torn apart by the cat, sent by Sparkle, made her heart twist in an unforgivable way. Gritting her teeth, she looked up to the ceiling.

" 'Amtaro, please hurry. I hate being trapped 'ere," she whispered hoarsely.

"No wonder," a voice in the distance croaked.

Bijou stood perfectly still, her head spinning in all directions as she looked for the source of the voice. But no one was there. She slammer her face into her paws. "Mon dieu, now I am 'earing zhings!" she chastised herself.

"You're not hearing things. I'm in the next cell."

Wiping her eyes, she got up and cautiously walked to the bars of her cell, looking down the hall. Sure enough, another hamster had been locked away and he appeared even dirtier than Bijou. He had orange fur on his ears and arms with a vertical stripe of the same shade reaching his nose. He wore a batted up baby blue jacket that covered his back and skull, dirt and muck covering every spot. The thing that struck the princess as odd was how he had yellow antennas and wings, wings that looked like it had come from a mutated ladybug.

"U-uh," Bijou stuttered, fighting to think of something appropriate to say to him. "B-Bonjour, I'm Bijou… Princess of France."

The imprisoned hamster nodded and introduced himself, a smile crossing his face. "I'm Prince Bo, ruler of Rainbowland!" He beat a paw to his chest proudly as he looked up, as if viewing his kingdom.

Bijou chuckled dryly and secretly stepped back a little. She wasn't sure if this hamster had spoken the truth or had turned psychotic. She had never heard of Rainbowland before and her geography teacher had taught her well. Before she could reply, Prince Bo had started to speak again.

"I'm here because I refused to marry Sparkle," Prince Bo said, reading Bijou's face like a book. "Hopefully, that evil hamgirl didn't try to marry you, right?"

"O-Oh, no!" Bijou laughed half heartedly. "I vas… kidnapped."

Bo's face twisted in confusion. "Why were you kidnapped?"

"It does not matter!" Bijou squealed, trying to change the subject. " 'Ow long 'ave you been 'ere? You never spoke to me before."

"I guess I was too tired or lazy," the prince laughed quietly. "Besides, I think I was a little too depressed."

"Depressed?" Bijou couldn't help but wonder and she had quickly covered her mouth. Where she had come from, it was considered rude to ask so many questions. Bo, however, seemed to have a different culture and answered her question with a look of dread on his face.

"When I refused to marry Sparkle," Bo began. "She couldn't control me, I have powers that she could never have. So instead of trashing me, she went after an even worse thing; the thing I loved most."

***

Panda and Cappy soon were washing dishes, scrubbing away more soap than they had bargained for with dirty and tired looks on their faces. Their eyes had ached from searching for any specks that they missed and their feet sore from standing on the hard marble floor all afternoon. However, they were thankful for having only to wash the dishes; other hamsters dashed from stove to stove, counter to counter to prepare for dinner.

"It's not fair!" Panda huffed, brow furrowed as he furiously wiped a spot that wouldn't go away. "Do you know what Maxwell's doing right now?"

Cappy looked on for him to continue, his eyes flitting up to his companion, tiredly, but still the same as the years before. Panda didn't turn to look at him.

"Right now, he's lounging in a room with a piano at his side, sucking down tea with the new girl. Here we are, working our tails off for his mess!" He threw down the dish he was holding at the sink and it cracked in half, shards of glass crushing against the sides of the sink. Cappy half jumped, but wasn't able to say anything as Panda continued his rant. "We need to get out of this, Cappy! I can't take it anymore! Prince Hamtaro had told us-"

"Panda," Cappy said slowly, "I don't think that we can get out of this. The prince is gone on a rescue mission and there's already enough corruption here in the castle. None of the hamsters get along with each other, it's like thousands of Dexters and Howdys!"

Panda hung his head down, the words Cappy had just said was enough to make him downright guilty and the black and white hamster reached out for the sponge, his arms feeling as heavy as granite. Cappy gave him a sympathetic smile and pulled his hat down a little, something he did when he knew something was over.

"What do you think Dexter and Howdy are doing now, Panda?"

