Temple of the Zodiac

Chapter 5: Sunken Zodiac

Team Two included Panda, June, Maxwell, Moonbeam, and Kylie. After they had pulled their two clues from Neteru's bucket, they read the first clue which said:

A Caidoz piece is located on a ship called "The S.S. Neptune" which is somewhere around the city called Zolphville on the island known as Halastia.

They were thrilled about the idea of going to Halastia but they didn't like the idea of having to walk all the way there. As they headed along the way to Halastia, they learned that Team Five (which includes Hamtaro, Neteru, Kaiu, Dexter, and Howdy) also was on their way to Halastia to obtain a Caidoz piece. So the two teams marched side by side and after five days of hiking through the woods, they found the docks where the ham-ham sized ships were kept. Great relief swept the wary adventurers as they reached the docks. Using some money Daruth gave them, they managed to get tickets to a ship and through the three day trip out at sea, they relaxed their tired feet.

After lunch on the third day of their trip, the two teams sat on the floor of the deck so they could bask under the warm sun. Over in Team Five, Howdy was telling Kaiu some bad jokes and from the look on Kaiu's face, he was not enjoying the jokes. Meanwhile, June, Kylie, and Moonbeam all sat around Maxwell and Panda as they were playing a game of chess. Apparently, Maxwell had brought a small portable chess board with him during their trip and he was trying to teach Panda how to play chess.

"So these little pieces that look like towers are the Bishops?" asked Panda.

"No, those are the Rooks," said Maxwell. "They can only move side by side."

"I see," said Panda. "And I still don't understand how the horses move."

"You mean the Knights?" said Maxwell. "They move in a formation that looks like an 'L.' The way how it works is that it moves two spaces sideways and then move to one more space in a perpendicular direction."

"Heke?" said Panda in frustration and confusion. Before Maxwell could explain again, Kaiu shouted, "Hey, I see the island." The Ham-Hams turned their gaze towards the bow of the ship and, sure enough, there was an island in the distance.

The Ham-Hams ran to the front of the ship, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran. They stopped at the railing to admire the island ahead of them. From their position the island was very small but even from this distance, they could clearly see the cities and vegetation of the island. Kaiu, since he was so short was lifted onto Neteru's shoulders so he could see over the railing. Meanwhile, the Ham-Hams on Team Two were staring transfixed up the island they saw before them.

"I almost can't believe we're going to Halastia," said Kylie.

"Yeah, I wonder where we'll go from there," said June.

"I don't know but the hint said 'it is was on a ship called The S.S. Neptune,''" said Moonbeam.

"But if ships move around a lot, wouldn't the ship not be there?" asked Panda.

"Perhaps the ship remains stationary because it is valuable or maybe it is not seaworthy," suggested Maxwell.

"I hope you're right, Max," said Moonbeam. "Because I don't want to have to chase after a ship at sea."

The ship docked into Zolphville, allowing the Ham-Hams a chance to get off the ship. Once they gathered together onto the docks, the two teams stood in front of each other to say "good-bye."

"Well, I guess this is where we part," said Panda.

"It sure looks that way," said Neteru.

"Why aren't we going with them, Daddy?" asked Kaiu.

"Because the Caidoz piece they are after is in this city while the one we're after is in a town called Wattocress located in another part of Halastia," explained Neteru.

"Is it far from here?" asked Moonbeam.

"Is it far?" said Howdy. "Why it's so far, we'll have to shoot the bus we'll be riding out of a cannon just to get halfway there. Hehe." Everyone produced a sweat drop from their head in response to the bad joke.

"I recommend we get going," said Maxwell who wanted to get away from Howdy and his bad jokes as soon as possible.

"Yeah, we need to go," said June. "Bye-Q, you guys."

"Bye-Q and don't worry, we'll be back before you know it," said Hamtaro. The two teams began walking their separate directions, ready to continue their adventure.

