Journey to the Island of Halastia
Chapter 7: A Lover's Spat
That night, the Ham-Hams ended up sleeping on the floor of the living room. Just like on the ship, they were not in the most comfortable positions to be sleeping in and they all had some restless sleep that night. As everyone slept soundly, there was one in the household who was not asleep. Through an open window that was located in the collection room, a prowler snuck into the house. His dark and mysterious form quietly sneaked through the room, searching for the wanted artifact. He quietly ran his paw along the boxes, trying to feel any form of energy from them. As his paw landed on one particular box, he felt an intense power from the box. Without hesitation, he opened the box and right at the top of the pile of items was the Caidoz piece. Its sparkly and golden metal gleaming in the moonlight. With an evil grin, the prowler picked up the piece into his paws and once he did, the lights immediately came on and Neteru, Mara, Moonbeam, and Terra all jumped out of the boxes they were hiding in and the three of them surrounded the intruder. Neteru knew that there would come a time where someone would come and steal the Caidoz piece and Neteru and his friends had been hiding in the shadows in order to catch the crook in the act. They held out their staffs (except for Terra since she didn't have one) and Neteru said, "Alright, Glabrezu. We have you surrounded." The prowler just stood there, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden change of lighting. Once Neteru's eyes also adjusted, he quickly realized that it was not Glabrezu who stood before them. This hamster had some unusual looking fur coloration. Almost his entire head was completely gray and his lower body was gray also and the rest of him was white. He wore a black hat with two antennas on top and in his left paw was a black pitch fork and in his right was the Caidoz piece. On his back, Neteru could see that the ham-ham had long black bat wings. Around his neck was a pentacle, just like the one Glabrezu wears, but it was right-side up.
This strange looking ham-ham looked at them curiously, wondering what he should do next.
"Well this is certainly unusual." said the ham-ham. "I had no idea that you were there. I really should be more alter next time I try to steal." The ham-ham seemed very calm despite his present circumstances. "Just who are you people anyway?"
"I am a sorcerer named Neteru." said Neteru. "I have battled with some of the worst fiends of this world and I am here to protect that artifact." Neteru deliberately left out the fact that he was after Glabrezu, incase this guy worked for him.
"Pfpth, you're nothing but a loud of talk." said the ham-ham.
"Just who are you and why are you here?" demanded Mara.
"If you must know, I am known as Spat." said the ham-ham. "As for why I want the Caidoz piece, that is my own business."
"Well, we're making it our own business." said Moonbeam. "Now hand over that piece."
"Do you really think you have the guts to strike me down?" asked Spat mockingly. "Don't make me laugh, pfpth."
"Rista kweesta." shouted Mara and from her staff, a beam of shimmering orange light shot from her staff but Spat immediately opened his bat like wings and took off into the air, avoiding the blast. He clung to the ceiling and then he crawled along it like Spider-Man. With the intent on catching Spat, Terra used her psionic powers to telekinetically grab Spat and pull him to the ground. Spat could not resist Terra's telekinetics so he lost his grip and fell to the ground and landed hard on his back.
"Fancy that, I've never combated a hedgehog before." said Spat.
"I'll see to it that it will be your last." said Terra.
"Not unless I beat you to it." said Spat. With that said, Spat immediately leaped back onto his feet and before Terra could hold him down with her telekinetics, Spat immediately thrusted his pitch fork towards them and shouted, "Zulock." From the three prongs on his pitch fork, a beam of orange light struck the four heroes and they fell to the ground, held down by the force of the spell.
"I can't move." said Moonbeam as she tried to resist the spell. The spell left them as stiff as a board, holding them to the ground. As they struggled, Spat know he had to get out of here before Terra uses her telekinetics. He opened his bat like wings and immediately flew towards the open window.
"Thanks for all the fun." said Spat mockingly. He flew out of the open window with the Caidoz piece still in his paws.
Hamtaro, Boss, Daruth, Barrette, and Seamore all ran into the room (repeating "Ticky-Ticky") to find Neteru and the others attached to the floor.
"Neteru, are you guys all right?" asked Hamtaro as he ran over to their side.
"My goodness, what happened here?" asked Daruth.
"Was Glabrezu here?" asked Barrette fearfully. Neteru could barley move but they felt the spell quickly ware off. Once they could finally move again, Boss asked, "What happened here?"
"Some ham-ham came in here and took the Caidoz piece." explained Terra.
"He what?!" said Daruth. He ran over to the box where the Caidoz piece was kept and when he opened the box, he cried out in disappointment once he his fears were confirmed. "I don't believe this."
"Was it Glabrezu?" asked Seamore.
"No." said Mara. "It was some strange looking ham-ham named Spat."
