CFB: Sorry, I would have had this up yesterday had I gotten home early enough. I went out of town to see The Dark Knight in IMAX, at the only IMAX theater around here, which is still over an hour away. It was amazing. But I digress! I do apologize. I hope this update makes up for my lateness.
We have reached the CLIMACTIC FINAL CHAPTER! Before the epilogue, that is, which I'll post later...It's depressing, being all finished and stuff, but a relief at the same time. I'm gonna miss writing it, that's for sure. And I hope people miss reading it.
Thanks:
Michaia: Thanks, once again, for being such a loyal reviewer! I'm glad you like Hamtaro's new persona...he'll be back to normal later, though. It's a temporary thing, lol. Thanks! This update's for you, since you've been a great reviewer these past few chapters.
This time: The Guardian has fallen! Whatever will the ham-hams do now that their only hope is dashed? Can Hamtaro defeat Spyke alone, even with Conquest? Or will he have to have help from a very surprising source...? The Legend of Fate is fulfilled at last with a dynamic conclusion! And, with the party over, Laura is confused...when a certain person walks her home, will her emotions change?
Please review...flame if you want.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hamtaro or any of it's characters. I own Siren, Spyke, and any other characters or concepts not related to the original Hamtaro franchise. I can only dream...
Chapter 9: Burning Resolve
Spyke and Hamtaro lunged at each other and engaged in a heated battle, while the ham-hams below gathered up enough courage to approach the Guardian's limp body, hoping that maybe it still held some life in the icy blue eyes. They refused to look at the wound in the Guardian's red-stained chest, which was, thankfully, almost totally obscured by an awkwardly folded wing that looked broken. Instead, they focused on its fragile, almost peaceful face, now with the stench of death lingering all around it.
"How could this happen?" Boss asked softly. "It was supposed to beat that guy...there's no way it could actually...actually..." He trailed off, too horrified to finish his sentence.
Maxwell looked grim, book open, but useless in his paws. "No matter how many times I read it, the rest of the Legend makes no sense to me. And now our only hope...our friend...is...no longer with us."
He wiped a solitary tear from his eye. Nearly every ham-ham was crying to some degree, their sorrowful tears blending with the rain that fell from venegful heavens. Panda, almost in a stricken sort of trance, placed a small paw on the Guardian's cheek, slicked wet and cold from the rain. It's dulled blue eyes were opened slightly, but they held no signs of flickering light.
"Siren..."
"She died trying ter save us..." Howdy murmured, placing one paw near Panda's.
"Zis is a tragedy!" Bijou wept, rubbing the tears from her eyes with one paw and placing the other paw on the Guardian's shoulder. She had once longed to run her paws over the soft white locks of fur that clung to the Guardian's powerful body, but now the fur was limp and damp, sheen and shine drained from it forever. It was a hollow shell of past greatness; a shadow. It was gone, in every sense of the word.
Their sadness was unmatched by any they had ever felt before, so much so it was almost unbearable. An incredible weight was pounding down on their shoulders and crushing their devastated hearts. Now the entire fate of hamsterkind was in hazardous jeopardy, because the Guardian that was supposed to save them was now trapped in the ice-cold clutches of death. Now, the fate of the hamster world rested solely on Hamtaro. But, without the Guardian...could they hope to win, even with Conquest on their side?
Hamtaro, up on the tower, had never before battled with a sword. But now, it was just like second-nature, as he matched Spyke move for move, propelled by some unknown force deep inside of him. This angered the ruby-eyed reincarnation, as he was exerting himself to the max just trying to fend off the orange and white hamster, now just a blur of crimson, orange, silver, and white as they dueled. Hamtaro was so filled with reason and desire for revenge he felt invincible, and thought that if he stopped even for one moment it would all be over. He could not afford that.
"You killed Siren! You killed an amazing creature! How could you be so evil?" Hamtaro demanded between grunts and clashes of their swords.
Spyke dodged a strike from Hamtaro and leapt backwards, before lunging at Hamtaro with a vicious battle cry. Their swords met in midair, metal clanging against metal. As each tried to get the other to back down, Spyke replied through gritted teeth, "Simple. No one in the Dark Lands has ever believed in the Legends of Hamwall! I was ridiculed because of my belief and love for them, and I want to get revenge on those snide hamsters by showing them all and controlling hamster-kind with the power of the Guardian! My family laughed at me, my friends scoffed me! They treated my stupid, prodigal little brother like a prince, and me like garbage! How would that make you feel, if your little ham-hams treated you like dirt?"
They had to break apart, and immediately began a deadly dance, slashing and dodging, slashing and dodging. "That doesn't justify killing anyone!" Hamtaro bellowed, swiping at Spike's stomach, who leapt backwards just in time. A few hairs were trimmed from his belly, sending a ripple of panic through his body. He was much too close to his ultimate power to lost to this fool.
Now more enraged than ever before, he explained, slashing downward at Hamtaro's feet, "I was on this very tower one year ago, for the awakening of the Guardian's spirit from a far away land. I thought I would be the Chosen One. I assumed I had all the credentials to be the Chosen One. But then the Guardian arrived, flying towards the body it would inhabit, and it flew right past me, knocking me to the ground and killing my dreams! I soon felt hatred for the unknown hamster that now had the power I wanted! Who deserved it more than I? I, who suffered endless torments because I supported the legends from which the Guardian was born!"
Hamtaro grunted and parried with Conquest, which felt like an extension of his paw, swift and reliable. As Spyke spoke, Hamtaro couldn't help but notice the hamster's voice was wavering, his tone was less strong, and more on the melancholy, sorrowful side. It was only a bit, but he could detect it, and as he caught a glimpse of Spyke's face, he was sure he saw a mix of anger and sadness in the blood red orbs. For a brief moment, he could see past the rage in Spyke, and caught a glimpse of what really drove Spyke to take such drastic lengths to prove himself to others. But in an instant, that vulnerability was gone, and Spyke continued swinging his sword with more power and vicious incentive than ever.