This wasn't the first time the Ham-Hams have walked into a ham-ham city but unlike the others, Zolphville was the first modern ham-ham city they have ever been too. The inhabitants of this city lived in sturdy wooden or brick houses. The roads were paved and upon the roads were ham-ham size cars that either ran on manual peddling or they were electric. None of them ran on gas. Unlike Rokugon, there were more modern looking houses and other technological advances in Zolphville such as stop lights, pay phones, and street lights. It also had public transportation in the form of trains which resembled those a aboveground trains you see in San Francisco and just like in San Francisco, they ran along tracks built right into the road. The trains themselves looked more like basic trollies with rows of seats and no roof. There were hamsters everywhere and while the majority of them were nude, some did wear hats or scarfs or any small pieces of clothing. Only a few wore more covering pieces of clothing such as pants, vests, shirts, skirts, etc. These were some of the many sights Panda, June, Maxwell, Moonbeam, and Kylie got to see as they walked through Zolphville but they weren't there for sight-seeing. They were there to find out where the S.S. Neptune was located. They previously checked with all the employees of the docks but neither one of them had heard of a ship called the S.S. Neptune nor did a ship with such a name ever visits their dock. However, there was one ham-ham who suggested that they visit a local scuba rental station located at a nearby smaller dock used for private use. With this information in mind, they set out to find the docks.

Panda, June, Maxwell, Moonbeam, and Kylie were all repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked through the streets of Zolphville on their way to a docks located not far from the docks for all the cargo and passenger ships.

"I wonder why no one has heard of the S.S. Neptune," said June.

"Perhaps it is not a famous or frequently seen ship," suggested Kylie.

"Or maybe it is the name of a small one-ham boat," suggested Moonbeam. The girls traded suggestions between each other through the rest of the walk. When they reached docks, Panda said, "This must be the place."

"And that must be the scuba Rental station," said Maxwell. Maxwell pointed at a small building which looked like a store of some kind. The Ham-Hams ran to the building, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran.

A bell rang as the door to the rental store was opened. All four of the Ham-Hams walked into store and was surprised by how much the rental station looked like a supermarket but instead of food on the shelves, there was all sorts of aquatic supplies, some for sale and others for rent. The white tiled floors, the sky blue wall paper, and the sound of music playing from an overhead radio made the place seem even more like a grocery store. Sitting from behind a counter was a short ham-ham who was covered in white fur. He was so small, he had to stand on a box just so he could see over the counter. The Ham-Hams walked over to the counter.

"May I help you?" said the small ham-ham in a squeaky voice.

"Uh, yes, we were wondering if you knew anything about the S.S. Neptune?" asked Maxwell.

"S.S. Neptune?" asked the ham-ham in confusion. "Sorry, I'm not familiar with such a boat."

"But we heard that you may know about it," said Panda.

"Well, whoever told you that must have been talking about my manager," said the little ham-ham. "He knows virtually every ship who comes here to these docks."

"Is he here?" asked Moonbeam.

"Nope," answered the little ham-ham. "He left on a business trip but he'll be back by next week."

"Next week?" said Moonbeam, creating a sweat drop. "We can't wait for a whole week."

"Well, I'm sorry but there is something I can do," said the little ham-ham.

"Okay, thanks anyway," said Panda. The four Ham-Hams sadly walked away from the counter.

"Great, now what do we do?" said June in disappointment.

As if to answer June's question, one male and one female ham-ham came into the store and upon meeting them, the Ham-Hams stopped in their tracks in surprise. The male ham-ham was white with some light brown on his right ear and half of his face. Strapped to his back was what appeared to be a turtle shell. The female ham-ham was white with light brown fur covering her head. Tied to her head was a large red beret. The reason why the Ham-Hams were so surprised to see these two was because they were none other than Daruth's former roommates, Seamore and Barrette.

"Hamha, Ham-Hams," greeted Seamore.

"Seamore, Barrette, what are you guys doing here?" asked June.