"Spat?" said Boss. "What kind of a name is Spat?"
"Have any of you guys heard of him?" asked Neteru. The Ham-Hams shook their heads, indicating "no."
"Why was he the one stealing the Caidoz piece?" asked Daruth.
"I don't know." admitted Neteru.
"He could be working for Glabrezu." suggested Terra.
"Perhaps but either way, we might have already missed our chance to kidnap Glabrezu." said Neteru glumly. There was a heavy silence in the room after that was said, as everyone realized the terrible truth.
"What are we going to do know?" asked Hamtaro.
"I don't know, Hamtaro." said Neteru sadly. "I just don't know..."
And speak of the devil (pun intended), Glabrezu waited inside an abandoned building, waiting for his partner to arrive. The old building was dusty and dirty with some worn out furniture and chairs inside. Glabrezu didn't know what the building was used for or why it wasn't torn down but all he knew for sure was that it was currently disowned and the perfect place to hide.
"What's taking Spat so long?" demanded Glabrezu. "He's late." As he waited Spat, Spat himself was outside flying high over the city. From high in the sky, Zolphville looked like any ordinary city at night with the glowing lights of homes and buildings. Spat kept his eyes on the roads below, searching for the building where he was supposed to meet Glabrezu. He saw it from the sky with his supernatural nightvision and he dove down towards it. Seeing the open window as he got closer, flew through it and landed right next to Glabrezu.
"Where have you been?" demanded Glabrezu.
"I ran into some resistance." said Spat. "Apparently, someone knew I was going to be there and they set a trap."
"You probably just aloud yourself to be seen." said Glabrezu angrily. "If you hadn't had taken days to find Daruth in the first place, I wouldn't have had to wait this long."
"Well if you hadn't had lost the map, I would have found it sooner, pfpth." interjected Spat. "And as for why I had ran into opposition during the process of obtaining the piece, I have no idea how Neteru knew I was coming but I'm sure that..."
"Wait a minute." interrupted Glabrezu. "Did you say 'Neteru?"
"Yes." replied Spat. "One of the ham-hams who challenged me said his name was 'Neteru.' Why do you ask?"
"Neteru was that sorcerer ham-ham who challenged me back a the town." explained Glabrezu.
"Really?" asked Spat. "What happened?"
"I used the magic stone I had found in Ankorbak to turn everyone in the town into stone." explained Glabrezu. "I knew that the possessor of the Giga Stone was in that town and I had changed everyone into stone so that no one would resist me. However, I did not anticipate that the stone's magic does not affect ham-hams and Neteru and his friends tried to take the stone away from me."
"But if this happened all the way in Japan, what is he doing here?" asked Spat
"He must have found the map I had lost and figured I'd be here." said Glabrezu. "If Neteru is here, then possibly the one who has the Giga Stone must be here also."
"But how will will we know who has the Giga stone?" asked Spat.
"I don't know the identity of the possessor but I do know that the stone is hidden within the body of a female ham-ham through the use of a Merge Spell." explained Glabrezu. "Before you leave to Rokugon, I want you to kidnap as many female ham-hams accompanying Neteru as you can and find out if they have the stone."
"Are you sure that our master needs the Giga Stone?" asked Spat. "He is so powerful already."
"That is true but without the stone, Bocka will not be able to shape this planet into his own image." said Glabrezu. "Our master, Bocka, needs the Giga Stone as well as the twelve Caidoz pieces. Once you have kidnaped the girls and found the stone, then go to Rokugon and obtain the second piece. Unless you are incompetent enough to screw that task up as well."
"Don't call me a screw up." snapped Spat. "I'll get those pieces for Bocka. I have sworn my allegiance to him and I'll do what he commands, pfpth."
"Excellent." said Glabrezu. "Now do as you're told."
"But wait a minute, what are you going to be doing?" asked Spat.
"I have other services I must perform for Bocka." said Glabrezu. "Just focus on stealing the Caidoz pieces."
"Yes sir." said Spat. "I'm on my way." Without another word, Spat opened his bat-like wings and then he took off through the open window and into the night sky. Glabrezu looked on as Spat flew off.
"Bocka will be pleased once he sees what I intend on giving to him." said Glabrezu. He laughed evilly as he used his powers to teleport out of the building.
