Crossroads: Chapter 1

Storm's a Brewing in my heart

By Undercover Ham-Ham Lover

[A/N I do not own Hamtaro nor the characters, after a long hiatus I return to writing, enjoy!]

The clock chimed midnight in the bedroom of Pashmina's owner, and the ham-ham found herself tossing and turning in her sleep. She had spent the day helping Bijou with her own troubles and such after the fiasco that had occurred only a few hours ago, Boss and Hamtaro never really helped that matter in making it worse. Howdy with his jokes cut deeply a mark on her relationship status deeper then bone, but there was never any anger for this comment against her. She didn't feel any anger toward Howdy because perhaps that joke was right, she was the only ham girl, and besides Penelope that did not have a beau of her own. In her dream-like state she was feeling for the first time in her life the shallowness of her lonely heart. Tossing and turning in her wood chips she awoke five minutes later, the pounding of her heart slowly bringing her back to reality.

"What…time is it…?" She asked herself as her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, until she could finally see into what the dark figure appeared to be a clock hanging on the wall, and the ticks and tocks that echoed softly from the device.

"Only that early…I'll never get a good night's sleep…" She sighed and laid back on her side, fidgeting her scarf between her claws delicately, admiring it in the darkness. "I wonder how everyone else is doing, Penelope, Sandy, Bijou - I bet Bijou is sleeping the best out of anybody after yesterday. She doesn't realize how lucky she is…" Pashmina thought to herself "She had two boys that deep down wanted to be with her that never really fight and get along, or showboat…most of the time. And she found happiness with one of them, I wish I could do the same…" Pashmina huddled herself after thinking those words, causing her heart to strike a small chord of pain that echoed through her being all the way to the sensors in her brain. She did want that comfort of being held by someone, she deeply envied Bijou right now, more so as each moment passed as her heart ached more out of loneliness.

"I'm not going to be getting anymore sleep tonight so I might as well take a stroll down the city to clear my mind. I need to think more…" She then thought to herself "Something must be wrong with me if I must really have to get out of the house at night, with all the cats about maybe I should stay in." Before she knew it she found herself by her water bottle, gently letting a few drops of water drip into her paws and slowly bringing the water to her cheeks and calming her, as more thoughts entered her mind. "But I can't…" She shook off some of the access water and looked around the dark room. "It's too dark in here and I can't sleep, perhaps there is somewhere to go…maybe the clubhouse…" Then it hit her, a safe way to reach the clubhouse. The way through a rosebush by her owner's house that Boss and the other hams had help made, a tunnel, was accessible near the back door of the house and as long as she avoided the alley cats that sometimes loomed around there, she would be safe.

Wasting no time, Pashmina quietly left her cage, and snuck out her owner's room. Moving with quiet steps she made her way to a closed back door, and pondering how to get out if the door was locked shut. A small breeze filled the room and chilled her nose for a moment as he looked around the room and saw a window slightly opened. The opening big enough for even three Bosses standing on their heads to get through, she giggled at the thought of that sight, and pressed on up the curtain of the window and out of it. As she got on the windowsill, and peered over the side she noticed a slight, loud noise that was very familiar. Her fur began to stand on its end on her back as she saw out of horror what was in her way below, an alley cat snoozing on the ground directly below the window.