"I was left alone and powerless to harbor my hatred, and soon, I realized I bore a startling resemblance to one Emperor Spikuro. Turns out, Spikuro was not from Hamwall, but a native of the Dark Lands. Like me. I told no one, but I knew I would show them, once I realized my true role in this legend. One day, when I was Emperor of all hamsterkind, I would inherit the Guardian's power and rule! Just as the Legends say! I would prove them wrong!"
"You killed Siren for that?"
"Basically, yes!"
"She did nothing to you!" Hamtaro swung wildly at the fiend, his anger and resolve skyrocketing to dynamic proportions.
Spyke narrowed his eyes until they were blood red slits, glaring mercilessly at Hamtaro. They continued their fight, Conquest and Havoc meeting with a squeal of metal-on-metal in midair once more, as Spyke replied hotly, voice venemous, "She was chosen!"
All of a sudden, Hamtaro lunged rashly at Spyke with his sword, blinded by his anger, but Spyke dodged him with ease and Hamtaro was sent crashing into the side of the decaying wall. Istantly, as his head met unforgiving stone, he blacked out, but only for a moment. Rubbing his aching head, he opened bleary eyes and saw his sword laying several inches away, very much out of reach. Hamtaro struggled to regain his senses as Spyke neared ever closer, a murderous look on his face, inching towards the fallen hero with his sword held high above his head, ready for the final blow.
Down below, the ham-hams remained mourning over the loss of the Guardian, totally unaware that Hamtaro had been struck down, as they could not see from their angle. "Siren...Guardian...we'll all, like, miss you..." Sandy whispered to the beast, willing herself not to cry, but failing miserably. She patted it's paw with reverence.
"We know you lied to us..." Dexter said with a sniff.
"But..." Pashmina continued.
"You are still our friend!" They finished simultaneously, all together in one voice even though she could no longer hear them, and they each placed one gentle paw on the Guardian's dead, flat fur, unified. (AN: Corny...I know. But it's all I got.)
Friend...
As their tears struck the Guardian's cold face, the skies above Hamwall began to glow a clouded crimson, casting iridescent red shadows across the entire area. The rain came to an abrupt halt, as if switched off by some sort of lever, and the thunder shut off mid-clap. The wind began to pick up, a sure sign that something was going to happen soon. The body of the Guardian became engulfed in a strikingly bright golden light, and the ham-hams were forced back from the body, eyes burning from the sudden intensity of the aura surrounding the carcass.
"Friend..." A soft, androgynous voice prodded from nowhere, soon lost in the building wind.
"What ees going on!?" Bijou exclaimed, backing away swiftly from the glowing figure, almost tumbling into a disoriented Sandy in the process. Every single ham was forced in a rapid retreat, as the light blinded them and the immense power radiating from it overwhelmed them.
"I don't know!" Cappy replied, shielding his eyes with both paws as he retreated, stumbling over rocks as he went.
Boss, however, tried to force his way back to the body, one paw shielding his face as he squinted, trying to reach the Guardian. But each time he took a step forward, he had to take two steps back, unable to walk further into the blazing golden light. "Something's wrong. I don't think the Guardian's body is safe with that light! Maybe Spyke is stealing its power! We have to stop him!" He shouted, feet slipping in the wet, dewey grass. He knew he could not reach it in time to save it, or stop Spyke if he did, but he still felt he had to try.
Panda stopped him, placing both hands on his tensed shoulders, now far enough away to not be blinded by the excruciating light that exuded from the body. Boss, surprised, froze and stared at the ham behind him. An incredibly focused, contemplative look was on Panda's face, and Boss waited to hear what the ham had to say.
"Boss...I think this is supposed to happen," Panda said slowly, articulating words carefully.
"What do you mean?"
Panda's eyes narrowed. "I don't know, but I have this wierd feeling that everything is going to be alright. Let's just watch and see..." Panda replied sternly, squinted eyes never leaving the glowing body of the Guardian.
The light was far less blinding now that they had backed away, but it was still difficult to see what was going on inside of it. Boss stopped, as if realizing something, eyes now entranced upon the scene again as well, Maxwell nodding in approval behind the pair, book held firmly in his paws. An odd sense of newfound faith surged into each of the ham-ham's hearts as their eyes soaked in the marvelous sight. Boss and Panda retreated to stand with the rest of the ham-hams, standing defiantly in a proud, unified line.
The winds began to blow harder, leaves swirling in from surrounding trees, almost blowing the ham-hams clear away, though they held each others' paws and kept their feet planted firmly on the ground to prevent it. Above the wind, whispered words began to float around in the air like a neverending spiral; the long silent voices of the ancient Hamwallians, led by the soft voice that they all involuntarily knew was the prophet Wizenhart, supported by the low baritone of Genforth the smith and all the various others who had witnessed the first rise of the Guardian over a century before. Suddenly, the ham-hams were overwhelmed with the reality of what was happening to them, as the quiet words resonated in their ears,
"Spiraling, spiraling,
Ultimate sacrifice,
For all of our kind,
Shall awaken the flame within the ice to burn a hole inside the darkness,
And the Sword of Conquest, in the paws of an unlikely hero,
Divine friendship intertwined with ensaring embers,
Conquest meets Havoc,
To assist,
Evil shall desist,
And the Guardian shall finally achieve destiny."
"Those are the words to the second half of the Legend!" Maxwell shouted, as the voices began repeating like a record, soft and hauntingly beautiful, although it was but a whisper in the fierce winds.
Spyke was about to deliver the devastating final blow to his injured opponent when he saw the skies change from dull grey to a vibrant scarlet, the same color as his eyes, and he was instantly distracted from the deadly task. Suddenly, he mistakenly imagined what was happening, and he dropped his sword to his side with a clatter, allowing Hamtaro some more time to recover from his unfortunate misstep.
"My power must be coming to me.."Spyke marveled, entranced.
Spyke, so blinded by his greed, leapt on the edge of the tower and spread his arms out wide, exactly as he had done a year ago, and wishing for the exact same thing, as his eyes met the crimson skies, brimming with an odd gleam of maniacal hope. "Come to me, my power! Come to me! And I shall finally have what I was destined to have!" Spyke bellowed, reveling in the moment he was sure would bless him with his greatest desire.
