CFB: ...I'm probably the only one who's still in school, aren't I? AND ON A RANDOM SIDENOTE: A sequel is in pre-production, loyal readers! Read more about that in later chapters! And rereading last chapter I noticed I wrote, "the look in his arms" when I meant eyes. I really don't know why I wrote that...
This time: Siren catches up with Sprint, but will they be interrupted yet again before Sprint can tell Siren his secret? Looks like they have an obstacle in the way of their friendship....called Screech and Panda. Plus, Hamtaro wonders about the hero inside of him, some of the hams find an interesting book, and Laura has an important convo.
This chapter is dedicated to the song Sanctuary, by Utada Hikaru, which I don't own, but it helped me write this chapter. (The Japanese version Passion is great too) One of my fave songs, I recommend it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hamtaro. If I did....well, let's not think about it. I own all concepts and characters not related to the original Hamtaro franchise, but some ideas I merely twisted for my own use, like Dreamland.
Enjoy!
Chapter 13: Flash Flood
"If I were a Dreamland knight, where would I be?"
Repeating that question over and over in her mind did nothing to actually lead the hamgirl to her destination - rather, it resulted in Siren becoming utterly lost in the maze of hallways decorating illustrious Dreamland Castle. Everywhere she looked, there were beautiful tapestries and colorful artwork from ancient artisans illuminating the walls...but every hall looked so darn similar, Siren's brain was instantly foggy with confoundment.
"So much for these super-ham senses the Guardian is supposed to have..." Siren scoffed, peering around a corner in search of the ruby-eyed knight, and finding, instead, yet another identical hallway, vibrant and seemingly endless. At least this one contained some potted plants, for added color...
She had been searching for well over a half hour, and, after turning down another hallway and seeing nothing but windows and a couple of ham-cherub statues, decided that maybe the fates were sending her a message. Maybe she wasn't meant to find Sprint and have this conversation with him - after all, as she continued to think about it, there was greater possibility that whatever he had to tell her would be disastrous. At least, she became more convinced that whatever had been on his mind was sinister - secrets had that effect, she had learned so the hard way.
"Maybe..." She furrowed her brow, half-disappointed and half-relieved that she had not found the Dark Lander. "Maybe I'd better just stop looking...it was a silly idea, anyway..."
Siren managed to find her way to a staircase with relative ease, intent on heading outside for some fresh air to clear her cluttered head. But as soon as she stepped onto the landing, she looked up and came face to face with the very ham she had been looking for, and she gave a slight terrified squeal as she nearly bumped nose-first into him, catching him off guard as well as his crimson eyes widened. Maybe the fates were sending he a different message....attached to a heart attack.
"Siren!" Sprint exclaimed, taking a large step back, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"
"Oopsie! I didn't see you either!" Siren professed with surprising vigor, feeling her stomach fall out from beneath her and it was replaced with a pure knot of nerves and worry. Imagining herself talking things through with Sprint was a lot easier in her head - now that they were seemingly on the verge of what seemed to her to be an important talk, all the words she had rehearsed sounded completely stupid and her tongue felt like lead.
A silence fell. Awkward and tense, not like their previous silences.
"W-what are you doing here?" Sprint asked, trying to be casual, and, unfortunately, failing miserably. It didn't help that he tried to lean against the wall and missed, nearly falling flat on his tail, though he managed to catch himself.
Siren gulped, unable to meet his gaze. To lie, or to tell the truth and be embarrassed beyond belief? That was the question, and a hard one at that. She stammered, stalling, "I was...just....uh..."
"I...I think I have to tell you something."
"...I was looking for you, actually."
She was surprised that the truth tumbled out so easily, and nearly clamped a paw over her mouth in shock. Under normal circumstances, she would have never revealed that to anyham, for fear she would faint afterward. But somehow, she knew that it had to be said. She needed to tell him the truth, because she knew that there was something unspoken between them...and if nothing was ever said or shared, it would remain some kind of lingering secret, poisoning whatever fledgling friendship or whatever there was between them.
Sprint looked taken aback, and even pressed a paw to his chest, ignoring the rapid thud of his heart. "You were looking for...me?"
"Yeah..." Siren dropped her head, the intensity of his eyes too much for her. She drew in a deep breath, and, holding fast to the courage buried within her, went on, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking, "I, er...I wanted to....you said last night that you had something to tell me. But you...never got a chance."
The color drained from Sprint's cheeks, while Siren's flared with color. He had, in the aftermath of their loss to Steel, almost forgotten the secret he had nearly revealed to Siren. He had somewhat hoped it would also slip her mind, but he could see, despite her bowed head, that she was intent on learning what it was. His paws began to quake. He had been almost sure, the night before, that he was ready to share his secret with her...but now, whatever courage he had was failing. There was a long, heart-wrenching silence.
He had good faith that Siren was a good-hearted ham. He could tell, just after one afternoon.
But he feared that his secret would be too much for her, even with the resilience of the Guardian, to bear. And even if he had only known her for such a short time, and had previously dismissed all thoughts of love as idiotic and stupid, now he was beginning to see, with new clarity, that such star-crossed ideas had validity. And he was scared of losing that before it even began.
"...It's kind of complicated..."
"If everything goes according to plan, we'll only be here a couple more days at the most. That is definitely not long enough for them to get to know each other that well, right?"
"Right. And I know Sprint...he thinks smoochie is for fools!"
"But still, we should try to keep them away from each other, right?"
"Oh, definitely! We still have to be careful, though. Thankfully, Siren is a few months younger than him, and too young to know what love even is..."
"Well, they won't work together so long as we're involved. No matter what, we have to be cautious! If there's one thing I know about smoochie, it's that it's unpredictable, and they were getting a little too cozy last night at that banquet!"
"You can say that again, my friend."
Screech and Panda were finding their newfound comradery to be interesting, beneficial, and convenient, all at the same time. They were, essentially, killing three birds with one stone - keeping Siren and Sprint apart, defeating the unspoken awkwardness that had been between them over being brother figures to Siren, and becoming better friends, all while taking their minds off of the upcoming fight against Steel. Thus, the duo had (after a few minutes of plotting) decided to meander about the halls in search of Sprint, with the intention of taking him out on the town to keep him from Siren. However, they had yet to locate the knight, as he had wandered off after discussion with Gale had ended and his room had been vacant...
Screech sighed, as a hallway they turned down proved to be fruitless - or, rather, Sprintless. "Well, Siren's off having 'girl time' with the hamgirls right now, so that bought us some time..." The blue-eyed knight remarked with a small smile at his partner in crime. "I just wish Sprint was easier to track down."
Panda chuckled. "Me too! This castle is so big, I could get lost in it for days! But I guess it's both a good and bad thing...if we can't find Sprint, then he probably can't find Siren either!"
"...I was looking for you, actually..."
The duo's ears pricked forward at the sound of the familiar voice, wafting to them from somewhere around the adjacent hallway. That was Siren! Screech motioned with a finger to his mouth for Panda to be quiet, and the two of them sidled on silent paws against the wall, until they were just before the corner of the other hallway. Both leaned right up against the edge of the wall, listening hard, wondering who it was Siren could possibly be speaking to.
