Hamtaro Fan Fiction ❯ Love Battles on the Floor Again ❯ save the last dance ( Chapter 28 )

And now, after so long... the last chapter. All of the songs here will be taken from the Mario Mix of DDR. Keep in mind that some of the things that happen here may or may not actually happen in the game. Well enjoy and stay reading, because it's not over until it says "complete".

 

"You... you... no good dirty little bastard. How dare you mock me!" Kit-n-Kat wasn't too pleased at what Jam had to say.

"Now I wasn't mocking you," said Jam, "but you are ironically acting some of those traits in some of those quotes though Kit-n-Kat."

"Quit playing games with me."

"I'm not playing any games with you, except the games you keep making and I keep winning."

"Quit messing with my head!"

Jam shook his head and shrugged. "Does she always have tantrums like this? If so, than that's just sad... even for a world champion."

 

"What's Jam doing?" Hamtaro whispered.

"Psyching Kit-n-Kat out." Roll whispered back. "Incredibly, it's working."

"One thing about Jam, he can get you to the essence of your mind." Tango whispered.

 

"I've had enough of you, Jam. It's time someone put you in your place." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Kit-n-Kat." Thaddeous was now irate.

Monroe held his arm out in front of his collegue. "Just watch." he told Thaddeous.

Jam chuckles. "Is that so? Well I guess I'm due for it, now aren't I?" he nonchalantly asked.

"You're darn tooting."

"Well, there's only one person that's put me in my place and he's the only one that ever will. But if you're so confident that you can put me in my place-"

"Look here, I don't want you to monologue about your 'glory days', okay? I'm the champ here, not you!"

"So why do you see me as a threat to your title?"

"You're no threat, you're a joke."

"My teacher doesn't think that way."

"Well you're a joke, and your teacher is even more of a joke than you are."

 

Jam simply removed his pack, revealing the the sunspot to the hams. "Tango, how do you feel of the world champion?" he asked.

"I feel she's really stuck up and pampered." Tango answered.

"Of course you do, who else feels this way?"

The other hams, even Thaddeous and Monroe, raised their paw into the air, as did the former tag champs. "Rage, Emi, what's the deal?" Kit-n-Kat questioned.

"You're out of line." Rage said. "This isn't the behavior of a champion."

"Jam, the only way Kit-n-Kat will see the error of her ways is if she's defeated on the floor." said Emi.

"See, that's where you're wrong." Jam began. "She isn't of errors, she's just flawed. And even though what you say is true Emi, she isn't worth the trouble."

"But you have to avenge yout teacher, Jam." Boss said. "She just made your teacher and you lose face, don't tell me you're just gonna let it slide."

"Boss, you have a lot to learn." Jam told him. "Before I react on this matter, I will eat. This will help me analyze the events of the current."

"But-"

"Remember that last proverb, Boss. Thaddeous, Monroe, leave the ass with her title. Let her relish it, for she will see the message of the wisehams."

 

Jam pulled a bowl of cooked brown rice from his pack, went over to the slide, sat and ate. "He's taking this quite calmly." said Emi.

"That's Jam for you, he's one of those passive-aggressive types I guess." said Boss.

"You guess?"

"Yup, even after all of this time, I still can't figure Jam out."

*

After his rice was finished, Jam stood up and put the bowl into his pack and continued to stretch. "Tango, Piroli please." Jam requested.

"You got it, Jam." said Tango and the song was played.

 

As the song played, Jam took off his headset, closed his eyes and started to gig while the music played. "What's he doing?" asked Rage.

"What he does best," answered Pasmina, "remaining dynamic."

Hmm... remaining Dynamic... thought Kit-n-Kat.

"It looks like he's clearing his mind of all distractions." said Emi.

"That does more to Jam than you think, honey." said Pashmina.

Once the song was over, Jam put the headset back on and opened his eyes. He then shook himself off and headed over to Kit-n-Kat. "Now come and put me in my place."

"With pleasure."

