Journey to the Island of Halastia
Chapter 8: The Dividing
Now that the girls have been kidnapped, the situation has become even more dire. After carefully planning out their strategy, they agreed to send one team to go after Spat and the girls while another team will go after Glabrezu. The team that will go after Spat and the girls will include Boss, Maxwell, Stan, Hamtaro, Howdy, Dexter, Travis, Cappy, Panda, Oxnard, and Roberto. This team will take a ship back to Japan using the money Daruth loaned them and then they will go to Rokugon where Spat, presumably, is located. The other team, which includes Terra, Neteru, Mara, and Moonbeam, will take Daruth and Sabu's zeppelin to the island where Glabrezu has been hiding. There were mixed feelings as they all went their separate ways but despite their situation, they knew they had a duty to fulfill and they had to be strong because so much depended on them.
Terra, Neteru, Mara, and Moonbeam all wore their back packs as they followed Daruth and Sabu to the air port where their zeppelin was kept. This time, they got to take those public transportation trains to the air port (as mentioned in chapter six). Once the train stopped by the air port, they all stepped out of it and walked over to the front gates leading to the air port, repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they did.
"Where did you guys get a zeppelin?" asked Moonbeam.
"We actually built it ourselves." said Daruth as he placed his access key into the card key slot located by the fence. Once the device accepted the key, there was an electrical buzz as the gate opened automatically.
"You made the zeppelin?" asked Neteru.
"Yes." said Sabu. "Daruth and I built it shortly before I moved out of Halastia. We used it to visit the other islands around Halastia and we even got to see parts of Asia and Australia but eventually we stopped using it once I moved."
"Is it still capable of flying?" asked Terra.
"It depends if you don't pop it with your quills." said Sabu jokingly.
"Haha, very funny." said Terra zeppelin that stood on its own parking space. The zeppelin itself was built with a very crude design. The balloon on top was made with a brownish cloth that was inflated with helium and was shaped like a blimp. Under the zeppelin was a large wooden deck that looked like the deck of a ship and it had some chairs and a large steering wheel, like the ones you would see on old fashioned ships.
"What a piece of junk." said Moonbeam. "Who would ride in that thing?"
"We would because that is our zeppelin." said Sabu.
"Heke?" said Moonbeam, surprised. "That old thing?"
"Well, it has gotten a bit old and dirty from lack of use but it still flies." said Daruth.
"Yeah, so everyone better get on it before it biodegrades, haha." said, Sabu laughing at his joke.
"Great, we got another Howdy." said Neteru sarcastically. Sabu made a sweat drop out of embarrassment.
They boarded the zeppelin by using a small ramp. Once everyone was aboard, a small door was closed upon the gap in the railing that allowed them on.
"Okay Sabu, you get behind the steering wheel while I untie the zeppelin." said Daruth.
"You got it, cuz." said Sabu. Sabu ran over to the ship-like steering wheel and grabbed onto it. Meanwhile, Daruth was hastily untying the ropes that held the zeppelin to the ground and once the ropes were removed, the zeppelin immediately lifted off into the air. Neteru and the others looked over the sides of the zeppelin as it floated high into the air. It was the first time either one of them had flown before and they were amazed at the sight of all the buildings below as they grew small and smaller with every foot they traveled. Sabu steered the zeppelin like a ship, lifting it higher and higher into the air. Once they rose high enough, they got to see all of Halastia. Every city, every forest, every lake, every mountain, every beach, every single detail of the Ham-Ham Continent could be seen from in the sky.
"Wow, Halastia looks so beautiful from up here." said Terra.
"I feel like I can touch the sky from up here." said Moonbeam.
"Enjoy it while you can." said Daruth.
"Yeah, soon we will be flying high over open ocean and you wont be able to see Halastia." said Sabu. Taking their advice, Neteru and his companions just spent their time watching Halastia below.
"You know, it is no wonder why ham-hams have chosen to build cities here." said Neteru. "It's just well suited for them. In Halastia, there is temperate climates, good weather, no large animals, and it's completely free of human contact. This is ham-ham paradise."
"It certainly is." said Mara.
"Of-course, if you live in Halastia, you wont have any human companions." pointed out Moonbeam. "I miss Jake."