But no power came to Spyke. No feeling of immense strength, no super-ham powers, or anything of the sort began to pulse through him. He couldn't feel a change at all. Instead, a current of red and gold flames streamed down from a the brilliant skies, knocking Spyke back onto the top of the tower with incredible force. He got up swiftly, eyes wide, and stared over the side of the tower, where the flames were now striking the body of the Guardian. The embers licked at the body, still engulfed in golden light, but did not harm it with burns. The ham-hams watched in awe, amazed by the swirling red and gold colors that swirled around their lost hope.
"What is the meaning of this?" Spyke demanded, to no one in particular, furious he had not achieved the power he desired yet.
The ancient voices still floated in unison in the wind, but the light around the Guardian was fading. Now the ham-hams could see its canine-like form taking shape, only now it appeared to be moving. At first, Maxwell assumed it was just a trick of the flames, but, sure enough, when he was able to see clearer, he was certain he saw a paw or two moving, and the great wings, now healed, extending themselves, now larger than before.
Each of the ham-hams were dumbstruck as to how such an event was possible, but there was no doubt that the Guardian wasn't dead. "It's alive! But how?" Oxnard asked, a mix of glee and awe in his voice, trembling at the sight of the Guardian, which was rapidly coming into focus.
"I don't know! Nothing about any of this is in here!" Even now, Maxwell was leafing through his book frantically, trying to find a solution he had a feeling wasn't even there. Dexter, helping him, seemed equally as confused. They could now see the Guardian on its feet, alive, with the gold and red flames still encircling it, but as the last of the golden light faded, they could see it had changed drastically in appearance and now looked even greater than before.
"Wow..." The ham-hams breathed as the wondrous sight met their eyes.
Instead of icy blue, the Guardian's eyes were now a fiery crimson red, burning with resolve, far more intense than Spyke's had ever been. Its raven wings were now a vibrant golden and ruby, now larger and much stronger than before, adorning its regal shoulders, identical to those of a legendary Phoenix. Instead of one flowing, ribbon-like tail it now had three ruby-colored tails flowing gently behind it, sleek and shining. It's fur was still pure white, but seemed to be even brighter now than ever before. Golden horns curved around its pointed ears, and it radiated an aura of such intense power it almost made Spyke weaken just looking at it. The new Guardian flexed its black claws, pulling its lips back over startling, obsidian colored teeth. And, despite the furious look on its face, the Guardian still looked capable of an unmatched gentleness.
"What happened?" Sandy questioned quietly, once they had finished looking over the new look of the Guardian. It was a complete and utter transformation, but, for the moment, everyone seemed completely in awe of the new creature standing before them. There was no doubt in their minds that this beast was the Guardian, but they had never even seen a picture of it looking quite like this.
"Ookwee!" Penelope chipped in, eyes wide.
"It was...ressurected. Into a new form," Dexter muttered, as if he himself didn't even believe what was before his eyes. "Never have I seen anything like this! This is truly astounding! We are witnessing a miracle here!"
"It's amazing!" Pashmina, eyes aglow with amazement, crowed, Penelope jumping up and down beside her, happy that the Guardian was alive again, squealing, "Ookwee! Ookwee!" Everyone's spirits had been lifted to a great height as they dried their tears with the backs of their paws, Pashmina, smiling, using her scarf. In a split second, as the Guardian showed itself, their hope at been restored in full.
Maxwell's book, pages blown mischievously by the wind, opened on its own to the Legend of Fate. With wide eyes, he scanned it again, and, as he read the second part slowly and surely, the truth dawned on him.
"...flame within the ice..."
Tracing a paw over the words, Maxwell breathed, "The flame has awakened wtithin the ice..." He finally understood the words of the Legend of Fate that had puzzled them and so many others for so long. Ice to flame. Blue to crimson. The metamorphosis was complete, and the true Guardian was now standing before them, prepared for an all out war. And he had a feeling it intended to win at any cost, and it was far more capable of that now than it had been before this sudden evolution.
Up on the tower, someone was not impressed by the Guardian's transformation. "How could this happen!?" Spyke raged, eyes filled with unbridled hate for the creature, even though he so longed for it's power. Infuriated, he ranted atop the tower, "I killed you! I saw you fall! This isn't the way things are supposed to be!"
"Ze power of our friendship must have caused zis transformation! Now ze Guardian is alive again!" Bijou said, delighted, clapping her paws together encouragingly towards a still-dazed Hamtaro and the newly ressurected Guardian.
"How could this happen!?" Spyke screamed, grabbing the fur on his head in two tightly-clenched paws, frustrated beyond belief. "The legend said you would be defeated! This is all wrong!"
The wind died down spmewhat, but the voices remained, and the skies remained blood-colored and dark. The Guardian still glowed with the intense flames surrounding it, giving it an eerie golden-red hue. It looked up at Spyke teasingly, innocent look in its fiery eyes, as if to say, 'well, you must not have read carefully enough, stupid.' It then peered warmly over its shoulder at the ham-hams, who were still in awe, eyes sparking with amazement as it's vivid eyes stared at them.
Suddenly, above the whispers of the ancient Hamwallians, Sirens voice rang out across the hill, clear as a bell.
"Thank you...You ham-hams taught me what being a friend truly means, and you've been that and more to me. Thanks to you all, I know what a truly amazing thing friendship is. All I can say is...Thank you...You've given me the strength to finish this."
Hamtaro, by now, had fully recovered from his accident. Not knowing what was going on below because of his daze, he saw the furious Spyke preoccupied by the ledge, and began to crawl across the tower, groping for his weapon, soon feeling his fingers touch the hilt. Snatching up the Sword of Conquest and getting steadily to his feet, he cautiously approached Spyke, but Spyke noticed this from the corner of his eye. Enraged, he let loose a wild scream and threw an unaware Hamtaro over the side of the tower, Conquest and all, taking his anger out on the innocent hero before Hamtaro could lay a paw on him.
The ham-hams' attention was broken from the Guardian when they spotted their leader plummetting from the tower at Spyke's evil paw. "HAMTARO!" They screamed, kowing that no mystical legend would bring him back to life if he were to land on the cold, hard earth.