 

Jam followed Kit-n-Kat to the machine. Panda dusted off the arows and once cleaned, Kit-n-Kat and Jam took to the floor. "Panda my good man, set the game to Battle Mode." said Jam.

"You got it." obliged Panda and the battle was on.

"Man finally, I've been waiting for a face-off this big." said Stan.

"Now we'll get to see what this hamster's dancing skills are truly about." said Rage.

"Okay, the Battle Mode is all set up, Jam. Teach us well." Panda said.

"Thanks." said Jam.

"Let's kick this up a notch, Jam." said Kit-n-Kat.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Should you win against me, my title, and a sincere apolgy are yours." Kit-n-Kat explained.

"Good. She's finally putting up her dukes." said Boss.

Kit-n-Kat continued. "But when I defeat you, you are to give your word to never hit these floors again, ever!"

"Whoa, that's a bit steep, isn't it?' asked Sandy.

"I'll do it..." said Jam.

"Say what?!" the hams shouted.

"but on one condition." Jam continued.

"Name it." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Monroe picks the songs."

"No problem. Come on Monroe, choose this hamster's fate."

 

Monroe stepped up to the plate, "Well now, let's see here." he looked through the selection. "Player's Best, Player's Worst, Player's Favorites 1-4, Player's Favorites 5-8, ah here we go, Fun & Frustration."

Once Monroe picked the theme, the game started. The first part of this theme was Where's the Exit?. As the song began, the battlers quickly got into the beat. "I like how this one sounds, maybe we should try it out sometime, Penelope." said Cappy.

"Okwee." Penelope said and nooded.

The first bridge came out and Kit-n-Kat got a few greats, but when the same steps repeated, she timed them perfectly. "This isn't so hard." she said.

"I have more perfect steps than you." Jam teased.

"Shut up."

The halfway point in the song, had Monroe tapping his foot. "This is quite the catchy beat." he said.

"Makes me feel like shakin' my own booty." said Thaddeous.

"Just don't get to caught up in the music that you tire yourself out."

The last third of the song had a bit of tapping of the same step, which caused a good on Jam's behalf. "Haha, you messed up." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Poor gal, I'm saving my strength. Oh well, I'll make it up later." Jam said.

"We'll see."

The first song came to a close, and the next song, Destruction Dance, started up. When the song started out, it was pretty paced. "This is one of my favorite songs." said Howdy.

"What's with the bombs over the arrows?" asked Rage.

"Bombs?"

As the steps started in, the observers noticed them get stepped on, then a fireball came up as one of the steps. A fireball... thought Kit-n-Kat. feeling a bit reluctant, she stepped on it anyway. "I get it now, the fireball could light the bombs." said Emi.

"Whoa, did I just see that right, or did those fireballs move to the other player's screen?" asked Stan.

"Hoo wee, that's interesting." said Pepper.

"See, there it went again."

"Nice touch." said Rage.

"Not only do you have to step, but also volley a fireball to your screen on your opponent's." added Maxwell.

"Not to mention keep your bombs from seeing that fireball."

 

Halfway through and coming up on a 400 combo, Kit-n-Kat missed the fireball and the bomb blew up, taking a nice chunk of her guage. "Yeah, you don't wanna do that often, honey." said Jam.

"Ah man. What a shame, now I can't make up that combo." said Kit-n-Kat, volleying her fireball to Jam's side of the screen.

 

"Man, when those bombs blow up, they do damage." said Howdy.

"At least her bomb was replaced." said Dexter.

The hams watched Jam and Kit-n-Kat finish their second song. And on the last step, the fireball was gone. Next up was Step by Step. "So, not as easy as you thought, huh?" asked Jam.

"I'll admit it, I was caught off guard." answered Kit-n-Kat.

 

"I don't like this song, it's slow." said Bijou.

"I don't like the mines." said Tango.

"There are mines here too?!" Emi cried out.

 

Kit-n-Kat heard that. Mines huh? I better take heed on this song. she thought.