"I understand how you must feel." said Mara. "Don't worry, we'll find Glabrezu and change him and everyone else back to normal. You'll see." Moonbeam just smiled. Neteru looked down upon the island below and thought to himself, "I hope the others are doing okay."
While Neteru and his friends are enjoying the beautiful island from the sky, the rest of the Ham-Hams (Boss, Maxwell, Stan, Hamtaro, Howdy, Dexter, Travis, Cappy, Panda, Oxnard, and Roberto) were at the docks where they had first accessed Halastia so they can catch the next boat back to Japan so they can reach Rokugon. With their back packs on, they wondered through the crowded docks, repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they did.
"Are we there yet?" complained Roberto.
"We're almost there." said Boss. "We need to find a boat called 'The Ham-Star."
"There it is, I see it." said Cappy while pointing forwards. The Ham-Hams all turned their gaze in the direction of Cappy's finger and their gaze landed on a large white boat with the name "Ham-Star" painted on it in black letters.
"Good eye, Cappy." said Boss.
"What are we waiting for? Lets get on board." said Roberto as he sprinted forwards, repeating "Badda-Badda" as he did.
"Roberto, wait up." said Maxwell as he and the others chased after him.
Leading up to the boat was a long ramp that aloud passengers aboard. Guarding the ramp was a white hamster who was wearing a white captain's hat and suit. Roberto ran up to the ham-ham and the guard held up his paw to stop him.
"Do you have your ticket, sir?" asked the guard.
"Huh." replied Roberto. "I don't have it with me. I think my friends have it."
"And is that them?" asked the guard pointing behind Roberto. Roberto turned around in time to see the other Ham-Hams catch up to Roberto.
"Roberto, don't go running off like that." said Boss.
"He sure can run, though." said Dexter.
"Yeah, like a bare foot rabbit on a hot frying pan. Hehe." said Howdy, laughing at his lame joke. Ignoring Howdy and Dexter, Boss pulled out their tickets from his back pack and gave them to the guard. Once the guard was sure they were real, he put them in his pocket and said, "Welcome aboard. I am Captain Jason and I'll be your captain for the trip." He gestured for them to follow and he led them up the ramps and onto the ship. Once they were on the ship, the Ham-Hams quickly realized that this ship was going to be better than the last one they had ridden because the ship was much more larger and more cleaner than the old cargo ship. The captain led them down to the floor below the ship's deck where the rooms were and they were led to two conjoining rooms that were rented by Daruth.
"Here are your rooms." said the captain. "Rooms 14 and 15 are yours and these are the keys." The captain gave the keys to the rooms to Boss.
"I'll be in the control room." said the captain. "We will be departing in thirty minutes." The captain then left without another word.
Boss pulled out the keys and then placed one of them into the lock to the room. He opened the door and the Ham-Hams were greeted by a plain looking white room with two round windows along the wall. The only furniture in the room was a single bunk bed and a small table next to the wall.
"There doesn't appear to be enough beds for all of us so I guess the majority of us will sleep on the floor." said Boss.
"Oh man." said Roberto.
"Well, lets see what is in the other room." said Maxwell. He grabbed one of the keys in Boss's paw and then used the key to open the door to the next room over. Maxwell looked into the room and he quickly realized that the other room looked exactly alike the other room.
"Well, at least we wont be competing for the best room." said Maxwell.
"So now what do we do?" asked Panda.
"Why don't we go out and see the ship set sail." said Maxwell.
"Might as well." said Oxnard. The Ham-Hams walked up to the deck, repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they did. As the captain had said, the ship set sailed thirty minutes later and once again, the Ham-Hams got to watch themselves sail away from the docks with Boss and Travis leaning over the railing, trying to hold in their lunch.
And so their journeys began. Neteru and his companions rode in Daruth and Sabu's zeppelin, on their journey to the island where Glabrezu was hiding. They spent much of the time admiring the view from the sky. Whenever that got boring, they swapped stories and even played card games with an extra deck of tarot cards Terra had brought. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ham-Hams were on the ship back to Japan. The ship they had gotten a ride on was much more advanced and faster than the old cargo boat they were on. The ship wasn't very luxurious but they did manage to amuse themselves with games and conversations. Of-course, Boss and Travis spent half the trip trying not to throw up from their sea sickness. Their journeys lasted for the rest of the day and the night. It wasn't until the next morning that their journeys became more serious.