Neteru felt bad about how he had failed to keep the Caidoz piece safe so, to cheer her boyfriend up, Mara suggested that they go somewhere to relax and think of a plan. Daruth suggested they go to the city park because it was the one place he would go to in order to relax. Deciding that perhaps they do need to relax think the current situation through, Neteru agreed to accompany the Ham-Hams as they went to the park to blow off a little steam. The park was very different than the park back home because of the fact that it had no trees and the grass was large. Zolphville was so well proportioned to the ham-hams' body size that Laura and the other former humans completely forgot that they are still less than half of a foot tall. Instead of trees, the park did have some flowers which towered over the Ham-Hams like trees. Neteru, Moonbeam, Mara, and Terra sat at a park bench, trying to come up with ideas as to how they were going to find out where Spat was. Neteru resorted to his meditations, quietly chanting to himself in hopes of getting some kind of sign that will indicate what he needs to know but divination has not been Neteru's strongest attribute. Mara also tried mediations but she was also getting nothing. Moonbeam was not yet advanced enough to perform divinations like that so she instead helped Terra. Terra resorted to her tarot cards which she had brought with her to this trip. She had laid out a tarot cloth on her lap and she began to flip through the cards, hoping to decipher some hint as to where they can find Spat. So far, they have found none.
Meanwhile, the others were out trying to burn off a bit of steam, despite the fact that their chances of saving the town has dramatically dropped. The boys tried to play a game of soccer. Although Roberto was still a bit grumpy when he heard about what happened last night, he couldn't resist the offering of a soccer game. They didn't have any goals or a soccer ball so they relied on an acorn for a ball and they simply kicked it around. The boys were roughhousing around with that ball and now that Roberto was playing the game, his old "show-off "self had returned. Daruth also came to play but he was not in the best shape in the world so he didn't do too well. As the boys enjoyed a rigorous soccer game, the girls (Sandy, Pashmina, Penelope, Laura, Kana, June, Kylie, and Bijou) all gathered in a circle and they were engaged in a little jewelry making. Using some of the natural supplies they had and some of the ribbons and beads Bijou had brought, they were working on making bracelets, necklaces, and head bands. Penelope was working on a wrist band she was trying to make using some string and a blade of grass. The blade of grass was much too big for her and the grass ended up too big for her wrist.
"Ookwee." cried Penelope out of frustration.
"Calm down, Penelope." said Pashmina. "Here, let me help you." Pashmina pulled out some string and began to help Penelope make a smaller bracelet. Laura and the other former humans were having troubles because they were not yet used to their new bodies. Although their paws were little different than their human hands, the paws were none the less different to the girls because of how small they were. Their fur covered bodies was also a distraction. Still, they continued on with their game and they were even enjoying themselves in the process.
However, the girls were completely oblivious to the strange figure who was watching them. Hiding behind a thick brush of flowers was Spat who watched them evilly.
"One of these girls must have the Giga Stone." said Spat to himself. "I'll capture them and that stone will go strait to Bocka." He quickly checked to make sure that Neteru wasn't around. Once satisfied that Neteru was not nearby, he pulled out a long rope that glowed a golden light. He tied the rope into a lasso and then he began to twirl it around like a cowboy. He threw the glowing lasso through the flowers and the rope immediately strong itself around the six girls. The lasso tightened and they were immediately bounded together.
"Hey, what's going on here?" demanded Sandy.
"Zis eez not very comfortable." said Bijou.
"Ookwee, ookwee, help." said Penelope. The girls struggled against the rope but there was some kind of magical quality about the rope that held them together.
"You ladies are going on a little trip." said Spat as he came out of hiding.
"Oh no, it's Spat." cried Pashmina. "Help, we're being kidnapped." Upon hearing the girls' cry for help, the Ham-Hams ran to their rescue, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they did. Spat saw them coming and he immediately placed a paw onto the knot that held up the lasso's form. He began to speak the incantation, "Vockna ve vono monia mana..." Realizing that Spat was going to cast a spell, Neteru shouted, "Hogna vana." From his paws, a fire ball shot forwards. Spat was finishing his incantation at the same time, "...vela doona." With the spell complete, Spat immediately teleported away and he took the imprisoned girls with him, leaving the fire ball to sail harmlessly past the spot where he had stood. Everyone stopped in front of where the girls were originally sitting and they were dumbfounded.
"Oh no. Laura." said Hamtaro. "We got to save them."
"How dare he take Bijou." said Boss. "I'll rescue rescue her, no matter what it takes. I just hope she is okay."
"When I get my hands on Spat, I'm going to brake his neck in two." said Howdy.
"I'll do that too, after I have saved Pashmina." said Dexter slyly.
"Well so will I." said Howdy.
"Quite!" shouted Neteru, silencing the arguments. "I realize that you're all upset but we don't know where Spat has taken the girls."
"How can we possibly figure out where he has taken the girls?" asked Daruth. There was a silence as everyone frantically tried to come up with some kind of suggestion and Terra was the one to do it.
"We could try my tarot cards again." suggested Terra.
"Hamtastic idea." said Hamtaro. "Hurry up and read those cards."
