Disclaimer: Yes, once again, I must say that I do NOT own any Ham-Hams in this story... well, except Sky. He's mine.
CHAPTER 2 - Mad Maxwell
Maxwell furiously ran to the figure he just saw. Maxwell saw it running to another street, making the figure unseen due to the buildings and cars.
"You're not getting away from me." Max grumbled to himself as he was getting closer to the turn the figure made. As he got to the turn...
"AUGH!" A speeding car went right over Maxwell. He immediately stopped and just stared bug-eyed as the car went right over him. Maxwell then ran to the sidewalk, where no humans were seen. Maxwell continued running and caught the figure in sight, realizing that he had to catch up as it was already going right, to another street. Maxwell forced his legs to run as fast as they could. He felt like he was on a roller coaster, a kind of ride he hated going on, but this time, it was like he was in control. Maxwell actually started to get closer to the figure as he finally made the turn to the other street. He then saw that the figure was heading for the park... right where the bridge investigations were going on.
Maxwell's prediction was right. The figure was heading straight for the bridge. Strangely, as Maxwell got closer, he saw that no police or news reporters were there. They probably found nothing in the bridge and wanted to search for Sky in other areas. Maxwell crossed a road, and got onto a cement pathway that was leading to the bridge. He was finally getting on the figure's tail when he suddenly tripped on the grass as he turned to the side of the bridge, where the crack was. Maxwell got scared and instantly looked up. He saw the figure run right into the crack. While getting up, he started to pant and wipe the sweat off his head. He couldn't believe how fast he was going and he now wanted to rest, but he couldn't. He needed to know what that figure was doing near Sandy's burnt house. He walked along the grass and soon entered the crack of the bridge.
The whole area was like a cave. It was like this place was meant to exist. The only given light to the cave was the sunlight from outside, so the father part of the cave was darker. Maxwell got a chill up his spine. He wasn't used to going to dark places like these. A strange, foreign odor also filled the air, making Maxwell's nose twitch at the scent.
Suddenly, a groan echoed through the cave.
"Agh... ugh..."
Maxwell's ears came up as he heard this. He could tell it was from a hamster, but wasn't sure what it meant.
"Who's there?" Maxwell called.
The groans stopped, but showed a bit in the response. "Who... who are you?"
"Don't worry, I can help you." Maxwell walked a bit faster, but still cautiously in case anything uncomfortable occurs. As he got closer, the groans got louder and sounded like the hamster was in pain. Eventually, Maxwell caught sight of a dark-blue hamster... well at least he looked dark blue due to the lack of light. The hamster was lying down, holding his legs like they were broken and he couldn't get up. Maxwell then realized that the hamster looked familiar.
"Wait a sec... is your name Sky?" Maxwell questioned the hamster.
"... Yeah." Sky replied in a suspicious tone. "How do you know my name? Do I know you or something?"
"Well I wouldn't have if it weren't for you being on the news. Right now, there are groups looking for you."
"I was on the news?" Sky said with a jolt in his voice. "Huh... finally, I got that popularity I kind of dreamed. 'Course... I don't want it to be like this."
"Don't worry, I can get you home. But since I've finally met you, I need to know, what happened to you?"
Sky sighed deeply before giving the answer. "I don't know who the heck did it, but right when I resting with my bud Andreas, some maniac hamster grabbed me out of nowhere and brought me here. Like the speed of light, as he grabbed me, he put this tape over my mouth so not even he or anyone could hear me scream for help. He brought me into this cave - I have no idea how it came to exist - and beat the crap out of me, which brought me into unconsciousness for a while. As soon as I woke up, I found myself here and realized I was in terrible pain. And I am right now! I don't even wanna move my legs 'cause I'm not sure if they'll snap or something!"
"A... a maniac hamster?" Maxwell asked with a shiver, wondering if the figure he saw was the same that attacked Sky.
"Oh, heck yeah he was!" Sky answered, moving his arm a bit, showing that he would've put his hand in the air if it weren't for the pain. "A hamster coated in complete black. Not sure what it was, though... maybe a coat, cloak, blanket... but it sure disguised 'em well!"
Sky then noticed Maxwell's depressed face looking at the ground. "Is something wrong?"
Maxwell sighed and started to form tears in his eyes. "That same hamster... he's the same that... burned down Sandy's house."
"Sandy? Who's Sandy?" Sky asked.
"Sh-she's my love. She's the girl-ham I've loved for...for a long time. I thought one day we could... could finally become one... but it doesn't look possible now." Maxwell was now on the verge of sobbing. He couldn't stand the thought of Sandy dead. He just didn't wanna think about it. He now regretted telling Sky this; it made him feel like he had to accept the death of... no. He couldn't. Why must she be gone now?
"Oh man..." Sky said with deep sorrow. "I'm sorry to hear that... did she... really...?"
Maxwell was close into becoming furious at Sky for asking that question, but he calmed himself down and realized why there was still hope left. "Actually... I'm not sure if she really is... dead. I saw her house, completely burned to ashes, but I didn't see her body anywhere. All I found was...was..." Maxwell was sniffling and whimpering and just couldn't say the last words.
"Hey Max, if this is too much for you, don't think about it too hard. I'm not much of a psychologist and I know I might not even be a good one, but this is just my advice."
Yeah..." Maxwell sighed. He was trying to calm himself down, but he couldn't. He felt trapped in his own mind, like there was no way out. There was nothing he could do and nothing will ever be changed. All hope was a mere dream and will never come.