"How do I get passed that? Think Pashmina think…" She bit her lower lip as her claws fidgeted again with her scarf, as the evening breeze once again tickled her toes and fur, then an idea struck her. "My scarf… it might just work…" Slowly she loosened her scarf around her and after holding each end like a parachute, waited for a stronger gust, and when it finally appeared, another thought ran through her mind. "Wait how will this work? If I jump will my scarf be enough with the wind to carry me? She said to herself softly, after holding it up to see if the wind would catch hold of it to give her lift, she realized it would not. "Maybe not…but why?" Her ears perked up and noticed a small flapping noise by her on the windowsill. She turned and saw a small piece of cloth on the windowsill and watched the wind push on it and the wind stay in the cloth. A smile crossed her lips as she picked up the cloth and humbly lifted it over her head and watched as a small breeze produced her to get lifted slightly. The same effect that occurs in some windy days that reminded her of Penelope's blanket, which is why Penelope always held Pashmina's paw outside on windy days. "Because she would fly off if she didn't hold my paw, poor Panda should have known that was coming one day. I'm just glad his leg healed nicely after the accident…" Just then another strong gust came by and Pashmina held the cloth as tightly as her paws could as she counted. "1…2…3…go!" She jumped and the wind carried her off the windowsill and over the alley cat, but with a slight miscalculation, the wind took her dangerously higher as she was then brought higher into the air away from her owner's house and the tunnel!

"Wait this isn't right, how am I supposed to get down! Help, someone help!" She said as tears formed into her eyes. She was very frightened, as the wind carried her far away to the park.

Few hours later at the clubhouse…

Maxwell was the first to arrive on the windy day that was turning into another summer storm. "It's the third one this week…" He huffed as he dried off the cover of his latest book, "Primal Urges", and sat down in the vacant clubhouse. He thought to himself "after yesterday I don't think we will be seeing Boss, Hamtaro and Bijou for awhile, I know they have had enough stress as it is, they should be doing fine though, so I wonder who else will be here today?"

Just then Oxnard made it to the clubhouse, opening and closing the door, krumping his latest seed while balancing the other in his ear. "Hamha Maxwell!" Oxnard said as usual and Maxwell nodded and replied with a Hamha from the convenience of his book.

Following Oxnard came an arguing Sandy and Stan.

"I'm sure she will dig me if I tell her that!" Stan flaunts while shaking his maracas about Sandy to prove his point.

"Ugh Stan that's just gross you don't say that to a girl!" Sandy waves her ribbon slightly, combating Stan's flirtive nature with a twirl of the ribbon by his nose.

"Say what sis? I bet I will score before you do!" Stan annoyed at Sandy replies back with a smirk and a wink.

"Sorry Stan this game has been called on the count that Maxwell's here!" Sandy trips Stan with her ribbon and goes to see her boyfriend who is busy reading his book.

"Like that was a little rough sis…" Stan says lying on his stomach with a maraca on his head.

Sandy blushes and looks onto her boyfriend waiting for his eyes to meet hers; she swoons slightly and murmurs from her lips. "Maxwell…Hamha…how…are you…?"

"Hmm…oh fine Sandy…glad you could be here today…" Maxwell says not leaving the comforts of his book.

Sandy sighs as a piece of her heart felt like shattering after that dull hello as she slumped into her stool and remained quiet for the rest of the greetings.

Oxnard looked around and saw many empty seats. "Where is everyone? I thought there would be more ham-hams today…"

"Hey yeah where's Pashmina and Penelope and Cappy, Howdy and Dexter?"

"Howdy is stuck at his owner's place and I think Dexter is too…" Maxwell said from his book, while turning the page. "But Cappy and Penelope and Pashmina should be here too"

Cappy walked in with Penelope paw in paw as to keep her from floating away on the windy day.

"Ookwee?" Penelope said as Cappy escorted her to the clubhouse and opened and closed the door.

"I really don't know where Pashmina is Penelope, she didn't come my way and it's not normal for her to not bring you to the clubhouse herself.

Maxwell looked up slightly from his book. "That is unusual for Pashmina to not be with Penelope today, but maybe she couldn't get out."

"I found Penelope on my way over slightly moving through the breeze, holding onto many things trying to reach the clubhouse by herself." Cappy said after letting go of Penelope's paw finally.

"Ookyoo"

"You're welcome Penelope" Cappy blushed. "Anyway have either of you seen Pashmina? We were going to see but I had a hard time getting Penelope here so I couldn't go and check for her…"

All the ham-hams exchanged glances and all shook their heads, none knew where she was.

"Is she sick?" Oxnard asked, "She seemed a bit down yesterday"

"She did seem a bit upset yesterday but nothing probably too serious" Maxwell pointed out.

