Disclaimer: I don't own Hamtaro or any of the characters that are owned by people the people who own Hamtaro. I own David and Jimmy though, but you already knew that since they aren't on the TV show.

Hamtaro's Greatest Adventure! Chapter 10: The Showdown

Hamtaro and David stared at each other. "David, why?" Hamtaro asked. "Ask Boss, if I let him leave this place," David replied. "David, please don't do this! Let them go and you can keep our stuff!" Hamtaro begged. David looked at him and laughed. "I was going to let them go after I had accomplished my mission, but then you found my home, so I can't let them go."

Boss and Bijou were trying to hear the conversation outside their room when suddenly, the wall behind them opened up. The entire floor slid through the opening. "Boss, I'm scared," Bijou said nervously. "Well I can't say I'm not," Boss replied. The room they ended up in was dimly lit and cold. There was an old electric fan sitting on the far wall, circulating the air in the dark room. The wall to the other room slid shut behind them.

"Please, let them go. They didn't do anything to you. We promise we won't bother you ever again!" pleaded Hamtaro. David looked at him angrily, but deep in his eyes you could detect sadness. "Hamtaro, you don't know what you're talking about. Please leave before I'm forced to do something I'll regret," David said calmly. Hamtaro glared at him angrily. "We're not leaving until we get what we came for; namely Boss and Bijou!" Everyone behind Hamtaro shouted out his or her agreement.

David's anger returned again and he walked to a cabinet on the tunnel wall. He took out two sewing needles. He held one in his left paw and threw the other at Hamtaro's feet. It hit the ground and clattered over to him. "We will duel, and whoever wins gets to keep Boss, Bijou, and the clubhouse possessions," David said coldly. Hamtaro slowly bent over and picked up the needle. "If that's what it takes to save them, then I'm ready when you are!" Hamtaro said enthusiastically, although he had no clue how he was going to fight him. Everyone behind Hamtaro shouted at him, telling him not to risk himself. Hamtaro ignored them and got ready to defend himself.

David rushed at Hamtaro with the needle/sword in front of him. Hamtaro backed away, turned, and quickly blocked the oncoming tip of the needle. "Not bad for a beginner," David taunted. "But let's see how you hold up to my full fury!" David swung madly at Hamtaro, who was having a hard time blocking each move. "No, please, stop!" panted the exhausted Hamtaro.

David continued to swipe at Hamtaro. Hamtaro did a pretty good job of deflecting each blow, but he was exhausted, whereas David wasn't even sweating yet. "Don't you wish you had minded your own business?" David said between swings. "By the way," David said, turning to the others, "don't any of you over there think about trying to be a hero, or I'll go all out on poor little Hamtaro." While David had turned around to taunt the hapless audience, Hamtaro swung at David and cut his right paw with the very tip of the needle, sending pain through his entire arm and causing him to drop his sword.

David clutched the wound and turned to Hamtaro with fire in his eyes. "That's it! Now Boss and Jewel will never see the light of day again!" David screamed furiously as he ran down the hall, still clutching his right paw. Hamtaro threw down his sword and ran after David. "Wait here! I'll be back soon!" Hamtaro called to the others.

"David's girlfriend Samantha happened to be in a cage right in front of the fan when it exploded into a ball of fire. I feel so bad," Boss explained very solemnly. Bijou was beginning to cry. If she had known the story behind David's rage, maybe... The door burst open on their new room. The light that flooded into the hallway revealed that behind the fan lay another door. "You've suddenly outgrown your usefulness," David said as he walked into the room holding his right paw.

Boss turned to Bijou, who likewise turned to Boss. "What do you mean?" Boss asked curiously. "I mean that Samantha isn't going to be the only hamster I know that's died in a fire," David said, biting his lip in rage. He walked over to the small fan, which was just big enough for a hamster's living room. David picked up the cord, unplugged the fan from the small socket, and began gnawing through the plastic insulation around the wire. He finished, plugged the fan back in, and then covered the hole in the insulation with dry leaves. "Sorry I can't stick around, but I'm sure you'll have a hot time," David said quietly.

David turned the fan on and turned to walk out the door. The leaves began smoking just as he reached the door. David was about to walk out when Hamtaro jumped in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?" Hamtaro asked. David charged him, but Hamtaro shut the door in his face, which brought an abrupt halt to David's charge. Hamtaro opened the door again just in time to see the fan burst into flames.

The other hamsters were waiting in the tunnel for Hamtaro to return. "Maybe he's engaged in mortal combat!" Cappy said excitedly. Everyone else shushed him. Cappy sweatdropped and turned around.

Hamtaro and David were struggling with each other. David was obviously winning, but Hamtaro was desperate to rescue Boss and Bijou from the flames. "David, please!" Hamtaro begged, nearly in tears. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me!" David laughed maniacally. "David, don't do this!" Boss shouted. "After all these years, let go of your pain! What do you think Samantha would say if she knew you were doing this?"