"You were looking for...me?"
Panda and Screech exchanged angry, yet bewildered looks as another familiar voice reached their ears. SPRINT?! They had been so sure they would be able to keep Siren away from the older ham, but they had somehow met up right under their noses! Tentatively, Panda peered around the corner. Sure enough, at the base of a stairwell, Siren and Sprint stood, an air of awkwardness and tension surrounding them - but their cheeks were flaming red. Panda paled. Things looked bad...
"How could this have happened!?" Screech whispered in horror, though his expression quickly morphed into anger. "Sprint is in for a tail-whooping if he lays a paw on my sister!"
"Shh!" Panda hissed, clamping a paw over Screech's mouth, though he agreed with the knight's words. "I can't hear what they're saying!"
The two listened, craning their necks as far as they could toward the corner, so not to be seen.
"Yeah...I, er...I wanted to....you said last night that you had something to tell me. But you...never got a chance."
Were Screech and Panda's eyes to get any larger, they would have popped clear out of their heads. Dragging Panda a few inches from the wall to decrease their chances of being overheard, Screech whispered, enraged, "Sprint has something to tell her?! It's worse than we thought, Panda! Maybe they do have a smoochie-connection going on..."
"Siren's cheeks were a suspicious shade of pink..." Panda muttered bitterly, though he shook his head to clear it, wanting to place all of his focus on the important task at paw. "We'll just have to work a little harder, and take more drastic actions!"
"Do you have a plan?" Screech inquired, tilting his head. He could see a storm of schemes brewing in Panda's bright eyes...
Panda smirked evilly, rubbing his paws together. "Well, we're going to have to eavesdrop of course, and then interfere if things go...you know...code red."
"Right!" Screech nodded his head, enthusiastic.
"But we're going to have to get closer if we want to be able to watch and listen."
Screech's brow furrowed. He rebutted, "We're not going to be able to get closer unless we want them to see us. That hallway is pretty much bare, so there's nothing to hide behind! And if they see us, they'll know we're spying on them...and Siren will never forgive us!"
Panda frowned, and began to swiftly look around for anything that would aide them. His gaze fell on two potted plants, full, fragrant and leafy, to his left, and the smirk on his face widened considerably. They were large enough to hide a ham the size of Boss, so concealing Screech and himself would be no big deal. Nothing suspicious about two plants, just sitting in a hallway...if they could sneak the plants around the corner, they'd be in full hearing and viewing range!
"I've got it!"
Less than ten seconds later, Screech and Panda were each holding a plant, only their pink toes visible beneath the golden foundation. They crept quietly to the end of their hallway, struggling only slightly with the weight of their burdens, and listened, just to be sure Sprint and Siren hadn't moved.
"...It's kind of complicated..."
Realizing that the pair were still conversing, Screech and Panda prepared to slide into position. They exchanged a purposeful look and took a deep breath, before, on silent toes, scrambling out into the adjacent hall. Once sure they were safely where they needed to be, they set the plants down silently and waited, hoping that neither ham by the now-closer stairwell noticed that there were now two plants sitting in the middle of the hall where there hadn't been plants two seconds ago. Screech and Panda held their breath, waiting out a long pause, sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
"D'you think they saw us?" Panda asked in as small a voice as he could.
Screech's eyes were worried, but he replied, "I certainly hope not."
There was another five excruciating seconds of silence, before Siren's voice could clearly be heard questioning, making Screech and Panda's heartbeats speed up considerably, "I'm sorry....but....were those plants there a minute ago?"
Both Screech and Panda mentally cursed. Had they been found out so easily? They supposed that plants appearing out of no where was a bit suspicious...
Sprint's equally as confused tone sounded a moment later, "I don't remember them being there, either...but the princess and Joy are constantly redecorating this place, I'm sure we're just imagining things. They must have been there the whole time."
Screech and Panda let out twin sighs of utmost relief. Giving each other a quiet paw-five, the pair finished reveling in their victory and, as silently as they could, rearranged the leaves of the plants so that they could peer discreetly out at Sprint and Siren, who were now in plain sight. They watched intently, squinting through the foliage, as the pair resumed their awkward encounter, both staring at the floor in front of their feet.
"Anyway....as I was saying..." Sprint continued, after clearing his throat. "I....I've enjoyed getting to know you, Siren. And....I really, really do appreciate what you did for me at the cafe yesterday, with that awful waitress..."
Screech and Panda's mouths dropped. "Cafe?" Screech mouthed at his co-conspirator.
"Yesterday?" Panda mouthed back, his temper flaring, all anger directed toward the crimson-eyed knight. Had Sprint and Siren somehow managed to see each other behind their backs, and when would they have had such an opportunity?! Maybe they did have a bit more to worry about than they previously imagined...where the wheels of love already in motion for the unlikely twosome? Now, maybe Screech and Panda would have to speed up their efforts to keep the two separated...
"Really, it was no problem!" They watched as Siren grinned, her cheeks now glowing only faintly fuchsia, azure eyes agleam. "I was glad to do it."
One question raged through Panda and Screech's confused minds. "DO WHAT?!"
Through the thick leaves, Screech and Panda could see that Sprint appeared to be very nervous - he was gnawing on his bottom lip and wringing his paws fretfully, crimson irises still focused steadily on the ground in front of his feet. Screech was perturbed by the sight; while he did not like that his best friend was 'schmoozing' with his little sister, he had never seen Sprint look quite so anxious before, and it was mildly troubling.
"Well...y-you see, Siren....I....I think there's just something I have to, you know....explain to you. It's not that I've been hiding something from you!" Sprint added quickly, cheeks burning, waving his paws out in front of him innocently and taking Siren by surprise. "I, erm...just haven't found the right time to tell you yet. It's kind of....important."
Siren felt her heart involuntarily speed up at his words, but it wasn't so much from excitement than fear. The terrified gleam in Sprint's eyes was unnerving to her. What he had to reveal must be serious...
"You can tell me, Sprint..." she said quietly, placing a warm paw on his shoulder to be of some comfort.
Screech and Panda exchanged enraged expressions from their hiding spot. "Is she touching him?" Screech asked, hoping that his eyes were deceiving him.
"Yes, I believe she is..." Panda remarked through gritted teeth, unable to tear his eyes from the sight.
"Oh.....now both of them are in for a tail-whooping!"
Sprint drew in a shuddering breath. All of his prior confidence had faded away, leaving his emotions a confused, jumbled mess. He knew that he had to tell her - there was no way around it. But if she were going to reject him after he told her - which was a distinct possibility - he preferred it to be after they already spent some more time together. And he supposed that was a bit selfish, but he couldn't help it. Siren's brilliant blue eyes had some kind of effect on him, and he wanted to look at them some more, before she heard the truth about his past and would likely begin to look at him differently, and not a good differently.
"Well..." Sprint smiled faintly, fidgeting with his paws to a lesser extent, though his heart continued to thunder. "Since the strategists are off planning and we can't do much of anything until they're done, would you like to go out to lunch again? We can...talk about everything. We'll just go somewhere other than the place we went yesterday, okay? There's something I need to get off my chest and I need a little change of scenery..."