"We came in to rent some scuba diving equipment," said Barrette.

"I didn't know you scuba dive," said Maxwell.

"It has been a growing hobby with the two of us," said Seamore. "I've even been teaching Barrette how to swim, too."

"What have you two been up to?" asked Moonbeam. "Are you still living with Daruth?"

"No," answered Seamore. "Barrette and I just got married and now we live in our own home."

"Really?" said Kylie with excitement. "How wonderful."

"Yep. And Seamore and fulfilled our dream of starting a photo shop together and we now live in the store we own," said Barrette.

"You actually live in the store?" asked June. "That sounds odd."

"No it isn't," said Panda. "My human family lives in the carpenter shop Mimi's parents own." There were some nods of agreement as they realized he was correct.

Changing the subject, Seamore asked, "So what are you guys doing here?"

"We're looking for the remaining ten Caidoz pieces," said Panda.

"You mean like the one Daruth used to have?" asked Barrette.

"Yep," answered Panda. "According to a clue we got, the piece should be on the S.S. Neptune." Upon hearing the name of the ship, Seamore and Barrette dropped their mouths in shock.

"You mean 'Thee' S.S. Neptune?" asked Seamore.

"Yes, do you know about it?" asked Moonbeam.

"I know all about the S.S. Neptune," said Seamore.

"Where is it?" asked Moonbeam in excitement.

"Well, all you have to do is travel four or three miles out to sea from Zolphville and then go strait down because the S.S. Neptune has been at the bottom of the ocean for years," said Seamore.

Now, it was the Ham-Hams who were the ones who had their mouths hanging wide open.

"You're joking," said June.

"Nope, I know for a fact that the S.S. Neptune is at the bottom of the ocean," said Seamore.

"But how do you know that?" asked Maxwell.

"My grandfather actually worked on the S.S. Neptune," explained Seamore. "When he was about my age, my grandfather worked as a ship's hand on the S.S. Neptune. He had traveled to far off places on that ship and he even met my grandmother on one of his open sea voyages. But then tragedy struck when horrendous weather began to pick up during one of my grandfather's voyages. According to reports, the captain of the ship had ignored the warnings about the bad weather because he was determined to get their shipment to Halastia on time. As a result, the fierce storm capsized the boat and sank it to the bottom of the ocean. My grandfather was one of the few who survived that dreadful storm."

"Oh how awful," said Moonbeam as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Did your grandfather say anything about the Caidoz piece?" asked Maxwell.

"No but he did mention they were carrying a crate filled with rare and valuable items," said Seamore.

"Then the piece must still be in the crate," said Moonbeam.

"But how are we going to get to the bottom of the ocean?" asked Panda. "Hamsters can't swim or breath water."

"Don't worry, we can take you down there," said Barrette.

"Really?" asked Moonbeam.

"Yep, I've actually scuba dived down to that old ship twice before," said Seamore.

"Have you ever gone inside?" asked Maxwell.

"No, I've only seen the ship from the outside," said Seamore.

"So can you take us down there?" asked Maxwell.

"Absolutely," answered Seamore with a smile. "Infact, we should rent some scuba equipment and we can take my personal boat to the spot where the ship sank."

"Hamtastic, looks like the Ham-Hams are going swimming," said Moonbeam in excitement.

After renting all the equipment they would need for scuba diving, the Ham-Hams all got onto Seamore's boat and rode of out to sea. The boat was a motor boat with white paint and on the side of the boat was the name "Barrette" written in black. Obviously named after Seamore's wife. The boat raced out to sea with Seamore at the wheel directing the boat towards the location where the S.S. Neptune had sank. The Ham-Hams sat with Barrette in the back of the boat. Each of them wore orange colored life jackets and they gripped onto the side of the boat as they tried not to be tossed out of off their seats. Wanting to start conversation, Moonbeam asked Barrette, "So, have you and Seamore thought about having a child?"

