Journey to the Island of Halastia
Chapter 4: The Journey to Halastia Begins
"Oh, I'm so hungry." whined Oxnard. "Can we please go back to the Clubhouse for some breakfast?" When Neteru heard his stomach growl, he said, "Okay, Oxnard. We'll go back to the Clubhouse." Neteru and the Ham-Hams walked back to the Clubhouse, repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they did. Along the way, Neteru held the map in his paw, looking at it curiously and wondering what it could all mean. However, he was just as hungry as the others and with a growling stomach distracting him, he didn't bother to look at it for very long.
Once they entered the Clubhouse, everyone gathered around the round table. There was not enough chairs to accommodate for everyone so some of them had to sit on the floor. Boss gathered as much seeds and nuts as he could spare and laid them out on the table.
"Okay, eat up, everyone." said Boss. Soon, the Ham-Hams and the former humans were grabbing all the seeds and nuts as they could and eating them, repeating "Krmp-Krmp" as they did. Oxnard was scarfing down the seeds as if he hadn't eaten in a month. Throughout the table, sounds of "Packa-Packa" and "Krmp-Krmp" could be heard all over the room. Terra, however, wasn't eating with them. She had gone back to her home so she could eat some of her own food. Knowing that she likes to eat insects, the Ham-Hams didn't ask what it was she was wanting to eat. Laura was repeating "Krmp-Krmp" as she ate a sun flower seed when she noticed Roberto sitting on the floor with his knees folded up to his chest and his face buried into his knees. Laura walked up to Roberto and asked, "Roberto, Why aren't you eating?" Roberto lifted his head to look up at t Laura.
"I'm just hoping that this is all a dream and that I'll wake up in my room any minute now." said Roberto.
"But this isn't a dream." said Laura. Overhearing the conversation, everyone began to slow down their pace of eating so they could eavesdrop.
"I just don't understand how this could be." said Roberto. "It's like my nightmare is starting all over again."
"You know, Roberto, you mentioned that you were a hamster before." said Laura. "Could you please tells what happened the last time you were a hamster." Roberto stared into Laura's glossy eyes and decided to tell them a story he had never told a soul. He stood up and now everyone was looking at Roberto, wondering what it was he was going to tell them.
"It all began when I was only seven years old, before I even moved to this town." said Roberto. "I had gone with my parents to the Yokata forest on a camping trip. Everything started out okay until on the second day when I had wondered off on my own. As I did, I saw this really small glowing statue in the forest. I walked up to the statue and was about to pick it up when suddenly, I was engulfed in a bright light and when I woke up, I was a hamster. Realizing I was a hamster, I began to panic and I tried to call my parents for help but they couldn't hear me. With no one else to turn to, I wondered off, lost in the forest, until I met this hamster. She didn't give me her name but she wore a black robe that covered her body and her face. She was covered in white fur, as far as I could tell, and when I told her I was a human, she placed some kind of magic wand on my head and instantly, I was human again."
"Well that was certainly an unusual story." said Howdy.
"Did that white hamster tell you anything else?" asked Neteru.
"When I asked her what that statue was, she simply said that I wasn't ready to know yet." said Roberto. "Ever since the day I was turned into a hamster, I've always had a fear of them and all rodents in general."
"So that's why you always freak out when you see me." said Hamtaro.
"Yes, every time I see a hamster, it reminds me of that fateful day I became a hamster myself." said Roberto. "Never thought I would find myself talking to a hamster."
"Do you remember the words to the spell the white hamster put on you to revert you back to human?" asked Neteru.
"No." said Roberto.
"Wait a minute." said Kana. "Did you just say that the statue was in the Yokata forest?"
"Yes." said Roberto. "Why?"
"Yokata is where we found the statue that turned us into hamsters." said Kana
"She's right." said Travis. "That outdoor school we went to was in Yokata so that must mean that Roberto had encountered the same statue that turned us into hamsters."
"You mean that you guys have been hamsters before?" asked Roberto. Laura and the others told Roberto the story about what happened when they were turned into hamsters. Roberto listened closely as they told him how they were changed into hamsters and their adventure that followed. When they were finished, Roberto said, "There is one thing I don't understand. Why is it that myself, Laura, Kana, Kylie, June, and Travis changed into hamsters when everyone else was transformed into stone?"
"I've been thinking about that question myself," said Neteru, "and it occurred to me that the only thing you six have in common is that you all have been hamsters before."
"That still doesn't explain how we became hamsters again." said Roberto.
"Neteru, I remember that Glabrezu said that hamsters are immune to the spell." said Mara. "Do you think that some how they turned into hamsters in order to spare themselves from the spell?"