Screech and Panda felt their anger skyrocket to dynamic proportions. Had Sprint just asked her out?!? For what appeared to be a second time?!?!? Just how far behind the ball were they?
Despite the ominous note in his voice, Siren couldn't help but offer him a tiny smile, to alleviate him from some of his stress. She was both eager and nervous, as butterflies began to do an anxious twirl in her stomach, but happiness overtook all emotions. "Yes!" She replied earnestly, bringing a beaming smile to Sprint's weathered face.
"NO!!!!!"
Panda and Screech shouted at the exact same time, shooting to their feet and betraying their hiding spot to the startled pair as they turned their gazes from each other and onto the spies standing by the suspicious potted plants. Realization settled onto a shocked Sprint and Siren like a bomb, and while Sprint's fur turned an embarrassed (and embarrassing) shade of magenta, Siren's cheeks burned crimson with anger as she realized her private conversation with Sprint had been spied on. Screech and Panda realized their mistake at the exact same time, and, in a vain attempt to calm an enraged Siren down, quickly uttered,
"Er....hamha?"
Lunch was, more or less, a sanctuary for Laura in troubled times, and she was hoping on that particular day it would be such a place. She could drown her sorrows in a turkey sandwich, and let the fresh air try and sweep all of her woes away on a gust. She and Kana took up residence on their usual bench, hoping that the ominous feelings surrounding her friends would somehow vanish completely....all she was asking for was one simple hour of peace and relaxation, even though the black clouds looming above looked greatly menacing...
"Laura! Hey, can I borrow you for a sec?"
Laura was mid-bite into her sandwich when Travis's unusually cheerful voice summoned her from behind. She flinched, though she was surprised that butterflies did not assault her insides, as they used to - it would take some time to adjust to their absence. Kana sent her an inquisitive look, surprised to see her friend react negatively to a call from Travis, but Travis was upon them in a matter of seconds, leaning his arms on the back of the bench between Laura and Kana and grinning hugely at the girl he had called.
"Hey, Travis..." Laura replied, a bit uneasily. Travis looked exceptionally happy, but something like that was suspicious, given the conditions. These days, the scowl seemed permanently etched into his face, though there wasn't a trace of it now.
"Hey!" His grin grew wider, eyes shining. Now Laura knew something was definitely up. How had his dark mood vanished so swiftly, when it had been hovering over him like a full-to-bursting storm cloud for the past week? The raven-haired boy jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the open double doors that led inside. "Do you think I could talk to you privately for a minute?" He turned his strangely chipper gaze onto Kana. "I'll have her back soon, I promise."
Kana just stared at him openmouthed and nodded. Laura, brow furrowed, replied thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess..." as she put her lunch back into her lunchbag and brushed her hands off on her denim shorts, following Travis's lead toward the doors. She sent a furtive look at Kana over her shoulder, but all she saw was a look of total confoundment from her bespectacled best friend and a shrug of her thin shoulders.
As she followed closely behind Travis toward the school building, she was struck with a realization. Hadn't Roberto said something during their last conversation....?
"Travis was talking about you at lunch earlier today, so you might as well go for it. It's what you wanted, wasn't it?"
Laura's eyes widened as Travis opened the door for her to step through first. She felt a knot form tightly at the pit of her stomach, as if it knew something bad were about to happen. Suddenly, the entire hallway, which was only sparsely filled, seemed to grow oddly colder. Roberto's words rang clear in her head, accompanied by his pained expression, and she realized that maybe, just maybe, she didn't want this conversation to happen at all...
"What is it, Travis? Laura asked, her eyes stormy with indecision.
Travis chuckled. "Well, actually, there's something I kind of wanted to talk to you about..." He looked at a colorful poster tacked to the wall on his left. "You know about the fireworks festival the night after next, right?"
Laura had heard of it, but, as of late, had more important things on her mind. Drama had, after all, practically consumed her life. "Erm, yeah, sure..." She replied, an ominous feeling settling over her shoulders like a cloak. She did not like where this was going, and wished that Travis would just stop talking...
"I was wondering, if you didn't have anyone else to go with, if you'd like to go with me?"
Laura's eyes widened. And there it was...the question she had been waiting for since fifth grade, and the smile she had wished to be directed at her for what felt like decades. And now that it was all happening, she felt her heart crumple a little. Roberto's words rang once again in her head, and she realized that she didn't want it. This smile from Travis, and his imploring gaze, she didn't want any of it. All she wanted was for things to go back to normal, because, in her heart of hearts, she knew that Travis wasn't asking because he was genuinely interested, he was asking because he was heartbroken and confused. Lingering anger and sadness was making him do this. He was trying to move on in whatever way possible, just as Mika had, and Laura could see right through it - and she didn't want any part, even if it had been genuine. That part of her life was over now....now, she wanted something else.
"Travis..." Laura stared at the floor and bit her lip, hating how bitter the words tasted on her tongue. "I...I can't do that."
Travis looked like he had been punched, but recovered coolness swiftly. "Why not?" He asked airily, crossing his arms over his chest, though Laura detected a faint hint of anger in his tone. Clearly, he had not been expecting a rejection from his query...
Laura shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I can't go with you Travis, because...well, because it's just not a good idea. You're..." She drew in a deep breath, like she were about to plunge into the icy depths of some black ocean. "I know you're still upset about the whole Reese and Mika thing, and you're feelings have been hurt...and you're confused..."
Travis's eyes widened, and Laura flinched involuntarily. He had obviously not expected their conversation to take this turn. Eyes smoldering, he responded through gritted teeth, "I'm over it. What Reese and Mika do with their lives is their business!" His lie was easily heard as he tried to maintain his calm.
Laura raised glassy brown eyes and smiled weakly at Travis. She could see the pain hidden in his expression. Young love, broken and ruined. It didn't feel good - she could attest to that. But there were ways to mend it, and she knew where the path toward that healing began.
"Travis..." Her voice was soft. "She...she wants to apologize."
Travis froze, his eyes as round as saucers. There was a long pause, but Laura managed to keep her eyes on Travis's ever-handsome, turmoil-ridden face, standing firm. He had to hear this...he couldn't keep burrowing himself in anger and hate, lest he lose that kind, caring person he was before the life of a junior high boy had swept him into drama and strife. He gaped at Laura for a moment, before his eyebrows knitted angrily together and he spat, making Laura wince again, "And what, she couldn't do it herself, so she asked you to? Because I don't want to hear any of that! She couldn't even tell me all those things to my face!"
His voice was resonant, but vehement, and the few students standing in the hallway turned to stare at the pair, but they paid the bystanders no heed.
Laura's heart skipped a beat, but she recovered and replied, her voice stronger now, "Travis...I think you need to talk to her. She...she explained everything to me, and...while I'm not saying that what she did to you was right, I think you should at least hear her out. I can see that you're hurt, and I hate to see my friends hurt..." Her gaze turned imploring. "...so maybe finding some closure would take the pain away...?"