"Hamtaro!" Bijou's cry rang out above all others, her paws trembling as he plummeted ever closer to the ground.
The Guardian left the ground in a whirl of gold and red flames. It lithely caught Hamtaro, its broad back serving as a landing pad, smiling impishly and showing off it's dark teeth. Hamtaro stared with wide eyes at the Guardian and was about to comment on the make-over when it looked over its shoulder at him. Its crimson eyes told him that everything was happening like it was supposed to, and that they needed to work together to overcome the evil threatening to change the world for the worse. The ties between both of their destinies suddenly strengthened, and they were struck with a true sense of duty.
Hamtaro immediately understood, and, eyes narrowed with focus and filled with a burning resolve, he nodded. Both knew what needed to be done in order to fullfill their destinies, and both were willing to do anything to achieve them.
"You must help me defeat Spyke, Hamtaro. You are the unlikely hero..." Siren's voice filled his mind, combined with another, more melodious voice that send chills up his spine.
"We can do this, Siren!" Hamtaro said softly, but seriously, determination flashing across his face. The blue ribbon tied round his arm, symbolizing his courage, fluttered gently in the dying wind.
"Then let's fulfill the Legend of Fate together," Siren's layered voice said, as the Guardian turned to face the top of the tower.
Hamtaro smiled. "Together...as friends!" He added, nodding again, tightening his hold on the sword of Conquest, which pulsed vigorously in response. The Guardian smiled at his words, feeling a warmth spread through its body at the last, most powerful word.
Spyke was standing enraged on the top of the tower now, look of pure hatred plastered across his face, stunned that the Guardian was alive and had saved that blasted unlikely hero, Hamtaro, as well. Everything that could have gone wrong with his plan had, the fates conspiring to keep him miserable, alone, and weak for the rest of his days. The balance was clearly not in his favor, but, driven now by madness, Spyke raised his the Sword of Havoc, the crimson and gold flames on the ground reflecting in his slitted, ruby-colored eyes, face twisting into a fearful grimace. He would make his final stand without fear, driven by his consuming hunger for a power that was not his.
"I'll kill you both!" He bellowed in a feral tone, fangs bared.
Suddenly, the Guardian and Hamtaro rose higher into the air on golden wings, stopping when they were high above the tower and framed against the scarlet clouds. All eyes, Spyke's and the ham-hams, watched as Hamtaro leapt off the Guardian's back, angling his jump so that he was hurtling toward Spyke with Conquest held out in front of him, and the Guardian opened its mouth to roar its silent roar once more. Instead of the silent alarm everyone was expecting however, red flames poured from its open mouth instead, and they helped propel Hamtaro towards Spyke, the powerful embers touching his fur but not harming him.
"HYAAAAA!" Hamtaro unleashed a valiant battle cry straight from his heart as his sword began to glow with a bright red light, the immense power of Conquest taking over.
Spyke, taken by surprise, raised his own sword to meet Hamtaro's. They met, Hamtaro in midair, Spyke on the tower, and Conquest met Havoc, just as the fabled words uttered by one dying prophet had predicted those many years ago. Flames from the Guardian's mouth engulfed the pair in the deadlock, but the ham-hams could still see the battling hamsters on the tower's top, matched evenly, even now. It would take just a tiny bit more to give one of them the edge.
"You can do it Hamtaro!" The ham-hams encouraged him, closing their eyes and focusing hard on directing their energy and friendship to help their friend, who was in dire need of their strength if he wanted to stop such a powerful force.
Slowly, the ham-hams began to glow with an odd, sparkling light, a lush silver in color. Beams of that bright light shot out and upfrom their defiant line, striking the flowing flames from the Guardian's mouth and intertwining with them, so the stream, now silver and red, was now a combined force of astounding power, half from the Guardian and half from the ham-hams. Hamtaro's sword began to glow a stunning shade of shimmering gold, and suddenly, power exploded from within him, surging through every inch of his body and through every crevice of the great Sword of Conquest as the combined energy from his friends and the Guardian reached him.
"Thank you ham-hams..." He silently thanked them, and unbeknowst to him, the roaring Guardian was thinking the very same words.
Spyke never expected that it would end the way it undoubtedly was going to. He felt himself being driven downwards, away from all he had ever dreamed of. "This was supposed to be my destiny!" Spyke yelled in desperation as he felt his power buckling, the Sword of Havoc weakening with him. "I was supposed to have the power of the Guardian! I was supposed to be Emperor! This cannot be!"
Hamtaro squinted, tears stinging his eyes, as a flash of more light filled the area, starting at the top of the tower. It spread across the whole of ancient Hamwall like a great, brilliant wave, sweeping the entire land. As the bright sheet passed over them, the red skies turned once again to a darkening grey, the winds stopped cold, and the voices faded away into nothingness, never to be heard from again. And a calm settled over everything, as if a climactic battle had never even happened.
Everything was turning back to normal.
Spyke was gone from the tower as well, dissappearing with the bright light that had just engulfed Hamwall. Hamtaro remained, drained of energy, on the top of the tower, panting with weariness, while the Guardian flew slowly down to retrieve him. The evil threatwas now gone, since Spyke had vanished, and so had the Sword of Havoc. Everyone knew he was not dead, for no body, blood, nor any sign of death remained where he had stood, once defiantly, now defeated. But he was gone, and that was good enough for them.
The Legend of Fate had finally and ultimately, been fullfilled.
A silence fell for a moment as the ham-hams absorbed what had just taken place. "Is it over?" Pashmina asked in a small voice, her voice cutting through the quiet.
"I think it is..." Maxwell replied shakily, closing his book with trembling paws.
They were not sure if they should cheer or cry, as their muddled emotions overwhelmed them all at once. Quickly they decided on cheer, as the Guardian, still spectacular, even if its glow had faded, lifted a tired Hamtaro into its back and slowly descended to the ground, emotionless look on its pefectly sculpted face. Hamtaro had never felt so relieved as he half-stumbled off the Guardian's back and walked slowly over to his friends, all of them praising him and complimenting him on his astounding victory.