"Or she feels how I do Maxy…" Sandy said very quietly to herself.

"Something wrong Sandy?" Maxwell said to her.

"Oh…um nothing…Maxwell…" Sandy did her best to not show Maxwell by turning her face slightly away from him.

"Heke?" Maxwell said in confusion and went along with the discussion. "It seems like someone should go and check on her, Oxnard, Stan or Cappy? Did any of you want to go check on her?"

"Oh yeah! I'd love the chance to show Pashy some of my new dances!" Stan said shaking his maracas about.

Sandy sweat dropped "Perhaps sending you would be a bad idea, like really bad"

"Oh fine I won't go…" Stan pouted folding his paws and turning his face in disgust.

"Pashmina's not home!" Came a voice after slamming the clubhouse door as the storm picked up, it was Panda with his fur a bit damp from the light sprinkling of rain. "Her owner is worried because all she found was Pashmina's scarf on the windowsill!"

Penelope began to cry, as the other ham-hams looked on worried about Pashmina.

"Where could she be?" Cappy said really upset as he watched Penelope begin to cry more.

All the ham-hams were in an uproar in what to do when another banging of the ham-ham door was heard, and everything came to a stand still. The door was banged again, and all the ham-hams jumped back. Slowly all the hams huddled behind Maxwell who finally turned the knob as a gray hamster did the same from the outside opening the door.

"It's crazy out there, is everyone ok in here?" The hamster said as he helped another enter the clubhouse, the hamster's feet were caked with mud and the fur was completely ragged and in a few knots but all the hams knew who it was.

"Pashmina!" They all shouted worriedly and hurried over forming a small circle around the gray hamster as he rested her gently between all of them, she was covered in many scratches and quite dirty.

"Sabu…what happened to her?" Maxwell said abruptly

"She's alive, I really don't know how she ended up like that but she was fortunate that she didn't drown, I found her by acorn mountain by the stream in that condition." Sabu said as he began to dry himself off.

"How did she get there?" Cappy asked

"I have no idea, but by the amount of mud on her, it's like she was in the stream, I can see why you say how fortunate she didn't drown…" Maxwell said after close examination of her.

"Come on, like she needs some help! Come on everyone help put her in Boss's room!" Sandy demanded and Stan, Oxnard and Panda helped carry her and place her under the covers in Boss's room.

Pashmina shivered from the covers of the bed as she softly uttered from her chilled lips

"Who was that ham-ham?" Her eyes were closed as she began to pass out once more. "Rescued…me…" she said as she finally dosed off what seemed to be in a deep sleep. All the ham-hams looked on worried.

Maxwell touched Pashmina's forehead. "She's burning up! She is going to need to rest here, until she is able to go home."

"But what about her owner Maxwell? Won't they be worried?" Cappy asked

"Like that's true Maxwell maybe we should take her home and her owner can get her to a vet."

"To a vet? Owner? Are you nuts take a look out there! Not even Francois could fly out there! It's crazy to go out there for now! You have to wait out the storm!" Sabu pointed out, as all the ham-hams watched from the window of the clubhouse and saw the thunder and lightning and huddled together in Boss's room.

"It seems we won't be going anywhere soon…" Oxnard said

"Ookwee…" Penelope looked saddened by the sight of Pashmina.

"It's alright Penelope she'll be fine, we can look after her" Cappy said to cheer her up, and Penelope smiled and nodded back.

"You two watch over Pashmina, and if she needs anything Sandy can help you" Maxwell said "What a time for Boss to not be here…" Maxwell sighed and talked over with Sabu what to do otherwise.

Pashmina laid in the bed shivering and turning a bit as she rested and Cappy and Penelope watched the best they could to help, as the storm outside grew worse.

All the ham-hams in the clubhouse had one thought on their minds, exactly how did Pashmina end up like this? It seems only time would tell if they could find out from Pashmina…it seems she will only get worse before better…