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Disclaimer: No, I don't own Hamtaro, and I never will.
Guess what?! It's the new story, sequel to Nothing you Love is Lost! Visit N.Y.L.I.L. under my FanFiction pen-name, TerraLuna17! I hope ya like it! For a picture of Keona, go here: http://www.geocities.com/viennawood/keona.jpg
Chapter Two: The Magic of a Dream
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(A/N: First Person: Keona)Throughout the day, I watched Panda sitting in his little corner. He appeared to be writing something, so others could assume that he was working on a new creation. But I knew him too well. Whenever he made rough draft blueprints, he was fully focused on his work. However, I could caught him peeking around at me several times. I could also see that he had no tools, no ruler, no compass, just a pencil. And he sat there, writing- or at least pretending to.
I knew him well enough that when I could tell he wasn't doing anything, an idea was brewing in his head. Not an idea for a new project, but something outside carpentry. If it were a new project, he would be drawing like mad, getting his half-baked ideas onto paper.
"How about you, Keona?... Ki? Hello, earth to Keona!" I was blandly aware of the voices around me, and suddenly I remembered that I had been in the middle of a conversation.
"Oh! Oh.... oops. I did it again, didn't I?" That was the third time since that morning I had spaced out. I'm SUCH an idiot!
"Yup! Geez, Keona, what are you thinking about??" Sandy demanded good-naturedly.
"Not much..." she murmured, crossing her fingers behind her back as she lied. "I'm just tired, I guess."
"Really?" Bijou asked worriedly. "What time did you get to sleep last night?"
"Yeah, maybe you have in-shon-a-mi-a! Um, imshonamia!" Pashmina cried fretfully. I grimaced.
"You mean insomnia?" I asked, trying not to laugh. Pashmina nodded, blushing unmercifully. "I doubt it," I replied, amused.
Pashmina looked relieved. "Ookyoo!" said Penelope excitedly. Pashmina bent to talk to Penelope.
"What was that?" She asked Penelope kindly. "Ookyoo! Ookyoo!" Penelope cried, motioning towards something. We turned to look. She was pointing at the sleeping hamster in the loft, Snoozer. I laughed.
"You're right, Penelope! I bet Snoozer will never get insomnia." Penelope beamed.
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(A/N: Third Person) Near the end of the day, when most of the Ham-Hams were wrapping up their conversations, Panda approached Keona.
"Keona," he said softly, startling her.
"Oh!... Panda! What's wrong?" He shuffled his feet.
"That's strange..." he said quietly. "Whenever I try to talk to you, you always think something's wrong. Why is that? Do I look that depressing?" Keona giggled in spite of herself.
"How about this: Yes, Panda? How may I help you?" Her good-natured sarcasm made him smile. He then remembered what he wanted to tell her, and led her for a second time into her room.
"Keona," he repeated soberly. His sudden seriousness made her shiver.
"Who died?" Keona laughed nervously, trying to dismiss it. Panda looked shocked.
"No! No one! That's not it... I just got a brilliant idea! I've thought about it a lot, but only now did I decide to do something..."
"You're very modest," Keona said sarcastically, smiling. Panda chose to ignore this.
"We have to go." Keona looked confused.
"Where?" Panda's eyes twinkled as he took her paws in his.
"We have to search for... Mina. It's high time we were reunited with our old friend, don't you think?"
Keona didn't move. It was true, both Panda and Keona had considered this course of action, but independantly. They had never discussed it up until now. The shadow of the owl three years ago was vivid in her mind as her eyelids fluttered silently. She remembered the realization of being separated from both Panda and Mina. The horror of alone-ness was too much too bear. And now, she had the chance to search for one best friend with her other best friend. What to do?
The sudden change in the mood combined with tentative silence was too much for Keona to bear.
"When do we leave?" she murmured, hardly hearing herself speak. Panda squeezed her paws.
"Keona, don't think you have no choice in this... but I've made arrangements. Since Mimi is out of town, I asked Boss to go into my cage at eight and pose as me, since the babysitter hasn't seen me before. I've already told Hamtaro, so no doubt the word will be spread when we leave this room."
Keona took a chance and looked bravely into his eyes. There were tears! Were they tears of happiness? Confusion? Sadness?
...Fear?
It wasn't long before she realized she was crying, too. If his plan was successful, they would be reunited with Mina! That was so great Keona couldn't even imagine it. Keona forced a smile.
"Definitely. Let's go! Oh, I can't wait, I'll be back on the street again!"
Her words surprised Panda. He wasn't aware that she had enjoyed the daily thrill of street life, and the independant feeling of fending for yourself. Keona was happy to get a taste of that again, except now she wasn't alone in it.
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Within thirty minutes, Panda and Keona had informed the whole Ham-Ham group of their journey, packed stuff sufficient for at least four months traveling (though Keona insisted that they go empty-handed for a challenge), and said their goodbyes. Within five more minutes, they were out the door.
As they emerged through the passage, the purity of the sun met their eyes, blinding them for a second. The magical bland of sunset colors reminded Keona of vermilion fire and turquoise water all at once. The spectrum of evening colors was truly a sight, and reminded them of their cause. Without a word, and without lifting their eyes from the gorgeous display of color, the walked on into the rapidly darkening earth.
As the moon came out and shone lightly on the two, she took his hand and held it tight... she would never let it go.