Sky then grunted furious. "Ugh, what's with society these days! Kidnapping, destroying, murdering... what kind of monsters would even think of doing such..."
Sky suddenly stopped, like he had an idea in his head. And he did. He spotted a white, string-like figure a bit father from them. He then remembered what it was.
"Hey, Max. Max?" Sky called out, but didn't receive a response. He saw Maxwell in the same spot, except he was just staring at the ground with empty eyes.
"Hey, Max, wake up!" Sky yelled to him, catching Max's attention.
"What? What is it!" Max said startled.
"You see that thing over there?" Sky pointed to the figure by cocking his head to the direction. Maxwell saw it and nodded.
"That's our way outta this mess. It seems the freak hamster left it here. Not sure why, though. Anyway, that thing is a giant weapon. It has four mechanical arms that you can control with your brain by putting the "stem" part on your back. No needles or anything will pierce through you and stick to your brain stem or anything. It simply catches the messages your brain sends to the arms with this... blegh, I'm not sure how it does it, but yeah, it catches the messages and that allows the arms to move. So you can mentally move these arms!
"Arms?" Maxwell said in confusion? "What kind of arms?"
"I actually forgot..." Sky said in regret. "It's been a while since I've seen these kind of things, but I do remember the basics. Max, what I need you to do is put it on your back."
"Huh?" Max said, completely startled by this. "Why me! Why should I use such a thing! You're the one who needs real assistance!"
"Hey, dude, that thing did something to Sandy and I think you should give him some revenge. Trust me, he sees you with that and he'll be scared to death! He should tell you where Sandy is and never mess with both of y'all again! How's that for fairness?"
Max thought deeply about this. Never has he thought about threatening someone with a weapon; never like this. Of course... he actually liked the idea. He gave himself a courageous smile, like suddenly, hope lit up his body.
"You're right. I'll show that guy who deserves a burn!" Max yelled out, boldly. A bit too boldly, he later thought to himself, causing himself to blush a bit.
"Ha ha, that's the spiri... OW!" Sky was cheering Max on until he lifted his arm too high and gave himself an ache. "Yeah, give him the ol' 1-2 for me, Max!"
Maxwell suddenly felt no fear. He simply walked right to the object, not excepting what he was about to see.
He saw a hamster-sized set of 4 metal arms attached to a long stem that seemed flexible enough to go on a hamster's back. They were in a proper, quadrupled manner, so there was a top-right, top-left, bottom-left, and bottom-right arm. Maxwell then felt a little bit of fear after looking at the object, but shook that thought away and just tried to put on the set of arms. He thought simply putting his back on it would work, so he lied down on the thing since it was set that way and just let the stem attach itself to Maxwell's back. Maxwell expected to feel something that allowed him to move the arms, but he felt something different. Like some things were poking his back. Suddenly, his back felt the greatest pain it ever felt.
20 needles instantly went through his back and Maxwell felt paralyzed. He couldn't even scream at the pain. All he did was stay there frozen with his mouth open wide and his eyes flickering, like he was having a seizure. He soon lost his sense of feeling, then his sense of sight and sound. Soon, he wasn't in reality. Everything just went blank.
..."ungh... wh...wha...what happened? Where am I? Where'd I go?"
Maxwell woke up in a daze. He felt dizzy and opened his eyes in a slow manner. He found himself right where he was earlier, before he felt like he died. He didn't feel pain on his back, but he felt something heavy on it. He also felt like he had 6 arms, like he had his normal 2, but 4 more on his back. He wondered why he couldn't move them, though. He then only thought of moving them... and there he saw 4 mechanical snake-like arms staring at him.
"AHH!"
Maxwell was completely startled by this. After getting out of shock, he tried to do what he did again: think of moving the arms. He moved his upper-right arm up, then down. He did the same with each of his arms, and then tried moving them simultaneously. He easily did it without any coordination problems. The arms moved back to Maxwell's face. Maxwell tried something... and it happened. The arms opened their "hands" for Maxwell. Each of them had 3 metal "fingers" open. They were dull, but looked strong, like they could grab hold of anything.
"Feeling good, Maxwell?" Sky said in this strangely low voice.
Maxwell looked to the left and saw Sky, standing up perfectly, like he wasn't in pain at all. And to answer his question, he didn't know exactly how he felt. He was still in a bit of a daze and couldn't think of how to respond.
Soon he couldn't respond because he eyes and mind came locked onto Sky. He felt hypnotized and like he was forced to listen to him.
"Maxwell..." Sky said in his same low voice. "I just found out something... Sandy was killed. However, this is good news! The freak hamster is actually a demon sent by the Devil Ham after the demon requested bringing Sandy to Hamster Hell. This demon also loved Sandy. He saw her with you and couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to take Sandy by force. Now, Maxwell, you must find this guy and kill him. Find a hamster you think could've killed Sandy. You'll bring him back to Hamster Hell and that will bring Sandy's body and soul back."
Maxwell snapped out of the gazed world he was in. Suddenly, he smiled. Not the happy, caring smile Maxwell always gives. This one was like he was to do something. Something bad. He chuckled to himself. He brought his 4 arms up to face the entrance of the cave and cracked his neck.
"That little freak is going down."
Each of his mechanical arms were touching the ground and pushing him forward, like it was his way of walking. They were pushing the ground furiously, cracking the ground on every step they made. He soon exited the cave.
"Good luck, Maxwell." Sky said to himself. He laughed and turned back to go deeper into the cave.