Travis stared hard at her, but she no longer felt uncomfortable under the heat of his gaze. He didn't appear convinced, so Laura forged on, gulping down some more of her fear,
"You know what I always liked about you, Travis? When we were in elementary school, whenever someone accidentally did something to you, or even did something on purpose, you always forgave them. I'd...I'd always admired that. You even forgave Roberto for the thousands of fights you had!"
The anger in Travis's gaze seemed to falter. He appeared to be considering her words.
"And I honestly do think that all of this can be resolved...and I know it has to hurt, but maybe, if you just talk to Mika, all of this madness can stop. So...just give it a chance, okay? I promise you won't regret it."
As the words fluttered past her lips, Laura couldn't help but feel a sudden lightness in her heart, as if a heavy burden had been dismissed from it. And she felt even better as she watched Travis's infuriated expression change slowly into one of contemplation, then realization, and then, the slightest of his old smile. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his soccer shorts and chuckled in disbelief, hanging his head so a few raven strands were falling into his eyes. Laura straightened her shoulders, surprised, but pleased by his sudden change in mood.
"You know what, Laura...." Travis said slowly, some of the pain alleviated from his eyes. "That was exactly what I needed - a wake-up call. I....I guess I've been a bit of a blockhead, haven't I?" He asked, wincing a little as he recalled his actions from the past week. "It's just...I just...oh, never mind. Can you forgive me for being such a jerk? I didn't mean to drag you into any of this..."
Laura returned his smile. "Of course! What are friends for?"
He extended a hand for her to shake, and she did so with an enthusiastic flair. No butterflies, just contentment. Now, he truly seemed like his old self, even if he didn't have the same effect on her. "Even his smile is the same!" She thought, inwardly cheered.
"I'll see if I can talk to Mika tonight and straighten everything out...." He looked a bit apprehensive, but then a flash of anger resurfaced on his face. "I'm willing to hear her out, but I will not talk to that back-stabber Reese. None of us would even be in this mess if it weren't for him. No matter what...." Travis looked frighteningly insistent. "I'm not going to listen to anything he says!"
Laura opened her mouth to say more, but refrained, thinking better of it. At least he had agreed to speak with Mika...that was some progress. Perhaps the rest would come with time.
Travis sighed then, and looked up to Laura with his old, achingly-familiar friendly smile. "Thank you, Laura..." He said earnestly. "You've always been such a good friend to me, and I'll always appreciate that. Now, I'm actually glad you turned me down for the fireworks festival. Because..." His smile turned into an impish smirk, and he winked mischievously at the startled brunette. "I actually know of someone who wanted to ask you a heck of a lot more than I did! Catch ya later!"
He had waved goodbye and disappeared around the corner before Laura could even ask who Travis was talking about, though she had to admit, a surging hope shot through her heart as Travis said those words, as new desires began to make themselves known in the forefront of her heart...
Laura sighed, conflicted again, and leaned up against the wall. One part of the endless problem had been resolved, but she felt like there was still a long way to go before everything could resume normalcy. And she had a feeling that she needed to have a very important conversation with a certain orange-haired boy, if she ever managed to find him...
"Howdy, are you, uh, sure we can do this?"
"Relax, Oxy! The princess said we was allowed to go anywhere in the castle we wanted! A little bit of explorin' would do ya some good, big boy!"
"Yeah, and we may never get to see a real-life castle ever again! So we have to enjoy it while we can!"
"Well-said, my lovely little scarf-wearing - "
"Stan, if you like, dare to finish that sentence I'm going to stuff you into that vase we just passed."
"Aw, you never let me have any fun!"
"Guys, what if there are ghosts in here?! Kip and Sue read a story to me one time about a castle that was haunted by hundreds of ghosts!"
"Ookwee!?"
"Don't worry, you two! I'm sure Dreamland Castle is ghost free....er...right, Howdy?"
"Yer darn tootin', Pashmina my dear! Why, the scariest thing yer gonna find in this old place is Oxnard, har har!"
"Hey! I resent that..."
Howdy triumphantly turned a corner, chest thrown out as he led Oxnard, Pashmina, Stan, Sandy, Cappy, and Penelope down the massive hallways of Dreamland Castle. After sitting around for a good twenty minutes with nothing to do while they waited for the plan to be formulated, they had decided to adventure a bit within the walls of the castle, considering it was raining quite heavily outside by this point and they weren't too sure that the Dreamland citizens were exactly fond of them anymore, after that morning's meeting. The convenience store ham had elected himself leader, in the absence of Boss and Hamtaro (who had strangely decided to sit out this one), and though Stan had put up a bit of a fight on the issue, the rest of the hams had decided that it wasn't worth bickering over.
As they wandered along the third floor, looking for anything interesting, Pashmina marveled at the intricate artwork posted all long the sleek marble walls. "This place is so beautiful!" She commented, running a gentle paw along the wall as she walked, though careful not to touch any of the intricate decorations.
"Not as beautiful as you, Pashy-baby!" Stan complimented smoothly, sidling up to the scarf-wearing ham and grinning at her. "Why, a gorgeous ham like you puts all these masterpieces to shame!"
"Oh...er, how nice of you, Stan..."
Sandy, not in the mood for any of her twin brother's antics after her emotional upheaval that afternoon, grabbed Stan gruffly by the ear and dragged him up to the front of the line, to walk with Howdy, who also resented any passes the tiger-striped flirt made at Pashmina, the apple of his eye as well. Each time Stan made a move to go back and speak with the golden-furred ham, Sandy and Howdy grabbed his arms and held him firmly in place, while he muttered repeatedly under his breath, "This is so uncool..."
Oxnard, nibbling on a carrot cupcake the chef in the kitchens had given him, looked around the castle with smiling eyes. "Maybe we should try and convince Boss to redecorate the Clubhouse like this! You know, make it a bit more....fancy."
Cappy giggled. "Somehow, I don't think a tough ham like Boss would want his home to look fancy! He's too cool for that kind of stuff!"
"Hmm...good point - hey, look there! That door's open!"
The group halted so quickly that Oxnard, Pashmina, Cappy, and Penelope nearly toppled into Stan, Sandy and Howdy. Oxnard was pointing a few feet ahead of them, at the end of the hallway, where, sure enough, a door, painted cerulean blue, stood ajar. It was the first open door they had encountered on their foray, and their interests were piqued. However, the pouring rain and dismal grey skies outside the windows had given the castle more of a creepy, haunted-mansion esque air about it, and finding an open door at the end of an otherwise desolate hallway made the fur on the back of their necks stand at attention.
"What do you think is in there?" Cappy asked, voice awe-struck, still young enough to be enraptured by the simplest of things. His ears were pricked forward, eyes bright and eager, surprisingly unafraid.
Howdy, trying to look like a professional, puffed his chest out further and remarked, "Why, I guess we'll never know until we look, now! C'mon, y'all! Let's go take a gander!" He motioned toward the door with one paw and began to venture bravely ahead, dragging Stan along with him so he wouldn't pester Pashmina.
"Do you think it's okay? I mean, what if it's like, somebody's private room?" Sandy asked as they neared the mysterious door.
"Relax, Sandy! If we weren't allowed ter look around, why in heke would the daggone door be wide open? It's practically beggin' us ter have a looksee!"
"Well, like, I guess you're right..."