"Okay okay, I'll get started." said Terra. Everyone gathered around Terra, waiting for her to make her prediction.
Terra sat down on the ground and pulled out a large tarot cloth. She then began to shuffle and arrange the deck in a way that was required for the ritual. Terra then began to lay out six cards, one for every word in the sentence, "Where is Spat taking the girls?" Focusing on the question in her mind, Terra laid out the cards and once all six cards were laid down, she looked at the letters that were written on each of the cards. The letters were in the following order from left to right: R, blank, U, K, G, blank. Now, the task was for Terra to try and put together the letters in a format that would spell a word. The blanks (or cards with no letters) can form any letters known, providing more varieties to what letters could be spelled. Terra studied the cards carefully, rearranging the letters and trying to make a word out of them. As she studied the letters on the tarot cards, she noticed that the organization of the letters seemed very familiar. She experimented by switching the "K" and the "U" around and then she imagined that the first blank space was an "O," making the formation (in her mind) "R, O, K, U, G, blank." It was then that she realized that if she makes the last blank an "O," it would spell the name "Rokugon" without the "N" at the end.
"Rokugon." announced Terra. "Spat must be going to Rokugon."
"Rokugon?" asked Daruth. "That's all the way back in Japan and it is a very large place."
"We can still find Spat there." said Mara. "Bare in mind, Soshi and Topaz lives there so we can ask them for help."
"But what about Glabrezu?" asked Roberto. "Remember, we still have to catch him too."
"He's right." said Neteru. "Perhaps Terra's tarot cards can give use a clue."
"I'll try." said Terra. She began to shuffle the cards again and then she drew five cards, one for each word in the question "How do I find Glabrezu?" As before, she took the letters written on the cards and then she experimented with what words they can form until she spelt "B-A-R-E-T."
"Barrette." announced Terra. "The cards say that Barrette may know how to find Glabrezu."
"Heke?" said Hamtaro in confusion. "But how can Barrette know where Glabrezu is?"
"We should ask her." said Daruth. "She and Seamore is still back at the house."
"Okay, lets ask them." said Neteru.
"And hurry, Bijou is bound to be frightened out of her mind." said Boss. They all turned around and then they ran back to the house, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they did.
The Ham-Hams ran into the house and up the stairs to Barrette and Seamore's bedroom. Daruth, Mara and Neteru went inside the bedroom to question the two of them while everyone else waited outside the door leading to the room. Seamore and Barrette were busy cleaning their bedroom when Daruth, Neteru, and Mara came in.
"You certainly haven't been gone for very long." commented Barrette jokingly.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Seamore.
"Spat has kidnapped the girls." said Neteru. Barrette gasped. "We believe that Spat has taken the girls to Rokugon and now we need to follow Spat to save the girls and we also need to continue our pursuit of Glabrezu. We believe that you may know how we can find Glabrezu."
"Well, after Glabrezu kidnapped me, we tried to look for him so we could some how catch him." explained Barrette. "However, all we've been able to find out is that he hangs out at an island not far from here."
"Can you tell us were this island is?" asked Neteru.
"Certainly, if you're going after Glabrezu." said Barrette. She turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Seamore, do you have the map?"
"Sure, it is right here in the drawer." said Seamore. Seamore dug through a nearby drawer, groping around through the drawer in search for a piece of paper that had the location of where Glabrezu was. He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper from the drawer and carried it to Neteru. Seamore unrolled the paper and revealed that it was a map of the ocean surrounding Halastia. There was three other island on the map besides Halastia and one of those islands was circled in red ink.
"A captain said that he's seen Glabrezu on that island and twice Glabrezu had terrorized her ship while it was passing the island." said Seamore. "We tried to find someone who can stop this by but no one would help us. You guys may be our only hope. I do hope you can catch this guy before he can cause any harm to anyone."
"We wont let you down." said Mara.
"But how are we going to reach both a far off island and Rokugon at the same time?" asked Neteru.
"Neteru, why don't we split up." said Mara. "One side will go out and try to save the girls while the rest go after Glabrezu."
"Can we possibly arrange for such a thing?" asked Neteru.
"I can offer money to pay for a ride back to Rokugon." suggested Daruth. "As for Glabrezu, Sabu and I can fly you there using our personal zeppelin."
"I don't know about this." said Neteru.
"Come on, Neteru." said Mara. "The girls' lives are at stake." Neteru looked into Mara's determined eyes and finally gave in.
"Okay Mara." he said. "Lets do it."
Author's note: Incase you are wondering, the characters Seamore, Barrette, and Spat did come from the video game called "Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak." And in case there is some confusion about Spat's pentacle, the pentacle around Spat's neck did not come from the game. It is something I fabricated for him to wear.