The boat finally arrived at Japan. It was 5:50 in the morning so it was still dark and the Ham-Hams were rather tired from having to get up so early. Everyone had droopy eyes except for Boss who was used to getting up so early. They all stood by the railing with their back packs on, watching the ship pull into the dock.
"Oowah." yawned Howdy. "Why did the ship have to arrive so early?"
"At least it's a warm night." said Maxwell. The Ham-Hams didn't talk much as they watched the ship pull up into the docks. Once the boat had been tied and they were aloud off the boat, they all marched off of the boat and then headed on their way on foot to Rokugon, repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they did. They trekked out of the docks and into the open forests. Since it was still dark out, the moonlight and the bright stars overhead gave the forest an eerie look to it. The forest was so dark, it made Oxnard shake in fright at the sight of all the spooky shadows and he jumped at every small sound. Many of the Ham-Hams wished they could use the Ham-Ham Train instead of walking all the way to Rokugon but the Ham-Ham Train was still under Mara's merge spell and the Ham-Hams had arrived to Japan at a different dock than they had left from so the train was still miles away. However, their bleak and dark environment was improved a bit when the sun began to rise in the sky. Maxwell continuously admired the beautiful orange color of the sky as the sun rose into the sky to begin a new day. Out of all the Ham-Hams on that hike, Maxwell was the only one who was admiring the view.
Once the sun rose high enough to illuminate the forest, Oxnard was starting to complain loudly.
"I'm hungry, can we please stop for some breakfast." complained Oxnard.
"Yes, this is way too much work on an empty stomach." said Dexter.
"Okay, we will stop for some food." said Boss. With some relief, they all sat down on the ground and began to eat some seeds they were carrying in their back packs. Oxnard eagerly pulled out a seed before he sat down and he began to gnaw on it, repeating "Packa-Packa" as he did and once he got the shelf off, he bit into the seed, saying "Krmp" loudly. Roberto pulled out a seed from his back pack and sighed.
"Sun flower seeds again." said Roberto. "Don't you guys eat anything else besides seeds?"
"They do kind of grow on you, though." said Travis before getting to work on his seeds. As they ate, they heard the sound of wings. Boss looked up at the sky to see if the wings were coming from a predatory bird but he could not see the origin of the sound.
"Where is that flapping sound coming from?" asked Maxwell.
"I can't tell." said Boss. "There must be a pigeon somewhere." They continued eating but they still could hear the sound of the wings beating and growing closer. Concerned, Boss stood up and stared into the forest.
"What's wrong, Boss?" asked Cappy.
"There is something coming." said Boss. Everyone stopped eating for a moment as they listened to the sound.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a small object descended from the trees and flew towards Boss like a torpedo. It was so fast that Boss didn't even have time to shout out in surprise. The winged object landed right in front of Boss, its long white wings protruding from behind a black robe that concealed the creature's identity.
"Who are you?" demanded Boss as the other Ham-Hams began to stand up to face the unknown stranger.
"I'm just here for some breakfast." said a female voice from underneath the robes, surprising the Ham-Hams. While laughing loudly, the masked figure took of her robes and revealed that she was a Ham-Ham with wings. The Ham-Ham was entirely white and she had small white bird wings. Around her head was a golden band that held up a large gold ring over her head with a single rod. In her right paw, she held up a long golden rod with a star on the tip and a pentacle hung around her neck.
"Haha, sorry, I couldn't resist but make a grand entrance." said the ham-ham.
"Just who are you?" demanded Boss.
"My name is Harmony." said the ham-ham. "I'm on my way to Rokugon."
"What a coincidence, so are we." said Panda. "Why don't you sit down."
"Okay." said Harmony as she sat down. She then held up her wand and said, "Seed oh naunas." and her wand glowed brightly once the spell was cast and from her wand, a pile of seeds appeared in front of her.
"Heke, how did you do that?" asked Boss.