"You could be right." said Neteru as he placed a finger to his lip in thought. "You could be right."
Meanwhile, Terra was at her home, gnawing on some crickets. She scarfed down the cricket she held in her paws and when it was fully ingested, Terra laid back in her chair.
"Full belly certainly feels good." said Terra. Once she had finished her breakfast, she walked up the stairs to the exit so she could rejoin the Ham-Hams at the Clubhouse. The moment she opened the door, she saw a white bird fly overhead. Curious, she watched as the white bird sail overhead and began to descend towards the trees below it. Terra was surprised by the sight of the bird beginning to dive down like a raptor gliding down towards potential prey. Terra was about to get into a defensible position when she suddenly noticed a gray colored hamster riding on the bird's back. Terra watched in amazement as the bird landed gracefully onto the grass right next to Terra the ham-ham still on top as if the bird was a flying mount.
"Hello, I haven't see you before." said the hamster. The hamster was covered entirely in gray fur and he had a black mark on his face that looked like an eye patch. He had a large red nose which surprised Terra since she had never seen a ham-ham with such a large red nose. Terra just stared at him, not sure what to say.
"You speak Ham-Ham, don't you?" asked the hamster as he got off the bird's back.
"Yes I do." said Terra. "My name is Terra and I'm new in town."
"I'm known as Sabu." said the hamster shaking Terra's paw. "And this is my girlfriend, Francoise." Francoise chirped loudly in response, ruffling her feathers in the process.
"This is your girlfriend?" asked Terra skeptically.
"I know it sounds weird but even though we're two different species, we love each other very much and that's all that matters." said Sabu.
"Well that's sweet." said Terra.
"By the way, what happened to the town?" asked Sabu. "It's filled with statues."
"Oh, that." said Terra. "I'm afraid, something terrible has happened to the town."
"Really, tell me about it." said Sabu. Terra explained to Sabu and Francoise about the curse that had overcome the town. She told them about how the curse has changed four people into hamsters and turned everyone else into stone, and how it was the work of a demon named Glabrezu that turned everyone to stone. Sabu was amazed by the story.
"If everyone has been turned to stone, how are you guys going to change them back?" asked Sabu.
"We don't know." said Terra. "We do know that we need that stone Glabrezu had used to curse the town in order to change everyone back but we don't know where he went to."
"Can you take me to the Ham-Hams?" said Sabu.
"Certainly, I was about to go there myself." said Terra. Sabu turned to Francoise and said to her, "I'm going over to visit the Ham-Hams. I'll be back later." He hugged Francoise around the neck and she chirped in response. She then flew off into the air and Sabu waved "Good-bye" as she flew away.
"Okay, Terra, lead the way." said Sabu. And with that, the two of them walked back to the Clubhouse.
After eating breakfast, Neteru was looking at the map that Glabrezu had left behind, wondering what significance it had. It was clearly a map of Halastia. It wasn't very detailed, however, because it only showed the location of all the major cities. Mara looked over Neteru's shoulder and asked, "What is it that you find so fascinating about that map?"
"This map was left behind by Glabrezu and it appears there is something significant Halastia." said Neteru. Suddenly, the door to the Clubhouse swung wide open and then the Ham-Hams were greeted by Sabu saying, "Hamha, friends."
"Sabu." said Hamtaro as he and the Ham-Hams ran up to greet him. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just in the neighborhood." said Sabu. "By the way, sorry to hear about what happened to the town." When Sabu noticed the former humans, he asked, "You must be the six kids that got turned into ham-hams."
"That's us." said Laura. They introduced themselves to Sabu except for Roberto whose introduction was less than friendly.
"So Sabu, do you have any ideas as to how to reverse the curse." said Oxnard.
"I'm afraid not." said Sabu. "I only found out about the curse when Terra told me."
Sabu began to tell his story about how he and Francoise were on a trip and came across this town when Terra, who stood beside Sabu, noticed Neteru with the map in his paws, staring at it as if he was hypnotized.
"Hey Neteru, why are you so transfixed by that map?" asked Terra. Neteru didn't answer. Curious, everyone began to gather around Neteru to look at the map he held in his paw.
"Hey Neteru, what are you doing, staring at that map like a transfixed owl? Heh heh." said Howdy, the only one laughing at his bad joke.
"Is that a map of Halastia?" asked Sabu.
"Yes, it is." said Neteru, taking his eyes off the paper for the first time to look at Sabu. "Glabrezu had left it behind and I've noticed that there is some marking on the map."
"Markings?" said Pashmina. "Like what?"
"In red ink, someone had underlined the name of a city in Halastia." said Neteru. "Zolphville is the name of the city underlined and under that is a note that says 'Daruth's artifact is here."
"Daruth?" said Sabu.