As the song started up, Kit-n-Kat found the beat soothing, too bad the skips in this song were loathed by her. "So what do you think of this one?" asked Jam.

"Nice song, mean step arrows." Kit-n-Kat answered. "Too many skips so far."

"Eh..."

Halfway through the song and the two were finally enjoying it. No mines were stepped on by either dancer too. "I love this bridge." said Cappy as he hummed along.

"It is nice to slow dance to." Emi said in agreement.

"Yeah." Rage agreed.

The song was coming to a close and when it did, Jam wiped his brow, as did Kit-n-Kat. "Well I'm glad that's over." said Kit-n-Kat.

"That song can be a pain at times from what I've seen." said Jam.

The fourth song was Garden Boogie and with it's playing, the mood of the clubhouse started to get pleasant. Jam and Kit-n-Kat actually relaxed as they played this song. I heard this is a quick song. thought Jam.

"I like this song." said Kit-n-Kat.

"It is nice, isn't it?" asked Jam.

"Look. Just cause we agree on how much this song is nice to step to, that still doesn't change anything."

"Obviously."

 

The fourth song was in and gone quickly, blessing both of them with high combos. Song number five was Cabin Fever. When this song began, there was a good pause and then the steps came in. during the steps a sunflower step came in and once it was stepped on, the arrows turned into sunflower seeds. "Whoa, that was pretty cool." said Hamtaro.

"This song's making me hungry." said Oxnard.

As the song went on, the sunflower steps that turned the arrows into seeds broke up both player's combos. At the end of the song, both battlers did a marginal routine. "That one, I don't like." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Eh, I need to work on it." said Jam.

Song number six was Blooper Bop and just by hearing the tempo of this song, Kit-n-Kat showed her disdain. "Ew, squids..." she said as she stepped on one.

"This is interesting--Whoa, tentacle." Jam was cut off.

 

"Well that's one nasty bit of Ika." said Rage.

"Yeah." said Bijou.

"Okay, I don't mind the squids, but the tentacles--Oh crap, two showed up." Sparkle said.

"This is one aquatic number I guess." said Rage.

"Why do I have a sudden urge for calamari?" asked Howdy.

"Because it's showing up on the routine." answered Dexter.

 

The dancers danced on and some of those tentacles snuck up on them, damaging their respective guages. "Cheap ass cuttlefish." said Jam.

"That's squid." Kit-n-Kat corrected.

"Same friggin' family."

"Someone doesn't like squid..."

"I prefer octopus."

 

Jam took some nasty hits from the Blooper's tentacles, as did Kit-n-Kat and both were happy when this song was over. "You almost fell during that. Those tentacles didn't scare you, did they?" teased Kit-n-Kat.

"Look who's talking Ms. 'Ew, squid!' You didn't do any better anyway."

"Talk later, the next song is starting up."

Song number seven was Frozen Pipes, and this one is a real trickster. "Hey Stan, have you played this song before?" asked Sparkle.

"I don't do hillbilly music." Stan answered.

 

Kit-n-Kat didn't have much trouble with her steps.... until the Cheep Cheeps started to alter their routine. "What the hell?" Kit-n-Kat was shocked. "Stupid fish moved my arrow."

"Eh." Jam said as the tricky Cheep Cheeps didn't stir him too much.

 

"Yeah, just by looking at it, I know I'd be mad if I played it." said Sparkle.

"This song definitely fits the Frustration part of the theme." said Rage.

"I know Kit-n-Kat is really mad right about now." said Emi.

 

And she was. "Quit moving the steps you lousy flounders." Kit-n-Kat was ready to scream.

Jam just laughed. "Someone doesn't like fish..." he said as he snickered.

"Shut up. The mines are enough to worry about and--Ah crap."

 

Kit-n-Kat not only missed the step, thanks to a Cheep Cheep, but she also stepped on a mine. "Oh yeah, she's pissed." said Sparkle.

Mercifully, this song came to a close. "Ooh, I hat that song." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Those critters almost got me."

"I hope the next song is the last one, I'm getting tired and angry."