"You did it Hamtaro!" Howdy hollered loudly. "Yee haw!"
"That was amazing, Hamtaro!"
"Who knew you had such strength in you?"
"My best friend's a hero, my best friend's a hero!"
"My hero..." Bijou cooed, inspecting his injuries with concerned, but relieved blue eyes. Hamtaro, no matter how tired he was, attemped to return her beloved ribbon, now slightly scorched with flames and tattered with wear, but his paws were too fatigued to untie it.
"Bijou...your ribbon..."
Bijou smiled brightly. "Keep eet, you silly boy. You deserve it!" She kissed him on the cheek, and Hamtaro decided he had never been happier. Albeit extremely tired, but so very happy.
The Guardian watched the emotional scene with softened, half closed eyes. A slight smile played across its lips, crimson eyes agleam. However, it had also used up a great amount of energy, and its limbs were shaking from fatigue, knees threatening to buckle. But it was happy, in a strange, final way. The ham-hams, once they had finished congratulated Hamtaro, looked over to it, and seemed to notice it with a newfound respect, amazement and awe shining in their grateful eyes.
Suddenly, it collapsed in a heap, brilliant gold engulfing it again for a moment. When the light faded, replacing it lay the limp, small form of Siren, battleworn and still in the soft grass. "Siren!" They exclaimed, bolting for the fallen hamster, as if they had forgotten who it was who had turned into the Guardian in the first place.
They surrounded her, peering down at her fallen form with worry on their faces. She was breathing, which was a good sign, but she wasn't moving otherwise. Panda gently knelt down beside her and picked up her paw, concern flashing across his face. "Siren...wake up...are you okay?" He asked softly.
Slowly, her azure eyes fluttered open and began to absorb her surroundings. For a moment, she swore she was having deja vu, as she thought she saw her elder brother Screech peering over her, but as her vision cleared, she noticed it was Panda, and he was holding her paw just as Screech had one year before to the day. She softly squeezed Panda's paw, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, grunting with the effort.
"Are you okay?" Dexter questioned her.
Siren responded with a jumbled mumbling of an incredibly grumpy, "As good as to be expected, you know, having just been killed, resurrected, and involved a serious battle to decide the fate of the hamster world. In other words...peachy."
The ham-hams cheered once more, glad that their friend was alive and well, though cranky, after fighting an apocalyptic battle with the biggest evil to come across the hamster world in over a century. As her mind began to de-cloud itself, she looked up at all of the ham-ham's bright, joyous faces, and she was suddenly stricken with an overwhelming sorrow. All of a sudden, she burst into tears, startling Panda and causing him to fall back on his tail, bewildered. Her azure eyes, flowing like a river, squeezed shut as she wailed mournfully, building up in volume.
"What's wrong?" Boss, also disturbed, asked her loudly, as all of then were slightly confused by her unusual behavior. Why was she crying when she and Hamtaro had just saved the world?
The ham-hams jammed their paws over their ears, heads ringing with her shreeing."I-it's just th-that y-y-you guys kn-know now!" Siren bawled, her voice threatening to fall into alarm mode faster than they could say her name.
"Know what?" Oxnard yelled, clutching his favorite seed protectively.
Siren quieted slightly, and managed to choke out between sobs, "Y-you know that I-Im the G-Guardian! N-now you g-guys will l-leave me and I'll have no friends! B-but I understand-" She sniffed, clarifying, "I did lie t-to you af-af-after all...I'm such an idiot!"
"Are you kidding me?" Hamtaro asked, all eyes landing on him as he chortled, as if at some humorous joke. "Siren, no one's leaving anyone! Once a ham-ham, always a ham-ham I say! Friends for life!" Hamtaro's brown eyes shone with his old, familiar cheeriness as he offered the distraught Siren a cheeky smile. Siren's tears came to an abrupt halt, as she rubbed her eyes with both paws.
She couldn't believe that they would be willing to forgive her. "But, I lied! I'm dangerous! Hamsters are after me!" She exclaimed, as if what Hamtaro had just stated were preposterous. "I'm like a time bomb, waiting to explode, any hamster within a fifty mile radius is in extreme danger and must evacuate immediately!"
The ham-hams laughed jovially at this. Siren looked befuddled. "What?" She asked, threatening to cry again. "You think this is funny?" Her grumpiness was returning.
"You did lie, which was a dark spot on your ham-ham resume. But we still got to know you pretty well, and we all want to know more. Plus, you said an oath. You're a member of our group forever, whether you decide to stay or leave," Maxwell stated simply, smiling. "Plus, I must be quite frank, you're not very good at lying. I already suspected you were the Chosen One on Monday. I didn't want to tell anyone, because I trusted you would come clean eventually. And you did...a little late in the game, but you did."
"R-really? You guys still want me in your group?" She sniffed.
"Really!" Dexter and Howdy said simultaneously, finally agreeing on something.
Panda smiled and said, "Yeah, if you left, I don't know what we'd do!" Cappy adding brightly, thrilling Siren that her two best friends in the group wanted her to stay, "Yeah! It's a lot of fun having another hamster my age to play with and talk to!" Penelope squealed in agreement.
Stan added his two cents by saying, "Plus, you're the Guardian of all hamster kind. That's cool, dudette. Wicked cool. You should have just told us from the start!"
"I'm sorry..." Siren said, knowing that no words could ever profess how sorry she truly felt for having trapped her newest hammos in such a dangerous fabrication of lies, nor could she ever articulate how grateful she felt that they still wanted her to remain in their quaint little group as an official ham-ham representative. "I meant everything I said while I was the Guardian. And I'd like to stay. Thank you all so much!"
The ham-hams gave an exuberant round of applause for her and Hamtaro's heroics, causing the pair to blush with pleasure and embarrassment. "I'm just glad it's over!" Pashmina declared, wiping her brow. "I hope that Spyke character never comes after you again, Siren! Of course, he'll have to deal with us!"
"Ookwee!"