"Well, it has crossed our minds recently," admitted Barrette. "We thought we could have one as soon as business picks. By the way, how is Neteru and Mara doing?"

"They're doing great," said June. "Infact, they had a baby three years ago."

"Really?" said Barrette with joy. "Boy or girl?"

"A boy named Kaiu," said Panda. "He's such a sweet little ham-ham."

"Aw, I wish I could have seen him," said Barrette. "Perhaps I should ask Mara to give me some pointers on how to be a mom."

Their conversation was interrupted when Seamore announced, "We're here." The boat was pulled to a stop and they all just sat there, allowing the waves to toss them around.

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Moonbeam.

"It sure is," said Seamore. "All we have to do is dive strait down into the water."

"But how?" asked Maxwell. "We can't swim."

"I have at my disposal some self-proportion packs with me," said Seamore. "It's one of the many Items I had rented from the rental station." Seamore reached into the supply trunk and pulled out a strange looking contraption. It was rectangle in shape and made out of a thin metal. Inside the device was what looked to be a hole of some kind that ran strait through it and inside the hole was what looked like fans. Jutting from out of the device were two handle bars where someone could grab onto the device.

"What is that?" asked Panda.

"It's a hydro proportion pack," explained Seamore. "Just hold it in front of you while you are in the water and the propellers in the pack will propel you through the water without needing to swim. It's a long way down so I got one for each of us."

Each of the Ham-Hams were given a propeller pack as well as some goggles and air tanks. As they were strapping their goggles and their air tanks on, they were beginning to feel nervous because not only were they going into the ocean but they didn't know for certain what they would run into down there. After putting on her air tank and goggles, Moonbeam placed her staff into the trunk.

"Aren't you bringing your staff with you?" asked June who noticed Moonbeam putting her staff away.

"It would be easier to swim down there if I wasn't weighted down by my staff," said Moonbeam. "Besides, I can easily lose my staff down there and spells often behave differently underwater and, unfortunately, I don't know any spells that are designed for underwater use."

"You mean we can't use your magic in the event of a emergency?" asked Maxwell in concern.

"We can, it's just that some of my spells wont work underwater or behave the same way as it would if cast on land," said Moonbeam.

"By the way, how are we going to carry the Caidoz piece back to the surface?" asked Maxwell.

"Don't worry, I'll be bringing my back pack along with some extra supplies just in case," said Panda. Maxwell noticed that Panda had cleverly managed to strap his back pack onto his chest rather than on his back, allowing him to wear his oxygen tanks on his back.

"That's clever, Panda," said Maxwell.

"Thanks," said Panda.

"Is everyone strapped and ready to go into the water?" asked Seamore with his goggles and oxygen tank on. Once everyone confirmed they were ready to go into the water, the Ham-Hams all lined up, ready to jump out of the boat.

Barrette stayed behind as they jumped out of the boat one by one. Once inside the water, they all began to dive down towards the bottom of the ocean. Holding the hydro proportion packs in front of them like Seamore had instructed, it became easy for them to dive deep into the water. There were little triggers on the handles, enabling the Ham-Hams to start the motor and turn it off at will Since everyone had mouth pieces to their air tanks in their mouths, they had no way of talking to each other as they descended into the dark depths of the ocean. The best they could do was stay together and signal each other with signs and gestures.

Neither one of the Ham-Hams had ever gone diving before so they were all amazed at the sights they saw in this aquatic world. The sensation of the ocean surrounding them gave the Ham-Hams a sense of weightlessness as if they were floating in space. Their fur waved through the water as they descended towards the bottom which made it look like their fur was alive. All around the Ham-Hams were beautiful schools of fish whose scales sparkled in the sun light that descended down through the surface of the water. The fish were not too large so the team of hamsters was not at any risk of getting eaten by them. The beautiful shapes made by the swimming fish were like a dazzlingly light show of color which surrounded our heroes as they swam by them.