Sadly, it wasn't. Song number eight was Rendezvous on Ice. The took caught a quick breather. "Be careful of the chaos you two." Stan called to them.

"Thanks." said Jam.

"Why did you say that for?" asked Pashmina.

"You'll see. Even though this song sounds nice, it's not a walk in the fun park."

 

As the song began, the steps were simple, normal steps and a few snowmen. "Oh, those snowmen look cute." said Pepper.

"The snowmen do, but the stalagmites don't." said Oxnard.

 

"This isn't so bad." said Kit-n-Kat.

"Yeah, well let's see." said Jam...

...and if on the nose, in came the chaos. It started out simple, but then got complex, and finally got so bad that both dancers were left in the danger zone. "Man, this is tough." said Jam.

"No kidding." said Kit-n-Kat.

Once the chaos was over, and two guages in the danger zone, it was smooth sailing from the last third of the song. As the song came to a close, Jam stepped on a stalagmite, breaking his combo. "Oh well, at least I survived the tough part of that song." he said.

"Well, the next song is the last one, so good luck." said Monroe.

 

And the last song was Bowser's Castle. As the music began, the two shook paws. Once the beat kicked in, the game was on. The steps came in and an odd object appeared as a step. When it was stepped on, it went to the bottom right of the player's screen. "I wonder what that's for..." said Kit-n-Kat.

 

Another object came in. "Oh cool, they're building something." said Panda.

"Yeah, but what exactly." said Boss.

Kit-n-Kat missed a step, which held another piece, but Jam hit it. When it was placed at the lower right hand side of the screen, it took off and hit Kit-n-Kat's guage, taking a chunk out of it. "Hey!" said Kit-n-Kat.

"So we're building missiles as we step along to take out the other's guage, a nice way to end Battle Mode." said Jam.

Kit-n-Kat soon get her revenge as hers was completed and it took a chunk from Jam's guage.

 

"Interesting, they're building missiles as they step." said Boss.

"Actually, those look more like rockets." said Panda.

 

"Here ya go, take this." Kit-n-Kat said as her rocket was launched...

But Jam launched a rocket as well, resulting in both rockets colliding and exploding. "Interesting, the missiles can defend as well." said Jam.

The song was in it's lat quarter and it was starting to get interesting. Jam kept hitting steps, but he also missed some, but made sure to hit the ones with the rocket pieces. Kit-n-Kat missed rocket pieces and ther rocket blew up, taking chunks of her guage away. Jam's rockets also wittled away at her health and when she missed a step, the arrows disappeared from her side of the screen. She had lost. "Crap." she said and walked off the floor.

My job here is done. thought Jam. I win.

 

"Jam's got the title in the bag now." said Stan.

 

Kit-n-Kat watched as Jam stepped along, but then.... he stopped. His rocket blew up and he just let his guage drain away. Everyone's chin dropped. "Jam, no!!!!!!" cried the hams.

Jam shrugged and stepped off the floor and just like that, the Failed word went right across the screen. "And that's all, folks." he said.

 

Shock had taken the clubhouse, everyone was stunned from what just happened. You can best believe that a lot of jaws were hanging low as well. "Jam.... I can't believe you... W-why? I just wanna know why?" Stan simply stated.

"If you were gonna give up, you could've just did that a long time ago, not at the last minute." said Sparkle.

"Yeah, why did you up and quit anyway?" asked Hamtaro.

The other hams agreed in question. "I didn't quit, I chose to stop." Jam answered. "I had this planned all along, planning to stop. However, as I knew, you never saw it coming."

"Nicely played, Jam." said Snoozer. "Heat would be proud of the noble action of his only student...." He then turned over in his sock.

Kit-n-Kat dropped on all fours. "You.... were trained..... by..... the legendary Heat?" Tears began to pour from her eyes. "I can't believe it, I insulted one of the greatest floormasters in history...." Kit-n-Kat began to cry.

"I knew it all along." said Monroe.