Siren merely cast her eyes to the sky, now having finally achieved her rightful destiny. Whenever her services were needed, she would know and help out in any way she could. But for now...a nice little vacation for the rest of the summer was at hand, and she intended to enjoy it to the fullest, relaxing until the time came for her and her ham-ham friends to save the world again. Which, hopefully, wouldn't be for a while...she was so exhausted after this battle, all she wanted was to close her eyes and drift into a nice, peaceful sleep.
"I'm glad it's over..."
"Well, it's getting really late...our owners are going to discover we're gone if we don't get back soon!" Dexter glanced up at the night sky apprehensively. "I don't think the wind is on our side to get home.."
Siren, realizing that sleep would have to wait, got wearily to her feet and said, "Well...I'll just have to solve that..."
With a flash of bright light, she transformed into the blue-eyed, raven-winged form of the Guardian once more, smiling a bright, pointed smile. With a content grunt, it took off running for the balloons, waiting dutifully in front of the basket, like a sled dog waiting to be harnessed to the sled. The ham-hams laughed, gathered their things quickly, and headed for the basket as well, laughing and smiling all the while.
And they left the ancient ground on Wizenhart's Hill, which was never to be disturbed again by evil paws, and soon departed from Hamwall for the first and last time, the Guardian flying and pulling the basket behind it. The ham-hams felt a sense of accomplishment and pride at having been a part of such a historic legend, but they knew that word of their feat would never leave the boundaries of Hamwall or their group. It would forever remain a secret to the outside world, and all that remained of the Legend of Fate was the Sword of Conquest, plunged into the soft earth in front of the tower, framed in the emerging moonlight. The Sword of Havoc was gone, and rightfully so, and now Hamwall, and the memories of those ancient hamsters, could be truly left at ease.
To everyone else, the Legends of Hamwall, the Legend of Fate in particular, never occurred nor were they ever proven true. But to that very special group of ham-hams, they would forever hold the memories of that day in their heart.
Two pairs of eyes watched the basket of balloons speed away, regarding the retreating hamsters with thanks and pride. A brilliantly silver furred hamster with bright cerulean eyes, wearing a dark blue habit and holding a staff, stood beside a brown-furred, cobalt-eyed hamster, wearing a tattered green habit and holding a metal mallet. They were both looking off in the distance with contented eyes, feet bare as they stood in the lush grass. They were framed by the bright moonlight, and its beams struck them in such a way they almost appeared translucent.
"It is finally over," The silver furred one said in a soft, feathery voice with a preoccupied tone to it, absently twirling the intricate staff with one paw, a thoughful look decorating his face. A slight accent edged his tone, but gave him a sopisticated sound.
"Aye, and with the result we wanted. Now we can rest in peace at long last!" The other said in a low baritone, with a similar accent.
"She was a good choice, I think. Dense, and a bit snotty at times, but had potential from the start, and everything turned out alright in the end, dinnit? And you chose him well, my friend, he was the perfect unlikely hero for the Legend!" The silver hamster smiled at the other, before returning to the idle flipping of his staff.
"Thank you, prophet. I knew you were right all along, old friend."
They took one last look at the ruins of their once lively home, now just eroded stone filled with long-forgotten, undiscovered memories, things only they and those of their lost kind remembered, and then they looked at each other with a look of peace and closure dancing in their eyes. Their smiles were small, but happy and proud, like they had finally recieved something they had been waiting decades for.
"See you in the afterlife, Genforth..." The silver furred one said as they began to vanish from sight, slowly becoming dimmer and dimmer in the illuminating moonlight.
"Not if I beat you there, Wizenhart."
The walk home for Laura that night was quite different from her usual walks home.
The movie had lasted quite a while, and that plus a few rounds of air hockey had taken up the rest of the time for the party. Laura had enjoyed the movie, but, due to her preoccupied mind, was hardly able to focus in some parts. Everyone had departed for their homes after thanking Mika and grabbing their stuff, heading out in the cool damp night, with only the lights pouring from the street lights to guide their way. Laura peered up at the dark sky, littered slightly with a few dark clouds. Hopefully the rain would hold off until she got home.
Laura found herself walking alone down the almost barren town streets, sandals making squelching noises in the puddles that were scattered along the damp sidewalk. Her brown eyes were cast to the ground, still pondering her awkward, one-sided situation with Mika and Travis, and Mika's odd love-triangle predicament with Reese and Travis.
She would normally make the journey home with her best friend, but Kana had been invited by Lance to go out to an ice cream parlor close to his house, and he would then escort her home by ten. Both had called their parents to seek approval, and Laura had assured a worried Kana that she would be okay walking alone. After all, she was thirteen, and would be perfectly alright walking alone. That's what she told Kana, anyway.
Truthfully, Laura was terrified. It appeared to her that danger was lurking around every corner, robbers and cons, just waiting for her to pass their dark alley. She could imagine all sorts of terrible things, hidden in the shadows...wasn't this just like that horror movie she had watched the other day?
"Hey!"
Laura screamed loudly, imagining all her fears coming true, as she heard the commanding voice over her shoulder. Without turning to see who it was who had shouted at her, she swung her bag around behind her and struck the apparent assailant across the face, as hard as she could. He staggered for a moment, then fell with a thump into the pool of light cascading from the streetlamp, showing his identity.
It was Roberto.
She was shocked. "Roberto!" Laura exclaimed, embarrassed at her rash actions, as Roberto sat up and rubbed his jaw, where he had been struck with Laura's bag. "I'm sorry!" She extended a hand to help him up, which he took and grunted as he got to his feet.
"You could look over your shoulder before you decide to hit someone with a bag!" Roberto barked at her, still rubbing his face. He held out her keys with one outstretched hand, cocking an eyebrow. "You dropped these back there, Miss Oblivious. You're lucky I found them, or some hobo would have your keys by now..." Laura accepted them, not sure she should be thankful or not.
"Er...thanks. I think."
"Where's Kana?" He asked, looking around. "Aren't you two connected at the hip?"
Laura retorted hotly, continuing to walk slowly along the wet sidewalk towards home, Roberto now oddly enough at her side, "She went out to an ice cream parlor with Lance, for your information."