***

"Okay, when the clock strikes midnight, we'll hoist you two out of the well and we can all make a break for the castle," Dexter whispered to Pashmina. He slowly lowered the bucket, which held Pashmina inside, her knees scrunched up to her chest, and her mood in no better condition. She squeezed her eyes closed, wanting the overwhelming dread to blow off her. The guilt rose into her throat, choking her with blame of leaving Penelope alone by herself at the bottom of the well with water splashing down there. It was shallow, of course, but hearing her innocent squeaks of "Ookwee?" made Pashmina want to slap herself. It just had to be Howdy's bright idea for Pashmina to be lowered down without Penelope, for more "security measures".

"Ookyoo!" Penelope squealed and leapt unexpectedly into Pashmina's arms once the golden hamster had reached the watery bottom of the well. Even if the darkness consumed the little hamster's face and Pashmina couldn't see her happy tears, it felt the same as it always had been; she returned the hug, ready to cry herself as the night had settled, Howdy and Dexter gone.

The hours had passed and it seemed to take even longer as the two girls were forced to remain quiet, just in case Spat could heard the two's conversation. Once in a while, Pashmina would stroke Penelope's head or hold her closer when the wind above them whirled into the well, causing Pashmina's paws to shake and Penelope to softly cry. Then, they could finally make out Spat's loud cry of angst. It made Pashmina twitch as he yelled and cursed and it was clear of what he was furious about. Penelope peered up above the well, only to see the stars above them, shivers running down her spine. The coldness of the water had soaked into her cloak and it was far more colder than Pashmina's damp scarf. At last, Spat's screams of anguish faded away and the sound of guinea pigs running down the road were heard. Pashmina, finally letting a breath that she seemed to be holding for hours, stood up, Penelope in her arms. She knew Dexter and Howdy couldn't come help them out of the well at the second that Spat had left, but until they had come, the pain her chest would not go away.

"Ookyoo?" Penelope spoke and Pashmina's eyes widened in surprise.

"Shhh!" she whispered hoarsely to the younger hamster like she never had before. The thumping in her chest grew louder and harder. "We have to wait for Dexter and Howdy, so be quiet until they come."

"Someone say our names?" a familiar voice hooted from above.

"Howdy!" Pashmina yelled, standing on her tip toes.

"Ookwee!" Penelope squeaked, raising her paws up in the air.

"Okay, we're going to you hoist you two up," Howdy said. Then, he laughed and, referring to Penelope's language, joked, "Ookwee here has the bucket and rope so he'll just lower the bucket and you two can get in."

"Thank you, thanks so much you two," Pashmina choked out, swallowing her tears of gratitude. Dexter lowered the bucket and rope and Pashmina carried Penelope into it, finally jumping herself. Once she had given the word, Dexter and Howdy both hustled to get them out of the well, as fast and as careful as they could. Pashmina's eyes flitted to the stars above her, each one getting closer and closer and when she reached the top of the well, it seemed she could just reach out and grab a star. Penelope was hoisted out and Dexter and Howdy, as usual, argued over who would get to help Pashmina out, but the hamgirl had already hopped out of the bucket. The two quarreling hamsters had finally realized that Pashmina had gotten out safely by herself and the four moved quickly to the trees.

As Pashmina had taken her first step into the woods and off of Spat's land, she realized that this was the first step of her freedom. And it was the feeling blazing her heart that made her ready to dance. So she did a little jig as they four made their way towards the castle.

***

Well, THAT took forever. AND HOLY SNAPPERDOODLE, THIS TOOK ME SIX MONTHS TO UPATE?! I'M SO SORRY!!!

A quick look at the next chapter:

Panda and Cappy quickly understand the motive of freedom when they confront runways Pashmina and Penelope and now, want out of the castle more than ever before, ready to set out and make their lives meaningful. Maxwell starts to learn more and more about Sandy but… Is there something familiar about this girl? Stan, however, has his eyes set on some other prize other than money. Prince Bo's past is revealed and Bijou realizes the mistake that he made and, if repeated, could mean the end of the world. Meanwhile, Hamtaro, Boss, Oxnard, and Jingle are caught in a situation that no one is powerful enough to get out of. You think they'll survive without becoming, oh, let's say… bird food?

Tune in next time, okay? And remember to click (not lick) the button below. One or two words, that's all I ask…