As the Ham-Hams got closer to the bottom, they began to see what looked to be a small coral reef located at the bottom of the ocean. The reef held all the colors of the rainbow which was reflected upon all the beautiful plant-like shapes that made up the coral reef. The Ham-Hams were amazed at the beautiful coral reef, especially Maxwell who had only seen coral reefs in books and never realized how amazing a reef looked in real life. As they approached the reef, they followed Seamore who turned towards the North end of the reef. As they traveled further up the reef, they began to see a sunken ship which was covered in coral. It sat undisturbed on top of the reef, camouflaging it so well that the Ham-Hams couldn't even see it until they got closer to it. The schools of fish that swam around the ship also made the ship hard to see. As they got within one foot of the ship, the Ham-Hams realized the ship was ham-ham sized which was small for a human but for a hamster. Despite all the coral that was on the side of the ship, they could still make out the writing on the side which read "S.S. Neptune." Seamore led the Ham-Hams into the ship through an open door which led to the lower levels of the ship. As they entered the ship, they were unaware that someone or something was watching them....

Using their self-proportion packs, they swam single file through the halls of the ship. The hallways were badly degraded and covered in coral, making the halls and rooms even more cramped than it would have been if it hadn't have been at the bottom of the ocean for years. The Ham-Hams split up, searching through the many different rooms located within the ship. It felt eerie to be swimming around in these rooms. They were probably the only ham-hams to have been inside these rooms for years and yet they were now seeing the rooms in their watery grave, virtually left preserved after all these years.

Panda entered what appeared to be a storage room that was filled with what looked to be sun follower seeds that were degraded from all the salt water. Panda cautiously searched the room until he found a large wooden crate in the corner. Remembering what Seamore said about the piece being in a crate, Panda directed himself towards the crate to investigate. The crate was so badly deteriorated that Panda easily pried the crate's lid off with nothing but his bare paws. Upon opening the crate, all Panda saw was some deteriorated pieces of jewelry and artworks. But despite the degraded state of all the items in the crate, there was one piece that remained unchanged. That piece was a Caidoz piece which stood out amongst the debris like a butterfly in a swarm of flies. The piece was still clean and well preserved, as if it had only been in the water for only a few seconds. Remembering the extraordinary durability of the Caidoz pieces, Panda was not surprised to see the piece in this kind of a condition. He picked up the piece and placed it into his back pack. He then swam off to find his comrades.

The Ham-Hams gathered together and they swam their way through the hallways of the ship and towards their original entrance. Moonbeam was in the lead and was the first to exit the ship but as soon as she had gone out into the open, she saw something in the distance that froze her in her tracks in horror. In the distance was a small shark about two feet in length. It was black in color and covered with white stripes. The shark had been waiting for the Ham-Hams all this time and judging by the hungry look on the shark's face, Moonbeam knew that she and the Ham-Hams would make a lovely light snack for this shark.

Moonbeam immediately turned around and accelerated back into the ship. The shark charged towards Moonbeam just as she managed to get back into the ship, causing the shark's snout struck the entrance of the ship missing her. The Ham-Hams all backed away in fright as the shark's sharp teeth scraped against the edges of the doorway, fighting to get at the delicious hamsters inside. Although the Ham-Hams couldn't talk with their oxygen masks, they can all tell by the look on their faces that they were frightened out of their wits. With the shark blocking their only exit, they could be trapped there for days and (with their oxygen tanks rapidly starting to run low) they would run out of air by the time the shark will leave them alone.

Moonbeam silently volunteered to step forward and save her friends. She removed her mouth piece from her mouth and said, "Rukmok negas." Her voice was muffled by the water but the spell was created none the less. A beam of blue light shot from her fingers and it struck the shark in the mouth. The shark cringed in pain by the shot but was otherwise unaffected.