Upon closer inspection, the small group saw that the room was pitch black, save for a dimly burning torch attached to the far wall that cast inconsistent light over all that it touched. Tentatively, Howdy pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside, the scent of musty pages and dust reaching his nostrils. He walked further inside so that the rest of the hams could file in, and they each took an interested look around the chamber-like room. It was very different from the other rooms in the castle, with a dark, dreary sort of appearance, and two large bookshelves against the left wall. In front of them was a small desk, old but sturdy, decorated with numerous parchments and papers that looked orange in the firelight. A calendar hung above the desk, with the current date circled in blood red ink.
"Well, what do we have here?" Howdy asked, venturing forward to the desk and examining it closer, giving it a good hiffhiff. "Looks like this is someham's office or study or sumthin'. Looks kinda like the office my owner has back home, not that he ever does any work anyway, har har!"
Pashmina inspected a bottle of black ink on the corner of the desk, from which a fluffy white feather jutted as a writing utensil. "I wonder who uses this place..." She wondered aloud, Sandy at her side. "It looks pretty old, but since there's a torch burning in here, I'm guessing that it's been used pretty recently...." Somehow, the scarved ham couldn't shake the feeling that they were trespassing...intruding somewhere they didn't belong.
"Ookwee!" Penelope had busied herself with some scrap paper that had fallen to the stone floor, uninterested in much else.
"Well, it could like, use a bit of a spring cleaning, if you ask me..." Sandy eyed the paperwork on the desk and the somewhat-dusty bookshelves with her nose wrinkled in distaste, as it reminded her of the incident in the library the day before. Luckily, Cappy distracted her from her wandering thoughts as he jumped up on the chair pulled up to the desk so he could get a closer look, and, eyes eager, he pointed to a fraying, worn-out book that was propped open on the desk, partially concealed by a heap of yellowed parchments.
"Wow! That book looks like it's three thousand years old! It looks even older than that book of legends Maxwell had a few weeks ago!"
Howdy, intrigued, cleared away some of the clutter on the desk and tugged the rather large volume toward him. It was a hefty book, and as he pulled it off the desk he staggered slightly under it's weight. The writing was faded and old, so Howdy lugged it closer to the torchlight, and set it down as gently as he could on the floor so he could read it better. "What do we have here....? Maybe we'll find out who's been usin' this room..." He murmured distractedly, as he squinted hard at the faint writing, the other ham-hams crowding close around him as he tried to decipher the words.
"I'll bet it's just a bunch of random mumbo-jumbo..." Stan scoffed after a few seconds, a look of pure skepticism on his face. "Like, let's go downstairs and see if any of those maids Hamorette has are on their breaks yet..."
"Yeah, and I'm getting kinda hungry..." Oxnard volunteered.
"Just wait a second!" Pashmina chipped in. "I want to see what the book says!"
Reading carefully, Howdy, confident he had figured out most of the writing, began in a slow, careful voice, "A lot of the writin' is smudged or too old to read, but I got some of it...I can't figger out the title, bu the first sentence is, 'It is a curse far unlike any other, often driving those hams it curses into madness as the years pass. There is no known cure, but hams have been known to live long, healthy lives regardless of their condition - though it is a somewhat small percentage of those who live a fulfilled life with such a burden.' And then it gets all smudged again..."
The air in the room seemed to become thinner, and harder to breathe. The ham-hams exchanged worried, but curious looks as Howdy, using his paw to trace his progress on the page, went on, voice quivering only a bit, "Then it says, 'Legends say that the beast is brutal and it's first instinct is to kill. Others say it is a misunderstood beast and adopts the personality of it's host hamster - though this thought is far less common. But all legends have one thing in common...the beast is one of the most dangerous creatures known to hamkind, legend or truth. There have been many accounts of encounters with one of these creatures, but no solid proof has ever been uncovered...'...I can't make out this next bit..."
Sandy and Pashmina looked at one another with cloudy eyes. Their past with legends had been less than pleasant, and these sounded even worse...
"Here we go... 'Of all hamfolk tales, it is one of the most popular, and the widest speculated. Real or not, should a ham-ham ever encounter one when the moon is full and it's eyes blaze red with bloodlust, the best option is to run away or face an untimely, and likely gruesome, death at it's claws.' Well now! Don't that sound just lovely, har, har!" His laughter, however, was nervous.
Howdy was about to turn the page, the rest of the ham-hams leaning forward in the flickering light with anticipation, when a sharp, commanding tone barked from the doorway,
"What are you all doing in here?"
The ham-hams, nearly jumping out of their fur, whirled around to see Joy standing in the doorway, her expression one of bemused concern. She was about to ask them another question when she spied the large book on the floor, and all color drained from her face. In one long, purposeful stride, she crossed the room and, with a flick of her wrist, slammed the book shut with the tip of the Staff of Dreams, all before the ham-hams could blink.
Joy, eyes somewhat angry as the eyed the startled hams, questioned them, "How did you get in here? Normally this room is locked - no one is allowed to be in here!" She sounded vehement, pushing the book away with her Staff so it skittered across the floor and out of reach.
"We're sorry, Joy! We didn't know it was off-limits!" Pashmina professed, bowing her head, not liking the anger their had incited from the golden-furred Protector of Slumber - and surprised that Joy had reacted in such a way in the first place. "We just decided to go exploring for a little bit, and we came upon this place!"
"Ookwee!" Penelope piped up, bobbing her head.
"The door was wide open when we got here, honest! We would have come in if it had been closed!" Oxnard added, trembling a bit as he nibbled delicately at the remains of his carrot cupcake. He didn't like the fury in Joy's amber eyes, as there was normally nothing but happiness there whenever she spoke to them.
"Gee Joy, we didn't want ter break any rules! We was just curious!" Howdy added, looking down at the floor in shame.
Joy eyed them all with burning amber orbs, before the fire faded, a sure sign that he believd heir innocence, which was a relief to the ham-hams. "You say the door was open?" She asked softly, her eyes flickering to the book she hd sent sliding across the room, with a melancholy, dry curl of her lips. "He never was one to remember to lock up after himself..."
"Who?" Cappy asked, ears twitching.
"Screech..." Joy replied, beckoning for the ham-hams to follow her back into the hallway. Once everyone had filed out of the chamber-like room with the strange book, Joy shut the door firmly, and then tugged on it - and it didn't give under her paw, so it had clearly locked behind them. With a sigh, Joy turned back to the ham-hams and explained, "I'm sorry I snapped at you - but it's Screech's own fault for leaving the door hanging open. That's his study...he doesn't like other hams to go in there. Sometimes he forgets to lock up..."
"Screech has a study?" Stan asked, eyes wide. "The dude didn't strike me as the type of ham who likes studying things."
Joy smirked. "Well, he's not exactly studious, but he's...he's a glutton for knowledge on certain topics. Legends, myths...that kind of thing. Anyway, he conducts research in there, but that's about it. Fury hates it when he locks himself up in there, but, sometimes, he gets so absorbed in reading he won't come out..."
Howdy and Oxnard exchanged a worried glance. Did a mysterious curse fall under the category of Screech's studies?