"It makes sense now." said Rage. "The calm and collected nature, the carefree yet into-the-zone attitude, the knowhow on Nightmare Mode and about the mines. He learned all of this from Heat."

"You're quite the perceptive hamster, Rage." said Jam, then thought, However, those mode I learned on my own, not by Heat.

"So basically, despite what has happened, Kit-n-Kat lost." said Emi.

"Yes." Rage told her. "She lost far before Jam faced her."

"I knew before he died that Heat had an apprentice, we talked much about it." said Monroe. "Though he never mentioned your name to me, he told me that you reminded him of himself. Kit-n-Kat didn't face Jam just know, more like Kit-n-Kat faced Heat's reincarnate."

"Whatever, he still didn't finish the song, so he still lost." said Kit-n-Kat.

"You lost too, Kit-n-Kat." said Emi.

Kit-n-Kat fell to the ground. "Don't get technical all of a sudden."

"Well due to the events at hand," said Thaddeous, "the world championship is hearby up for grabs. Until the next Floormaster's tournament, there will be no singles champion."

"Nice call, but there's still one award left to be dealt out." Said Monroe as he approached Jam. "Jam, this medal was inspired by the late great Heat himself, such an award I thought I'd never live to give out.... but I'm glad I was wrong."

"What award might this be?" asked Boss.

"An honorable mention." Monroe answered. "Jam, I award you the title, Sage of the Floor."

 

Monroe placed the medal around Jam's neck and shook his paw. The other hams applauded. Jam.... he just broke into tears. "Even to this very day, Heat still watches over me." Jam said as his tears rivered down his cheeks.

"You deserve that award, Jam. I don't think anyone else could get this award." said Monroe. "Heat would've wanted it this way."

"Jam, you okay?" asked Pashmina.

"Of course, Pashy." Jam answered. "My work here is done."

"As is ours. Let's go everyone, time to leave." said Thaddeous.

Thaddeous, Monroe and the formers champs walked out the door. Kit-n-Kat was the last of them to leave, but before she closed the door behind her, she turned around. "When next we meet, Jam. Until then, go on and continue to dance." she said.

"See ya." said Jam.

"Yeah, see ya." and out the door Kit-n-Kat went.

*

 

At the end of the day, the ham hams began their goodbyes. "It was good seeing you again, Jam." said Hamtaro.

"Yeah, we owe you a lot." said Boss.

"No you don't, but you do need to improve, all of you." said Jam. "There will always be a floor to dance on."

"You'll always have a place here in the clubhouse, Jam. Don't be a stranger."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Come visit my farm sometime during your travels, I'll show you around." said Pepper.

"Deal."

"Well, thanks for the gifts, Jam. I may never take off this hat." said Cappy.

"Just make sure you keep it, Capster."

"Well, let's get going, the world keep turning and we must keep going."

"Good bye everyone, I hope we meet again." said Tango.

"Bye-q!" cried Roll.

"See ya!" the ham hams called to them.

"See ya!" Jam called. And just like that, the three Ra's Hamsters were gone, and not too soon after, the other hams left the clubhouse.

*

 

 

In a cemetary on a clear day at sunset, all was peaceful. The only steps that could be heard were the steps coming from one single hamster. He suddenly stopped at a grave on top of a hill. "Well my friend, here I am again to visit you." Jam wiped a tear from his eye. "I know I'm days late, but I'm here. I just.... I just....." Tears ran from his eyes. "Wanted to give you my thanks, for teaching and being patient with me. I owe you so much, that you'll never know. As you can see, I'm a sage on these here floors... and it's because of your faith i me that I made it this far." Jam removed the medal he got and placed it around the tombstone. "This is yours, Heat. And just like you want me too.... I'll never stop dancing!"

 

Jam switched his headseat to Piroli. Even as the tears swelled in his eyes and poured from his cheeks, he stood there. Thank you my master, me hero... my ally. With that, Jam started the music and began to respectfully dance on his teacher's grave. And as he danced, the song of Piroli was heard all throughout the graveyard.