Ch
Ch.4
Breaking the News
Before I begin, I just want to let you know that I'm gonna be out of town from the 9th to the 14th at the latest. You can still review and send PMs, but I most likely won't be able to respond to them until I return. Please R&R!
"Dang, these guys are relentless!" thought Luna as she continued to run down the crowded sidewalk. "What do they want with me?" The goth hamster took a sharp turn into a nearby alleyway and scampered up the drain pipe. Dexter, Howdy, and Oxnard did likewise, not too far behind from the girl hamster.
Luna exited the pipe, landing on the roof of a five story building. Unfortunately for her, the only way down was the door all the way on the other side of the roof.
Dexter was the first of the boy hamsters to emerge from the drain pipe, dropping down onto the roof. "Luna, please…" Howdy dropped out of the drain pipe, landing on top of Dexter. Before the two could recover, Oxnard hopped out of the pipe, belly flopping on top of them.
"Now this is what I call a 'ham sandwich'!" said Howdy as he did his best to squirm out from between the two hamsters.
Dexter glared at Howdy. "This isn't time for bad jokes!" While the three were busy arguing and picking themselves up from the ground, Luna made a dash for the door. Since it was a door intended for humans, there was no way she could reach the doorknob, but she could squeeze through the space under it. As soon as she crawled through the gap, the goth hamster dashed down the winding stairwell.
The boys, having untangled themselves, continued to follow Luna, scampering under the gap. Howdy and Dexter hurried down the stares, but Oxnard was having a little trouble.
"Um, guys, I'm stuck!" wailed Oxnard. "A little help here?" His plea fell upon deaf ears as the two ham hams chased after Luna. "Uh, okay then…guess I'll wait for you to come back. Y-You're coming back, right?"
Although Dexter and Howdy didn't hear Oxnard, Luna heard him loud and clear. "One down and two to go." However, she didn't know how much longer she could keep running. Her lungs felt as if they were in the middle of a forest fire while the two hamster boys didn't seem to be too tired. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairwell, Dexter and howdy were already inches behind her.
"Come on Luna, stop runnin' already," said Howdy.
"Honestly, we just want to talk," added Dexter as he wiped sweat from his brow.
A thought suddenly came into Luna's head. "Wow, you guys are fast. It's from chasing after Pashmina, isn't it?"
"You betcha!" exclaimed Howdy. "I'd chase Pashmina to the ends of the world!"
"The reason you'd be chasing her is because she'd be running away from you," replied Dexter, a smug grin plastered on his face.
Howdy scowled at Dexter. "Yeah, in your dreams bowtie boy!"
"You're honestly making fun of my choice of attire?" snorted Dexter. "This is coming from a hamster who wears an apron!"
"Oh, like I've never heard that one before," spat Howdy as he took a couple steps towards his rival. "Is that you got?"
Dexter took a few steps towards Howdy until their faces were practically touching. "I've got plenty more where that came from!"
Howdy grabbed Dexter by the neck, putting him in a headlock. "Say hello to Mr. Chock hold!" Since they were so engrossed in their bickering, they didn't realize Luna already exited the stairwell.
The goth hamster sat with her back against the building's wall, panting heavily. "Good…that should keep them busy."
"There you are!" Luna looked to her right to see Oxnard running towards her. "Oh crap!"
Oxnard sweat dropped as he watched Luna run across the crosswalk. "Aw, why do we have to keep running?"
It wasn't hard to outrun Oxnard due to his chubbiness, but thanks to her lungs, Luna was beginning o slow down as she raced through the forest. "I think…I burn…my lungs away." She staggered over to a nearby oak tree, resting her back against it. All she could do is watch Oxnard as he got closer to her.
"There you are…Luna," panted Oxnard as he stopped in place. "I…found…you." He collapsed face down on the ground. "I can't scamper…another step."
Luna breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Oxnard wasn't getting up anytime soon. "Good, now I can relax."
"There you are Luna!" exclaimed Sandy as she and Bijou popped put of the bushes to Luna's left. Sandy grabbed Luna by the arm and pulled her away. "Let's go to the clubhouse. There's something you totally gotta see!"
"Are you coming Oxnard?" asked Bijou as she poked him.
Oxnard continued to lay face down on the ground. "Just gimme a minute."
"But don't you want zee food?" asked Bijou?
As if some sort of secret code was uttered, Oxnard popped up and dashed full speed to the clubhouse. "Come to papa!"
"Come on Luna, you're gonna like, totally love what we did with the clubhouse!" exclaimed Sandy as she pulled Luna along.
The goth hamster was much too tired to attempt to escape. "I hate my life."
Luna, Sandy, Bijou and Oxnard walked down the dark tunnel until they were at the clubhouse's door. Oxnard opened it for the girls, allowing them to enter it. Luna didn't even take three steps inside when the rest of the ham hams popped out of nowhere. "SURPRISE!"
The goth hamster nearly had a heart attack. Scaring someone half to death after running a while wasn't very good on one's heart. Along with the ham hams, the room was covered in colorful and sparkly banners, streamers, balloons, and party hats. To Luna, it was just so…sickening.
"We thought we should throw you a party as a celebration for meeting you," explained Hamtaro. "So, how…"
"What the heck is this crap?" shouted Luna. "Colorful streamers and sparkly stuff…I wanna puke! You think I actually like this stuff? Well I don't!"
The rest of the ham hams were quiet until Pashmina spoke up. "So, you don'tlike it?"
"Heck no!" spat Luna as she grabbed a balloon, popping it in her paws and throwing it at the group. "And you know what? I don't like you guys either! You're all annoying freaks who need to leave me alone!"
Boss's temper had boiled past its peaking point and it he couldn't hold it in any longer. "We're the freaks? You're the one who looks like something from Halloween Town! You should be happy we actually pity you enough to throw you a party since your owner died!"
We weren't supposed to tell her yet!" the ham hams hissed at Boss.
"Well, she had to know eventually!" snorted Boss as he crossed his arms. Luna was quickly upon his, grabbing him by the throat. "What the heck are you talking about? You've got five seconds before I rip out your spinal chord!"
"I'm sorry Luna," replied Maxwell as he handed her the newspaper article. "But we're not lying."
Luna took a few moments to scan through the article before looking back up at the ham hams. "T-This is some sort of sick joke, right? If it is, I'll kill you all!"
"We don't have the ability to replicate a human newspaper," replied Maxwell as he shook his head.
"Well, there is the Ham Ham Times," noted Hamtaro.
Maxwell glared at the orange and white hamster. "Not now Hamtaro." He turned back to Luna, who's tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "Luna we're…"
"Just leave me alone!" shouted Luna as she pushed Maxwell over one of the stools and ran out the door. "Stay away from me!"
Well, now she knows. I tried to add a little comic relief during the chase so this chapter wouldn't be totally depressing, so I hope you had a couple laughs. I'll have the final chapter up when I return from out of town. Please R&R!