For a moment, Joy achieved a faraway look, but she shook it off quickly and resumed smiling brightly. "Well, now that everything's resolved, feel free to look around the rest of the castle! I'm going to go sit in on the planning meeting, so I'll see all of you later! It may be wise to prepare yourselves mentally for the battle that is to come!" and, with no further explanation of the mysterious room, the Protector of Slumber sprinted off down the hallway, gone with a flip of her magenta bandana.
Once she was gone, the ham-hams let out deep breaths. They had certainly learned their lesson about wandering into open doors! However, what they had encountered beyond the door was troubling. They had no idea what it was that book had been speaking about, with it's talk of curses and madness and killing...and why on earth Screech would be reading about such things! Whatever writing had faded, it held the truth that they simply couldn't figure out...and it made them feel like a dark, thunderous cloud was hovering over them, waiting to downpour...
"Whatever that book was talking about, I hope it isn't real!" Pashmina said with a small shudder, recalling the chill of the words on the fraying page.
And the other hams couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Ah, Snoozer...what's it all about?"
Hamtaro, in an unusual bout of low spirits, had opted out of Howdy and the gang's adventuring in the castle, choosing instead to lay spread-eagle on a bed in the hamboy's room as the rain pounded against the window to his left relentlessly. As all of the other hams had something to keep their time occupied, his only companion was Snoozer, who didn't appear to have moved since the day before, when they had placed him on his bed after arriving in Dreamland. Nevertheless, Hamtaro considered him good company.
"I mean...we didn't lose once to Spyke! I mean...we only fought him once, but still! I feel like somehow we failed already with this whole thing!" Hamtaro professed honestly, eyes hazy with concern. Truth be told, his low spirits had been caused by the siege the night before, and as a result he had lost most of his cheerful tenacity.
Snoozer gave off a large snore, and then a fluttering, "Zuzuzu..." He squirmed a little, as if from a nightmare - which was a likely possibility. Joy's protective fortress made with the Staff of Dreams only protected a small amount of the castle, now, while the rest of Dreamland was exposed - and even her last minuscule defense was weakening.
Hamtaro sighed, turning his head on the pillow slightly so he could stare out at the dreadful grey skies, and various rooftops of the Dreamland buildings, like mushrooms in a sparkly blue field. Each time Hamtaro thought of their failure, he gave off another, deep sigh, the curious fire in his heart stirring ever so slightly. His eyes were droopy with sleep, but he knew that if he dared allow himself to drift off he would likely experience the horrid nightmare again, and that wasn't something he wanted to go through again.
"Oh, Snoozer...I wish I could just sleep the day away in a sock, sometimes!" Hamtaro murmured, glancing over at his hammo with a weary, faintly-sad smile, envy in his brown eyes. "It would make this hero business a lot less stressful!"
"Zuzu...not always easy, being me....zuzuzu..."
Hamtaro sighed again, worry evident, a mish-mash of troubles brewing in his heart. "You can say that again, Snoozer! It's not easy being me either! Sometimes...especially lately....I don't even feel like I'm being me!"
"Zuzuzu..."
"I mean..." Hamtaro went on, gesturing emphatically with his paws, just happy he had a ham to confide in, asleep or not, "I know I'm me, and all, but..ever since I went to that Chamber of Peaceful Rest yesterday, I've felt really different! Kind of like...there's a side of me I don't really know! Have you ever felt that way, Snoozer?" Hamtaro implored, glancing over at the snoozing ham.
"Zuzuzu...a ham-ham often has more than one side to them, you know...zuzuzu...like an... octagon..."Snoozer mumbled. (1)
Hamtaro absorbed that with alert ears, dissecting it in his brain. "But...what if one side is completely different from the other?" He asked, fiddling with his paws a bit. Eyes glazing over with thought, he continued, the fire in his heart churning slightly. "I don't...I don't want to change into some other ham!" He squeezed his eyes shut again, paws laying limp at his sides, as if to relinquish himself to a vulnerable weakness.
That thought had been worrying Hamtaro immensely, starting when he had developed his new heroic persona at Hamwall and heightening after his visit to the Chamber of Peaceful Rest the day before. He could feel that power, that alter-ego sleeping deep within his resilient soul. It awakened whenever the ham-hams or Hamtaro himself were in peril, completely changing who he was as a ham in a matter of life-and-death. And while he had to admit his braver, more heroic persona was helpful when the ham-hams were in a fix, he wasn't so sure he liked losing all of his old personality in favor of the one slumbering inside his heart. He liked being cheerful, if-naive Hamtaro just as much, if not more, than he liked saving hamkind! What if he ever had to choose between them? The hero, or the ham?
"I...I just..." Hamtaro buried his head in the pillow, trying to drown all noise out as he tried to calm his confounded mind. "I just wish I could be both hams at once! I just hope I don't have to decide to be one or the other someday! Because I don't know who I want to be more....the hero, or the ham?"
Unfortunately, with his head nestled deep against the pillow, Hamtaro did not hear Snoozer's next fleeting spurt of advice.
"Zuzuzu...the ham and the hero....like the sun and the moon....zuzuzu...one cannot exist without the other....zuzuzu..."
Around midday, Steel's excitement had built to vast proportions. He had so much pent-up energy he found himself meticulously organizing the fortune he had pilfered from Dreamland the night he had stolen the Stone, and, once that was completed and an ill-looking Fury had unleashed some more nightmares against the weeping sky, he decided to go and have a look out the balcony in the throne room, so he could mentally plan where Hamaustere would be rebuilt by the soon-to-be-enslaved Dreamlanders and others under his whim...
An exhausted Hamorette and fidgety Nikolai were still in the throne room, captive and captor, but Steel said nothing to either of them as he walked in, walking with a purposeful stride. He threw the doors to the balcony open, making Nikolai flinch, and stepped out onto the balcony, inhaling the misty air with a devilish grin and not caring that rain droplets were cascading all over his face and trickling down his fur.
"It all begins tonight..." He breathed, still not convinced that it was all real.
Princess Hamorette, staring at Steel's back from her imprisonment, stifled a whimper. Her muscles ached from being cramped, and though she desperately wanted to, she didn't dare fall asleep for fear of having the dreaded nightmare. Purplish rings had developed under her drooping jade eyes, but she kept them open defiantly. Her mouth was completely dry, preventing her from speech, although she didn't have much of a desire to, regardless - not after earlier that morning, anyway.
Steel, uncaring that Hamorette was not up for a conversation, remarked airily, speaking loud so that she could hear him, "You know, princess...your brave little heroes may have stood a chance against me, under different circumstances. Unfortunately, this game has played out perfectly in my favor."
Hamorette continued to stare hard at his cloaked back, jade eyes pained, mouth clamped shut. Nikolai glanced at her worriedly from the corner of his eye, but remained silent and jittery.
Steel went on, after a deep, yet dry chortle, "But I know Dreamland's policies better than any ham, and I know they won't attack me until tonight...not until they have a proper plan in place, anyway..." His nose wrinkled in disdain, but he recovered, keeping his tone chillingly casual, "No, tonight will be their time of attack. Perhaps right after the sunset, or when the moon is high in the sky..."