"Good. Maybe now that she's giving him some attention he'll stop talking about her all the time," Roberto cringed, actually continuing the conversation with Laura, leaving her slightly perplexed, as he had never been quite this civil with her before. And wasn't his house in the other direction?
"He talks about her?"
Roberto nodded, grimacing. "At soccer practice, all Lance ever does is blab about Kana, or something incredibly stupid like squirrels or golf, I swear, he's the most random kid I've ever met. Same with Josh; it's always Gina this and Gina that, so much so I never talk to her because I already know everything about her. Kory never shuts up about Kylie, but he's better that Lance or Josh about it, all you have to do is call him short and he'll shut up, and Reese and Travis try and outdo each other and argue about Mika all the time. These girls have been ruining our teams' whole mind set, especially for Reese and Travis!"
"Do they argue a lot?"
Roberto rolled his eyes. "Duh. They're our two best players, well, besides me of course, and have a crush on the same girl, and compete for the left wing spot. Geez, ever since she moved here all she's done is unintentionally ruin the chemistry of some of our better players. I even get along better with Travis than Reese does nowadays. We're going to lose all of our games if they keep that charade up!" Roberto appeared disgusted by this, as if losing a soccer game was unthinkable and unacceptable.
They walked along in awkward silence, until Roberto asked, seemingly innocent, but with an edge to his tone, "What did you and Mika talk about when you were making the popcorn?"
Laura blushed and replied, "It doesn't concern you, so why do you care?" She was still about five minutes from home, and longed to be alone to ponder her thoughts and try and sort out her emotions, without Roberto hovering over her shoulder. What was he doing, anyway?
"Reese wants to know..." Roberto shrugged, looking annoyed again. "He'll drive me crazy until he finds out, trust me. You haven't seen him motivated." That was true, as to Laura, Reese appeared perpetually bored, unless he was playing soccer, and she'd seen him yawn a few times during the most heated games.
Laura bit her tongue to hold back the stream of insults that threatened to spill from her mouth, and instead, kept her calm and said through gritted teeth, "All we talked about was whether or not she liked Japan so far, where she lived before, and her wierd situation with Reese, which you seem to already know about, and her relationship with Travis. That's all!" She finished.
"Must have upset you."
Laura glared at him, a look of pure anger crossing her face. "What do you mean by that?" She demanded loudly, raising her voice to match her emotions.
Roberto, unfazed by her behavior, remarked simply, "Everyone knows you like Travis. It's common knowledge, to everyone but Mika and Travis at the moment, and no one's about to tell them that."
Upon seeing her about to open her mouth again, he continued, guessing correctly the question she had been about to ask, "June told me one day. You better watch what you tell that girl. She blabs!" He warned mockingly, smirking.
"I do not like him!" Laura felt her fate heat up from about twelve different emotions.
Roberto appeared not to hear her, as he began speaking again, the same calmed tone to his voice and eyes cast to the sky, "But then Miss Asakura comes along and snatches him up from right under your nose, as well as the second most elligible boy in our class, Reese, earning the hate of every other girl in our grade. Therefore, you must be upset about Mika being Travis's girlfriend, when you like him and Mika has another boy she can be with, so you can have Travis."
"That is not what I want to happen! Mika can have Travis for all I care! It's not like I own him!"
"Right."
"A-And I can find someone else! He isn't the only boy in the world!"
"Right."
Laura felt tears squeezing out from the corners of her eyes. Could Roberto really read her like a book, all her emotions and what she had been thinking? Before she could tell him sharply to leave her alone, Roberto stuck a handerchief in her face, grimacing again, as if he didn't like seeing her cry. "Here..."
She took it begrudgingly, and hastily wiped her tears. They continued to walk, only the sound of their padding feet against the pavement heard in the silent streets.
"So, what are you going to do?" Roberto inquired lightly, after a moment.
"What else?" She snapped, irritated. "Nothing. There's nothing I can do! I would never try and break up Mika and Travis, because they're happy. I don't want to ruin someone's happy, new relationship."
"Tch. Then you're the opposite of Reese."
They were now heading into a more scenic area on the route to Laura's house, the streetlights no longer providing light to their path. Laura, frightened of the dark, especially in the streets at night, began to shiver. Unluckily, she bumped into Roberto, who felt her shivering, and asked pointedly, "What's wrong now?" He sounded almost annoyed, taking Laura aback.
"N-nothing. I just don't like the dark. It...scares me."
Laura could not see the look on Roberto's face as he did the unthinkable. He held her hand. He! Roberto! Was holding her hand. It was like the whole world gone mad!
"Uh..." Laura stuttered, glad Roberto could not see the vibrant shade of scarlet she had turned. Roberto quickly snapped at her, a faint trace of embarrassment in his voice, "You said you were scared. Don't think it's more than it is!"
Laura stopped and let him hold her hand, silently, her face still bright red as they continued to walk toward her house. Laura began to feel the familiar explosion of butterflies in her stomach that Travis used to incite, and her brow furrowed as she tried to sort the new, but familiar emotions she could feel emerging...
"What's going on? I cannot possibly now have feelings for...Roberto! No way..." The words sounded so preposterous in her own mind she could hardly imagine how ludicrous they would sound if she voiced them.
However, Laura found herself saying something she never expected herself to say, to Roberto especially, "You know, you're mocking me about Travis, so why don't you have a girlfriend, like everyone else? And why are you being nice all of a sudden?" Oddly enough, she found she deeply wanted an answer to these questions.
Roberto replied simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, shrugging, "She likes someone else. Nothing much I can do about it but try harder. And to why I'm being nice...I'm hardly nice. But hey, people can change, you know. You just have to give them a chance, even if you think they don't deserve one."
They were on the sidewalk directly outside of her house, now standing in the light from Laura's front porch. Laura almost didn't want this walk to be over...
This pteurbed Laura. It gave her an odd feeling, knowing that Roberto was harboring hidden emotions for a girl who liked someone else. It was as if...she was disappointed. "What is going on today!?" Laura shouted in her mind, confused about the day's many, many odd events. Plus, Roberto was still holding her hand. Weird.