David stopped moving instantly. Memories flashed into his head from that day. He imagined (all too realistically) what Samantha would do and say if she had found out what he had done. "Would a tragedy like that really have to be repeated?" he asked himself. Hamtaro rolled out from under David and set to work untying Bijou. "David, I'll take care of Bijou and Boss, you tell the others out in the tunnel to escape," Hamtaro told him. David slowly rose in a trance-like state and walked out the door.

"Someone's coming!" Howdy said. Everyone turned to see David run down the hall. "Run! Get out! There's a fire! Hamtaro, Boss, and Bijou are fine and will be with you shortly, but you need to escape to safety!" David commanded. The others looked at him skeptically, but when they saw the smoke, they decided they had better leave.

When David returned, he found that Hamtaro had managed to untie Boss and Bijou. "Ok, now let's get out of here!" Boss shouted. He ran for the door and down the hallway, leaving the others in the dust. "He sure knows how to make an exit," David said, sweatdropping. "Whatever happened to ladies first?" Bijou asked.

Just then, the door collapsed! "Oh no! We're trapped in here with the fire!" Hamtaro shouted. "No, there's another door on the far wall," David said over the fire. He led them through the flames to the opposite wall. The door was locked with a combination, and David set to work on it right away. The flames drew closer and closer, and Bijou began to cry. "Don't worry Bijou, we'll soon be out," Hamtaro soothed.

Soon, David opened the door and to Hamtaro and Bijou's surprise, there was a basket with at least a dozen balloons tied to it! "The basket's only big enough for two," David said, "so I'll stay here and you two go." "We can't leave you here! You have to come with us!" Hamtaro said. David walked towards the balloon, Hamtaro and Bijou right behind him. He suddenly turned around and shoved them both into the basked. He bit through the mooring ropes and the basket floated straight up!

"David! No, we have to save him!" Hamtaro said, leaning over the edge of the basket. Bijou pulled him back in. "Do not worry about him. I'm sure he'll be fine," Bijou said. The balloon floated up into a long tunnel. At the top of the tunnel was an opening. When the balloon reached the opening, they floated through and noticed the opening was a knothole in a tree.

"It's nighttime already?" Oxnard asked as the hamsters climbed out of the hole in the yard. "Don't forget," Maxwell said, "we've been in there for hours. And besides, we didn't get here until it was just about dark anyway." Just as Maxwell had finished explaining, Boss ran up behind them. "I'm here guys!" Boss laughed, happy to be free again. "Where are Hamtaro and Bijou?" Dexter asked. "They should be right behind me," Boss replied. They stared into the tunnel, which was now thick with smoke. "Uh-oh," Boss said under his breath. "Wait, look!" exclaimed Sandy. She pointed into the air and when every-ham looked, they saw Hamtaro and Bijou in a basket tied to balloons floating in the air! Everyone cheered as Hamtaro and Bijou floated over them.

"Hamtaro, thank you for coming to save me," Bijou said. They were now floating over the city. Fireworks were beginning to go off, as it was just after midnight, New Year's Day. It was very romantic. "Hamtaro, I love you." "Bijou, I love you too." And the two of them kissed as the fireworks were bursting in the background. Hamtaro blushed but Bijou only smiled and said, "Of course, don't you know that you're supposed to kiss someone you care about on New Year's Day?" "Heke?" Hamtaro asked. The balloon ride continued over the city, fireworks in the background and 2 hamsters holding each other in the foreground.

Jimmy was sitting on his bed watching his TV. He was half-awake and rather depressed. He couldn't find David anywhere all day. Jimmy presumed that David had gotten out of his cage and ran somewhere in the house, but after a thorough examination, it appeared the hamster must have gotten outside in the below freezing temperatures…

"I haven't cried in a long time, and I don't intend to start now," Jimmy said. He watched the New Years countdown on TV, wishing that his hamster would return. "These parties never suited me anyway," he said, turning the TV off. He flipped the light switch off and lay down. Just as he was closing his eyes, he saw something move across the floor. He leaned over the edge of his bed and his heart leapt! David was running for his cage! "There you are," Jimmy said, scooping him up. "I've been so worried." David quickly nestled into Jimmy's hands to show his affection, happy for the first time in a long time. Jimmy lowered him into his cage. "Don't you ever do that again!" he scolded happily. David nestled himself into his wood chips and went to sleep. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy fell asleep too.

THE END...

Thank you for reading this story! I'm glad I had a fanbase throughout my writing. This was probably my first successful fanfic that I've actually published. I would like to thank all of the compliments I got in my reviews and apologize for not thanking you sooner. I meant to put a note of thanks at the end of each chapter, but I've got a horrible short-term memory. I should probably shut up now and write some more fiction. Perhaps a sequel to this story? Only time will tell. Just keep yourself wary, because you never know when another fic by Evil Dr. Reef will pop up...