Hamorette listened in confusion, not sure of what Steel was getting at.
Steel's malicious smirk deepened as he spoke his next words.
"You see, princess...they stand absolutely no chance. You're hope is in vain. It doesn't matter what time tonight they attack me. All that matters is they are attacking me tonight."
At first, Hamorette did not detect the hint. But after a minute of nothing but the pattering rain and swirling thoughts filling her head, Hamorette managed to put all the pieces together.
"No..." She croaked hoarsely, the grim horror dawning on her grime-smudged face as her eyes widened with the terrible realization. "No...no, it can't be...not tonight..."
"Oh, it is, Princess!" Steel laughed, eyes gleeful, though he still refused to look at her. "And I'm willing to bet that you precious knights and brave heroes are too caught up in the mayhem to take any notice of the date! Tonight, when they try and take my power from me..." He clenched his fist out in front of him, the scepter in his other paw glowing menacingly scarlet, while Hamorette gaped in horror from her confinement.
"...they will meet their nightmare face to face!"
"You should have her back by a decent hour, Sprint!" Screech advised his best friend with a somewhat-condescending glare in the direction of the other knight, who was standing too close too his little sister for him to relax, though Siren didn't seem to mind.
Sprint rolled his eyes, but grinned. "I got it, Screech. I know you'll cut my tail off if I don't."
"And if this café you're going to has hazelnuts, make sure she doesn't eat any. She's allergic; puffs up like a furry balloon if she even licks one." Panda warned with narrowed eyes, waggling one finger at the tall, suave Sprint, who did not appear intimidated by the smaller ham.
"I'm standing right here, guys..." Siren grumbled, looking embarrassed and angry.
After much discussion (which included a lot of yelling on Siren's part, and laughter from Sprint) her two 'brothers' had decided to relent somewhat, and allow her to go out on the town with the Dark Lander, though it was against their better judgement. Between keeping her away from Sprint or having her mad at them for an eternity, they had decided that they could accept one very minor loss, but they didn't like it very much regardless. After all, how much could happen on one little outing? And if anything did, Screech and Panda were prepared to kill/maim Sprint accordingly, should he put one toe out of line.
Also, Screech and Panda had only permitted Siren to go on one condition: they, as her 'guardians' were allowed to make the rules that Sprint would have to follow. This mortified Siren, but she knew better than to put up a fight, and merely stood grumbling while Screech and Panda gave Sprint the ground rules, sounding like two incredibly strict school teachers.
The two overprotective brother-figures didn't seem to hear her. "And she doesn't like mimes, so steer clear of the downtown art district," Screech added. "There's some creepy clowns out there too, best to just stay away."
"Oh, and stay out of back alleys...you never know what could be lurking!"
"If it starts to thunderstorm, make sure you seek shelter straight away! Siren could get struck by lightning. If she does I will put dents in your armor, Sprint! I know you hate dents."
"And don't go anywhere too crowded! I don't want Siren getting trampled on!"
That was the final straw for the Guardian host. "Enough!" Siren exploded furiously, taking both Screech and Panda, as well as her date, totally aback. Azure eyes aflame, Siren pointed her paw menacingly at her real brother and her figurative brother and told them in a low, threatening voice, "I can take care of myself, for goodness sake! Stop acting like two fussy nannies, you morons! You are embarrassing me!"
Sprint had to avert his gaze to keep from laughing. Screech regained his composure and, after clearing his throat, said, "We're just concerned for your well-being, Siren." Panda nodded in agreement, glaring at Sprint, who had become very interested in the structure of the wooden doors that led to the streets of Dreamland.
"You could be less annoying about it!" She snapped, eyes narrowed, fuming. Then, she grabbed a silently chuckling Sprint by the arm and dragged him out the door and off toward the bustling streets, grumbling, face a bright ruby color, "Come on, Sprint..."
"Stick to the sidewalks! A flower cart could come flying out of nowhere!" Screech hollered after them.
"Keep away from strangers!" Panda followed.
"Will do!" Sprint, who had not taken their threats very seriously, waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. Siren merely gave a loud, aggravated groan which her two brother figures decided to ignore.
"And Sprint, so help me, if you dare hurt my little sister I'll tear you limb from limb when you get back!" Screech, with a final bout of protectiveness, bellowed after the disappearing pair as they began to merge with the crowd, his voice piercing and remarkably threatening.
"Ditto!" Panda yelled in agreement.
Once they had lost sight of the pair, Panda and Screech exchanged a look and a deep sigh, plopping down on the damp staircase of the castle, since the rain had become nothing more than a slight drizzle now. Nodding his head toward the direction Siren and Sprint had taken, Panda asked his partner-in-crime, "You think it was a wise idea, letting them go? We could try following them...without the plants, this time..." He chuckled a little, recalling that morning, though his face was serious.
Screech thought about it, but shook his head. "Nah. We don't need Siren getting mad at us again. I mean, I knew she could be loud, but....woah. My ears are still ringing!" He winced.
Panda sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm just worried. Something about Sprint has been bothering me since we met him. I mean...he seems to be a nice ham and everything, and he must be, to be a Dreamland knight, but I can't help but feel like he's hiding something. Something...I don't know....important, I guess. You know him, Screech. Anything we should be worried about?"
Screech's eyes began to cloud over with thought. "Important?" He tilted his head to the side, scanning his brain for anything he knew about his best hammo that could fall under that category. He knew everything about Sprint, more or less...his past, his personality, and his likes and dislikes, his family. Everything.
After a moment of thought, Screech shrugged. "I got nothing." He replied.
Panda frowned, staring out at the bustling streets with hooded eyes. "And he looks kind of familiar too. I mean, I don't think I've met him personally before, but...there's just something about him."
Screech shrugged again, propping his chin up with his paws."Can't imagine why."
"So, we just going to wait here for them to get back?"
"Of course. Because if Siren comes back in tears, we can kill Sprint and not stain anything in the castle with his blood."
"...Good point!"
Sprint was nervous. Actually, that was an understatement. His shoulders were tense, his face was torn between a look of nonchalance and a look of pure terror, and his crimson eyes were worried and wider than usual. His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest, while his brain felt as if it had overheated. How was he going to tell her this terrible truth about himself?
Somehow, 'Oh yeah, my bro tried to kill you - well, technically he did kill you, but you were resurrected, so it's all good!' didn't sound quite right.
Siren didn't have to be bright to notice that something was amiss.
Sprint's nerves were affecting her as well, and, as they came upon a beautiful marble fountain with a carving of ham-angels singing at the center, Siren veered off of their course toward a bench, grabbing Sprint's paw and tugging him along with her. Though surprised, the Dark Lander did not resist, and allowed himself to be pulled by the hamgirl. "What's up?" He asked, hating how his voice sounded more like a squeak than anything.
"Okay, Sprint..." Siren took a deep breath, sitting down on the bench and motioning for him to do the same. He did so, grimacing - for he had a feeling he knew what was coming next. Sure enough, Siren asked, "Why are you acting so...weird?"
Sprint, inwardly mollified, tried to laugh it off, but it came out so still Siren's suspicions were only heightened. Weakly, Sprint averted his gaze to stare at the beautiful fountain and murmured,
"Weird how?"