All of a sudden, Laura's front door was flung open, revealing her mother, who had clearly been waiting who-knows-how-long by the window for her only daughter to come waltzing down the street after the party. Her mother grinned broadly, clapping her hands together cheerfully as she saw Roberto and Laura. She called into the house,"Forrest! Laura's home from the delightful Asakura girl's house! Ooh! And there's a boy with her! Aw, they're holding hands!"
"BOY??"
Her father's loud, earth-shaking shout echoed out to them from the inside of the Haruna house. His footsteps heading towards the door nearly caused the earth to tremble. Laura, panicking at what her father would do to Roberto if he saw him with his beloved daughter, quickly shoved the boy into some bushes by the walk, hissing, "Get down!"
"Wha-oof!"
He landed in the bushes just as the slightly overprotective Forrest Haruna appeared seething in the doorway next to his wife, Marion, a rake firmly in his hands and a menacing look plastered on his face. "Where is he?" He demanded of his daughter, as she stood innocently on the sidewalk, smiling and waving nervously at her temporarily unstable father. He clenched the rake tighter in his hands, eyes two snake-like slits, while Marion giggled at his side.
"Who?" Laura inquired innocently, as Roberto snorted back his laughter from his spot in the bushes. Laura kicked him, hissing, "Shush!" out of the corner of her mouth, causing him to laugh even harder.
"I HEAR HIS LAUGHTER!! COME OUT HERE, BOY!"
Roberto, not wanting to anger Laura's father even more, crawled out from the bushes and stood up by Laura, brushing leaves from his clothes and hair. "AHA!" Forrest shouted triumphantly, pointing the rake at Roberto like some kind of sword. "I SEE YOU, BOY!"
Shocked by how serious Forrest looked, Roberto raised his hands innocently, as Laura's father began to walk menacingly towards him, rake in his hand. "It's not what it looks like!" Roberto protested loudly, Laura nodding frantically behind him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGHHHH!"
"RUN!" Laura shouted at him, gently pushing him in the direction of his house, panicking, thinking of what horrible things her father could do to Roberto she normally wouldn't mind much.
Roberto, obviously thinking of those possibilities as well, heeded her advice and began an all-out sprint down the road, look of fear spreading on his face. Forrest charged out onto the sidewalk, stopping to stand by his daughter. "YOU BETTER RUN, BOY! I KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE!! BE AFRAID! VEEEEEERY AFRAID!" He warned loudly, causing Marion to giggle louder and Laura to slap her forhead with her hand in exasperation.
"Dad..."
All of a sudden, she felt a small slip of paper in the palm of the hand Roberto had held only moments before. She unfurled it carefully, not wanting to tear it. On it was a seven digit number writted in sloppy red ink, but legible. Again, she felt the familiar butterfly feeling, this time triggered, unusually, by the thought of Roberto.
"A phone number..." Her cheeks flared up again, and now she had an odd inkling as to who the orange-haired boy was harboring feelings for. Maybe Roberto had changed for the better...as much as her mind screamed at her to believe the opposite, Roberto really did seem like a whole new person...even likeable.
"WHAT IS THAT?" Her father demanded, peering over her shoulder. He scanned it before she could hide it in her bag.
"Dad..." She started, trying to stop him from overreacting.
"YOU GAVE MY DAUGHTER A PHONE NUMBER!? WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOOOOOU!!"
"Oh, boy..."
After calming Forrest down, Laura left her parents to wash up and head off for bed, feigning exhaustion to avoid the interrogation about the party and Roberto. She found herself, showered and dressed in her pink pajamas, sitting at her usual desk chair, pen in hand and diary open to a fresh page. Glancing over to Hamtaro's cage occasionally, she began to write, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, reading aloud as she wrote.
"Dear Diary...Wow, what a wierd day! I went to Mika's party this afternoon and we played chicken and watched a pretty good action movie..."
"Wow, sounds great Laura! All I did today was become and unlikely hero and help save all of hamsterkind from a reincarnated evil with the help of the Guardian, which really was our friend Siren all along - can you believe that? - and then she kinda died and stuff, but came back to life thanks to our friendship and we defeated the evil together with the amazing power of friendship! And I got to use a sword! It was pretty neat."
"Mika opened up to me about how she got together with Travis, and her, Travis, and Reese's wierd love triangle factor going on. I definitely would not want to be in her situation!" Laura chuckled, knowing how this thought contrasted sharply with her ponderings from earlier in the evening. "Plus, Roberto had a total change in attitude! I dunno exactly what to think now, but I can safely say I'm over Travis for now!"
"Awesome Laura! I don't like seeing you sad, but when you're happy, I'm happy too!" Hamtaro began to groom himself carefully, still trying to get the dirt and soot from his fur from the dramatic confrontation at Hamwall earlier. "Kushi, kushi..."
"He even walked me home, and held my hand in the dark. I guess he really is changed. And he gave me his number, even though my dad nearly killed him afterward. Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought he was..."
Laura peered at her little hamster, sitting innocently on a small pile of woochips, his brown eyes curious, concern flashing in her own chocolate-colored eyes. "I got home today and found Hamtaro, right in his cage, where I had left him. But he was covered in dirt and looked so tired. I guess he just got tired running in his whiz wheel or something. Still, it's a little odd. He's such an adventurous little guy!"
"You have no idea, Laura!"
Satisfied, she closed the journal gently and set the pen down, exhausted and eyes drooping with fatigue. Roberto's phone number laying crumpled on her desk, she crawled into bed, slipping into the cool sheets, sighing happily and contentedly. "Today was a great day. Maybe tomorrow will be even better!"
"Yeah! But I doubt it. You can't beat today. Try all you like. It owns tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Hamtaro. Sleep tight!"
"Heke? Good night, Laura."
CFB: I hope I wrote a satisfying conclusion. Please, R&R, and let me know what you thought. And, if you want a sequel, please vote on the poll in my profile. Feel free to say no. I've only got the prologue written so far anyway...though I have almost the entire story planned out. I'm willing to do it.
Next time: The Epilogue! (Dundundun!) So, what's up with the ham-hams a week after Hamwall? And Laura? And even...SPYKE?! Plus, a summay for the sequel...if it comes into fruition.
Review!