"Do you know him?" asked Neteru.
"Of-course I do, he's my cousin." said Sabu.
"Heke?" chorussed the Ham-Hams.
"Yeah, I was born and raised in Halastia." said Sabu. "I have a cousin in Halastia named Daruth and he collects rare and valuable antiques. He even lives in Zolphville and Glabrezu might be after one of Daruth's artifacts."
"Where is Halastia, anyway." asked Sandy.
"I've read about Halastia." said Maxwell. "It is the largest ham-ham dominated city in the world."
"But I thought Rokugon was the biggest ham-ham dominated city in the world." said Dexter.
"Rokugon is the actually the biggest ham-ham dominated city in Japan and only the third largest in the world." said Maxwell. "Halastia is so large, it is not even considered a city. It is considered the world's first and only ham-ham country complete with its own government and cities that make up the bulk of Halastia. Halastia is a large island that has never been discovered by humans. It is located several thousand miles away from here and, from a human to hamster ratio, the island is even bigger than Japan itself."
"Wow, what a wonderful place." said Pashmina.
"Yus ut duz." said Penelope, stumbling with the words.
"If Glabrezu has marked this point on the map, that must mean that he is planning on going to Halastia and steal something from Daruth." said Neteru. "If this is true, then that must mean that Glabrezu is or will be there and hopefully with the stone we need to reverse the curse."
"Is Glabrezu capable of teleporting there?" asked Maxwell.
"A teleportation spell can only teleport someone to a place they are familiar with." explained Neteru. "If he has been there before, there is a chance he could use teleporation and if so, he could easily have left before we can even reach Halastia. It that happens we would have gone all that way for nothing."
"We have to try." said Hamtaro. "Sabu, can you lead us to Halastia?"
"Of-course I can." said Sabu. "I know of a dock that can lend you a boat that can transport you guys to Halastai in no time."
"Hamtastic." said Hamtaro. "We'll find Glabrezu and make him change the town back to normal."
"And what about us?" asked Roberto. "I don't want to stay as a hamster forever."
"Don't worry, Roberto, I'm sure we'll find a way to change you guys back." said Neteru. "But right now, we need to find Glabrezu."
"Okay, Hams, lets get ready to go to Halastia." said Hamtaro.
"Oopaa!" chorussed the Ham-Hams.
Immediately, they all go to work preparing for the trip to Halastia. Because of how far away the trip is, they decided to take the Ham-Ham Train to the docks. To accommodate for the new passengers, an extra car was attached to the train. A luggage car, attached to the very end of the train, was being loaded up with lots of supplies such as tools, back packs, flash lights, matches, food, everything that was needed for the trip. Laura and her friends were helping with the loading the luggage. While carrying the luggage, Roberto felt uneasy moving around in his new body. The idea of being so small seemed so scary to him but the fact he was going to help find a way to revert him back to normal was motivation for him to press on. Sabu sat on Francoise's back as she stood on a high branch in the trees, waiting for the Ham-Hams to finish with the packing. Boss, Neteru, Mara, and Terra all helped to strap the supplies into the luggage car with rope once everything was packed up. Once they were secured and tied down, Boss said, "There, the luggage is secured good and tight and there is no way it is going to fall off."
"Now that we got our supplies tied down, we might as well be on our way then." said Neteru. He cupped his paws around his mouth and shouted out, "Everyone, get into positions."
"What's he talking about?" asked Roberto to Laura.
"He means that we got to take our seats." said Laura.
"You mean on the train?" asked Roberto.
"Of-course." said Laura. Laura directed Roberto to the train and one by one, they all got into a seat on the train. When Roberto sat down into a chair, he was surprised to see the peddles that were under his feet.
"What's the peddles for?" asked Roberto.
"Have you ever ridden on a bike?" asked Laura.
"Are you telling me that we're peddling this thing?" asked Roberto.
"You got it." said Laura.
"How?" demanded Roberto. "This thing looks more like a toy."
"Well, Panda made this train and I feel confident in his engineering skills." said Laura. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about in regards to how functional this train is." Hamtaro got into the driver's seat of the train.
"Okay Hams, lets get ready to get this train started." announced Hamtaro. The Ham-Hams all began to push the peddles of the train and to Roberto's amazement, the train began to move forwards. Francoise saw the train move and then flew into the air (with Sabu riding on top of her) so she could fly ahead of it.
"To the ocean, Francoise." said Sabu. Francoise chirped in response. Hamtaro directed the Ham-Ham train to follow Francoise from the ground. The Ham-Hams pumped the peddles on the train, repeating "Hamma-Hamma-Hamma-Hamma-Choo Choo" as they did. Their journey to save the town has begun.