"The shark is too large to be affected by a spell that small," thought Moonbeam as she placed the mouth piece back into her mouth. The Ham-Hams were watching in anticipation, hoping that Moonbeam would come up with some spell that could save them but Moonbeam was coming up empty. Without her staff, she wasn't capable of using any spells that were large enough to have an affect on the shark thus limiting her options. She couldn't use any of her fire spells since they can't work underwater. She thought of using her lightening bolt spell but she figured casting a lightening bolt underwater wasn't a good idea either. The only spell she could think of was her Moonlight Blast spell that produces a beam of moonlight that will at least temporarily paralyze the shark. But she had to abandon that idea too because that kind of a spell performed without a staff or a wand requires the use of a long incantation and intricate body movements as well as the use of both paws. With an incantation that long, she would have to keep at least one paw on her mouth piece so she could quickly place the piece back into her mouth. Since she would have to let go of the mouth piece while saying and performing the incantation, she might not be able to place the mouth piece back into her mouth before she passes out from the lack of air. Realizing how hopeless the situation was, Moonbeam knew that she had no way of saving herself or her friends.

"I wish Mara and Neteru were here," thought Moonbeam. "Those two are more advanced sorcerers than me and if they were here, they would have surely had a few spells specially designed for underwater environments." But unfortunately, Neteru and Mara weren't there to help. They were on their own.

Realizing that Moonbeam had no method at her disposal to repel the shark, Panda decided to step in to save the day. Panda pulled out from his back pack a piece of rope. He then tied the rope around the handle of the hydro proportion pack. He tied the rope around the activation switch on the handle, causing the motor to constantly run and threatening to pull Panda along with it. Panda held onto the side of a door with all his strength as he tied the rope tightly onto the handle. Once the rope was tied onto it, Panda then gripped onto the side of the door with one paw as he aimed the pack at the shark's snapping jaws. Realizing what he was doing, the other Ham-Hams helped him hold onto the proportion pack as they helped him aim at the shark's mouth. After taking careful aim, Panda then let go of the pack. With the rope tied onto the trigger on the pack, the pack was able to propel itself towards the shark. The pack landed right into the shark's mouth and began to work its way through the shark's throat. The shark immediately stopped attacking the side of the ship and began choking on the device. The shark twitched in pain as it swam off with the device still lodged in his throat. Now that the shark was gone, this gave the Ham-Hams the chance to escape the ship. Since Panda had lost his hydro proportion pack, Seamore gave him his and chose to manually swim to the surface.

The Ham-Hams managed to find their boat on the surface where they had left it. The soaking wet Ham-Hams all climbed into the boat, glad to finally be on dry land again.

"I'm soaked," said June.

"I look like a wet sponge," said Kylie.

"At least we got the Caidoz piece," said Panda as he pulled the piece out from his back pack.

"Yeah, good work, Panda," said Maxwell.

"So now that we have the piece, what do we do with it?" asked Barrette.

"We need to activate it," explained Panda. "Here, I'll show you." Panda placed his paw on the piece and said the poem. "I am the sun, I am the moon. I am the clear blue sea. A gift from the stars, a gift to all. May this piece show it's sign to me." Instantly, the piece began to glow a red color which lit up the area with its light. A red glowing zodiac sign engraved itself onto the piece. The sign was Aries, Panda's zodiac sign. The Aries sign looked like a vertical line with two half circles attached on one end and their open sides pointing downwards like a geyser of water spewing water into the air and the water was coming down on both sides. The piece stopped glowing but the symbol remained, giving off its soft red light.

"Wow, that was incredible," said Seamore who was amazed by the Caidoz piece. "How did you do that?"

"Each of the Caidoz pieces represent a sign of the zodiac and their symbols can only be revealed by someone who has the same zodiac sign," explained Panda. "My zodiac sign is Aries which is why I can activate the piece since this piece represents the sign of Aries."

"Incredible," said Barrette. "But it still doesn't explain why you want those pieces?"

"We'll explain it to you on the way back to Zolphville," said Moonbeam. Remembering that they need to return home, Seamore got into the boat's driver's seat and they all road off back to Halastia.