Siren sighed. "Sprint..." She said softly, placing a warm paw on his shoulder, making him tense even further. "Why don't you tell me whatever it is you have to tell me? I'm worried you're not going to make it through lunch without fainting..." She joked lightly, trying to lift his mood even a little, but it was in vain.
Sprint realized instantly that the time had come, and there was no more avoidance. He gathered all of his courage, and forced himself to face Siren, and concerned crimson met equally-concerned azure. Fear seized his heart, but he knew that there was no turning back now - because he respected Siren, and she had to know the truth if their friendship was going to progress as far as he thought it could. This confession would decide whether their forged connection would survive, or be completely severed by the cruel, cold reality of his secret. Screech had accepted him for it, as had Hamorette. But Siren...
"Whatever it is..." Her quiet voice prompted, as all the other passerby and scenery began to melt away, leaving just the pair of them, the bench, and the gurgling fountain. "You can tell me."
He knew he could tell her. The question was, could she accept it?
It was time. "I'm a Dark Lander, Siren..." He said softly, feeling his stress lighten, only to be replaced with more worry and fear.
Siren looked briefly confused. "I know that, Sprint. And I don't mind," She added, for emphasis.
"No..." Sprint shook his head, unable to look her in the eyes any longer as he stared at the blue cobblestone path at his feet. "No, that's not all, Siren. I'm a true blood Dark Lander. I have...I'm related to other Dark Landers."
Siren was still utterly lost. "I....know?" She said.
In that moment, Sprint was not glad that density seemed to run in Screech and Siren's family. Her non-comprehension was not making this easier.
"I have a brother, Siren."
He felt the truth converging on his vocal cords, and nearly choking him with it's severity. A small voice in the back of his head told him to turn back while there was still hope, but his heart told him, in a much louder, more assured voice, that this revelation was the right path, no matter how much pain it caused.
Siren frowned, still not sure what Sprint was getting at. "Did you want to introduce me to him?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in a quizzical manner. If that was all, then why was he so worked up? Siren was almost always up for meeting new hams.
Sprint smiled ruefully. Irony was not on his side. "I can't introduce you, Siren." He said, head drooping slightly, as if weighted down with his words.
Siren abruptly felt a chill slither up her spine. Fear and dread coming into her voice, she asked, staring hard at his saddened, pained expression, "...Why not?"
"I can't introduce you..." Sprint swallowed hard, back rigid and eyes completely downcast. "Because you've...already met."
For a moment, Siren was utterly confused. She mouthed the words back to herself, and only then did they make any sense to her, though, as a suffocating wave of incredulity passed over her, she did not believe it, despite the absence of any other possibilities. There was simply no way...absolutely no way that he was saying what she thought he was saying. He, a chivalrous knight, related to...no.
No.
Sprint sensed her reaction was not one that he had hoped for, but was too afraid to look for confirmation. And then, like tearing a band-aid from a sensitive wound, it all came out in a rush of truth and potential heartbreak.
"Spyke, your old enemy, is my older brother, Siren."
Siren's expression swiftly changed to one of shock as his words fell on her stunned ears. Denial wasn't an option anymore, now that he had voiced it aloud himself. The truth had materialized, and Siren felt a mass of jumbled emotions awaken in her thundering heart, creating a mish-mash of absolute chaos. Her enemy...the one who had 'killed her' and tried to kill her friends....was the brother of the knight she had thought she could be close to.
No.
"Siren..." Sprint, voice broken, looked up at her at long last, too scared by her silence. Immediately, he wished he hadn't - her face was absolutely horrified, and reflected in her hazy azure eyes was a look of such pain and confusion that all other words he might have said died instantly on his tongue. She was staring at him completely horror-struck, looking like his secret had given her a totally new perspective of him - one more like his brother, rather than the knight she had been getting to know. Now, it was as if he were someham else, in her eyes.
Everything both had hoped for crashed down instantly, into a jumbled heap of despair. All, now, was lost between them.
Siren did the only thing she could think of. She ran. Sprint, startled, hopped to his feet and started to run after her, calling, "Siren!" but he halted after a few steps, realizing that it was futile. She didn't even give him a backwards glance.
As he watched her go, his vision blurred, and he was surprised that as he blinked, a few tears fluttered to the ground. Sprint hadn't cried since he was a young ham, as he had trained himself to not succumb to potentially weakening emotions. But, as he recalled what had just happened between he and Siren, he couldn't help relenting.
As he stood there, utterly alone, he realized that maybe he had been right all along - smoochie was for fools. But if that were true, he would be the biggest fool of all.
Trying to maintain composure, Sprint began a lonely jog back to the castle.
Siren came barreling toward Dreamland Castle with no intentions of slowing down. Screech and Panda, who had been chatting idly to pass the time, saw her coming, but were too stunned to see her back so fast that when she rocketed by them, they didn't have a chance to say a single word to her, as they were much to flabbergasted to articulate anything meaningful. Screech did manage to yell out, "Siren! Wha - ?" but she disappeared into the castle without a second glance, paying him no heed.
Panda and Screech exchanged a wide-eyed look. What could have possibly gone wrong in less than ten minutes of an outing with Sprint? Instantly, their surprise turned to anger, and they began to look around for Sprint, ready to rip him in half if he didn't have a really good explanation for why Siren had come running back to the castle so suddenly.
Sprint's face, however, once he appeared on the steps of Dreamland Castle, changed their minds about maiming him. Neither had seen such a downtrodden ham in their lives, and all they could do was watch as he walked listlessly by them, expression hollow, disappearing into the castle with hunched shoulders and misery practically radiating off of him, presumably headed toward his room. He didn't even look at them.
Panda looked at Screech. Screech looked at Panda. There was a long pause.
"I'll take Sprint..." Screech volunteered with a paw raised.
"And I'll go see if I can find Siren," Panda nodded.
And, with that, the duo trooped inside in pursuit of Sprint and Siren, hoping they could get to the bottom of whatever it was that had happened between the once-promising twosome.
CFB: Well, there you have it!
Next time: Screech and Panda try and talk to Sprint and Siren, Hamtaro stumbles across an intriguing poem, the planning is completed, and Hamorette tries to talk sense into Nikolai. Plus, the raid on Hamaustere....begins! It's the forces of good and evil, who will emerge victorious? And what plans does Steel have in store...?
(1) I used to fight with my friend all the time in Geometry class freshman year about shapes, and we'd yell back and forth stuff like, "You're a hexagon!" or "You're a dodecagon!" and we eventually decided that we were both octagons, to be fair. Yeah...oh, and I was having an emo day earlier this year and the same guy cheered me up by saying, "Allison, you are not one-sided...you have eight sides, like an octagon!" And it cheered me right up! So, that's where that came from. It's dumb, I know...
Red and review! I start work on Monday (and get out of school this Friday) so time is now a luxury. (Eight hour shifts....blahhhh...11-8:30? What the crap is that all about, huh?!) I can't say when the next update will be, because I don't know, but I'll be writing a lot on my days off! Reviews may motivate me, you never know...