"Just a little magic trick." said Harmony. She then picked up a seed and began eating. Despite how much she had scared them earlier, her kind of humorous nature allowed her to quickly gain the trust of the Ham-Hams.
They didn't talk much for a few minutes until Stan asked, "Yo gorgeous, what's with the wings?"
"Yeah, where did you get them?" asked Hamtaro.
"I've always had them." said Harmony. "You see, I'm a celestial."
"A what?" asked Maxwell.
"A celestial is an angelic spirit from the plane known as Celestia, the home of the celestials." explained Harmony.
"Celestia is in a plan?" said Hamtaro. "Does Celestia fly around or something?"
"No." said Harmony with a laugh. "A plane is an alternate universe and the plane I come from is called Celestia."
"Does all celestials have wings like yours?" asked Howdy.
"Some of them do but not all." said Harmony.
"If you're from another dimension, then how did you get here?" asked Roberto.
"The only way to cross different planes is by opening a portal." explained Harmony. "Everywhere, there are portals that are invisible to the naked eye but with the right spell, you can open the portal and cross over to a different dimension. Right now, I'm here to stop a celestial named Spat from obtaining one of the Caidoz pieces." With the mention of the name "Spat," everyone quickly turned their gaze towards Harmony.
"Wait a minute, you know Spat?" asked Boss.
"Yes, and I must stop him from obtaining the Caidoz pieces." said Harmony. "Why do you ask?"
"We're after Spat, too." said Boss. "He had kidnapped our friends."
"Oh, I heard about your friends." said Harmony. " Spat had apparently left them to a barbaric tribe known as the Bobusha. In the hands of that tribe, they would do terrible things to your friends."
"What?" shouted Boss. "How do you know this?"
"I saw Spat make the exchange." said Harmony. "I wish I could have saved those girls but I couldn't take on a whole army of those barbarians."
"We got to save Bijou." shouted Boss. "Where do we find this tribe?"
"Go in that direction and you will find a river." explained Harmony as pointed behind her with her thumb. "Just follow North up that river and you should see the tribe once you get there."
"Come on, guys, lets go." said Boss.
"But I'm not done eating." protested Oxnard.
"How can you think of eating when Bijou is in gave danger." shouted Boss as he began to rush everyone back to their feet.
"But we can't just side track to a tribe." said Roberto. "We need to get Spat."
"He's right." said Harmony. "If all twelve of the Caidoz pieces were to fall into the wrong paws, it could be disastrous."
"I don't care." said Boss. "We need to save Bijou."
A string of arguments followed, with all the Ham-Hams arguing over what they should do. It was then that Panda made a suggestion that would stop the fighting.
"Why don't we split up." suggested Panda. "One side will go after Spat in Rokugon while the other half go to the tribe to save the girls."
"That is a great idea." said Harmony. "Now all we have to do is have everyone decide where they want to go."
"Well I'm not going to leave Bijou at the hands of those barbarians." said Boss
"And my sister is also in danger and I don't want to lose her." said Stan.
"I don't want to lose Sandy, either." said Maxwell.
"Laura is my friend I can't just leave her." said Hamtaro.
"Me neither." said Travis.
"Oldlie, I got to save my girl, Pashmina." said Howdy.
"Well if you're going, then so am I." said Dexter.
"Count me out." said Roberto. "I want to be human again so I'm gong after Spat."
"I'd rather not come face to face with a savage tribe of ham-hams." said Oxnard nervously.
"I would much rather see Rokugon again." said Panda.
"Me too." said Cappy.
"So it's settled." said Harmony. "Boss, Maxwell, Stan, Hamtaro, Howdy, Dexter, and Travis will go to the tribe and save the girls while Cappy, Panda, Oxnard, and Roberto will accompany me on my journey to Rokugon."
"Sounds good to me." said Hamtaro.
"We better get going." said Boss. "And once we've completed our missions, we will head back to the docks and sail back to Halastia."
"Okay, good luck, Boss." said Panda. Everyone got onto their feet and began to walk their separate ways.
"Bye-Q, you guys." said Hamtaro as he and the others began to make their way to the river."
"Bye-Q." said Cappy waving "good-bye." So now the team has split up again with one group heading towards a savage tribe while the other heads towards Rokugon.